Pokémon: Master System.

Xia Yu had just arrived at the giant laboratory when he was stopped by Chi Hanqing.

Looking at Chi Hanqing standing in front of him, Xia Yu knew exactly why she had come to see him.

After all, yesterday's news broadcast the story of Sakaki's attack on the Snow Country Train.

Although Sakaki was ultimately "defeated" by Li Ruilin of Northeast China, it is an undeniable fact that Sakaki wanted to seize the Chi family's goods.

From the moment Xia Yu decided to take action against the Snow Country Express, he had already anticipated this outcome.

Meeting Chi Hanqing's gaze, Xia Yu remained calm. He had already reached an agreement with the Pokémon Association, so even if Chi Hanqing threatened him with revealing his identity again, he had no worries.

"What do you want from me?" Xia Yu asked Chi Hanqing, keeping his composure.

Chi Hanqing's eyes flickered, her bright eyes like pools of spring water, as she gazed at Xia Yu: "Let's talk in your office."

"Okay." Xia Yu nodded.

The two of them walked into Xia Yu's office one after the other.

…………

"Click!" Xia Yu closed the door and locked it from the inside to prevent anyone from barging in and overhearing their conversation.

"Speak, what is it?" Xia Yu was pretending to be ignorant, even though he felt relieved, he still felt that this matter was somewhat immoral.

Even though he and Chi Hanqing didn't have a good relationship, they were still working together on the surface.

Chi Hanqing stood in front of Xia Yu, his gaze fixed on Xia Yu, and asked, "Why did you steal the Chi family's goods?"

“The Dragon Sands are facing a blockade by the Pokémon Association and desperately need this shipment,” Xia Yu said, looking at Chi Hanqing and enunciating each word clearly.

“The Chi family also needs this batch of goods.” Chi Hanqing said calmly, looking at Xia Yu, “Besides, we are partners. Even if you want to take action, you should at least tell me in advance.”

"The situation was urgent at the time..." Xia Yu waved his hand, interrupting Chi Hanqing.

“Then you can call me when you have some free time,” Chi Hanqing said earnestly.

Xia Yu looked at Chi Hanqing and said in a deep voice, "How should I tell you? Tell you I'm going to rob your goods."

“You can tell me, and I can call Hanxiao to have the Longsha Association’s goods go through the Chi family’s channels.” Chi Hanqing looked at Xia Yu and said, “This way, we can bypass the Pokémon Association’s blockade.”

"Or the Chi family could directly ship the goods for Longsha, but charge a commission; these are all options," Chi Hanqing said earnestly to Xia Yu.

Ok?

Xia Yu was taken aback. He looked at Chi Hanqing and said, "The Dragon Sand Society and the Chi family have always been enemies. The Dragon Sand Society grew strong by taking over some of the Chi family's business. Are you sure the Chi family will cooperate with the Dragon Sand Society?"

"What's impossible about that?" Chi Hanqing raised his head, looked at Xia Yu, his eyes flashing, and said in a cold voice, "You and I are in a cooperative relationship. Since the Dragon Sand Society is your force, the Chi family's cooperation with you is equivalent to the cooperation with the Dragon Sand Society."

Chi Hanqing paused for a moment, then said, "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. After all, you didn't actually kidnap anyone. But if such a situation arises, I hope you can call me and let me know."

"By the way, I have one last piece of news for you. The Chi family has decided to withdraw from Bingcheng, and this business deal in Bingcheng will be their last. I'll take this opportunity to do you a favor and hand over the Chi family's clients to the Longsha Association." Chi Hanqing looked at Xia Yu and said seriously, "You can have the president of the Longsha Association, Shui Yutu, contact me or Han Xiao."

Hearing Chi Hanqing's words, Xia Yu was slightly taken aback. Chi Hanqing's attitude was somewhat unexpected: "Are you serious?"

“Of course it’s true. Give me Watery's phone number, and I’ll have Hanxiao contact her.” Chi Hanqing’s cold voice rang out: “Also, how long has it been since you’ve paid attention to the lab? Sylvia’s artificial Pokémon experiment has made a major breakthrough. I estimate that in another month or so, we’ll be able to artificially synthesize Porygon.”

"So fast?" Xia Yu asked in surprise. He really hadn't been paying attention to the lab's progress.

"What do you think? You're just a hands-off manager, not caring about anything or the progress of the experiment." Chi Hanqing's words were as sharp as ever, causing Xia Yu to frown slightly.

"Alright, I understand." Xia Yu waved his hand, interrupting Chi Hanqing's spellcasting. "I'll have the Dragon Sands contact you later, but this cooperation must be conducted underground, not publicly. Is there anything else?"

Xia Yu's implication was clear: he wanted to kick him out. But Chi Hanqing stood there, her voice cold, staring at Xia Yu without moving: "Xia Yu, have you forgotten what you promised me?"

When the past was brought up again, Xia Yu naturally knew which matter Chi Hanqing was referring to: "I promised you that I would give you the Gigantamax Pokémon, but on the condition that you make an equal contribution, otherwise you won't be able to protect it even if I give it to you."

