: Signing the Contract

When Gus mentioned Sophia, Xia Ming couldn't help but recall the girl's appearance.

She has short pink hair, a delicate face that always wears a lively smile, and her peach-pink eyes seem to hold the essence of spring.

Sophia, in her memory, loved dog Pokémon. When her parents took her away from her hometown to study in another city, she told Xia Ming that she hoped her starter Pokémon would be a cool Riolu, or a majestic Growlithe. Of course, Rockruff, which combines both qualities, would also be a good choice.

According to Xia Ming's judgment, she might want all three, right? After all, as the daughter of a local farmer, she is not short of money. If she doesn't want to train Pokémon for battle, simply raising Pokémon doesn't cost much. Except for Riolu, these three Pokémon are not expensive.

Judging from Gus's words, Sophia hasn't been doing well lately?

Could it be...?

Xia Ming thought of a possibility. In his previous life, as an old farmer in Stardew Valley, he had naturally played with many large-scale affiliated farms. He knew a lot about Sophia's family affairs, but he was too young at the time to change anything.

It seems unsurprisingly, the trajectory of history continues to unfold even in a different world.

"Well... after all, I approached Sophia when I was a child with the idea of ​​marrying her when I grew up, so I guess I'll just have to be busy."

Having made up his mind, Xia Ming immediately began ordering food.

That's right. Born in Stardew Valley, how could he not have planned to find a girlfriend he knew well in advance? He had been winning the favor of many girls since he was a child.

As for how many we plan to marry in the end? We'll have to wait and see.

………………

Xia Ming adheres to the principle of not talking while eating, so he didn't chat much with Da Tian during lunch. They just got to know each other briefly, and Da Tian was the one who started most of the conversations.

It wasn't until after lunch, when Lewis casually made up an excuse to give the two of them some space, that the formal negotiations began.

Inoue Ota handed over the prepared contract and said quite bluntly:

"Please take a look, Mr. Xia Ming. Here are two contracts: one is a standard acquisition contract, and the other is a support contract for trainers with potential like yourself. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me."

Xia Ming took the two contracts and began to examine them carefully.

Super Dimension Devon is a large and powerful company, so it's unlikely they would tamper with the contract. After reviewing it for a while, Xia Ming didn't find any obvious loopholes.

The first standard contract was to acquire the blank stone fragment in his possession. The price was very official, rounded down to a total of 2300 Holy Ash Crystals. Even if he sold it directly to the United Alliance, it wouldn't be much less.

The second contract is more interesting. It requires Xia Ming to participate in at least one competition organized by Super Dimension Devon Company every quarter, and provides him with certain support and compensation based on his ranking.

In return, Xia Ming has the right to have any rare items he obtains in each competition, and he also has the right of first refusal to acquire any rare items he obtains in each transdimensional operation.

If Xia Ming agrees to the contract, the price of this blank stone transaction will be directly increased to 2600 Holy Ash Crystals, which is equivalent to a signing fee of 15 million Alliance Coins.

The official price of a Holy Ash Crystal is 50,000 Alliance Coins, but it is basically not circulated in the open market, and its price has remained high behind the scenes.

After all, no one would complain about having few chances to "revive," and every trainer cherishes their starter Pokémon immensely, even the most evil villains.

If Xia Ming intends to devote himself fully to the profession of trainer, the second contract will undoubtedly be a great help to his start-up capital. After all, he can enter official competitions for free, and after signing the contract, he can even save on the registration fee.

But unfortunately...

"I choose the first contract, Mr. Daejeon."

"Hmm? Are you really not going to reconsider? This is already one of the most lucrative contracts among rookie trainers this year."

Inoue Ota was somewhat surprised. The resources provided by this contract were already very generous. Three hundred Sacred Ash Crystals could even be sold to raise a Pokémon to around level 70, which is within the range of a Gym Leader.

Xia Ming actually refused outright?

The investigation revealed that Xia Ming had nothing to offer besides inheriting a fiefdom from two hundred years ago. Moreover, he majored in Pokémon breeding with a minor in battle, and combined with his drive to participate in two Hyperdimensional Operations in two days, he clearly had the makings of a trainer. It was impossible for him not to be tempted by this contract.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ota, but I've already decided to inherit my grandfather's farm and become a farmer. I'll just treat fighting and killing as entertainment during my leisure time."

Shaking his head, Xia Ming refused decisively.

Seeing Xia Ming's determination, Da Tian didn't try to persuade him any further and simply continued:

"Alright, Mr. Xia Ming, my car is parked right next to your farm, and we can begin our transaction now."

"Could you please wait a moment? I'd like to go and find out a few things first."

"No problem, I'll head over to your farm and wait for you there. You can come and trade with me once you're done with your work."

Thank you!

Xia Ming was extremely satisfied with Inoue Ota's attitude. No wonder he was able to become a manager. If he had a way to rate him, Xia Ming would definitely give him a five-star review.

Inoue Ota got up and left very soon.

Xia Ming sat quietly on a chair at a table in the bar, waiting.

He waited until after 1 p.m., when the diners had gradually left and the bar had quieted down, before getting up and sitting down in a chair in front of the bar to talk to Gus:

"Uncle Gus, did something happen at Sophia's house? I think I should prepare in advance, at least I need to know what I should talk to her about tonight."

After wiping down the bottles, Gus had the bartender take over the groceries and then sit down in front of Xia Ming.

His face was full of worry; after all, he was an elder who had watched Sophia grow up, and the girl really liked his cooking.

"You're right, Xia. It's a long story. It happened about two years ago. We were all heartbroken when Mayor Lewis told us the news."

The Somarin couple tragically died in a street fight. The mayor said they were on their way to pick Sophia up from school, carrying only their old friend with them, but... alas!

Urban battles, to put it bluntly, are terrorist crimes. Most of the time, it's a "Pokémon liberation incident" orchestrated by some realistic, idealistic team leader, which unfortunately affects Sofia's parents.

No matter how you look at it, this kind of thing is just an unavoidable accident, so unexpected that it was completely unpredictable.

As for why they were so certain it was the work of the executives, as farm owners, Somarin and her husband's main Pokémon, even if they didn't have much battle experience, were at least at the gym level. Apart from the executives, ordinary criminals couldn't possibly defeat them.