Qi Shu extended her hands, happily taking the greenish rhomboid z-crystal her master handed her, and joyfully exclaimed, "Wow, it's a Bug-type z-crystal!"
Like a child with a new toy, she embedded the Bug z-crystal into the z-ring Uncle Luo had just acquired and then gifted to her. The Bug z-crystal fit perfectly into the z-ring already on her wrist. Qi Shu raised her wrist, showing it to everyone, and asked, "Does it look good?"
Zhang Heng also cooperatively said, "As expected of the youngest Gym Leader in Guangdong Province history, wearing this z-ring, it's simply too cool!"
Immediately, there was a burst of laughter and cheerful voices.
Zhang Lei Yuan looked at his son and adopted daughter, and his heart was filled with more concern, and at the same time, he gained more motivation.
Qi Shu was a disciple he had taken in by chance and later became his adopted daughter. In fact, according to his initial plan, he thought Zhang Heng would not become a politician or a Trainer in the future, but rather a doctor specializing in medicine.
However, the Zhang family needed someone to protect them, so he had painstakingly nurtured Qi Shu, hoping that when she reached the pinnacle one day, she would always look after the Zhang family, so that they would not be coveted or annexed by others.
He thought to himself, "Forget it, forget it. The children's future is in their own hands. We just need to protect these growing flowers and prevent them from withering."
Then, he climbed onto Overlord Charizard's back and said, "I'm going to the Central China region first to prepare for the Champion challenge. You can come and watch in three days. Brother Luo, thank you for taking them home."
As he finished speaking, Overlord Charizard flapped its wings and soared into the sky, flying rapidly northward.
Qi Shu waved her arms, shouting loudly from behind, "Master! You must become the Hua country champion!"
Qi Shu was only 16 years old this year and did not understand the intricate interests involved in her master becoming a Champion; she only hoped her master could reach the pinnacle.
At this moment, the Zhang family's civilian helicopter also arrived at their pick-up location. Uncle Luo said to the two, "Let's go, we're also returning to the Wilderness Area Research Institute."
The three boarded the helicopter together and returned to the Wilderness Area Research Institute. During the time Zhang Heng and Qi Shu were on Lake Heart Island, they only had fragmented rest time.
He hadn't slept well for two days. When he boarded the plane and his whole body relaxed, he and Qi Shu leaned against each other and fell into a deep sleep.
Luo Hong looked at the two young juniors and said, "Young people have good physiques; they fall asleep the moment they lie down."
An unknown amount of time passed. Finally, Zhang Heng slowly opened his heavy eyelids, feeling his head groggy. He struggled to sit up from the bed, one hand gently rubbing his throbbing temples, trying to alleviate the discomfort.
Everyone has a "biological clock" in their body that regulates sleep. It sends signals to cells throughout the body through certain neurotransmitters, keeping the body in the same rhythm.
If one suddenly sleeps for too long or has irregular sleep, it is equivalent to breaking away from the original 'biological clock' rhythm, sending another rhythm signal to the body, which will make one feel particularly tired.
Zhang Heng squinted his eyes slightly and began to survey his surroundings. The first thing that caught his eye was the view outside the window; it was already completely dark outside.
"This seems to be the rest room of the Alliance Wilderness Area Research Institute. Oh, right, I must have fallen asleep on the helicopter. I wonder what time it is now."
The sky had already completely darkened. When Zhang Heng returned from Lake Heart Island, it was still early morning, so it seemed he had slept for seven or eight hours.
He fumbled for his Poké Balls on his person and found that Walking Wake was still there, but Mudkip's love ball was empty, and he didn't know where it had gone.
At this moment, his stomach rumbled. This trip to Lake Heart Island was truly a drain on his physical and mental energy. Sleep and food replenishment had not kept up, and he had been relying solely on his physical endurance in the wild.
He muttered, "I wonder where Mudkip and everyone else went. I should go find something to eat first."
Zhang Heng slowly reached out and gently picked up the phone that had been carefully stored in the Research Institute. When he lit up the screen, the time had quietly shifted to 7 PM.
He stretched his body lightly, then walked out of the lounge with slightly tired steps. With a soft "ding," the elevator door slowly opened, and he stepped inside.
As the elevator descended steadily, when the elevator door opened again, a mouth-watering aroma of food instantly wafted over him. At the same time, a clear and pleasant sound of girls talking and cheerful laughter also entered his ears.
Zhang Heng followed the inviting scent forward. After passing through a short corridor, he turned a corner and found a spacious and bright open kitchen appearing before him.
At this moment, he saw Zhang Qi Shu sitting leisurely at a dining table, thoroughly enjoying a sumptuous dinner. She was using chopsticks to put food into her mouth, eating with great relish. Although she held the chopsticks tightly, her thumb was always raised high, showing her extreme satisfaction with the delicious meal.
Zhang Qi Shu's mouth was already full of various delicacies, yet even so, she continued to talk non-stop.
"Sister Yi Shu, I didn't expect your cooking to be so delicious, not even a bit worse than Master's wife. I wish I could eat it every day."
And standing in the open kitchen, busy working, was the delicate young girl, Yi Shu, and on her shoulder was a pink Pokémon. That's right, it was Zhang Heng's Mudkip. He didn't expect this little guy to have run off to this place.
Yi Shu just happened to turn around, wanting to talk to Qi Shu, when her peripheral vision caught sight of Zhang Heng standing not far away.
Her smile became even brighter, and she said, "Zhang Heng, you're awake. You looked very tired, so I didn't disturb you. Come quickly and eat, it's freshly made."
Qi Shu's bulging cheeks made it difficult to chew, but she still tried her best to say, "Brother Xiao Heng, hurry... hurry and eat... dinner."
Zhang Heng sat down at the dining table and did not rush to eat, but instead thanked Yi Shu.
"Thank you, Yi Shu. It must have been you who notified Champion Li to come to the rescue, right?"
The Hua country champion, one of the most powerful figures in Hua country, would not pay attention to something happening in a Wilderness Area. It must have been Yi Shu, Champion Li's favorite niece, who could get him to move.
Yi Shu's cheeks were a little flushed. She just kept stroking the Mudkip on her shoulder, pretending not to care, and said, "After all, we came to this Wilderness Area together, and I didn't want anything to happen to you. Besides, those international bandits looked like trouble."
...
At this moment, in the Water-type Wilderness Area, a figure was hiding in a stone lake. The cold lake water soaked his body. Relying on his astonishing endurance, he had not made a sound and dared not move...