Pokémon: Hard work pays off, moves can be upgraded infinitely.

Jiakou City, suburbs.

Inside the Xu Family Manor.

The area boasts beautiful mountains and clear waters, birdsong and fragrant flowers, and pleasant air; it's clearly a great place for relaxation and rejuvenation.

In fact, that is indeed the case.

This is a retirement home that Xu Dian specially chose after his retirement.

"Tell me, what's wrong?"

Xu Dian took out a tea set and, while brewing tea with practiced ease, said, "Before you speak, calm your mind. Haste makes waste."

"Yes, Grandpa!"

Xu Kaijun took a deep breath.

After he took the teacup that Xu Dian pushed towards him with both hands, his unease and restlessness subsided considerably.

"It's like this, Grandpa, this morning..."

Xu Kaijun recounted in detail everything, from his thoughts a month ago when he heard about the planned gift of the Pokémon egg, the process of the switch, to the expressions he observed on the other person's face today.

There was no embellishment; it was almost entirely an objective record from his perspective.

"Sigh~~"

Xu Dian put down his teacup, closed his eyes slightly, and leaned his head back in his chair.

He always thought he had a successful life, taking the small Xu family, which could only live in Jiakou City back then, and developing it into a large family with tentacles all over Hebei Province.

He has always been proud of this.

But looking at it today, perhaps he really lacked in the way of educating his clansmen.

"So, you suspect him?"

After a moment of calm, Xu Dian looked at Xu Kaijun with a calm gaze, his tone devoid of any emotion.

".........yes!"

Xu Kaijun hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

The main problem is that things happened too coincidentally; he switched the items in the morning, and then the incident happened in the evening.

When he feels guilty, it's hard for him not to overthink things.

"..."

Xu Dian didn't speak, but simply picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and then slowly opened his mouth:

"Do you know how many people our Xu family has blocked our path to become? How many corpses have we buried? How many wolves and jackals have tried to bring down our Xu family and cause the secret realm to fall into our hands?"

Xu Kaijun was taken aback.

Since his birth, the Xu family has made a name for itself in Beihe Province.

As long as you call yourself the Xu family of Beihe, you will be respected wherever you go.

He had never really thought about why he was entitled to these honors in his daily life.

"As for the young man you mentioned, I have personally reviewed his information. He has extraordinary luck and excellent talent. He is also favored by Heijiang University and even the entire Northeast region. Given time, he may very well become a member of the Heijiang Mu family, or even the Northeast Mu family."

"Have you thought about the future of the Xu family when you acted like this?" Xu Dian's voice was calm, not like he was lecturing Xu Kaijun, but more like he was talking to himself.

But even these calm words sent chills down Xu Kaijun's spine and made his hair stand on end.

"Remember, you are the future patriarch of the Xu family. In all your actions, you should consider the big picture, think things through, and only if you think far ahead and think deeply enough can the Xu family live long enough and prosper enough."

"Yes, Grandpa!"

Xu Kaijun felt a little confused, gripped the teacup tightly with both hands, and nodded repeatedly.

Xu Dianwei shook his head almost imperceptibly: "Keep this to yourself and never mention it to anyone again, including your father."

"Yes, Grandpa!"

"Also, starting tomorrow, remember to send people to investigate the situation in the major underground trading markets. The person behind this might not be able to handle such a large number of Pokémon eggs."

The fact that they can be found indicates that they have the ability, but not much influence.

Not found...

"Yes, Grandpa!"

"Alright, go back and get some rest, and think about what I said today."

Xu Dian rubbed his temples.

"Yes, Grandpa!"

Xu Kaijun downed the tea in one gulp, swallowing even the small tea leaves, then quickly got up and walked halfway before seemingly snapping back to reality, saying, "Grandpa, you should rest too."

"Um."

Xu Dian gave a barely perceptible reply.

Only after Xu Kaijun closed the door and left did Xu Dian slowly get up and look out the window.

At this moment, dawn was breaking, and the sky was already showing a hint of pale white.

"What I did in the past is now reaping what I sow; my old age is indeed filled with unease..."

Xu Dian stretched out his withered hand. Once upon a time, this was a strong and powerful fist that could still be clenched tightly even when stained with blood.

But now, even the light from their joined fingertips can't be blocked...

"So be it, this old face... I'd rather not have it... I'd rather not have it..."

..............................

Inside a hotel in Jiakou City.

"Superpowers are so convenient, no wonder everyone wants to raise a Psychic-type Pokémon."

After putting away Xiao Du, who had guarded the room all night, Mu Yun sighed inwardly.

Upon sensing the arrival of a Champion-level Pokémon in Excadrill's territory in Silver Steel Realm, he immediately entered the Pokémon Space.

After arranging a large number of sprite eggs and sprites, I tried to trigger the spatial anchor point.

In an instant, he was back at the hotel.

Furthermore, after re-entering the Elf Space and exiting, I was back in the hotel room.

Clearly, his plan was a success.

The only question is, how did those two champion-level Pokémon detect him?

The feeling of him flying straight towards them clearly confirmed his location.

But he clearly circled most of the secret realm, so how did the other party know that?

Could it be that a champion-level Metagross is that smart?

"Big Brother, it should be a residual fluctuation after the spatial node was triggered."

Patrick Star popped out of Mu Yun's pocket and said.

"Fluctuations in spatial nodes?"

Mu Yun unleashed his superpowers to perceive the details.

Sure enough, at the spatial anchor point he left behind, extremely subtle fluctuations were occurring.

It's a bit like the faint ripples on a lake surface caused by fallen leaves; you can hardly see it unless you look closely.

"No wonder......"

After discovering the problem, Mu Yun immediately tried to stabilize the spatial node using his superpowers.

In about three to five seconds, the faint ripples disappeared.

After thinking for a moment, Mu Yun immediately dissipated the spatial anchor point, and after it stabilized, he packed his luggage and left.

He stopped by the place where Meng Beilu was hiding.

After a night, the fluctuations in the triggered spatial node had become so faint as to be barely perceptible.

However, just to be on the safe side, Mu Yun stabilized the situation before quietly checking out and leaving.

People always feel guilty after doing something wrong.

Of course, Mu Yun wasn't guilty. It was simply because his usual routine was to leave the morning after challenging the dojo and then continue his journey.

After all, the journey takes a long time, and he doesn't need to sleep for long, so he developed this habit.

About two hours after Mu Yun checked out and left, a member of the Xu family came over to inquire.

As a local strongman in Jiakou City, the receptionist naturally answered even the smallest questions honestly.

"Keep today's events to yourself."

The Xu family member tossed down a small wad of cash and quietly left.

"Old man, he passed away early this morning, which matches the information we found earlier."

"Also, this morning we discovered that Xu Hui has disappeared, as has his butler surnamed Meng. Furthermore, many people associated with Xu Hui have reported having their money stolen."

"Is that all? Okay, I understand. I'll personally investigate Xu Hui's situation and make sure I find him alive or dead!"