Chapter 21: Jun Shutong’s Gradual Growth
Only after hearing that did the two dare to raise their heads. Seeing that Lu Li and Jun Shutong had already gone some distance, they hurriedly scrambled to their feet and scurried after them through the emergency exit.
Fatty Lei was already nowhere to be seen. Apparently, he hadn’t stopped inside the emergency stairwell and had run straight back to camp.
“That little fatty’s pretty cautious,” Lu Li remarked with a chuckle.
Jun Shutong didn’t respond. Instead, she carefully checked her pistol and magazine.
“Only five rounds left,” Jun Shutong said.
Hearing this, Lu Li reassured her, “One bullet for Fatty’s life. That’s a pretty good trade.”
Jun Shutong glanced at Lu Li, then said meaningfully, “That’s not what I’m worried about.”
The people in the camp did trust Jun Shutong, but more crucially, she held the truth of the old era in her hands, allowing her to keep dissenting voices in check.
Without that deterrent, dissent would inevitably emerge in the camp and might even threaten Jun Shutong’s position.
Lu Li realized this as well, so he continued reassuring her. “Don’t worry. This was an accident. If Fatty Lei hadn’t run off so fast and in such a panic, there would’ve been no need to waste that bullet.”
Yellow Hair and Old Xu both nodded in unison.
“Fatty Lei’s such a coward. If he’d listened to Brother Lu, Sister Jun wouldn’t have had to waste a bullet,” Huang Jiafei grumbled.
The two of them were now completely convinced of Lu Li. After all, he had saved their lives through genuine skill.
Old Xu, standing beside Yellow Hair, asked curiously, “Second Leader, how did you know that Pokémon wouldn’t attack people who stayed still?”
“Observation,” Lu Li replied with a calm expression.
Old Xu and Huang Jiafei immediately turned to look at him. Even Jun Shutong stared at him with curiosity written all over her face.
“If you’d looked closely, you would’ve noticed that the demon beast had no eyes and looked a lot like a bat. That made me about eighty percent certain it used echolocation to locate its targets.”
Jun Shutong couldn’t help asking, “But what if you’d been wrong?”
Lu Li explained calmly, “We would’ve been fine. That bat demon beast was clearly going after Fatty Lei. Even if we stopped where we were, Fatty Lei would still have been its primary target.”
Lu Li made no attempt to hide his “sinister intentions.” After all, Fatty Lei wasn’t here. Besides, the whole reason he had brought Fatty Lei along was to make him a target.
Or, to put it another way, someone to die in their place.
After hearing Lu Li’s explanation, Huang Jiafei and Old Xu instinctively exchanged glances, each seeing a deep wariness of Lu Li in the other’s eyes.
Someone like Lu Li was exceptionally calculating, but as long as you weren’t the target of his schemes, following him actually felt quite reassuring.
When the four returned to camp, they found Fatty Lei sitting in a chair, gasping for breath.
Seeing Jun Shutong and the others return safely, Fatty Lei greeted them with delight. “Sister Jun, thank goodness you’re all right!”
“You’re not hurt, are you?” Jun Shutong asked with concern.
“It’s all thanks to you, Sister Jun. If you hadn’t drawn your gun and helped me at that critical moment, I’d already be meeting my great-grandmother.”
“You have no idea how close I came to meeting her just now! That demon beast nearly sank its teeth into me. It brushed right past my shoulder!”
Fatty Lei’s voice still trembled with lingering fear. Every sentence carried the relief of having narrowly escaped death and his heartfelt gratitude toward Jun Shutong.
“Brother Lu, please don’t ask me to do anything like this again. Being bait is way too much trouble. It’s not my fault I’m fat.” Fatty Lei looked at Lu Li with a pitiful expression.
Lu Li: “…”
“Don’t run so fast next time! That bat demon beast only attacks things that move. If you’d run a little slower and heard what Brother Lu said, Sister Jun wouldn’t have had to waste a bullet,” Huang Jiafei complained from the side.
“Huh? Seriously?” Fatty Lei’s eyes widened, staring at Huang Jiafei in bewilderment.
Lu Li didn’t blame Fatty Lei. After all, he himself had acted unreasonably in the first place, so he stepped forward to smooth things over. “All right, what matters is that everyone made it back safely. If there’s nothing else, go get some sleep.”
