"I promise, there won't be a next time." Wynne drew a slow breath, a trace of nervousness showing through as he gave Jacob his word.
"Mm." Jacob nodded. "As the saying goes, a capital crime can be pardoned, but a lesser one is hard to let slide. For the next six months, you'll hand over half a tenth of your twenty percent income to the Jiang family. Any objections?"
"None..."
"Also — Sammy's injuries." Jacob paused, turning to Sammy. "How would you like to settle this? A beating to clear your anger, perhaps? Just don't kill him, and don't cripple him."
Hearing this, the unassuming Sammy nodded and answered respectfully, "Boss, I'll do as you say."
"Mm. Go on, then."
Sammy walked slowly toward Theo, who was already trembling with fear, a sinister look settling over his face. He pulled a shard of broken glass from his bag, gripped it tight, and dragged it across Theo's cheek.
"Ah!"
Theo's scream tore through the room, a crimson gash left across his face. Blood poured out, soaking his whole face red and leaving him a genuinely frightening sight.
Sammy's expression stayed grim. He tossed the bloodied glass to the floor and said flatly, "This glass is from last night. Consider it returned. We're even now."
"Stop screaming! Wipe the blood off!" Wynne's voice was cold and impatient as he glared at Theo. "Wipe it! You're not dying — get yourself to a hospital, now!"
Watching all this unfold, Jacob quietly shook his head. No one who survived long enough to hold real power in a place like Golden City could afford to be merciful.
Edwin, Sammy, Wynne — not one of them was anything less than ruthless.
"Boss Giovanni." Once Theo had been sent off, Wynne turned back to Jacob with a smile, as though nothing at all had happened. "It's not often you visit Golden City, and you haven't had much chance to enjoy yourself here. Tomorrow, allow me to show you our secret realm and the Underground Black Market — and dinner in the evening, as a proper apology."
Jacob considered Wynne's offer for a moment, then gave a slow nod. He'd originally planned to leave Golden City the next day, but the mention of the secret realm and the black market piqued his interest. "Alright."
… … … …
As Siam's most celebrated tourist city, Golden City sat along the coast, its scenery famous the country over. It once drew more than ten million international visitors a year, though the past two years of safety incidents had cut that number by more than half.
Early that morning, a salty sea breeze stirred the curtains. Jacob had the rare luxury of sleeping in. Once he'd changed and stepped out of his room, he found a tall, delicately featured woman waiting outside the door.
"Boss, I'm here on Boss Wynne's orders to bring you to breakfast. It's ready now — this way, please, mind your step." The young woman spoke fluent Chinese, a faint smile on her lips. Dressed in a sharp, professional suit, she addressed Jacob with quiet deference.
"Mm." Jacob nodded and followed her into the restaurant.
The whole restaurant had been cleared out to host "Giovanni" — nothing left but a uniform staff of young, attractive waitresses and chefs. The breakfast spread was extravagant: steamed buns, dumplings, noodles, rice vermicelli, alongside Western fare like fresh milk and toast — every option imaginable. The moment Jacob mentioned what he felt like eating, it appeared before him almost instantly.
Partway through the meal, Jacob let out a sigh. "So this is the life the rich and powerful live."
He'd barely finished breakfast when Wynne, Edwin, and Sammy arrived at the restaurant. They'd clearly been waiting nearby, timing their entrance for just after he'd finished eating.
Som was absent — his identity was too sensitive to risk being seen with the others in public.
"Boss, the car's ready. Should we head to the secret realm first, or the black market?" Wynne, dressed sharply in a suit and tie, greeted Jacob warmly, as if the previous night's events were already forgotten.
"Let's start with the secret realm," Jacob said with a nod.
"The car's already waiting," Wynne replied.
The three of them climbed into a luxury car, escort in tow, and set off toward Golden City's secret realm.
… … … …
Siam wasn't a large country, and held only three secret realms within its borders — one of them right here in Golden City, personally overseen by Champion Som.
Deep within the Golden Secret Realm's forbidden zone, in a place called the Sea Tide Cave — somewhere ordinary people never set foot — Jacob toured the grounds alongside Edwin, Sammy, Wynne, and Som.
Their guide was a striking woman in her late twenties, full-figured and dressed in vivid attire — one of the secret realm's supervisors. She'd been told the night before that an important guest would be visiting and to be ready for him.
She'd arrived at the forbidden zone at first light to wait. The instant she laid eyes on Giovanni, she knew exactly who he was — a name she'd seen splashed across the news, one of the most dangerous men alive. A flicker of nerves ran through her, but seeing Champion Som and Wynne gathered so easily around him settled her nerves. Opportunity, after all, always walked hand in hand with danger.
"The Golden Secret Realm is the only secret realm in Siam's southern region. Its primary type affinity is Water, and it was originally called the Sea Tide Secret Realm before being renamed the Golden Secret Realm ten years ago."
"The realm is home to a great number of rare Water-type Pokémon — populations of Kingdra, Blastoise, Lapras, and Gyarados, along with Clawitzer, Toxapex, and several other Water-type species."
"The Kingdra and Blastoise populations are the most celebrated among them, and the Toxapex here have produced a number of high-aptitude eggs in recent years."
… … … …
"Kingdra and Blastoise?" A spark of curiosity lit up Jacob's eyes. "Take me to see them."
Som nodded and signaled for their guide to lead the way.
… … … …
"Every Pokémon kept here is fully grown, and only those with excellent aptitude are allowed to stay. They're reserved strictly for breeding and form the foundation of the entire secret realm — not for sale, and not available for selection," the young woman explained as they walked.
Jacob only nodded. He'd spent plenty of time in a secret realm himself once, and knew the rules well enough.
His eyes swept across the Pokémon gathered before him. Here and there, one showed Heavenly King-level strength and aptitude — but to Jacob as he was now, even that held no real interest.
Only two kinds of Pokémon could still catch his attention these days. The first were those with truly exceptional aptitude — nothing less than Champion-level would do, a rarity worth chasing. The second were mutated Pokémon: a Crystal Metagross, an unusually powerful Snorlax, or a Charizard capable of learning Nasty Plot. Even middling aptitude didn't matter much in those cases — he still had the Gold Bottle Cap in hand, an absurdly powerful item in its own right.
"No need to look at the adults. Let's go see the young ones, and the eggs," Jacob said.
"Of course!"
… … … …