Chen Kai and Exeggcute continued deeper into the mine, the beams of their searchlights swaying across the damp rock walls, casting shifting circles of light that occasionally illuminated a few Geodude or Diglett hidden in the corners.
Most of these wild Pokémon merely eyed them warily, not actively initiating a fight.
“It seems the Pokémon in the shallower parts of the mine, closer to town, are still quite docile,” Chen Kai murmured.
However, along the way, they still experienced a few brief battles.
A Rolycoly was easily subdued by Exeggcute’s Hypnosis, and several Diglett quickly surrendered when entangled by Leech Seed.
These Pokémon had limited strength, and the few battles didn't consume much stamina; instead, they made Chen Kai and Exeggcute’s coordination more skilled, and Exeggcute’s strength also increased.
After about an hour of walking, Chen Kai took out his map to check their position and, after confirming with Miraidon, said, “Hmm… we’ve probably covered half the distance.”
He wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Let’s rest for a bit and have lunch!”
With that, he found a relatively dry indentation in the rock wall to sit down, lightly patted the Poké Balls at his waist, and in a flash of red light, Xiao Mei, Hydrapple, Grovyle, and Seadra appeared in the open space of the mine.
“Are you all hungry?” Chen Kai asked, pulling a few freshly bought baguettes from the orange gem in his backpack. “Let’s try these today.”
He then broke off a piece of baguette and handed it to Exeggcute, saying, “You worked hard; replenish your energy.”
Exeggcute happily accepted it, having never tasted a baguette before. Its six eggshells gently swayed, expressing gratitude.
Then the foremost eggshell opened its mouth, ready to take a bite.
However, the next second—
“Crunch!”
A crisp cracking sound echoed especially loudly in the mine. Exeggcute instantly froze, all six eggshells stopping their movement.
Chen Kai watched in horror as the baguette remained perfectly intact, but a tiny crack appeared on the eggshell Exeggcute used for eating.
“Wait! Spit it out!” Chen Kai frantically rushed to Exeggcute’s side, trying to retrieve the unharmed baguette, feeling a bit speechless. “Oh dear…”
Exeggcute reluctantly spat out the baguette, its six eggshells drooping listlessly.
Chen Kai quickly pulled out a prepared Sitrus Berry. “You should eat this instead. I’ll find you something else delicious when we get back to town.”
Chen Kai took a bite of the baguette; it was indeed a bit too hard…
But he had good teeth. He looked towards the deep end of the tunnel and said, “After we eat, we’ll continue forward.”
Exeggcute made a “click” sound, and its six eggshells slightly contracted, as if in agreement.
Miraidon also started gnawing on a baguette, muttering, “This thing is really hard.”
Xiao Mei, Hydrapple, and Grovyle also tried it; they could barely swallow it with water.
Seadra originally wanted to try as well, but seeing Exeggcute’s predicament, it gave up the idea of gnawing on the hard baguette.
Seeing this, Chen Kai also took out a Sitrus Berry and handed it to Seadra.
Seadra then contentedly took it with its fin-feet and elegantly ate small bites.
Suddenly, Miraidon sharply raised its head, its blue eyes glinting with alertness in the dim mine.
“What’s wrong?” Chen Kai put down the baguette in his hand, noticing Miraidon’s unusual behavior.
Miraidon said seriously, “Pokémon have suddenly disappeared from the end area of the mine shown on the map!”
“Disappeared?!” Chen Kai asked in surprise.
Miraidon nodded. “That’s right, this situation has never happened before, unless…”
“Unless what?” Chen Kai quickly pressed.
Miraidon uttered two words: “Secret Realm!”
Then it continued, “Before, in the Du Jiang Yan Secret Realm, when your classmates entered the Secret Realm, they also suddenly disappeared from my perception!”
“Hiss!” Chen Kai pondered, “I’ve also checked the Vosges Mountains recently, and there’s no record of a Secret Realm there, so that means!”
Miraidon agreed. “Right! This mine is very likely connected to a Secret Realm!”
Immediately, Chen Kai and the Pokémon quickly finished off the remaining food.
Big Boss and the other Hydrapple, in order to save time, even swallowed entire baguettes whole, causing Seadra to cast a disdainful glance at them.
“Let’s go!” Chen Kai packed his backpack and swiftly led the team deeper into the mine.
Wild Pokémon along the way tried to block them—a few Geodude rolled out to obstruct the path, but Grovyle directly fired an Energy Ball to blast them away.
An Onix emerged from the rock wall, and Hydrapple’s Random Light left deep marks on it.
Swarms of Diglett popped out of the ground, and Seadra precisely unleashed a Bubble Beam, scattering them in all directions.
Relying on the advantage of type matchups, they advanced extremely quickly.
Exeggcute floated beside Chen Kai, its six eggshells rotating vigilantly, ready to provide support at any moment.
Finally, they reached the deepest part of the mine, only to find an ordinary stone wall before them.
“This is the end?” Chen Kai walked forward in confusion, tentatively placing his hand on the stone wall.
To his surprise, his palm was only slightly impeded, and after some Taijing Energy was consumed from his body, his hand actually passed directly through the stone wall!
“There really is a Secret Realm?!” Chen Kai looked back at his companions in surprise. Miraidon nodded and was the first to pass through.
The other Pokémon followed closely.
Passing through the stone wall, Chen Kai looked around—it was still the interior of a mine, but it was separated into two completely different spaces by that magical stone wall.
Glowing dust floated in the air, and fluorescent crystals they had never seen before grew on the rock walls.
Miraidon scanned its surroundings cautiously, saying, “This place… feels off…”
Immediately after, it became so excited it almost jumped. “I! I sense it, the scent of the legendary seasoning!”
With that, Miraidon took the lead and rushed deeper.
“Wait for us!” Chen Kai hurriedly chased after it, shouting.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the stone wall—
Noma’s slender fingers lightly touched the surface of the stone wall, and Mr. Mime gracefully spun around beside her.
When her palm passed through the stone wall without any obstruction, her red lips curved slightly, revealing a triumphant smile.
“I never would have thought!” she whispered to herself, a cunning glint in her gem-like eyes. “I’ve been messing around here for months, almost turning this mine inside out, with no discovery. Just a small trick to lure him here, and it brings such a huge surprise!”
She neatly stepped through the stone wall, her hiking boots tapping crisp sounds on the ground paved with fluorescent crystals.
Mr. Mime immediately constructed a transparent Light Screen in front of them, concealing their figures within the distorted light.
Noma looked around but did not find any trace of Chen Kai or Miraidon.
However, she had no time to worry about that. She strode past the Light Screen Mr. Mime had created and said, “Stop building walls; we need to hurry!”
Mr. Mime turned its arm and nodded in agreement.