Chapter 16: The Differences Between Humans
After everyone had finished drawing lots, Jun Shutong clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention and continued, “Group One, please get ready. Lu Li and I will be heading to the arcade shortly. If we don’t come back, Lei Hao will temporarily take charge of the camp.”
After hearing this, Fatty Lei’s brows knitted tightly together as he looked at Jun Shutong with a face full of worry.
“Sister Jun, why don’t I go in your place?” Fatty Lei volunteered.
Jun Shutong replied in a tone that brooked no argument, “It has to be me.”
“All right, Lu Li and I are heading out first.” With that, Jun Shutong waved her hand and resolutely left the camp with Lu Li.
Only after they had walked some distance did Jun Shutong quietly ask, “Lu Li, are you really sure that Ghost demon beast won’t capture us if we go there?”
Lu Li nodded confidently and explained, “First of all, you can’t be afraid. The more afraid you are, the more likely you are to get caught.”
“Are you really not scared at all?” Jun Shutong asked in confusion as she looked at Lu Li’s completely fearless expression.
“I’m not!” Lu Li replied firmly.
In his view, the worst-case scenario was merely being locked up for a day. Besides, he was eighty percent certain that Mimikyu wouldn’t make a move against them.
“I really envy your mentality. But… don’t you think it’s a little wrong for us to deceive everyone like this?” Jun Shutong’s conscience still bothered her somewhat. She felt that she had betrayed everyone’s trust.
She was nowhere near as fearless of the sacrifice as everyone imagined. The only reason she had volunteered to go first with Lu Li was because Lu Li had repeatedly assured her that they wouldn’t be attacked by the Ghost demon beast.
Lu Li wasn’t good at comforting girls, so he said coldly, “A gentleman is judged by his actions, not his thoughts. No matter what you’re thinking inside, as the person in charge, you really were the first one to step forward and offer yourself as a sacrifice.”
“All right. I hope your analysis is correct.” Jun Shutong nodded helplessly.
In truth, Jun Shutong wasn’t afraid of being captured by the Ghost demon beast. She was afraid of losing her life.
After all, no matter how reasonable Lu Li’s analysis sounded, it was still only theory on paper, not an established fact.
With Jun Shutong feeling uneasy, the two of them once again stepped into the arcade.
After entering with a flashlight in hand, Lu Li immediately fixed his attention on the damaged claw machine.
“Wait for me by the entrance,” Lu Li said, turning to Jun Shutong.
Jun Shutong looked at him in surprise. “You’re going alone?”
Lu Li nodded as though it were only natural.
Seeing this, Jun Shutong looked at Lu Li with a complicated expression. She had previously thought that Lu Li was the sort of person who was somewhat intelligent but rather selfish. Otherwise, after coming up with the sacrifice plan, he wouldn’t have excluded himself from it.
But now, Lu Li was telling her to stay outside while he entered the arcade alone to face the Ghost demon beast. That was completely inconsistent with his selfish, death-fearing personality.
Lu Li paid no attention to what Jun Shutong was thinking. He walked over to the damaged claw machine and looked thoughtfully at the Mimikyu disguised as a plush toy.
Lu Li recalled the Pokédex information about Mimikyu.
If he wanted to make contact with Mimikyu, he needed to understand several aspects of its personality.
- The reason Mimikyu drew a Pikachu-like face on its disguise was because it wanted to get along peacefully with humans.
In other words, Mimikyu belonged to the type of Pokémon that didn’t harbor much hostility toward humans.
Although he wasn’t sure whether Mimikyu’s attitude toward humans would carry over to the humans of this world, since they were roughly similar in appearance, Mimikyu should retain that trait.
However, considering that the humans of the Pokémon world shared the same underlying genetic origin as Pokémon, whereas the humans of this world did not, Lu Li was actually only seventy percent confident.
Still, seventy percent certainty that Mimikyu wouldn’t attack humans was enough.
- Mimikyu feared sunlight, and it was calm but also afraid of loneliness.
That was also why he dared to come see Mimikyu and devise the sacrifice plan.
Its calm temperament meant that Mimikyu wouldn’t kill humans, while its fear of loneliness was the core of the sacrifice plan. Having two people come play with Mimikyu every day so that it wouldn’t cause trouble was the solution Lu Li could think of that required the smallest possible price.
