As usual, at lunchtime, Lu Li arrived at Dawn Camp’s cafeteria right on time.
Before he could even step through the doorway, a stunningly beautiful woman stopped him. “Mr. Lu, Officer Jun asked me to take you to the private dining room.”
“Who are you?” Lu Li asked curiously.
She replied respectfully, “Wu Lingge. You can just call me Wu.”
“Wu Lingge?” Lu Li looked thoughtful, quickly recalling the name.
Jun Shutong had previously said she wanted to introduce her female assistant to him, and that person was none other than Wu Lingge.
Under Wu Lingge’s lead, Lu Li arrived at the private dining room.
Food had already been prepared there: steak, red wine, and even a fruit and vegetable salad.
After sitting down, Lu Li looked at the salad and asked curiously, “Where did you find these fruits and vegetables? They look pretty fresh.”
“The vegetables were found in Anke Residential Complex. Someone had been growing vegetables on the rooftop there. There wasn’t much, but there was quite a variety,” Wu Lingge explained from beside him.
“What about the fruit?” Lu Li pulled out the cherry tomatoes and mangoes.
At that moment, Jun Shutong arrived and answered for Wu Lingge. “The cherry tomatoes also came from Anke Residential Complex. As for the mangoes, they have always had a relatively long shelf life.”
Seeing Jun Shutong, Lu Li smiled and teased, “So this is a special meal prepared just for me?”
After sitting down, Jun Shutong smiled and replied, “Sister Yao Xia said your treatment has to be unique. I thought what she said made a lot of sense.”
Yao Xia, who stood behind Jun Shutong, explained, “The purpose is to create an information gap and make the other people in the camp keep their distance from you. Distance creates a sense of awe. Secondly, it establishes from the beginning that there is a distinction between superior and subordinate.”
Lu Li: “???”
Lu Li really wanted to ask whether they were planning to put an imperial robe on him next.
“This can also be considered compensation, after all…”
Although Jun Shutong did not spell it out, Lu Li understood.
She was doing all this to compensate him for giving up the position of camp leader.
“Don’t the people in the Scavenging Team have any objections to you doing this?” Lu Li asked.
Yao Xia explained, “They’re also part of the privileged class. Your rank is just slightly higher than theirs.”
“Fine. Just don’t let this get out of hand.” Lu Li did not object. He genuinely had no interest in dealing with such trivial matters.
As for refusing special treatment?
What a joke!
It wasn’t as though Lu Li was some great saint.
“Oh, right. These are some apocalypse survival notes I compiled. Remember to circulate them among the Scavenging Team.” Lu Li handed Jun Shutong the notes he had organized the night before.
There actually was not much substantive information in them. They mainly recorded ways to respond when one had no choice but to face Pokémon.
They also contained notes on the habits of several common Pokémon, such as the most frequently seen Rattata and Caterpie, along with introductions to Zubat and bird Pokémon.
After taking the notebook and glancing through a few pages, Jun Shutong solemnly put it away.
The contents were packed with practical information. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Scavenging Team’s survival rate while searching for supplies could increase significantly because of this notebook.
Worried that Jun Shutong might not understand his intentions, Lu Li reminded her, “Just circulate the contents within the Scavenging Team.”
After all, there were still competing groups around the mall. If the other camps learned this information, it would effectively be helping the enemy.
At this stage, there was competition between camps as well. Supplies were limited. The more Dawn Camp took, the less the other camps would be able to obtain later.
Jun Shutong nodded.
If she had compiled this information herself, she definitely would have spread it widely. But Lu Li was the one who had put it together, and he had specifically said otherwise, so naturally she would not be generous with someone else’s property.
“After lunch, I’m planning to go take a look at the aquarium,” Lu Li said.
Hearing this, Jun Shutong hurriedly asked, “Do you want me to send someone with you?”
“No need. I’ll be fine on my own. If I really run into danger, it’ll be easier to get away by myself.” Lu Li declined her offer.
With Yao Xia and Wu Lingge attending to him, Lu Li finished the somewhat uncomfortable lunch.
It was not that the food tasted bad. It was just that in all his years, he had never before had anyone wait on him while he ate.
After returning home, Lu Li and his little companions waited for a while to digest their food before heading to the aquarium.
He had placed Little Beauty inside its Poké Ball, while Beedrill followed beside him like a knight, just as before.
The aquarium was as deathly silent as ever. Lu Li took out his flashlight, switched it on, and stepped deeper inside.
The entire aquarium was pitch-black. Looking at the glass display windows on either side, Lu Li couldn’t help swallowing nervously.
