Chapter 64: First Round of Investment
Zhu Lan, the greatest contributor to the Elite Class's thousand consecutive victories, did not, as people imagined, count her school credits like a miser and ponder how to spend them.
At this moment, she was lying on the bed, and when she opened her eyes, she saw a very unfamiliar ceiling.
Two days and two nights of high-intensity battles were difficult for even adult Trainers to endure.
But this little girl, with her astonishing willpower, persevered until everyone was defeated by her.
However, after defeating everyone, Zhu Lan's body also gave out, and she fainted in the arena.
She was then sent to the Elf Garden by Chen Xi to receive treatment from the Elf Garden's therapists.
"You're awake?" Chen Xi, who was nearby, saw Zhu Lan open her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "It's good that you're awake."
"Water," Zhu Lan said weakly when she heard Chen Xi's words.
"Warm water is here," Chen Xi quickly prepared a cup of warm water and carefully handed it to Zhu Lan.
Zhu Lan held the cup with both hands, drinking the water with gulps like a hamster, indicating that her vitality was recovering.
Chen Xi said, "You really shouldn't have pushed yourself so hard. Did you think I couldn't handle those new students? You didn't even leave one new student for me; you really didn't give me any face."
Zhu Lan glanced at Chen Xi and said calmly, "Because I didn't want to lose again."
Chen Xi was slightly stunned, not expecting Zhu Lan's thoughts to be so simple.
To be honest, Chen Xi had entertained various conspiracy theories in her mind.
But facing Zhu Lan's clear eyes and hearing her say such words, she realized that this was indeed something Zhu Lan's personality would do.
Her frankness made Chen Xi feel a bit embarrassed.
"Don't be so strong-willed. Victory and defeat are common in war; no one can always win," Chen Xi said comfortingly.
"Being told that by you, of all people, feels quite uncomfortable," Zhu Lan said, looking at Chen Xi with a hint of disdain.
Chen Xi, hearing this, was slightly taken aback but then smiled calmly, "Get some good rest. We've received the credits from defeating the ordinary new students; there are a total of 30,000 credits. Your share has already been deposited into your student card. Count them carefully; you earned these with your life."
"Mm..." Zhu Lan nodded, indicating that she understood.
Chen Xi didn't stay long, telling Zhu Lan to rest well before leaving her hospital room.
After all, Zhu Lan wasn't seriously injured; she had merely overused her Dragon Power and was overly fatigued.
For a thirteen-year-old Zhu Lan, a week of recuperation should be enough.
Meanwhile, in the Elf Garden, Chen Xi soon arrived at a more luxurious room.
In this room, a woman dressed in simple attire showed a hint of joy when she saw Chen Xi arrive, teasing him, "Not going to accompany your little girlfriend? You've finally decided to visit your ignored elder sister!"
"Sister, I think you might have misunderstood something," Chen Xi ignored Yuan Zihua and instead said, "How did the discussions go?"
Yuan Zihua sighed helplessly, her brows furrowed slightly, and said, "Your plan was completely ruined by that girl named Zhu Lan. Qiefeng Academy only accepted the most basic treatment discounts from the Elf Garden. Are you and that little girl from Celestic Town sworn enemies? Back then, she challenged our Five Great Families, wanting to become a probationary Saintess, but after you defeated her, the proposal was shelved. Originally, you planned to sweep through these new students to build your reputation, and then the Yuan Family would step in, claiming your 'ignorance,' to offer compensation to the new students, thereby investing early. But that was also messed up by the little girl's unwavering persistence. Qiefeng Academy only reluctantly accepted our treatment discounts for these new students."
Chen Xi smiled faintly, not at all swayed by Yuan Zihua's words. Instead, he said, "Too much is as bad as too little. As long as we have treatment discounts, it should be enough. Those who are grateful will be grateful, and those who aren't aren't worth our further investment. If you give a bowl of rice to a person on the verge of starvation, their gratitude towards you can reach the point of risking their lives. If you give a mountain of gold, their favorite, to a person who has already become successful, they might not be loyal. Perhaps not all new students at Qiefeng Academy will achieve great success, but the probability of success is quite high. Even if it's just treatment discounts, at least we have a bridge for communication and an opportunity to observe the new students. For example, the person who receives the most treatment might not be the strongest, but they are definitely the ones who need treatment resources the most. Our Yuan Family is also suitable for dealing with such people, aren't we?"
