Chapter Fifty-Two: The Cavern Appeared Quickly (The updates at school really are squeezed into every possible gap)

Written before the main text: Doesn’t an author who jumps out of bed without even washing his face to update for everyone deserve your vote?

Main text.

Yang Yi’s work efficiency was indeed remarkable. The matter discussed last night had barely settled, and this morning Chen Ou was awakened by the roar of machinery. Stepping out of his tent, he saw one engineering vehicle after another arriving, and Junzhi was on the side directing them. It looked as if work was about to begin.

Chen Ou stood at the tent entrance and watched for a while. Soon, Yang Yi and Rui Xin emerged from their tent as well, both feigning to tidy up their clothes.

Chen Ou pursed his lips as he watched them.

But since the act was not yet over, and he was deeply interested in Rui Xin’s true identity, he decided not to expose their relationship at this moment. Whatever roles they wished to play, let them play. Lovers, father and daughter—even that, he thought, was oddly exciting.

Chen Ou shook his head, cutting off his increasingly indecent train of thought, then smiled and waved at Yang Yi.

Yang Yi saw him and waved back, but didn’t come over to greet him; he quickly walked toward the cluster of workers, evidently to begin giving instructions.

As everyone knows, whenever a leader supervises such work, the greatest credit always goes to the leader, even if he hasn’t moved a single brick.

Chen Ou didn’t mind this. Truthfully, he felt a bit nervous. A voice sounded from his communicator—Rotom Pokédex.

“If these machines run at full power, preliminary estimates suggest we can clear all the Muk corpses by this afternoon. Rotom.”

The Rotom in his backpack spoke with a hint of excitement.

It was curious too—what Pokémon or entity lay beneath? It didn’t know that Chen Ou had already gathered all the available energy from poison-type Pokémon; those he hadn’t collected simply couldn’t be collected.

This meant the situation was far less optimistic than Rotom imagined—there was little hope of discovering a new Pokémon species. If the culprit below truly was a Pokémon, Chen Ou might need to consider fleeing.

Of course, one thing remained certain—whatever was beneath would likely be an important discovery. With a bit of reference to the literature, he could write a paper and his name would once again blaze in the research world.

Thinking of this made Chen Ou quite happy, for it was his first recognition in this world. Reputation in the research community meant something different to him.

While he was lost in thought, Yang Yi and Junzhi had begun directing the construction. It was obvious Yang Yi wasn’t the sort of leader who knew nothing and merely stood around to claim credit. His engineering coordination skills were nearly equal to Junzhi’s, and considering Yang Yi had spent years in administrative roles and rarely directed work on-site since his promotion, he must have been even more capable than Junzhi back in the day.

Unfortunately, barring any surprises, Yang Yi would never rise again. This was the peak he could reach.

In this world, for an ordinary person to break through limits and stand out, the only option was to become a top-tier trainer—at least one capable of running a gym. Without such talent, no matter how gifted one was in business or engineering, he would always be suppressed by others, with no room to resist.

Even the Devon Corporation only truly dominated the Hoenn region after Steven became champion. Until then, the Zivoki family carried little weight in negotiations with the Hoenn League.

The world will never be truly fair, for fairness never truly exists. Ordinary people competing against heirs of noble families, raised from childhood with elite education and broad experience—this is unfair. Yet, to strip away all advantages and force noble heirs to relinquish their edge would mean their parents’ efforts had been for nothing; that, too, is unfair.

Those with talent can still rise in this world. For instance, Bruno of the Elite Four is a typical representative of the common folk.

Hence, Chen Ou was so curious about Rui Xin’s identity. He believed Yang Yi understood well that “without a top-tier trainer backing him, he can never rise,” so it stood to reason that Rui Xin was Yang Yi’s trump card. But who, then, was Rui Xin?

As for Junzhi? His greatest advantage now was simply that he hadn’t been exposed yet. Junzhi’s files seemed highly restricted; even Yang Yi probably couldn’t access his encrypted records.

Who knows what other contingencies the big bosses might have. As things stood, Chen Ou felt that if he didn’t intervene, the Cerulean City Waterworks would soon fall into Yang Yi’s hands.

While Chen Ou was lost in thought, Rui Xin strode over in high heels and a red coat, wearing a gentle smile.

[Tsk, not a lab coat—disappointing… Damn, did I just reveal something?]

Chen Ou’s mouth twitched involuntarily, and he suppressed all the dirty thoughts in his mind.

Feigning nonchalance, Chen Ou smiled and asked, “What is it, Miss Rui Xin? Does Mr. Yang Yi have something to discuss with me?”

Rui Xin smiled naturally, with a pure, charming air of an elder sister next door. “Mr. Yang Yi asked me to inform you that the sludge removal will be completed in about ten hours. Do you have any guidance for the operation?”

Chen Ou considered for a moment, then replied, “Ordinarily I shouldn’t presume to advise professionals in their work, but this matter involves considerable danger, so I hope to minimize unnecessary losses. If possible, I’d like all staff to be prepared for immediate evacuation and ensure they can do so at any moment. Also, since we’re dealing with poison types, please have them wear the best protective suits to avoid poisoning.”

He finished, looked up, and smiled at Rui Xin. “That’s all. Of course, if it causes trouble for your operation, just ignore me. After all, I’m not a specialist in this field.”

He didn’t hear Rui Xin respond, so he looked at her—and awkwardly realized…

Rui Xin’s expression seemed a bit… unusual.

“You’re really so gentle, aren’t you?” Rui Xin said, her gaze somewhat dreamy.

[No, please don’t speak to me like that…]

Chen Ou thought helplessly.

Ten hours later

The underground pit appeared swiftly.