- The disguise covering Mimikyu’s body was taboo and absolutely must not be touched.
So when interacting with Mimikyu, it was best to keep some distance. More importantly, one had to remain vigilant at all times and never see Mimikyu’s true body beneath its disguise.
That was why Lu Li stopped when he was less than a meter away from the damaged claw machine.
- Mimikyu didn’t like others exposing the fact that it was disguising itself as Pikachu.
So he absolutely couldn’t expose it. That was the prerequisite for negotiation.
Regardless of whether Mimikyu could understand him, Lu Li simply stood there and began speaking on his own.
“Pikachu, I’ll send two people over every day to make a round through here. If you’re hungry, you can keep them here, but don’t harm their lives.”
“And if you get bored, then after you’ve eaten your fill, tell them. When that happens, I’ll come over to chat or play with you.”
“I’m not even sure whether you can understand what I’m saying, but that’s everything I can do for you. So… would you be willing to be friends with me?”
After Lu Li finished speaking, he directly held out his fist.
Mimikyu curiously examined the strange life-form before it that was human, yet somehow not human.
This person looked exactly like a human on the outside, but on the inside, he didn’t seem human at all. Mimikyu thought of itself. It looked like Pikachu on the outside, but inside, it wasn’t Pikachu.
Thinking of this, the little fellow even felt a tiny bit of empathy.
It could understand what Lu Li was saying, or at least grasp the general meaning.
This seemingly weak fake human wanted to deliver “food” to it and was even willing to play with it. That surprised Mimikyu somewhat.
As for playing with animals disguised as humans, Mimikyu thought about it for a moment before shaking its head. It felt that it probably wouldn’t be able to have much fun with these animals.
In the eyes of Pokémon, the humans of this world were equivalent to ordinary animals in the Pokémon world, except these animals happened to look somewhat like humans.
Ordinary animals did exist in the Pokémon world, and they occupied the very bottom of the food chain. In the eyes of the overwhelming majority of Pokémon, the humans of this world were merely animals wearing human skin.
Mimikyu’s fake head suddenly drooped to the side.
The sudden movement startled Lu Li badly.
His heart pounding from the fright, Lu Li hurriedly forced himself to calm down.
Lu Li continued speaking on his own. “If you’re not saying anything, I’ll take that as agreement.”
Mimikyu had little interest in paying attention to this fake human, so it simply ignored him, though that could also be considered tacit consent.
After all, it still needed to keep this group of humans around in order to absorb emotions of fear and despair, which was why it silently accepted Lu Li’s proposal.
Unlike Pokémon that directly plundered life energy, the clever Mimikyu understood the principle of sustainable harvesting.
“My head fell off again. I need to fix it quickly,” Mimikyu thought aggrievedly.
It seemed it would first have to send this annoying fake human away.
With that thought, a strange pink light flared up.
Before Lu Li could react, he was hit directly. Jun Shutong, who was standing outside the entrance, was hit as well.
…………………….
Chapter 17: Confuse Ray and a Win-Win Situation
“Sister Jun? Sister Jun!”
“Lu Li… Lu Li! Wake up!”
As Lu Li emerged from his dazed state, his confused gaze swept over the crowd gathered around him. He pinched his thigh hard, and only after feeling the distinct pain did he became certain that the people before him weren’t an illusion.
Jun Shutong, who had also regained consciousness, looked around in confusion and asked, “Why am I here?”
“Phew, Sister Jun, you finally reacted.” Fatty Lei let out a long sigh of relief.
“Just now, the two of you walked in from outside with blank expressions. No matter how much we called out to you, neither of you reacted. Those old guys even said you were possessed.” Fatty Lei complained nonstop while also recounting what had happened.
Looking at Jun Shutong, who still seemed somewhat dazed, Fatty Lei leaned closer with a worried expression and asked, “Sister Jun, are you all right now?”
“Sister Jun, nothing can happen to you! If something happens to you, what are we supposed to do with the camp?” a middle-aged man shamelessly shouted.
Hearing this from the side, Lu Li couldn’t help the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.
This old fellow was more than old enough to be Jun Shutong’s father, yet here he was calling her “Sister Jun” over and over with incredible enthusiasm.
“Exactly! You never should have gone and taken that risk.”
The surrounding crowd became increasingly ridiculous, and if they kept going, they would probably start dragging Lu Li into it as well. Jun Shutong finally came fully back to her senses.
