"Tick tock."
The cold water mist condensed into droplets on the tips of the stalactites, and the sound of falling echoed in the cave, and was submerged in the rustling footsteps. There was the faint sound of bats flapping their wings overhead, and countless lines of sight were hidden in the shadows, peering at the uninvited guests visiting this huge underground kingdom.
For humans, underground caves are too dark. The glimmer of light released by the electric mouse will illuminate the feet. In the distance, there is still endless pitch black, carrying excessive moisture and cold, rushing towards the trainers in waves, making it almost difficult to breathe.
Most of Carl and Clive's Pokémon are huge and have no use in the narrow underground - the only dexterous Snow Witch was also seriously injured in the explosion and is now as comatose as the Dharma Baboon. And Xiaoye spent a long time selecting among her Poké Balls before she picked out one that was not big, not afraid of the cold, and could bite three heads one after another as soon as it came out, causing the owner's reputation of the Himi family to drop instantly. Reliable player.
At this moment, Riolu was walking at the front of the team, advancing cautiously step by step.
Even without relying on the power of waveguides, its naturally superior night vision is enough to allow it to move freely in underground caves. The energetic little dog waved his fists and knocked away a few ultrasonic bats that were grinding their teeth to suck blood. He kicked off the stalactite pillars that were almost touching his face with three kicks, and hastily opened a path that even a clumsy human could barely pass through. road. After doing all this, Riolu nodded with satisfaction and reserve, turned around——
...where are the people? !
Three minutes later——
"Clive." Karl said with a look of pity on his face, "I have already suggested that you lose weight, at least not to eat more than three bowls of rice per meal -"
"I'm born with this!" Clive roared angrily and punched his thick chest twice, even the southern country cursed him with anger.
"Hey, how can you say such rude words in front of guests. We must pay attention to maintaining the image of our family."
"Come on, ever since this competition started, the Himi family has lost its image!"
Seeing the loud noises of these two people, the Pichu ears on Karl's shoulders drooped and the hair stood on end. There was a 100% chance that an angry electric shock would come in five seconds. Xiaoye quickly stuffed a large ball of something in her hand and successfully stopped it. The duo continue to make noise.
Karl looked at the climbing safety rope that was forced into his hand and was stunned for a moment.
"you mean……"
Xiaoye had already knotted the end in her hand and tied it around her waist, "I think it will be safer this way."
The interior of the underground cave is undulating, and steep slopes and cliffs can be seen everywhere. Moisture and the erosion of underground river water have made the rocks fragile. A place where a small Pokémon like Riolu can pass safely may not be able to bear the weight of a human being. Just now, the rocks under Clive's feet were completely unbearable. The ground suddenly collapsed, and the whole person almost fell down. Fortunately, Ice Eevee who was following Carl reacted quickly, and a ray of ice froze Clive's trousers to the edge of the cliff, thus saving the day.
Although the cliff is not high, you can see the surging underground river below. If they fall into the freezing water, even the esper of the Himi family will be in danger of hypothermia.
Clive held the rope handed over by Xiaoye, his face darkened visibly.
"Beidou, what do you mean? Look down on people?"
Of course he understands the meaning of this flame of honor - to tie everyone together with a rope. Even if someone slips, there will be teammates as anchors to support them and prevent them from falling off the cliff. Clive knows that compared to freelance trainers who travel all year round and are good at climbing mountains and ridges, he may only be considered a burden, but this does not mean that he can drag his teammates back with peace of mind.
This Himi boy who needs to lose weight is nearly 1.8 meters tall, with strong muscles and a ferocious expression that can scare a timid ten-year-old child to tears. Seeing that he was glaring angrily and about to shout in the next second, "If I want to fall, I must fall by myself so as not to harm others." Xiaoye raised her head and opened her purple eyes behind the mask.
"What if I accidentally fall and happen to be far away from you, wouldn't you be willing to save me?"
Clive: "..."