"Either you lead the Dragon Sand Society or the Paradise Group to join Team Rocket, like Shui Yutu or Jiang Yu did. Are you willing to merge the entire Chi family into Team Rocket?"

"Or you can make a huge contribution to the experiment before I can rightfully reward you."

"I've proposed a few new ideas for artificial Pokémon to Sylvia. If you can successfully develop them, I can reward you with a Gigantamax Pokémon."

Hearing Xia Yu's words, Chi Hanqing understood that Xia Yu wanted to renege on the debt, but she had already guessed that this would be the result.

After all, if Xia Yu really wanted to give her a Gigantamax Pokémon, he would have done so long ago, instead of dragging it out for so long without any action. If she hadn't asked, Xia Yu would definitely have kept putting it off.

Chi Hanqing remained remarkably calm in the face of this outcome. She simply looked at Xia Yu, then took a deep breath and softly said, "Okay, I understand."

After saying that, Chi Hanqing got up and prepared to leave the office.

Xia Yu's eyes flickered as he watched Chi Hanqing's departing figure.

Why is Chi Hanqing so calm today?

Chapter 624 Preparing for the G2 League

After the start of spring, the weather in the capital began to warm up.

Xia Yu stood by the office window, watching Chi Hanqing's departing figure, her brows furrowed.

He didn't look away until Chi Hanqing returned to the laboratory, then sat back on the soft sofa chair, his face showing a thoughtful expression.

Chi Hanqing's matter must be dealt with immediately. Although he has reached an agreement with the Pokémon Association, now is not the time to expose him.

After thinking for a long time, Xia Yu took out his phone and dialed Sylvia's number: "In the meantime, keep an eye on Chi Hanqing. Be careful not to get caught."

“Okay…” Sylvia paused, then cautiously asked, “What happened between you two? I just saw her come out of your office.”

"It's nothing... I'm just worried she'll report my identity."

“Okay, I can only do my best,” Sylvia’s voice rang out. “You know, she also has experts by her side.”

"Yes. Just do your best."

…………

After hanging up the phone, Xia Yu began to fully prepare for the G2 League.

In fact, for Xia Yu, with his current strength, very few Gym Leader-level Trainers can rival him, and it is almost impossible for anyone to defeat him.

With his near-master level aptitude, Dorambaruto alone could dominate the entire field.

Xia Yu was preparing because he was worried that if a younger version of Duan Hongzhi appeared, it would be embarrassing if things went wrong.

…………

Time flies, and two days have passed in the blink of an eye.

Xia Yu was also secretly and diligently training his Pokémon in the giant laboratory.

Especially the three Pokémon that are not convenient to show themselves: Diancie, Darkrai, and Zekrom.

Zekrom's strength is truly astounding. Although he is only at the King-level, he is already able to fight Darkrai, who is at the near-Champion level, to a standstill.

As for Diancie, who possesses near-Elite Four level strength, she is no match for Darkrai and Zekrom.

"boom!"

Dark clouds filled the sky, and lightning flashed, striking the cave.

"Director Xia is training his Pokémon again."

"He must have hidden a powerful Electric-type Pokémon as a weapon, but I don't know what kind of Pokémon it is."

"I guess it's either Thunderbird or Ampharos, after all, Director Xia is a Dragon-type trainer."

…………

Xia Yu, who was focused on preparing for the match, naturally couldn't hear the other people's discussions. He wiped the sweat from his forehead when the phone suddenly rang.

"beep."

It's quite rare for a phone call to come from Grandpa.

"Hey... Xia Yu."

“Grandpa,” Xia Yu replied.

Old Lin's voice was somewhat hoarse and low: "Are you in the lab right now?"

"Ah."

"Try to go home the day after tomorrow when you have some free time." Old Lin's words puzzled Xia Yu. What had happened?

"What happened, Grandpa?"

"Old Chi is gone. He passed away a little after ten in the morning." Old Lin sighed as he said this, but birth, aging, sickness and death are inevitable: "Old Chi's funeral is in three days. You will come with us."

"Elder Chi...is gone?" Xia Yu was slightly taken aback. He suddenly remembered that since meeting Chi Hanqing that day, she hadn't come to the giant laboratory for the past two days.

Xia Yu thought she wanted to report him to the Pokémon Association, but he didn't expect that it was because Old Chi had passed away.

"Hmm," Grandpa responded. "As people get older, birth, aging, illness, and death are common occurrences. It's just that Old Chi seemed perfectly fine last year, and we even had drinks together... Never mind, let's not talk about these things. Are you free the day after tomorrow?"

"Yes, Grandpa, I'll come back to find you then," Xia Yu replied.

"Okay, remember to call me in advance. If you have time these next few days, you can go visit Xiaochi with Yan Ning." Old Lin instructed, "Dragon King is coming back tonight, so take this opportunity to visit your master as well."

“I’ve heard Dragon King say several times that you haven’t visited him even once since he left the capital.”

Old Lin's voice made Xia Yu feel somewhat ashamed.

To be honest, he placed all his affection for his master on Teacher Long.

Although he never visited his master, he at least took good care of his master's daughter, Long Yanning.