That day, only Wen Qi was on the farm. The Wen Hua siblings had the day off and had already gone home. Their Pidgeys, after a month of training, were now around level thirteen or fourteen. By their side, they could basically ensure their safety. Although Wen Qi’s farm was out in the wild, it wasn’t far from town, and while some Pokémon did appear, most were only around level ten or so. Now that Wen Hua and his sister had the protection of their Pidgeys, they no longer feared attacks from wild Pokémon. Lately, after work, the siblings would occasionally go home together for a night’s stay. Once Wen Qi understood their strength, he stopped worrying about it. As long as they weren’t terribly unlucky, there wouldn’t be any danger.
Today was their day off to rest at home. The farm wasn’t busy anyway—at most, they’d milk the cows and wait for the collector to pick up the milk. After that, there was nothing much to do. Even milking didn’t require Wen Qi’s hands-on effort; he’d bought a milking machine for a hundred thousand yuan that could milk five cows at once, fast enough that he didn’t need to get involved.
The weather was nice today, though the August-September heat was a bit intense. Wen Qi was lounging under a big tree on the farm. In his memory, this tree had been there since he was a child, probably several decades old now. It was incredibly resilient, having grown lush and thick even without anyone tending to it, though it looked a bit messy from lack of pruning. Wen Qi thought this spot was perfect for lazing around. He imagined building a small pavilion under the tree and diverting a stream from the river nearby, making it a cool and comfortable place to spend the summer. He had his Scizor trim the excess branches, added some extra fertilizer, and had his Torterra use Grassy Terrain on the tree every day, sometimes with help from Bellossom and Gogoat. After a month, the tree seemed to have grown like it had been fed fertilizer, shooting upward, its trunk thickening and its branches and leaves becoming denser. Now it stood about twenty meters tall, the tallest tree on the entire farm. Usually, Torterra and Gogoat liked to hang out there.
Today, after handling his chores and sending Sandslash out to patrol, Wen Qi lay down on a recliner under the tree, leisurely watching shows and playing games. At a glance, he looked like a total slacker. Torterra and Gogoat stayed by his side, not just resting but also keeping watch over him. His Growlithe, bored in the small world, wanted to come out and play, but Wen Qi flatly refused. That silly dog didn’t realize how hot it was—he needed to stay away not just from fluffy Pokémon but also from Fire-types. Growlithe was both, so there was no way Wen Qi would let it near him. Come out? Not a chance. Don’t even think about it. It’d better train quietly in the small world for now; later, when he had time, he’d find some companions for it. Growlithe might be hard to find, but Houndour was relatively easy. The farm was big enough to raise a few more dogs, which wouldn’t be a bad idea.
As for Zhou Zhiwen, ever since he discovered Wen Qi’s situation, he’d been thinking about coming over to check things out himself. But he needed an excuse first—he couldn’t just show up unannounced when they didn’t know each other, and he certainly couldn’t start off talking about Zheng Qian’s money, which would make it look like he was picking a fight. That topic could be brought up, but not right away, and it couldn’t be the reason for the visit. After carefully reviewing Wen Qi’s files over the past few days, he noticed that Wen Qi’s parents had died in a plane crash. He checked the incident through the Alliance system and found that it wasn’t an accident—it was orchestrated by a dark organization. That gave Zhou Zhiwen an idea. He would visit under the pretense of revealing the truth about Wen Qi’s parents’ death. This way, he’d bring good news, and since it involved a dark organization, his visit as a member of the investigation team would seem reasonable.
Coincidentally, today was the day Zhou Zhiwen planned to visit. Before coming, he’d thoroughly looked up the address of Wen Qi’s farm. He came alone, riding his Arcanine, without bringing anyone else. Not everyone in the investigation team had an Arcanine, but Arcanine was a versatile Pokémon—good for battles, tracking, and riding. It could do just about everything except fly. Even swimming, though it disliked water, it could manage a dog paddle. Zhou Zhiwen had obtained his Arcanine after joining the investigation team by exchanging points with the Alliance. The one he exchanged had deep yellow potential, but he got lucky when he used a high-quality Fire Stone to evolve his Growlithe. After evolution, its potential rose to light green—a stroke of luck. High-quality evolution stones could improve potential, but crossing tiers was rare because it represented a qualitative leap. This time, fortune smiled on him, and his Arcanine, now at level 46, had light green potential.
When Zhou Zhiwen arrived at the farm gate, he didn’t barge in. He wasn’t here to cause trouble, so there was no need to enter without announcing himself. But for a moment, he didn’t know how to let the people inside know he was there. The gate itself seemed to stump him. Fortunately, he noticed a Pidgey perched on top of the gate. Seeing that, he knew it was a messenger. This Pidgey was one Wen Qi had stationed there. The farm was too big, and he didn’t have a good guard Pokémon yet. The best choice would be a canine Pokémon, but he only had Growlithe, and he wasn’t willing to use it as a guard. Still, the gate couldn’t be left unattended—if some stranger wandered in without Wen Qi knowing, it would be awkward. After thinking it over, he decided that Pidgeys from the Pidgeot family were the most suitable. First, Pidgeys could fly, so they could quickly alert him if someone came. Second, there were plenty of Pidgeys, so they could take turns, preventing any single Pokémon from getting bored guarding the gate every day. Wen Qi didn’t make these Pidgeys work for free; they were paid three energy cubes a day. For Wen Qi’s Pokémon, that might be nothing—barely enough for a snack—but for those Pidgeys, it was a delight. Although Wen Qi provided food for the Pidgeot family, it was cheap Pokémon food—plentiful, filling, and inexpensive. That was its advantage, but the downside was that it provided little energy; it only kept them full, nothing more. Wen Qi did give some energy cubes to the Pidgeot family, but most went to Pidgeot and Pidgeotto. Only a few Pidgeys with better potential got a bit more; the rest received very little. Now that this job was available, many Pidgeys were eager to take it. If Wen Qi hadn’t turned down Pidgeotto, even they would have wanted in.