Cain's arrival went mostly unnoticed, like a drop of water falling into the ocean; aside from creating a slight, barely perceptible ripple, it didn't impact the vast sea at all.
He passed by those absorbed in the world of games and gambling, observing the scene throughout the game corner.
There weren't many differences from the last time he was here in his previous life. The game corner lights were dazzling, and although it was already night outside, inside it was as bright as day.
Each night marked the real start of the game corner's profits.
In every corner and hallway of the game corner, there was an employee dressed in a black suit with wireless earpieces. Their sharp eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, constantly watching what was happening. Those who tried to cheat rarely escaped their scrutiny.
However, there were always some who, driven by the desire for big winnings, took risks, but inevitably, they were caught and taken to a small dark room.
In addition to these men in black, the game corner was full of visible and hidden cameras, closely monitoring every move.
Upon reaching the counter, Cain ignored the overly sweet smiles of the receptionists as he sat in front of the exchange computer, earning himself a few disdainful glances.
There were about twenty computers lined up for players to exchange items with game corner tokens. Thousands of people were playing in the game corner, but only a few were checking the exchange list on these computers.
This showed how many actually came out victorious, and even then, those attempting to exchange didn't have many tokens.
Cain slightly shook his head and focused his attention on the computer screen.
This game corner, now under the Alliance's control, offered an incredibly abundant exchange inventory. All kinds of rare Pokémon and precious items for Pokémon were available, yet the exchange prices still surprised Cain, even after seeing them so many times.
Especially the first three on the list, which were extremely rare. The first of them was none other than Larvitar, a pseudo-legendary Pokémon from the Johto region. But the exchange price was so high that it gave Cain pause.
Fifty million tokens! And those were only game corner tokens; if converted to Pokédollars, it would equal five billion Pokédollars.
It was even more ridiculous than Team Rocket's price for a pseudo-legendary. If Team Rocket points were converted to Pokédollars, a pseudo-legendary would be worth around three or four billion. Team Rocket was already expensive, but here it was even more exorbitant.
Clearly, these rewards were there only for people to see. No one really knew the quality of those pseudo-legendaries, and it was unlikely anyone would choose to exchange for them, especially since most didn't have nearly that many tokens.
The wealthy wouldn't need to come here to exchange for a pseudo-legendary, so it was clearly a lure to attract customers.
In any case, the top hundred items on the reward list were all incredibly rare and precious, and the exchange prices started at a million tokens. Most people could only look at them.
Although Cain had criticized this exchange system many times in his previous life, seeing it again, he couldn't help but do so once more. This game corner really knew how to make money.
Scrolling down the list, Cain only wanted to browse the place and see if there were any differences from his previous life, checking if the items he wanted to exchange were available.
Today's purpose was merely to make a preliminary inspection. Tomorrow would be when he would really begin.
Upon leaving the game corner, he felt relief in his ears and headed directly to a small restaurant outside the game corner. Under the happy gaze of the owner, he ordered food for ten people.
With Miltank's addition, the team's hungriest Pokémon went from being Slowpoke to Miltank.
He stored all the food in his ring and took a taxi to Whitney's family mansion.
Under the surprised look of the taxi driver, Cain entered the mansion naturally.
As if they knew Cain would return, just as he crossed the main door, Sebastian came out to meet him and said, "Young Cain, you've finally returned. The master wants to see you; he's been waiting for you for a long time."
Hearing this, Cain was surprised. The master? The owner of this mansion? One of the powerful figures in Goldenrod City?
He nodded to show he understood and then followed Sebastian to the mansion's hall.
Although he didn't really feel like meeting that old man, who had some reputation in the Alliance, since he had waited so long, he had no choice but to go.
They took several turns through the castle-like luxurious hallways until they finally stopped in front of a simple door. Sebastian gently knocked and said, "Master, young Cain has returned."
"Come in..." an elderly voice replied from inside, full of energy, showing that he was in excellent health.
Sebastian opened the door and motioned for Cain to enter. After Cain went in, he closed the door and patiently waited outside.
Cain entered the room and noticed that, unlike the luxury outside, it was extremely simple. There was only a desk and a few chairs. Whitney was sitting in one of the chairs, playing with her feet. Upon seeing Cain enter, she stuck out her tongue and gave him an apologetic look.
"Haha, this young man must be Cain, right? A young and promising lad." An old man with white hair and a white beard sitting behind the desk laughed cheerfully and motioned for Cain to sit.
Cain didn't say anything, nodding slightly and sitting in the chair next to Whitney.
When Cain sat down, Whitney quickly leaned over and whispered, "Cain, I'm sorry... I mentioned the request to my grandfather."
So that was it.
If the head of a family didn't know what the people under him were spending money on, it would be very irresponsible, especially if it was his granddaughter, the family's future heir.
Large families pay close attention to their heirs. Every friend they make is thoroughly investigated. Cain had hidden his ties to Team Rocket well, so nothing was uncovered, but that only made him seem more suspicious.
How could someone capable of making mid-level Pokéblocks have such a sparse background? It was only mentioned that he was a commoner, with no details about where and how he had learned to make them, nor any notable achievements mentioned.
Cain gently shook his head to indicate it didn't matter.
After a moment of silence in the room, the old man was the first to break it, saying, "Young man, although Whitney has already mentioned it to me, I still want to ask you where you got the recipe for making those mid-level Pokéblocks."
(End of chapter)