A generous reward

Professor Qian recalled Alakazam, and a smile appeared on his face for the first time. "It's all right. I may have been a little harsh earlier because I needed to be thorough in my work, but now I fully believe what you said, Ye Qing."

He took two thin envelopes from his briefcase and pushed them toward Ye Qing, saying politely, "This is your reward from the Pokémon League. Please accept it."

Ye Qing did not take them. Instead, he glanced at Zhao Xinran beside him and asked, "Teacher, wasn't protection what we originally asked for?"

Before Zhao Xinran could answer, Professor Qian hurried to explain, "I understand that. Naturally, the Pokémon League will provide protection for someone as talented as you, Ye Qing.

"But our manpower is limited, after all. You'll certainly be traveling around the world in the future, and our people can't follow you everywhere. I'm sure you wouldn't want someone watching you every moment, either, so we can only provide assistance here in Shanhai City."

Only then did Ye Qing accept the reward. He understood what Professor Qian meant, but that was exactly what he had wanted anyway.

As long as his family was protected, that was enough. With his current strength, he could only operate around Shanhai City, and by the time he ventured farther afield, he would no longer need the Pokémon League's protection.

Besides, this was only a precaution. Perhaps Team R had not sent anyone to assassinate him at all.

Professor Qian smiled. "The information you provided was very useful to us, Ye Qing. Do you happen to know anything else?"

Ye Qing had long expected that question, but only a fool would keep talking. If he told them everything, his value would plummet.

"Not for now. Maybe that person will tell me something else one day."

With that, Ye Qing shut his mouth. No matter how Professor Qian tried to coax him, he would not say another word.

Professor Qian packed his things and stood up. "All right, then. I'll make the security arrangements."

Ye Qing sat in his chair. With the Pokémon League's assurance, he felt certain his family's safety would no longer be a problem.

He had plenty of secrets of his own, too, so having someone follow him closely would not suit him. How could he do anything if he had no privacy left?

Principal Jiang stood and caught Professor Qian by the arm with a smile. "Qian, it's not often you visit our school. Let me show you around so you can see what our teaching facilities are like."

Zhao Xinran pursed her lips, knowing exactly what was going on. Their principal was hardly interested in introducing the school-he clearly wanted to take the opportunity to drum up some funding.

Ye Qing glanced at the two envelopes in his hands. How much money could these hold? Judging by the thickness, probably no more than five hundred...

Zhao Xinran walked over to Ye Qing and leaned her shapely backside against the edge of the table. Looking down at him, she asked, "Well? I didn't mislead you, did I?"

Ye Qing looked up and waved the envelopes with a smile. "Thank you, Teacher. If there's enough money in here, I'll treat you to a meal."

Zhao Xinran had intended to refuse, but then she thought she might be able to glean more information from Ye Qing. She immediately changed her answer. "...All right. It's a promise, then."

Zhao Xinran stretched, showing off her perfect figure to the fullest.

"All right, head home. I'll go see what the principal and Professor Qian are discussing."

"Okay."

The lovely sight before him made Ye Qing steal a few extra glances. After answering her, he headed for the door.

Holding the two envelopes, Ye Qing felt torn. The suspense was killing him, like opening a mystery box; he kept wanting to tear them open and see what was inside.

He looked around, but there were plenty of surveillance cameras in the conference room. With no other choice, he suppressed his curiosity and waited until he got home.

"Mom, I'm home," Ye Qing called out as he opened the door.

"Ooh-ah!"

Chimchar followed his example and offered a greeting as well.

"No one's here?"

Ye Qing walked around the house and discovered that nobody was home.

After sending his mother a message on WeChat, Ye Qing went into his room and eagerly opened the envelopes.

"A bank card and a gold membership card for the Safari Zone?"

"Nice!"

Ye Qing grew excited as he looked at the two items in his hands.

One hundred thousand Pokémon Coins. The PIN was six zeros.

After memorizing what was written on the slip, Ye Qing put the bank card away.

It was neither a huge sum nor a small one. It seemed the Pokémon League's cash reward was mostly a gesture; the real reward lay in those verbal promises.

Holding the gleaming gold Safari Zone card, Ye Qing looked it up on his phone.

It was a special membership card for Shanhai City's Safari Zone.

There were three membership tiers: standard, silver, and gold.

The standard card allowed one entry into the outer area each year and permitted the holder to catch only one Pokémon there. It cost five thousand.

The silver card allowed three entries per year and granted access to the Wild Area's middle section. Each person could catch only two Pokémon a year. It cost ten thousand.

Compared with the other two cards, the gold card offered far better benefits.

First, there was no limit on the number of visits, and the holder could catch up to four Pokémon. Second, it granted access to the VIP core section within the Wild Area.

This section lay at the center of the Wild Area and was the best part of the entire site. The Pokémon there had all been carefully selected by the Pokémon League before being released.

However, gold cards were not sold to the public. To obtain one, applicants needed not only the relevant proof of assets and identity, but also to have contributed to the Pokémon League. In short, everyone who could get one was either wealthy or influential.

"Could there be Feebas here?"

The more Ye Qing thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Milotic were rare because Prism Scales could not be manufactured, not because Feebas were particularly scarce.

Prism Scales were special items formed when scales naturally shed by adult Milotic weathered the wind and rain of the natural world. It was said that a Milotic might not shed even one such scale in its entire lifetime.

As for the other method of evolving Milotic in the games, Ye Qing did not know whether it would work in reality. Feebas really were ugly, after all. How could something like a fixed Beauty stat exist? Besides, getting a Feebas to believe it was breathtakingly beautiful... that was far too unrealistic.

He looked up information about the Safari Zone on his phone. It was located in a forest on the outskirts of the city, and countless Pokémon had been released there since its construction.

They mated and reproduced inside, and wild Pokémon occasionally wandered in as well, so even the administrators could not say exactly how many species lived there.

If he wanted to catch his second Pokémon, he would still need to get a certificate from the school. After all, he was not yet a Pokémon Trainer and could not catch wild Pokémon at will.

Holding the gold card, Ye Qing could not shake the itch to use it. It was like buying a new game console only for your mother to forbid you from playing-you would naturally try every possible way to sneak in a little gaming time.

That was exactly how Ye Qing felt now. Although Chimchar was not yet strong enough to handle things alone, he was on the verge of evolving. All he needed was the right opportunity to become Monferno.

Whenever Ye Qing thought about the adorable Pokémon in the Safari Zone, he grew restless, tossing and turning on his bed.