The two men entered the private dining room and took their seats. After several rounds of toasts and polite exchanges, the atmosphere gradually relaxed.
Chairman Zhang, sounding casual, asked,
"May I ask what matter brought Minister He all the way from the capital to Rongcheng? Of course, if it involves confidential business, just pretend I never asked."
Minister He picked up a bite of food and replied calmly,
"It's nothing secret. You've heard about the recent paper on Feebas evolving into Milotic, right?"
"Of course," Chairman Zhang said with a laugh.
"The entire internet is talking about it. Honestly, even I want a Milotic now… Don't tell me the author of that paper is from Rongcheng?"
Minister He nodded.
"That's right. I came here specifically to present the award to him."
Hearing this, Chairman Zhang finally relaxed. At least Minister He wasn't here to investigate him.
Still, he couldn't help but ask,
"That paper certainly made waves, but does it really warrant you personally coming all the way here to present an award?"
Normally, for most research papers, the Alliance simply mailed out the rewards. They didn't have the manpower to send officials crisscrossing the country just to hand out prizes.
Minister He paused, then said lightly,
"What if I told you the author is an eighteen-year-old senior in high school?"
Chairman Zhang froze.
"Only eighteen?! That… that's really true?"
"I was surprised too when I first heard," Minister He replied.
"However—"
He stopped there.
If he's that man's son, Minister He thought, then it's not that unbelievable. I just didn't expect him to choose the academic path.
He didn't say that part out loud.
"In any case," he continued, "this has been confirmed by Alliance Headquarters."
Chairman Zhang nodded in understanding.
"In recent years, our Alliance hasn't produced any truly influential research成果. Now that such a prodigy has appeared, it makes sense he's being set up as a model example."
Of course, the real reasons for Minister He's personal visit went beyond that—but those details weren't suitable to discuss.
After the banquet ended, Chairman Zhang arranged for Minister He to be escorted to his prepared suite.
As they walked away, the secretary behind him whispered,
"Chairman Zhang, who exactly is that man? You treated him with such high-level courtesy."
Chairman Zhang didn't mind and answered simply,
"His name is He Sheng. He's one of the Deputy Ministers of the Pokémon League's Investigation Department, mainly responsible for overseeing internal discipline and conduct."
The secretary immediately understood.
Ah… disciplinary inspections.
No wonder.
Chairman Zhang then added,
"Go check among Rongcheng's eighteen-year-old senior students. Find out which one is named Oliver, and prepare an additional reward."
The secretary hesitated.
"But isn't Alliance Headquarters already preparing his reward?"
"The Alliance's reward is the Alliance's business," Chairman Zhang said calmly.
"What does that have to do with Rongcheng? A genius like this has limitless potential. We should build a good relationship early. You understand—so go."
Soon, September 1st arrived.
The day all schools officially reopened.
When Oliver walked into the classroom, he immediately felt the gazes directed his way.
Some were filled with admiration.
Some with jealousy.
It was… different from what he had expected.
Do they already know Feebas can evolve into Milotic? he wondered.
"Oliver," someone sneered,
"Your luck is unreal. Even picking Feebas let you turn things around."
The speaker was the class monitor.
Despite holding the position, his grades had always been suppressed by Oliver's, leaving him resentful for years. He often took every opportunity to mock him.
Oliver's habit of completely ignoring him only made it worse.
When Oliver first chose Feebas as his starter, the monitor had secretly celebrated—thinking he'd finally surpassed Oliver.
Then the news broke.
Feebas could evolve into Milotic.
The monitor completely lost it.
Why does Oliver always get this kind of luck?!
Milotic wasn't just beautiful—it was powerful and incredibly rare. There were even rumors of people offering 100 million League Credits on the black market for one, without success.
Oliver didn't respond at all. He simply walked past and sat down, treating the monitor like thin air—as usual.
That indifference only enraged him further.
"What are you so smug about?!" the monitor shouted.
"Feebas doesn't evolve that easily! Until it evolves, it's still trash!"
From the back of the classroom, Jiang Shuyun couldn't help it—
She burst out laughing.
The monitor was about to continue his tirade when the homeroom teacher walked in, announcing that everyone should head to the field for the opening ceremony.
Only then did he finally shut up.
On the way to the sports field, Jiang Shuyun sidled up to Oliver.
"He said all that, and you still didn't release Milotic to slap him in the face?"
"No need," Oliver said calmly.
"He's just a clown. The more you react, the more excited he gets. When the real face-slapping comes, he'll collapse on his own."
To the sound of rousing music, all the students assembled on the field, standing in formation by class, waiting for the principal's opening speech.
But time passed.
And the principal didn't show up.
Confusion spread through the crowd.
Only two or three people knew the truth—
At that very moment, the principal was at the school gate, personally welcoming several heavyweight guests.
Originally, he had already prepared his speech.
Then suddenly, the Rongcheng Pokémon League called.
They informed him that Chairman Zhang and a high-ranking official from the capital would be attending the opening ceremony.
The principal was stunned.
Rongcheng No.1 High School was prestigious locally, sure—but was it famous enough for this?
After asking further, he nearly lost his breath.
They were here to award the researcher who discovered Feebas's evolution method.
And that researcher was—
a student from his school?!
Hit by one piece of shocking news after another, the principal slapped his thigh hard.
The pain confirmed it.
This isn't a dream!
Because the principal still hadn't arrived, the host had no choice but to rearrange the schedule, pushing the principal's speech to the very end.
Finally, after all other segments concluded, the principal hurried onto the stage.
But sharp-eyed students noticed—
There were two men following behind him, along with several staff members carrying professional cameras.
"Hey… isn't that Zhang Zhixing, the Rongcheng League Branch Chairman?"
"I've seen him on the news!"
"No way—it really is him!"
"Our school's got some serious status now!"
"Look! They're filming! Are we going to be on the news?!"
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 60 chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/SwipeSage