In a corner of the Evil Eatery, Su Yuexi and Yelena sat opposite each other, the table before them laden with several plates of authentic Sichuan Province cuisine.
The fiery red Spicy Chicken was piled high like a small mountain, each piece of chicken coated in rich red oil, gleaming with an inviting luster; the Mapo Tofu was bright red, the tofu fresh, tender, and smooth, adorned with vibrant green scallions that added a refreshing touch to the spicy dish; and there was also the fragrant Boiled Fish, with fish slices as white as jade, submerged in a bright red spicy broth, chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns floating on top, as if foretelling a numbing and spicy feast.
Su Yuexi picked up a piece of Spicy Chicken and put it into her mouth, looking at Chen Kai, who had won on the competition field, and couldn't help but exclaim, “It really is him. I've never seen him lose.”
Yelena had heard in the car that Chen Kai intended to visit the Gym, so she had already anticipated this scene.
She pulled her gaze back from the field and looked at the table full of Sichuan Province dishes, a hint of curiosity in her eyes.
She gently picked up a slice of Boiled Fish and put it into her mouth.
In an instant, the numbing and spicy flavor surged like a tidal wave, her fair face quickly flushed red, her eyes widened slightly, and tears subtly welled up in her eyes.
Her lips trembled slightly, and just as she was about to speak, she was interrupted by a violent cough.
Seeing this, Su Yuexi asked with concern, “Yelena, is it too spicy? Should we switch to some non-spicy dishes?”
Yelena waved her hand; despite the discomfort from the spice, her expression remained almost calmly composed.
She took a moment to recover, drank a sip of juice, and said in a slightly hoarse voice:
“It's fine. Although it's spicy, it's really delicious.”
Most importantly, she had other matters to attend to and no time to wait for new dishes.
The two continued to eat and chat like this. As a local of Sichuan Province, this level of spiciness was nothing to Su Yuexi. Although Yelena kept drinking water because of the spice, she still didn't stop enjoying the food.
Until a blonde man walked past them and coughed softly.
Yelena briefly looked up at the man, then lowered her head to continue eating.
It wasn't until the man paid his bill and left the Evil Eatery that Yelena suddenly got up and left.
Leaving behind a bewildered Su Yuexi, who hadn't yet swallowed the Mapo Tofu in her mouth and asked indistinctly, “Ugh! Yelena, aren't you eating anymore?”
However, Yelena didn't look back and walked straight out of the Evil Eatery's door.
Su Yuexi shook her head and muttered softly, “How strange. Chen Kai and Yelena were the ones who insisted on queuing to eat here, but they left faster than anyone else.”
The departing Yelena crossed the bustling street and turned into a narrow alley.
The walls on both sides of the alley were covered with green Vines, and it was very quiet all around, with only her footsteps echoing in the alley.
Walking deep into the alley, she saw the blonde man waiting quietly for her.
“Did you see it?” Yelena asked.
The blonde man retorted, “I saw it. Does that person have a clue?”
Yelena nodded, “That's right. The Cyclizar beside him clearly isn't a creature from Blue Star. Unfortunately, he's unwilling to cooperate with us and won't tell us the origin of that Cyclizar.”
The blonde man said disdainfully, “I just checked; he's just an ordinary high school student. Why not just take action? Grab him and interrogate him; he won't cooperate then?”
Hearing him say that, Yelena said angrily, “Andrei, this is Dragon Country, not somewhere else! Doing that will cause major diplomatic issues!”
The man named Andrei roared in dissatisfaction, “Then what do you suggest we do? We've been on this mission for several months, are you still planning to play Role Play with these high school students?”
Yelena stared at Andrei with cold eyes, poking his shoulder with her index finger: “You just continue to do your job in Cheng City, I have my own arrangements!
Remember this, this was arranged by Lord Bili Jiong, and I am the overall person in charge of this mission! You are only responsible for assisting!”
Andrei angrily slapped Yelena's hand away and turned to leave: “Tsk, you just keep playing your Role Play here.”