With a serious expression, Jun Shutong assured them, “Everyone, I’m fine. There’s no need to worry.”
“It’s good that you’re fine. Good that you’re fine.”
Seeing that Jun Shutong looked normal and didn’t appear to have anything wrong with her, everyone finally breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Having been squeezed off to the side, Lu Li’s thoughts returned to a few minutes earlier.
“That strange pink light… was it Confuse Ray?” Lu Li thought contemplatively.
The fact that the Mimikyu could use Confuse Ray was enough to prove that it wasn’t weak and that it possessed considerable talent in the Ghost type.
Having such a powerful helper nearby was undoubtedly a fortunate thing for this precarious camp.
But…
Lu Li thought about Mimikyu’s attitude toward him.
Among all Pokémon, Mimikyu could be considered one of the species more willing to get close to humans, yet Mimikyu’s attitude toward him chilled his heart considerably.
Lu Li also realized something incomparably cruel and terrifying.
The humans of this world truly were different from the humans of the Pokémon world.
If he were a person from the Pokémon world, then Mimikyu should have been happy to play with him. Instead, that Mimikyu had actually shown a bit of resistance and even disdain.
The way Pokémon viewed the humans of this world was probably like how dogs, humanity’s good friends, viewed apes.
This was not good news, because it meant that the difficulty of humans becoming Trainers had gone straight from hard mode to hell mode.
At this moment, Jun Shutong also noticed that Lu Li seemed distracted. She asked with concern, “Lu Li, are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” Lu Li gently shook his head.
“Did we get hit by something just now?” Jun Shutong asked.
Lu Li calmly swept his gaze over the people around them and explained with a straight face, “This is actually good news. That Ghost demon beast probably only wanted us to leave that place. It didn’t directly try to kill us, but instead used that kind of control method to make us retreat.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that Ghost demon beast doesn’t kill people,” Fatty Lei chimed in from the side.
Lu Li nodded, wearing an expression as if to say that Fatty Lei was finally teachable.
“Not that it doesn’t kill people, but rather… it agreed to our terms,” Lu Li announced, pretending to be happy.
Hearing this, everyone wore complicated expressions. Some were filled with confusion and fear about the future, but even more let out long sighs of relief.
Ghost demon beasts were practically walking natural disasters. After all, when Pokémon had first descended, the most common news reports on television were about some Ghost demon beast wiping out everyone in an entire city or military base overnight.
Lu Li deliberately added, “And now, you could say we’re being kept by that Ghost demon beast. As long as there are no problems with our sacrifices, that demon beast might even step in and help us if we ever face total annihilation.”
The reason he said this was to emphasize the importance of the sacrifice plan, while also being generous at someone else’s expense.
Sacrificing the other people in the camp in exchange for Mimikyu’s goodwill was admittedly a little despicable, but wasn’t it also a win-win situation?
Mm! By win-win, he meant that he won twice.
By sacrificing the other people in the camp, he could both gain Mimikyu’s goodwill and provide the camp with an extra layer of protection.
The next thing to do was wait until Mimikyu had eaten its fill each time, then go over and make his face familiar to it. If danger ever truly came in the future, he could simply lead everyone straight to the arcade.
Just like that, the plan was complete.
Lu Li instantly had everything for the future arranged perfectly in his mind.
Jun Shutong dismissed the others, then brought Lu Li back to the office.
Sitting in the office chair, Jun Shutong asked solemnly, “Did you talk to that Ghost demon beast inside?”
Lu Li nodded. “I’m not sure whether it understood what I said, but I did say a few things to it. Judging from its reaction, it probably agreed.”
Hearing this, Jun Shutong finally let out a heavy breath.
“Phew.”
“The huge weight hanging over my heart has finally dropped. Thank you for this. You helped me again.” Jun Shutong looked at Lu Li with deep gratitude.
“It’s what I should do, and I benefited from it too, didn’t I?” Lu Li smiled and shook his head. The benefit he was talking about was naturally that he was no longer on the sacrifice list.
Jun Shutong said with utmost seriousness, “What I said still stands. Starting today, you’re my deputy.”
“I’ll pass on managing the camp on a daily basis. I still need to study the demon beasts and some other things.” Lu Li did not refuse the position of deputy, but neither did he fully accept all of its responsibilities.
