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Approaching the egg, he saw that the thing was semi-open, like a futuristic cradle from a sci-fi movie, designed to channel the Ultimate Weapon's energy directly into Volcarona's body.
And the "absorption disk" mentioned by the two fat men? No surprise—it was probably this egg.
Who said an absorption disk had to look like a plate?
Li Xiang suppressed the turbulent emotions surging inside him and slowly walked to the front of the metal egg.
A Volcarona, slightly larger than its ordinary kin, came into view.
No radiant glow, no special phenomena.
This Volcarona was utterly normal. Its blue, cross-patterned eyes were dull, lying quietly inside the egg, clearly still in deep slumber.
'Peaceful. Beautiful.'
Li Xiang couldn't help but reach out, touching its dark head, then the orange-red antennae on either side, followed by the white fur on its upper body.
He even brushed its tiny claws.
After running his hands over it, Li Xiang suddenly noticed bloodstains on its body. It wasn't until a sharp pain shot through his palms that he belatedly realized—both his hands were split open with deep gashes.
His left hand was slightly better, but the wound on his right was hideous, still oozing blood, dripping onto Volcarona.
'Was it from that metal shard earlier?'
Li Xiang recalled how he'd yanked the piece out with force before shoving it into the fat man's skull. That must've been when it happened.
Maybe the adrenaline had numbed him, but only now did the pain register.
His head… had definitely gotten some blood on it too. It was just that the pain was kicking in only now.
Li Xiang flexed his fingers slightly, intending to wipe the blood off Volcarona to prevent anyone from collecting it for analysis—though he wasn't sure if anyone would bother. But better safe than sorry.
Yet when he looked again, the bloodstains were gone. It was as if they'd never existed, leaving not a single trace behind.
'Evaporated?'
But Volcarona wasn't hot at all.
'Absorbed, then? Could this "absorption disk" take in blood as well as energy?'
Frowning, Li Xiang found that the more he noticed his wounds, the more they hurt—and the more they bled. He needed to stop the bleeding and bandage them.
Turning slowly, he searched for a clean piece of cloth.
But just then, Rotom, hidden inside his body, suddenly flew out, darting excitedly into the absorption disk as if it had discovered something fascinating.
"Rotom!"
Li Xiang gasped, too late to stop it as Rotom vanished inside. At the same time, faint footsteps and hushed voices came from outside the temple.
'Someone's coming!'
Li Xiang's expression shifted. Glancing at Suicune—still unconscious—he didn't dare stay put. Pressing his hands against his clothes to prevent blood from dripping, he immediately moved toward the nearest shadow.
Even though that area was littered with Pokémon and human corpses, it was better than being caught in the open.
Until he knew whether the newcomers were friend or foe, hiding was the only option.
Thankfully, most of the bodies were freshly lifeless, their residual warmth lingering. Disgusting, yes—but still better than the stench of decay.
Once concealed, Li Xiang faced the temple entrance, coldly waiting for the outsiders to approach.
Outside.
A man and a woman, dressed in sleek silver bodysuits, rushed in with anxious expressions. A Weavile and a Sableye followed closely behind.
When they saw the state of the temple, their eyes widened in shock.
"What the hell happened?"
The man quickly scanned the bodies on the ground, staring in horror at the two fat men frozen in ice—one with a bloody hole where his eye should be, the other with metal jammed through his mouth.
"Someone took them out?"
Then he spotted Suicune lying unconscious on the ground.
'Why is that thing here?!'
The man's expression darkened as his female companion called out, "Captain! Lu Zhong is dead too! Cut in half!"
He turned and immediately saw Lu Zhong's corpse—far more gruesome than the two fat men.
The sight was nauseating.
"The flower stopped… Where's Volcarona?" The man hurried to the center of the stone forest, exhaling in relief when he saw the still-sleeping Volcarona. "At least this one's fine."
Meanwhile, the woman reached the central control panel, scanning the screen. "Captain! Someone manually stopped the flower! They came in, used the system to halt it! The activation sequence crashed too—energy absorption stopped at 97%!"
"Impossible. The shutdown sequence was on Lu Zhong's USB. Wait, where's his bag?"
Frowning, the man searched Lu Zhong's body but found only three PokéBalls—no bag.
Because the bag was already in Li Xiang's hands.
"It's gone…" The man muttered, pressing a spot near his right ear before touching his throat—covered by the silver suit. After clearing his throat, he spoke in a thick, unfamiliar accent.
It sounded like a rural dialect from Zhu Xia. Li Xiang could only vaguely follow along.
The man said, "Turn off the universal translator. There are no puppets here now—we can just speak Mandarin."
"Got it." The woman nodded, mimicking his actions—pressing behind her ear and touching her throat. "Seriously, though, why does this world's language sound like our backwater dialect?"
Dialect. Mandarin. This world.
Hidden in the shadows, Li Xiang's pupils constricted. He didn't dare make a sound, half-convinced he'd misheard.
'Who the hell are these people?'
"Focus! Gather what we need and destroy the rest. The experiment's over! We take Volcarona and get to the Drill-Ship—now!" the captain barked. "Any longer and they'll catch up! Damn it! Don't the strong trainers in this world have anything better to do?!"
