Wen Qi never expected to make such a significant find at his very first breeding house.
His gaze swept over the rows of breeding houses behind him, and a vision of striking it rich surged in his heart.
Though his excitement was overwhelming at the moment, the thought of countless more breeding houses waiting to be explored gradually tempered it.
Perhaps because the bargain he’d snagged at the first breeding house was too good, he felt his luck might have run out.
After checking several more breeding houses in a row, he found no more Pokémon that satisfied him.
Wen Qi couldn’t help but reflect that these breeding houses had been operating for so long—clearly, the merchants had their skills.
He figured that if breeding houses were frequently picked clean by bargain hunters, wouldn’t the wages for appraisers and the specialized machines they bought be a total waste?
While the quality of egg gambling venues was hard to pin down, the Pokémon brought in by bounty hunters were certainly nothing rare.
Rare Pokémon were either snapped up by big corporations or sent to auctions, where they could fetch higher profits.
Seasoned bounty hunters usually had fixed sales channels, after all, selling eggs wasn’t a black-market business, but it still operated in a gray area, so they couldn’t be too blatant.
Additionally, Wen Qi had learned that offspring of powerful Pokémon had about a fifty percent chance of inheriting their parents’ qualities.
The remaining half might be worse, but occasionally, offspring could surpass their parents in quality, though this was rare.
Seeing that time was running short, Wen Qi figured it was unlikely he’d stumble upon any good Pokémon later on.
He decided that when he had more time and strength in the future, he might consider checking out the underground black market, where there could be some decent Pokémon.
But before leaving, he resolved to visit the city’s largest private breeding house—Kaguya Breeding House.
After all, it was the biggest private breeding house in the city aside from the official one, rumored to have backing from local big corporations, and many bounty hunters would send their best finds there first.
Stepping into Kaguya Breeding House, Wen Qi immediately sensed a difference from the others.
The lobby was more spacious, with more people inside, and judging by their attire, these visitors were clearly wealthier and more distinguished than those he’d seen at other breeding houses.
Though Wen Qi was dressed plainly, the employees here clearly didn’t judge by appearances, as those who did usually ended up in trouble.
Just then, a beautiful employee approached, smiling as she asked:
“Hello, may I ask your surname, sir? How can I help you?”
Wen Qi replied, “My surname is Wen. I’m just browsing; I’ll call you if I need anything.”
The employee nodded and said, “Alright, Mr. Wen. Take your time looking around, and feel free to call me anytime. My name is Zhang Li.”
Wen Qi strolled through the breeding house, opening his system to check things out.
He had to admit, the variety of Pokémon here was indeed richer.
He even spotted Psychic-type Pokémon, though they were common species like Drowzee and Mr. Mime.
What surprised him even more was the presence of Horsea! Once evolved, Horsea became a powerful Dragon-type Pokémon, no less popular than the official starter trio.
Even though Horsea’s quality was only deep yellow, Wen Qi felt a tug of interest.
He thought about the green quality enhancement potion he had on hand, combined with his breeding skills. If he could also find a high-level Dragon Scale, he might be able to boost Horsea’s quality to cyan.
More importantly, once he had a Dragon-type Pokémon, his small world could unlock the Dragon-type area.
The sooner he unlocked that area, the more Dragon-type resources he could accumulate.
If Wen Qi later captured rare pseudo-legendary Dragon-type Pokémon, he’d be better equipped to raise them.
With that in mind, Wen Qi found Zhang Li, his eyes gleaming with desire for the Horsea.
He asked bluntly, “Zhang Li, I really like this Horsea. Can you tell me its price?”
Zhang Li smiled slightly, pointing at the Horsea, and said, “Mr. Wen, this Horsea is truly a gem. Its form is elegant, its color deep, giving off a mysterious and noble vibe. Plus, it evolves into a Dragon-type Pokémon, which is quite rare.”
Wen Qi nodded and urged, “I know it’s special and powerful. Just tell me how much I need to own it.”
Zhang Li paused briefly, as if gauging Wen Qi’s reaction, then said, “Considering its rarity and quality, a reasonable price would be…”
She hesitated, then continued, “Fifty thousand.”
Wen Qi frowned. The price was higher than he’d expected.
It was almost more expensive than the typical starter trio.
He knew Horsea’s value well, so he gritted his teeth and said, “Fine, I’ll pay fifty thousand for this Horsea.”
Zhang Li smiled and nodded to seal the deal.
After paying at the counter, Wen Qi took the Poké Ball and captured the Horsea directly.
Since this Horsea was quite valuable, it had been well cared for and always told that a trainer would come to claim it someday. Though a bit proud, it was eager to have a trainer take it out to see the world, so it willingly accepted Wen Qi’s capture.
Wen Qi planned to have a good talk with the Horsea in his small world once he got home.
Time was running short, and he still had the egg gambling area to check out, so he didn’t want to waste any more.
He headed to the egg gambling area.
There were more eggs here than in the previous breeding houses, and the prices were higher too—thirty thousand per egg.
Scanning them with his system, Wen Qi saw that while most eggs were still red or orange in quality, the proportion of yellow-quality eggs was indeed higher than before.
But these yellow-quality eggs were all common species, and after looking around, there wasn’t much to choose from.
Then, out of nowhere, Wen Qi spotted two yellow-quality Miltank eggs!
He immediately thought of his farm and the young Pokémon he needed to raise.
Having Miltank milk would help nurture them better.
Plus, Miltank was the kind of Pokémon that loved caring for babies, so it could help look after other Pokémon later on.
More importantly, Miltank was also a profitable Pokémon.
Even a red-quality Miltank could sell for four to five hundred thousand, almost matching the price of starter trio Pokémon.
And with a Miltank, it could produce twenty liters of milk a day.
If sold, a liter of milk could fetch twenty yuan. With stronger capabilities, the price could go even higher.
At that thought, Wen Qi’s heart raced.
He carefully examined the two yellow-quality Miltank eggs and found their quality to be quite good.
Though the price was steep, considering Miltank’s many advantages and future returns, he felt the investment was worthwhile.
So, without hesitation, Wen Qi bought both Miltank eggs.
He planned to raise them well at home, hoping they’d bring him more gains and surprises.
At the same time, he began looking forward to the days ahead, eager to carve out his own place in the world of Pokémon.
Overjoyed, he headed home with his treasures. Turtwig, though clueless about what was going on, couldn’t help but feel happy seeing its owner so delighted.