After checking everything, Reiji opened his newly purchased storage backpack and began packing his items one by one.

He started with the smaller items—like the Mystic Water, the elemental gems, and the Poké Balls. He inspected each one carefully, especially the Mystic Water.

Only after scanning the Mystic Water with his interface and confirming nothing was wrong did he finally pack it away. As for the Pokéblocks and ores, he didn't bother checking—there were simply too many of them.

The saleslady had been thoughtful. She'd separated the food and ores into two different ten-cubic-meter storage bags—one for minerals, the other for Pokéblocks and Moomoo Milk.

Once everything was sorted, Reiji was now carrying four storage packs. Too bad storage packs couldn't be packed into each other.

He slung them on and squinted at the mustached manager, smiling. "I'm in a good mood today. Shopping here has been pleasant. But I don't want any 'surprises' afterward—you get what I mean, right?"

"Please rest assured, sir—there won't be any issues with the merchandise," the manager replied with a practiced smile.

Truthfully, he wasn't 100% sure, but of course he had to say what the customer wanted to hear. He shot a questioning look at the saleslady—had they slipped in any inferior stock? If they had, it could get them killed.

Seeing the manager's silent question, the saleslady quickly shook her head and reassured him that everything she prepared was top-tier. How would they dare fool a gold-tier customer?

Once she confirmed it, the manager quietly sighed in relief. His professional smile never wavered as he personally escorted Reiji to the store entrance, waving him off with perfect courtesy.

As Reiji left, he noticed a few subtle stares coming his way. He had no intention of lingering in the black market—he just wanted to leave, fast.

He found the nearest exit and, once outside, released Pelipper. With a beat of its wings, they soared into the night sky and vanished.

Meanwhile, the street thugs loitering near the breeding house were still grumbling about missing such a fat target.

"Boss, why didn't we follow him?" one asked.

"Idiot. You didn't recognize Gold-Tooth, the fat one?"

"So what?"

"You brain-dead or what? Anyone Gold-Tooth personally sees off with a smile, you dare touch them? One Thunderbolt from him and you're toast."

"But what about that masked guy selling Electabuzz?"

"Now that guy's different. We already know his background. Of course we'd hit him instead. Gold-Tooth didn't see him out personally. And did you see him use any Pokémon?"

"Actually… no? Why?"

"Idiot. You think real experts would show their Pokémon in the open?"

"Ohhh, I get it now, boss…"

"But that Electabuzz's already been sold. Killing him now won't get us the money."

…

Back inside the shop, the mustached manager didn't hear any of this. But the saleslady did—she'd heard it all before. Same tired lines from thugs disciplining their underlings, always repeating the same phrases. She was bored of them.

At the counter, she adjusted her collar. She'd tried subtly flaunting her figure for that customer earlier—posed and played coy for so long—and he didn't even glance her way.

She felt like a failure. Maybe she just didn't have enough charm after all.

She rested her chin in her hands, leaning on the counter, still daydreaming about that golden goose of a customer. She wondered when he'd return.

Elsewhere, the mustached manager returned to his office—only to find a young man in a white shirt already inside.

The young man had a cigarette dangling from his fingers and his foot up on the desk. The manager nearly exploded in anger—until he saw the man's face. He immediately rushed forward and bowed.

"General Manager! You're here! Why didn't you let me know? Everything you requested is ready, right here!" He quickly switched to a smile and handed over three receipts.

One was for the masked vendor's Electabuzz, one for Reiji's Electabuzz, and one for Reiji's overall purchases.

"Nine million? Not bad." The general manager nodded in approval at the first receipt. But when he saw the second, his brows furrowed.

The manager's heart skipped a beat. Did he do something wrong?

He immediately reviewed everything mentally. Reiji's Electabuzz had genuinely been bought for fifteen million. He hadn't skimmed anything off the top. The other one was bought at seven hundred thousand and reported at nine hundred—he'd only pocketed a small amount there.

Faking any of the other Pokémon sales wasn't worth it—no profit, too much risk. He wasn't stupid enough to try.

"Three elite-grade Pokémon? Electabuzz, Gyarados, Golbat… and Electrode, Magneton, Mankey,… profit should be around seven to eight million," the general manager murmured, then picked up the third receipt.

"This is that man's purchase record?"

"Yes, sir," the manager quickly nodded.

"Quite the haul. That's a few million in profit again." The general manager nodded again—more satisfied praise.

Three compliments in a row. The mustached manager knew then and there—he'd hit the jackpot.

"Fatty Jin, you've done well. Keep it up. Give me the two Electabuzz—I'm returning to HQ. You'll handle the rest," the general manager ordered, offering yet another word of praise.

Three rounds of flattery left Fatty Jin floating in a daze. But he forced himself to remain humble, stepping forward to respectfully deliver the Poké Balls, then stepping back without a word.

This was his real golden ticket—he couldn't afford to offend the general manager.

And the general manager wasn't even mad about the high price paid for Reiji's Electabuzz. Fatty Jin had already marked the ball containing the pseudo-elite one.

"By the way, what Pokémon was that guy using? Did he show his face?" the general manager asked, fiddling with the ball and peering at the weakened Electabuzz inside.

He was curious. It had been a long time since a pseudo-elite trainer had shown up on the underground market.

"He was masked. Can't say what he looked like. His eyes were scary though—like he'd killed before. As for his Pokémon…" The manager closed his eyes, thinking hard.

But no matter how much he tried, he couldn't recall what Pokémon Reiji had used.

Because Reiji hadn't shown any.

"Uh… sir, he didn't have any Pokémon with him," the manager admitted, feeling awkward.

They'd interacted so much, and only now did he realize the guy had no Pokémon visible at all.

"At least… none I could see."

"Interesting." The general manager thought for a moment, then looked him in the eye. "Fifteen million. How much of that was real?"

"No fluff. He saw through my desperation and refused to lower the price," Fatty Jin answered instantly. One wrong word here and he might be a dead man.

"He saw through you? Could he also know that Electabuzz can evolve?" the general manager muttered. He hadn't expected an answer—but Fatty Jin replied firmly.

"No way. Not unless he's not from the Orange Islands."

"Exactly… if he's from outside, the secret won't stay hidden much longer. I need to prepare…" The general manager stood, grabbing his coat and the Poké Balls.

He needed to evolve an Electivire as soon as possible—that would become his bargaining chip when recruiting powerful Electabuzz trainers. The deal? The secret of evolution.

Once those Electabuzz evolved, they'd need to breed with his Electivire. Even one round of breeding with so many elite Pokémon? Worth it.

And the benefits of Electabuzz evolution didn't end there.

After all, that knowledge was still secret. Charging a few "consulting fees" wouldn't be out of line, right? Hahaha…

Truly, a business with a tenfold return…

"Fatty Jin—keep tabs on that man. If he ever returns with a Gold Card, notify me immediately. I want to meet him myself."

That was the general manager's final instruction before leaving.

But Fatty Jin had an even better method. "Sir, his anonymous bank card was issued by our store. As long as he uses it again, we'll have a complete record of his purchases."

"Fatty Jin, excellent work. I like you—keep it up." The general manager patted his shoulder as he passed. That single pat hit straight to his heart.

Fatty Jin felt truly seen.

He followed the general manager all the way out of the black market.

Watching him go, Fatty Jin knew he was about to rise. The general manager wasn't just a manager—he was a veteran trainer, already brushing the threshold of elite status.

This Electabuzz opportunity could be his breakthrough—maybe even enough to become an Elite Four trainer someday.

As long as Fatty Jin held on tight to this golden leg, even without natural talent, he could still thrive just by being a sharp businessman.

(End of Chapter)

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