Chapter 198: The Strong Do As They Please
Yu Zhonggang was actually quite pitiful. He had just advanced to Heavenly King Level and was at the height of his spirits. With Yu Zhonggang’s strength, if he hadn’t gotten involved in this high-end world matter, the other side would definitely have turned the Yu Family into a wealthy family.
“So that’s why they say, don’t force your way into circles that aren’t yours.” Lu Li sincerely sighed.
What Lu Li was more curious about was the Alliance’s compensation to the Yu Family.
“What did the Alliance say? Gym Leader Yu sacrificed for the Alliance.”
Yao Yifei replied, “They permitted Yu Zhonggang’s descendants to enter the Nandu Treasury once, limited to the outer two layers.”
Hearing this, Lu Li was genuinely happy for Yu Lili and sighed, “Looks like the Alliance still has some shame.”
Yao Yifei explained meaningfully, “If it weren’t for your previous incident, the Alliance’s compensation this time would indeed be fine, but with your precedent, Gym Leader Yu’s compensation feels a bit lacking.”
Lu Li had directly entered the core layer of the Treasury before. What was his loss? It was merely the Alliance leaking his personal information.
But Yu Zhonggang had put his life on the line, and he was even a Heavenly King Level Trainer. Yet the compensation his descendants received was not even as good as Lu Li’s for the information leak.
Which Gym Leader wouldn’t feel upset about this?
“Because of this matter, many Gym Leaders are dissatisfied with the Alliance’s compensation to Yu Zhonggang,” Yao Yifei added.
Lu Li nodded. As the saying goes, everything looks bad when compared. Without him as a comparison, the Alliance’s compensation to Yu Zhonggang would absolutely have been fine.
Those Gym Leaders were also fighting for their own rights. We risk our lives for the Alliance, yet the compensation for dying is not even as good as that for a rookie trainer’s information leak? Who wouldn’t feel upset about that?
Yao Yifei continued, “But fortunately, the Lei Family acted like humans, so the dissatisfied voices from those Gym Leaders were suppressed.”
“This is related to the Lei Family too?” Lu Li grew even more curious.
Yao Yifei countered matter-of-factly, “Of course. Gym Leader Yu sacrificed to save the Lei Family’s young master. How could the Lei Family not offer compensation?”
“What compensation?” Lu Li was even more curious.
Yao Yifei: “An Aggron Pokémon Egg.”
“Hiss~”
Hearing this, Lu Li drew in a sharp breath.
Aggron!
I know that’s Aggron!
Below deities are pseudo-legendaries. Before human society entered the Industrial Age, Aggron was an excellent Pokémon, but it absolutely couldn’t be called the most excellent.
After humans entered the Industrial Age and a magical item—Composite Metal—was discovered, Aggron’s status instantly rose to an outrageous level.
Born with a high base stat total of 535, plus its noble Dragon Attribute, Aggron has combat power right from birth, and it’s particularly strong.
Plus, after evolving with Composite Metal, Aggron can evolve into Aggron.
Aggron! A powerful Pokémon with a base stat total as high as 600.
In this world, Pokémon with a base stat total reaching 600 are generally called pseudo-legendaries.
And Aggron is a pseudo-legendary, and one without a long growth stage at that.
As everyone knows, pseudo-legendary Pokémon are all late-stage bloomers, but Aggron is the exception—it starts off dominant.
A base stat total as high as 535 is something only the final evolution forms of starter Pokémon have, and it even has an evolution stage. Compared to normal pseudo-legendaries, while Aggron lacks one evolution stage, it trades that for being dominant from the start.
“I remember Rayne died, right? This compensation from the Lei Family is way too overpowered,” Lu Li exclaimed in amazement.
“But Gym Leader Yu died too. This Pokémon egg isn’t just a reward; it’s also Yu Zhonggang’s consolation payment,” Yao Yifei reminded in a somber tone.
Lu Li: “…”
Lu Li, who had originally felt a bit envious, instantly felt no envy anymore.
To be fair, trading an Aggron Pokémon Egg for the life of a Heavenly King Level Trainer—the life of a Heavenly King Level Trainer isn’t that cheap.
Thinking of this, Lu Li lost interest in the topic. The unenthusiastic Lu Li changed the subject and asked, “Nothing happened at home, right?”
Yao Yifei replied instantly, “No, and the flowers at home are growing quite well.”
“That’s good.” Lu Li nodded.
After chatting with Yao Yifei for a while, Lu Li quietly hung up the call.
“Uncle Yu, why did you have to do that?” Lu Li sighed softly.
