Chapter 141: The True Chaos Zone
After introducing Milotic, Lu Li eagerly looked at Ekaterina.
I’ve introduced most of my Pokémon here; what about yours?
Ekaterina knew Lu Li’s little scheme, so she also released her remaining Pokémon.
After six beams of white light flashed, different Pokémon appeared one by one.
Jynx, Ice Ninetales, Cloyster, Lapras, Walrein, Kyurem.
Seeing this lineup, Lu Li thoughtfully said, “Dual-type trainer?”
Ekaterina smiled and nodded, saying, “That’s normal. Dual-type trainers have an advantage over single-type trainers, so it’s normal for me to choose this path.”
Lu Li thought it made sense too. In fact, in the Pokémon World, powerful trainers generally all follow the dual-type path.
Lu Li didn’t rashly activate his Spiritual Vision Eye, but instead examined the six Pokémon with normal eyes.
Each Pokémon was at Gym Level, especially that Kyurem, which was almost Heavenly King Level.
Lu Li was certain that this powerful Kyurem could definitely break through to Heavenly King Level within a year.
Noticing that Lu Li’s gaze lingered longest on Kyurem, Ekaterina gently patted Kyurem’s thigh.
As for why she patted Kyurem’s thigh, it was naturally because Kyurem was too tall, and Ekaterina could only reach there.
Kyurem in the game was about 2.1 meters tall, but the one in front of them reached an astonishing 3.4 meters.
Lu Li noticed that Dragon Type Pokémon in the real world seemed larger than those in the game.
Moreover, Lu Li also noticed that Ekaterina hadn’t released Dragonite, which meant that Dragonite was really just for transportation.
“Kyurem is my Starter Pokémon,” Ekaterina explained.
Hearing this, Lu Li suddenly understood. No wonder Kyurem, as a Pseudo-Legendary, was the strongest in the team—it had been nurtured the longest.
Normally, Pseudo-Legendaries grow slowly; their high growth ceiling comes at the cost of growth speed.
Ekaterina teased, “How about it? You should believe now that I can protect you well in the Secret Realm, right?”
Lu Li nodded.
The Secret Realm deep within the Qingyun Mountain Range was just a medium-sized Secret Realm. With Ekaterina’s strength, as long as they didn’t provoke the Secret Realm Overlord, safety shouldn’t be an issue.
After fully understanding Ekaterina’s strength, Lu Li felt much more relaxed.
…………
Since there were guests at home, Lu Li personally cooked dinner.
Ekaterina was surprised once again.
Ekaterina sincerely praised, “Your culinary skill is absolutely Master Level.”
As the princess of the Ekaterina family, she believed she had tasted all the delicacies in the world, but Lu Li used his skills to tell her she had been overthinking it.
“What to do… I suddenly really want to tie you up and take you back as my private chef,” Ekaterina joked.
“Don’t! I only cook occasionally at home; usually, it’s Wei He’s job,” Lu Li quickly raised his hands in surrender.
If she got tied up by Ekaterina over such a ridiculous excuse, she’d really be the biggest sucker.
“Ah!”
Ekaterina exclaimed, then objected, “I won’t allow you to do that! You’re wasting your talent.”
Lu Li: “…”
The dinner was enjoyable for host and guests alike, especially Wei He and Bao Bao, who were very grateful for Ekaterina’s arrival at that moment.
Lu Li almost never entered the kitchen normally, after all, he had too many things to do.
“Right.”
Suddenly remembering something, Lu Li instructed, “These next couple of days, someone might come to deliver a batch of Steel. When the time comes, trouble Wei He to receive it.”
Wei He nodded.
She didn’t ask Lu Li what he needed the Steel for, since there was an outsider present.
Lu Li asked again, “What about the ranch matter? What did Ai Ke say?”
“Ai Ke has agreed, but…”
Wei He added a bit embarrassedly, “But Ai Ke’s meaning is that he hopes to lead the Wildfire Gang to join us.”
“How many kids are in that group?” Lu Li frowned and asked.
Wei He quickly answered, “Including those with mobility issues, the Wildfire Gang has 20 people total, with only eight able-bodied, and two trainers.”
Lu Li nodded.
He had no doubts about this data; after all, the Wildfire Gang’s predecessor was originally an orphanage, and those who turned 16 basically went out to find work on their own.
Ai Ke only needed to care for the kids younger than him.
As for why there were so many with mobility issues.
In this world, there were no families that truly couldn’t afford food; those who ended up in orphanages were generally congenitally disabled or had families that suffered a change.
“I can’t accept everyone from the Wildfire Gang. I can only guarantee they won’t starve here, and those who work for me will have jobs,” Lu Li cautiously promised.
He didn’t yet have the qualification to pity others; letting Ai Ke bring them to Golden Chicken Village was already his biggest concession.
He couldn’t pay wages to everyone in the Wildfire Gang, after all; he wasn’t running a charity.
“That’s already enough,” Wei He said excitedly.
Ai Ke’s side had meant hoping to bring his siblings here to work.
