Caterpie was an easygoing Pokémon.
Once Yao Shirui had earned its approval, the two quickly became absorbed in playing together.
That was only natural.
Caterpie had been designed with cuteness as its defining feature.
As long as someone could overcome their natural aversion to bugs, its considerable intelligence made it an excellent companion.
Seeing that the two had already established a basic level of trust, Jiang Ming felt comfortable leaving Caterpie in Yao Shirui’s care.
He also gave her a rough daily schedule to help her look after it properly.
The actual responsibilities were straightforward: make sure Caterpie was fed, supervise two hours of move training every day, and carefully monitor its physical condition.
Any abnormalities had to be reported to Jiang Ming immediately.
With Caterpie’s arrangements settled, Jiang Ming took the opportunity to check on the latest batch of Sunkern Eggs in the cultivation chambers.
After discussing the purchase of Sunkern with Director Ye, they had finally agreed on an initial order of one hundred Pokémon.
The price would follow Jiang Ming’s highest established pricing tier.
However, because the order was so large, they had negotiated a ten-percent discount, bringing the price down to 90,000 Federation Credits per Sunkern.
After all, it was public money.
As long as the purchase offered good value, Director Ye would only earn credit for the decision.
Zhengming Company’s laboratory now had twenty cultivation chambers, so the Energy Bureau’s order would be completed soon.
The eggs Jiang Ming was looking at now belonged to the final batch.
“President Jiang!”
A young man in his early twenties spotted Jiang Ming and hurried over to greet him.
But Jiang Ming wasn’t pleased with the formal address.
He immediately put on a stern expression.
“You little rascal! Are you treating me like an outsider now? Why are you being so formal with me? Call me Brother Ming!”
“Heh.” The young man grinned and scratched his head.
“Got it, Brother Ming.”
The young man’s name was Lin Chengfeng.
He was the same age as Jiang Ming, though his birthday was two months later.
His father, Lin Ping’an, had once served in the City Guard as a Tier One Evolver.
After Jiang Zheng first joined the City Guard, Lin Ping’an had followed him closely, and the two had developed a relationship much like that of a master and his apprentice.
Because of this connection, the Lin and Jiang families had grown increasingly close.
Jiang Ming and Lin Chengfeng, being the same age, had practically spent every day together growing up.
Unfortunately, several years earlier, Lin Ping’an had led a team on an expedition outside the city and had the misfortune of encountering a Tier Seven mutant beast.
The entire expedition team was wiped out, with only one person managing to fight their way back alive.
Lin Chengfeng’s mother had already been in poor health for many years.
When she suddenly received the devastating news, she couldn’t bear the shock.
Losing both parents in such a short period dealt Lin Chengfeng a devastating blow.
Without the Jiang family’s attentive care and support, nobody knew what might have become of him.
Like Jiang Ming, Lin Chengfeng had failed to awaken successfully.
After suffering such a major upheaval, he’d also lost the motivation to study.
When he failed the university entrance examination four years ago, he went straight to work at Zhengming Company instead.
He was someone Jiang Ming could trust completely.
In the break room, Jiang Ming happened to have some free time, so he sat down and chatted with Lin Chengfeng.
“Brother Ming, there’s something I regret.”
Lin Chengfeng suddenly spoke up.
“Regret becoming my assistant?” Jiang Ming asked casually.
“No. I regret not listening to Uncle Jiang back then and taking the university entrance examination one more time.”
There was a trace of melancholy in Lin Chengfeng’s voice.
“Why?”
This time, Jiang Ming was genuinely curious.
Lin Chengfeng gave a bitter smile before answering.
“Because of you, of course.”
“Me?”
Jiang Ming pointed at himself in disbelief.
“Yeah!” Lin Chengfeng nodded firmly.
“When my parents were still alive, our grades were pretty much on par. But now, you’ve only spent four years at university, and you’ve already managed to cultivate an entirely new genetic organism on your own.”
“If I’d been a little stronger back then and managed to get into university too, I wouldn’t be stuck at the company every day feeling like a complete waste of space.”
So that was it.
Jiang Ming understood, but instead of responding gently, he slapped Lin Chengfeng on the shoulder.
“What nonsense are you talking about?! I only learned the basics of biological cultivation at university. Your big brother here achieved what he has today entirely through talent and hard work!”
Jiang Ming shamelessly took all the credit for himself.
There was no way he would ever reveal the existence of the System to anyone else, so he could only let everyone believe that his achievements were entirely his own.
He continued scolding Lin Chengfeng.
“You’re always like this! No matter what happens, you insist on blaming yourself!”
Jiang Ming had always possessed the soul of an adult, even when he was a child.
As a result, he’d naturally taken on the role of the older brother in their relationship from the very beginning.
The root of that personality could be traced to a familiar problem: a talented father and a son who struggled to live up to his example.
Back when Jiang Ming was constantly compared with Jiang Zheng, even his own adult-level emotional resilience had nearly failed him, pushing him toward a breakdown.
Lin Chengfeng had suffered even more.
If Jiang Ming hadn’t repeatedly encouraged and comforted him, Lin Chengfeng might easily have developed depression—or worse.
Just as Jiang Ming had finally begun helping Lin Chengfeng move in a healthier direction, his parents’ deaths had sent him spiraling back into his old patterns.
He’d even reached the point where he no longer wanted to live.
In the end, it had taken the combined efforts of all four members of the Jiang family to pull him back from the brink.
But emotional wounds were never so easy to heal.
Over the past few years, whenever Jiang Ming returned home during university breaks, Lin Chengfeng had always acted as though everything was normal.
Yet Jiang Ming, who had grown up alongside him, could see straight through the act.
Unfortunately, back then, Jiang Ming had been powerless to help.
All he could do was hope that time would gradually heal the wounds.
Then, a little over two months ago, Jiang Ming’s own parents had passed away unexpectedly.
Lin Chengfeng’s old problems immediately resurfaced.
He shut himself away at home for more than ten days, refusing to come out.
In the end, Jiang Ming had been forced to suppress his own grief and drag his friend back to his senses with a good old-fashioned beating.
Looking at Lin Chengfeng now, Jiang Ming felt that the effects of the first round of treatment were beginning to wear off.
Emotional wounds needed an emotional remedy.
Physical methods might work temporarily, but they couldn’t solve the underlying problem.
Fortunately, Jiang Ming had now thought of an effective cure.
“Xiao Feng, I have a way to make you stronger. Do you dare to give it a try?”
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Jiang Ming’s mouth.
The root of Lin Chengfeng’s problem was that he’d never inherited his father’s talent.
That had left him vulnerable to all the gossip and criticism surrounding him.
The best way to treat that wound was to give him a path toward becoming stronger.
“What is it?!”
The moment Lin Chengfeng heard the word stronger, his interest was immediately piqued.
“Want to find out? Then follow me!”
Jiang Ming stood up and led Lin Chengfeng straight to the rooftop of Zhengming Company’s building.
“Brother Ming, why have you brought me up here?”
Lin Chengfeng looked around curiously.
Apart from a dozen or so solar panels and some miscellaneous items, there was nothing particularly noteworthy on the rooftop.
Jiang Ming smiled mysteriously and called over Sunkern, which had been basking happily in the sunlight.
“Xiao Feng, how would you like to have a fight with Sunkern?”