Through his conversation with Yao Yifei, Lu Li had a general idea of the Alliance’s attitude toward Yu Zhonggang’s sacrifice.
Yu Zhonggang had chosen to die on the wrong side, and most importantly, he had picked the wrong side.
If Yu Zhonggang had died guarding the Ecological Park or the Treasury, Yu Lili would have at least received a divine item, or even more implicit benefits.
But the mistake was that Yu Zhonggang died at No. 1 Competition Arena. The battle there couldn’t be said to have nothing to do with the Alliance, but it was also somewhat unrelated.
“But when the Lei Family gave compensation to Yu Zhonggang, didn’t they investigate his background? Giving an Aggron Pokémon Egg like this is inexplicable,” Lu Li thought, frowning in confusion.
Yu Lili follows the Water Attribute path. If the Lei Family had done any background check, they would know the compensation was for Yu Lili, so it should definitely be Water Attribute.
Now that this situation has arisen, there’s only one possibility.
The Lei Family couldn’t have given compensation without doing background research, so the Lei Family’s compensation must have ulterior motives, or rather, full of malice?
This was just Lu Li’s initial guess. After all, the Lei Family’s compensation was indeed too abnormal, but Yu Zhonggang had given his life for their Lei Family.
Even if they didn’t want to compensate, they wouldn’t go so far as to harm them, and especially not in this way that harms others without benefiting themselves.
An Aggron Pokémon Egg is very precious.
Shaking his head, Lu Li stopped thinking about these matters and entered a cultivation state.
After an unknown amount of time cultivating, a knock at the door forced Lu Li to stop.
After opening the door, Lu Li saw Yu Lili with a gloomy expression.
After leading Yu Lili into the room, Lu Li poured her a cup of tea.
“How did it go? Is Aggron coming back?” Lu Li asked hurriedly.
Yu Lili said through gritted teeth, “No! Aggron was taken away by the Lei Family.”
Hearing this, Lu Li frowned.
Why would the Lei Family take Aggron?
“Do you know why the Lei Family took Aggron?” Lu Li asked hurriedly.
Yu Lili: “People from the Lei Family said Aggron was a firsthand witness to that battle, and they need to take it back for questioning.”
Lu Li sneered, “Excuse. If they really wanted to understand the battle situation, Rayne had guardians with him, and those people didn’t die in the battle.”
Hearing this, Yu Lili’s expression changed, and she asked in panic, “You mean the Lei Family is deliberately withholding my dad’s Aggron?”
“Definitely deliberate.” Lu Li nodded matter-of-factly.
“Why?”
Yu Lili looked at Lu Li in disbelief. Her father had clearly sacrificed to rescue them, so even if the Lei Family wasn’t grateful, they shouldn’t repay kindness with enmity, right?
Moreover, the Lei Family couldn’t possibly lack a single Heavenly King Level Aggron.
Lu Li said, “I don’t know the specifics, but the Lei Family definitely has bad intentions.”
Stunned and at a loss by Lu Li’s analysis, Yu Lili asked in full panic, “What do we do?”
“Aggron is my dad’s Pokémon. I must get it back!” Yu Lili muttered to herself, as if encouraging herself or seeking help from Lu Li.
But facing the colossal Lei Family, Yu Lili felt mostly despair and panic in her heart at this moment.
She couldn’t understand why the Lei Family would repay kindness with enmity when her father had clearly sacrificed for them.
Yu Lili wasn’t a high-end political player, so she had no idea about the logic behind the Lei Family’s actions.
“In that battle, did Yu Zhonggang offend the Lei Family? Did he desert in battle? Or did he mean well but cause trouble?” Lu Li pondered thoughtfully.
Noble families care about face. The Lei Family had no need to play this repay-kindness-with-enmity card, let alone target a mere Yu Family.
As Yu Lili said, Yu Zhonggang had died for the Lei Family.
At this moment, Lu Li didn’t know how to comfort the girl in front of him, as he was powerless in such matters too.
The Lei Family was a colossal entity in Yu Lili’s eyes, and it was no less so in his.
Although he had two big backers, they were backers, not his subordinates. He couldn’t ask Ekaterina and the others to confront the Lei Family over this.
Moreover, Ekaterina and the others wouldn’t confront the Lei Family over this, as great families all prioritize benefits.
Qu Suxin secretly dispatching Champion Level Pokémon for his protection was probably their bottom line.
The room instantly fell into an eerie silence.
The Lei Family loomed like a great mountain, weighing on the hearts of the youth and the girl.
The youth’s helplessness and the girl’s grief and despair seemed to intertwine at this moment.
