Jacob's gaze fell upon the two people already present in the office.
A man and a woman.
The man appeared older, seemingly around thirty-five years of age, with a robust and tall physique. His square-shaped face exuded natural authority even without any trace of anger, and his cheeks glistened with sweat.
When Jacob entered the room, the man was in the middle of working out, actively lifting weights with focused concentration.
The other person, a woman, sat comfortably on the sofa, completely engrossed in reading a book with a black cover. Her long hair draped down on both sides of her face, and she was dressed simply in jeans and a plain T-shirt. She wore what appeared to be limited-edition Alolan Ninetales-style over-ear headphones, seemingly immersed in her own private world.
Jacob glanced down at the book's title. Hmm... it was a very famous romance novel, he noted with mild interest.
When she noticed Alfredo's presence, she carefully took out a bookmark and placed it at the page she was currently reading, then meticulously put the book into her bag. She removed her headphones and looked up at both Jacob and Alfredo with clear, attentive eyes.
"Zade, everyone's here now. You two should introduce yourselves to each other, get to know one another properly, and then you can begin preparing for your first mission shortly," Alfredo said with a professional smile. "I won't disturb you any longer."
With those words, Alfredo closed the door behind her and left the room, her footsteps fading down the hallway.
"Come in, welcome, welcome!" The man who had been lifting weights set down his dumbbells with a solid thunk and greeted Jacob with a warm, genuine smile. "I'm Zade, leader of the fifth team. You can call me Brother Zade, whichever you prefer."
After Zade completed his introduction, the woman who had been reading on the sofa spoke up clearly. "Hello, I'm June. I'm currently a sophomore at League University."
June?
Jacob looked at the woman standing before him with genuine surprise. He hadn't expected to hear June's name mentioned at noon and then actually meet her in person this very afternoon.
June was a sophomore at League University, making her Jacob's senior, and she was also the national Champion of the previous High School Cup tournament. She held the distinction of being the youngest G2 League participant in the entire Capital region.
During the previous High School Cup competition, she had displayed almost overwhelming strength, creating a massive performance gap between herself and the second-place contestant that was impossible to ignore.
Her team composition was notably diverse as well. Her main Pokémon roster included Alolan Ninetales, Snorlax, Duraludon, Togekiss, Primarina, Excadrill, and Charizard—an impressive and well-balanced lineup.
Her ace Pokémon were widely known to be Snorlax and Duraludon. Of course, according to widespread speculation circulating among online fans and battle analysts, June should also possess a hidden Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon in her reserves, though what specific species it might be remained completely unknown to the public for now.
Initially, when Jacob first learned that June's ace Pokémon included Duraludon, he had been quite surprised by this revelation.
Didn't Duraludon originate exclusively from regions abroad and outside of China?
How could June, as a Chinese Trainer, possibly have acquired a rare Pokémon like Duraludon?
According to the stories that circulated, approximately twenty years ago, a Chinese Champion-level Trainer and a European Champion-level Trainer had engaged in a large-scale conflict that escalated into a fierce, chaotic battle.
June's grandfather had fought his way into foreign territory with overwhelming force, forcibly broke into a heavily guarded Secret Realm, and seized a female Duraludon along with its precious Pokémon egg. He eventually succeeded in hatching a very small number of additional Duraludon eggs from this captured Duraludon over the years.
That Family remained one of the extremely few families in all of China that possessed and bred Duraludon to this day.
...…
After hearing both of them introduce themselves properly, Jacob also spoke up. "Hello, I'm Jacob. I'm a freshman at League University."
"Alright then." Zade nodded with satisfaction and gestured to both of them. "Sit down and make yourselves comfortable. You're teammates now, so there's no need to be so formal with each other."
"Both of you are High School Cup champions, so your talent and strength naturally go without saying—that much is already proven. What you currently lack is simply real-world experience in the field."
"I'm approximately ten years older than both of you and will temporarily serve as your team leader for this period. In about half a year's time, once you can stand on your own feet independently, I will return to my original team assignment."
"This will be our first mission together, and it's scheduled to last for one full month," Zade explained seriously. "Considering this is your first official mission, the difficulty level assigned this time isn't particularly high compared to other operations, but you absolutely mustn't become complacent or careless. Even if the mission difficulty isn't classified as high, it still carries a certain level of genuine challenge and potential danger."
