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When leaving the vault, Nina’s beautiful face appeared frost-covered, like an iceberg beauty. She radiated an aura that kept strangers at a distance, walking ahead of Jacob with her long legs and maintaining a deliberate space between them.

Nina, clearly upset, evidently had no desire to speak with Jacob, leaving him with only a perfect view of her back.

Her slender waist and long, straight legs accentuated by blue skinny jeans, along with her flawless figure, exuded a captivating charm that continuously drew the attention of passersby.

As the saying goes, women’s beauty exists on three levels. The first concerns external appearance—skin, legs, waist, face, collarbone, physique, and so on. The second relates to temperament—inner character and cultivation. The third involves wisdom.

Jacob, inexperienced in relationships across two lifetimes, clearly understood his limitations. He couldn’t reach the second and third levels of appreciation quickly. Someone like him, who missed the deeper significance, could only perceive the first level at present.

All he could see was a beautiful young woman with fair skin, long legs, a shapely figure, and a slender waist.

Although Nina was seven or eight years older than Jacob, it didn’t prevent him from thinking, “I really like Professor Nina with her perfect figure!”

As they say, a woman’s waist is a deadly weapon. If Jacob continued along this train of thought, his lifespan might be considerably shortened.

Nina had no idea what Jacob was thinking. If she knew, she might have ordered her Kommo-o to hit Jacob with a Draco Meteor.

She was genuinely angry and deeply disappointed in Jacob. Just moments ago in the vault, Jacob had been as stubborn as a Tauros. There were so many obviously “better” choices available. She had spent considerable time trying to persuade him, analyzing which treasure would best serve his needs at this stage.

But Jacob had chosen a broken gem, nearly driving Nina to distraction. Wouldn’t an A-grade Dragon Scale be more beneficial in accelerating his Dreepy’s growth?

She tried to reason with herself that Jacob must have his own motives for this selection. Research perspectives often differ. Everyone views things from unique angles. Perhaps this broken gem truly was an extraordinary treasure.

In the end, Jacob’s explanation was simply that he felt strongly drawn to the broken gem and sensed a connection with it.

Destiny? Nonsense! Nina wanted to retort that if destiny were real, she wouldn’t still be single, with family members pressuring her about marriage every New Year.

The two walked along the pedestrian street, maintaining a body-length distance between them, creating a palpably awkward atmosphere.

“Excuse me,” a man in his twenties suddenly approached from the side, breaking the uncomfortable silence between them. He stopped in front of them, camera in hand.

Behind him followed a Magneton and another person carrying video equipment. He addressed them: “I’m a photography blogger from TikTok. I was taking street photos and noticed you two look exceptional—like professional models. I’d love to take some photos of you both. Would that be alright?”

“Don’t worry, it’s completely free—not a penny,” the photographer emphasized, opening his phone to display his TikTok profile. “Here are some photos I’ve taken previously. Have a look.”

The man’s interruption broke Jacob’s train of thought, snapping him out of his admiration for Professor Nina’s figure. He felt slightly embarrassed—what had come over him? How could he harbor such inappropriate thoughts about his mentor?

Jacob gathered himself and quickly stepped toward Nina, asking him, “It’s free? Are you absolutely sure?”

Hearing Jacob’s miserly tone, the man couldn’t help but internally judge him. Someone so handsome yet so concerned about money—he couldn’t understand how the beautiful woman beside him had fallen for such a person.

“Yes, I promise we won’t charge a cent,” The tiktoker emphasized, maintaining his pleasant smile.

Unexpectedly, Jacob’s next words nearly infuriated him: “I don’t want free photos. I only want the expensive ones—nothing under 10,000 PokéDollars. I feel uncomfortable if I’m not spending money.”

Jacob’s statement made Nina burst into laughter, though she quickly composed herself and resumed her cold demeanor.

“Dude, you’re hilarious…”

In the end, Jacob and Nina didn’t take any photos and simply walked away. Taking advantage of the man’s interruption, Jacob hurriedly caught up with Nina.

“Senior Nina, please don’t be angry.” Jacob certainly knew why she was upset, but he could only smile ruefully to himself. What else could he do? These were Legendary Pokémon—Latias and Latios. “I chose this gem because I believe it contains a unique type of Dragon energy, and I want to take it back to the laboratory for research. I promise I’ll focus on training when I return and put the experiments aside for now. I’ll listen to you next time.”

Jacob had no choice but to tell a kind lie to pacify Nina. He acknowledged his error this time, but in a similar situation, he would make the same choice again! This was a Legendary Pokémon—a Dragon-type Legendary at that. Jacob had no reason to refuse such an opportunity.

“I’m not angry.” After the earlier minor incident, Nina’s frustration had somewhat subsided. Now, hearing Jacob’s apology, her anger had nearly dissipated. However, Nina couldn’t admit she had been upset. Besides, this was clearly not her concern. It was Jacob’s own choice to make. Why should she be angry?

“Really?” Jacob asked.

“Really,” Nina replied.

“Then swear on it,” Jacob said.

“???”

“Jacob!” Nina gritted her teeth in frustration, seeming to revert to the first day they met when she had found him so irritating. “Be serious! I’m speaking honestly here.”

“The selection from the vault was entirely your decision. You have the right to choose for yourself, and I respect your choice. As your mentor, however, I still hope you’ll focus on the High School Cup and select treasures that will help improve your strength. Your personal power is paramount. Without sufficient strength of your own, even the most brilliant research ability can become a liability. But since you’ve made your decision, as your teacher, I can only support it.”

Nina spoke earnestly, always considering issues from Jacob’s perspective. The more brilliant Jacob’s research became, the greater danger he would face.

There was once a genius in China who specialized in studying ancient Pokémon. He achieved remarkable breakthroughs but focused too intently on research while neglecting his strength as a trainer. He only raised a few Pokémon as pets, but one day, he returned home to find them all killed.

The Pokémon Association’s investigation revealed that a top-tier trainer from a rival nation was responsible. After monitoring the genius for two years, the enemy had finally found a rare opportunity and assassinated the brilliant researcher.

Thinking of this, a shadow of concern crossed Nina’s eyes. If Jacob became too obsessed with research and neglected developing his own strength, he might eventually meet a similar fate. Jacob needed to improve his battle capabilities.

Consider that even a highly respected researcher like Professor Scott not only had bodyguards for protection but also possessed king-level Pokémon and Z-Moves, giving him multiple ways to protect himself.

Jacob understood Nina’s concerns. He recognized these principles. In his previous life, over twenty billionaires had died under mysterious circumstances in the Northern region in 2022 alone.

If this happened to billionaires in his past life without supernatural phenomena, how much easier would assassination be in this world filled with extraordinary powers?

Jacob heard the concern in Nina’s tone and noticed her slightly furrowed brow. He felt remorseful. He knew she was upset because she worried about him, but he truly didn’t know how to explain himself. He could only change the subject: “Senior Nina, please don’t be angry. If you frown too much like that, you’ll get wrinkles on your forehead. You should smile more. It’s noon now—let me treat you to lunch. How about hot pot?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep