Rhea's arrival at the farm was a breath of fresh air. Her eccentric and energetic personality brought new life to the place, filling the quiet space left behind when some of the others had moved on. She radiated enough energy for everyone around her, lighting up every room she entered.
She fit in perfectly with the other girls. Her small stature and lively nature made each of them want to pamper her, especially Lina and Vera, who had a soft spot for children, even though she was nearly a decade older than Alex.
Rhea's relationship with Nyx was more like that of siblings who were always trying to outdo each other. They often played games together, or more accurately, competed against each other, much to the amusement of the Rotoms and Metagross, who saw their lack of gaming skill as amusingly childish.
As for Tinkaton, Rhea's starter and only Pokémon, she got along well with the others and often spent time with Morpeko and Raticate, who matched her in both strength and size.
She even found a place in Vera's experimental breeding program. The mischievous hammer-wielding creature earned a premium diet of top tier Pokéblocks, a reward she accepted with great enthusiasm.
That night, after dinner, Rhea and Alex began talking about some of the weapon ideas he had been working on. To Rhea's delight, the conversation quickly spiraled into a showcase of concepts that pushed the boundaries of anything she had seen before.
He described sniper rifles that fired large-caliber rounds, firearms with automatic firing capabilities, and even a monstrous creation that combined the two: a 20mm rotary cannon.
Then he started talking about grenade launchers, rocket propelled grenades, missiles, artillery, exoskeleton suits, and eventually, giant robots.
These were all weapon ideas Alex had brought back from Earth, and each new idea left Rhea more breathless than the last. The sheer firepower, complexity, and originality of the weapons he described nearly sent her into a frenzy of excitement. For her, they were not just tools; they were masterpieces waiting to be brought to life.
Unfortunately, Rhea responded to Alex's requests with an equally demanding list of materials she would need just to get started.
Many of these were regulated items, such as energy crystals and cutting-edge heavy machinery. Fortunately for both of them, Alex had a working relationship with Devon Corp, who could supply all her needs and more at a generous discount.
As for the more common components, they could be ordered through Nyx, who would then place the request with Maris and her distribution company. It cost a bit more to go through a third party, but the extra income helped Maris grow her budding business.
The money spent would ultimately return to Alex anyway, since it was technically his company. As the majority shareholder with 51% ownership, he still held controlling interest. However, he had signed away his management rights for as long as Maris remained president of the company.
This ultimately led to Alex's windfall of 50 million Pokédollars vanishing into a pile of materials for Rhea to play with, leaving him with less than 10 million once again.
Fortunately, he still had a stockpile of Pokémon meat that would last them for years. That was Alex's greatest expense. As long as he had Pokémon meat, he did not truly need money, since the farm still passively generated enough profit to sustain their operation.
Still, Alex was not comfortable having such an empty bank account. As a result, he returned to bounty hunting.
"I got nothing, boss," Nyx said in response to Alex's request for a target. "You scared off everybody with your recent string of takedowns. Everyone's lying low for the time being. All that's left are the ones worth less than a million, and they're very good at hiding. Although, I do have a few leads in Johto if you want to take a trip."
"No. The farm is exposed, and I don't want to leave for a long journey until I'm satisfied with the defenses," Alex replied with a sigh. "Lyra leaving does not help our situation."
Lyra had been a huge help in keeping their surroundings under watch. Her constant trips in the forest ensured they were not being spied on, which was now a very real threat because of Rhea.
Then again, after the assassination attempt, he might be an even bigger target than Rhea.
'I wonder how much I'm actually worth on the assassination board. It's gotta be pretty high, right?' Alex suddenly thought.
He was an Elite Ranked trainer with plenty of Elite Ranked bounties submitted. He should be worth at least as much as Rhea.
"What's the price on my head?" Alex asked suddenly, curiosity getting the better of him.
"Um… I am not sure you want to know," Nyx said awkwardly.