“Yeah, we’ll head back now. Brother Lu, Sister Jun, you two should get some rest too.” As he spoke, Fatty Lei winked at Lu Li, then grabbed Huang Jiafei, who was about to say something but hesitated, and headed toward the dormitory.
“You damn fatty! What are you dragging me away for? I wasn’t done talking!” Huang Jiafei cursed gloomily, frowning.
“Are you looking for trouble? Didn’t you see Brother Lu was telling us to leave?” Fatty Lei shot Huang Jiafei a glare for not appreciating his kindness.
Old Xu, standing nearby, agreed wholeheartedly. “Huang, you should listen to Lei on this one.”
Huang Jiafei looked in bewilderment at the two men, who seemed to be speaking in riddles, and was dragged back to the dormitory without understanding a thing.
After the three left, Jun Shutong invited him, “Want to come sit in my office?”
Lu Li nodded and followed Jun Shutong to her office.
After sitting down, Lu Li asked curiously, “Was there something else, Sister Jun?”
“I’d like your opinion on some rules for the camp,” Jun Shutong explained. “More and more people are joining us. We can’t keep managing things as haphazardly as before.”
Lu Li’s eyes immediately lit up. Even if Jun Shutong hadn’t mentioned it, he had planned to bring it up himself in a couple of days.
Lu Li immediately began analyzing the matter in earnest. “First, we need a clear division of labor. We haven’t defined everyone’s responsibilities, and we’ve been supporting a bunch of people who sit around doing nothing. That does the camp nothing but harm.”
“The elderly may not be able to go out searching for supplies, but we can give them work around camp that’s within their abilities. As for the children, those over ten can be assigned some light chores too.”
“Second, we need to form proper Scavenging Teams and appoint team leaders to coordinate things. Ideally, we should also establish a contribution point system.”
“People can exchange their contributions for resources in the camp. As for the details, you can discuss those with everyone.”
“I didn’t study management, and I don’t know much about it. I can only offer you a few suggestions.”
Lu Li had no intention of getting involved in any of this. His position as deputy leader was already settled, after all. How could he possibly have the energy to waste on the minutiae of running the camp?
As a transmigrator, Lu Li knew that Feebas was his true golden thigh.
Jun Shutong nodded. This wasn’t the first day she had thought about these matters. She had considered them before, but had been hesitating over where to start.
After hearing Lu Li’s words today, she finally made up her mind.
After saying goodbye to Jun Shutong, Lu Li returned to his room, fed Feebas, and went to bed.
The sixth day after the Pokémon descended.
As soon as he arrived at camp to get his meal, Lu Li received a report from Fatty Lei—more newcomers had joined the camp today.
……………………
Chapter 22: The Collapse of Morality in the Apocalypse
There were three residential complexes around the mall, each separated from it by little more than a road. Besides Xinghai Residential Complex, where Lu Li lived, there were Anke Residential Complex and Golden Residential Complex, where Fatty Lei lived.
The survivors who had joined the camp today were from Anke Residential Complex.
To be honest, Lu Li was rather surprised when he learned where they were from.
Because Anke Residential Complex had an underground tunnel leading directly to the supermarket in the mall’s basement. Under normal circumstances, its residents would use that passage to reach the mall.
But that place had long since been overrun with Rattata. Any ordinary person who entered would have no chance of surviving.
“Take me to meet them. I’m quite interested in how they got here,” Lu Li said.
“No problem. We’ll go after breakfast,” Fatty Lei readily agreed.
With Fatty Lei leading the way, Lu Li soon met the survivors who had just joined the camp.
“This is An Kang. The lady beside him is Liu Li, and these are their daughter, An Xi, and their son, An Ran.” Fatty Lei introduced the members of the An family one by one.
Lu Li raised his eyebrows. He hadn’t expected an entire family to have made the journey together.
Fatty Lei quickly explained, “An Kang actually came to the mall yesterday. He wanted to go to the basement supermarket, but I stopped him. I didn’t expect him to bring his family to join us today.”
“This is Lu Li, our camp’s second-in-command,” Fatty Lei then introduced Lu Li to An Kang.
Hearing this, An Kang hurriedly greeted him. “Greetings, sir.”
“No need to be so formal. Just call me by my name.” Lu Li quickly stopped An Kang, who was about to bow.
“Mr. An, could you tell me how you got here? As far as I know, if you don’t take the underground tunnel, you have to make quite a long detour,” Lu Li asked curiously.