The memory of the man who'd effortlessly annihilated hundreds of Hippowdon and crushed the giant Tyranitar flashed through his mind—alongside that terrifying woman.
The captain's mood soured. They'd gone to great lengths to minimize their footprint—staging small accidents, discreetly kidnapping a few people. How had those monsters reacted so fast?
"What about this Suicune?" The woman pointed at the unconscious legendary. "If we bring it back, the Council would be thrilled, right?"
"Don't push our luck!"
The captain snapped, rushing back to the silver egg and hastily pressing a few buttons.
The partially open egg sealed shut, becoming a complete, seamless sphere.
Above, the woman worked some controls, and the Ultimate Weapon began folding inward—transforming back into a metallic bud within seconds.
The connected cables detached one by one.
Just as the woman pulled out a PokéBall, preparing to release something—
An invisible force crashed down upon the temple!
Instantly, the two standing figures and their Pokémon were flattened against the ground!
It was as if an entire mountain weighed on them, making it impossible to even lift their heads!
"How… is this level of Gravity possible?!"
The captain strained to speak, attempting to struggle—only for the pressure to intensify, leaving him unable to twitch a single finger.
"This combat suit can withstand level 80 Psychic attacks!"
The woman, equally pinned, tried activating her PokéBall but met the same fate.
The two would-be escapees were now utterly immobilized.
From the temple entrance, a man and a woman strode in, accompanied by a Kingdra and a Clefable.
"Sorry, my Clefable's Gravity is just built different. Don't like it? File a written complaint."
Nan Gongmeng's voice was icy as she surveyed the carnage, her nose wrinkling slightly. "Also—what kind of accent is that? Backwater rejects. Can't even speak proper Mandarin?"
The Heavenly King's sharp tongue aside, her expression darkened at the gruesome scene. "This is…"
(Note: The Heavenly Kings and the Elite Four are the same thing. It's just referred to as such locally in the Zhu Xia region.)
"A mess. We're too late." Mo Ye's frown deepened as his gaze landed on Suicune. "Even Suicune… What the hell happened here?"
Behind them, more people streamed in—some in varied attire, moving the unconscious bodies outside, while others wore uniformed armor, resembling Power Rangers.
The armored team hesitated at the entrance, asking the two Elites if there were any hazards before proceeding.
"It's clear. Just don't touch the pillars directly—they're compromised. Actually, destroying them might be better… Never mind, focus on moving the remains first."
Nan Gongmeng's eyes flickered toward the shadows, a trace of sorrow flashing through them. "I'll handle these two. I'll send them to Tiandu first, then return."
"…Understood."
Mo Ye studied her for a moment before nodding.
In the darkness, Li Xiang's heart pounded as familiar faces—and the oft-mentioned armored responders—finally appeared.
'They're here! Finally here!'
Even if it was all over, their arrival was better than nothing.
Struggling to his feet—noticing the Gravity didn't affect him—Li Xiang staggered into the light, his voice hoarse and weak:
"Help!"
His sudden appearance immediately drew the attention of everyone inside.
"There's a conscious survivor! A kid!"
A medic in white-and-red armor shouted, rushing over with a team to perform an emergency check on Li Xiang—stripping his clothes, searching for injuries.
Li Xiang endured the treatment, his eyes locked on the entrance as two familiar figures were carried out on stretchers. He exhaled in relief.
'Thank goodness.'
Aside from his hands, Li Xiang had no other injuries—just exhaustion.
The medics were visibly stunned.
A teenager, covered in blood, emerging from a pile of corpses… with only hand wounds?
Nearby, Nan Gongmeng—who'd been about to leave—paused at the sight of the disheveled but conscious boy amidst the temple's chaos.
Her eyes flicked to the two outsiders, now unconscious under Hypnosis, before instructing the police to deliver them to Tiandu.
The officers secured them like mental patients before handing them off to specialized teleportation personnel. Their Pokémon were confiscated by Rangers.
"I'll question the boy. You handle your friend," Nan Gongmeng murmured to Mo Ye.
Mo Ye shook his head. "No need. It's already awake."
In the stone forest, Suicune stirred, its eyes opening calmly despite the armored responders surrounding it.
After a quick scan of the area, its gaze settled on Li Xiang—safe amid the crowd—and it relaxed slightly.
Then its eyes drifted to the two grotesquely slain fat men before rising to its feet. A complicated expression crossed its face as it studied the sealed silver egg.
Finally, Suicune chose not to act. Instead, it turned to Mo Ye and let out a soft cry.
"I understand." Mo Ye nodded.
Then, a gentle mist enveloped Suicune as a breeze swirled around it—before the legendary vanished without a trace.
Nan Gongmeng arched a brow. "What did it say?"
"It said, 'Take care of this child. He saved countless lives.'" Mo Ye's voice softened as he looked at Li Xiang. "And to bring the egg to the Tower of Dawn's summit as soon as possible… while preserving the bodies of the deceased."
"…It only made one sound."
"Telepathy. Those unrecognized by Suicune wouldn't comprehend it."
"…Right."