Elf: Is the bear apprentice the weakest? I'll shatter the sky with my fists.

Li Chen tapped the aluminum can lightly with his fingertips, producing a crisp sound.

"When it comes to feelings..."

A faint smile played on his lips. "Like a Poké Ball that's been accidentally knocked over, who knows what it'll release?"

Sunlight streamed through the car window, casting dappled shadows on his face.

Daigo noticed the unconscious rubbing of his left ring finger, but simply smiled faintly and listened quietly.

"It was just a casual greeting..."

Li Chen gazed at the fleeting scenery outside the window, his voice gradually lowering, "Who knew that young lady's superpower was that she could even see through people's hearts?"

A drop of water slid down from the bottom of the can, leaving a dark stain on the leather seat. Just like some unexpected moments of infatuation, they come suddenly, but are hard to erase.

"Of course, they're just some minor emotional issues. Whether they're rich or not doesn't matter."

Li Chen shook his head.

There's not much to say.

He only flirted with Cattleya a few times, and she immediately became attached to him.

"Hahaha~"

Daigo chuckled softly, his long, slender fingers tapping lightly on the armrest of his chair. "Isn't that a kind of talent too?"

His voice carried a hint of mockery, and his silver-gray eyes gleamed with an unusual light in the morning glow.

Outside the car window, Devon Group's iconic blue glass curtain wall was already faintly visible.

Daigo elegantly adjusted his tie, the casualness of his earlier conversation quietly fading away, replaced by the composure of a business elite.

"It seems our casual conversation will have to come to an end for now."

He leaned forward slightly, the platinum cufflinks on his sleeves reflecting a cold light. "I hope the upcoming formal meeting will be as...pleasant as this journey."

The car came to a smooth stop in front of the hotel's crystal revolving door.

A uniformed waiter quickly stepped forward and respectfully opened the car door.

As Li Chen stepped out of the carriage, the sea breeze, carrying a faint salty scent, wafted towards him.

The sound of piano music and ocean waves mingled wonderfully in the lobby.

"Mr. Li Chen, here is your room key."

The receptionist smiled and handed me a magnetic card inlaid with a keystone pattern. "Top floor ocean view suite, with a 270-degree panoramic view of the entire Kanaz Bay."

The moment Li Chen's fingertip touched the room key, he noticed that Daigo was leaning against a marble pillar, his silver hair gently swaying in the breeze.

This young nobleman was acting like a dutiful guide, arranging even the smallest details of the hotel so meticulously.

Li Chen ran his fingertips along the edge of the room key and nodded slightly in Daigo's direction: "Thank you for your trouble."

Daigo remained leaning against the pillar, only raising his hand to brush his silver hair back, revealing the communicator faintly visible on his earlobe: "It's my duty."

Li Chen took one last look at Daigo, who was bathed in the morning light, before turning and stepping into the hotel lobby, which had a ten-meter-high ceiling.

His tall, slender figure was reflected in the marble floor, each step creating a soft echo.

The elevator doors slid open silently, and as he swiped his card, he noticed that the sensor area was inlaid with exquisite evolution stone patterns.

As the floor number continued to climb, the azure waters of Carnarvon Bay gradually unfolded into a panoramic view through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

When the electronic voice announced "Top floor reached," he loosened his tie.

This brief respite may be his last moment of peace before facing formal negotiations.

Enter the room.

Li Chen casually tossed the room key onto the coffee table and sank into the soft sofa.

As his fingertips brushed against the communicator, the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up.

"beep--"

The screen lit up before the third beep had even finished.

"Honey, have we arrived yet?"

Eileen's voice was tinged with a lazy sleepiness.

The camera was shaky; she seemed to have just propped herself up, and her silky blonde hair slipped down her shoulders.

Morning light filtered through the gauze curtains, swirling around the openwork patterns of her lace nightgown, subtly outlining the curves of her abdomen.

Although it remains the same as before.

Li Chen rested his knuckles on his chin, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly: "Just arrived."

His gaze swept over the half-finished glass of milk on the bedside table, and he said softly, "Did you have insomnia again last night?"

"Hmph~"

A soft laugh came from the other end of the screen. Eileen twirled the end of her hair with her fingertips: "It must be some little rascal kicking the blankets the whole time."

She suddenly leaned closer to the camera, her eyelashes fluttering in the light and shadow, and said, "I missed you."

Hearing what Eileen said, Li Chen gently stroked the screen with his fingertips and said in a soft tone, "After I finish dealing with things here, I'll fly back to be with you right away."

"Yeah, good luck on your end too!"

As we spoke, the cries of long-winged gulls mingled with the sound of waves outside the window.

Looking at his smiling wife on the screen, Li Chen suddenly felt that the negotiating table at Devon Group wasn't so daunting after all.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

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Chapter 605 Daigo: I feel like I've been tricked by Li Chen

In the field of Pokémon technology, Devon Manufacturing Co., Ltd. has always been at the forefront of research and development.

Compared to Poké Balls, Great Balls, and Ultra Balls, they prefer to develop Poké Balls with different effects.

For example, luxury balls and timed balls.

Behind most special Poké Balls lies the influence of their patented technology.

