The Shadow Team Appears

Now that Lin Yan had found his own path to becoming a Trainer, the pressure on the family had eased considerably. This put Mother Lin much more at ease.

"A professional Trainer?"

Ye Lan frowned. Mianzhou was a small place, and there were fewer than five professional Trainers here. Even someone like Liu Yan had been invited back from another city by Principal Liu Qingshan.

Lin Yan had happened to run into a professional Trainer in the heart of the black market, and not only that, the person wanted to take him on as an apprentice?

"I don't understand these things either, but the child made his own choice. I know his temperament, so I let him go. He said he needed to train for a while and told us not to worry."

Although Mother Lin had been quite worried at first, Lin Yan had told her that the family would not need to send him money during this period, since his master had already arranged everything for him. Only then did she start to believe it.

"Oh, right. A-Yan also left a box for you. He said it had to be given to you when you came."

With that, Mother Lin got up, retrieved a box from Lin Yan's room, and handed it to Ye Lan.

Puzzled, Ye Lan opened the box. Inside was a savings card and a note.

"Ye Lan, while I'm away, please take care of my mother for me. Father often works out of town, and I'm afraid she might suddenly fall ill at home with no one to look after her.

"There's thirty thousand in this savings card, earned from my assessment. Consider it your payment. It isn't much, but I hope it can help Snivy a little.

"Also, don't worry about me. We'll meet again someday. —Your friend, Lin Yan"

Seeing the handwriting on the note, Ye Lan felt somewhat relieved. At least Lin Yan was still alive and well.

Turning the note over, he found the password for the savings card.

After thinking it over for a while, Ye Lan realized that Lin Yan most likely had some unspeakable difficulty that had forced him to drop out and leave.

At first, Ye Lan had suspected that the so-called professional Trainer had learned that Lin Yan possessed two starter Pokémon and grown greedy.

But if that were truly the case, the man could clearly have killed him and taken everything at the black market's center. There would have been no evidence afterward, so there was absolutely no need to let Lin Yan return and do something that could so easily expose him.

Even official personnel would have had a hard time searching the black market's center. The existence of the black market was something everyone tacitly accepted.

If someone disappeared there, the authorities could do nothing about it beyond conducting a token investigation.

Having worked through the matter, Ye Lan smiled, took the savings card from the box, and handed it to Mother Lin.

"Auntie, don't worry. Lin Yan told me what was going on. If you can't reach him by phone, he's probably training in the wilderness. You know how Trainers often go into the wild to catch Pokémon. With his master leading him, nothing dangerous will happen."

"These thirty thousand are the reward Lin Yan received from the school assessment. Even though the loans can be paid off now, Lin Yan said this money could help with household expenses."

Mother Lin stared at the savings card in her hand, unable to react for a moment. After quite a while, she rubbed her sore eyes and said, "A-Yan has really grown up. He can even bring home this much money now."

"Of course. Lin Yan was one of the best in school, so it's perfectly normal for a professional Trainer to take a liking to him. But things like this can easily make people jealous. Auntie, just tell others that Lin Yan has gone traveling."

Mother Lin nodded repeatedly. Exactly! Their family's circumstances were like this, yet they wanted to raise a Trainer. Quite a few neighbors had pointed fingers at them.

They all lived in the same old neighborhood, yet after hearing that her son had entered the elite class, they still looked down on their family in every way. They were obviously just jealous!

Seeing that Mother Lin had finally set her mind at ease, Ye Lan took out his phone. After adding her as a SuperChat friend, he sent her the savings card password and his phone number.

"Auntie, if anything happens while Lin Yan isn't home, just call me. I'll definitely come over right away."

After that, he told Mother Lin a few more stories about Lin Yan's achievements at school. Once he had politely declined her dinner invitation, he headed toward the neighborhood exit.

Looking at the sky, which had already darkened completely, Ye Lan suddenly wanted to go home and see his own mother too.

"Snivy, do you want to eat Mom's braised pork?"

The moment he spoke, the Poké Ball at Ye Lan's waist shook violently.

Ye Lan laughed. "Let's go! We're heading home right now!"

As Ye Lan's figure gradually disappeared at the end of the road, two figures suddenly appeared at the entrance of the old neighborhood.

One was tall and wrapped in a black robe, his face impossible to make out. The other was thin and somewhat youthful-looking, but his eyes were filled with determination.

Suddenly, the streetlights came on and illuminated them. The thin figure was none other than the missing Lin Yan!

And beside them, a yellow Pokémon holding spoons in both hands and floating in midair suddenly appeared as well.

If Ye Lan had been there, he would have recognized it at once. It was Alakazam, a rare Pokémon considered among the finest of Psychic-types!

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Who would've thought a kid like you, quiet as a stuffed gourd, could make a friend like that?"

"I clearly agreed to let you leave your mother some money, but you unexpectedly refused. So this was what you were waiting for."

When Lin Yan remained silent, the black-robed man licked his lips, amusement glinting in his smile.

"Not answering? Fine. Alakazam just told me that your friend's Pokémon is Snivy, one of Unova's starter Pokémon, right?"

"From the way he acted in front of your mother, he's a smart one too. What do you think if I also..."

"You dare!" Lin Yan suddenly whipped around, his eyes blazing as he glared at the black-robed man beside him. His right hand instinctively reached for the Poké Ball at his waist.

In an instant, powerful pressure bore down on Lin Yan's shoulders. He dropped directly to one knee, but his eyes remained locked on the black-robed man.

The floating Alakazam spun the spoons in its hands, watching the struggling human on the ground with great interest.

"Good, very good! I like that look in your eyes. What you lack is exactly this kind of ruthlessness!"

The black-robed man bent down and lightly patted Lin Yan's cheek. After letting out a strange laugh, he continued, "You don't need to worry. In our Shadow Team, every deacon only gets one recommendation slot."

"As long as you survive the trial on Shadow Demon Island, not only will you receive the training you deserve, but even curing your mother's illness won't be impossible."

"But if you die on that island and waste my slot, then your friend, your family..."

With that, the black-robed man suddenly burst into laughter. It was sharp and piercing, like a demon's laughter rising from hell, sending chills through the air.

Several Pidgey perched on a utility pole were startled into flight.

"Who's there?!"

In the guardhouse by the neighborhood entrance, the elderly security guard heard the commotion and hurried out with a flashlight to investigate.

But when his flashlight shone over, there was already no one beneath the streetlight.

"Strange. I clearly thought I saw two people standing there just now?" The old man scratched the few remaining strands of hair on his head in confusion.

Then, as though he had remembered something, the hunched old man suddenly seemed possessed by a long-distance runner and dashed back into the guardhouse in just a few strides.

"I'd heard old neighborhoods were prone to Ghost-type Pokémon, but I never thought it was true!"