“There’s no reason I can’t tell you, but what I’m about to say may be a little hard to accept. Still, I can guarantee that every word is true,” An Kang assured Lu Li solemnly.
Lu Li nodded, listening attentively.
“We came through the underground tunnel, but we didn’t enter the basement supermarket. Once we got through the tunnel, we went straight up the basement stairs to the first floor.”
“Didn’t you see any rat demon beasts?” Lu Li asked.
“We did.” An Kang nodded, then continued, “Actually, even if you hadn’t come to see me, I would’ve reported this to Sister Jun. Those rat demon beasts aren’t having an easy time right now.”
“Oh? Have they already ravaged all the food in the supermarket?” Lu Li asked in puzzlement.
“No. They’re fighting a group of gray humanoid demon beasts over territory—or rather, over supplies.”
At this point, An Kang could no longer keep a straight face, his expression turning somewhat strange.
Gray humanoid Pokémon?
Lu Li immediately thought of Machoke. After all, An Kang’s description was quite distinctive.
“That doesn’t sound right. Those gray humanoid demon beasts you mentioned should be omnivores. If they ran out of food, wouldn’t you be the first things they targeted?” Lu Li frowned slightly, thoroughly confused.
According to Pokémon setting, Machoke was actually based on a lizardman. If a Pokémon like that appeared in the real world, surely it wouldn’t be like in the anime, a simpleton obsessed with working out.
“No… They do eat people, but they prefer…”
Fatty Lei couldn’t help urging him on. “Prefer what?”
“Protein powder! Those gray humanoid demon beasts invaded the basement supermarket to seize its protein powder. They usually spend their time pumping iron at the gym in our residential complex.”
“Compared to other demon beasts, the gray humanoid ones aren’t actually that dangerous to humans. Unless they’re so hungry that their eyes turn red, they don’t hunt humans.”
Lu Li: “…”
If An Kang had said those Machoke were fighting over any other supplies, Lu Li would certainly have questioned whether Pokémon really prioritized the best return for the effort when hunting. But if it was protein powder, everything made sense.
For workout fanatics like Machoke, protein powder really was more appealing than humans, even more tempting than other Pokémon.
There was nothing strange at all about them going to war with a pack of Rattata over it.
“We followed those gray humanoid demon beasts into the mall. It’s thanks to them that we didn’t run into any danger along the way.” An Kang’s voice carried relief, along with gratitude that even he himself hadn’t noticed.
“That would explain it.” Lu Li then remembered something else: there seemed to be quite a lot of protein powder on the second floor.
Lu Li wondered whether he could try a little protein powder diplomacy with those Machoke, or perhaps offer them some as tribute.
But, fearing the classic “I’ll take the goods, but I’m not paying” scenario, Lu Li ultimately decided to keep that plan deep in his heart.
If those Machoke refused to play by the rules and seized both him and the protein powder, losing his life over it would be far too steep a price.
“But I remember your Anke Residential Complex having several grocery stores. Have those already been picked clean?” Lu Li asked.
An Kang explained bitterly, “That’s because Anke Residential Complex has been taken over by a bunch of thugs.”
“Seriously?”
Hearing that there was another survivor camp, Fatty Lei immediately became interested.
“On the third day after the apocalypse began, Anke Residential Complex’s property management set up a gathering place for survivors. At first, everyone really did come together to support each other.”
“But on the fourth day, Wang Dazhuang, the manager of the property security department, suddenly led a group of men to kill the property manager. Then he and a bunch of thugs just like him took over the Anke survivor camp.”
“Most of the residents in Anke Residential Complex have families to look after. With their loved ones as a weak point, and Wang Dazhuang being so ruthless, hardly anyone dared resist after he killed a few more people to make examples of them.”
“Oh, and Anke’s property manager was actually Wang Dazhuang’s brother-in-law. This guy is simply a heartless beast. Not only did he kill his brother-in-law, he didn’t even spare his own sister.”
“The most disgusting thing is, they wouldn’t even leave the bodies…”
“They’re not eating people, are they?” Fatty Lei stared at An Kang in horror.
An Kang glanced at Fatty Lei as though he were looking at a monster, then hastily explained, “No. Whenever Wang Dazhuang goes out to gather supplies, he uses the corpses as bait to draw the demon beasts’ attention.”
Only then did Fatty Lei breathe a sigh of relief.
