Due to the Emuritto incident, Fang Yuan was temporarily housed within the Hua Country Trainer Association at Dianyuan Mountain and heavily guarded.
However, after some time, it was expected that Fang Yuan would be sent back to his home country, where he was likely to encounter fewer problems.
One day,
Sun Qianshang came to visit and told Fang Yuan some news.
"The person who announced the bounty for the Self-detonating Magnetic Monster has been confirmed," she said.
Fang Yuan looked at the cold woman before him and asked, "Who is it?"
"It's the Trainer from the Silver Stone Area Magnetic Field, that stick. He used two intermediaries to put up the bounty; he's hidden himself well."
"I had guessed as much," Fang Yuan nodded.
Under the pressure of the Trainer Association, no Spirit Hunters dared to target Fang Yuan within the confines of Dianyuan Mountain.
The amount of the bounty wasn't enough to sway these hunters into confronting someone under the focused protection of the Trainer Association.
However, what Fang Yuan and Sun Qianshang didn't expect was that it was indeed the stick's Professional Trainer who made the first move against Fang Yuan.
"This matter is quite coincidental," Sun Qianshang said, looking at Fang Yuan.
Currently, the four assailants and Kim Yunmi are still held in the jails of the Hua Nation area.
The Trainer Association from the stick's country has expressed interest in reclaiming their people, but the Hua Nation's Trainer Association is certainly not going to release them easily.
This issue could be made a big deal or a small one, and in characterizing the situation, Fang Yuan revealed his intentions to Sun Qianshang.
If made into a big deal, it could escalate to a conflict between two nations, but that wasn't necessarily beneficial.
If handled as a lesser issue, there were many solutions, and as the central figure in the incident, Fang Yuan was sure to receive compensation; he could definitely gain a lot from it.
In this incident, Fang Yuan hadn't been harmed at all and had instead given a thrashing to his opponents. Without having been slighted, he leaned towards a resolution where he could gain substantial personal benefits.
His demand was not high; a compensation of just a few tens of millions would do, the more, the better.
That way, Fang Yuan, who was short on funds after purchasing a Life Orb, could recover some losses.
"That stick Trainer who posted the bounty has also violated his country's laws. After we apply pressure here, he's bound to face prison. Plus, with the current situation, we can apply pressure from both incidents..."
"How much compensation can I get??"
Sun Qianshang's beautiful eyes moved; as expected, Fang Yuan had been concerned about this from the start.
It was precisely because she guessed Fang Yuan's intentions that Sun Qianshang was very cooperative with him, smiling without giving an answer.
It had to be said that Sun Qianshang's way of handling matters was very much to Fang Yuan's liking.
"Hey, Qianshang, are you interested in leaving Dianyuan Mountain in the future to develop back in the home country?" Fang Yuan asked.
Sun Qianshang replied, "What do you mean?"
"When I become a senior researcher, I'd like to hire you to join my research team as a bodyguard," Fang Yuan invited.
Sun Qianshang was taken aback and looked into Fang Yuan's eyes. He was serious, and among the Professional Trainers he had come across, Sun Qianshang was indeed the most suitable candidate for a bodyguard.
A mature research team wouldn't dare venture into secret locations without two or three Professional Trainers as bodyguards.
Now, having acquired superpowers, Fang Yuan felt that he would soon be ready for a promotion, and aside from Xia Xinyan, who was still far from becoming a Breeder, he should now consider other positions for the research team as well.
"Let's talk about it once you become a senior researcher," Sun Qianshang neither outright declined nor agreed.
Indeed, Professional Trainers who serve as bodyguards to researchers enjoy better treatment than those like her who carry out missions. The higher the status of the researcher, the better the treatment and status for the bodyguard. However, to think that she would be so easily swayed just by Fang Yuan's suggestion was not like Sun Qianshang at all.
Besides, her goal was to achieve the Master title.
Compared to guarding researchers, hunting down wanted criminals obviously offered quicker improvement of one's abilities and a faster accumulation of merits.
...
As for the negotiations between the China Trainer Association and Korea's Trainer Association on the Dianyuan Mountain issue, that was not something Fang Yuan could decide.
As for the outcome of the subsequent negotiations and the amount of compensation, all Fang Yuan needed to do was wait for news back home.
Before returning home, the vice chairman of the Dianyuan Mountain China Trainers' Association gave Fang Yuan a magnet worth millions, excavated from the depths of Dianyuan Mountain, with a value not inferior to high-quality Evolutionary Stones, perfectly suited to enhance the magnetic force of the Self-detonating Magnetic Monster.
In summary, Fang Yuan's trip to Dianyuan Mountain was quite fruitful. First was the evolution of the Self-detonating Magnetic Monster, and its learning of Teleport, Swap Field, and Rain Dance. Next, its Electrotherapy Skill that could invoke positive emotions.
On Eevee's side, mastering Swap Field finally allowed it to maximize the Stand-in Combo Attack Technique, and with Luo Kuo's instruction, the basics of Illusion Techniques and being skilled in Sunny Day further increased Eevee's foundation, allowing for better control over Emotional Energy and perhaps enabling it to develop The Fourth Stage of Repaying Kindness ahead of time.
The Glutton learned a Toxic skill and also acquired the potential to learn Swap Field. The technique of evoking the fear emotion in opponents was another gain.
The Fierce Fire Monkey... well... it was doing quite well. Its Iron Fist and Rage held the promise of a possible comeback; it just needed to keep working hard.
One week later.
Hua Nation, Magic City, Magic City University.
Fang Yuan quietly returned to the country and resumed his normal life at university.
About Fang Yuan's whereabouts and the events on Dianyuan Mountain, only a few were informed. His classmates simply knew that Fang Yuan had taken a month-long leave of absence.
This time, Fang Yuan kept a very low profile upon his return.
He also conducted his regular training alone, devoting most of his energy to researching the superpower he had obtained.
These two months passed relatively quietly; in the second half of the freshman year, there were no significant events.
Nothing particularly noteworthy happened outside the campus either, and by the time Fang Yuan collected his thoughts, the second semester of his freshman year was nearly over.
Initially, Fang Yuan's absence at the start of the semester had caused dissatisfaction among some professors who had high hopes for his future, but as soon as he returned to university, the professors' discontent immediately evaporated.
Because in this period, the most impressive thing Fang Yuan did was publish five research papers in succession!
Two were already prepared during winter break.
The content of the other three papers, all of which Fang Yuan wrote recently, did not rely on memory but on his newfound discoveries relying on superpowers that could synchronize with Pokemon emotions.
While not as sensational as Eevee's dual branch evolution papers on the sun and moon, in a short amount of time, Fang Yuan clearly defined his research direction - Emotion - much to the delight of Demon Capital University's Research Series professors, as if they witnessed the rise of a new star in the realm of research.
What eventually interrupted Fang Yuan's engrossing work was the only important event of the second semester for freshmen.
It might be regarded as the Trainer version of "military training".