After ending the call, Jacob found himself with nothing immediately productive to do.
The investigation into the Duan Family's affairs had been handed over to Raya to handle, so what should he do in the meantime?
Jacob thought for a moment and decided to wander around Black Dragon City, taking in the scenic sights and sampling the local delicacies the city had to offer.
Living in the present moment and enjoying life to its fullest was Jacob's primary guiding principle in life.
After all, wasn't the entire purpose of working hard and earning money just for the sake of enjoyment? If people were already wealthy and set for life, who would still voluntarily go to work every day?
...…
Jacob walked along the bustling street, hailed a passing taxi, and climbed inside.
"Where to, young man?" the driver asked in a friendly tone.
"Sir, do you happen to know the best places to have fun and enjoy yourself in Black Dragon City?" Jacob asked curiously.
"Well, that depends entirely on what kind of activity you want to do. Are you interested in sightseeing, eating good food, karaoke, or maybe getting a relaxing foot massage?" the driver replied helpfully.
"Eating, karaoke, and foot massages all sound fine to me," Jacob answered casually.
"For eating, Black Dragon Plaza is an excellent choice. The prices there are quite reasonable, and many tourists and outsiders who visit Black Dragon City specifically go there for the food scene."
"As for entertainment and nightlife..." the driver began, lowering his voice slightly, "then I'd suggest you check out the Heavenly Reward Building."
"Is it really that fun there?" Jacob asked with genuine interest.
"Oh, it's fun alright—very fun indeed. There's excellent food, plenty of drinks, and all kinds of entertainment options, but I'll be honest with you, it's definitely on the expensive side. However, the hostesses there are absolutely stunning beauties," the driver said, a distinct hint of envy creeping into his tone. "As long as you've got money to spend, I can guarantee it'll be an unforgettable experience for you. You could literally stay inside the Heavenly Reward Building for three solid months without ever wanting to come out."
"Sir, I'm a respectable and proper person. Is this Heavenly Reward Building you're talking about actually legitimate?" Jacob asked with feigned innocence.
"Hehe." At this point, the driver's silence spoke volumes more than any words could. Although he didn't actually say another word out loud, his knowing expression seemed to communicate clearly: "Is it legitimate? That place is extremely illegitimate!"
...…
Heavenly Reward Building.
Jacob silently swore to himself that the reason he was going to the Heavenly Reward Building was definitely not for personal pleasure or to experience the seedier local customs of Black Dragon City, but rather because the Heavenly Reward Building was a major business property owned by the Duan Family. He was simply taking this golden opportunity to see if he could find anything useful or incriminating from investigating the Heavenly Reward Building. Everything he did was strictly for work purposes.
After arriving at the Heavenly Reward Building's location, Jacob realized with some surprise that it wasn't just a single standalone building as he'd imagined, but rather an enormous recreational and entertainment center composed of multiple interconnected skyscrapers.
Here within this massive complex, there were not only countless places to eat delicious food and enjoy various forms of entertainment, but also expansive shopping centers and various other amusement venues all under one roof.
The Heavenly Reward Building was undoubtedly the most bustling, vibrant, and prosperous commercial area in all of Black Dragon City. Even in the oppressive heat of summer, crowds of people were still constantly coming and going, and the sight of countless attractive young people in fashionable summer clothing made Jacob feel somewhat dizzy and overwhelmed.
Walking along the crowded pedestrian street, stylish and beautiful young people seemed to be absolutely everywhere he looked.
There were people wearing traditional Hanfu clothing, and also various bizarre and creative costumes for cosplay purposes. In front of these unique and eye-catching outfits, simple tank tops, hot pants, and high heels seemed to pale in comparison and appear almost boring.
Jacob even spotted a strikingly beautiful woman cosplaying as a Gardevoir with remarkable accuracy. Standing beside her was an actual, real Gardevoir, creating an almost surreal sight. The person and the Pokémon standing together side by side created a powerful and mesmerizing visual impact.
Countless enthusiastic fans surrounded her in a loose circle, frantically taking photos with their cameras and phones, trying to capture the perfect shot.
As expected of the famous Heavenly Reward Building—its reputation for spectacle was clearly well-deserved and earned.
Today, I, Jacob, shall personally experience the full might and allure of the legendary Heavenly Reward Building!
...…
Walking into the expansive food court section of the Heavenly Reward Building, Jacob carefully chose a high-end restaurant that looked promising and had just finished eating a satisfying dinner when Raya's call came through on his phone.
"Hello? Are you there?" Raya's voice rang out clearly.
"Yes, I'm here. Go ahead," Jacob replied promptly.
