Jacob turned his head in annoyance, only to see a group of familiar young people scrambling onto his boat, looking flustered and apologetic.
"Sorry, we accidentally hit your boat," a voice said. Unlike the last encounter, this time it was a long-haired girl who spoke. She wore her hair in a ponytail, dressed in a blue and white outfit, and looked somewhat pale and nervous.
Despite her nervousness, she tried to compose herself, bowing to Jacob apologetically. "Don't worry, we'll cover all the compensation costs. We're truly sorry for disturbing you."
Jacob frowned as he looked at the girl standing before him, swallowing the harsh words he'd been about to say.
It had to be said that in situations like this, girls were indeed better at handling things—especially attractive girls.
If it had been a boy approaching him, Jacob would have unleashed a verbal tirade on the spot.
Now, seeing the girl's sincere attitude, Jacob could only temporarily suppress his anger.
Of course, the biggest reason was that this boat wasn't even his—he was merely renting it. Couldn't they see that the captain standing nearby was already fuming?
For some reason, Jacob, who had been in such a terrible mood moments ago, couldn't help but crack a smile when he noticed the captain's expression. He nearly burst out laughing.
Indeed, human happiness is often built upon the misfortunes of others.
As Jacob had observed, the captain standing nearby had already erupted in fury. His boat had only been in operation for less than three months, and now this had happened.
Even if it was repaired later, business would definitely suffer. After all, people were particular about these things—who would want to rent a boat that had been in an accident?
The bearded captain's face had already turned ashen. If he hadn't noticed that this group of young people clearly came from wealth—dressed in designer clothing with Luxury Balls clipped to their belts—he would have started cursing already.
He suppressed his anger and lowered his voice. "Alright, young lady, I won't make things difficult for you. After all, it wasn't your boat being operated. Go call the Captain over here. How did he drive the boat?"
"Brother Paul, it wasn't me driving the boat," the boatman from the other vessel had already approached with a bitter expression, pointing at a boy beside him. "He said he'd learned how to operate a boat and wanted to try it himself. I couldn't stop him."
The boy he was pointing at was the same one who had initially approached Jacob about renting the yacht. At this moment, his face had gone pale with fright, and he was speaking incoherently, constantly trying to shift blame. "I was driving just fine—I don't know how it suddenly crashed. It really wasn't my fault. I... I'll pay for the damages."
"Pay for the damages?" Brother Paul was so angry he laughed bitterly. "Fine. Then let's follow proper procedures. We'll have the insurance company assess the damage, and you'll pay whatever they determine is fair—that way you can't say I'm trying to extort you. But the lost income and depreciation in value cannot be reduced by a single cent. I need to be clear upfront: now that my boat has been in an accident, it will be difficult to do business in the future, and you'll also have to compensate me for that."
"How is that possible?" the boy shouted. "According to you, do I have to support your boat for the rest of my life? Besides, there's nothing even wrong with your boat—isn't it still running fine?"
"An accident requires repairs and inspections—that's mandatory. I'm not trying to extort you for any of these fees. These are standard procedures. If you don't believe me, you can ask your captain."
Seeing the boy and Brother Paul beginning to argue, the ponytailed girl—having gradually calmed down from her initial panic—interrupted them. "Alright, stop arguing. Let's follow legal procedures. We'll compensate according to what's determined to be fair. Not a single cent less than what's owed, and not a single cent more than what isn't."
Rather than arguing here, it would be more practical to follow legal procedures and hire a good lawyer than to engage in this pointless war of words.
… … … …
After such an incident, the group had completely lost their interest in sightseeing. Their earlier smiles had long vanished, and they were all on their phones, looking worried as they contacted their families.
Jacob had already retreated to the side. He appeared to be watching the commotion unfold, but in reality, the group's disappeared smiles had simply transferred to Jacob's face.
"Hello, Dad..." the pretty girl answered her phone and spoke softly.
Jacob leaned against the railing, listening to the girl's intermittent conversation with her family.
"No, something happened. We haven't reached the Mistvale River Hydroelectric Station yet..."
