Everyone Else Awakened, But I Just Opened a Pokémon Pet Shop

Outside the gates of Haicheng.

Zhu Jianyuan led a group of Trainers, sprinting at full speed toward Boulder City.

To quicken their pace, Zhu had gone all-in—providing everyone with high-grade alchemical potions that enhanced sprinting ability, each vial worth a small fortune.

"Faster! Come on, push it!"

Zhu Jianyuan's brows were tightly furrowed, worry etched across his face.

"If we don't pick up the pace… Su Bai might really be in trouble!"

His concern was written plain on his face.

Even with the help of the potion, most of the Trainers were panting hard from the grueling pace.

Especially Wang Tao, who had only recently been promoted to D-rank and wasn't exactly built for speed. He was gasping for air.

"Trouble? Su… Su Bai? He's the last person I'd worry about!"

"That guy can body slam an S-rank Death Beast into the ground!"

Though worried about his best friend's predicament, Wang Tao also knew exactly how dangerous Su Bai could be.

Not to mention, Meloetta and Diancie were with him—two absolute game-changers.

Honestly, he figured it made more sense to worry for Boulder City than about Su Bai.

"You don't get it," Zhu Jianyuan said, deadly serious.

"I know how strong Su Bai is. But the Contractor's Guild… doesn't just have one S-rank member."

"And S-ranks vary. Some of them… can't even be measured on the usual scale anymore."

"You think I'd let something like the Contractor's Guild—the literal definition of a ticking time bomb—exist in Haicheng, just because of one or two S-ranks?"

"Don't underestimate them…"

A shadow passed over his expression as he picked up his pace even more.

As the city lord, he knew more than most.

That Contractor's Guild… was far from simple.

Even Su Bai wasn't invincible.

Inside the Contractor's Guild.

Su Bai casually patted the dust off his clothes, completely ignoring the glares from every Contractor present.

He flashed them a fake smile.

"My bad. I may have messed up your roof a little."

"But looking at this place, it seems like your guild could really use some sunlight."

"Maybe the skylight I made… isn't quite big enough?"

He looked up. Sunlight streamed through the giant hole in the ceiling, cutting across the gloom like a blade and illuminating the shadowy hall.

"Oh, and this? I managed to save this for you, too, while I was making that skylight."

Suddenly, Su Bai slapped his forehead as if remembering something. He rummaged through the crumbled cement beside him… and pulled something out.

Thud.

With a crisp sound, he dropped a massive, gleaming sculpture onto the floor.

It was the Guild's emblem—a high-density crystal carving of a beast's head.

According to legend, it was modeled after the first S-rank Death Beast ever contracted by the founder, Rock.

In the entire human world, only the Contractor's Guild would use a beast's head as a symbol.

Contractors had never been well-loved. This wasn't the first time someone had come knocking for blood.

Fights between Awakeners were often brutal and straightforward.

Su Bai smirked.

"You lot… have disgraced Rock's legacy."

"You seriously think you're still worthy of this beast head?"

When Su Bai first broke in, most of the Contractors had simply watched with amused indifference, smirking as they waited for this arrogant Awakener to be crushed.

After all, even B-rank Awakeners could break a ceiling like that. Heck, with enough effort, even C-ranks could pull it off.

But the moment Su Bai threw down the emblem, that all changed.

For these ostracized, tight-knit Contractors, the beast head was a sacred icon.

Without Rock and that first contracted beast… they would have remained nothing more than glorified errand boys.

At that moment, their rage ignited.

One by one, the Contractors released their Death Beasts.

A-rank.

B-rank.

C-rank.

And even two S-rank beasts!

What was once a spacious guild hall was now packed to the brim with massive, snarling monsters.

Their heavy, hot breaths echoed through the room.

Seeing Meloetta and Diancie, the Death Beasts' eyes lit up with greed and hatred.

A thick miasma of death aura and the stench of rot rapidly filled the room.

"I've seen plenty of idiots," the previously arrogant S-rank Contractor said, veins bulging on his forehead.

"But you… you're something else."

His profession had brought him wealth beyond imagination—a life of luxury in a world where most barely survived.

He had deep pride in the guild.

Behind him, a towering S-rank Death Beast bared its fangs at Su Bai.

This Contractor wasn't just strong—he had excellent control over his beast.

"Didn't anyone tell you?" he sneered.

"Even if you die here, no one will care."

In most Awakener battles, deaths were rare and often forbidden.

But Contractors were the exception.

They could simply blame it on a rampaging Death Beast.

Beasts were known to lose control. So if one just happened to go berserk during a fight… and a visiting Awakener got torn to shreds?

"Oops. It happens."

And this was the Contractor's Guild.

Surrounded by dozens of monsters, even if someone died here, there was no one to hold them accountable.

At most, the guild might have to pay a fine—a slap on the wrist.

And when it came to money? Contractors were never short.

"Oh? Is that how it is?"

Su Bai raised a hand to cover his nose, trying to block out the unbearable stench of death.

"You guys don't think it's a bit… stuffy in here?"

"Living in this filthy, airtight room with these stinkbags? I gotta admire your tolerance."

Then he shouted toward the roof:

"Gyarados! Let's give this place… a bit of fresh air!"

A rumbling tremor sounded from above.

BOOM!

A massive slab of ceiling came crashing down, flattening a C-rank Death Beast beneath it.

Its Trainer instinctively looked up—only to see a massive, whiplike tail, shaped like that of a sea monster, slam straight through the roof.

It vanished a second later, retracting skyward.

And then the real pounding began.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

The death aura in the room intensified a hundredfold, infuriating Gyarados beyond reason.

With Su Bai's permission, it began demolishing the Contractor's Guild with reckless abandon!

Its colossal tail rained down like a hammer, smashing through the reinforced rooftop.

Hole after hole opened up above the Contractors' heads, each followed by a cascade of crushing debris!