Jun Shutong nodded to show that she understood.
In truth, she was more than happy for Lu Li to focus on researching demon beasts, because there were plenty of people who could replace him in managing the camp, but when it came to researching demon beasts, only Lu Li could do it.
At least for now, Lu Li truly had a unique talent in that area.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back first. What happened just now was pretty magical. I need to go back and process it properly,” Lu Li said.
He was naturally referring to the awkward experience of the two of them being controlled by Confuse Ray. Jun Shutong rolled her eyes at Lu Li and complained, “There was nothing magical about being controlled by someone. I definitely don’t want there to be a second time.”
Lu Li merely chuckled without commenting.
After returning to his residence, Lu Li continued feeding Feebas while constantly showering it with praise.
Through his talk with Mimikyu just now, Lu Li had confirmed one thing—these descended Pokémon could be communicated with. At the very least, they could probably understand human speech.
That was good news for Lu Li. What he needed to do next was learn how to understand Feebas’s “language.”
As for Pokémon seeing humans as gorillas?
That wasn’t necessarily a dead end either. With enough individuals, all kinds of preferences existed. Perhaps the Pokémon world was the same.
………………………….
Chapter 18: Borrowing Water from the Sky
Feebas’s evolution was still a long way off. For now, the only plan was to seek long-term survival in this apocalypse.
Setting aside the fact that he understood Pokémon better than the people of this world did, Lu Li himself actually didn’t have much of an advantage. So in the apocalypse, he still needed to band together with others for survival.
And if he wanted to live comfortably, he had to become one of the camp’s higher-ups. At the very least, he needed to be part of the management.
That goal had already been achieved. The next step was to develop the camp so that the survivor camp could continue to exist in the long term.
Thinking of this, Lu Li began making plans.
Whether it was an apocalypse caused by the arrival of Pokémon or the kind of biohazard apocalypse seen in movies, the core necessities were actually always the same few things.
A safe living environment, food and water, and medicine.
For now, there’s no point in hoping for a better living environment. Without exaggeration, even if a single Caterpie broke in, it could throw the camp into complete disarray. At present, there was simply no room for improvement.
Being able to scrape by under Mimikyu’s protection was already good enough. There was no use thinking too far ahead.
Then came food and water.
Food was still manageable. Jun Shutong had long since sent people to clear out all the stock from the restaurants downstairs, and with all kinds of dry food and frozen meat that could be stored for long periods, their reserves were fairly sufficient.
The camp did not need to worry about food in the short term. At two meals a day, the food in the camp could still last for more than a month.
But the water supply had become a fatal weakness.
The water supply had already been cut off. If they wanted to fetch water, they would have to go to the aquarium, but that was hardly a good solution. For one thing, they could easily be attacked by Water-type Pokémon. For another, there was a very real chance they might lure those Water-type Pokémon back to the camp.
So the most urgent matter was solving the water problem.
They had medicine here.
No one was sick right now, so the importance of medicine had not yet become apparent, but in an apocalypse, medicine was just as indispensable for survival.
Lu Li absentmindedly applied whitening cream to Feebas. Feebas, whose eyes had become much livelier, calmly enjoyed Lu Li’s care as though it were only natural.
After completing another course of treatment, Lu Li put Feebas back into the fish tank.
After that, Lu Li went to find Jun Shutong again.
Looking seriously at Jun Shutong in front of him, Lu Li said, “Sister Jun, I have a plan that may need your support.”
“Go ahead.” Jun Shutong sat up straight. The scene was almost comically reversed, as though she were the subordinate instead.
“At night, we can go up to the roof and open the cover of the water tower. If it rains later, the tank might be able to store quite a lot of rainwater.”
Jun Shutong nodded thoughtfully.
She understood what Lu Li meant. The shopping mall had its own water purification system. Although drinking that water regularly might not be very healthy, this was the apocalypse. Water was more precious than gold now, so who could still afford to care about health concerns?
Seeing that she was already interested, Lu Li immediately continued, “At night, we can avoid the bird demon beasts that are active during the day. If we’re careful, the danger should be relatively low.”
Jun Shutong hesitated before saying, “But there are flying demon beasts at night too. I heard a report from a survivor before. There’s a kind of demon beast that looks a little like a bat. They can suck all the blood out of a person.”