Rumors suggest that even the Masterball, which Silver Company is so proud of, owes its core technology to a secret collaboration between the two companies...

However, the Masterball mass production plan has encountered bottlenecks as energy demand increases.

The energy consumed by a Poké Ball that can capture Pokémon with 100% success rate is comparable to that of a small power plant each time it is built and activated.

This is precisely the trump card that the Marocomón Group holds today.

Energy is not a problem.

Li Chen stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the city of Rustboro. The Poké Ball of Eternatus in the inner pocket of his suit was slightly warm.

As a legendary Pokémon capable of disrupting the energy cycle of the Galar region, its boundless energy may be the key to breaking the current stalemate.

Therefore, he has the advantage in this conversation!

......

......

Before the morning light had completely dispelled the sea fog, Li Chen's leather shoes had already stepped across the mirrored tiles of the Devon Company Plaza.

The giant cube made of glass curtain walls gleamed with a cool blue light in the morning sun, and the energy-sensing door at the entrance slid open silently as he approached.

He glanced at his watch; there were still twenty minutes until the agreed time.

The alloy interior of the elevator shaft reflected his meticulously tied tie and the faint Marocomón Group logo on the left breast pocket of his suit.

When the floor display jumped to the top floor, he subconsciously touched the Poké Ball in his inner pocket that was abnormally hot.

On the holographic projection wall in the reception room, the Devon Corporation logo is playing on a loop.

The coffee the waiter brought was still steaming, but Li Chen, as usual, stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

From this height, the entire city of Kanaz is at your feet.

He gently tapped on the windowpane, mentally calculating his next bargaining chips.

Ta-da-ta-da...

The crisp sound of leather shoes tapping on the marble floor grew louder as the double carved wooden doors of the conference room were slowly pushed open.

Daigo casually strolled in, one hand in his pocket.

"Awaited."

He casually slid a stack of holographic projection documents onto the conference table, the metallic edges of the documents sparking tiny fragments on the surface.

"My father has to go to deal with an emergency at the meteorite research institute. I will be handling everything on his behalf today. Mr. Li Chen, you... don't mind?"

Li Chen's fingertips unconsciously traced the rim of the coffee cup, and a genuine smile curved his lips in the rising steam: "Just what I wanted."

Compared to that cunning old fox who could calculate profits using the curvature of a spoon, this young nobleman who would stay up all night discussing rare minerals was clearly more suited to discussing imaginative topics like energy innovation.

Daigo suddenly unbuttoned his suit jacket and sat down, a casual movement that instantly eased the tense atmosphere in the conference room.

Li Chen suddenly slammed his coffee cup down on the table, the porcelain and glass making a crisp sound as they collided.

He leaned forward slightly, and the watch face peeking out from his cuff reflected a sharp light.

"I need 20 percent of Devon Corporation's shares."

His voice was like a drawn sword, slicing away any room for small talk in the conference room: "Exchange it for the infinite energy technology of the Void."

The clouds outside the window just then dispersed, and the sunlight shone on the negotiating table like a spotlight.

Li Chen gently tapped the Poké Ball's shell with his fingertips. The legendary Pokémon sleeping inside seemed to sense something, and a strange purplish-red light flashed across the surface of the ball.

"Think about it."

A sharp smile curled at the corner of his lips. "When the Masterball's energy problem is solved, how high will Devon's stock price soar?"

The air in the conference room seemed to freeze at that moment, and even the faint hum of the holographic projector could be clearly heard.

Daigo tapped his fingertips lightly on the table, the rhythm like the sound of a geological hammer striking a rock core sample.

The shadows of the clouds outside the window swept across his sharply defined profile, cutting his ever-changing thoughts into fragments of light and shadow.

His right hand unconsciously fiddled with the keystone armlet, the metal and gemstone colliding and making a soft, clear sound.

"Twenty percent...that's too much."

Daigo raised his eyelids.

In that instant, the trainer's passion vanished from his eyes, replaced only by the calm sharpness of Devon's successor.

dong dong dong.

Daigo's knuckles tapped lightly on the table. He slowly leaned back, the leather chair groaning softly as he was enveloped in the shadow cast by the blinds.

"Twenty percent..."

As he repeated the number, the tip of his tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth, as if he were tasting some overly strong wine.

They knew perfectly well what this ratio meant.

A seat on the board of directors, voting rights on core patents, and even the ability to rival one's father at the annual strategy meeting...

Suddenly, sunlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating the family ring on the ring finger of his left hand.

The Devon logo gleamed coldly on the ring face, like a silent warning.

Daigo suddenly remembered what his father had said when he visited the fossil resurrection laboratory when he was a child: "Some boundaries are like the bulletproof glass of a display case. They seem transparent but can never be broken."

“Mr. Li Chen, this number... I'm afraid it has crossed our group’s ‘red line’.”

Daigo's voice remained elegant, but it carried the same resolute tone a mineral appraiser would when declaring a piece a fake.

Upon hearing the refusal, Li Chen narrowed his eyes and stroked the smooth surface of the Poké Ball with his fingertips.

"So what do you mean?"

He spoke very softly, as if soothing the restless Mukyu, but the glint in his eyes betrayed his hunter-like vigilance.