After a long silence, the girl, as if resigned to her fate, said, “I’m going back today.”
Lu Li asked, “What did Aunt say?”
“I called my mom from the Pokémon Center, and she told me to come back today.”
Lu Li nodded.
“Need me to see you off?”
“No need. You have a match tomorrow.”
Yu Lili shook her head, refusing Lu Li.
“The Pokémon Center was rebuilt so quickly?” Lu Li was somewhat surprised.
“No, how could it be that fast.”
The most severely damaged parts of the Pokémon Center were the various competition arenas. Even with magical creatures like Pokémon in this world, rebuilding the Pokémon Center would take at least half a month.
The college entrance examination students clearly couldn’t wait that long, so the Grand Festival location had to be changed.
Yu Lili added, “If nothing unexpected happens, you’ll have to leave the Ancient Capital today too.”
“So where did the Alliance move the match to?” Lu Li asked puzzled.
Yu Lili: “Zhongdu.”
Lu Li raised his eyebrows and complained directly, “If they’d done this earlier, yesterday’s incident wouldn’t have happened.”
Zhongdu is the center of Jiuzhou and also the location of the Jiuzhou Alliance Headquarters.
Most importantly, it houses the Alliance’s Torterra Legion and the legendary Elder Council.
With Zhongdu’s defensive forces, forget a few Champions—even Master Level would get stuck there.
“The Jiuzhou Alliance lost a lot of face this time, so they had to move the match to Zhongdu. If there’s another problem, the President might have to step down,” Yu Lili said mockingly.
Lu Li nodded in deep agreement.
Even though the crisis was over, the impact from yesterday’s battle was far from finished.
After Yu Lili left, Ekaterina took the initiative to find Lu Li.
Ekaterina asked, “That little girl went back?”
Lu Li nodded.
“Stay away from that little girl. The Yu Family is in trouble now,” Ekaterina reminded meaningfully.
Lu Li looked at Ekaterina curiously and asked, “You know the reason?”
Ekaterina sneered, “I have a rough guess, but the Lei Family definitely won’t target the Yu Family anymore. Other families might, though.”
Lu Li nodded and didn’t ask further.
If the Lei Family stopped targeting the Yu Family, then the Yu Family would at most lose some family assets this time.
After all, Yu Zhonggang’s Pokémon were still there. Though the strongest main force Aggron was gone, Yu Lili had five Gym Level Pokémon, plus the second tier Pokémon with Liu Li.
The Yu Family was still one of the strongest families in Qingfeng City.
“One more thing: the new match venue is in Zhongdu. I can’t enter Zhongdu, so I probably can’t go with you.”
There was a hint of regret in Ekaterina’s tone.
Lu Li nodded. He had expected this.
Non-Jiuzhou Alliance Heavenly King Level Pokémon are not allowed in Zhongdu, not even diplomatic delegations.
…………
After rushing home exhausted, the moment Yu Lili saw Jin Fengjiao, she finally broke down.
The mother and daughter hugged and cried in the living room, and the servants in the gym quietly stayed away from the living room.
After her emotions gradually calmed, Yu Lili noticed the incubator on the table.
Yu Lili said angrily, “Is this the compensation from the Lei Family?”
Jin Fengjiao looked at the incubator with complex eyes, then sighed.
“Yes, this is what your dad traded his life for.” Jin Fengjiao said self-mockingly.
“A Steel-type pseudo-legendary, and an Aggron at that. If only your dad were still alive,” Jin Fengjiao sighed softly.
If Yu Zhonggang were still alive, he might have nurtured the Aggron to Heavenly King Level before age 60.
But now, this Pokémon egg in front of her was a poison wrapped in honey.
A pity to discard, endless trouble to keep.
If they gave it up, Jin Fengjiao really couldn’t bear to.
Aggron! If they could somehow get an evolution item, even without a trainer, Aggron could grow to Heavenly King Level on its own talent.
Yu Lili narrowed her eyes and asked, “Mom, what do you plan to do with this egg?”
Looking at the pseudo-legendary Pokémon egg before her, Yu Lili’s first thought was Lu Li. Lu Li followed the breeder path, and Aggron could completely be entrusted to him for nurturing.
“Your grandfather found out about this and has come over more than once,” Jin Fengjiao said leisurely, looking at the Pokémon egg.
Hearing this, Yu Lili frowned and asked, “What does Grandfather’s family mean?”
“Your grandfather says you’re on the Water Type trainer path, so this Pokémon egg is useless to you. The Jin Family is a Steel Attribute family, and… Jin Huang is also your father’s personal disciple.”