The unhappy classmate's face turned blue and red from the suffocation, and finally he gritted his teeth and went to tie the rope without saying a word.
Finally, Xiao Ye was relieved to finally get rid of this stubborn player. When she turned around, she saw that the other player was unusually motionless, just looking at the rope in a daze, with a faint look of worry on his face.
"Mr. Karl?" Xiaoye said tentatively.
She stared at the boy closely, wondering if he had to dress pitifully twice. Fortunately, Karl was obviously more reasonable than his little friend, and he smiled apologetically before taking action.
The two teenagers of the Himi family are academic trainers who are both active in the arena. They have not climbed mountains and drilled holes for many years, and they have forgotten everything about how to tie safety ropes. Even Riolu, who was on guard, couldn't help it. He danced his little paws and started pointing out where Carl should tie the knot.
Carl smiled and wanted to reach out and touch the puppy's head - but was slapped away and had to change his hands to give him a fist bump to express his gratitude. During the busy period, he looked up at Beidou who was helping Clive check the safety rope.
Whether in competitions or now, the young trainer has always been taciturn and calm. His words are short and cold, whether he is talking to friends he has been with for many days, or in the current crisis-ridden situation. All the subtle expressions were covered up by the bird-shaped mask. Compared with the noisy Nanguo siblings, they almost looked like well-trained soldiers who were tense at all times.
——But he has also seen Beidou's true appearance.
About half a month ago, he received a video from a friend in the Flame Valley. It was a video taken on the day of the Fire Worship Festival - the photographer was obviously not very good at shooting. The camera was so shaking that it was dizzying. It was almost impossible to tell which one was the flame bird, which one was the flame chicken, and which one was wearing strange costumes with feathers. of human beings.
For about ten seconds, the camera focused on the foreign traveler with unusual hair color.
She did not tie her hair back meticulously, nor did she deliberately lower her voice to disguise herself; the purple-haired young man in the picture let his fluffy short hair fall naturally, and the hair rope that represented the identity of the Honorable Fire People was tied crookedly to one side. , the sitting posture is also relaxed. Even when she was rudely slapped in the face with her mobile phone, she just smiled good-naturedly and invited the photographer to come and eat the freshly baked pastries.
"No, no, it's not time to sit down yet - this is the first time I have participated in a real Fire Worship Festival since I was born!" The brown-haired boy in charge of photography said happily, "I plan to let Yang Yu and the others do it later. Let’s dance again, I was so excited that I didn’t even record it.”
"Yes, but I still want to remind you that Niwa-sama has been staring at you for a minute. If you don't eat well, you may get pecked."
"Huh? Then I have to run away quickly."
The boy holding the cell phone quickly ran away. The chatter and laughter of locals and strangers melted into the flickering firelight, turning into warm and bright colors in the rough video.
If it weren't for the unique flame bird feathers that proved her identity, no one would associate the soft-smiling girl in the video with the cold and powerful "Trainer Beidou" in the snowstorm battle.
Clive had already fastened the safety rope and was walking slowly behind Riolu, seeming to be mumbling his dissatisfaction. Karl patted his friend's shoulder and smiled: "Okay. It's a miracle that we didn't get hurt even after falling from such a high place. Instead of complaining, it's better to thank the good luck, right?"
It's not good luck.
Even though he didn’t have much travel experience, Carl knew that after enduring the impact of a big explosion and falling from a height without any precautions, even with the desperate protection of Pokémon, he would never be able to sustain even a single injury. nothing. It was the traveler who had saved the Valley of Flames who saved them in the same way, taking advantage of the fallen person's brief loss of consciousness to move the timeline to a time when the wound had not appeared.
——And Karl also knows clearly that the Heart of the Moon, which saves living beings, does not protect the user. Even if Beidou is very skilled, can it really survive an explosion and free fall without warning?
"Boom!!"
The huge sound echoed in the underground cave, almost creating a shock wave effect. Karl, who was distracted, was shocked to the point that his mind went blank, and all the worries about his teammates' possible injuries were washed out into garbled words.