"I don't know very much about the Duan Family's detailed affairs because the time available was quite short, and I was concerned about potentially alerting them to our investigation, so the information I could safely gather was somewhat limited," Raya's voice explained apologetically. "I've sent all the collected information and data directly to your email address. You can review it and see if any of it proves useful for your mission."
"Okay, thank you so much, Raya," Jacob said gratefully, secretly acknowledging with deep appreciation that Raya was truly his most capable and reliable assistant.
"This information was all purchased from a professional intelligence dealer who specializes in this kind of work. The information is admittedly quite limited in scope, and I honestly don't know if it'll be useful to you or not, so I just sent everything I received directly to you without filtering. If you have any specific questions or need more details, you can contact the intelligence dealer directly yourself. His phone number is..." Raya's voice continued, then paused meaningfully. "Are you actually planning to take direct action against the Duan Family?"
Listening to Raya's pointed question, Jacob hesitated slightly. According to official regulations and protocols, he absolutely shouldn't reveal any classified information about this operation to outside parties, but Jacob had never seriously thought about hiding anything from Raya. Otherwise, he wouldn't have asked her to help investigate the Duan Family in the first place.
"Yes, that's correct," Jacob confirmed honestly.
"Be careful and watch yourself..." Raya had originally intended to remind Jacob to exercise caution and stay safe, but as the words reached her lips, she suddenly thought of Jacob's extensive collection of many powerful Pokémon and quickly changed her advice mid-sentence: "Be gentle and don't go overboard."
"Don't worry about me," Jacob said confidently, nodding even though she couldn't see him. "I know exactly what I'm doing."
...…
The two continued chatting casually for a while longer before finally hanging up and ending their call.
Immediately afterward, Jacob logged into his email account to carefully examine the information that Raya had sent over.
Although Raya had mentioned that the information she'd provided was quite limited in detail, the actual content within the files still greatly surprised Jacob and exceeded his expectations.
The compiled information mentioned a considerable number of dark, hidden secrets of the Duan Family's operations, including not only large-scale smuggling of valuable and rare Pokémon, but also their direct involvement with the notorious Dawn Society in heinous crimes like human trafficking, illegal organ trading, and running underground casinos, among a whole series of other serious criminal activities.
The Duan Family appeared to be involved in practically any business venture that generated significant money, regardless of legality or morality.
The more Jacob read through the disturbing details, the more his brows furrowed together in concern and anger. He found it genuinely hard to imagine such terrible events occurring in what was supposed to be a society governed by law and order.
Among all this incriminating information, two specific individuals were highlighted and marked as particularly important: one named Ronan and the other named Winston. Although neither of them carried the surname Duan, they maintained intricate and deep connections with the Duan Family. Each of them was responsible for managing their own criminal territory and maintained long-term profitable cooperation with the Duan Family's operations.
Ronan was in charge of running the Underground Black Market.
Winston was in charge of operating the Underground Casino.
Clearly, if Jacob wanted to gather solid criminal evidence against the Duan Family, he would need to start his investigation from these two illegal establishments.
The Yixin Underground Black Market primarily dealt in Pokémon smuggling, human trafficking, organ trading, and numerous other illicit and morally reprehensible activities.
The Yixin Underground Black Market frequently featured many rare Grass-type Pokémon and Pokémon eggs of extremely high potential and aptitude for sale. Many knowledgeable people speculated that the Yixin Underground Black Market had intricate and suspicious connections with the Black Dragon City Grass-type Secret Realm.
The Yi Yi Underground Casino, on the other hand, was reputed to be the largest underground gambling establishment in all of Black Dragon City. Besides offering basic gambling games and betting, the Yi Yi Underground Casino also hosted brutal underground fighting rings where Pokémon battled to the death for entertainment, selling expensive tickets to spectators and taking massive bets on the outcomes.
These two locations represented the key breakthroughs for successfully investigating and exposing the Duan Family.
Two important places—which one should he start with first? Jacob frowned deeply in thought, weighing his options carefully.
The Yixin Underground Black Market or the Yi Yi Underground Casino?
Regardless of which location he chose to start with, the first major problem Jacob had to solve was that he needed to somehow obtain an official invitation letter to gain entry.
Both the Yixin Underground Black Market and the Yi Yi Underground Casino operated on a strict membership system for security. To successfully enter either the Underground Black Market or the Underground Casino, one absolutely had to obtain a real-name invitation letter personally issued by their management.
This was also a demonstration of the Duan Family's cleverness and caution in their criminal operations. They always followed an exclusive, high-end route, serving only the wealthy and influential, and conducted thorough background checks on everyone who attempted to enter the Underground Black Market and the Underground Casino. This security system not only effectively screened and vetted their clientele, but also maximized their own protection and security from law enforcement infiltration.