After arriving at the location where Yuan Zhe said a Golem might appear, Lu Li didn’t see any sign of it. He even had Beedrill fly into the air to search the surrounding area.
However, there was no Golem nearby. Instead, Beedrill discovered several Pichu.
Six Pichu had claimed an ice cream wholesale store as their territory. They were gathered around a diesel generator, which continuously produced electricity while the Pichu took turns absorbing it.
Seeing this scene, the corners of Lu Li’s mouth curled upward slightly. It had been almost a month since Pokémon descended upon this world, and nearly all of them had found ways to survive.
Beedrill survived by relying on Venusaur, while Pichu obtained electricity from generators.
However, Lu Li was rather curious about how these Pichu had learned to generate electricity using diesel.
At first, Lu Li couldn’t figure it out, but after watching what happened next, he discovered that the situation was far more interesting than he had imagined.
Just as Lu Li was preparing to leave, a boy who looked like he wasn’t even an adult yet approached the store entrance carrying a container filled with an unidentified liquid.
The boy knocked politely on the door: “Electric rats, I’ve come to offer tribute again.”
Upon hearing this, the leader of the Pichu inside the store immediately stopped what it was doing. It then skillfully opened a freezer and took out two frozen fish.
The Pichu leader dragged the two frozen fish, each larger than itself, out of the store and tossed them onto the ground in front of the boy. Then, under the boy’s timid gaze, it hugged the oil container and staggered back into the store.
Only after the sound of footsteps disappeared did the boy nervously pick up the two frozen fish from the ground and leave the ice cream wholesale store without looking back.
“Life really does find a way,” Lu Li remarked sincerely.
Pichu were quite common in the Pokémon world. The main reason they were famous was their evolved form, Pikachu, which was practically the most recognizable and widely known of all Pokémon.
Lu Li emerged from his hiding place and blocked the boy’s path.
Pretending to be curious, Lu Li asked, “Hey, young man, were you just exchanging supplies with a demon beast?”
The boy whose path had been blocked looked at Lu Li with a face full of vigilance.
He took two steps backward to create some distance before asking, “You’re not from around here, are you?”
Lu Li explained, “I’m also from Xinghai Residential Complex, but I used to live in Building A.”
“No wonder.” Realization dawned on the boy, and he explained, “This isn’t exactly a secret among the people in this building. We can exchange gasoline and diesel for daily necessities from those rat demon beasts. And everything they give us is meat.”
“Unfortunately, my luck wasn’t very good today. I only managed to get two frozen fish. Someone even managed to exchange fuel for an entire frozen pork leg before.”
“How did you figure out that you could exchange supplies with demon beasts?” Lu Li asked curiously.
The boy explained, “Uncle He told us. He’s a professor at Juzi University. Apparently, he’s some big shot in the field of behavioral science. Anyway, he’s a very accomplished expert.”
“He summarized some behavioral characteristics of demon beasts and said that as long as we follow certain rules based on those characteristics, we can avoid most dangers.”
‘Oh, crap! Looks like I’ve run into a real expert.’ Lu Li suddenly felt like an impostor meeting the genuine article.
Of course Lu Li knew Professor He. He could be considered one of the Federation’s top professors, with extensive research experience in both human and animal behavior. He could even be described as a grandmaster of these two disciplines.
Lu Li hadn’t expected such an important figure to be living in Xinghai Residential Complex.
“Where is Professor He now? I’d like to pay him a visit,” Lu Li hurriedly asked.
The boy lowered his head and said dejectedly, “Professor He is dead.”
Lu Li: “???”
Such an incredible person was just… gone?
Lu Li stared at the boy in complete bewilderment.
“Do you know how Professor He died?” Lu Li quickly asked.
“Someone saw Professor He enter the sewers one day, and nobody ever saw him come out again.”
Lu Li: “…”
Well, that wasn’t exactly an undeserved death.
Lu Li immediately came to terms with it.
“Oh, right, there’s something I need to tell you.” The boy looked at Lu Li seriously.
“We promised Professor He that we’d spread his research to more people, so you need to listen carefully to what I’m about to say.” The boy spoke with the air of a little adult.
Seeing this, Lu Li nodded with an equally solemn expression.
Satisfied, the boy began sharing the “secret manual.”
“First: Most demon beasts have an extremely strong sense of territory. Survivors will be attacked even if they accidentally wander into their territory.”
“Second: Demon beasts are like animals. There are an enormous number of different species, so don’t treat all demon beasts as though they belong to a single race.”
“Third: Demon beasts possess considerable intelligence. Some demon beasts are no less intelligent than humans, while others have intelligence comparable to dogs.”
