In the early morning, the first ray of sunlight pierced through the thin mist, gently scattering over every inch of Zi Ning Town.
Birds chirped joyfully on the branches, and more pedestrians appeared on the streets, as the entire town slowly awoke from its slumber.
Chen Kai had gotten up early, and after washing, he put on his old jacket and slung on the backpack he had prepared last night.
He and Miraidon quickly finished breakfast and then headed towards Teacher Xu's house.
Last night, Chen Kai had contacted Teacher Xu in advance and learned his home address.
Since Chen Kai's parents had no objections, Teacher Xu naturally didn't say much, but he hadn't expected Chen Kai to disturb his sleep so early on a weekend.
After signing the leave contract, Teacher Xu reminded him, "Be careful in everything when you are abroad!"
"Alright, Teacher Xu." Chen Kai nodded, waved goodbye to Teacher Xu, and turned to run to buy tea and alcohol.
After filling Miraidon's back with goods from several shops, Chen Kai and Miraidon confirmed that Yelena was not nearby, then hurried to Area Zero.
Chen Kai brought a backpack full of tea leaves and snacks to Iron Leaves, greeted him, and told him he was going on a long trip, then set off to find Iron Boulder.
Miraidon's back was full of various alcoholic beverages, including baijiu, red wine, and beer.
Chen Kai felt that he had finally managed to improve his relationship with Iron Boulder last weekend, and he thought that before going to France, he should strike while the iron was hot and further solidify their "drinking friendship."
Miraidon slid westward with Chen Kai, and when they passed near Zigong in Area Zero, Chen Kai remembered a small hillside that Huang Mao had pointed out to him on the map yesterday on the return bus; Huang Mao had dug up amber containing Aerodactyl cells at the bottom of that hillside.
Looking at the time, it was just past nine o'clock; usually, Chen Kai would only just be waking up at this time on a weekend.
Thinking that it was still early, Chen Kai instructed Miraidon to head towards the discovery site of the Aerodactyl amber.
"This should be it, right?"
Chen Kai stood at the bottom of the small hillside, his brows slightly furrowed, his gaze fixed on the hillside before him, his eyes filled with thought and exploration.
In his hand, he held a Sichuan Province geomorphological map, which he had bought in Cheng City some time ago, and it detailed the topography and geomorphology of most areas in Sichuan Province.
However, the vegetation in Area Zero was different from that on Earth, being too dense, making it difficult for Chen Kai to pinpoint the exact location.
Miraidon came over, looked at the map, then at the hillside in front of them, and said,
"I feel like this place is a bit like where we found Huang Mao back then, it's just that there are more trees than before, and there really feels like there are many fossils underground."
Hearing Miraidon say that, Chen Kai was confident that he hadn't come to the wrong place.
He began to search carefully along the hillside, his eyes wide open, not missing any corner that might hide a cave.
However, reality disappointed him time and again; following the direction Huang Mao had indicated, he searched the hillside twice but still found no trace of the cave.
"Could that cave have been recently excavated manually?" Miraidon suggested a possibility.
Chen Kai stroked his chin in thought: "Hmm, don't tell me, that's actually possible. I heard before that the cave was secretly dug by people nearby.
Iron Crown and Iron Boulder said that major geomorphological changes on Earth would synchronize with Area Zero, but digging a small cave shouldn't count as a major change, right?"
Just then, a voice came from behind Chen Kai and Miraidon: "That's right, it's just a small cave, it won't synchronize here in a short time."
Chen Kai and Miraidon were startled again, and when they looked back, it was Iron Boulder.
Chen Kai couldn't help but sigh, this scene felt familiar; Iron Crown had also appeared and disappeared like this once before, do you guys have to be so scary!
Miraidon asked, "Iron Boulder, why are you here?"
"I smelled alcohol... no, I sensed you two circling around here, so I came to see. What are you doing here with so much alcohol on your backs?" Iron Boulder almost let it slip, quickly correcting himself.
Chen Kai explained, "I'm going abroad soon and won't be coming to Area Zero for a while. Thinking you like to drink, I brought you many different kinds of alcohol before I leave."
Iron Boulder simply said, "Very good!" in a low voice.
It made no obvious movements, its metallic face remaining calm and unruffled.
But Chen Kai keenly caught the change in its eyes.
Iron Boulder's robot-like eyes shimmered with a special light, revealing a subtle hint of joy.
Chen Kai didn't stop, continuing to say that he had just passed by here on his way to find Iron Boulder and decided to see if he could dig up any fossils.
As Iron Boulder listened, it gently levitated a bottle of alcohol with Confusion and examined it carefully.
Although it made no sound, Chen Kai could feel its inner joy.
After Chen Kai finished speaking, Iron Boulder asked, "You came here to find the parts of ancient Pokemon that have turned into stone underground?"
Chen Kai stroked his chin and replied, "Hmm... you could say that."
Iron Boulder put the bottle back in the box and said, "That's simple. How many do you want? I'll get them out for you."
Chen Kai was overjoyed, thinking that Iron Boulder, being a Rock-type and Psychic-type, would probably be the fastest Pokemon at finding buried fossils.
So he said unceremoniously, "Hehe, then I'll trouble you, Iron Boulder, just get a few, no need for too many."
"Okay!"
Iron Boulder's front foot lightly tapped the ground, and then its horns glowed with an orange light, Psychic power surged within its body, and the surrounding earth seemed to be disturbed by this force, rippling like a water surface.
As Iron Boulder exerted a little force, the ground began to tremble slightly.
The originally flat ground seemed to have countless invisible hands churning beneath it, and the soil began to loosen and roll.
Soon, a stone emerged from the earth like bamboo shoots after a rain, and then, more and more stones broke through the soil.
These fossils varied in shape; some resembled the bones of ancient giant beasts, thick and huge. Others were like delicate small shells, exquisite and fine.
Some looked like long, curved tail fossils, with clear surface textures, as if one could still see them swaying in ancient times.
There were also broad and heavy Skull Fossils, their grooves and protrusions seemingly recording the vicissitudes of past ages.
There were even Plume Fossils as thin as cicada wings, with intricate patterns clearly imprinted on the stone, as if time had frozen, preserving the splendid wings of ancient birds forever.
They carried the traces of time, slowly rising from the underground where they had slept for countless ages.
Chen Kai's eyes widened, his face filled with surprise and shock. Although Chen Kai didn't understand fossils, by instinct, he felt that these fossils should still contain a trace of their living energy, which would make the probability of revival very high.