Humans have two of the most common fears: fear of the deep sea and fear of darkness.
At this moment, those two fears were tightly intertwined. Even with Beedrill accompanying him, Lu Li still felt the urge to turn around and flee.
His voice trembling, Lu Li instructed, “Little Yellow, keep an eye on our surroundings. Extend your senses to their maximum range, and if there’s any danger, warn me immediately.”
“Beedrill“
Beedrill nodded.
Only then did Lu Li steel himself and walk into the passageway.
The aquarium had long since lost power, and the entire building was engulfed in darkness, including the water inside the display pools.
Lu Li tried shining his flashlight through the display windows, but everything beyond the glass was pitch-black. He couldn’t see anything.
This was a little strange because Pokémon should also be attracted to light in dark environments. At the very least, they should curiously approach when they sensed a light source.
But strangely enough, despite walking for so long, he hadn’t seen a single Pokémon.
“Could they all be hiding deep underwater?” Lu Li wondered.
Lu Li soon noticed something else was wrong. It was far too quiet here, as still as a stagnant pool of water devoid of life.
However, more than one person in the camp had confirmed that when Pokémon descended, a large number of Water-type Pokémon had indeed appeared inside the aquarium.
“Could all those Water-type Pokémon have been eaten by some powerful Pokémon?” Lu Li wondered, letting his imagination run wild again.
There were plenty of carnivorous Water-type Pokémon in the Pokémon world, such as Tentacruel, Seel, Krabby, and even Sharpedo. All of them were aquatic predators.
If an extremely powerful group of Sharpedo had appeared, they really might have devoured all the other Pokémon in the water. After all, Sharpedo were predators that naturally hunted in groups.
Lu Li followed the stairs all the way up to the seventh floor. The aquarium on the seventh floor had an open-air design, and Lu Li felt he might be able to find all the answers here.
Lu Li remembered visiting this aquarium before. If he recalled correctly, a group of seals had originally lived here.
But now, the place was completely empty. The seals had disappeared. To be precise, all the ordinary animals here had vanished.
As for where those missing animals had gone, the answer was so obvious that anyone could guess it.
“Hmm?”
Lu Li stopped, his expression turning somewhat peculiar as he looked at a pink Pokémon dozing not far away. Almost instinctively, his gaze shifted toward its tail. The tip of its pink tail was an even lighter shade of pale pink.
Slowpoke.
This was the first Pokémon he had seen since entering the aquarium.
However, seeing a Pokémon did not resolve Lu Li’s doubts. Instead, it raised even more questions.
Since there were Pokémon here, where had all the others gone?
Lu Li felt it was time to bring in a professional. Back when he didn’t have anyone powerful to rely on, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and investigate things himself.
Now that he had someone powerful to rely on, naturally, he would summon that powerful ally directly.
Upon receiving Lu Li’s summons, Indeedee appeared beside him in a flash. When Indeedee saw the Slowpoke in the distance, it showed no surprise.
Indeedee clearly already knew about Slowpoke’s existence.
Seeing Indeedee, Lu Li hurriedly asked, “Indeedee, do you know where all the Pokémon in the aquarium went?”
“Indee~dee?”
Indeedee’s face was filled with confusion.
Shouldn’t you be asking Slowpoke about something like that? How would I know?
Indeedee shook its head, indicating that it had no idea.
“Then could I trouble you to ask Slowpoke?” Lu Li coaxed.
Pokémon like Slowpoke were practically harmless. Of course, that was assuming one didn’t encounter some unusual individual. Under normal circumstances, ordinary Slowpoke posed little danger.
That was because they were simply too slow-witted. Even if these slow-witted and sluggish Pokémon harbored ill intentions toward humans, by the time they reacted, the humans would have long since escaped.
Indeedee teleported to Slowpoke’s side and gently patted its back.
However, the slow-reacting Slowpoke merely shifted into a more comfortable position and continued dozing.
Seeing this, Indeedee gave Slowpoke’s head another, much harder pat. This time, Slowpoke finally realized that someone had intruded into its territory.
Slowpoke opened its eyes with a bewildered expression and looked at Indeedee inquisitively, as though asking, “What are you doing?”
“Indeedee“
Indeedee called out while gesturing.
Slowpoke stared blankly and fell into deep thought, while Indeedee patiently waited for its response.
Having undergone professional training, Indeedee was already quite familiar with Pokémon like Slowpoke. Moreover, Indeedee were naturally very patient Pokémon.
