The heavy snowfall had finally ceased.
Pale winter sunlight broke through the overcast sky, casting long beams across the snow-covered ground and filling the air with a cold, quiet brightness. The Wilderness Area after a storm had a kind of stillness to it, the kind that made a person stop and take it in before moving on.
A low rumble broke the silence. The ground shuddered faintly as a massive snow-dusted boulder was shoved aside from within, and a wide tunnel entrance was revealed beneath it.
Jacob stepped out into the open air, his mask in place, and paused for a moment at the mouth of the tunnel.
The morning light caught the snow. Fletchinder called overhead, wheeling in lazy circles above the white expanse, scanning the ground below with sharp, practiced eyes.
Jacob took a slow breath of cold, clean air and stretched his arms out. The warmth of the sunlight on his coat was a welcome contrast to the chill underground. He could not help smiling.
The trip had gone far beyond what he had expected.
He had gone into the Underground World for Metagross, and he had come out with two extraordinarily powerful ones: the Giant Metagross and the Crystal Metagross. But that was not all. He had managed to secure the entire resident Metagross family from that cave. Five Metang, nine Beldum, three Metagross, and three Beldum Eggs. Twenty members of the Metagross line in total, and all of them his.
Jacob exhaled and let the smile settle into something more satisfied.
There was an old saying that a man does not grow wealthy through honest wages alone, just as a horse does not fatten on daytime grazing alone. Months of careful work for Alliance research had yielded modest results at best. One night in the Underground World had changed everything. It was difficult not to see the dark irony in that. No wonder even some Champion-level Trainers turned to poaching.
He had checked the aptitude of all twenty Pokémon carefully. Eleven had quasi-King-level aptitude, making up slightly more than half the group. Six had King-level aptitude, and those six would form the backbone of the family's future roster. Three had Champion-level aptitude: the Crystal Metagross, the Giant Metagross, and one more.
A Shiny Beldum Egg.
Jacob had stared at it for a long moment when he first found it, half convinced he was imagining things. He was a Dragon-type Trainer by practice and preference, but his appreciation for Steel-types ran deep, and Metagross in particular had never lost its appeal for him. A Shiny Metagross, with that cool silver-grey metallic sheen, was something else entirely.
He was already looking forward to the day he could send a Shiny Mega Metagross into battle.
The Xia Family's future was clear to him now. Dragon-type Trainer or not, what Jacob was building, with this group of Beldum and Metang as the foundation, was something closer to a Steel-type legacy.
Night had settled over Dragon Ridge like a drawn curtain, dark and total except for the crescent moon hanging thin and pale above the city. Its light did little against the glow of Dragon Ridge's streets, which remained busy despite the season. Even in winter, the city moved.
Inside the Qi family mansion, Erick sat with the particular kind of stillness that comes from trying not to look worried. It had been two days since Priest-6 had made contact, and since then, nothing. No message, no signal, no sign.
The agreement was in place. Priest-6 had promised to help the Qi family through their current crisis. But Erick was not naive enough to put his full trust in an organization like God's Coffin, regardless of what had been said.
"Young Master," the old butler said quietly, appearing at the doorway. The man had served the Qi family for decades and could read Erick's moods without being told. "Shall we leave now?"
Erick stood, glanced at the mirror across the room, and adjusted his collar automatically. He made a small effort to look composed.
"Yes," he said. "Let's go."
A sleek black car, older in model but well kept, pulled up to the entrance of Dragon Ridge's entertainment district and came to a stop. Erick stepped out onto the pavement and looked up at the building in front of him.
The Underground Black Market's annual auction was held here each year without fail. Typically, his older brother Adonis handled these events. Tonight, Erick was attending in his place, and for the first time.
The reception staff at the entrance noticed him immediately. The rumors about the Qi family's recent troubles had spread, but that did not make Erick any less intimidating to look at. A struggling family of that standing was still a family of that standing. The staff member in a cheongsam stepped forward quickly to greet him.
Erick barely acknowledged her. He was already moving toward the steps when a voice came from behind him.
"Boss Qi." Familiar, relaxed, unhurried. "You were going in without me?"
Erick turned.
A man in a mask stood a short distance behind him. The mask was not the distinctive design associated with God's Coffin, but the voice was one Erick recognized clearly enough. He put the certainty at around ninety percent.
"Is that... you?" he asked, keeping his tone low.
"It is." Jacob stepped forward to meet him. "I said I'd be here, didn't I? Let's go in."
The casual tone and the familiar address caught the attention of the people nearby. Glances were exchanged. Nobody said anything aloud, but the curiosity was visible.
Erick drew a slow breath. "As long as you keep your word, the Qi family will keep ours." He gestured toward the entrance. "After you."
The door swung open, and the two of them walked into the building together.
The auction house was already filling up by the time they arrived. Erick had barely stepped through when someone moved to greet him.
"Erick."
The man who called out was Fletcher, elder brother of Sawyer, who held the position of Water-type member of the Southwest region's Four Heavenly Kings. The two brothers had long divided their responsibilities cleanly: Sawyer built strength, while Fletcher managed the family's business and connections. Between them, the Tan family had grown steadily in recent years.
More relevantly, the Tan family and the Qi family were linked by marriage, and had been close allies for some time.
"Brother Tan," Erick said, with a brief nod. "It's been a while."
Fletcher looked him over with the kind of careful attention that does not want to seem too careful. Erick had aged visibly in the past month. The Qi family, once a step ahead of even the Tan family in terms of influence, had been brought to the edge of collapse by a single confrontation with an unknown powerhouse named Giovanni. One or two months, and the damage was severe.
"The Li family is here as well," Fletcher said, glancing briefly at Jacob before dropping his voice. "Come, let's talk in the private room. They won't start anything before the auction closes. But have you thought through what you're going to do?"
His eyes moved back to Jacob as he finished the question. The meaning was plain. Erick had brought a stranger to one of the most sensitive meetings of the year, and that stranger was clearly not decorative.
Fletcher said nothing more about it, but the curiosity was there.
"I know what I'm doing," Erick said simply. He did not elaborate. He gestured to Jacob, and together they followed Fletcher toward the private room.