"That low? I've taken down quite a lot of targets. I cannot be that cheap," Alex said in protest.
"Less than a million, according to the assassination board. That has been the price ever since you caused that ruckus in Saffron City with your Zubats. The issue is that you have been targeting the human supremacist faction almost exclusively. The Underworld actually has a high opinion of you and has limited your public bounty because of your popularity."
"Nobody likes the human supremacist faction. They have been pissing people off left and right. So far, they have only been sending their personnel against you rather than placing a deadly price on your head."
"That's not so bad, I guess. Are there any targets I can take out from the assassination board without pissing off the League?" Alex asked.
Unlike the bounty board, which was regulated by the League, the assassination board only required proof of the target's death. This meant Alex could technically work as an assassin, as long as he chose targets that would not anger the League.
His ideal targets were low priority criminals with cheap public bounties but high underworld prices on their heads, typically those who had managed to earn the grudges of someone wealthy.
"Let me cross-reference both boards first to see which ones you can legally take out without any complications," Nyx said, beginning to type on her computer. "It'll take a while, so why don't you come back tomorrow?"
"Sure. Thanks, Nyx."
"Just doing my job."
Alex returned the next day to check on Nyx and found her fuming at her monitor.
"Rapists. So many rapists," she muttered as he entered her study. "The League keeps putting them on low priority because there's never enough evidence for a conviction."
"The Underworld, on the other hand, has been getting plenty of assassination requests from angry parents who want their child's attacker dead. The ones with no backing are easy targets. But the ones with connections? That's another story."
"Take this bastard, for example. He's a bodyguard for a local gang boss with family ties to someone in Umbraline. He's raped and killed eight people so far, and there's a bounty of a few million from the families who lost their kids. The League never received any evidence, so there's no warrant for his arrest."
"You can take him out, though. He has confirmed ties to the Underworld, so the League won't treat him as a civilian. That is, assuming you don't make a mess of it."
"Why aren't people in the Underworld turning in their own subordinates for these targets?" Alex asked. "They're worth millions."
"I'm not sure, but if I had to guess, reputation. As long as someone is under the organization's protection, they are off limits, no matter the price. Makes for a pretty good hiring pitch, if you ask me."
"What about the one you were talking about? He doesn't have any real ties to Umbraline. Even his boss is just a family member at best," Alex said.
"If I didn't have your level of strength, I wouldn't go near that guy either," Nyx replied. "You never know if you're poking a tree or a Beedrill's nest. People like me, the weak ones, would never even try."
"Alright. Get me a list on my burner. I'll start hunting from the most expensive to the cheapest as fast as possible. They will probably go into hiding once someone with my strength starts collecting from the board."
"You go get changed while I set it up for you. There are quite a lot of the little freaks."
"Thanks."
Alex quickly geared up, wearing full body armor, a long coat, and two pairs of pistols. One pair, kept on his torso, was for enhancing his Pokémon. The other pair, holstered at his waist, was meant for killing.
This particular set had belonged to the assassin and featured the latest upgrades from Argent Solution. Basically, they did more damage in exchange for greater drain on the energy crystal.
Not that it mattered since shooting 80 bullets was complete overkill.
He also stopped by the workshop to pick up the sniper rifle, just in case. He was supposed to be an assassin, after all, so he might as well give it a shot.
Once Alex received the list on his burner phone, he scanned through it and quickly spotted multiple targets in Saffron City alone. Across Kanto, there were at least five rapists under protection in every city. It was not as many as he had expected, until he remembered that those without backing had probably already been assassinated.
As he continued scrolling, Alex found more than just rapists listed as potential targets.
There were bosses who discarded disgruntled employees, cheaters whose former lovers wanted them dead, and school bullies whose victims ended up rich. All of them had known ties to the Underworld, and as such, were considered fair game by the League so long as killing them didn't require collateral damage.
"It's going to be a busy week."
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