Qiao Ran reached out to take it, but before he could get a firm grip, an unprecedented pressure slammed into his palm. He could not hold on for even half a second before the shovel fell to the ground, smashing out a shallow pit.
"..."
Qiao Ran stared at the shovel with his mouth hanging open, as if he had lost the ability to speak.
"Looks like that won't work... How about this? You can start with a lighter shovel. I can have someone make a lighter one for you."
Iron Maiden patted Qiao Ran on the shoulder, telling him not to lose heart, then bent down and casually lifted the shovel with one hand.
A bead of cold sweat rolled down Qiao Ran's forehead as he watched her. "..."
Sure enough, asking a monster like her how to train his body had been overthinking things.
Did this woman have nothing but shovels in her head?!
Though he was full of doubts, Qiao Ran ultimately took the custom shovel Iron Maiden had made for him and began all sorts of training. As long as he ran ten kilometers every day, did a hundred pull-ups, a hundred push-ups, and a hundred squats, and kept it up without interruption for three years, he would eventually train himself bald too.
Of course, during that time, Qiao Ran also began the next stage of Pokémon capture. However, compared with the last task, this one had become much harder.
"Ta-da! This time, you need to catch 100 Rock Type Pokémon! Only Rock Types count, Rotom!"
"Only Rock Types? Didn't the previous ones always involve two types?"
In Pokémon Pioneer Land, Qiao Ran rubbed his chin. Catching a hundred Pokémon of two types already took quite a while. If he had to catch only one specific type, it would probably take even longer.
"The difficulty will definitely increase, Rotom! It's only Rock Type for now. Maybe it'll become Dragon Type someday, Rotom!"
Rotom chuckled mischievously as she spoke. Looking at her seemingly suggestive gaze, Qiao Ran increasingly felt that this might really happen in the future.
"A hundred Dragon Types... Where am I supposed to catch a hundred Dragon Types?"
Qiao Ran helplessly pursed his lips. Fortunately, the current types were still relatively easy to catch, without any especially rare types involved. But if it really became Dragon Type, that would be quite difficult.
"If Master can't catch them, he can figure something out himself, Rotom. For example, Altaria can..."
"Chii—!"
Rotom's malicious grin was spotted by Altaria, who happened to be passing by. The next moment, Rotom was snatched up by two bird claws.
"Don't grab me, don't grab me, Rotom! I was only saying it! You can't do it right now anyway, you're not in the Human-Like Egg Group... Okay, okay, I won't say it, Rotom! Put me down already, Rotom!"
"Ahhhhhhh!"
Rotom's screams echoed above the clouds. She could obviously float in midair herself, yet she looked as though she had a fear of heights.
Qiao Ran withdrew his gaze from the sky. As a qualified Trainer, he would not interrupt the "friendly exchange" between his Pokémon. Besides, Rotom kept going on and on about the Human-Like Egg Group all day. Qiao Ran seriously suspected that Vulpix and Dianxi had been led astray by her.
"So... should I deal with this thing now?"
After looking away from the sky, Qiao Ran took out an item from his pocket that had long been forgotten—or rather, something he had wanted to use before but had not dared to.
—A key gleaming with golden light.
The number 037 was engraved on the key.
"Waiting really is boring, but... I feel like I need to meet Mei before I can make this decision."
Qiao Ran muttered to himself and sat down on the grass.
He was much stronger now than he had been before. After the Gym Challenge, Vulpix had reached level 31, while Dianxi and Suicune had both broken through level 27. Moreover, he had decided back then that he would use this key after challenging the Gym. Yet now, Mei had become an unexpected variable.
Unlike the others, she was truly from the Pokémon world. She was someone who should not have appeared here. There had to be some information on her that Qiao Ran wanted.
"Forget it. I'd better not use it yet. If they happen to come back while I'm gone, that'll be troublesome."
After thinking for a while, Qiao Ran gave up on using it now.
Using it now would certainly reduce wasted time, but if he happened to miss the moment they returned, the cost would outweigh the benefit.
So in the end, he decided not to use it for now.
Then, on the second day after Qiao Ran returned to the real world, he heard some good news from Eve.
"Qiao Ran, Qiao Ran! I just got word that my sister and the others will be back soon!!"
"They're coming back?"
Seeing Eve's excited face, Qiao Ran could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness... he had not used that key yesterday. If he had, he really would have missed them.
"Where are they now?"
