Chapter 114

--President Chairman Rose

"You're awake?"

"Here it is..."

Qiao Ran struggled to get up. Everything that had just happened felt like an incredibly real dream, and where he was now should be the real reality.

However, when he finally saw the scene around him clearly, his heart skipped a beat.

Broken walls and ruins; everything around was broken walls and ruins.

Even amidst the ruins, Qiao Ran recognized it immediately. This was undoubtedly the energy factory where he had previously worked. How could Qiao Ran forget the massive energy storage devices and the intricate transportation routes?

"This... this is impossible... what on earth happened here?!"

A shadow instantly fell over Qiao Ran's eyes, his heart filled with immense shock and terror.

As his consciousness sank into another realm, what exactly happened here...?

An attack? An explosion? Or something far worse?!

"Where are the others? Are there any other people?"

Qiao Ran looked at Chairman Rose in front of him. This man was the only living being he could see who was still able to move. However, even this president looked somewhat disheveled.

"Feel sorry..."

A look of sadness and distress crossed Rose's face.

"It all... happened so fast, they all..."

"...!"

They all?

Upon hearing Rose's words, Qiao Ran gasped and collapsed to the ground.

This shocking answer left him speechless for a long time.

This... this can't be real, right?!

Sylveon

Section 219, page 216 [Ruins: Remains]

To be honest, Qiao Ran's mind was still foggy, not only because of the shocking facts suddenly revealed by Chairman Rose, but also because of everything he had seen in the illusion—in such a short time, he had passively absorbed a large amount of information. If it were an ordinary person, they would have collapsed on the spot.

However, even someone as experienced as Qiao Ran was momentarily bewildered—what happened here? Who am I? Where am I?

Even so, he did not stop thinking, and after observing the surrounding environment many times, he further confirmed his initial idea.

That's right—this is the Underground Factory, the place he came from before.

This memory was only a few tens of minutes apart, Qiao Ran couldn't possibly be mistaken, even though the place had undergone earth-shattering changes, and the once orderly Underground Factory had been reduced to ruins.

Qiao Ran couldn't possibly be mistaken about these things.

Everything was just as he remembered, especially the time Sonia had taken him on a tour of the factory and given him a detailed explanation, which reinforced that memory.

"After you started the experiment, a major problem arose here—our device and your energy..."

Chairman Rose began to speak to Qiao Ran with great sorrow. His voice was sincere and earnest, and based on what Qiao Ran had observed, he did not sense that Loz was lying.

"What about the others? The others really..."

However, Qiao Ran still had a glimmer of hope, so she asked Rose directly.

"I'm sorry... because they were too close to you, there was nothing I could do... I only escaped because I was farther away."

Recalling the situation back then, Rose was indeed standing the furthest away from Qiao Ran, while Bea and Sonia were...

"They were caught in the energy vortex, and I haven't been able to find any trace of them since. But you're alright... That's wonderful! There's still hope for our world!"

Listening to Rose's words, Qiao Ran stared intently at his face, trying to find any trace of lying. However, Qiao Ran didn't find anything amiss. On the contrary, he genuinely sensed the "joy" in the other man's expression, as if he had found hope.

Is this guy... really happy that I survived?

"President! Something terrible has happened! The situation outside..."

Suddenly, a woman came running from a distance, panting heavily. Her usually arrogant and aloof face now showed a hint of panic, as if she had seen something terrifying.

"Wait, speak slowly."

Chairman Rose glanced at the woman who had suddenly appeared—his Secretary, Miss Oleana —and his expression gradually became serious.

Oleana wouldn't usually panic like this unless something really serious happened.

"We can't delay any longer! We need to take the elevator to the ground now, or we'll be doomed if this place collapses!"

"This!"

Rose glanced at Qiao Ran, who was still sitting on the ground, and wanted to ask for her opinion.

"Is this place going to collapse?"

Qiao Ran frowned and quickly stood up from the ground. As he stood up, he was surprised to find that the Long Sword in his left hand had separated from his palm. Startled, he quickly grabbed the sword back.

"This is..."

This sword... it's no longer stuck to my hand? Can I take it off whenever I want?

Perhaps this change was caused by the Gigantamax Energy?

The problem seemed complicated, but Qiao Ran didn't think about it deeply. Besides, even if he could let go, he still needed to hold the sword in his hand. Moreover, he had more important things to do.

"No, even if I have to leave, I have to find them..."

Qiao Ran gritted his teeth and began searching for Bea and Sonia around him, even releasing his Pokémon to help. Even though Rose and Oleana were urging him to run away, and even though Qiao Ran sensed something falling from the sky, he didn't give up.

However... there is always a limit to this kind of persistence.

After a very long time, or perhaps not so long, Qiao Ran realized that he really couldn't find the two of them. He searched every corner around him, but he couldn't find any trace of them.

They seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Qiao Ran dared not imagine anything worse, but "not being able to find" was perhaps the best news for now.

"Let's go! We'll come back for them after we get out, find some people, and ensure our safety!"

"Yes, let's hurry up and go!"

With voices of persuasion lingering in his ears, Qiao Ran, having exhausted all other options, finally had no choice but to agree with the two men; they did indeed need to go out and find some support.

The ruins are simply too vast.

Disheartened, Qiao Ran, along with Rose and Oleana, boarded the elevator. As the elevator ascended, they successfully reached the ground.

However... this is only the beginning.

Upon reaching the ground, Qiao Ran was immediately confronted with a vast expanse of ruins.

"What... what is this...?"