“But it’s still safer than during the day, isn’t it?”
“Besides, this is the apocalypse. Nothing is ever absolutely safe.” Lu Li remained unmoved and continued,
“I checked the weather forecast before. There may be rain soon. This could be our only chance in the near future to obtain a large amount of water.”
“You’re sure it’s going to rain soon?” Jun Shutong asked in confusion.
Lu Li nodded with absolute certainty. “Of course.”
He wasn’t trying to fool Jun Shutong. On the very day the apocalypse began, he had specifically checked the weather forecast for the coming week. It had clearly shown several consecutive days of rain in the near future.
“All right!” Jun Shutong gritted her teeth and nodded. “I’ll personally lead a group tonight.”
“I’ll go with you,” Lu Li said as well.
Naturally, he had to actively take part in a job like this, where the danger was relatively low. Otherwise, the people in the camp might find something to criticize and say that all he did was sit around enjoying the benefits while ordering everyone else around.
Jun Shutong nodded and did not object.
After all, Lu Li had proposed the plan himself. It was a good thing that he was willing to participate.
Lu Li added, “We don’t need too many people. Five will be enough.”
“Do you have anyone in mind?” Jun Shutong asked.
“Me, you, plus Fatty Lei, Yellow Hair, and Old Xu.”
“Why Yellow Hair and Old Xu? They’re not in very good condition right now,” Jun Shutong asked.
Yellow Hair and Old Xu had already gone without food for an entire day and night and had only barely managed to survive. Dragging them into another risky job now seemed rather excessive no matter how one looked at it.
“Two reasons.” Lu Li held up two fingers.
“I’ll explain the specifics after dinner tonight. For now, let Yellow Hair and his companion get some proper rest.”
Jun Shutong sighed and said, “I can call them over, but if you can’t convince them, I won’t force them. It really wasn’t easy for them to make it back alive.”
“No problem.” Lu Li had no objection either.
Jun Shutong actually wasn’t very suited to being the leader of the camp. First of all, she was too kind. And although she appeared decisive and efficient, she could sometimes be overly emotional and softhearted when handling matters.
But it was precisely because of those flaws that Jun Shutong was loved by everyone in the camp.
These flaws were actually a double-edged sword. Sometimes they could harm both herself and others, but at other times they could strengthen the camp’s cohesion.
Time quickly passed until six in the evening.
Dinner was actually quite plentiful, with both meat and vegetables. The survivors, who had gone hungry all day, all had excellent appetites, and almost no one wasted anything.
Even if someone accidentally dropped a piece of meat on the floor, they would immediately pick it up and eat it.
Lu Li watched an old man at the table opposite him pick up a piece of meat from the floor and eat it, then nodded in satisfaction.
A child had accidentally dropped a piece of meat without noticing. When the old man beside him saw that the meat had fallen from his grandson’s bowl, he hurriedly picked it up and ate it.
In this apocalypse, people like them who were unable to go out and search for food would absolutely be despised by everyone if they wasted any.
Jun Shutong had established a rule that the elderly and children did not need to go out searching for food, but correspondingly, their status was also somewhat lower.
Although Jun Shutong had never openly divided the people in the camp into different ranks, some people automatically assigned themselves a place in the hierarchy, and there were even those who willingly played along.
There was an especially large amount of meat on Lu Li’s plate today, even more than on Fatty Lei’s. Lu Li had never specifically asked for it, but the person serving the food was observant and knew how to behave.
He was the deputy personally chosen by Jun Shutong. Even if some people were dissatisfied in their hearts, anyone capable of securing a position serving food couldn’t possibly be ignorant of the ways of the world.
Fatty Lei, sitting across from him, grinned and teased, “Brother Lu, you’ll have to look after your little brother from now on.”
“Ah, in this damned world, everyone’s just trying to survive. There’s no need to talk about looking after anyone. We’ll just help each other out from now on.” Lu Li actually wasn’t very good at dealing with people, but he at least understood the principle that having one more friend meant having one more path available.
Besides, Fatty Lei really was a decent person. Making another friend like him could only be a good thing.
…………………………..
Chapter 19: Being Weak Has Its Advantages.
Fatty Lei glanced around furtively. Only after making sure no one was paying attention did he lean close to Lu Li’s ear and whisper, “Brother Lu, I’ve got a couple of rumors for you.”
“What rumors?” Lu Li asked curiously.
“More people came to the mall today, but we only managed to stop four of them. Several others sneaked into the supermarket on the basement floor, and none of them came back out.”
“Four more people joined the camp?” Lu Li asked, puzzled.
Fatty Lei waved a hand and explained, “No, those four went back. TThey are all the pillars of their families and couldn’t rest easy about their family members. However, they will come over with their families tomorrow. It’s just that we don’t know if they can make it to the camp safely.”
Fatty Lei looked worried. “Sigh, there are more and more people in camp, and we’re using up supplies faster and faster. I don’t know how much longer this camp can last.”
“And more people keep coming to the mall to gather things. I reckon our camp’s population will keep growing for a while.”
For the survivor camp as it stood, having more people wasn’t actually a good thing. Even Fatty Lei thought so, and the other people in camp felt that way all the more.
But Lu Li knew perfectly well that Jun Shutong would never turn away anyone seeking refuge. She had an exceptionally strong sense of responsibility by nature and could not bear to see anyone in need of help fall into a desperate situation.
“In that case, why don’t you put warnings at the entrances telling survivors who don’t know any better to stay away from the supermarket?” Lu Li asked, puzzled.
Fatty Lei complained, looking exasperated, “We did that the day before yesterday, but some people just refuse to believe the warnings.”
“Those guys probably thought we’d put them up to keep the supermarket’s supplies all to ourselves, so they ignored them.”
Lu Li: “…”
But putting himself in their shoes, if he were starving and saw those warnings outside while searching the supermarket for supplies, he would probably choose to ignore them too.
After all, if you were about to starve to death and could barely stay alive, who had time to worry about danger?
“We have an operation planned for tonight. Make sure you come. Sister Jun and I will both be going,” Lu Li said.
“Huh? Tonight?” Fatty Lei exclaimed, then quickly lowered his voice and warned, “It’s even more dangerous at night than during the day! Can’t we do it in daylight?”
“You’ll find out when the time comes.” Lu Li kept him in suspense without explaining anything.
After eight that evening, the people Jun Shutong had selected gathered in her office.
A single small, flickering candle barely provided a faint glow in the dim office.
“Lu Li, explain the plan to everyone,” Jun Shutong said.
Lu Li nodded, then went over the plan to open the water tower’s lid again.
“Going at night will let us avoid the bird demon beasts that come out during the day, sure, but there are bat demon beasts at night. Are you sure night is safer than day?” Fatty Lei was the first to question him.
He was among those most opposed to exposing themselves to the open sky. After all, with his build, if a bird demon beast spotted them out in the open, he would probably be the first to suffer.
“But we have to take the risk, or we could very well die of thirst,” Lu Li said.
Looking thoroughly impatient, Yellow Hair questioned, “Then why drag Old Xu and me along? Have a conscience. We only just came back injured from doing something for the camp.”
He didn’t dare question Jun Shutong, so he could only direct his anger at Lu Li. Beside him, Old Xu was also glaring venomously at Lu Li.
“Two reasons.” Lu Li held up two fingers.
“First, you’re both drained of vitality and blood right now. Those blood-feeding bat demon beasts won’t make you their first targets.”
“Second, you carry traces of that Ghost demon beast’s aura. The bat demon beasts will think you’re prey already claimed by a Ghost demon beast, so they won’t prioritize you.”
Old Xu and Yellow Hair: “…”
After hearing Lu Li’s explanation, Fatty Lei vaguely felt as though the word “DANGER” was hovering over his head.
He hadn’t wanted to go in the first place. Now he wanted to go even less.
“Which brings us to the question: why do I have to come on this operation?” Fatty Lei looked at Lu Li, aggrieved and disgruntled.
You were thumping your chest at dinner, promising to look out for me, and this is how you do it? Please, go look out for someone else!
“Old Lei, as the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. You’ve kept the camp running smoothly these past few days, but if you want to become one of its leaders, you have to make some contributions, don’t you?”
“I asked you to come today precisely because I’m looking out for you.”
Lu Li earnestly tried to persuade him.
In truth, Lu Li wasn’t fooling Fatty Lei. He had discussed it with Jun Shutong during the day. Fatty Lei had been handling the camp’s daily affairs for the past few days without making any mistakes.