“You scared the hell out of me! I thought someone nearby had already crossed that line.” Fatty Lei patted his chest in relief, the cold sweat on his back still lingering.
“Anyway, the Anke survivor camp is an absolute mess,” An Kang continued. “All sorts of awful things go on there. Calling it a collapse of morality would be putting it mildly, so I took my family and hid back in our home.”
“But our food supplies were almost gone, so I risked coming to the mall to try my luck finding supplies. You know what happened after that. Once I met you and heard you say the camp here was decent, I brought my whole family over.”
………………………
Chapter 23: A Utopia Amid the Apocalypse
After listening to An Kang’s account, Fatty Lei sighed. “It’s hard to imagine. The apocalypse started less than five days ago, and some people have already turned into demons.”
Although An Kang hadn’t gone into much detail, Fatty Lei had read plenty of apocalypse novels. His words were enough for Fatty Lei to immediately picture the horrors of that camp.
Lu Li frowned as well. Having a neighbor like that was hardly good news for their survivor camp.
The only good news was that, given the current situation, the Anke camp probably wasn’t their deadliest threat yet.
But then another thought struck him.
Lu Li remembered Jun Shutong, that woman with an overwhelming sense of justice.
If she learned what was happening at the Anke camp, she would surely rush off in the heat of the moment to uphold justice.
Lu Li cautioned Fatty Lei, “Don’t tell Sister Jun about this yet. You know what she’s like. If she finds out about the Anke camp, she’ll definitely take people over there—or even go alone—to rescue those survivors.”
Fatty Lei’s gaze flickered. After briefly weighing things up, he nodded solemnly.
Like Lu Li, he didn’t want this camp to get a new leader.
If something happened to Jun Shutong over there, Lu Li would definitely take her place. The thought of how calculating Lu Li was, and how he kept using him as bait, sent a chill down Fatty Lei’s spine.
Following a leader like that would be far too taxing, so he chose to keep the matter secret.
“You need to keep this to yourselves too. Let’s keep it from her for as long as we can. Sister Jun is too kind. If she finds out what’s happening over in Anke, she’ll definitely intervene,” Fatty Lei warned An Kang’s family.
An Kang quickly nodded and promised, “Don’t worry. We won’t say a word about the Anke camp.”
An Kang had briefly interacted with Jun Shutong and had met her a few times before the apocalypse. He knew her personality well, and he didn’t want her risking her life for the people at the Anke camp either.
Seeing how cooperative he was, Lu Li took a closer look at the man before him.
An Kang wore gold-rimmed glasses and looked refined, but he was also the sort of man who looked slim in clothes while hiding a muscular build underneath.
It was clear that An Kang exercised regularly. Since he also took good care of himself, Lu Li privately guessed that he had been a successful man before the apocalypse.
Unlike the other two residential complexes, Anke Residential Complex included a cluster of villas. In other words, An Kang’s family had likely been wealthy and influential before the apocalypse.
“Mr. An, what did you do before the demon beasts arrived?” Lu Li asked curiously.
“I was just a branch manager at Federal Bank,” An Kang replied modestly.
“Someone with management expertise, then?” Lu Li mused.
“Take him to Sister Jun in a bit. Isn’t she planning to introduce a contribution point system for the camp? Mr. An should have plenty of relevant experience,” Lu Li told Fatty Lei.
Lu Li did appreciate An Kang. The fact that he had brought his entire family here safely in the middle of the apocalypse showed that he had considerable luck.
Most importantly, six days had passed since Pokémon descended upon this world, yet his family was still whole. That would have been impossible without a fair amount of luck.
His ability to use the Machoke to move his family also showed that An Kang was clever. Coupled with the money he had brought, this made Lu Li decide to give him a helping hand.
The camp needed more clever people, especially people like An Kang, who had a family in tow and therefore a weak spot.
Fatty Lei understood immediately. Knowing that Lu Li wanted to give An Kang a leg up, he readily agreed.
An Kang remained composed when he heard this, but a barely perceptible flash of delight crossed his eyes.
Compared to An Kang, who controlled his expressions remarkably well, Liu Li was much more transparent. She immediately guessed that her husband was about to be entrusted with an important role, and an irrepressible smile spread across her face.
“All right, I need to get back to my research. Let’s leave it there for now.” With that, Lu Li turned and left.
After returning to his little residence, Lu Li resumed feeding Feebas.
Although Feebas’s eyes had become much brighter, it still looked rather vacant.
