stonecrandall Page 69
Page 69
"From today onwards, you will be called 'Zhixing'."
Lin Che lowered his head, gazing into the pair of pure golden eyes in his arms, and spoke clearly, word by word.
"I hope you can become the brightest star in my team, the wisest star that guides us to victory."
Nightfall completely swallowed up the daylight on Crimson Lotus Island.
The island, formed of volcanic rock, releases its accumulated chill mercilessly after the sun is cut off. The biting night wind, carrying the scent of sulfur and ash, lashes against the lonely tent again and again.
The zipper was completely sealed.
Inside the tent, a camping lamp cast an orange glow, warming the small space.
Lin Che opened the Poké Balls one by one.
Dinner and nursing care are daily routines that are never missed.
The satisfied purring of the Arcanine as it ate, the elegant swallowing of the Energy Cube by Hakron, and the Warrior Eagle carefully preening its feathers with its sharp beak.
They create a lively yet heartwarming scene.
The only new member is an absolutely static, oddly colored dot on this canvas.
Zhixing.
This gleaming, otherworldly metallic life form seemed completely out of place with everything else in the tent.
It doesn't need food, nor does it make any sound.
It hovered silently in one corner of the tent, its cold metal shell reflecting the light of the camping lamps, yet devoid of any warmth. Those huge, pure golden eyes pierced through the thin canvas roof, as if gazing at the vast starry sea obscured by urban light pollution, yet already imprinted in the deepest recesses of its soul.
Its very existence is a silent declaration.
It declares that it does not belong here.
The Pokémon gradually drifted off to sleep, while Arcanine's massive body curled up, its breathing steady and powerful.
Inside the tent, only the dim light of the camping lamp remained, along with Zhixing's golden eyes that never closed.
Lin Che sat cross-legged, gazing at his silent companion.
He didn't wait any longer.
He decided to take the initiative to knock on that tightly closed door to his heart.
An invisible spiritual force emanated from between Lin Che's eyebrows, transforming into a probe even finer than a spider's silk, which cautiously probed towards the metal core suspended in the air.
This is a highly mentally demanding and meticulous operation.
His mental energy must be gentle enough so that it won't be rejected by the other party's instinctive defenses.
When the spiritual probe finally touched the pure spiritual core of Zhixing, Lin Che's body trembled almost imperceptibly.
There were no words as expected.
There was no clear emotional feedback either.
His mind was completely overwhelmed by the indescribable grandeur that surged into his mind in an instant.
They were vast, magnificent, yet utterly cold star maps of the universe.
A massive spiral galaxy slowly rotates in his "field of vision," the light of billions of stars converging into a dazzling Milky Way, serene yet breathtakingly magnificent.
He saw a vibrant, multicolored nebula, the cradle and graveyard of stars. Vast amounts of gas and dust, under the influence of gravity, coalesced into magnificent yet deadly traps, flowing with the light of death and rebirth.
Immediately afterwards, the camera zoomed in.
A planet, a home planet shrouded in a soft silver glow, occupied all of his senses.
He "heard" that on that planet, the spirits of countless like-minded people resonated, converging into a harmonious and warm ocean.
That's...home.
Just as he was immersed in this sense of belonging, the image shattered.
An indescribable loneliness, originating from the deepest part of his soul, transformed into an endless, icy tide that brutally overwhelmed all his mental defenses.
That wasn't sadness, nor was it grief.
It was a sense of alienation, a feeling of being completely out of place with the whole world, the whole planet, and the whole galaxy.
It is a coordinate origin lost in a strange universe, a silent cry to a homeland too distant to reach.
Extreme loneliness.
A loneliness strong enough to freeze the soul.
Lin Che's face instantly turned pale. He abruptly severed the mental link, his chest heaving violently.
That chilling sense of loneliness still lingered in his mind like a persistent, insidious wound.
He finally understood.
He looked at the little guy who was still floating motionless in the corner.
At this moment, what he saw was no longer a powerful, rare elf cub.