“Fourth: When you encounter a demon beast that doesn’t eat meat, once you’ve determined what it needs, you can try offering tribute to earn the opportunity to communicate with it.”
“Fifth: Unless absolutely necessary, it’s best not to come into contact with demon beasts.”
“That’s roughly everything Professor He managed to discover through his research. Make sure you remember it well. This knowledge will be your greatest means of survival in this world,” the boy instructed, deliberately adopting the tone of a seasoned elder.
“All right, I’ve told you everything I needed to. I have to go back and cook for my grandma now.” After saying this, the boy walked past Lu Li and entered the building behind him.
One thing had to be acknowledged: Professor He had indeed discovered a few things through his research, but only a few.
Nevertheless, Lu Li still had to give him credit for his courage. Anyone willing to crawl into the sewers to study demon beasts was certainly a tough character.
“All right, Little Yellow, come out. He’s gone,” Lu Li called toward a large tree not far away.
Hearing this, Beedrill immediately flew out from behind the tree and returned to Lu Li’s side.
“Golem has probably already left. There are only a few Pichu here, so let’s head back too,” Lu Li said.
Meanwhile, after entering the emergency exit, the boy who had just spoken with Lu Li nervously glanced behind him.
Only after confirming that Lu Li hadn’t followed him did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
In fact, there were still some things he hadn’t told Lu Li. For example, Professor He had already discovered ways to coexist with several different species of demon beasts.
For example, the demon beast in Delicious Radish Canteen liked various kinds of gas, such as natural gas and coal gas.
The rat demon beasts liked feeding on electrical energy. Professor He had even taught those rat demon beasts how to use generators, which was why people could exchange diesel for supplies.
Then there were the demon beasts in Sky Garden. Those demon beasts had an extremely strong sense of territory, and ordinary people who entered Sky Garden would be attacked by them.
Furthermore, when encountering bat demon beasts, remaining completely still might allow someone to escape unharmed. Bat demon beasts also preferred to come out at night.
All of this was valuable knowledge that could help them survive in the apocalypse. Naturally, he wasn’t going to hand it over to a stranger for nothing.
After regrouping with the people from the camp, Lu Li began the population relocation.
Since Building A and B of the residential complex had been burned down, and living too close to the road wasn’t particularly safe, everyone ultimately decided to move into Building C.
Lu Li watched over the entire process to prevent any Pokémon from coming over to hunt some “wild game.”
After remaining busy until three in the afternoon, Lu Li finally led Old Xu and the others back to the mall.
There were very few supplies left in this area. If the residents of the residential complex wanted to scavenge for supplies in the future, they would probably have to travel farther away.
But there was nothing they could do about that. After all, people ultimately had to rely on themselves.
After returning home, Lu Li put on a pair of gloves and took out a piece of shell.
The Caretaker Book contained descriptions of the uses of Metapod and Kakuna’s shells.
First, the shells could be ground into powder and mixed with water for Pokémon to drink. The shell could improve the quality of a Pokémon’s keratin and strengthen its bones.
The shells could also be used as fertilizer for Berry trees. In fact, shell powder was one of the main ingredients used to make Rich Mulch.
Lu Li was quite familiar with the name Rich Mulch. In the games, Rich Mulch increased the number of Berries harvested by two. Its effects in reality should be more or less the same.
Lu Li crouched down and carefully examined each piece of shell one by one. After finishing his inspection, he reached a conclusion.
These shells still needed to be dried in the sun. They couldn’t be used directly.
Just then, a sudden knock came from outside the door.
“Who is it?” Lu Li asked without raising his head.
“It’s me,” Jun Shutong answered from outside.
Hearing that it was Jun Shutong, Lu Li went over and opened the door for her.
“Sister Jun, are you here to ask me to attend a meeting?” Lu Li asked.
“No. There’s something I’d like to discuss with you,” Jun Shutong said as she walked into the room.
“Have a seat first.” Lu Li gestured for her to sit down and talk.
Jun Shutong sat down somewhat stiffly, then took a deep breath, as if steeling herself to make an enormous decision.
With an extremely solemn expression, Jun Shutong said, “Lu Li, I want to step down and let you become the leader of Dawn Camp.”
“No.” Lu Li refused immediately without even thinking about it.
Although he sometimes disliked Jun Shutong’s excessive sense of responsibility and her inexplicable sense of justice, there was one thing he couldn’t deny: the overwhelming majority of people in the camp still wanted Jun Shutong to remain their leader.
The reason was simple. Only a small portion of the Scavenging Team had any complaints about Jun Shutong. Besides, he didn’t have that much time or energy to waste on managing the camp.
More importantly, how was his current position any different from that of the camp leader?