"Alright, even if it's as you say!" Yuan Zihua stopped teasing and said with a serious expression, "But for this matter alone, it's not worth you having me come to Qiefeng Academy. You personally asked me to come; is there something important?"
"The main reason I asked you to come, Sister, is for this..." Chen Xi took out a research report prepared by Professor Platane from his spatial bag and handed it to Yuan Zihua, saying very seriously, "This is a report on the possibility of Pokémon Mega Evolution."
"Mega Evolution?" Yuan Zihua looked at the report, and after reading it, she frowned and said, "It only states that this mysterious stone contains life energy that can stimulate Small Elves to evolve. But there are no actual examples. The so-called Mega Evolution is merely a hypothesis and speculation; whether Mega Evolution truly exists is still unknown."
"I know. But I feel our Yuan Family is worth investing in this research!" Chen Xi said to Yuan Zihua.
"Why?" Yuan Zihua didn't immediately agree after hearing Chen Xi's words; instead, she asked back.
"If this is true, then it's enough to allow our Yuan Family to grow by leaps and bounds," Chen Xi said very seriously.
Chen Xi paused slightly here and continued, "Moreover, our Yuan Family is famous for its Bug and Grass Type Small Elves. These two types of Small Elves have short growth cycles and are more suitable for this kind of experiment. For our Yuan Family, this is our strength. Whether there are Mega Evolved Small Elves, searching from the perspective of Bug and Grass Types seems most appropriate. Furthermore, our family does not have a Tianwang level Trainer. If this research succeeds, compared to other research, this is the direction that can most quickly enhance our family's strength."
"I understand. I will go meet this Professor Platane," Yuan Zihua replied after some thought.
Seeing Yuan Zihua begin to consider this matter, Chen Xi said, "I will arrange for the Professor and you, Sister, to meet."
A very important reason for bringing in Professor Platane was that Chen Xi didn't believe he could easily persuade Yuan Zihua to invest in this project on his own.
Because he wasn't a researcher, and apart from relying on favoritism to make the family forcefully spend money, it wasn't enough for the family to take this project seriously.
If Professor Platane could persuade Yuan Zihua to initiate this project, then the family would truly make Mega Evolution a major family research project.
Of course, it was also because there were indeed many Bug and Grass Type Small Elves that gained strength through Mega Evolution.
Under Chen Xi's arrangements, Professor Platane and Yuan Zihua met and discussed the research matters.
It must be said that Professor Platane did have some tricks up his sleeve, and with thorough preparation, he gained Yuan Zihua's approval.
Yuan Zihua agreed to let Professor Platane establish a research institute in Eternal Forest and gave him ten billion in initial investment.
The purpose of this round of investment was to confirm the existence of Mega Evolution, after which the Yuan Family would consider whether to continue investing.
Professor Platane readily agreed. The main purpose of these ten billion, besides purchasing various scientific research equipment, was more importantly to acquire various Mega ites.
After all, although many people didn't know the use of these stones, their dazzling appearance made them a luxury item like gems, making them not easy to acquire.
However, once their Mega Evolution value is confirmed, their value will likely increase a hundredfold.
For the first species to be cultivated, Chen Xi proposed Beedrill, Heracross, Pinsir, Sceptile, Venusaur, Abomasnow, and Torterra.
Professor Platane stated that he would definitely give serious consideration to Chen Xi's suggestion, also because these were relatively easy for the Yuan Family to obtain.
Chen Xi knew that Torterra did not have a Mega Evolution form, but it was impossible for everything he suggested to be correct. Even if they were all correct, the most important thing was that it didn't benefit him, so he still threw Torterra into the mix.
Chen Xi understood that as long as Professor Platane's research could succeed in the first step, with one Mega Evolved Pokémon, then the subsequent matters would not need him to push them.
The family would naturally understand the immense value of this research.
