Get Rich Overnight

Back outside the arena.

As everyone emerged from the cargo container, they found Ayana personally waiting to greet them, an unusually warm smile on her face.

They exchanged looks, realizing they had truly survived that brutal battle. Their bodies relaxed unconsciously, and sincere smiles appeared on their faces.

After all, from any perspective, this operation had been a rare and resounding victory. The Quicksand Team surely would not mistreat its contributors, and a bright future awaited them.

"Not bad."

Ayana singled Baimu out for praise, heavily patting his shoulder with her right hand, her expression clearly saying, You've got what it takes, kid.

His performance had undoubtedly brought glory to the Quicksand Team. Not only had he crushed the Hound Team's arrogance, but he had also influenced the course of the final victory to some extent.

"Thank you for the praise."

Baimu nodded in acknowledgment as the others sent envious looks his way.

Besides Ayana and the Quicksand Team's logistical staff who had come to receive them, the arena exit was crowded with members of other organizations.

They pointed and whispered about the survivors. Most of their gazes were fixed on Baimu, their faces displaying all sorts of indescribable expressions.

After today,

Baimu's name would spread through a small circle in Pyrite Town.

It would not bring him much fame, of course, but it would at least turn him from an unknown grunt into someone who could barely be considered a notable figure in Pyrite Town.

Naturally, Baimu himself was not particularly interested in that.

Making a name for oneself might have been the dream of many low-level thugs, but it had little to do with his own goals.

Besides, the gun always struck the bird that stuck its head out. Drawing too much attention was not a good thing.

He would have to keep a lower profile for the next few months.

As he pondered that, he followed the main group back to their base and had the medical staff examine both himself and his Pokémon.

During the checkup, he learned that Saruwatari had been incredibly fortunate to survive. He and the severely injured members had been sent back to headquarters early.

However, including Otsuka, there were only six wounded survivors. Adding the five who had come out...

Fifteen had set out, but six hours later, only eleven remained alive.

Four young men and women in the prime of their lives had lost their lives forever in this barren desert.

Yet when the medic spoke of it, there was little sadness in his voice. He even excitedly described the Hound Team's casualties next door—rumor had it that only eight of them had survived.

Had he become completely numb after seeing so many lives vanish in gunfights?

Baimu remained silent.

Half an hour later.

The Hound Team sent someone over to reclaim their Pokémon and discuss how they would hand over the Quicksand Team Pokémon they had captured.

"Hm?"

Hearing that, Baimu looked blankly at the logistics worker who had informed him. "They have our Pokémon?"

Hadn't all the Hound Team members been taken out? Their Pokémon should have been with those other four people!

"That's right."

The logistics worker nodded. As if understanding why Baimu was confused, he explained in a low voice, "Before the group restriction was lifted, some Hound Team members had their Pokémon send out the Pokémon they'd captured, as well as their companions' Pokémon.

"Some people even handed their Poké Balls to their Pokémon and had them run away when they felt they were about to lose. Some on our side did the same."

Whoa!

Baimu was stunned. He had genuinely never considered such a move—sending out the spoils beforehand. After all, every Poké Ball Jian had captured was still on him, not one missing.

Did that guy not trust the people outside, so he had not sent them out?

Or had he simply been confident in himself?

Following the logistics worker out of the base, the two entered a large tent.

Inside.

A long table stood in the center. The Hound Team members and the other four teammates sat on opposite sides, apparently having waited for quite some time. At the very end sat several unfamiliar faces. Judging by the insignia on one of them, he was a Quicksand Team squad leader.

Oddly, there was also a Rotom Drone inside, its camera aimed at all of them.

Surveillance?

Or was this being livestreamed too?

Baimu curiously looked at the Rotom Drone. His arrival immediately drew undisguised hostile stares from the Hound Team. Their faces were filled with hatred and resentment, as though they wanted nothing more than to kill him.

He sat down without caring. If looks could kill, he would already have been cut into a thousand pieces. Unfortunately, all they could offer now was the whining of defeated dogs.

The process of reclaiming Pokémon was simple.

Trade, make an offer, then haggle.

First, both sides revealed the other organization's Poké Balls in their possession.