"We'll head there first, Dad. Just remember to send someone to resolve this situation."
… … … …
Mistvale River Hydroelectric Station?
Jacob, who had been casually enjoying the breeze, instantly sobered up. So the destination of these young people was the Mistvale River Hydroelectric Station.
As the world's largest hydroelectric station and clean energy production facility, the Mistvale River Hydroelectric Station was home to a large population of Electric-type Pokémon. At the same time, due to the station's unique environment, these Electric-type Pokémon possessed extremely high potential—almost on par with, or even slightly superior to, the Pokémon found in Electric-type Secret Realms.
Therefore, many Pokémon experts evaluated the Mistvale River Hydroelectric Station as an artificial Secret Realm. The station was essentially an Electric-type Secret Realm that China had created through massive investment.
Not technically a Secret Realm, but functioning as one nonetheless.
Every year, countless people came here hoping to capture Electric-type Pokémon, but the Mistvale River Hydroelectric Station maintained strict restrictions on personnel entering and exiting the facility.
Not only were visitors required to pay substantial maintenance and admission fees to enter the station, but to ensure the safety of the facility and prevent malicious damage by ill-intentioned individuals, the backgrounds and social connections of all visitors were thoroughly investigated.
Their conversation had given Jacob an important revelation. Wasn't he still missing an Electric-type Pokémon? Why had he never considered the Mistvale River Hydroelectric Station? He'd only been focused on Secret Realms and Wilderness Areas.
Jacob pulled out Raya's satellite phone. Just as he was about to call his grandfather to inquire about obtaining a quota for the Mistvale River Hydroelectric Station, he suddenly paused. His hand hovering over the dial button, he frowned, thought for a moment, and decided to call Raya first to tell her about capturing Lapras.
Jacob planned to visit the Mistvale River Hydroelectric Station, then fly directly to Aqualis City afterward. He wanted to give Raya two or three days' advance notice and also ask her about obtaining a station quota.
It was currently afternoon, but Raya was very busy—currently in a company meeting handling various matters.
The piercing ring of her phone interrupted Raya's presentation. She frowned slightly, picked up her phone, glanced at the caller ID, and a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth before her expression became serious again. "I've covered the main points. Layne, you can discuss the specific details. I need to take this call."
"Okay."
…
"Hello~"
Raya walked into her office, closed the door, and spoke.
"Hmm... Heavenly King Raya," Jacob said. This was the first time he'd called Raya in quite a while.
"Jacob, tell me what's on your mind." Their relationship remained as professionally distant as ever.
"I expect to head directly to Aqualis City in three days. When can you come over?" Jacob asked. His plan was to visit the Mistvale River Hydroelectric Station today and spend two to three days capturing an Electric-type Pokémon. After that, he would proceed directly to the Water-type Secret Realm in Aqualis City.
"Three days from now. I understand. I'll go directly to Aqualis City then, and we'll stay in contact," Raya replied. After discussing the main business, she then asked, "How has your trip been these past few days? I saw the videos you posted online—you seemed to be having a great time."
"It's been alright," Jacob replied. "I'm at the Mistvale River right now, and I'm planning to visit the Mistvale River Hydroelectric Station this afternoon. I wanted to ask about obtaining a station quota—I'd like to capture an Electric-type Pokémon."
"The Mistvale River Hydroelectric Station? How did you end up there?" Raya said, then paused to think before continuing. "Visiting quotas for the Mistvale River Hydroelectric Station are extremely precious. There are only so many allocated each year. And unlike Secret Realms, the station isn't open to the general public. Usually, you need to book a quota well in advance. I can help you obtain one, but I don't recommend going through that process."
"While it might be difficult for others to gain entry, it's actually very simple for you. You just need to call the general manager of the Mistvale River Hydroelectric Station as Dr. Jacob and tell him you want to visit the facility and capture an Electric-type Pokémon. They absolutely won't—and wouldn't dare—stop you. However, it's best to notify them in advance to give them some time to prepare."
"I'll try that approach."