Still, there was progress. Whenever he fed it, Feebas would lift its eyes slightly.
Don’t underestimate that tiny gesture. It was actually quite an improvement. Before, Feebas would only open its mouth once the food reached its lips. Until then, the little fellow showed no reaction whatsoever.
Once he had fed it enough, Lu Li scooped Feebas out of the tank again.
Perhaps he was imagining things, but Lu Li found it much easier to scoop Feebas out this time.
Previously, the little fellow liked to stay at the bottom of the tank, but now Feebas knew to float up on its own.
“Looks like you enjoy this part too. Well, that makes sense. How could you, a Feebas, turn down a chance to become beautiful?” Lu Li murmured softly.
Lu Li deliberately avoided calling it “ugly fish” in front of it. After all, between being a little ugly and a little stupid, Feebas would probably prefer to accept being a little stupid. [TN: There is another word for Feebas in Chinese which can also mean ugly fish. The other means stupid fish.]
As Lu Li groomed Feebas, he continued teaching it the language of this world.
He didn’t know whether it would help, but doing so cost him nothing, so he went ahead without hesitation.
After finishing Feebas’s grooming, Lu Li put it back in the tank.
Glancing at the clock beside the fish tank, he saw that it was only 1:00 p.m. and decided to find Jun Shutong to see whether they could go out searching for supplies together today.
When Lu Li arrived at Jun Shutong’s office, she was discussing the contribution point system with An Kang.
Seeing Lu Li enter, Jun Shutong quickly stood up and greeted him warmly. “Lu Li, come here. Let me introduce you.”
“This is An Kang. Before the demon beasts arrived, he was the Federal Bank branch manager in the new district.”
Looking at Jun Shutong, who was still a little scatterbrained, Lu Li reminded her, “Mr. An and I have already met. Have you forgotten? I’m the one who recommended him.”
“Uh… Right, I remember now. You’ve already met.” Jun Shutong smiled sheepishly.
Lu Li could only shake his head helplessly before asking, “How’s it going? Have you worked out the contribution point system?”
“We have, but we still need to give it a trial run. During that trial, we’ll also need to keep revising any areas that seem likely to cause problems,” An Kang explained in the simplest terms he could.
“Thank you for taking care of this,” Jun Shutong said politely.
“It’s no trouble. I’m very happy to do my part for the camp,” An Kang replied earnestly.
This wasn’t mere politeness. He meant it from the bottom of his heart. With the Anke camp serving as a cautionary example, the camp Jun Shutong had established was better by far.
Although its rules and regulations were still somewhat incomplete, at least everyone here still behaved like a human being. That was something he hadn’t even dared to hope for before.
Jun Shutong in particular was practically a saint descended to earth compared to Wang Dazhuang next door—the very best of good people.
………………………….
Chapter 24: The Rat Disaster About to Erupt
After An Kang left, Jun Shutong asked curiously, “Did you come to see me for something?”
“I just came to ask if you’re going out to search for supplies today, Sister Jun.” The reason Lu Li wanted to bring Jun Shutong along was still because she had the truth of the old era in her hands.
Most importantly, aside from being a bit soft-hearted, this teammate had almost no flaws—she dared to charge at the very front when trouble arose, and even more rare, she was genuinely willing to stay behind to cover his retreat.
“Where do you want to go?” Jun Shutong asked.
“How about taking a look around the third floor?” Lu Li asked.
The basement floor of the mall was a supermarket, the first floor was a food street and various restaurants, the second floor was dedicated to healthcare products and cosmetics, while the third floor was the clothing section.
Hearing that Lu Li wanted to go to the third floor, Jun Shutong thoughtfully sized him up.
“No problem. I just happen to need a change of clothes too.” Jun Shutong nodded.
Ever since water had become scarce, she had stopped bathing and washing her clothes. Besides, as a girl, how could she ever think she had too many clothes?
“Wait here for a moment. I’m going to change.” After saying that, Jun Shutong turned and entered the bedroom.
It was called a bedroom, but in reality, it was just a small converted storage room. Lu Li had been inside before. The space was cramped, with only a simple single bed inside.
Jun Shutong usually stayed in the women’s dormitory area. Only when she was especially busy would she rest in the bedroom behind the office.
Not long afterward, Jun Shutong walked out wearing flats, her hair tied up and looking valiant and heroic.
The two didn’t say much. With tacit understanding, they left the office and headed straight for the third floor through the emergency exit.