He quickly looked forward with dazzling eyes - and saw a gray stone Pokémon bumping around, almost turning into a big spinning top. However, although Riolu was short in stature, he was stronger and soon pinned it to the rock wall unable to move.
Beidou calmly threw another Poké Ball. The dark purple ghost appeared with a smile, and skillfully used its mental power to lift the whole Chaobei Nose, leaving it with nowhere to use its strength. The guy who was lifted suddenly cursed in anger, and the entire hole was filled with Pokémon swear words.
Karl: "..."
Karl: "?"
Clive noticed his friend's confusion and pursed his lips impatiently, "The compass just broke. This guy said he has a Pokémon that can judge the direction."
God knows why, as soon as he finished speaking, the group of Pokémon started fighting among themselves, shocking Clive so much that he almost slipped and fell again.
Seeing that the eyes of her two friends were getting more and more confused, as if she was going to be taken away as a prisoner for abusing Pokémon at the next moment, Xiaoye quickly opened her mouth to explain the whole story.
She didn't own Chaibeibi, Xiaoye was just entrusted by someone to take it out to relax - after learning the inside story, the two of them showed a clear look.
This type of business is quite common among student parties or office workers. Carl immediately understood the reason for North Nose's irritability. Relying on the fact that the rock Pokémon was imprisoned and unable to move, he reached out and touched its hard body.
"Okay, okay, don't be so angry." The young trainer who has plenty of experience in dealing with spiky Pokémon said with a smile, "Your master must be missing you too - he will be very happy to see you in such high spirits. happy."
Nose facing the north: "..."
Night:"……"
Seeing Karl trying to comfort Xiang Beibi with words and body movements... and then poking his hand into Xiang Beibi's nostril because the light was too dim, Xiaoye silently raised her hands to block her ears.
Nose facing the north: "..."
Nose facing the north: "Ouch!"
After all the fuss, the tired Xiang Beibi finally calmed down. Xiaoye wiped her sweat and pointed in the direction where her nose was facing north.
"This is south." She said confidently.
Carl and Clive, who were frightened, looked at each other silently, unable to raise any strength to question.
The three of them groped little by little in the darkness, heading toward the southwest where Karl called the "skylight"—the exit of the underground cave.
The underground cave is cold and damp, and the road underfoot is rugged and often slippery. Traveling on it is even more physically demanding than an ordinary mountain road. The darkness shrouding the surroundings caused invisible psychological pressure, and the steps became heavier and heavier.
Xiao Ye observed the physical and mental state of her two teammates, and was thinking about when to ask for a break. Riolu and Karl, who were walking at the front of the team, stopped.
In front of them, the water of the underground river rolled past, blocking the road.
"——So, this is the only road nearby, right?"
Hokuto and his Riolu nodded in the same gesture.
They used the power of waveguides to explore the entire area - it turned out that unless they changed direction and took a detour, crossing the river was the only option.
Rafting in underground rivers in underground caves is extremely dangerous. Countless explorers are swallowed up by underground rivers and deep pools every year. Even primary school textbooks say "Never set foot in unexplored underground rivers in caves." And Xiaoye knew that there was no other way to go now that time was urgent, so she did not show any worry, and still said calmly: "Why don't we rest here for a while and discuss the method of crossing the river?"
The boys of the Himi family nodded and found a dry place to sit down.
While packing her backpack, Xiaoye heard Karl cough twice. She didn't pay attention to this movement, but Clive suddenly became nervous, stood up like a carp, and rushed to Karl.
"are you OK?"
Xiaoye was startled by his surprise, and thought that Carl was injured while on the way, so she quickly looked over - the young man who suddenly became the focus of her attention also had a confused expression, looking at his companion with question marks on his face.
Clive seemed a little embarrassed by being stared at, and he yelled angrily, "Watch the time! It must have been more than three hours since you came down!"
