Elf: Start your slow-paced life after becoming a farmer

The Metagross looked away somewhat guiltily, its four thick metal claws twitching unconsciously a few times.

"Why won't you speak!" Karl strode towards Metagross. "Look me in the eyes and answer me!"

Seeing the aggressive Karl, the surrounding Bamboos gathered in front of Metagross, staring at him angrily.

Karl almost laughed in exasperation when he saw the Sweet Bamboos blocking Metagross's path.

He didn't know what Metagross had done to make these Pokémon, whom it had been exploiting, unite to protect it at this moment.

So, after traveling all the way back from Yuqin Town, he's become a bad guy?

Just then, the Monarch Serpents, having heard the commotion, rushed over. When the Monarch Serpent saw Kar's familiar figure, it immediately transformed into a blur and pounced into Kar's arms.

"Garro? (Why are you back?)" The Serpent's voice was filled with undisguised joy, indicating that it had missed Karl very much during his absence.

“Lightningbird told me what happened on the farm these past few days.” Karl gently stroked the cool scales of the Serpent Lord and said helplessly, “If I hadn’t come back, our farm would have been renamed ‘sweatshop’.”

“Garro? (So you didn’t make Metagross do that?)” Serperior left Karl’s arms, his brows furrowing slightly.

In fact, Serperior did have doubts about Metagross after it brought those Pokémon back from the wild.

After all, based on its understanding of Karl, Serperior knew very well that Karl would not allow Metagross to do that.

However, Serperior knew that before Karl left, he had Metagross manage the farm for him, and that Metagross hadn't been too exploitative of the wild Pokémon, so it didn't stop Metagross from doing those things.

“I never intended to do this.” Karl sighed, turning to look at Metagross surrounded by wild Pokémon. “So, Metagross, shouldn’t you give me an explanation now?”

"Geng metal. (I did as you instructed.)"

Surrounded by wild Pokémon, Metagross seemed to regain some confidence: "Gen! (I didn't make my farm companions do those extra chores!)"

"Huh?" Karl's lips twitched. "So you're just assigning all this extra work to the wild Pokémon you lured back to the farm?"

“Gengjin. (This is just a deal.)” Metagross still tried to persuade Karl. “Gengjin! (They need a safe environment and plenty of food, while the farm needs plenty of manpower. It’s a win-win situation!)”

“No, Metagross, the point isn’t what you did, but why you did it.” Carl’s tone became more serious. “You should know that we’re not short of money right now. I didn’t take over this farm to make money.”

“I know you’re very interested in making money, Metagross, and I support you wholeheartedly, but at least you can’t make money by cheating or exploiting other Pokémon.”

"If you really want these wild Pokémon to work on the farm, you need to tell them the specifics beforehand, instead of trying to coax them."

Do you understand what I mean?

The Metagross stared intently at Karl, then finally seemed to relent, relaxing completely: "Gengjin. (I understand.)"

“Metamorphoses, I know you’re smart. Now that you understand what I mean, you should know how to handle this.” Karl’s gaze was fixed on Metagross. “Explain it to them clearly, and then compensate them where appropriate.”

"If they want to stay, then follow the rules I set for the Pokémon on the farm."

The Megalomon nodded: "Geng Metal. (Work no more than eight hours a day, and food supplies and living conditions must be clearly arranged.)"

"Now, let them stop what they're doing and rest. We'll deal with this tomorrow, okay?"

Watching the Metagross disappear into the distance, Carl rubbed his face with both hands; the four-hour flight had left him extremely tired.

Just as Carl was about to go back to his room to wash up and rest, the phone in his pocket rang.

"Who would call me at this hour so late?" Carl muttered to himself, reaching into his pocket to take the phone out, his gaze then falling on the caller ID.

"Dr. Yamanashi?" Carl paused, then casually answered the phone. "Hello, Dr. Yamanashi, it's so late..."

"Karl, you're the one who caught Hunter J, right?"

Karl frowned upon hearing this, because the person on the other end of the phone was not Professor Yamanashi, the owner of the number, but Granny Kikuno, one of the Four Elite Four of Sinnoh.

"Grandma Kikuno, where is Dr. Yamanashi?" Karl didn't answer Grandma Kikuno's question, but instead asked her one in return.

"Karl, I'm listening too." Dr. Yamanashi's voice rang out at the right time, making Karl secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

"Karl, did you catch Hunter J?" Granny Kikuno repeated the question in a serious tone.

“I caught Hunter J, is there a problem?” Carl asked casually.

