Chapter 42: Outside Influence

Outside the arena.

As Baimu took down Jian on the big screen, the place completely exploded.

"He won? For real?"

"You don't have eyes to see? That guy does have something going for him."

"Keep dreaming. He only flipped it with a Pokémon evolution — I could've done the same."

"Oh yeah? Jian's Ursaring just fell out of the sky?"

"Are the Hound Pack trash brain-dead! What kind of garbage commanding is that — do this, then that, then whatever — if you just didn't do that you wouldn't have lost!"

"If you ask me, just rush over and give that little brat a knife — seriously stupid."

"Can you fly? Between the two of them there are four Pokémon and twenty to thirty meters of distance!"

"Climb the wall and go around!"

"Are you out of your mind?"

The spectators of Iron Town went into a frenzy of discussion, evaluating the battle from every angle, and some even came to blows mid-argument.

In the end.

Although plenty of people arrived at the "I could've done the same" conclusion, very few truly looked down on Baimu.

After all, they believed in the law of the jungle — the victor is king, the loser a bandit.

No matter how flowery the boasting, how outstanding the deeds, once you're taken down it's all empty clouds.

Only the one who lives till the end laughs till the end.

Inside the main control room.

The Hound Pack's leader, the dark-faced man, had already smashed a table in rage and stormed off, leaving only Lady Ayana laughing uproariously, drawing sidelong glances from those nearby.

The two organizations had been enemies for years; clashes great and small numbered no fewer than a hundred, even executives had died, and squad leaders and ordinary members were countless.

But this was still the first time one side alone had suffered such a severe blow and lost so much face.

Hah?

The ones Jian took down?

Were all small fry not worth mentioning — they couldn't pick back up the face the Hound Pack had lost.

Back at their base, the dark-faced man felt both fury and worry in his heart.

Jian was a talent favored by the top executives; dying in a place like this wasn't something he could easily explain away, and as the squad leader, he would inevitably bear the primary blame.

God knew how much blood he'd have to pay this time. If someone seized the chance to make an issue of it, he might even face some punishment.

"Gou Wu! Get her out here to see me!"

The dark-faced man roared in fury, trying to find the other party to share the blame.

In the end, Gou Wu had indeed betrayed the Hound Pack, helping a member of the enemy organization set up a successful ambush on two people.

A logistics staffer, seeing him blow up, crept forward timidly, hunched over, and said: "my lord, Gou Wu used a medical checkup as an excuse and rode a motorcycle back to headquarters."

"She's gone!?"

The dark-faced man stared wide-eyed, kicked the man to the ground, and ground his teeth as he looked toward the Quicksand Pack's base not far away.

If not for the Rotom drone cameras in the sky watching, he would very likely have charged over there.

Turning it over in his mind, he still couldn't swallow this anger easily, so he took out his communicator and began contacting someone inside.

"Big bro, you've got to find a way to save me!"

The moment the call connected, the dark-faced man started crying for help.

Silicon Beryllium City.

Banquet hall.

Numerous upper-class figures conversed in low voices, their gazes occasionally drifting toward the second floor.

Just now, someone had splurged three million on the young man who'd won on the big screen; if the host on the second floor hadn't stepped in to stop it in time, that person would probably have kept tipping.

The crowd couldn't help being a little curious about the man who'd been called up to the second floor.

"Does anyone know who that is?"

"You don't even know him? A famous mining tycoon in the Ore Region! The mineral import-export industry of the Ore Region is almost entirely monopolized by him!"

"Monopolized import-export! What a huge business!"

"I heard he has some family connection with Elder Ejin."

"One of our own… no wonder."

The business owners all showed expressions of sudden realization, their eyes toward the second floor full of envy.

Silicon Beryllium City, recognized as the Ore Region's foremost great city, its mayor is practically no different from the King of Ore; the enormous power he wields makes countless people give way.

Perhaps only the powerful trainers of Battle Mountain could match him.

When the Pokémon League is formally established someday, Elder Ejin will most likely slide very smoothly into the position of chairman of the League's Executive Committee.

Having a family connection with such a big figure truly makes one envious.

Second floor.

The man envied by so many business owners was currently being scolded by Elder Ejin.

"Tipping three million to a mere commoner? What were you thinking? Is money blown in by the wind? You just waste it like that!?"

"I trusted you, that's why I handed the mineral business over to you — and this is how you repay me?"

"You're not young anymore either, your son's almost twenty, isn't he? Your father's entrusted you to me for many years now, and you actually lose your head over something like this!"

"Go back and reflect properly! Don't sit in the chairman's seat for now… forget it, we'll discuss your punishment later, but I don't want this kind of thing to happen again — get lost!"

After a string of words that utterly demeaned him.

The man lowered his head and replied yes, masking his indifferent expression, and walked down from the second floor.

From behind came the sound of a group of people rushing forward one after another to comfort Elder Ejin, along with Elder Ejin's tone of being disappointed that iron couldn't become steel, and he simply pretended he hadn't heard.

Having been by Elder Ejin's side for so many years, the man knew very well that the old man possessed a controlling desire that could be called perverted, as well as a greedy personality where money only came in and never went out.

Extremely concerned with face, and also extremely stingy.

This could be seen from the fact that the tip amounts from ordinary people were all restricted, and could not exceed his amount.

If the man didn't possess a certain amount of extra permissions, he wouldn't have been able to tip three million either.

And without a doubt.

The reason the man would be called up and scolded was precisely because he hadn't saved Elder Ejin's face, interrupting the latter's plan to show off.

In the final analysis.

Three million was nothing more than a drop in the bucket to them; what mattered was that the man was firmly held in Elder Ejin's grasp.

On the surface he was a mining magnate, but in reality many of the people around him were Elder Ejin's direct line, firmly controlling everything in the company, and the permissions he possessed were not many.

Sometimes, the man was nothing more than a mascot.

Therefore.

He was very clear that his own position was not high, and the offended Elder Ejin must have already begun thinking about how to punish him.

Regret? Not at all.

He had long grown weary of many things; the moment he saw All Baimu defeat Jian, a sudden courage welled up, prompting him to make certain decisions—

"I will fight for a beautiful future for Shanren."

Thinking of his son who would return from studying abroad soon, the man—Dinis—found that there was really nothing he couldn't stake.

He glanced once more at Elder Ejin on the second floor, and reined in the sharpness in his eyes.

—

Inside the arena.

All Baimu tried his best to walk in the shadows, occasionally replenishing his water.

He was very glad that Rhydon was a kind of Pokémon that didn't really need to drink water, otherwise he would inevitably have to prepare more water pouches, adding to the burden.

The midday sun was too scorching.

By feel, he believed the temperature could exceed forty-five degrees; the dust-covered ground was hot enough to roast a person.

If Otsuka just lay under the sunlight like this, he might get heatstroke.

Does the Pokémon world have heatstroke?

All Baimu wasn't sure, and desperately hoped not, afraid that Otsuka would be baked into an idiot.

This kid wasn't very bright to begin with.

"Rhy!"

Rhydon's cry drew his attention.

All Baimu leaned toward the direction the former was looking up to indicate, and suddenly beneath a giant rock, saw a figure with half its body hidden in the shadow and half its body exposed to the sun.

Mm.

It really was a person.

His eyesight was still pretty good.