Trainers returning from the Kingdom of Roc

Chapter 50: The Plan

"Pfft—cough cough cough cough!!"

Fortunately, it wasn't rice that was delicious, otherwise Hou Zhi would have choked.

Luo Yan and Hou Hao were prepared for this reaction. One of them picked up the water that had been prepared in advance and placed it in Hou Zhide's hands, while the other patted him on the back.

"Dad, Dad, Dad, take it easy."

Hou Zhi waved Hou Hao away, then craned his neck to look at the Omanyte in front of him.

Omanyte: Gurgle gurgle gurgle....o(*////▽////*)q

Hou Zhi stared for a long time, then suddenly turned his head.

"Is it alive?"

"It's definitely alive," Hou Hao replied.

Upon hearing this, Hou Zhi immediately leaned back in his chair.

He was startled and didn't react at first, but after calming down, he quickly figured it out.

"You caught this Omanyte in the secret realm."

Although the sentence was a question, it was clear from Hou Zhi's tone that he was already certain of his conjecture.

"Yes, Dad, the secret realm is also an island, but it's much bigger than Black Cloud Island. It's full of prehistoric Pokémon, but they all seem to be quite high level. I caught this little guy on the beach."

Hou Hao explained, then looked at his father, who was deep in thought, and couldn't help but ask.

"Dad, what are you thinking about?"

Hou Zhi frowned slightly. "...Now I understand why the secret realm didn't successfully descend. It's true that Black Cloud Island is connected to a secret realm, but this secret realm is from prehistoric times, and it doesn't match our current timeline..."

Upon hearing this, Luo Yan and Hou Hao exchanged a glance.

Hou Hao didn't understand the connection between the two, but Luo Yan's eyes flickered.

Although he didn't know the relationship between the secret realm and this world, he instinctively felt that things shouldn't be that simple. The Church of Descent was looking for divine beasts, but the secret realm didn't seem to have any divine beasts active there.

However, Luo Yan did not deny Hou Zhi's guess, after all, the secret passage was only opened for a short moment, and it did seem that there was a mismatch between the two dimensions.

"Dad, this Omanyte..."

"I'm afraid we can't keep this ammonite. The contribution of such a live specimen to the research of those experts is immeasurable." Hou Zhi interrupted Hou Hao before he could finish speaking. "I know you want to keep him, and I want to keep him too, but I'm afraid I can't control this matter."

"Uncle, this is what we wanted to report to you," Luo Yan said, taking the initiative to speak. "We didn't say we only caught one Omanyte."

"Um?"

Upon hearing this, Hou Zhi suddenly raised his head.

In that instant, Hou Zhi could even feel his own heartbeat.

He stared intently at Luo Yan opposite him and tentatively opened his mouth.

"How many did you arrest?"

Luo Yan didn't answer, but simply made a "four" gesture with her hand.

Hou Zhi's eyes lit up immediately.

Immediately afterwards, Luo Yan clenched her fist and made a zero sign.

The next second, Hou Zhi stood up abruptly.

"Forty of them!!??"

A chill suddenly crept up my back, and goosebumps rose on my arms, but what followed was an indescribable heat and ecstasy.

Hou Zhi didn't even bother to ask why they needed to prepare more than forty Poké Balls just to catch a Pokémon. All he knew was that a broad road he had never traveled before was slowly unfolding before him.

"Uncle, we don't have to hand over all forty of them, do we?"

Seeing Hou Zhi's reaction, Luo Yan knew that the other party had taken the bait. If there was only one, then Hou Zhi would not be able to take him on. But if the number increased fortyfold, then Hou Zhi would have to think carefully.

Human desires are very strong, and no one can escape them, not even a powerful gym leader.

Hou Zhi, as an adult and a seasoned veteran, clearly understood better than the two children what these prehistoric Pokémon meant and how much value they could bring, so his selfish motives were also greater.

Luo Yan was no exception; just as Hou Zhi had his own selfish motives, so did he.

In fact, including the ones Hou Hao had, they had a total of forty-six, but Luo Yan wasn't prepared to show him his underwear directly, even if the other party was Hou Hao's biological father.

Before confirming the true whereabouts of these Pokémon, Luo Yan will not reveal himself. At the very least, he will not hand over the Shiny Ice Dragon and the Shiny Baby Tyrannosaurus Rex under any circumstances.

Just kidding, he used two prism balls!

Aside from these two, plus the two children of the Ice and Snow Dragon, and the one Ammonite Beast and one Fossil Helmet left behind by Hou Hao, there were a total of six, none of which Luo Yan revealed.

This was the two's Plan B. If Hou Zhi really couldn't protect these Pokémon, then they would wait until they had the strength to surpass the Gym Leader before using it. They believed that there would be far fewer non-Gym Leaders by then.

However, after hearing what Hou Zhi said next, Luo Yan knew that her Plan B was no longer needed.

"If it's forty, then it's indeed impossible to hand them all over." Hou Zhi's eyes burned with fervor. "This is something you risked your lives for, so naturally we must keep it safe. Even if those experts need live specimens for research, they won't need this many."

"But..." Hou Zhi changed the subject. "But this matter needs to be planned carefully. By the way, you guys didn't tell anyone about these Pokémon, did you?"

"Of course not, I didn't even tell my mom. You're the first person to see us besides me and Luo Ge, oh, and Auntie too."

"That's good." Hou Zhi breathed a sigh of relief. That aunt had worked for their family for almost half her life, so she was naturally trustworthy. "Not bad, not bad, you didn't go around showing off. You've really grown up."

"Uncle, how do you plan to handle this?" Luo Yan asked.

"It's hard to say. I'm afraid I can't handle this alone. I need to find some influential people to help out," Hou Zhi said, then looked at Luo Yan. "Luo Yan, what do you think is the best way to deal with these Pokémon?"

"Me?" Luo Yan was taken aback. Seeing that Hou Zhi wasn't just asking casually, but was genuinely prepared to listen to his advice, he thought for a moment before speaking. "I think it's necessary to hand over a portion to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, but the rest can stay in the Taoist temple."

"Go on."

"First of all, we brought these Pokémon back, and the environment of Jiangcheng Gym is more suitable for these water-type Pokémon to live in, isn't it? There's such a big aquarium here. Besides research, we might even be able to turn it into a landmark building in Jiangcheng."

Upon hearing this, Hou Zhi's eyes burned even brighter, and then Luo Yan continued speaking.

"It's research anyway, so it doesn't matter where it is. The experts at the Chinese Academy of Sciences can't handle so many Pokémon, so they'll eventually need to build a breeding base. I think we should just set up the breeding base in Jiangcheng. That way, we can keep the Pokémon and get more funding."

"Good idea..." Hou Zhi narrowed his eyes slightly.

...