"Then why..."

"Why not contact Interpol?" Karl interrupted Granny Kikuno, who was about to say something, "and then put Hunter J back in jail, waiting for her to escape again?"

“What you’re doing puts us in a very passive position,” Grandma Kikuno’s voice softened slightly.

"Excuse my bluntness, but if Interpol had kept a close eye on Hunter J, you wouldn't have been left in this passive position." Carl showed no mercy to Granny Kikuno. "Granny Kikuno, I'll just say this: you can't build an alliance with that bunch of worms."

Grandma Kikuno fell silent. She knew perfectly well that what Carl said was absolutely right. How could she not know the depravity of those high-ranking members of the Alliance?

“Besides, you’re so old, why bother with this?” Karl’s tone softened a bit. “I believe our new champion from the Sinnoh region will handle these matters; her methods are far more sophisticated than you might think.”

"Sigh." Granny Kikuno sighed deeply. "These past few days, Ran has been so busy selecting the new Four Heavenly Kings that she hasn't had a moment to breathe. I..."

“Mother-in-law, you need to give Miss Zhulan some confidence,” Karl continued to reassure her. “If you have to shoulder everything, how can the newcomer grow up?”

"Besides, haven't I already given her a perfectly good excuse?"

"What excuse?" Granny Kikuno didn't immediately grasp the meaning behind Karl's words and asked instinctively.

“Of course, it’s just an excuse to purge the upper echelons.” Carl chuckled nonchalantly. “If she can seize this opportunity, I think the alliance will soon be a bit cleaner.”

……

Sinnoh League Headquarters.

A blonde beauty in a black trench coat sat at her desk, watching the speech given by the president and chief champion of the Padia League on the screen, a faint smile playing on her lips.

"Now I can legitimately deal with those termites."

Chapter 63 Release Ceremony (Seeking monthly votes)

The next day, Karl woke up surrounded by Serperior and Newleaf Cat.

He yawned first, then casually put his arm around the still-pretending-to-be-asleep Serpent: "Good morning, Serpent."

"Garro~ (Good morning)" The Serpent slowly opened its eyes, pretending to have just woken up, and called out softly.

Carl sat up, reached for his phone on the bedside table, and expertly opened the URL that Ye Ci had sent him.

After Karl clicked on the URL, a live stream interface appeared on Karl's phone screen.

The live stream had not yet started, and the only thing visible on the screen was the logo of the Parthian League.

This live stream room was temporarily set up by the Padiya League to officially announce the capture of Hunter J.

Just ten minutes later, Ye Ci will act as a spokesperson and hold a press conference in this live broadcast room to release information about Hunter J's capture and subsequent handling.

It must be said that Ye Ci's move was quite bold for the world.

In this day and age, most regions only hold formal press releases.

However, Ci took a different approach, changing the release event to a live broadcast.

This may prevent some people who are not yet accustomed to the Internet age from being informed in time that Hunter J has been captured in the Padiya region.

However, many young people who are used to going online will learn about this information first through the internet.

This change will make more young people aware of the Padiya League, and if the Padiya League's subsequent handling of Hunter J suits the tastes of young people, then perhaps more young people will go to the Padiya region.

This is Ye Ci's true purpose.

Of course, a large part of the reason was for a certain ordinary farmer.

After all, on the day he captured Hunter J, Ci had already learned from someone that Hunter J was dissatisfied with Hunter J's repeated escapes from prison.

If this incident can make Karl feel more favorably toward the Padilla League, then subsequent poaching plans might be easier.

Just as Carl sat down at the table, the scene in the live stream finally changed.

A beautiful woman with long hair, dressed in a black uniform and exuding a calm demeanor, appeared in the previously lonely live stream screen.

The person who arrived was none other than "the only sun of the Padiya League," and also the spokesperson for this press conference—Chairman Yeci.

The moment Ye Ci appeared on the live stream screen, the chat exploded with comments.

"It really is President Ye Ci!"

"Who exactly is Hunter J? How could President Ye Ci arrange a release ceremony for her?"

"..."

While Karl was watching the live broadcast at the dining table, in a conference room at the Sinnoh League headquarters, the newly crowned Sinnoh League champion Cynthia and other Sinnoh League executives were also watching the broadcast.

"Damn it, why did Hunter J go to the Padiya region?"

"What about Interpol? Didn't they contact the Padiya League to extradite Hunter J?"