"Ah, that's right." Karl smiled and began to rummage in his backpack.
This erratic conversation made Xiaoye confused. Until Karl took out a pill bottle from his bag and swallowed a few pills, Xiaoye jumped up as nervously as Clive.
But this time, before Xiaoye could make a surprising inquiry, Karl looked over with a smile, "Beidou, do you like the peach flavor?"
Xiaoye: "...Huh?"
She couldn't tell for a moment whether it was because the Himi family was incommunicado or because there was something wrong with her ears. She answered hesitantly, "Do you think you like...?"
Karl nodded and shook the medicine bottle in his hand at her, "Want to take it?"
Night:"???"
Seeing that the confused contestant didn't say anything for a long time, Karl simply stretched out the medicine bottle, poured two pills into Xiao Ye's palm, and explained leisurely in the other's eyes full of question marks: "Vitamin B family. I also have grape-flavored ones, let me know if you want to eat them.”
Night:"……"
She silently threw the pills in her hand into her mouth, feeling the sweet fruity taste melting in her mouth, and her brain was completely turned into a paste.
Xiao Ye originally thought that Carl was injured or sick, but she never expected that Clive would make a fuss and be nervous for a long time, but what the person involved took out was vitamin jelly beans that children often eat.
...No, that's not right.
The resting place they found was quite spacious. In order to keep warm, Xiaoye released a fire-breathing dragon. The flame at the tip of the Fire Pokémon's tail was far brighter than Pichu's deliberately controlled flash - so she sat in a corner to prevent the dried blood on her pants from being noticed.
In the orange light and shadow, Xiaoye saw fine beads of sweat on the young man's forehead, and his ice-colored hair was almost completely wet with sweat. Even though he was telling jokes to Clive in high spirits, with no trace of fatigue on his face, Xiaoye still vaguely felt that his physical exertion was much greater than that of herself or Clive.
Is it because he is always at the front of the line? still……
In order to save energy, Clive sent the white sea lion to take Riolu to explore the road first. They soon brought back good news - you could see a narrow cave by swimming a short distance forward, and you could get back to the land through the cave.
Karl nodded, stood up and said, "Thank you for your hard work. Then let's set off, too? Let me go first..."
"Mr. Karl." Xiaoye said in a cold Beidou tone, "Let me take the lead this time. It will be safer to have waveguide detection."
The ice-haired boy was stunned.
The two looked at each other for a moment, and Clive beside him couldn't help but rub his eyes - why did he seem to see the same expression on the faces of these two people as when his mother told him to wear more clothes when he had a cold?
"Thank you, but just leave it to me. There may be wild Pokémon in this water area, and I need to protect our mounts."
"I may be far inferior to you in terms of Pokémon battle strength, but I also have Pokémon that are good at water battles and can ensure everyone's safety. If you are willing to trust me..."
"I understand how you feel, but..."
"I'll do it..."
"No, I'll do it..."
"boom!"
Just as the two of them were arguing over each other, a loud noise interrupted their conversation.
Clive stood by the river and patted his ice rock monster with an indifferent expression. The Iceberg Pokémon exhaled a stream of cold air from its nostrils, and its yellow eyes looked at the people making the noise with a sinister look.
"I'll take the lead. Any comments?"
Night:"……"
Karl: "..."
"No no."
"I dare not have it."
Xiao Ye and Karl who kept quiet followed obediently behind Clive, and both walked up the smooth back of the ice rock monster.
Ice rock monsters live in the cold ocean and often drift in the sea carrying young ice babies on their backs. For it, swimming with people is an innate ability, and there is almost no need to worry about accidents such as the Pokémon throwing away the trainer on its back in a moment of excitement.
The underground river in front of him was wider than imagined, fully able to accommodate the huge ice rock monster swimming freely. Clive stood at the front, always alert to the wild Pokémon coming from the bottom of the water; Xiaoye at the back spread out a network of waveguides, covering the rivers and caves meticulously inch by inch.