“The ranch will hire four hands, then tell Ai Ke that if I hire more in the future, we’ll prioritize them,” Lu Li added.
Ekaterina listened to their conversation with great interest.
Already considering building his own power at just 16?
Ekaterina admired inwardly.
After the orchard is operational, he can start training trainers; once the Pokémon Ranch is established, he can nurture more rookie trainers, plus Lu Li’s breeding talent.
Ekaterina felt that if she were just an ordinary person, she would definitely join Lu Li’s ranks.
“That Wildfire Gang is pretty lucky,” Ekaterina remarked.
This wasn’t modesty; it was what Ekaterina truly thought.
For a third-rate gang to follow Lu Li was absolutely Ai Ke’s family ancestors’ graves smoking green.
“It’s mainly because after the ranch is built, I won’t be able to manage it alone, so I’m thinking of hiring people,” Lu Li explained with a smile.
Lu Li didn’t want Ekaterina to know his ambition.
“I know.”
Ekaterina smiled and nodded.
Any trainer with a bit of ambition would consider building their own power, though most only started thinking about it during their university travels.
Lu Li was preparing ahead of time.
But thinking about it, it made sense; Lu Li was a rare trainer who was both a breeder and a trainer, and he didn’t need a breeder’s assistance to achieve great things.
After dinner and chatting a bit more, Lu Li took his notebook back to the bedroom.
Lu Li was woken up in the morning by Bidoof’s cry.
Considering they were going to the Secret Realm, Lu Li had chosen to sleep soundly last night instead of cultivating all night.
As soon as Lu Li went downstairs, he saw Ekaterina packing things in the living room.
Hearing the sound of footsteps on the stairs, Ekaterina said without turning her head, “I specially had someone send over a batch of ingredients; they can be used perfectly for the Secret Realm trip.”
Lu Li rolled his eyes at Ekaterina and complained, “You really think of me as a chef? I just said I’d help you find that Pokémon Egg; cooking isn’t included in the service.”
Hearing this, Ekaterina said in a tone like an adult comforting a child, “Good boy! Perform well, and sister will give you a surprise later.”
Lu Li: “…”
Lu Li went to the villa warehouse and took a batch of Energy Cubes of various attributes.
And so, Lu Li and Ekaterina rode Dragonite toward the depths of the Qingyun Mountain Range.
On Dragonite’s back, Lu Li asked, “You know the exact location of the Secret Realm entrance, right?”
“Of course! You’ll definitely be amazed when we get there,” Ekaterina nodded.
In less than half an hour, Lu Li spotted a market from afar.
“This… there’s a market deep within the Qingyun Mountain Range?” Lu Li asked in surprise.
Ekaterina explained, “This is a temporary camp set up by a group of guilds and rogue trainers. Security is almost zero, with the constant risk of being overrun by wild Pokémon.”
“Almost every wild Secret Realm discovered by humans will have such a market nearby.”
Lu Li nodded.
“Later, we’ll go to the market to buy some intelligence on the Secret Realm. Try not to stray too far from me; the people here aren’t good ones,” Ekaterina cautioned.
Lu Li nodded.
As soon as Dragonite landed, Lu Li sensed several scorching gazes.
Those gazes held greed, envy, jealousy.
Ekaterina was clearly accustomed to such gazes; she expressionlessly recalled Dragonite, and the aura of a Gym Level Trainer poured out.
As Ekaterina actively revealed her strength, Lu Li noticed the covetous gazes around them vanished along with it.
Very satisfied with this result, Ekaterina turned her head and taught, “In the wilderness, there’s only one rule: The Strongest Reigns Supreme!”
Lu Li nodded.
“What if there’s someone who isn’t afraid of death?” Lu Li asked curiously.
Thinking Lu Li was arguing, Ekaterina said with a dark face, “Don’t worry, people like that don’t live long, and the probability of us encountering them is even smaller.”
Lu Li thought Ekaterina made a good point; in the wilderness, trainers without eyes probably didn’t live long either.
Then, Ekaterina shouted directly, “I want intelligence on the Secret Realm. Those who think they’re qualified, come exchange.”
Being qualified was the key point.
If those unqualified ones came over, Lu Li felt Ekaterina might take action.
In fact, those who survived long in the wilderness were all shrewd.
As soon as Ekaterina finished speaking, various discussions arose in the crowd.
Moments later, a middle-aged woman and a bald man walked out.
“Hello, Lord. I’m the Vice President of the Crimson Flame Guild. Our guild makes a living in this Secret Realm year-round. When it comes to understanding this Secret Realm, our Crimson Flame Guild claims second place, and no one dares claim first.”
After the bald man finished, the middle-aged woman followed up, “Lord, I’m Jin Qiaoqiao from the Jin Family in QY City. Our Jin Family developed this Secret Realm long ago. When it comes to understanding the Secret Realm, we are no less than the Crimson Flame Guild.”
The bald man didn’t refute this point.
The Crimson Flame Guild was just a new guild; though backed by a Gym Leader and an Advanced Breeder, its overall strength definitely couldn’t compare to the Jin Family.
