Jacob looked at Layne in front of him, feeling inexplicably guilty for some reason, and couldn't help but touch his nose. This was one of Jacob's little habits. "Um, Miss Layne, what do you want to talk to me about?"
"Take the keys—the keys to Purple Mountain Villa. The specific address is..." Layne didn't waste any words and tossed a set of keys to Jacob. "Remember to keep your phone on. A design company will contact you later. You can decide how you want it decorated. The money for the renovation has been prepaid."
Looking at the flying keys, Jacob was a bit slow to react and caught them instinctively.
It wasn't until more than ten seconds later that Jacob came back to his senses. "What do you mean?"
Layne rolled her eyes at Jacob, with a hint of contempt in her expression.
The look in her eyes seemed as if she was looking down on men who lived off women. Then she tossed her long hair, turned around, got into her car, and drove off in one smooth motion. She didn't want to say another word to Jacob.
"Raya asked me to give it to you."
...
Jacob looked at the keys in his hand, then at the taillights of the car, and frowned as he recalled the last words Layne had said before leaving.
Did Raya give this to him?
What did this mean?
Was she looking down on him?
Did she want to support him financially?
He, Jacob, was a grown man—how could he accept charity?
Wait, Purple Mountain Villa? Damn, wasn't this the villa he'd looked at not long ago? Not only was it extremely expensive, but the key was that you might not be able to buy it even if you had the money.
In addition to having money, buying a house there also had certain requirements for the homeowner.
They had to either be powerful trainers, members of the social elite, or hold important positions in the Pokémon Association. There were also certain requirements for net assets—not only requiring nine-digit savings but also requiring clean income sources.
Ordinary wealthy nouveau riche couldn't buy it even if they wanted to.
How did Raya know that he wanted a house in Purple Mountain Villa? Damn, was this woman spying on him?
Forget it. Anyone who wanted to find out his whereabouts could do so anyway.
Let's go see the house first.
...
Into the night.
Raya looked at Cresselia in front of her with a smile on her face. She took out a Psychic-type energy cube and fed it to Cresselia's mouth while gently stroking Cresselia's body.
Although this Cresselia's strength had just entered the King level and could only be regarded as the weakest among Raya's Pokémon, as a Legendary Pokémon, it had unlimited growth potential and its future achievements would definitely be impressive.
However, this Cresselia had a slight flaw in its personality—it was too timid.
Such a personality often prevented it from exerting its full strength in battle, so Raya needed to spend some time slowly correcting its personality and helping it build confidence.
...
"Raya," Layne stood to the side and spoke to Raya.
"Yes, Layne. If you have anything to say, just tell me," Raya's lazy voice sounded, as soft, languid, and charming as always. Even Layne, who was also a woman, felt somewhat moved.
Raya was truly an extremely charming woman. Her appearance, figure, and voice all revealed a sense of allure. Especially in the past few days, Layne had noticed that Raya seemed even more captivating.
"By the way, did you give the key to Jacob?"
"Yes, I gave it to him," Layne replied seriously. "I gave it to him early this morning. If it had been any later, Jacob would have gone out traveling again."
Speaking of traveling, although Raya still had a smile on her face, she felt a little annoyed.
Layne had visited the family seven days ago, but Jacob had already gone out traveling at that time.
Raya couldn't help but ask where Jacob was traveling, how long he would be gone, and who he would be with.
The answer she received made Raya even more upset.
"Did he say anything?" Raya asked.
"He... didn't say anything," Layne paused for a moment and then continued. "After Jacob got the key, he went to see the house in the morning."
Raya smiled. With Jacob's personality, it was impossible for him to refuse such a good thing. "Well, have the decoration design company contact him as soon as possible."
"They've already been in contact. They met in the afternoon and have finalized the renovation plan," Layne said somewhat speechlessly. "He also called me and asked me to supervise the work and go to the construction site every day. Jacob even said he would pay rent."
Jacob's shamelessness left Layne speechless. He really didn't consider himself an outsider and directly started ordering her around.
Raya couldn't help but laugh. She could already imagine Jacob's earnest expression, which was consistent with his usual style.
"Forget it, don't worry about him. Take some time every day to check on the renovation progress. It won't take long," Raya said to Layne with a smile.
"..."
Just spoil him!
"Oh, right," Layne suppressed her exasperation, showed a serious expression on her face, and said, "Just now, the Pokémon Association sent me an urgent message."
"A secret realm is suspected to have appeared in the sea area south of Aqualis City."
"The secret realm is covered in fog, the weather is snowing, and the sea is frozen."
"According to the witnesses, there should be an extremely powerful Ice-type Pokémon in the secret realm, but they chose to flee immediately, so we're not sure what Pokémon exists in the secret realm."
At this point, Layne also spoke up. "The Pokémon Association has issued a mission that requires at least two Heavenly Kings to go to the sea area of Aqualis City to explore the secret realm. Do you want to take this mission? After the mission is completed, each Heavenly King can receive fifteen percent of the secret realm shares, the person who provides the information can get ten percent of the shares, and the rest belongs to the Association."
"Forget it," Raya shook her head and said. "I just caught Cresselia recently. I'm busy training it and don't have time. Besides, the share is a bit low. Let the newer Heavenly Kings handle it."
"Raya," Layne's tone became serious and solemn when she said this. "Actually, I think there may be more to this mission than meets the eye."
"Huh?" With Raya's intelligence, she reacted after hearing Layne say this.
Thinking of the fact that Jacob had happened to be traveling in Aqualis City some time ago, she frowned and asked, "Are you saying that this matter is very likely related to Jacob?"
"Yes," Layne nodded. "The one who provided this information was the He family of Aqualis. When Jacob went to Aqualis City for his trip, it was the He family's second son, Odin, who hosted him. He also specially found a King-level trainer to accompany him."
"The He family?" Raya asked with a frown. She had heard of the He family before. They were shipping tycoons. The previous head of the He family had served as one of the Heavenly Kings in South China. Although their strength wasn't top-tier, they were considered a powerful force in Aqualis City. "How did they get in touch with Jacob?"
"Odin and Jacob's biological brother Asher are sworn brothers," Layne had obviously made sufficient preparations before reporting the news and quickly explained the relationship between Jacob's family and the He family.
"I understand," Raya nodded.
"Do you want to take this mission?" Layne asked.
"I don't know," Raya smiled.
"..."
What did she mean by "I understand" then? Layne couldn't help but wonder.
"Then shall I help you decline?"
"No rush," Raya waved her hand and picked up her phone. "Although I don't know whether I should take this mission, Jacob, the person involved, must know. Just call him and we'll find out."
"And I'm guessing that if your information is correct, this secret realm must be related to Jacob. Maybe he even caused it."
Raya showed a charming smile on her face, took out her cell phone, and dialed Jacob's number.