And Professor Platane was also very excited that he had finally made a name for himself at the Shannli Research Institute and, with the Yuan Family's funding, would be able to have his own research institute.
He almost immediately settled matters at the Shannli Research Institute and followed Yuan Zihua directly to Eterna City when she returned.
Chen Xi accompanied Yuan Zihua for a whole day, and on the second day, Yuan Zihua left.
After all, Yuan Zihua was not as leisurely as Chen Xi, as she was responsible for managing a large number of internal affairs of the Yuan Family.
This could be considered a tradition of the Yuan Family.
The wives and daughters were responsible for managing the family head's property and handling the family's internal affairs.
The men were responsible for becoming Trainers, providing family protection, being the family's top combat power, and handling external relations.
Of course, this is not to say that women cannot become Trainers; it's just that the power of tradition makes it difficult to change.
Before leaving, Yuan Zihua brought Chen Xi a set of "Ten Thousand Volts" and "Three Farmer Punches."
She knew that Chen Xi had been collecting these skills through the Yuan Family's channels, and now she had completed the collection for him.
However, the life orb, which had been continuously collected, although it was called an evil item that "exchanges life force for combat power."
But in reality, this item was extremely rare, and every individual who possessed a life orb collected it.
Because, after all, it wasn't their own life that was consumed, but the Small Elf's life, and in times of crisis, this item could truly save lives.
Therefore, even with the Yuan Family's channels, something like a life orb was not something that could be obtained simply by wanting it.
After Yuan Zihua left, Chen Xi also began to consider how to spend the seven thousand credits he had obtained.
Of these seven thousand credits, one thousand were the basic credits for annual enrollment in the Elite Class.
One thousand credits were the guaranteed credits from dividing the new students' enrollment funds.
And five thousand credits were to resolve the potential subsequent impact on new students caused by the seizure of public resource credits.
This point was smoothed over by the Yuan Family offering treatment discounts to this batch of new students through the Elf Garden.
To be honest, the Yuan Family would have preferred to directly cover this fund themselves.
But this could greatly influence the entire Qiefeng Academy's inclination, so it was rejected by Sha Miao.
However, even so, for the Yuan Family, this early intervention was at least not a loss and somewhat boosted their reputation.
The family didn't lose out, and for Chen Xi personally, it was a huge profit.
Chen Xi didn't even have to fight a single battle and easily obtained seven thousand credits.
Compared to someone who had two Small Elves battered and bruised and only received just over three thousand credits, he was much better off.
In terms of gains, Chen Xi was only surpassed by Zhu Lan, who single-handedly swept through 550 people.
But compared to everyone else, Chen Xi's gains ranked second in the entire Elite Class.
When the final results were announced, everyone else, except Zhu Lan, looked at Chen Xi's easily acquired resources with unspeakable envy, jealousy, and hatred.
However, upon receiving these items, Chen Xi immediately began to utilize them.
He needed to convert these credits into resources within this week, as he would have to face the Battle Tower challenge a month later. Keeping these credits tightly in hand would be meaningless.
First, he used credits to purchase a special ointment, which was made from the fallen scales of a Small Elf called Frosmoth.
It could accelerate a Small Elf's comprehension of Ice-type energy. Chen Xi felt it was perfect for Floette to awaken Ice in the icy and snowy environment of Qiefeng City, so he purchased about a month's worth, which cost five hundred credits.
Next were Torterra's Ground-type courses and the mastery of recoil techniques, which used up one thousand credits.
After Torterra's Grass Type power reached a certain level and became difficult to break through, Chen Xi planned to have Torterra start picking up the Ground Type again.
After all, Torterra was ultimately a Grass/Ground Dual Type Small Elf.
Under Purple Cherry's arrangement, Chen Xi quickly found a master of Ground Type, named Kiku Jirō.
It is said that he once competed with Kikuyo for the head of the Ju family, but because Kikuno sided with Kikuyo, Kiku Jirō failed. However, Sha Miao intervened to Protect Kiku Jirō, and he became a teacher at Qiefeng Academy.
Kiku Jirō's mastery of Earth Type Small Elves was indeed quite high; Chen Xi suspected he had at least Quasi-Heavenly King level skill.