Jun Shutong had long wanted to put Fatty Lei in charge of the camp’s daily operations, but out of consideration for the democratic process, she had been looking for an opportunity to make it official.
And today’s operation was an opportunity for Fatty Lei.
Of course, part of the reason Lu Li had brought Fatty Lei along was indeed to use him as a shield.
But sometimes risk and opportunity went hand in hand. If you wanted authority, you at least needed a contribution worth showing for it, right?
Fatty Lei more or less understood what Lu Li and Jun Shutong meant.
Already a shrewd man, Fatty Lei quickly thought it over. If he let this opportunity slip by, Jun Shutong’s opinion of him would certainly drop considerably.
If he left a bad impression on his leader, advancing further in the future would be difficult.
After hesitating for only a fraction of a second, Fatty Lei firmly pledged his loyalty to Jun Shutong.
“Sister Jun, I’m willing to follow your orders.” Fatty Lei sounded as resolute as if he were swearing a solemn oath.
Yellow Hair and Old Xu exchanged a glance, then decisively nodded and said in unison, “Sister Jun, we’re willing to come along too.”
Jun Shutong nodded in satisfaction.
“In that case, let’s get moving.” Jun Shutong put on the camp’s only bulletproof vest and picked up their sole remaining police pistol.
“If bat demon beasts really do attack, you run first. I’ll cover the retreat,” Jun Shutong promised, her face resolute.
Fatty Lei and the others gazed at Jun Shutong, deeply moved, their eyes reddening. At this moment, she stood taller than ever in their hearts.
Seeing this, the corners of Lu Li’s mouth lifted slightly. This was their camp’s leader. This was Jun Shutong!
With the arrangements settled, everyone took their tools and cautiously made their way to the rooftop through the emergency exit.
The emergency exit wasn’t far from the water tower, only about a hundred meters away.
By the bright moonlight, Jun Shutong carefully scanned their surroundings.
“No sign of bat demon beasts. Stay close to the wall and be careful. Try not to make any noise,” Jun Shutong instructed the four behind her.
…………………………
Chapter 20: Zubat
The nights since the Pokémon’s arrival were far from quiet. Although some animal cries were gone, the Pokémon’s calls were even louder.
Following cautiously behind Jun Shutong, Lu Li even caught a faint glimpse of an enormous Pokémon flying through the moonlight.
They all crept forward anxiously. Jun Shutong kept a vigilant watch on their surroundings, and no one in the group dared speak. Everyone listened intently for any movement around them.
Three minutes later.
The group finally reached the base of the water tower safely.
Fatty Lei looked up at the water tower and asked slowly, “Now comes the question: who’s climbing up to open the lid?”
He certainly couldn’t do it. He was too big and would make an easy target up there.
“Old Xu, Huang Jiafei, you two climb up and open the lid. If a bat demon beast does come, we’ll have Fatty Lei lure it away.”
After saying this, Lu Li turned to Jun Shutong. “Sister Jun, keep watch. If anything unexpected happens, cover Fatty Lei while he runs back to the emergency exit.”
Jun Shutong nodded, indicating she had no objections.
The other three, however, had objections.
Fatty Lei opened his mouth, but ultimately chose to remain silent.
There really was nothing wrong with Lu Li’s arrangement. He didn’t have to risk climbing onto the water tower, but if danger did arise, he would be responsible for luring the bat demon beasts away.
That was fair—provided you left Lu Li out of the equation.
Huang Jiafei and Old Xu looked helpless, but they had already come this far. All they could do was nod with bitter expressions.
“I hope your analysis and guesses are right, otherwise I won’t let you off even as a ghost.” Old Xu said as he stared gloomily at Lu Li.
Although Huang Jiafei was cursing under his breath, his movements weren’t slow at all. He was already on the water tower’s ladder.
“Get it done quickly. The longer we take, the more dangerous it gets,” Lu Li urged calmly.
The two gritted their teeth and scrambled up the water tower, climbing rapidly toward the top.
Fatty Lei watched the sky nervously, afraid a bat demon beast might suddenly appear.
“God, please don’t let any bat demon beasts show up.” Fatty Lei pressed his palms together and prayed, his face taut with anxiety.
Lu Li paid him no mind. He was more worried about encountering a Noctowl than a Pokémon like Zubat.
If they ran into Zubat, he had at least a seventy percent chance of surviving. But if they encountered Noctowl, their chances of survival would be one in ten at best.
