After dinner, Diantha suggested taking a walk nearby to help digest the food.
Chen Shi, Cynthia, and Steven exchanged glances before all nodding in agreement.
Thus, led by Diantha, the four of them slowly walked out of the hotel together.
Not long afterward, they arrived at a nearby park.
Under the cover of night, the park possessed a unique charm.
The streetlamps at the entrance emitted a soft glow, while the surrounding greenery appeared hazy and dreamlike beneath the lights.
As they strolled leisurely along the winding pathways, the faint fragrance of flowers drifted through the cool night air, making the atmosphere especially refreshing.
"Not having to work, not having to deal with all those annoying things…"
"Now this is a beautiful life."
Steven sighed emotionally.
Diantha smiled.
"Why do I feel like you live like an old man?"
"You don't resemble someone our age at all."
"Mhm, exactly."
Chen Shi nodded seriously.
"Looks like from now on we'll have to call you Grandpa Steven."
"Pfft—"
Hearing that, Diantha immediately burst into laughter.
Steven glared at Chen Shi.
"You're the grandpa!"
"I'm still an underaged young man, alright?"
Then he suddenly changed the topic.
"By the way, Old Chen, where are we going next?"
Chen Shi thought for a moment before replying:
"Since we finally managed to come out for a trip, let's properly explore the Kalos Region."
"Didn't you say you wanted to visit the Lumiose Museum?"
"How about we go there tomorrow?"
"Sounds good!"
Steven had no objections whatsoever.
He really did want to visit the museum.
At that moment, Diantha suddenly spoke:
"If you all want to travel around Kalos…"
"I can act as your guide for a while."
Cynthia looked at her in surprise.
"Wouldn't that interfere with your work?"
After spending time together recently, Cynthia had already learned that Diantha wasn't only a Trainer—
She was also an actress.
And actresses were usually extremely busy, weren't they?
So how did she suddenly have time to accompany them as a guide?
Diantha shrugged helplessly.
"I'm pretty much the same as Steven."
"The Secret Realm trial ended early, so I don't really have anything urgent to do right now."
"So this is the perfect opportunity to travel around Kalos for a while too."
"I see."
Cynthia nodded in understanding before smiling lightly.
"Then we'll be troubling you."
"What's troublesome about it?"
"I've always wanted to properly tour Kalos myself too."
"I just never had the chance before."
"This time works perfectly."
"Then it's settled!"
Chen Shi immediately finalized the decision.
If they were planning to travel around Kalos, having a local like Diantha with them would definitely save them a lot of trouble.
And just like that, the matter was happily decided.
...…
After leisurely wandering through the park beneath the night sky for a while longer, the four of them finally began heading back toward the hotel.
The cool night breeze brushed gently across the streets.
Compared to daytime, there were far fewer pedestrians around, making the roads feel unusually spacious and quiet.
However—
Before they had gone very far, they encountered two men walking shoulder-to-shoulder.
The pair staggered drunkenly down the street, swaying left and right with unstable steps.
At a glance, it was obvious they had drunk far too much.
As they walked, they muttered to each other incoherently while slowly approaching Chen Shi's group.
Normally, this sort of thing was extremely common at night.
Drunk people wandering the streets weren't exactly rare.
So Chen Shi and the others originally paid them no attention.
They simply planned to return to the hotel and rest.
But at the moment they brushed past one another—
Chen Shi vaguely overheard part of their conversation.
"Hehehe… we're really gonna get rich this time."
"Who would've thought Pokémon like that actually existed?"
"Boss J already said this batch won't be sold."
"As long as we control them, we'll have endless wealth forever."
"Hahahaha, exactly!"
"Even if Boss J takes the biggest cut according to the rules…"
"As long as we get a little leftover profit, it'll still be a massive amount of money."
Chen Shi's footsteps halted slightly.
His brows slowly furrowed as he began thinking.
What Pokémon were they talking about?
Why would controlling them lead to endless wealth?
And who exactly is this 'Boss J'?
Why does that name sound so familiar…?
"What's wrong, Old Chen? Let's go."
Seeing him suddenly stop, Steven turned around and called out to him.
Cynthia and Diantha also stopped, looking at him curiously.
Chen Shi ignored them completely.
Instead, his gaze locked tightly onto the two drunken men walking farther away.
Even though he had only overheard two short sentences—
The amount of information hidden within them was enormous.
He didn't know who these people were.
But one thing was certain:
They definitely weren't good people.
So Chen Shi decided to skip all the unnecessary nonsense and go straight to forceful methods.
"Jirachi, catch them."
Jirachi had originally been curiously observing the surroundings nearby.
Hearing Chen Shi's sudden command, the little Pokémon froze in confusion.
Although it didn't understand why Chen Shi wanted those two people captured—
Jirachi had always been extremely obedient toward him.
So it agreed almost immediately without hesitation.
"Okaaay!"
The instant the words fell—
Jirachi waved its tiny hand.
A terrifying wave of psychic power exploded outward like a tidal flood.
The invisible psychic force spread rapidly toward the two drunk men before instantly binding them tightly in place like invisible ropes.
The two men, who moments ago had still been stumbling drunkenly down the street, immediately felt as though they had been struck by lightning.
Their alcohol-fogged minds instantly cleared.
The drunken haze vanished completely.
Both of them stared around in shock and confusion, unable to understand what had just happened.
"Chen Shi… what are you doing?"
Diantha looked completely bewildered.
She couldn't understand why Chen Shi had suddenly ordered Jirachi to capture two random drunk people.
Compared to her confusion, Steven and Cynthia were far calmer.
They had known Chen Shi much longer and trusted him deeply.
They knew he would never do something like this without a reason.
So instead of questioning him, the two simply stood silently nearby and watched.
Chen Shi still didn't answer Diantha's question.
Instead, he said to Jirachi:
"Can you bring them over here for me?"
"Of course I can!"
Jirachi cheerfully waved its little hand again, using psychic power to levitate the two men directly in front of Chen Shi.
Without wasting time, Chen Shi questioned them immediately.
"I just heard you two say that controlling a certain kind of Pokémon would bring endless wealth."
"Can you tell me what kind of Pokémon you were talking about?"
"And who exactly is this 'Boss J' you mentioned?"
...…
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