Elf: Is the bear apprentice the weakest? I'll shatter the sky with my fists.

The pass is made of black and gold, and feels heavy in the hand. The edges are embossed with dark silver patterns, and it emits a faint blue halo under the light.

I have to say that the workmanship of this pass is indeed exquisite.

The three-dimensional outline of the mysterious spiritual realm is printed on the front using a special process. When it is gently shaken, the tombstone pattern on it seems to sway in the wind.

"Bi~"

Celebi curiously stretched out his little paw to touch the pass, but was frightened by the sudden emergence of ghost energy and shrank back.

Li Chen couldn't help but smile. When he put the pass into his pocket, he felt a slight chill at his fingertips.

......

......

Li Chen put away the pass and immediately called Lin Lin after walking out of the Pokémon Center.

"Hey, Lin Lin, where are you now? Are you free?"

"Brother Chen? I'm registering my newly captured Pokémon at the Pokémon Center."

Lin Lin's voice was filled with confusion, "What happened?"

"As long as you have time, go to the Alliance agency later and change the price of the secret realm ticket to 5 million Chinese yuan per ticket. Oh, and remember to take pictures when you go. I want to go fishing."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for two seconds.

"what?"

Lin Lin's voice suddenly rose, then dropped again, "Okay... okay, I'll go right away."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Lin scratched his head and walked towards the agency window. Although he didn't understand Li Chen's intention, the tacit understanding they had established over the years made him choose to execute the order unconditionally.

"Isn't this Lin Lin? What's going on today?"

The Ludao staff wiped their glasses and greeted us warmly.

Behind her, an electronic screen was scrolling and displaying today's secret realm security warning.

And the price list of each major secret realm.

Among them, the price of Shuidu Secret Realm is the lowest.

Only one hundred thousand dollars.

Lin Lin quickly walked to the counter and tapped his fingers twice on the table. "I'll change the price of the secret realm entrance ticket for Brother Chen to five million Chinese yuan."

As he spoke, he took out Li Chen's agency authorization card and his own ID card and placed them on the table.

The metal card shone coldly under the light.

"Huh?! Five million?"

The staff member paused as he wiped his glasses, water droplets still stained the lenses. "Why is it suddenly so much more expensive? Wasn't it only 100,000 Chinese Yuan before?"

Her eyes unconsciously glanced at the "Secret Realm Graded Charging Standards" posted on the wall, and suddenly she felt normal.

As a natural disaster-level secret realm, the price of Shuidu Secret Realm is indeed reasonable.

After all, the average price of secret realm tickets of the same level fluctuates between four and six million, and the previous price of one hundred thousand was simply ridiculously low.

It's easy to make people think that it's a honey trap.

The staff member's fingers tapped quickly on the keyboard, and the numbers on the screen jumped from "100,000" to "5,000,000".

With the crisp sound of the Enter key, the system immediately completed the global synchronous update.

Almost at the same moment, the electronic bulletin boards in Pokémon Centers around the world flashed simultaneously.

The trainers' phones started ringing with notifications:

[Important Notice: Ludao Water City Secret Realm Ticket Price Adjustment]

The social media platform exploded instantly.

The entry #Water City Secret Realm Sky-High Price Tickets# became a hot search at a speed visible to the naked eye.

A trainer who was queuing to buy tickets saw a notification pop up on his phone and almost dropped it.

[Comments section of the official website of the China Pokémon Alliance]

"Holy crap! A 50-fold price increase?!"

"I just came out of the Water City Secret Realm. The resources inside are indeed worth the price...but this is too sudden."

"Li Chen, are you going to screen out civilian trainers? Don't forget your roots!"

"U1S1, when it was priced at 100,000, it was limited. That shouldn't be the case now, right?"

[Trainer Forum Hot Topics]

"Rational Analysis of the Water City Secret Realm Price Adjustment" OP: "Compared to other natural disaster-level secret realms, the 500w price is actually very reasonable. The previous 10w was practically charity. I heard someone made their money back by taming a quasi-god..."

Reply on the 3rd floor: "But the sudden price increase is too drastic! Our team saved money for three months and now we are 200 million short. Crying face emoji x3"

7th Floor: "It should have been raised long ago. It's not like we can't afford five million."

8th Floor: "The poet upstairs?!"

【Short video platform】

A streamer held up the balance in his bank card and wailed, "Who in my family understands? The money I saved for half a year is suddenly not enough!" (Background music: Yi Jian Mei)

The most popular comment: "I suggest the anchor go to the Lingyou Secret Realm in the Sunset Empire next door, it only costs 100 million pounds~ (dog head emoji)"

【International Trainers Association Email】

"...Due to the controversy surrounding the price change, a phased adjustment is recommended... Attached are photos of protesters from various countries gathered at the Pokémon Center on Sagittarius Island..."

