Making Eye Contact Means Starting a Fight

"You're finally back, Sali. Did you have fun out there?"

Philip's expression instantly softened with affection; he doted on his youngest son the most.

Looking back at the entrance, the newcomer had red lips and a powdered face (scratch that). Though the description was a bit off, the person who arrived was a man, or perhaps a youth, who could be described as "seductive."

Unlike the traditional brown hair of the Bedes, the young man named Sali possessed silver hair like a crescent moon, tied back in a simple ponytail that gave him a dashing and capable air. His travel attire was also quite refined, exuding the dust and weariness of a traveler, making him look like a handsome youth.

That is, if one ignored his soft features and his height of 1.6 meters.

It wouldn't be quite right to call him a sissy, as he had a certain manly spirit, but to call him a tough guy would be a waste of his beautiful features. Therefore, he could only be considered a gracefully handsome youth.

Philip's affection for his son grew the more he looked at him. Sali had perfectly inherited the stunning beauty of his late mother and the astonishing wisdom passed down through the Bede family. At such a young age, he already had his own unique insights into business and could even lead merchant caravans independently. By all appearances, he was the ideal successor to the Bede family.

It was a shame he was illegitimate.

He was the child of Count Philip and a commoner, and only after his mother passed away five years ago was he brought to the Bede household.

Out of guilt towards Sali's mother, Philip subconsciously favored him, which unexpectedly led to Sali being resented by his two elder brothers. Even the servants developed a negative impression of him in private.

Thus, Sali frequently traveled for business after his coming-of-age ceremony, rarely returning home. As a result, he had indeed built a rather profitable merchant caravan.

"How much did you earn this time? Come, share your joy with your father," Philip greeted him warmly.

"Same as usual, nothing much," Sali said, standing on tiptoe to hang his coat on the rack. He noticed the reports on the table. "I heard there was an anomaly in that dungeon. Have you finished exploring it, Father?"

"Heh, this one might be tough," Philip chuckled, pushing a thick stack of reports towards Sali. "Here are the reports from the experts and adventurers hired by the family, along with some scattered intelligence. Take a look and help me figure out how we can crack this tough nut?"

"Is it really as dangerous as the rumors say?"

Sali picked up the reports and began to read. The corners of his mouth, which had been slightly upturned, gradually flattened, and he finally put the reports down with a blank expression, still frowning slightly.

Seeing Sali, whose intelligence was on par with his own, wear such an expression, Philip felt a strange sense of happiness. After all, he didn't want to be the only one with a headache.

"So, is it difficult? Do you have no idea where to start?"

"It's indeed different from what I imagined,"

Sali rubbed the jeweled ring on his right hand, his brow furrowed. "It's too simple."

"What?" Philip wondered if he had misheard. "Too simple?"

His intuition told him that his son might actually have a way to break through the situation.

"Do you remember the letter I wrote to you, Father? I said I met some friends on my travels and wanted to invite them over,"

"Don't tell me your friends can…"

"That's right. I haven't told you their identities yet, have I?"

Sali smiled slightly, a look of confidence on his face.

"They're [Brave Heroes]."

"Achoo–"

Gong Qiying sneezed violently, scratching his head and muttering to himself, "Can ghouls catch colds?"

He stared intently at the crystal ball, watching how the adventurers cleared the dungeon had become his favorite pastime. No television show from his previous life could compare to its entertainment value.

Among the adventurers, there were always some marvelous individuals who cleared dungeons in the most imaginative ways.

One used a flying pet to light a beacon in his stead, unlocking the fortress gate without taking a single hit.

Another used some kind of magic to transform into a merman and infiltrated a group of monsters. However, after lighting two beacons, he was surrounded by mermen and only then realized he had transformed into a female merman, while all the mermen in the dungeon were male.

The result was that the adventurer, unable to bear the humiliation, committed suicide.

Someone discovered that when skeletons fell apart, there were two possible outcomes: some always landed with their skulls facing up, while others landed face down. By combining the two, they had created a perpetual motion machine!

Unfortunately, the rotation speed was so fast that it extinguished the soul fire within the skull, and the skeleton monster died.

Aside from these eccentric methods, there was one type of person who was always present – the brute force clearers.

The most typical example was an adventurer with a trace of giant blood. This berserker, standing about three meters tall, drank a bottle of rage potion and, wielding two axes, charged from the teleportation gate all the way to the fortress entrance. He went on a frenzied chopping spree at the gate, almost breaking through by sheer force, scaring Gong Qiying so much that he considered summoning the Crucible Knights to deal with him.

In the end, it was the valiant army of curse frogs that dealt with him using their curse spray.

Curse frogs are truly the greatest creatures in this world. He clasped his hands together.

"I really should add more monsters with instant-kill mechanics. Brute force players are too terrifying,"

Gong Qiying's gaze shifted, and upon seeing a certain scene, he suddenly exclaimed, "Huh?"

"What is this guy doing?"

The figure on the screen was somewhat familiar: a slender build, pale face, refined clothing. It was none other than Verde.

"This guy's still alive?" Gong Qiying remembered him. He had initially thought the guy was just a generic, arrogant young master, but he was surprised he had survived this long. He had entered the dungeon as soon as it opened, and now, almost as it was closing, he still hadn't died or left?

Just surviving this long as a young master wasn't that surprising. What astonished Gong Qiying was what the guy was holding: something round, with a red and white color scheme…

Wasn't that a Poké Ball?!

"I remember hiding the Poké Ball in a very secluded bush, guarded by Bulbasaur. How could he have gotten it?"

Well, a Poké Ball wasn't that big of a deal; with enough luck, one could obtain it. But…

"Go, Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

Verde stood with one hand on his hip, throwing the Poké Ball forcefully toward a wandering zombie soldier not far away, striking a rather flashy pose.

The next second, a flash of light appeared, and a Pikachu actually leaped out of the ball!

"Pika Pika--chu!"

Yellow electricity surged out, instantly roasting the zombie soldier until it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. With a thump, it fell to the ground, undeniably dead.

"Well done, Pikachu, you truly are my partner, young master!"

"Pika,"

Although Verde looked excited, Pikachu ignored him and hopped directly onto his head.

Wait, how could he have captured a Pikachu? He doesn't look like he could win at all.

Gong Qiying couldn't figure out what was wrong. He had expected Pokémon to be captured by Adventurers, but he hadn't expected a pampered young master, who looked incapable of even lifting a chicken, to capture one.

Could this Verde be some kind of "one-ball wonder" who could capture Pokémon even at full health?

Furthermore, the moment he captured Pikachu, they could cooperate in battle. This level of synergy felt so strong that even if Pikachu were instantly defeated the next second, it would still stand up to avoid making its trainer sad.

This person is a promising talent, at least when it comes to training Pokémon.

Gong Qiying suddenly wanted to battle Verde as well.