“Are there any demon beasts on the third floor?” Lu Li asked curiously.
Jun Shutong shook her head and explained, “Quite a few people have already scavenged the third floor. None of them ran into any demon beasts.”
Hearing that there were no Pokémon on the third floor, Lu Li also breathed a sigh of relief.
He had never dared to gamble his life on luck, because he could not guarantee that every Pokémon he encountered would be the non-aggressive kind.
After reaching the third floor, the two deliberately made a careful circuit around the area.
Once they confirmed there was no danger, they split up.
Jun Shutong went to an undergarments store, while Lu Li entered a men’s clothing shop.
First came underwear.
The underwear he was wearing had already been on him for nearly three days. Now he had two choices in front of him: either wear a brand-new unwashed pair, or keep wearing the old one.
Lu Li decisively chose the new pair. Choosing clothes was even simpler—he picked out things suitable for intense physical activity, and most importantly, ones with plenty of pockets.
After all, in the apocalypse, survival would always come first.
Lu Li specifically picked out seven sets of clothes, then found several loaves of bread in a box near the counter.
They were probably breakfast or dinner prepared by the clothing store’s staff, but now they had conveniently fallen into his hands.
In the early stages of the apocalypse, surviving inside a mall really was enjoyable. Practically every day was a zero-yuan shopping spree.
After changing into the clothes, Lu Li went outside the women’s clothing store to wait for Jun Shutong.
The glass on the third floor was all one-way glass. You couldn’t see inside from outside, and it let in plenty of light, but Jun Shutong had still warned him not to go near the clothing stores along the outer perimeter.
Women always took quite a while to shop for clothes, especially in a relatively safe environment. Even Jun Shutong was no exception to that.
Lu Li helplessly took out his phone and glanced at it. It had almost been an hour, yet that woman was still inside trying on clothes.
Lu Li sat outside, bored out of his mind as he waited.
Just then, a deafening boom erupted.
Boom—
Immediately afterward, a slight tremor passed through the ground, and Lu Li shot up from his chair.
Inside the clothing store, Jun Shutong also hurriedly ran out with the pistol in her hand.
“What happened?” Jun Shutong asked, her face tense.
Lu Li shook his head blankly. “I don’t know.”
“It shouldn’t be an earthquake, right?”
Gradually calming down, Lu Li analyzed, “An earthquake wouldn’t only happen once. This feels more like something slammed into one of the mall’s load-bearing walls.”
At those words, Jun Shutong’s expression instantly darkened.
The two immediately guessed the culprit.
“Those damn rat demon beasts aren’t gnawing on the load-bearing walls, are they?” Jun Shutong gritted her teeth. Never in her life had she hated rats as much as she did today.
Lu Li comforted her, “It might not be that a load-bearing wall collapsed. It could also be that one took a powerful tackle.”
Rattata are Pokémon with habits very similar to rats, and because of their two large front teeth, Rattata are almost constantly looking for things to gnaw on.
More importantly, Rattata are also highly mobile. Almost every day, they are either eating or on the way to find food.
Thinking of this, Lu Li also realized that the mall might not be as safe as he had imagined.
There were at least nearly forty Rattata living in the basement floor of the mall.
That was actually an extremely terrifying number.
After all, Rattata were far stronger in combat than Pokémon like Caterpie. A Rattata that knew Tackle could easily ram an adult to death, while stronger ones might even know moves like Quick Attack and Hyper Fang.
With a slightly grim expression, Lu Li said, “What we need to worry about now is whether what just happened was an accident.”
“If it was an accident, then that’s fine. It means the mall may still be able to hold out for a while. But if those rat demon beasts are deliberately destroying the load-bearing walls…”
“Then what are we supposed to do? It’s not like we can go down there and check what those rat demon beasts are doing.” Jun Shutong also looked frustrated, because all they could do was make blind guesses here, and the more they guessed, the more uneasy they became.
Lu Li patted Jun Shutong on the shoulder and comforted her. “Hopefully it was just a coincidence. If this kind of disturbance happens three more times or more, then we’ll have to consider relocating the camp.”
Jun Shutong, whose expression looked rather unpleasant, nodded, then went back into the store and brought out the clothes she had picked.
“Let’s head back to the camp first. The camp is probably in chaos because of what just happened,” Jun Shutong said.
