Inside a dark and damp cave, a pungent, rotten smell permeated the air. A few flickering torches on the stone walls cast a faint light, barely illuminating this corner full of schemes.
A group of people gathered there, smoking, eating meat, and drinking beer. From their appearance, it was clear none of them were good people.
The leader was a burly man with a full beard and sinister eyes. His muscles bulged, as if containing endless violence. He sat on a large rock, a Crawdaunt standing behind him, and he toyed with a sharp hunting knife in his hand, its blade glinting coldly.
He tapped the knife against an iron cage nearby:
“This time’s objective was well completed, brothers, you’ve worked hard. Once we sell these in a day or two and get the money, we can rest for a while.”
A tall, thin man next to him squinted his eyes into slits, grinning to reveal a mouthful of yellow teeth, and said fawningly:
“Boss is truly amazing, leading us to pull off this job. From now on, we’ll all be living the good life. It’s just…”
He spoke, then hesitated, as if wanting to say more.
The Boss saw this and slapped him: “Spit it out, don’t hold back.”
At the same time, the Boss glared at him, his eyes full of ferocity.
A man with a knife scar on his face leaned against the stone wall, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, smoke swirling around his face.
He exhaled a smoke ring and said in a muffled voice: “Boss, this is Zigong, there are many fossils here. Lao Tian’s Pokémon are good at digging holes, he’s probably itching to do something.”
The tall man named Lao Tian laughed and said: “Haha! Smoker, you really know me!”
Upon hearing this, the Boss immediately reprimanded him: “No, don’t even think about it. The goods haven’t been sold yet, we can’t be careless about this.
The forest rangers are probably already looking for us, and I heard the Four Heavenly Kings have been frequently roaming Sichuan Province recently. We need to be careful and cautious, quickly deal with the goods, and then get out of here.”
Lao Tian chuckled awkwardly: “Alright, alright, Boss, I was just mentioning it.”
The Boss gave Lao Tian another warning look, then turned to inspect his ‘treasures’.
Several iron cages were placed in the cave, and they contained many Pokémon!
Among them were rare Pokémon like Vulpix, Dunsparce, Eevee, Castform, and Zorua, or Pokémon with good aptitudes.
There were even starter Pokémon like Chikorita!
This group of people were poachers of Pokémon.
And what this group treasured the most was a pseudo-legendary Pokémon cub—a Larvitar.
At this moment, the Larvitar lay weakly in the iron cage, with a clear needle mark on its body.
The normal League only scans the aptitude of eggs, so as not to harm the Pokémon itself, but these poachers had no ethics. They could roughly determine the Pokémon’s aptitude by drawing blood and using an instrument.
They could only sell slightly rare Pokémon for tens of thousands of yuan each, but this Larvitar, as long as its aptitude wasn't the lowest, could fetch them millions of yuan. So how could they not treasure it?
The Boss of this group gently stroked the cage where the Larvitar was held.
In a corner, several young poachers were excitedly examining the captured Pokémon. One of them, with a mixture of fear and excitement on his face, held a Thunder Shock gun in his hand and said with a trembling voice: “This… this is too easy! We caught so many Pokémon, we can split hundreds of thousands!!”
Another poacher glanced at him disdainfully: “Look at you, so unpromising. Follow the Boss from now on, and there will be plenty of good things like this.”
After his inspection, the Boss scanned everyone with a fierce gaze: “Listen up, it’s just these two days. If anyone dares to leak information or cause trouble, don’t blame me for being impolite.”
Everyone nodded, but their eyes were fixed on the Pokémon.
A scent of evil permeated the cave. In this dark corner, they fantasized about dividing the wealth obtained from innocent lives.
On the other side, Chen Kai and his group had arrived in Zigong, but what surprised everyone was that the driver first took them to a jewelry store.
Chen Kai and Wang Yi both stared at the Blondie.
The Blondie waved his hands in a panic: “I’ve looked into this, there’s no mandatory spending!”
At this moment, the driver, who had been silent all day, leaned over and grinned: “There is indeed no mandatory spending.
However, this is a tourist attraction, and you must go in and look around!”
The Blondie pointed at the large words ‘Jewelry Store’ and asked in disbelief: “This is called a tourist attraction?”
The driver nodded.
“No, are you taking me for a fool?” The Blondie was so angry he wanted to hit the driver, but Wang Yi quickly held him back.
She asked: “What happens if we don’t go in?”
The driver smiled and said: “According to Article 5 on page 3 of the contract, you will have to compensate our travel agency a portion of the money.”
“Fine.” Wang Yi pulled the Blondie into the jewelry store, saying:
“We just won’t buy anything.”
The Blondie grumbled indignantly: “When I get back, I’m definitely complaining about this damn travel agency!”
“Count me in!” Zhao Jie also said angrily.
As soon as the group stepped into the jewelry store, a strong scent of perfume mixed with the unique aroma of the jewelry store wafted towards them.
The store was spacious, with huge and ornate crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The light poured down like a waterfall, illuminating every counter displaying jewelry. Mirrors were embedded in the walls, reflecting the light and making the entire store appear even brighter and more luxurious.
The counters in the store were made of high-quality wood, polished to a mirror-like smoothness, radiating a warm luster under the light.
Each counter was filled with various types of jewelry, some for people to wear, and some for Pokémon to wear.
Sparkling diamonds glittered dazzlingly under the lights, as if tempting everyone who entered the store. Jade ornaments emitted a faint green glow, warm and delicate, as if containing endless mystery. Pearl necklaces, round and full, gave off a soft luster, making one want to touch them.
The sales assistants in the store wore unified uniforms and had enthusiastic smiles on their faces, but to Chen Kai, those smiles seemed somewhat artificial.
They were like a pack of well-trained hounds, keenly watching every tourist who entered the store. As soon as a tourist came in, they would immediately surround them and start talking endlessly.
“Sir, look at this diamond necklace. Its cutting craftsmanship is exquisite, and the diamond’s clarity and color are top-notch. When worn by a Pokémon, it can increase the power of its skills by fifty percent!
And now it’s only thirty thousand yuan…” A sales assistant held a necklace, swaying it in front of Chen Kai, talking nonstop.
Chen Kai frowned. What diamond? It didn’t even say what attribute it would boost, and a 50% increase? It was obviously fake!
Miraidon also reminded him from its Poké Ball: “Chen Kai, this is ordinary glass.”
Zhao Jie was even worse off. As an expert, she immediately recognized it as fake, but the sales assistants, seeing her age, assumed she had more money.
She tried to get away, but more and more sales assistants surrounded her, trapping her completely, constantly chattering in her ear about “once-in-a-lifetime discounts” and “fated heirloom treasures.”
Fortunately, not long after, another batch of unfortunate tourists walked in, and Chen Kai and the others finally escaped the jewelry store.