Everyone was extremely alert, even the occasional conversations were kept to a minimum, for fear of missing the movement around them - water battles are far more dangerous than land battles, and avoiding conflicts is now the first choice.
However, their journey went much smoother than they imagined. Apart from the annoying stalactite pillars hanging from the dome, they didn't encounter a single wild Pokémon, and there wasn't even any sign of the fish that Riolu and the White Sea Lion had seen.
After an unknown amount of time, the ice rock monster slowly stopped at the end of the deep pool.
The three of them looked at the flawless rock wall in front of them, looked at each other in confusion, and then looked at the white sea lion following them - and it and Riolu above it looked even more confused, trying desperately to compete with the trainer. Make gestures.
"You mean, there used to be a road here, but it's gone now?" Clive asked with a frown.
The two Pokémon nodded repeatedly, causing the trainers to raise questions.
Xiao Ye tentatively expanded the detection range of the waveguide. When the invisible fluctuations penetrated deeper into the water little by little and explored every inch of the rock wall under the water - as well as the appearance of the submerged narrow cave, her expression suddenly changed.
"Oops, the water is rising!"
====================
At noon, the main entrance of Fengxue Villa.
The magicians in black robes and the adventurers in white robes lined up on both sides of the stone pillar, glaring at each other, and they were so angry that they almost overturned the door. The air was filled with the smell of explosive gunpowder. Some magicians even tightened their grip on their staffs, and the cold air began to linger around the spar.
There were trainers huddled in the crowd in the distance, shivering and whispering to their companions.
"Oh my god, how did this happen?"
"God knows, I didn't understand why they were fighting in the first place. Why did they offend so many NPCs?"
"Are you trying to copy someone?"
"I just want to know if after they finish this, the reputation of all our adventurers will be reduced to negative..."
"I can't stand it anymore. I'll die and I'll understand! Is there any kind person watching the live broadcast who can go down the mountain and yell and tell me what happened!"
The contestants who were innocently affected were filled with grief, anger and confusion, and roared at the drone. The audience behind the camera was silent for a moment, and made ellipses in the barrage to express their feelings.
Compared with the onlookers present, the audience in the live broadcast room may be three or four times more confused.
They watched helplessly as the Terashima siblings left Snow City angrily, approached the contestants of Snow Wind Villa and asked to form a team, and then quietly hid in a room without cameras to discuss for a long time.
——When this group of people came out of the room and began to provoke everyone everywhere, if the audience's question marks could be turned into reality, I am afraid they would have circled the earth eight times.
[Thanks for the invitation, I also want to know what happened]
[I just finished the live broadcast of the leading pair of siblings. Can anyone tell me what the connection is between helping Xuecheng and irritating the entire Snow Wind Villa...]
[It seems like I missed hundreds of episodes]
[And what’s going on with Beidou? I’m going to call the police if it doesn’t start broadcasting]
At this moment, the Terashima siblings were standing at the front of the queue of adventurers, facing off against the angry magicians of the Himi family.
Lijiu and Long Xing followed the principle that no matter what they lost, they could not lose their momentum. They glared fiercely, but in fact they were sweating profusely.
...Didn’t the boss say he would definitely come by noon at the latest?
If he doesn't come...
How should this situation end now? ?
====================
small theater:
Xiaoye: (In a trance) Is the land of the Orange Islands poisonous? Even the Himi family members have been poisoned and turned into cross talk actors... No, I can't stay here for a long time, my personality will definitely be polluted.
System prompt: Warm reminder, so far the player has obtained several comedy achievements, with a cumulative comic value of 400 points, and has an extremely outstanding talent as a comedian.
Xiaoye: Uh, why did you mention this suddenly?
System prompt: It means that you are not much better to begin with.
Night:……
====================
At the beginning of March... I kneel down to give you a two-in-one chapter for January and February. (kowtow)
The next chapter will be released in early March!
