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

Ding Yue's Pokémon was just a Fletchling.

But judging by her demeanor, she could probably afford ten more without even blinking.

Su Bai had pegged her as a rich kid from the very start.

He just hadn't realized she was this loaded.

In fact, judging from her attitude, she might even be richer than Zhang Qun, who practically monopolized the personal care market in Haicheng and nearby cities.

According to Ding Yue, "half of Haicheng" was basically built by her family.

After getting Su Bai's permission, she made a single phone call.

And in less than ten minutes, a van full of professionals had arrived outside Su's Pet Shop.

Because the shop was so small, this high-stakes construction negotiation had to happen right outside the door…

"Uncle Lin, let me be clear—Su Bai and I go way back!"

"Our Ding Group Construction is not making money off this job!"

"Everything's at cost. Got it?!"

Uncle Lin could only smile helplessly at the sight of this proud young lady standing next to Su Bai with her hands on her hips.

He nodded respectfully while flipping through the detailed blueprint outline Su Bai had stayed up all night to organize.

Behind him, several obviously seasoned professionals were already reviewing copies of the plans.

"Don't worry, Miss Ding," Uncle Lin said with a sigh.

"The chairman already said—even if this job makes us lose money, we're doing it."

Still, there was a trace of confusion in his eyes.

Ding Group was no small player in the industry, and Ding Yue's father was just as formidable as Zhang Qun's father.

And now, such a massive project—yet they were willing to take a loss?

He didn't get it…

But then again, it wasn't really that hard to understand.

Su Bai glanced at Uncle Lin, who looked slightly dazed flipping through the pages, and chuckled silently.

The performance of Pokémon during the Dead Beast siege was no secret.

And after the battle, Su Bai had been personally invited into a long, private conversation with City Lord Zhu and the old Principal Lu while still in the hospital.

People like the Ding family—who operated at this level—could definitely smell which way the wind was blowing.

Plus, Ding Yue herself was already a Trainer. Her father was probably eager to curry favor with Su Bai.

Even with such a skilled team, it took them the entire afternoon to get through the piles of blueprints and draft a rough plan.

"Phew… These plans are incredibly detailed. Saved us a ton of work," Uncle Lin finally said, adjusting his flat glasses with a sigh of relief.

"A lot of the structures are unfamiliar to us, but we can still follow the drawings just fine."

"As for the area required... it's going to involve tearing down pretty much the entire commercial street."

He paused, then added:

"If Mr. Su is willing to entrust us with the negotiations, we should be able to keep the purchase prices down. What do you think?"

"Yes, please!" Su Bai nodded without hesitation.

"Nothing would make me happier!"

Then he added:

"But… about the compensation for demolition, make sure everyone is fairly paid. I'd rather shoulder the extra cost myself than shortchange the local shop owners."

After all, Su Bai had lost his parents at a young age.

Despite his double lifetime of experience and ability to take care of himself, he'd never forgotten the kindness of the people in this neighborhood.

He didn't care much about money—but he valued that kindness deeply.

"If this construction causes tension or bad blood, that wouldn't sit well with me."

Uncle Lin gave a hearty laugh.

"Mr. Su, you have a generous heart. Don't worry."

"We'll make sure none of the shop owners suffer."

"Besides, in today's world, those kinds of greedy 'nail households' who demand sky-high compensation—those are a thing of the past."

"Honestly, it's surprising you even know about that kind of stuff…"

Faced with a threat to humanity's survival, people had become extremely united.

Dead Beasts were exactly that kind of threat.

It was that unity that allowed human society to survive.

The era of outrageous, opportunistic compensation demands was long gone.

"Factoring in demolition fees and other costs…"

"The total construction estimate for these blueprints is around two hundred million."

"If the final costs are lower, we'll return the difference. If they're higher, Ding Group will cover the rest."

Uncle Lin's words were clear and firm.

Su Bai nodded quietly.

And inwardly… his heart was bleeding.

Two hundred million?!

No wonder the system's main quest had been to raise two hundred million. It had been leading up to this.

So basically… he was spending his own hard-earned money?

"System, you're really something…"

"The host works hard, but the system's the one slurping up all the soup…"

And this was with Ding Group refusing to make any profit. In fact, they were even offering to subsidize the project!

Yet somehow, the system had still factored that in?

Sure enough—no matter what era you lived in, infrastructure burned through money like crazy.

If he hadn't tricked a certain shady Contract Trainer out of a full hundred million…

He'd be flat broke again by now.

"You really can't be too honest in this world."

Su Bai gave a silent thumbs-up to Li Jian.

For all his flaws, the guy turned out to be kind of… useful, in his own way.

By the time the final box of sorted blueprints was loaded onto Ding Group's armored transport, the sun was already beginning to set.

"Alright, we'll take it from here," Uncle Lin said, shaking Su Bai's hand.

"We'll get started on drafting the execution plan immediately. Barring any surprises, your Pokémon Center should be completed within two weeks."

Su Bai blinked.

"That fast? I thought it'd take at least a month or two."

Ding Yue stood proudly, hands on her hips.

"Heh! Su Bai, clearly you don't know just how amazing our Ding Group is!"

"We've got Awakened Construction Professionals ranked in the top tiers—not just in Haicheng, but across the Eastern Divine Federation!"

"Especially our Earth-type divisions—we're number one in terms of building speed. No contest!"

Su Bai suddenly understood.

Right—this was the world of Awakened Beings.

Unlike the old world, here, building foundations could be done by Earth-type Mages tossing out Earth Collapse spells while chugging potions.

The efficiency was on a completely different level.

As Ding Group's vehicle sped off into the distance, Wang Tao watched it go with a dazed expression.

"I remember not long ago, you were scraping for living expenses…"

"And now… you're building a two-hundred-million-dollar Pokémon Center?!"

"This world… is seriously dreamlike."

Su Bai chuckled and patted Wang Tao on the shoulder.

"You've got a Grotle, one of the strongest Pokémon around. What's wrong with life being a little dreamlike?"

To be honest, even he felt a little emotional.

Across both of his lives, this was by far the biggest investment he'd ever made.

Pokémon… truly had the power to change one's destiny.

"By the way," he added, "were you all just here to get your Pokémon treated? If not, how about staying for dinner?"

He finally remembered their original visit—before everything had spiraled into chaos.

Now that he thought about it, he hadn't even properly welcomed them. It was a little embarrassing.

"Oh! Right!" Liu Yunlan suddenly slapped her forehead.

"We actually came to deliver a message from the old principal!"

"He said you should find time to visit Haicheng First High—he has something important to discuss with you."

"It's related to Pokémon!"

Su Bai raised an eyebrow, speechless.

"And that's something you almost forgot?!"

"Wait… Haicheng First High? The old Principal's already out of the hospital?"

"Knowing him, I guess I shouldn't be surprised…"

"But if it's something big about Pokémon… what could it be?"