Qiao Ran looked at the two people beside him, and their expressions were the same as his, filled with astonishment and disbelief.

A blood-red moon hung high in the sky. The once enormous "tower" had long since been reduced to ruins, and all the nearby houses had collapsed. In the distance, the thunderous footsteps of a giant Pokémon be heard, and its shadow was reflected in the clouds above the sky.

This place has already been taken over by Gigantamax Pokémon.

"Hammerlocke... this... is this Hammerlocke?"

Qiao Ran couldn't believe it was true, but just like his memories of the Underground Factory, he also clearly remembered the street scenes of Hammerlocke. Those were the streets that Bea and he had walked through, and... the people here had once welcomed him so warmly.

Even though he was chased to a corner by those obsessive fans and shamefully Princess Carry- carried by Bea, he still didn't want to see this place become like this...

"No! This isn't real!"

Just as Qiao Ran's Qiao Ran went black and he suffered another huge blow, a voice suddenly resounded deep within his heart.

And then, a tiny, snow-white creature crawled out of Qiao Ran 'Qiao Ran backpack and perched on his shoulder.

Her voice was crystal clear in Qiao Ran's mind.

"Master, don't be fooled by him!"

"This place... this place is no longer the world we knew!"

"...!"

Qiao Ran's eyes widened suddenly.

The sudden information shocked him once again.

"What did you say?!"

Section 220, Chapter 217 [The Truth: The Mystery]

"Master! This place is no longer the world we knew before!"

The sudden appearance of the Vulpix fox shattered Qiao Ran's worldview with a single, unexpected sentence, and also shattered the cruel reality that he had painstakingly come to accept over several tens of minutes.

"This world... is not the world we knew before?"

As if seeing a glimmer of hope, Qiao Ran stopped in his tracks, his whole body trembling.

Qiao Ran didn't want to see anything she cared about disappear before her eyes, especially the people she cared about.

"Yes, although you didn't feel it, I, who was in the backpack the whole time, Frisk..."

The Vulpix, clinging to Qiao Ran's neck, recounted its observations. Previously, it had followed Qiao Ran's orders, adjusting Rotom's status inside the backpack and reporting any changes to Rotom immediately. However, after Qiao Ran to participate in an experiment and fell into a strange, unusual state, the Vulpix Fox simply stayed inside the backpack and fell asleep...

Then, Vulpix sensed a special energy, an energy she had experienced before... It was undoubtedly the kind of energy that only occurs when a world is transmigrated, and this energy was particularly noticeable on Nihilego.

The world line has quietly changed—even if the Vulpix didn't come out of the backpack, it would still be able to make this judgment.

Moreover, the Vulpix also observed this from Rotom.

Because the following words once flashed across Rotom's body.

"System restarting... 89%"

Singularity 040 - Gigantamax Final Land Galar

Status: Special Escape!

"Warning! Warning! Excessive escape time will result in mission failure!"

"...!"

Upon seeing these words, Vulpix immediately realized that things seemed to be spiraling out of control. Instead of immediately emerging from her backpack to investigate, she remained silently in hiding.

Why... why didn't you tell me sooner?

After listening to Vulpix's account, Qiao Ran was shocked but also felt a sense of relief. At the same time, he was filled with deep doubts, as these things brought even more mysteries.

If this is another world, then where is this place?

And... who exactly are these two people standing in front of him, the chairman and the Secretary?

Just thinking about it for a moment sent a chill down Qiao Ran's spine.

If he hadn't acted on a whim, hadn't sent Vulpix to monitor Rotom's reaction... if Vulpix hadn't been in the backpack... then he would probably really believe this is the world from before, right?

Some things may seem slightly different, but the actual results can be completely Norman. Qiao Ran couldn't imagine such an outcome. Fortunately, even though Bea and Sonia had disappeared, he still had reliable companions.

"I'm sorry... Master, I fell asleep earlier... If only I had known sooner..."

Vulpix's voice was full of apology, and she could only act cute on the spot. She had been waiting for Qiao Ran to wake up for so long that she had to take another nap. Who knew that Qiao Ran would fall into such a mess.

"It's alright." Qiao Ran patted her head, telling her not to overthink it. These things weren't her fault, and Qiao Ran had no reason to blame her.

"Hero? Qiao Ran? What's wrong with you?"

Suddenly, the president and Secretary, who had been standing beside Qiao Ran and observing everything around them with shocked expressions, seemed to notice Qiao Ran's unusual behavior. They glanced at the Vulpix perched on Qiao Ran's shoulder but did not say anything.

"No... I'm just too surprised... I never expected this city to be like this..."

Qiao Ran gritted his teeth, putting on a dramatic performance with a bitter and resentful expression. After listening to Vulpix's words, he became more wary of the two people in front of him. In any case, he was still unclear about the situation here, so it was better to cooperate with them as much as possible.

Moreover, even if the other party had malicious intentions, having Vulpix stand on his shoulder wouldn't arouse suspicion, since the communication between Pokémon and humans is limited. Vulpix isn't a Psychic-type Pokémon, so it's easy for people to lower their guard. But probably no one could imagine that Qiao Ran and Vulpix actually already had a way of communicating that went beyond "Psychic."

"Is that so...? Yes, why is this place suffering like this...? Could it be that our experiment underground was wrong? Is it because of that energy...? The Pokémon here must all be from the city, otherwise so many Pokémon n't have suddenly appeared, and even they..."

Upon hearing Qiao Ran's words, a sorrowful expression appeared on Rose's face, filled with a deep sadness for life.

Compassion.