In the photo, among the crowd holding banners reading "Price Callback", there are a few playful pandas who took the opportunity to sell drinks.

The phone kept vibrating in Li Chen's pocket. He took it out and saw that the lock screen was full of message reminders.

At the top is the message from Ye Rong.

[Ye Rong: Did someone find a treasure in the Water City Secret Realm? Why did the price suddenly rise so dramatically?]

[Yan Yanyan: I just want to change the price]

Ye Rong: [Screenshot.jpg] The internet is going crazy, so why not just ignore public opinion?

Li Chen chuckled and tapped his fingers quickly on the screen:

[Yan Yanyan: Trainers who truly need help won't speak out online. This is a good opportunity to investigate those leading the protests. Maybe we can catch some big fish.]

The message showed as read as soon as it was sent. Ye Rong immediately replied with an "understood" emoji, and then added:

Ye Rong: The Cybersecurity Department is currently idle, so let them practice.

Li Chen locked the screen and looked up at the London sky which was suddenly overcast.

Celebi leaned on his shoulder and curiously poked the still vibrating phone, but was frightened by another message that suddenly popped up and retracted his claws...

Chapter 452 The Disappearing Old Man, Guide Irene

That was the live video sent by Lin Lin.

Several key frames are also marked with red circles.

In the picture, several emotional protesters are waving banners. The moment they raise their hands, their cuffs slip down, revealing the inside of their wrists.

There was a delicate peach pattern tattooed there, and the size and position of each tattoo were surprisingly consistent.

"What a tricky angle..."

Li Chen narrowed his eyes. If Lin Lin hadn't filmed him from a low side angle, these tattoos, deliberately hidden on the inside of his wrist, wouldn't have been visible at all.

The scene continued to play, and one of the tattooed men suddenly turned his head and looked at the camera warily.

The video ends abruptly.

[Lin Lin: Brother Chen, is this the thing you mentioned before, the Godly Association?]

【Li Chen: Yes, please pay attention to your safety.】

Lin Lin: Ok Ok, now that I have Dragonite as my bodyguard, I don't have any problems.

Li Chen: Okay, remember to talk to the League and see if they can send a top-tier trainer over.

[Lin Lin: Huh? Directly a top-tier trainer?]

Li Chen: Play it safe. A top talent is best. If that doesn't work, hiring a gym-level talent will do.

Lin Lin: Okay!

......

......

Li Chen put the phone back into his pocket, and the video on the screen went out as the lock screen button was pressed.

He stood by the roadside and raised his hand to stop a car. An old black taxi slowly stopped, with mud spots on the body from this morning.

"Spiritual Mysterious Realm."

Li Chen opened the car door and spoke briefly.

The driver glanced in the rearview mirror at the black and gold pass pinned to his collar and nodded in understanding.

The meter beeped softly.

The car drove into the London streets in the twilight, and the scenery outside the window gradually changed from a bustling city to a desolate suburb.

The streetlights lit up one by one, casting long streaks of light on the wet road.

As night fell, the taxi stopped at the edge of a wasteland shrouded in thick fog.

After the engine sound died down, the surroundings fell into an eerie silence.

"We're here, young man." The driver pointed to the ticking meter and lowered his voice unconsciously.

In the rearview mirror, his eyes occasionally glanced at the vague outlines of tombstones outside the window.

Li Chen scanned the code to pay the fare, and his fingertips paused on the door handle for a second.

There was a thin layer of frost on the metal surface.

However, Li Chen didn't think much about it and got out of the car by himself.

The taxi almost fled in panic, its taillights drawing two scarlet tracks in the thick fog.

Li Chen: ...

"Running so fast?"

Li Chen held his forehead and looked at the sign next to him.

[Catastrophe-level: Spiritual Mystery Realm | Beware of the Living]

"How dare this hellish place charge one million pounds?"

Li Chen complained to the air and walked towards the alliance branch with one foot deep and one foot shallow.

As I passed by, the soil under my feet turned grayish white at some point.

.......

.......

Unlike the modern office buildings in the city, the alliance branch here is actually a few crooked pine cabins with unknown black feathers covering the roofs.

Looking closely, one can see that the hut is surrounded by rusty iron crosses, and under each cross is a faint blue lantern.

Under the illumination of the lanterns, the shadows of the crosses twisted strangely and pointed towards the entrance of the secret realm.

At this moment, Li Chen's footsteps suddenly stopped.

I don't know when, a hunched figure appeared beside me.

The old man was wrapped in a dirty wool blanket, his fingers like dry branches holding a rusty iron box, which contained some mini cross pendants.

"newcomer?"

The old man asked, his breath carrying the smell of rotting wood: "Buy a cross... one pound, you can't go wrong..."

"One pound?"