In the spacious and bright airport waiting lounge sat a teenager of sixteen or seventeen.
He was slender, with delicate and three-dimensional features on his fair face; though not exceptionally handsome, he exuded a youthful vigor.
At this moment, he was intently focused on the notebook in front of him, writing and scribbling.
His thick eyebrows were slightly furrowed, showing his seriousness and immersion in thought.
Below his high nose bridge, his lips were lightly pursed, revealing a hint of stubbornness.
His short, dark hair was neat and clean, swaying gently as he lowered his head.
He wore a simple white T-shirt and blue jeans, standard student attire, radiating the unique charm of youth.
Sunlight streamed through the large glass window, casting a soft golden glow around his silhouette.
The notebook recorded his 'small' goals, one by one.
Goal 1: Find Terapagos (though it's likely very hard to find; I'll wait for the Shuttle Device).
Goal 2: Help Miraidon find the other three legendary seasonings (current clues point to the desert, Gobi, and underground).
Goal 3: Prepare Big Boss and Second Boss to practice Dragon Voice Encouragement and evolve into Hydrapple; then I can wrap things up, right?
Goal 4: Get stronger with Xiao Mei! (Recently, I need to figure out a way to work harder; first, evolve into Ampharos! Then try Mega Evolution.)
“Yo! Xiao Kai.” At this moment, someone suddenly greeted him.
“Ah!” Chen Kai was startled and quickly closed his book.
He looked up and saw that the person speaking was none other than Zhao Mingzhu!
“Zhao Jie, what a coincidence, why are you also at the airport?” Chen Kai stuffed his notebook into his bag; its contents were not convenient for others to see.
“Oh! I heard from your uncle that you’re going back to Sichuan Province, and I’m going with you,” Zhao Mingzhu said, setting down her backpack and sitting next to Chen Kai.
Chen Kai quickly covered his chest and said in alarm, “Ah?! Zhao Jie, I’m not that kind of person! I still want to try to work hard on my own.”
Zhao Mingzhu was so angry she wanted to hit him, veins throbbing on her forehead, but she held back: “No, what are you thinking? I’m here to research the connection between those beads, Pokemon, and trainers!
You and your Flaaffy are the only research subjects; if you go to Sichuan Province, I definitely have to follow!”
“Oh! I see.” Chen Kai, just in case, leaned closer and asked, “If you really discover something, you won’t cut me up for research, will you?”
Zhao Mingzhu’s fist hardened!
“How could that be?!”
Chen Kai nodded: “Oh! That’s good, because I always feel like Zhao Jie has the potential of a mad scientist.”
Zhao Mingzhu no longer wanted to talk to Chen Kai at all.
Meanwhile, in the VIP lounge next to them, a man in worn clothes with disheveled hair asked, “Celestial King Liang, how long will this trip of ours take?”
Next to him sat a man in a training suit, who was none other than Liang Zhi, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Dragon Country.
He thought for a moment and said, “I don’t know, but it should be quick. We just need to visit a few suspicious people in Sichuan Province, and then we can come back.”
The person he was talking to was Dong Gang, the Director of the Kyoto Rock-type Gym.
He was originally digging for fossils in the Mongolian grasslands when he was suddenly called back to Kyoto overnight.
Last night, he finally caught the last spy, and he thought he could go back to digging for fossils!
Then he was dragged here again to be a laborer.
He always felt he was about to dig up an Aerodactyl or Archen fossil!
But in reality, after digging for a year, he had only found a pile of broken rocks that he couldn't identify and couldn't be revived at all.
The only valuable Helix Fossil was so broken that the people at the Kyoto Fossil Department said there was only a twenty to thirty percent chance of revival.
Since he already had a Relicanth, he was too lazy to bother with it.
He lay back in his chair and stretched: “The sooner we finish, the sooner we’re done.”
Liang Zhi nodded: “I think so too, which is why I booked the earliest flight to Da City.”
As a northerner, Dong Gang asked in confusion, “Where is Da City? Aren’t we going to Sichuan Province?”
Liang Zhi explained, “Da City is also within Sichuan Province.”
Dong Gang suggested, “Shouldn’t we first go to Cheng City, the capital of Sichuan Province, to investigate? Cheng City has a large floating population.”
Liang Zhi continued, “I initially planned to do that, but the higher-ups said that several groups of people from the Russian Federation have recently arrived in Da City and have been there for some time, so they told me to go there first to check it out.”
Dong Gang thought for a moment and said, “That certainly is a problem!”
As the two chatted idly, a staff member announced that they could board the plane.
“In any case, let’s go and see in person first,” Liang Zhi said, getting up to board.
Dong Gang was too lazy to think further and blindly followed along.
But when he reached the boarding gate, he spotted someone he knew: “Miss Zhao! What a coincidence, are you also going to Da City?”
Zhao Mingzhu turned around and saw it was Dong Gang; her face was already darkened with annoyance.
She was very familiar with Dong Gang; specifically, for the past year, ever since this Rock-type Gym Director had a sudden whim and insisted on having a flying Rock-type Pokemon, he would call the Fossil Department every other day to ask if the fossils he dug up were useful.
Everyone in the department found it annoying, so they pushed this task onto Zhao Mingzhu, who had the least seniority.
She was forced to become very familiar with Dong Gang.
“Yes, what a coincidence, Director Dong.”
Dong Gang, with nothing to talk about, forced a conversation: “Haha, Miss Zhao, what are you doing in Da City? Is this your child! A formidable young man!”
“Ah ah ah! I’m only in my 30s! This is Director Bai’s nephew! If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll rip your mouth apart!” Zhao Mingzhu roared, flailing her arms in anger.
“My work matters are none of your business! Get lost!!”
“Oh, oh!” Dong Gang knew he had said the wrong thing, his flattery backfiring, and quickly left.
He thought to himself: Work matters? There seem to be a lot of fossils in Sichuan Province too. Could there be a new discovery in Da City?
I need to finish this crappy task quickly and find some time to check it out.
On the other side, Chen Kai asked the fuming Zhao Mingzhu, “Zhao Jie, do you know those two?”
Zhao Mingzhu calmed herself down and said, “Yes, the one with no filter is Dong Gang, the Director of the Kyoto Rock-type Gym; he sent a gift at your uncle’s promotion banquet.
If I’m not mistaken, the other one seems to be Liang Zhi, one of the Four Heavenly Kings.”
“Four Heavenly Kings!” Chen Kai exclaimed, “What type is he good at?”
Zhao Mingzhu thought for a long while before remembering: “I remember he’s the Fighting-type Elite.”
Chen Kai’s heart skipped a beat, but he dared not make a sound: Fighting… Rock… Don’t they both happen to be strong against Ice-type? Could it be that the Dragon Country officials have discovered me?
Are they planning to intercept me on the plane?
But if I run away right now, wouldn’t that just prove I have a guilty conscience?
Although he wasn't afraid with Iron Bundle as backup, Chen Kai still hesitated.
“Hey! Don’t space out, it’s our turn to check tickets,” Zhao Mingzhu reminded him from the side.
Forget it, who cares, I’ll take it one step at a time!