“Stop saying that. Don’t you know some things are just waiting to be summoned by someone mentioning them?” Lu Li said in exasperation.
Fatty Lei rolled his eyes at Lu Li and ignored him, keeping his palms pressed together as he continued muttering prayers for God’s protection.
Before the Pokémon descended, Fatty Lei probably didn’t believe in any God, but afterward, Fatty Lei gradually began to place his hopes in that ethereal God.
Huang Jiafei and Old Xu finally reached the top of the tower, heaved its lid open, and threw it straight down.
Clang!
A tremendous crash rang out, and the two hurriedly slid down the ladder.
“Run!” Lu Li said, leading everyone toward the emergency exit.
Lu Li didn’t blame the two for making so much noise. He had anticipated this from the start.
The water tower’s lid was heavy, far too heavy for one or two people to carry down, so the simplest solution was to throw it off.
The advantage was that it was quick and easy. The disadvantage was the tremendous noise, which might attract nocturnal predators.
Just as everyone was sprinting for their lives, a series of squeaks suddenly rang out overhead. [TN: The squeals here are Pokemon cries.]
Everyone’s faces went pale at the unexpected sound. Fatty Lei, in particular, abruptly picked up speed, even overtaking Lu Li for a moment.
“It’s Zubat!” Lu Li felt a wave of relief. “Thank goodness it isn’t Noctowl.”
With that thought, Lu Li grabbed Jun Shutong beside him.
“Everyone, stay still! That bat demon beast only attacks creatures that move,” Lu Li called out in a low voice.
Jun Shutong’s face paled when he grabbed her, but upon hearing his words, she forced herself to stop.
Huang Jiafei and Old Xu immediately dropped flat on the ground and lay motionless, hardly daring to breathe.
Fatty Lei had run too far ahead to make out Lu Li’s shout and kept sprinting with his head down.
But how could a human’s two legs outrun a winged Zubat?
Zubat were based on real-world bats. Their eyes had degenerated, and they relied on ultrasonic waves to locate targets.
As a result, Zubat generally only attacked living creatures that moved. Fatty Lei was both large and moving fast, naturally making him its target.
After days of observation and study, Lu Li had finally figured out why these Pokémon attacked humans.
It wasn’t that the Pokémon that had arrived particularly liked eating people. Humans were simply easier to hunt and kill than Pokémon. Although their nutritional value was low, for wild Pokémon seeking only to fill their stomachs, hunting humans offered the best return for the effort.
A powerful gust rushed at him from behind without warning, frightening Fatty Lei to tears on the spot.
“Aaah! I don’t want to fucking die!” Fatty Lei sobbed and cursed as he waited for death to come.
Bang!
A gunshot suddenly rang out, and the bullet struck Zubat squarely in the wing.
But instead of piercing the wing, the bullet landed with a heavy, muffled thud.
Although it hit Zubat, it failed to draw blood. Its wing membrane was simply too tough for Jun Shutong’s pistol to penetrate.
Still, the unexpected attack threw the flying Zubat off balance. Like a plane spinning out of control, it grazed past Fatty Lei and crashed to the ground.
After tumbling several times, Zubat took flight again as though nothing had happened.
But that brief interval was enough for Fatty Lei to reach the emergency exit.
Once airborne again, Zubat hesitated for a while before finally giving up on Fatty Lei, who had already made it inside.
Zubat could sense its prey continuing to run downward. If it pursued him, it still had a good chance of catching him.
But the attack just now had alerted it to the presence of another predator nearby. Zubat feared being ambushed while hunting its own prey, and it feared becoming prey itself.
So it circled once overhead, then slowly flew away.
Having narrowly escaped disaster yet again, Jun Shutong pressed a hand to her pounding chest and let out a long breath. “Whew! That was too close.”
“Let’s hurry while that bat demon beast is gone,” Lu Li urged.
Two loud noises in a row were bound to attract more Pokémon. Lu Li’s heart thudded uneasily, and he couldn’t guarantee that the next arrival would also be a Zubat.
As he passed Huang Jiafei and Old Xu, he saw that they were still pressed flat against the ground, barely daring to breathe.
Lu Li lightly nudged Yellow Hair’s rear with his foot.
“Stop playing dead. That demon beast has already flown away. Let’s hurry back,” Lu Li urged.