"And because you two arrived the latest among all Team Zero members, all the other preferable missions have already been selected and claimed by the other teams. Right now, there's only one mission remaining available, and we have no other choice but to take it."
"Let me briefly introduce the details of this mission to you both first."
"This mission requires us to travel to Black Dragon City to investigate Finnian, who serves as the Fire-type Gym Leader of Black Dragon City, along with the entire Duan Family organization that operates behind him."
"These are the complete case files and the received anonymous tip-off letters for this particular case. You can read through them carefully first, but under no circumstances can you take these documents out of this office during the next few days. You will eat your meals and sleep on this floor for security purposes."
"Once you feel you've read enough material and absorbed the necessary information, you can inform me, and we'll work together to formulate a comprehensive plan. Then we'll depart for Black Dragon City to begin the investigation."
"We need to move quickly—we only have one month total. This mission will also be scored and evaluated for each participating team's performance."
"Before this mission officially begins, I must solemnly tell you both that this mission is not a game or a training exercise."
"You must approach this mission with one hundred percent of your focus, energy, and attention. Every single decision you make, every action you take, could potentially have a significant and lasting impact on the lives of hundreds or even thousands of innocent people."
"Always remember your responsibility and the trust placed in you."
...…
After delivering his instructions and warnings, Zade handed the thick case files and tip-off letters to the two younger Trainers.
He had obviously read through all the files and tip-off letters thoroughly long ago. He walked straight back to his desk, took out a pen from the drawer, and began writing and sketching in a notebook, starting to draft a preliminary operational plan.
Jacob and June each took their turn examining the files and reading through the anonymous tip-off letters carefully.
Jacob picked up the thick stack of files and began to read through them with careful attention to every detail.
As he continued flipping through the pages of documentation, his brow furrowed deeper and deeper with growing concern. This case was proving to be far more complex and dangerous than he had initially imagined it would be.
Black Dragon City was located on the southwestern border of China, positioned directly adjacent to foreign countries across the boundary. As a result, a large number of undocumented immigrants resided within Black Dragon City, making it a place with an extremely mixed and diverse population.
Throughout Black Dragon City, violent crimes such as assault, robbery, and battery occurred with disturbing frequency, and sometimes even the local Pokémon Association branch couldn't prevent or stop all of these incidents from happening.
The Duan Family, on the other hand, represented the dominant local power structure in Black Dragon City. Both openly in public society and secretly in the shadows, the Duan Family held tremendous influence and control throughout Black Dragon City.
The current generation of the Duan Family consisted of three brothers who each held significant positions: the eldest brother, Callum, was a well-known and highly respected Heavenly King-level Trainer throughout the entire Southwest Region. He was responsible for guarding the important Grass-type Secret Realm located in Black Dragon City. Although he hadn't yet reached the prestigious level of the Four Heavenly Kings of China, his combat strength was ranked among the very top tier of all Heavenly King-level Trainers in the nation.
According to reliable reports, he was also one of Sawyer's most capable and trusted right-hand operatives in managing the Southwest Region. Callum would undoubtedly represent the biggest obstacle and most dangerous threat for this entire mission.
The second brother, Finnian, served as a key target for this particular investigation. He was a Quasi-Heavenly King-level Trainer and currently held the official position of Fire-type Gym Leader in Black Dragon City.
The third brother, Stellan, operated as the chairman and chief executive of the Duan Group corporation. The Duan Group's business operations and scope were extremely broad and diversified, ranging from real estate development and architectural design to entertainment industries such as nightclubs, hotels, and casinos. It stood as the largest and most influential local enterprise in all of Black Dragon City.
...…
"Let me remind you both of one critical thing—you must exercise extreme caution with this mission," Zade's voice rang out clearly, his tone carrying earnest warning and genuine concern. "Once the investigation involves Finnian directly or indirectly, you must be extraordinarily careful in every action you take."
"You don't need to ask me why right now. This warning is meant to protect you both, and also to protect the entire Team Zero organization from unnecessary risk. Although I'm fully aware that you both come from significant backgrounds and influential families, and you may not personally fear the Duan Family's retaliation, you must remember this old saying: a strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake on its home territory."
"Moreover, you should never forget that even a cornered rabbit will desperately bite when it has no escape route left."