Just as Jun Shutong had expected, the camp really had descended into chaos because of the earlier tremor. Fortunately, Liu Li stepped forward at the crucial moment and calmed everyone in the camp.
“Liu Li is quite approachable. I heard that before the apocalypse, she owned a dance training studio, and it was even a nationwide chain,” Fatty Lei introduced.
Lu Li narrowed his eyes as he watched Liu Li calm everyone down. He secretly thought that this woman really knew how to conduct herself. The moment Jun Shutong stepped forward, she cooperatively handed the “stage” back to Jun Shutong.
“She’s useful when it counts, and she isn’t greedy for credit or eager to claim it. This woman really is something.” Lu Li praised inwardly.
Seeing Fatty Lei still smugly singing Liu Li’s praises, Lu Li rolled his eyes at him. “Next time something like this happens, you need to step up yourself. After all, that’s your responsibility.”
Fatty Lei awkwardly rubbed his nose. What management experience did he have? Before the apocalypse, the only thing in his life that could be considered “management” experience was looking after his younger siblings at home.
……………………..
Chapter 25: Unscientific Pokémon
Ximei Continent.
Cliff Base No. 2.
A thin-faced doctor with gray curly hair and silver-rimmed glasses stared intently at the Pokémon inside the experimental chamber.
“Begin testing,” the curly-haired doctor ordered in a deep voice.
At the doctor’s command, a soldier in combat gear immediately raised a handgun, the muzzle firmly trained on the Caterpie restrained at the center of the experiment table.
The curly-haired doctor ordered, “Fire.”
Bang, bang, bang…
Seven gunshots rang out in succession. After the smoke cleared, only several faint white marks had appeared on Caterpie’s skin.
Seeing this, the curly-haired doctor expressionlessly recorded the experimental data from just now.
“Small-caliber bullets are unable to inflict effective damage on green caterpillar demon beasts, but judging from the experimental subject’s reaction, small-caliber impacts can still cause the subject pain.”
“Switch to a large-caliber handgun,” the curly-haired doctor continued ordering.
The soldier who received the order put down the Parabellum pistol in his hand and picked up the Magnum revolver beside him.
“Bang!”
The bullet erupted from the muzzle and accurately struck the Caterpie that was constantly struggling and twisting.
After the soldier stopped firing, the curly-haired doctor hurriedly shouted, “Zoom in with the camera and send me the data.”
The assistant beside him rapidly tapped away at the keyboard. In moments, the data from the latest test had been organized and simultaneously transmitted to the curly-haired doctor’s terminal.
“A large-caliber handgun is also unable to inflict effective damage on the experimental subject,” the curly-haired doctor murmured, his face full of shock.
“This isn’t a carbon-based life-form at all… This is a miracle! A miracle of life!”
The curly-haired doctor trembled with excitement and continued urging, “Use a long-range sniper rifle!”
The soldier put down the Magnum, then took the BMG handed to him by the assistant.
“Bang!”
The armor-piercing round practically slammed directly into the Caterpie, whose body was less than thirty centimeters long.
But bizarrely, all that appeared on Caterpie’s body was another white mark, with a faint trace of bruising barely visible underneath it.
“Unbelievable! This green caterpillar demon beast is practically the greatest blasphemy against science itself!”
As a carbon-based organism, and nothing more than a bug at that, it had actually endured the impact of an armor-piercing round head-on.
“No… that’s not right…”
The curly-haired doctor suddenly let out a strange cry, his right hand flipping rapidly through the data on his tablet as though he had been electrocuted.
“Before Base Seven was destroyed, they transmitted a set of data. The green caterpillar demon beasts there could be cut open with diamond surgical scalpels. Why is it that here, these green caterpillar demon beasts can even shrug off armor-piercing rounds?”
“Could it be…?!”
The curly-haired doctor’s eyes widened as he stared fixedly at the Caterpie writhing continuously in pain.
“Quick! Try attacking it with ultra-low temperatures. I think I’ve figured out the secret behind these demon beasts!” the curly-haired doctor urged frantically.
The laboratory continued its experiments.
Over the following period, the captured Caterpie was subjected to almost every form of torment imaginable.
In the end, the curly-haired doctor looked at the dead Caterpie and nodded in satisfaction.
“Record this!”
“Demon beasts are almost completely immune to all modern firearms. No type of bullet can inflict effective damage on them.”
“Green caterpillar demon beasts have extremely weak resistance to flames. Mark that specifically as flames, not simply high temperatures.”
