Chapter Fifty-One: The Inspector Will Arrive a Few Days Late! Trust Me, I Have Connections in the Alliance!

In the dead of night, Chen Ou slipped into Yang Yi’s makeshift tent.

Yang Yi was in the middle of a conversation with his female secretary.

At first, the corner of Chen Ou’s mouth twitched; seeing the two of them turn toward him in unison, he suddenly felt as though it was he who was intruding. But upon calming himself, he noticed their clothes were neat, with no sign that either had succumbed to impulse, and felt somewhat relieved. He cleared his throat lightly, then smiled at Yang Yi and said, “Mr. Yang Yi, I’ve received some news from within the League.”

Yang Yi straightened his clothes and replied with a polite smile, “Dr. Chen Ou, please speak.”

Chen Ou glanced at the secretary behind Yang Yi but did not speak further.

Yang Yi caught the look and smiled. “Please rest assured, Dr. Chen Ou. Ruixin is the person I trust most. There’s no need to avoid her.”

The secretary responded with a gentle nod and a smile but made no move to leave.

Chen Ou shrugged, signaling that he could proceed. “I still have a few connections within the League, so I’ve gotten hold of some news. It’s said that because of the recent major incident, there are many vacancies among the staff, and this time the League inspectors haven’t even been assigned yet. So, there’s no need to worry that inspectors will appear in Cerulean City in the next couple of days. You don’t need to act quite so cautiously.”

Yang Yi’s eyes lit up at these words. “Is this true, Dr. Chen Ou?”

His excitement was obvious. Chen Ou frowned slightly. “I see no reason to deceive you. After all, this is our first meeting; there’s no animosity between us.”

Realizing his own tone was inappropriate, Yang Yi composed himself. He reminded himself that this man before him was not just any young man in his twenties.

He was a doctor—whether newly minted or not. In this world, aside from those few colossal companies capable of influencing entire regional economies, no ordinary capital could contend with the truly top-tier powerhouses. Of course, many scions of great families became advanced trainers, but the very best rarely emerged from business dynasties.

In that light, Steven was truly an anomaly.

Chen Ou often mused on how much stronger that stone-obsessed man might have become if he’d devoted all his energies to training Pokémon, rather than splitting his time between mining, preparing to succeed his father, and only incidentally raising his team. Perhaps he could have rivaled Cynthia and Red.

Even if the gaps between them were small, in battle, the slightest difference could decide victory or defeat.

Of course, all three had their unique strengths. In wild, unsanctioned battles, Red from Pallet Town was undoubtedly the strongest; in formal matches, Cynthia seemed slightly superior. If Mega Evolution was allowed, Steven would have a significant advantage, since his Metagross was formidable even without it, and after Mega Evolving, it gained an even greater edge over Red, while Cynthia was not far behind—her Garchomp was, after all, a pseudo-legendary.

So, Chen Ou always maintained that each of the three excelled in their own way.

Back to the matter at hand.

Yang Yi knew that in every respect, the gap between himself and Chen Ou was vast. He apologized sincerely, “I’m sorry, Dr. Chen Ou. I didn’t mean to question you—I was simply too excited and lost my composure. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

Chen Ou hadn’t truly been angry, just mildly displeased. He waved a hand, signaling he minded little.

“So, Mr. Yang Yi, bring in the heavy machinery. I don’t believe what’s buried below is something your employees should risk handling. Send in the machines to clear the debris. Since there won’t be any inspectors for a little while, you needn’t worry about attracting unwanted attention. I trust you can resolve this within the next couple of days. If anyone asks, just say you’re assisting me with an inspection.”

Yang Yi hesitated briefly at this suggestion.

Seeing this, Chen Ou smiled, his eyes glinting. “Could it be, Mr. Yang Yi, that you don’t intend to hand the item over to me?”

Yang Yi immediately refuted, “Absolutely not. Since I’ve promised Dr. Chen Ou, I won’t go back on my word. I was simply considering which machines would be most efficient.”

His voice was sincere and pleasant to the ear.

Chen Ou smiled as well. He nodded and said, “Then I’ll await your good news, Mr. Yang Yi.”

With that, he left the tent, shooting Yang Yi and Ruixin a playful look before stepping out.

Yang Yi gave a cough, as if embarrassed.

Chen Ou chuckled and was gone.

The tent was once more left to Yang Yi and Ruixin.

The smile faded from Yang Yi’s face, growing colder and colder, until his expression was utterly frigid.

Ruixin’s polite smile, on the other hand, grew more and more alluring, almost wickedly so.

“Mr. Yang Yi? You seem to still have some reservations,” Ruixin said, her voice laden with unmistakable temptation.

Yang Yi frowned. “Do you understand how many complications follow a Pokémon Doctor? For the sake of a mere Cerulean City Waterworks company, isn’t the price I must pay a bit too high? To eliminate a Pokémon Doctor for your sake?”

Ruixin spoke in a pitiful tone, “That’s unfair, sir. How can you say you’re eliminating a Pokémon Doctor for us? I’m the one helping you remove obstacles to your takeover of the Cerulean City Waterworks. Besides, if it comes to elimination, I’ll be the one acting, won’t I?”

Yang Yi remained unmoved.

“I don’t know what conflict of interest compels you to insist on eliminating Dr. Chen Ou. But…” He cast a deep look at the smiling Ruixin, this woman whose every gesture exuded a dangerous allure. “Whatever I want, you must deliver.”

Ruixin smiled. “Of course I’ll keep my promise. As long as you cooperate, the Cerulean City Waterworks will be yours. After that, my organization and I will help you seize control of all water companies in the Kanto region. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

Yang Yi nodded.

“But there’s one thing you’ve misunderstood,” Ruixin added.

Yang Yi glanced at her, a little puzzled, but upon meeting Ruixin’s gaze, he involuntarily shuddered.

Madness, chaos, overwhelming desire.

Her eyes resembled those of an ancient god of chaos, devoid of any human emotion.

“There’s no real conflict between Dr. Chen Ou and me. I just… I just really want to see a genius destroyed. To ruin such a beautiful work of art… It must be truly, truly exquisite.”

A flush spread unnaturally across Ruixin’s face.