After Andrei left, Yelena sighed deeply. She had been in Dragon Country for some time, but the mission had made no progress, so it was inevitable that others would have opinions.
But the Dragon Country Champion had warned them that forceful methods would definitely not work, so she could only plan for the long term now.
Andrei walked a bit further, took out his phone, and called his superior: “Boss, that brat is completely incompetent at handling things, still wet behind the ears yet trying to command us. I really don't know why Lord Bili Jiong chose her…”
A stern voice came from the other end of the phone: “Watch your words, don't criticize the choices of a Divine Beast Lord!”
Andrei quickly admitted his mistake: “Right, right, right, I misspoke. But now there's only this one clue, and Saint Yelena isn't pushing it forward. I don't think we can continue like this; we need to act, otherwise, how long will we have to wait in Dragon Country?”
The other end of the phone pondered for a moment, then asked, “What are your thoughts?”
Andrei said fiercely, “Directly abduct that brat named Chen Kai and force him to speak. Of course, we won't really take his life. He's just a student; let him suffer a little physical pain, and he'll definitely confess immediately.”
The other end of the phone fell silent again, and after a long while, it said, “That's the only way then. Remember not to make a big fuss; the Dragon Country Champion warned us.”
“Don't worry,” Andrei replied, and the call was disconnected.
Seeing that the higher-ups had agreed to his plan, Andrei's steps became much lighter, but his mouth was still loose: “Hmph, what kind of saint is she? The Pokemon she trained can't even use Sacred Sword. Lord Bili Jiong choosing me would be better than choosing that good-for-nothing…”
Muttering curses, he continued to dial, planning to complain about this arrogant brat to other departments.
On the other side, Chen Kai and Miraidon found another highly-rated restaurant for dinner, and discovered that Cheng City's Alliance Center was nearby.
With the thought of 'since we're already here,' Chen Kai decided to go and look around.
Just by appearance, Cheng City's Alliance Center was similar to Qu County's, but the foot traffic inside and the items sold were vastly different.
Even at night, trainers were constantly entering and exiting the entrance. Some carried bulging backpacks, while others brought their adorable Pokemon along. The Pokemon varied in form, chirping and chattering non-stop, adding a touch of liveliness to the bustling scene.
In the center of the hall was a huge display area, showcasing various Pokemon items. The shelves nearby were filled with Pokemon food and medicine. In a corner, there was also an area dedicated to selling Pokemon decorations.
Chen Kai wasn't in the mood to browse; he directly found a staff member and inquired about honey apple seeds. He had asked about these seeds at the Qu County Alliance, and they didn't have them there.
But Cheng City's Alliance Center was different; the staff member quickly found honey apple seeds after a quick search, and they were cheap, only a few hundred yuan per pack.
Chen Kai asked for two packs, and the staff member kindly reminded him that these seeds couldn't be grown at home.
Chen Kai waved his hand, indicating it was fine. He had bought the seeds; the rest was up to Appletun and the others.
Chen Kai then looked at the Technical Machines. Qu County had almost no TMs for sale. He had accumulated almost a million yuan from selling berries, so it was time to improve his Pokemon.
When he looked, he was startled; any TM cost tens of thousands of yuan. The Bug Bite TM he bought for Big Boss back then cost eighty thousand yuan.
Popular move TMs started at hundreds of thousands.
Chen Kai couldn't help but exclaim, “It's easy to make money, but it flows out like water!”
Chen Kai spent all the money in his pocket, buying a Earth Power and a Pollen Puff Technical Machine.
Fortunately, Pollen Puff was a Bug-type move, so its price was relatively cheaper.
These were all bought for Hydrapple; it currently only had Random Light and Syrup Bomb as offensive moves, which was really a bit few.
But if it were to learn moves from other Pokemon, these three might not be enough even for a year, so he could only put more effort into it.
Nasty Plot, Earth Power, Pollen Puff, and then having Big Boss and Grovyle slowly learn Giga Drain, then Hydrapple's moves would be almost complete.