“Therefore, I recommend that soldiers heading outside carry weapons such as flamethrowers whenever possible. And one final point must be emphasized.”
“Due to the limited number of experimental subjects, all of the above conclusions may apply only to green caterpillar demon beasts and cannot necessarily be applied to other demon beasts.”
After finishing, the curly-haired doctor led the assistant responsible for recording the data over to Caterpie’s corpse.
The charred Caterpie lay there quietly. No one in the laboratory thought the sight was cruel.
After all, the base had lost at least four excellent soldiers just to capture this Caterpie, and that did not even include casualties caused by other demon beasts.
“Begin the second set of experiments. If I remember correctly, that should be the second form of the green caterpillar demon beast, right?”
“Yes, Doctor. The base has named that demon beast the green pupa demon beast. It is the second form of the green caterpillar demon beast, similar to how insects in nature enter the pupal stage.”
“Start directly with the long-range anti-materiel rifle. If the previous data is correct, then the green pupa demon beast should also be immune to firearms,” the curly-haired doctor said.
The assistant beside him nodded, and a restrained Metapod was pushed into the laboratory.
The soldiers, already thoroughly familiar with the procedure, began loading ammunition.
As the experiment began, the thunderous roar of gunfire echoed throughout the laboratory.
Bang—
The bullet struck Metapod with perfect accuracy, but Metapod’s shell was so hard, and even possessed a slight degree of elasticity, that the bullet was actually deflected away.
The ricocheting bullet pierced the laboratory’s transparent glass before striking a researcher who had been recording data.
The curly-haired doctor merely glanced at the severely injured researcher before coldly ordering, “Carry him out. Continue collecting data.”
The attacked Metapod began frantically stacking Harden buffs on itself.
One hour later.
Everyone in the laboratory stared at the silent Metapod, their brows tightly furrowed as they fell into prolonged contemplation.
“Record this.”
“Most methods currently known to humanity are incapable of inflicting effective damage on the green pupa demon beast. Gunfire, burning, electric shocks, poison, and other methods are all ineffective against it.”
“Therefore…”
“Finally, based on Dr. Nanbo’s hypothesis, we have reason to suspect that these demon beasts are higher-dimensional life-forms. At humanity’s current scientific level, we are still unable to effectively understand them.”
“That concludes today’s experiments.”
The curly-haired doctor removed his silver-rimmed glasses, his face filled with exhaustion.
“Biology… is dead.”
Leaving behind those despair-filled words, the curly-haired doctor walked out of the laboratory without looking back, his retreating figure radiating indescribable exhaustion.
Similar experiments were being repeated in almost every military base around the world.
Global communications had completely collapsed. Every base had become an isolated island cut off from the rest of the world. Unable to exchange information, scholars could only independently fumble their way toward understanding these demon beasts that had suddenly descended upon the world.
Humanity sought to use intelligence to return to the top of the food chain.
Humanity sought to use science to reclaim everything it had lost.
Meanwhile, outside Cliff Base No. 2.
A strange Pokémon resembling a worn-out rag doll with a zipper sewn across its mouth stared fixedly at the base before it, its eyes gleaming with almost manic greed.
Banette fed on grudges and life energy.
It could clearly sense a massive concentration of resentment and life energy gathered inside.
It was time for another feast.
Banette loved this world. Although this event was unfamiliar to it, resentment could be found everywhere in this world.
Ever since arriving here, its strength had been growing rapidly almost every single day. More importantly, life energy was also extraordinarily easy to obtain in this place.
The life energy of those strange creatures that somewhat resembled fake humans was simply too easy to plunder. All it had to do was take one hard, deep breath, and those fake humans could do nothing but helplessly surrender their life energy.
A strange, eerie blue flame slowly gathered in front of Banette’s chest.
Banette pushed the Will-O-Wisp downward as it slowly descended.
After Will-O-Wisp landed, it instantly expanded, then began continuously devouring everything around it.
Whether it was rock, soil, metal, or even glass, everything constantly melted away under Will-O-Wisp’s burning.
In less than a few minutes, the Will-O-Wisp had enveloped the entirety of Cliff Base No. 2.
Banette floated above the blazing base, wantonly absorbing the life energy and resentment below.
“There’s even resentment produced by Pokémon?” Banette’s eyes suddenly lit up, and it immediately began fiercely inhaling in big mouthfuls again.