The Hound Team brought out twelve Poké Balls in total. The other four Quicksand Team members brought out eighteen, while Baimu silently took out nine.

"Why are there only nine!? Wait... where are Jian's Pokémon!?"

Someone from the Hound Team sprang to his feet and shouted angrily, "What kind of trick are you playing?"

Baimu spread his hands. "Their whereabouts are unknown."

That flippant gesture instantly set off the Hound Team members.

"Bullshit!"

"You're asking to die! Don't think you can throw your weight around just because you won with a few cheap tricks! I'll kill you!"

They shouted abuse and quickly looked ready to start a fight, but someone seated at the far end stopped them.

"Silence!"

That person slammed his palm on the table, the explosive bangs drowning out the Hound Team's curses. "Don't waste time. If they're gone, they're gone!"

Hearing that, Baimu could not help glancing at him. He noticed that the man wore a suit rather than either team's uniform.

The organizer of this competition?

Still, the man's words clearly carried weight. The Hound Team members soon quieted down, glaring daggers at Baimu as they gritted their teeth. "I want to trade!"

"Agreed."

One of the Quicksand Team members, who had remained silent until then, spoke up.

Trading Pokémon was exactly what it sounded like: a direct one-for-one exchange. Usually, people chose to trade when they had been close to a particular loser and wanted to recover their friend's Pokémon.

In general, trades were more common than buying and selling Pokémon for money.

Baimu watched as his teammates exchanged twelve Hound Team Pokémon for twelve of their own, surprise appearing on his face.

Some of those could have belonged to dead teammates, yet they were still willing to trade for them rather than abandon those Pokémon...

Why?

Did they want to return the Pokémon to the deceased's families? Or would they reclaim the Pokémon first and then sell them, maximizing their profits? After all, recovery prices were usually much lower.

He desperately hoped it was the former, because that at least retained a trace of humanity.

Once the trades were complete, the Hound Team members began making offers for the remaining Pokémon.

Among them,

Baimu had three that he had agreed to sell for a total of 300,000 PokéDollars. The person who had come to reclaim Pokémon for Huo Wu was a chubby girl wearing glasses.

"Here."

Without much hesitation, he casually pushed the three Poké Balls over and took the 300,000 PokéDollars laid out on the table.

The transaction drew everyone's attention.

Quite a few Hound Team members looked suspiciously at the chubby girl, frightening her into hurriedly revealing Huo Wu's name and saying that Baimu's promise had been displayed on the public screen.

—He had actually kept his promise!

This time, everyone in the tent looked at Baimu strangely.

In Pyrite Town, where most people's bottom lines were highly flexible, there was actually someone who treated his word as bond.

Baimu's expression remained calm.

The more one lived in such filth, the more one had to hold fast to the bottom lines one had set. Otherwise, one day, one might be silently and completely assimilated by this filthy crowd.

Huo Wu had indeed helped him. There was no need to break a promise he had made just for 600,000 PokéDollars.

If he really did that, how would he be any different from Jian, who had been completely corrupted by money?

Of course.

He definitely could not sell the remaining six cheaply.

After the bidding, counteroffers, and haggling, Baimu successfully sold them for a total of 2.7 million PokéDollars—450,000 each.

They were really willing to pay!

He could not help clicking his tongue.

As for how much his teammates had earned, he had no interest in paying attention. He silently began calculating how much he was guaranteed to make from this competition.

The tips from the four livestreams had been 550,000, 2.4 million, 1.56 million, and 5.38 million PokéDollars respectively.

Baimu received thirty percent, which came to 2.967 million. Adding the money from selling Pokémon brought it to over 5.96 million, and adding the rewards for defeating four enemies—at least 100,000 each—brought it to over 6.36 million.

He still had twelve Pokémon belonging to his companions. Excluding Otsuka's three and the three belonging to the dead, he could sell the remaining six cheaply for 200,000 each.

Altogether, that came to 7.567 million!

That did not even include the reward for winning.

Holy crap!

This single round had made him absurdly rich!

Baimu stared in surprise at the intangible figures in his palm. A pauper had suddenly become a wealthy man!

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