Listening to the people in the meeting room shirking responsibility, Zhu Lan's gaze swept over them subtly. She knew that the person who helped Hunter J escape was in this meeting room. Before, she had no reason to expose this person, but now the situation was completely different.

"Everyone, I think this is a dereliction of duty on our part as the Sinnoh League." Cynthia's slightly magnetic voice rang out in the conference room.

The moment Zhu Lan spoke, the conference room fell silent. The people sitting at the conference table exchanged glances, all seeing the same emotion in each other's eyes—fear.

This newly crowned Sinnoh League champion is not someone you can easily get along with. If she really catches you doing something wrong, the consequences will be unimaginable.

“Ahem, Zhu Lan, you know, Interpol has a lot of manpower…” A well-dressed, gray-haired old man spoke first.

“The financial statement from last quarter shows that Interpol has more than 30,000 personnel,” Zhu Lan immediately interrupted the old man. “That means the Alliance spends nearly nine figures on them every year, and now you’re telling me they’re understaffed?”

At this point, Zhu Lan's gaze sharpened: "Then let's suspend all the people involved in this incident for investigation. I think these parasites who hold positions without doing their jobs are not worthy of the resources the alliance gives them."

Zhu Lan's veiled criticism of Huai made many people in the meeting room, especially the old man who had just spoken, blush with embarrassment.

A parasite who occupies a position without doing any work? Who are you cursing?

Zhu Lan didn't care about the changes in these people's expressions; her gaze once again focused on the large screen in the conference room facing her.

In the video, Ye Ci gave a brief self-introduction before getting straight to the point.

"Hunter J, a notorious Pokémon hunter, has been found guilty of thousands of serious crimes, including poaching and stealing Pokémon, according to Interpol databases..."

As Ye Ci recounted his story, the viewers in the live stream learned about Hunter J's various misdeeds, and they began to verbally attack Hunter J in the chat.

"This is a complete nascent stage!"

"Severe punishment! Zero tolerance for Pokémon theft!"

"..."

While recounting Hunter J's life story, Ye Ci glanced at the comments in the live stream chat out of the corner of her eye.

After seeing that the atmosphere in the comments was exactly as she had expected, Ye Ci changed the subject and began to talk about Hunter J's "recent situation".

“In fact, three years ago, Hunter J was sent to Interpol’s jail in the Sinnoh area by a kind passerby.” Yaji stated calmly, “However, not long after that, Hunter J escaped from the jail where she was being held again.”

The moment Ye Ci finished speaking, the already dense barrage of comments surged like a tidal wave.

"What? This newborn can actually escape from prison?"

"That's how Interpol is; they can't catch you, and they can't keep an eye on you."

"Heh, these good-for-nothings are wasting our taxpayers' money!"

"..."

Amidst the uproar in the comments section, Ye Ci dropped another bombshell on the audience's minds: "Just over a year ago, Hunter J was captured again in the Fengyuan area, but unfortunately, she escaped from Interpol again more than three months ago."

The previously bustling barrage paused briefly for a second, as if a pause button had been pressed, before a dense barrage of comments swept across the live stream screen.

Interpol officers watching the live stream never expected that they, who were just watching to see how the Padia Alliance would deal with Hunter J, would end up getting themselves involved in the drama.

Quartz Plateau, headquarters of the Kanto Federation.

A man with a full head of red hair, wearing a tight-fitting uniform and a black cape, slammed his hand on the table and said angrily, "How can we do a good job as Interpol if we work with those bastards!"

Chapter 64: Widespread Attention and an Uninvited Guest (Please read and vote!)

As one of the Elite Four in the Kanto region and a Pokémon Investigator, Lance hates lawless Pokémon hunters more than anything else in his life.

As an internationally "famous" Pokémon hunter, Hunter J was naturally on Lance's "hunting" list.

However, Hunter J is very aware of her own abilities, and her business scope almost never involves the Kanto and Johto regions.

After all, everyone in this line of work knows that there's a Flying-type Elite Four member who calls himself the Dragon Elite Four member and dares to use Destruction Beam directly on criminals.

Aside from madmen, no one in this line of work dares to mess with that red-haired dragon tamer.

Just yesterday, one of Adu's subordinates reported to him that Hunter J had been captured again in the Parthian region.

According to reliable sources, the “helpful citizen” who caught Hunter J was a young man from the Sinnoh region.

Upon hearing this news, the first thing that came to A-Du's mind was a young face with a shy smile.

A little over a month ago, the young man and his companions easily defeated his prized flying (crossed out) dragon squadron.