Rewinding to an earlier time, upon hearing that Huang Mao was in Longtan Town, Chen Kai couldn't hold back. He rode alone on Miraidon's back, arriving in town first.
However, he was unfamiliar with Longtan Town. Only after arriving did he realize that the town was quite large, and finding the specific cave where Huang Mao was excavating fossils was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
He couldn't just ask people on the street, "Where can I find a place for illegal fossil excavation?"
After all, even if passersby knew, they would most likely choose to call the police on him.
Chen Kai could only discreetly ask, "Where are there more caves around here?"
But as he asked around, all he received were shakes of heads and 'I don't know's, leaving him with no clues.
"All-powerful Miraidon! Can you sense Huang Mao?" Chen Kai asked, hugging Miraidon.
"Do you think I'm Doraemon? There are so many Pokémon in this town, and Huang Mao doesn't have any special energy fluctuations, how could I possibly know!"
Miraidon said, exasperated, but it also knew the situation was unusual, so it tried hard to sense something.
"There should be quite a lot of fossils underground over there."
Miraidon pointed in a direction, which was precisely where Dong Gang was currently excavating fossils, and also the direction of the poachers' hideout cave.
With only this one clue, Chen Kai had no choice: "Then let's go check that out."
So Miraidon sped along, arriving at the area where the black intermediary had parked, but there was no road further ahead.
Miraidon stopped and said to Chen Kai, "This is it. This underground area has the most fossils nearby."
Chen Kai looked around, seeing only trees and bushes, with no sign of a cave.
Just as he was at a loss, the roar of a truck came from behind him.
A man got out of the truck and enthusiastically said, "Oh! Young man, what a coincidence, why are you here too?"
Chen Kai didn't recognize who the person was at first.
The man also noticed Chen Kai's confusion and explained with a wry smile, "It's me, I'm a streamer, I battled you with Golem."
"Oh!" Hearing Golem, Chen Kai finally remembered who it was.
"It's you, ah, sorry, I didn't recognize you for a moment."
The man chuckled awkwardly, "Haha, it's fine, it's normal. By the way, what are you doing here?"
Chen Kai organized his words, "Uh... I'm looking for a cave around here."
Hearing Chen Kai say this, the man's expression changed several times instantly, and finally, as if letting go of some concern, he showed a relieved expression.
He handed over a business card: "My name is Xu Wei. I didn't expect you, young man, to be so well-informed. Since you also want to go, I can take you there and share a portion with you.
Let's see if we can cooperate more often, shall we?"
This streamer named Xu Wei was a major client of the poachers. Although he didn't know what those people did, as a Pokémon battle streamer, he needed a large number of Pokémon, especially high-quality ones, and these people could fulfill his requirements very well.
Although the prices were not cheap, as a top Pokémon battle streamer, constantly changing cities and earning money from challengers, their team was still very profitable. Just a few days ago, he received over a hundred thousand in donations from battling Chen Kai's Mega Ampharos.
So he never asked about the Pokémon's origins.
Today, he was here to pick up goods. He just ran into Chen Kai, and he hadn't expected this seemingly upright young man, Chen Kai, would also want to illegally buy Pokémon.
However, Chen Kai had a Mega Ampharos, and recently many people in his stream were asking when Mega Ampharos would appear again. He decided to befriend Chen Kai and see if Chen Kai would be willing to stream together sometime.
At the same time, perhaps he could even use Chen Kai's connections to get a Mega Pokémon!
On the other side, Chen Kai thought: This streamer's accent doesn't sound like he's from Zigong, does it?
But judging by his words, he seems to know where fossils can be dug?
So Chen Kai took the business card and shook hands with Xu Wei: "Sure, would you mind taking me to the cave?"
"Yes, yes, of course." Xu Wei also reached out and shook Chen Kai's hand warmly.
The two of them, somewhat confused, walked and chatted pleasantly, arriving at the poachers' lair according to the location.
The poachers' boss, accompanied by a few obedient subordinates, was already waiting at the entrance.
As for Smoker and Lao Tian, he felt those two were getting a bit too arrogant.
He considered himself to have gained extraordinary power in Daliang Mountain, yet those two repeatedly defied his orders.
In the boss's prejudiced view, power was everything in this world.
He had always been bullied by powerful trainers, but now that he had gained sufficiently strong power, he believed he should possess everything, and trainers weaker than him should obey him.
So he sent Smoker and Lao Tian away. He wasn't going to share this money with them, and those two would even have to give him some money, otherwise... he guaranteed he'd make them regret it.
And this client, who had made him wait for so long, also annoyed him. He planned to raise the price and charge more.
Just then, Xu Wei walked over, greeting from a distance, "Yo! Long time no see, your place is really hard to find!"
The boss, however, ignored Xu Wei and instead pointed behind Xu Wei, asking, "Who is this person?"
"Oh! This is my brother Chen Kai, he..." Xu Wei was halfway through his sentence when the boss interrupted him.
"I asked you, who allowed you to bring him here?"
Previously, the boss usually dealt directly with Xu Wei and rarely saw Xu Wei bring people. This time, Xu Wei took it upon himself to bring a stranger, which annoyed him greatly.
Xu Wei was also a bit confused. In the past, when he bought a dozen Pokémon, he would bring people from his team. Was this guy drunk in broad daylight this time?
But business is business, and harmony brings wealth, so Xu Wei politely said, "Oh, brother, we're so familiar..."
This time, he was interrupted halfway through again, but it wasn't by the boss, but by Chen Kai.
Chen Kai saw the cave and stopped hiding anything: "Hey, muscle man over there, have you seen a Huang Mao? Not particularly tall, dressed sloppily."
"Hahahaha!" The boss burst into laughter upon hearing Chen Kai's words.
He naturally knew Huang Mao; wasn't he the one who had been following Lao Tian? So this arrogant kid was with him. No matter what, he couldn't let this arrogant kid leave alive.
He stopped laughing and waved to his subordinates: "You two, don't let them run away."
The subordinates froze. Wasn't this a client? Xu Wei also froze. What was happening? Only Chen Kai was still walking towards the boss.
The boss roared, "Are you deaf? Didn't you hear?!"
Only then did the two subordinates react, running to surround Xu Wei and Chen Kai from both sides.
"What are you going to do?" Xu Wei asked nervously.
Meanwhile, Chen Kai had also walked up to the boss. Their gazes met, and the tension was palpable.
Chen Kai asked, "I asked you, have you seen a Huang Mao? Are you deaf?"
The boss shrugged and said indifferently, "I know. People without power like that, I just kill them."
Chen Kai pointed at his nose and said, "Then you'll have to go down and join him."
At the same time, Chen Kai lightly pressed the Poké Ball at his waist. Xiao Mei suddenly appeared behind him, immediately glowing brightly. Strong currents leaped and flickered in the air, making crackling sounds.
Several thick bolts of lightning shot out from behind him, like arrows, carrying immense power and dazzling light, directly striking the opponent.
A transparent protective shield lit up in front of the boss. Crawdaunt had appeared behind him at some point and was using Protect.
The lightning violently struck the barrier, erupting in dazzling Sparks. The electric light splattered everywhere like uncontrolled fireworks.
"Sizzle, sizzle," powerful currents surged wildly across the barrier, making a grating sound. The electric light splashed onto the surrounding ground, leaving behind scorched marks.
"Alright, you have some power, but not much," the boss commented.