Lu Li patiently explained, “Although I’ve tamed demon beasts, I can’t possibly become the Scavenging Team’s babysitter, much less the camp’s security guard. I need to devote all my attention to researching demon beasts.”
“But—”
Jun Shutong grew somewhat anxious. After all, if Lu Li were willing to join the Scavenging Team, its mortality rate would undoubtedly drop significantly.
“This is my bottom line, and one of the few things I ask for.” Lu Li deliberately made his tone a little firmer.
Seeing his reaction, Jun Shutong sighed. She knew Lu Li wasn’t playing hard to get. He genuinely meant what he said.
Realizing that Lu Li truly had no intention of becoming the camp leader, Jun Shutong spoke again: “In that case, I need you to promise me something.”
Lu Li looked at her, indicating that he was listening.
“I need you to support me unwaveringly,” Jun Shutong requested solemnly.
“Don’t worry. There’s no one more suitable to lead Dawn Camp than you,” Lu Li reassured her.
Jun Shutong asked again, “Are you still going to Golden Residential Complex?”
“I’ll go there tomorrow. I want to explore all three nearby residential complexes first. I’ve gained quite a lot over the past two days,” Lu Li said with a smile.
Golden Residential Complex was the largest of the three residential complexes, and its occupancy rate was extremely high. At least twenty thousand people lived there.
Most importantly, it had two food markets and six comprehensive supermarkets. In terms of supplies, Golden Residential Complex undoubtedly had the most abundant resources.
Another important point was that the buildings in Golden Residential Complex were densely packed together, and there was very little greenery within the complex. Under normal circumstances, Pokémon wouldn’t particularly like such an environment.
It was also worth mentioning that very few survivors had come from Golden Residential Complex. Those who had escaped had done so during the first few days of the apocalypse, before they could even get a general understanding of the situation inside.
There was one more thing. Lu Li had decided to explore the aquarium sometime in the next few days.
He knew far too little about the aquarium. That place was like a ticking time bomb. If he didn’t investigate it thoroughly, something disastrous might happen one day while he was sleeping.
Jun Shutong nodded without saying anything.
After all, Dawn Camp wasn’t short on supplies for the short term. At the very least, there was no need to go scavenging for the next three days. Even after those three days, it would be the second camp that faced a shortage of supplies.
Xia’ya Region, Li Family Base No. 5. [TN: I don’t know if author made a mistake here or Xia’ya Region and Xia’ya Continent are different places.]
As the current head of the Li family, Li Hongji was accompanying a researcher on an inspection of the base’s recent research achievements.
“Sir, take a look at this. This is our new type of Poison Powder Bomb. We developed it by collecting the poisonous powder scattered by those demon beasts and combining it with certain chemical agents.”
“According to feedback from the Special Operations Squad, these Poison Powder Bombs can effectively drive away demon beasts. They can even repel or kill relatively weak demon beasts.”
After listening, Li Hongji stroked his chin and nodded in satisfaction. However, his brows soon furrowed slightly as he raised another question: “Since these Poison Powder Bombs are so effective, why don’t we produce more of them?”
A bitter smile appeared on Dr. An’s face as he shook his head and sighed.
“If only it were that easy. We don’t have enough raw materials. The main ingredient for these Poison Powder Bombs comes from butterfly demon beasts, but the bombs themselves are practically ineffective against those butterfly demon beasts.”
“Moreover, it’s very difficult for us to defeat butterfly demon beasts in a direct confrontation with our current weapons. That’s why we generally send suicide squads to secretly collect the powder.”
Li Hongji nodded thoughtfully, withdrew his gaze, and continued walking forward.
“This is a full-body protective suit woven from the silk produced by caterpillar demon beasts. It possesses extremely high defensive capabilities and is now standard equipment for the Special Operations Squad.”
“And then there’s this. This knight’s lance is made from the poisonous stingers of hornet demon beasts. It can effectively penetrate the defenses of demon beasts. Unfortunately, humans don’t have enough strength to wield it effectively, so we generally use heavy crossbows to launch these lances and kill demon beasts.”
“It’s also worth mentioning that this weapon can be reused. According to our research, many organs and materials obtained from demon beasts can be used to fight other demon beasts.”
After listening to Dr. An’s introduction, Li Hongji couldn’t help but remark, “This is what the ancients meant by using barbarians to subdue barbarians.”
“Actually… I have an even grander plan.”
Dr. An’s eyes lit up with a burning glow of excitement, his chest heaving slightly, as he lowered his voice, unable to contain his excitement: “If this plan succeeds, we might become the pioneers of a new era, perhaps even the rulers of the new world!”
You can read ahead upto 20 chapters on my patreon and I’ve also activated (date to date) subscription model on my patreon.