Instead, it was a lost child who couldn't find his way home.
Any words of comfort seem utterly pale and laughable in the face of such longing, which spans billions of light-years.
Lin Che did not speak.
He simply stood up silently, walked to the side of the Growlithe, and gently patted its warm, thick back.
"Woo?"
Arcanine awoke from its slumber and looked at its trainer with a puzzled expression.
Lin Che didn't speak, but gestured with his eyes for it to look at Zhixing in the corner.
This loyal and intelligent companion instantly understood its master's intention.
It stood up, its massive body radiating a warm glow, and walked to Zhixing's side, then lay down docilely. Adjusting its position, it carefully wrapped Zhixing's cold, petite body in its embrace with its fur, warm as if burning with fire.
Immediately afterwards, Lin Che looked at Hakron on the other side.
The elegant and gentle dragon-type Pokémon also silently swam over.
It stretched out its long neck, its azure eyes filled with pure kindness. It gently rubbed its smooth, cool cheek against Zhixing's disproportionately large head.
The warmth of the flames.
The gentle flow of water.
Life forms from different planets, different races, and even different elemental attributes, at this moment, convey a pure and unadulterated kindness and companionship in the most primal and pure way.
Zhixing, who had remained silent as if unresponsive to the outside world, finally made a move.
Something seemed to melt in its golden eyes, which reflected the entire universe.
A sliver of light flickered within.
For the first time, it voluntarily released a tiny bit of its telekinetic energy.
That force coalesced in the air into an invisible hand, carrying a hint of nascent curiosity and an indescribable gratitude.
Gently.
Gently.
He touched Lin Che's cheek.
Chapter 68 The Abandoned Laboratory, the Remnants of Mewtwo! Psychic Storm, the First Cry of Celestial!
Zhixing's emotions have completely stabilized.
This new companion from outer space is quietly floating in Lin Che's dormitory, using its pure spiritual power to carefully touch every item in the room, sensing this completely unfamiliar world.
Lin Che's attention had already shifted from his new companion to the city shrouded in night outside the window.
His gaze pierced through the dazzling lights, finally locking onto a distant direction.
Red Lotus Island.
There lies his ultimate goal for this trip.
……
The next day, early in the morning.
The pungent smell of volcanic ash and the strong odor of sulfur replaced the fresh air of Shanghai, filling our nostrils.
Lin Che stood at the foot of a massive dormant volcano, beneath his feet solidified black lava, its surface displaying ugly wrinkles. A persistent, oppressive heat permeated the air, as if the very bones of the island still retained the lingering warmth of its past eruptions.
This is our destination.
That forbidden place, completely buried by history and volcanic ash.
The secret laboratory where the "Mewtwo" cloning project was once carried out.
On the massive mountain, a bottomless opening is nearly half blocked by semi-solidified lava and thick volcanic ash. It lies silently open, like a long-dead scar leading to hell.
Lin Che did not go in immediately.
He circled the entrance and began a thorough search of the surrounding area.
His Pokémon remained highly vigilant, scattered all around. Arcanine's nose constantly sniffed the air, while Brave Eagle circled low, its sharp eyes scanning for any potential threat.
Soon, Lin Che discovered something on the edge of a ruin that had been washed away by lava flow.
Those were remnants of paper, half-carbonized by the high temperature, so fragile that they seemed to crumble at the slightest touch.
He crouched down, picked up a piece with tweezers very gently, and blew away the ash.
Lines of characters, blurred and indistinct from being burned, came into view.
[...The genetic sequence of the experimental subject 'Mewtwo' is 99.9% similar to that of 'Mew'...but its mental fluctuations...are full of aggression...]
[...It awoke in the incubation tank. It made no sound, but through its mental power, it posed a question to us...'Who am I?'...]
[…Project leader Dr. Fuji tried to calm it down, but failed. Its anger was spiraling out of control…Energy levels…were breaking through critical limits…]
No...this is not creation...this is...
On the last fragment of the logbook, only a single word remained, forcefully etched in desperate handwriting.