In that sense, the two were a perfect match. One was slow to react, while the other was willing to wait, so they remained at an impasse.
Two minutes later, Slowpoke finally responded.
“Slowpoke“
“Indeedee“
Indeedee hurriedly responded, and just like that, the two began communicating at a leisurely pace.
Lu Li also noticed Indeedee pointing at him. Slowpoke raised its head to glance at him before the two Pokémon resumed their conversation.
Bored, Lu Li sat down against the glass railing and quietly waited for the two Pokémon to finish communicating.
Half an hour later.
The two finally finished their conversation, and Slowpoke returned to its usual dazed state.
Indeedee also returned to Lu Li’s side.
Without Lu Li even needing to ask, Indeedee took out its drawing board and pen and began drawing a series of pictures.
Twenty minutes later.
“Indeedee“
Indeedee handed the pictures to Lu Li.
The drawings detailed the changes that had occurred among the Pokémon in the aquarium after they descended into this world, as well as the entire sequence of events explaining where those Pokémon had gone.
When Pokémon first descended, those that suddenly appeared inside the aquarium experienced a brief period of panic and confusion before beginning to hunt the aquarium’s ordinary animals on a massive scale to establish their ecological positions.
Later, all the ordinary animals in the aquarium were devoured, and even some ordinary Pokémon were eaten. As a result, the Pokémon inside the aquarium began slaughtering one another.
During those days, the water in the aquarium’s pools was stained red with blood. In the end, it was the strongest Pokémon, Slowpoke, that finally brought the chaos under control.
According to Indeedee, this Slowpoke had a Trainer. Its Trainer had sent it to a Day Care, preparing to find a suitable Shellder so that it could evolve.
However, just as a suitable Shellder was found, Slowpoke was transported to this world.
It was worth mentioning that Slowpoke was extremely powerful. Its Trainer was actually a Gym Leader, and Slowpoke itself was a Gym level Pokémon.
Unwilling to watch Pokémon slaughter one another and fill the entire aquarium with the stench of blood, Slowpoke had chosen to intervene and suppress them.
Now, all the Pokémon had been restrained by Slowpoke’s psychic powers and placed into a special state of hibernation.
According to Slowpoke’s explanation, if these Pokémon did not enter hibernation, they would eventually be eliminated by this world.
Unable to bear such an outcome, Slowpoke had taken responsibility for the lives of every Pokémon in the aquarium.
The reason Slowpoke remained in a half-asleep state was also to minimize its own energy consumption, allowing it to endure the most difficult period.
As a Psychic-type Pokémon, and a Gym level one at that, Slowpoke knew that this world was undergoing earth-shattering changes.
“Can Slowpoke really hold out until the day this world is completely transformed?” Lu Li couldn’t help asking.
Indeedee spread its little hands, indicating that it didn’t know either.
Under normal circumstances, even if the Berry trees grew and their fruits ripened a year later, Berry resources would still be extremely scarce at that time.
By then, competition between Pokémon would only become more intense. Right now, there was nothing worth fighting over, so all the Pokémon were busy claiming territories and trying to survive this period.
Once the Berries ripened a year later, there would finally be resources worth fighting over. For the sake of survival, the situation would only become even more chaotic than it was now.
“So… it’s just delaying the inevitable,” Lu Li sighed softly.
Even a Pokémon as powerful as Slowpoke could only do what the other Pokémon were doing: postpone the problem until later.
Indeedee gently patted Lu Li’s shoulder to comfort him.
In a world like this, life was difficult for both Pokémon and humans.
In the current version of the world, the only real answer was Ghost-type Pokémon. Even Pokémon like them, which fed on emotions, could only be said to be barely keeping up with the current version.
After confirming that the aquarium posed no danger, Lu Li was satisfied.
No wonder the Pokémon inside the aquarium had never come out to cause trouble. It turned out they had all been suppressed by Slowpoke.
Come to think of it, Slowpoke had indirectly done the camp a favor.
After saying goodbye to Indeedee, Lu Li left the aquarium.
Once outside, Lu Li immediately contacted Jun Shutong through his walkie-talkie.
“Sister Jun, there won’t be any danger coming from the aquarium, so you can tell everyone to rest assured. However, this place should still be designated as a restricted area. If people don’t need to approach it, they should stay away.”
The reason Lu Li didn’t want anyone approaching the aquarium was that he was afraid they might disturb Slowpoke.
If they angered a Gym level Psychic-type Pokémon, not only Dawn Camp but every living creature in the surrounding area would suffer a calamity.
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