He Sheng said coldly,
"No—if you look closely, you actually do have a connection with them. The Lin family of Lake City was founded on Dragon-type Pokémon, and you just happened to publish a Fairy-type paper that is extremely unfavorable to Dragon-types."
In every world, there are clans and great families. Even in the original Pokémon world, there are families like the Dragon Clan, the Joy family, and the Jenny family.
In this world, with the rise of Pokémon, whenever a powerful Trainer emerged, they would usually leave behind their training methods for certain Pokémon to their family—or even leave their Pokémon themselves within the clan.
Generation after generation, this gradually formed powerful families. The legacies left behind by their ancestors became the foundation of these clans.
However, since there are simply too many types of Pokémon, most families choose to specialize in a single attribute to avoid spreading their efforts too thin.
The Lin family of Lake City was precisely a clan that specialized in Dragon-type Pokémon.
Every such family possessed influence to some degree. That was exactly why they were able to mobilize so many media outlets and stir up such massive attention around Oliver's alleged "plagiarism." A mere university professor simply wouldn't have had that kind of power on his own.
In truth, when Oliver published the Fairy-type paper, he had already anticipated possible retaliation from Dragon-type specialists or Dragon-type families.
However, with Elite Four–level figures protecting him within the Alliance, those families would never dare openly challenge the Alliance itself. That was why he hadn't paid much attention to it.
He never expected them to attack him through public opinion instead.
He Sheng's voice turned icy.
"From an official standpoint, they are attacking the most talented researcher the Alliance has seen in decades. From a personal standpoint—since you call me 'Uncle,' I will never allow outsiders to bully you."
A warmth rose quietly in Oliver's chest.
This sense of protection from an elder—he had only ever felt something like this from his mother.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Uncle He," Oliver said softly.
"You focus on your research. Leave these trivial matters to us."
After hanging up, He Sheng's gaze became as cold as polar ice.
The scar on his face looked even more ferocious at that moment.
Back then, Ye Yuanhao, He Sheng, and two others had been extremely close friends.
Before that disastrous incident, it was originally He Sheng who had been assigned to enter that secret realm—but Ye Yuanhao had taken the mission from him and personally led the team instead.
Because of that, He Sheng had carried guilt for many years. He always believed that if he had gone instead, Ye Yuanhao might not have disappeared.
And now, the son of his old friend was being bullied right to his face.
How could he possibly tolerate that?
Without hesitation, He Sheng made an emergency call, summoning all currently idle investigators in both the capital and Lake City.
He then personally led the capital's investigators onto a plane bound straight for Lake City.
On the plane, He Sheng explained the mission objectives.
When the investigators heard that the target was an entire family, they were all stunned.
"Director He… shouldn't we report this to the Chairman first?" one of his deputies asked hesitantly.
After all, acting directly against a powerful family could easily provoke backlash from other clans if mishandled.
"It's fine," He Sheng said dismissively, waving his hand.
"If he wants to blame someone later, let him come find me. I'll take responsibility."
Although He Sheng appeared reckless, he was far from foolish.
If the Lin family's case were reported properly, the final result would be no different. He was simply acting first and reporting later. In the end, no one would truly be able to touch him.
After all, the status of top-tier Pokémon researchers was no joke.
Someone like Lu Xinghe—if he traveled abroad—foreign powers would at most dare to place him under house arrest. They would never dare harm him.
And in the Alliance's eyes, Oliver was the next Lu Xinghe.
Lake City
As a family famous for Dragon-type Pokémon, the Lin family were undisputed local tyrants in Lake City.
Even the Alliance branch chairman stationed there often required the Lin family's cooperation to handle many affairs smoothly.
The Lin family had long been accustomed to acting with impunity.
Then one day, they suddenly realized that Dragon-type Pokémon were no longer supreme—that they now had a natural counter.
This directly impacted the interests of the entire Lin family.
Although the situation was irreversible, the vindictive Lin family immediately placed the blame on the discoverer of the Fairy type: Oliver.
However, the Alliance's protection around Oliver was airtight. They didn't dare provoke the Alliance directly.
So they devised this plan instead.
Inside the Lin Family Estate
It was dinner time.
A large family sat around an enormous dining table.
Lin Quan's eldest son spoke excitedly,
"Dad, the public mood has been completely stirred up today. I bet it won't be long before that Oliver becomes a universally despised target."
Lin Quan sneered.
"He brought this on himself. Of all things, he had to research a counter to Dragon-types."
The second son chimed in,
"Exactly. After this warning, I doubt any researcher will dare publish results that harm Dragon-types again."
For families and Trainers who specialized in Dragon-types, the stronger Dragon-types were, the higher their own status would be.
However, Lin Quan's third son looked uneasy.
"Won't the Alliance eventually trace this back to us?"
The second son laughed mockingly.
"Third brother, you're far too timid. As long as that Professor Hu doesn't hand over evidence, they can't touch him. And even if he gets caught, what does that have to do with us?"
The eldest son added without restraint,
"Third brother, if you keep acting this cautious, how could Father ever entrust the Lin family's assets to you in the future?"
The third son's face went pale.
He knew his two brothers were deliberately suppressing him in front of their father.
Lin Quan finally interrupted their infighting.
"Third, you should learn more from your brothers. Being overly cautious will never lead to great achievements. Enough—let's eat."
"Yes," all three sons replied at once, not daring to argue.
Just then—
A rough, booming laugh echoed from outside the hall.
"Hahahaha! Eat? I think you'd better eat your meals in prison instead!"
"Who's there?!"
Everyone at the table jolted in shock, instantly turning toward the entrance in alarm.
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