Jacob paid little mind to Dawson, who had appeared so suddenly.
In Jacob's eyes, Dawson— despite holding Heavenly King-level strength — was nothing more than a nuisance. Compared to worrying about Dawson himself, Jacob was far more interested in finding out who was pulling the strings behind the scenes.
November had settled over the Imperial Capital like a cold blanket. The season had turned almost overnight, and the city felt the full weight of late autumn — the steady patter of rain, the rustle of red maple leaves drifting to the ground, and the faint cries of the last Yanma fading into the grey sky. There was a quiet sadness to it all.
Word of the clash between Jacob and Dawson had spread, though only through certain circles. Everyone who heard about it acknowledged that Jacob had a bright future ahead of him — but a promising future was still just that. A promise. If sothing happened before that future arrived, what would there be left to promise?
Dawson, on the other hand, was an experienced King-level Trainer with years of battles and victories behind him. If Dawson truly set his sights on opposing Jacob, many believed Jacob would have no choice but to accept the loss quietly and move on. After all, in a world where strength determined almost everything, Jacob was still young — still building his foundation.
That said, a fair number of people were curious to see how Jacob would handle the situation.
Inside the training room at Purple Mountain Villa.
"Sylvia." Jacob looked at the blonde-haired girl across from him, a calm smile on his face. "The new laboratory is almost done. Once it's finished, I'll have soone set aside an office and a private lab just for you. That way, you can start continuing your father's research."
Sylvia's expression brightened imdiately. A warm smile spread across her fair face as she gave a small nod. "Thank you, Mr. Jacob."
The past month had been the most settled period of Sylvia's life since she had started wandering on her own. What made it aningful wasn't just the comfort — it was that every promise Jacob had made to her had been kept, one by one. He hadn't given her empty words.
"Don't worry about it," Jacob said, waving a hand dismissively. Then his tone shifted slightly. "Actually, I wanted to ask — how is the matter I ntioned last ti going? The one about looking into Eleanor?"
Sylvia's expression beca more focused. "I was actually about to bring that up." She t Jacob's gaze steadily. "Eleanor has professional hacker experts on her side, and they're alert. After my Porygon broke through part of their network defenses, they noticed quickly and changed their data almost imdiately. Still, I did manage to pull so useful information before they locked things down. You can look it over."
Jacob nodded. "Understood. You've worked hard." He could tell from the way Sylvia spoke — calmly, matter-of-factly — that the process had been anything but simple. Porygon was a Pokémon built entirely from programming code, capable of traveling freely through cyberspace. But that didn't make it unstoppable. Getting anything useful out of a system guarded by professional hackers was no small feat.
He paused, then said, "We'll set the Eleanor matter aside for now. There's sothing else I need your help with."
"What is it?" Sylvia tilted her head with a small smile, eyes bright with curiosity — and a clear readiness to act.
Over the past weeks, Jacob had provided everything she needed: food, a place to stay, equipnt. It had made her want to find a way to be genuinely useful, to show that she wasn't simply accepting his help without giving anything back.
"Last night…" Jacob gave her a brief but clear account of what had happened with Dawson— from the previous evening through to that morning. "I need you to find out who hired him. Who's giving Dawson his orders."
"Understood." Sylvia's expression turned serious as she nodded.
Jacob studied her face for a mont. The resolve there was plain — maybe a little too plain. He knew Sylvia well enough by now to recognize when she was ready to push herself too hard.
"Do what you can, but keep your safety first," Jacob said, his voice steady but firm. "Don't expose Porygon. Don't expose yourself. I have my own way of dealing with Dawson. I just need you to do your best on your end — nothing more."
Dawson was a problem, but he was a manageable one. Sylvia and what she carried — her father's research data, her Porygon, her own knowledge and abilities — were far more valuable. Jacob wasn't willing to risk any of that over soone like Dawson.
"Mm." Sylvia gave a short nod — though there was sothing in her expression that suggested she was already planning more than she was letting on.
Jacob caught it. He looked at her, his tone more direct this ti. "I'm serious, Sylvia. This applies to both matters — Eleanor and Dawson. Your safety cos before results. Do your best, and leave the rest to . Am I clear?"
Sylvia paused, then let out a small breath. She could tell from Jacob's expression that he had noticed her earlier response hadn't been entirely sincere. A genuine smile replaced the polite one. "You don't have to worry," she said. "I promise I won't do anything reckless."
Jacob's expression relaxed slightly. "You're picking up idioms well," he said lightly. "Looks like your studying has been paying off."
Sylvia's smile widened a little, and the tension between them eased.
Jacob took the USB drive Sylvia handed him and headed back to his room. Inside were files on Eleanor — so of the only solid information that had been possible to obtain.
It took just over ten minutes to read through everything. When he set it down, he sat quietly for a mont, thinking. He had already known parts of Eleanor's background, but so of what was in those files still gave him pause.
He leaned back in his chair, one hand resting on the table, fingers tapping a slow, steady rhythm against the surface — a habit of his when his thoughts were moving fast.
If the information was accurate, Eleanor could be trusted when it ca to the arrangent with yer. She could be brought into that matter.
Jacob leaned back further into the sofa and stared up at the ceiling, brow furrowed. The yer deal was still so ti away, and for now, the advantage was on his side. Eleanor could wait.
What couldn't wait was Dawson.
He thought it through for a while longer, then glanced at the ti. It was already past ten in the evening. He pushed himself up, grabbed his jacket, and made his way toward Nina's apartnt.
The following morning.
Jacob had barely woken up when his phone buzzed. It was Kyle.
He checked the ti, mildly surprised. Kyle reached out regularly enough, but not usually this early — and not without a reason.
Unless sothing had happened.
"Hello," Jacob answered, his voice unhurried.
"Jacob, sothing's wrong!" Kyle's voice was tight, clearly rattled.
"Slow down," Jacob said evenly. "What is it?"
"Have you checked the school forum?" Kyle's words ca quickly. "Last night, soone posted about you. It's already on the trending list — thousands of comnts. You need to see it."
"What does it say?" Jacob asked, reaching for the breakfast Nina had prepared before leaving for work.
"Freshman Champion, Research Prodigy Jacob — a kept man!"
Jacob nearly choked on his milk.
He set the cup down carefully. His first thought went imdiately to Nina — and then to Raya.
If it was his connection to Nina that had co out, that was manageable. But if it was Raya —
That would be a far more serious problem.
User Comments
0 comments from readers