MTL NOVEL Chapter 50: 50
[Did Charmander cheat, or did Bellsprout stray?]
[Streamer, are you trying to start some drama?]
[Enough nonsense, just tell us already!]
"Streamer, spill it. Hurry up!"
Facing the impatience of both the chat and "Ah Zu," Ye Yinchuan didn't hesitate and got straight to the point.
"Bellsprout eggs should indeed be yellow-green. But I suspect someone has been deliberately feeding Bellsprout a diet rich in lutein, xanthophylls, or carotenoids.
"As a result, the eggs it produces turn this orange-yellow color, mimicking the look of a Charmander egg."
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Bellsprout eats insects! How do you even add artificial coloring to bugs?"
"I'm talking about feed, not just raw bugs. If you mix in some color additives into their diet and then feed those insects to Bellsprout, it does the job just fine. Calm down, man."
Ye Yinchuan could sense the frustration on the other end, as if Ah Zu was gritting his teeth, unwilling to accept the truth.
Sure, losing a bit of money on a Bellsprout egg was a bummer, but for someone who had casually tipped a Master Ball earlier, this reaction seemed excessive—unless…
Ye Yinchuan caught onto something but decided to probe further.
"Big bro, it's just a Bellsprout egg. Worst case, you lose a few hundred bucks. If the quality's good, you might even break even. And this is just my speculation.
"Unless… the market you bought from had a lot of these eggs. If that's the case, then someone is definitely running a scam, disguising Bellsprout eggs as Charmander eggs to trick buyers. If some overconfident fool bought up a bunch of them thinking they found a gold mine, that'd be a disaster."
Ah Zu was now just staring at the screen, rubbing his increasingly warm, bald head, saying nothing. His expression was slightly unsettling.
[Bro is visibly overheating.]
[Case closed. Ah Zu is the real Charmander egg here.]
[Why is he acting like he lost tens of thousands?]
[Is it possible that our "big-brain buyer" here…]
Chat was catching on quickly.
Or maybe Ye Yinchuan's hint had been too obvious.
Or perhaps Ah Zu's reaction had already written the entire story.
SMACK!
Ah Zu slapped his shiny head and started muttering to himself.
"It's over… It's over…"
Ye Yinchuan winced. "Bro… how many did you buy?"
Ah Zu's face was flushed red. He lifted a hand, spreading out five fingers. His expression screamed regret—deep, profound regret.
"Five? That's not too b—"
Ah Zu shook his head, his bald head now turning an unhealthy shade of purple.
"Fifty-five! Fifty-five eggs! That afternoon, I went around the entire egg market and bought every single one of this kind of egg!"
Even though Ye Yinchuan had braced himself, hearing that number still made his heart skip a beat.
"That's… fifty thousand bucks?"
"More! The cheapest was a thousand, the most expensive was fifteen hundred! Altogether, I spent sixty-eight grand! Those damn scammers! Who the hell is flooding the market with these eggs?!"
Ah Zu sounded utterly crushed.
[LMAO, dude thought he hit the jackpot, but the house always wins.]
[Sixty-eight grand for fifty-five Bellsprout eggs—dude could make stir-fried Bellsprout for three months straight!]
[He's cooked. Does his wife know?]
"Bro, take it easy…"
At this point, even Ye Yinchuan didn't know what to say.
The egg trade was full of tricks and traps.
Even seasoned veterans could get scammed, let alone a newbie trying to game the system.
It should have been obvious—if a whole market had dozens of cheap "Charmander" eggs, why would he be the only one to spot the deal?
If someone was trying to pull a scam, a cautious buyer might lose a few hundred bucks at most.
But this guy? Buying fifty-five eggs in one go?
He wanted to lose money.
"Streamer, you got connections at the Dream Protection Bureau, right? Can you help me get a refund? These eggs are fakes!"
After the initial shock, Ah Zu was starting to think more rationally and sought help.
"Whoa, hold on. I never said these were fake eggs. Did the sellers actually tell you these were Charmander eggs?"
Despite feeling a little sorry for him, Ye Yinchuan wasn't about to drag himself into this mess.
If this guy took his stream recordings and tried to argue with the sellers, it could bring unnecessary trouble.
"I… I don't think they ever said it outright…"
Ah Zu furrowed his brows, realizing something was off.
"Exactly. They never explicitly claimed these were Charmander eggs. They just sold them as regular Pokémon eggs. Even if you go to the Dream Protection Bureau, it won't help.
"Plus, even if they intentionally fed Bellsprout a diet to alter the eggs' color, as long as the feed was legally compliant, they could just claim it was for nutritional benefits. What can you even do about it?"
Hearing this, Ah Zu completely crumbled.
"Streamer, please, please help me! I don't have that kind of money to lose! I took this sixty-eight grand behind my wife's back! I only tipped you a Master Ball because I thought I was guaranteed to make a profit!
"I've seen so many people make big money in the egg trade—why did I have to be the one to lose so much?! If I can't recover some of this, my last two years of driving taxis were for nothing!"
Ah Zu was practically begging now, his hands pressed together in a pleading gesture.
[Turns out "big bro" is just a taxi driver.]
[Man's broke, but trying to gamble his way out of it. Classic.]
[This is why you don't touch egg gambling. Some people lose everything.]
[Gambling addicts deserve no sympathy.]
"Big bro, calm down. What's done is done. Complaining won't change anything. Since you tipped me, I'll do what I can to help."
Ye Yinchuan sighed.
"But I have a few conditions."
Ah Zu, like a drowning man clutching a lifeline, immediately perked up.
"Anything! Just say it!"
"First, you can sell these eggs, but you cannot label them as Charmander eggs to scam others. If you try to trick people, the Dream Protection Bureau will come for you.
"Second, you've already learned your lesson from this egg gamble. I hope you actually take it to heart. Stop looking for easy money.
"Third, I'll help you this one time. If you ever get involved in egg gambling again, don't come crying to me. Even if you lose everything—your car, your home, your wife—I won't care."
After a long silence, Ah Zu nodded solemnly.
"Streamer, I understand. I swear, I'll remember these three things!"
[Wait, can he actually recover some of his money?]
[Damn, streamer has principles. Respect.]
[That Master Ball gift was totally worth it. Dude just got saved.]
[Alright, I'm following for this. No question.]
"Just so we're clear, I can minimize your losses, but I can't guarantee a full recovery. As for your wife, my advice—come clean, apologize sincerely, and make it up to her. And for the love of Arceus, don't pull something this dumb again."
"I will! I swear! I'll do exactly as you said!"
Ah Zu nodded fervently, his big bald head bobbing up and down like a kid being scolded.
The once brash and impatient "big bro" was now as meek as a puppy.
Any traces of his earlier skepticism toward the streamer?
Gone.
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