Auron stood outside a shop with the sign "Lulu Tong" for a moment, then decided to step inside.
He sent the group a quick message from the doorway before heading in.
"Boss, what can I help you find?"
The moment Auron walked in, he spotted a young guy wearing a pair of fortune-teller-style dark sunglasses, head tilted down, peering at Auron over the rim of his small round glasses.
Auron looked the young man over and barely held back a laugh. "Boss, the lights in here are this dim — can you even see through those?"
The young man yanked the glasses off. "Obviously not, or you think I'd be looking over my glasses like this?!"
He tossed the sunglasses onto the counter in front of him with a flick. "The old man said it'll look more mysterious this way. And yeah, right — can't see a thing, which definitely makes it mysterious."
After thesnarked, the young man immediately resumed the same posture — head lowered, eyes angled up toward Auron.
"Slap!"
"Gah — total blind spot!"
The young man slapped himself across the face, then finally lifted his head properly and looked Auron straight in the eyes.
"What do you want to know? Pay up and find out!"
Auron stared at him wordlessly. The guy had really done it — a visible red mark was already blooming on his cheek.
The young man noticed Auron wasn't talking and frowned. "This shop's called Lulu Tong. I'm Lu Lutong. Anything you want to know — intel, information, whatever we've got — it's all price-tagged and on the level."
"The shop's called 'Lulu Tong' and the owner's named Lu Lutong, and these…"
Auron felt another twitch in his eye. He'd used up more weekly eye-twitches today than in any whole week he could remember.
What was it with the people outside this Black Mystery Zone?
"Right — I want to ask about the Black Mystery Zone."
Auron steadied himself and directed his question at Lu Lutong.
"Regular intel's five hundred. Detailed intel's two thousand. Premium intel's five thousand."
Once Lu Lutong heard that Auron was asking about the Black Mystery Zone, he gave a barely perceptiblepouted, then settled back in his seat before answering.
"Uh… what's the difference between the three?"
Lu Lutong nodded. "Glad you asked. Regular intel is the official free stuff. Detailed intel is the official stuff they charge a thousand for."
Auron stared at Lu Lutong's utterly sincere expression, and his brain briefly short-circuited.
When had he learned to read sincerity off a con artist like that?!
"Hoo…"
Auron took a deep breath, steadied his composure once more, and asked, "And the premium tier?"
Lu Lutong lifted his cup and took a sip of tea. "Premium is everything you can't get out there on your own."
"Hoo…"
"Give me the specifics."
"General layout of the Black Mystery Zone, possible exit locations,matters needing attention, Pokémon distribution, that kind of thing."
"I'll take the premium!"
Before Auron could even respond, Tim had already spoken up from behind him.
"Boss, you're a gentleman~"
Lu Lutong drawled out a lazy compliment and tossed a rolled-up sheet of paper their way.
"Here — it's all in there. You folks together?"
Auron glanced back at Tim and gave a nod. "Yeah, we're a group."
"Oh, then that'll be four thousand for you. Here — scan this."
Auron was puzzled. "Why'd it come to four thousand?"
"Not long ago, someone came asking about a person traveling with a Shiny Dratini. I quoted them two hundred thousand — and wouldn't you know it, before I even started working, you walk right in."
Lu Lutong burst out laughing. Now that was what you called easy money.
"How do you even know it's me?"
"Two hundred thousand? You shaved off just a thousand?"
Auron and Tim spoke at the same time — except they were clearly not on the same wavelength at all.
Lu Lutong just grinned at Auron. "Does it matter? Forget whether there are multiple Shiny Dratini owners across the whole country — my job is just to make sure my information is accurate. Whether they're actually the person they're looking for? That's their problem. What do I care?"
With that, he turned to Tim. "A thousand off is already me being extremely generous. Go ask around — when has Lulu Tong ever given anyone a discount?"
"Fine, fine."
Tim sighed in resignation and scanned Lu Lutong four thousand Dracocoins.
"By the way, do you have small private rooms? We've got some things to discuss."
"Yeah, five hundred. Soundproofing is Max."
"Sure!"
Tim scanned another five hundred over to Lu Lutong.
"Oh, and a few friends of ours are still coming — just have them go up."
"Second floor, room 203. But if they want in, that's extra."
Tim, resigned: "Fine, won't bother you with it."
He grabbed Auron and headed upstairs.
Once inside the room, Auron took in the space — a small round table, a few stools, and absolutely nothing else.
"Five hundred for this?! That's daylight robbery!"
Tim shot Auron a strange look. "Wait — you don't know this place?"
"Me? Should I?"
"Lu Lutong, the owner of Lulu Tong — I'm just surprised he's here in person, though he clearly recognized me."
Auron was curious. "You know him?"
"Well… sort of, yeah."
Tim let out a sigh and continued. "Lulu Tong is an intel and information shop, but it's also a distribution hub for all kinds of goods. They've got a presence at pretty much every Mystery Zone entrance."
"This place has been around for a long time. Beyond the prices being steep, there's not a single complaint — if the info you want exists, they've got it. If it doesn't, they'll take a commission and make it happen. Like what he said just now — someone paid two hundred thousand to hunt you down."
"Steep?"
Auron was almost speechless. Was "steep" the word for this? Outside, free info cost five hundred. Outside, a thousand got you the same info they charged two thousand for. "Steep" didn't begin to cover it.
But — someone was investigating him?
Auron glanced over his shoulder at Deoxys and immediately felt at ease.
Deoxys might've just been born not long ago, but from the moment they arrived, they operated at Pseudo-Legendary combat level. Strictly speaking, it wasn't really a birth — it was more like a restoration.
"Keep going. What else?"
Tim nodded. "Lu Lutong — that guy just now — he's the current generation's head shopkeeper for Lulu Tong."
"This shop's been around for ages, and there's always been a hint of official backing in the background."
Tim gave a small laugh. "They've got this family tradition — the shop's called Lulu Tong, and since the family surname is Lu, somehow it became a generational thing. Every head shopkeeper who takes over has to have a name that's a homophone of Lulu Tong. I think the previous generation's head was Lu Lutong — honestly, I'm kind of impressed they haven't run out of suitable homophone characters yet. Someday they're really going to have to wonder what happens when they do, haha."
"What're you laughing about?"
Just as Tim was mid-laugh, the door swung open and Jace, Lucas, and the others piled in.
Lucas had immediately gone hunting for more of those Starfruit after Auron told him one was worth a Silver Crown — but from the looks of it, he'd come up empty.
"Aren't we going into the Mystery Zone? Why are we here?"
Tim just smiled mysteriously. "You'll see."
PS: Three chapters today! I'm amazing, right?!
(End of Chapter)