Having received the news that they would soon return, Qiao Ran immediately pressed for more details. This was the only reason he was still staying here.
"It'll still take a little time. Sister Iron Maiden was the one who told me the news..."
Eve said she did not know the details either. Investigations like this generally involved confidentiality agreements, and the League had always been strict about protecting ruins. Just like the last time Qiao Ran encountered one—merely a wild ruin that had appeared in the wilderness, yet the League had dispatched a Champion-level inspector.
Although that time might have been because Yi Ruoyun happened to be passing through the area, no matter what, it showed how seriously the League took such matters.
"Fine. Looks like I'll have to wait a bit longer."
Qiao Ran shook his head helplessly. He preferred adventure, and being stuck in one place for too long made him feel like moss was about to grow on him.
However, just as Qiao Ran was talking with Eve, Gym Leader Iron Maiden happened to walk over, swinging her huge iron shovel. Her expression seemed rather serious.
"Qiao Ran, come here first. There are some things I need to discuss with you."
"Me?" Qiao Ran pointed at himself, then looked at Eve. She wore an equally bewildered expression.
"Sorry, little Eve. I'll borrow this man for a while."
Iron Maiden hooked an arm around Qiao Ran's shoulders, then forcibly dragged him away. Her immense strength even gave Qiao Ran the illusion that he was being kidnapped—if he dared resist, she would probably respond with Eagle Claw Kung Fu and snap his neck on the spot.
Iron Maiden brought Qiao Ran to a nearby room before finally stopping.
"You heard little Eve mention it, right? Her sister will be returning soon."
"Yeah, we were just discussing it." Qiao Ran nodded.
"Then that makes things easier."
Iron Maiden paused.
"They found something very important this time... However, for certain reasons, their movements were leaked. The League received intelligence that a group of poachers intends to attack them on the way back."
Iron Maiden turned around, her eyes filled with grave light.
"How... did the poachers get that information?"
Hearing Iron Maiden's account, Qiao Ran's eyes widened.
"Nothing more than planting spies in each other's ranks. Every organization is the same." Iron Maiden waved a hand, indicating that she was already used to it.
With ten percent profit, capital guarantees its employment everywhere; with twenty percent profit, it becomes active; with fifty percent profit, it takes risks; for one hundred percent profit, it dares trample every human law; with three hundred percent profit, it dares commit any crime, even risking the gallows.
The poacher organization had been built on such a foundation. Stealing from ruins in particular received support from foreign forces, and the interests involved were incredibly tangled.
"Why... are you telling me this? What if I'm a spy too?"
Qiao Ran swallowed. Honestly, he was just a nobody right now, merely a rookie Trainer who had "just started traveling." Under normal circumstances, there was no reason for Iron Maiden to ask him to do something like this.
Besides, he had never proven that he was not a spy, and the Gym Leader before him had never investigated him.
"If you are, then it means I, Iron... Gym Leader, misjudged you. And little Eve misjudged you too."
Iron Maiden patted Qiao Ran on the shoulder again, telling him not to worry.
"Get ready. We're heading out shortly... and you have to come with us. Your ability is important."
"...My ability?"
Several question marks seemed to pop up over Qiao Ran's head. What ability did he even have?
Could it be that she had taken a liking to his Pokémon's fighting strength?
After handing the Gym's work over to other Trainers, Iron Maiden took Qiao Ran straight into a silver-gray off-road vehicle. The vehicle looked extremely sturdy, and its collision resistance was surely excellent.
"Get in."
Having changed out of her cumbersome coat, Iron Maiden was now wearing a tank top and hot pants that made movement easier, fully displaying her curvaceous figure. Her mature physique was completely beyond comparison to a child like Eve.
She sat directly in the driver's seat and put on a pair of sunglasses, telling Qiao Ran to stop dawdling.
"I know, I know."
Qiao Ran reached out to open the rear door, but Iron Maiden immediately objected.
"Why sit in the back? I have important things to tell you. Get up front."
Qiao Ran helplessly shrugged and ultimately opened the front door. "..."
Sitting awkwardly beside Iron Maiden, Qiao Ran truly did not know where he should look. Most of the people he had encountered lately were young girls or little girls. A mature older sister type like Iron Maiden was simply... too terrifying.
Qiao Ran could only watch her smooth hand movements as she operated the vehicle, unable to stop himself from feeling a little envious. Clearly, she was a seasoned driver with exceptionally skilled driving techniques.
"This time, only the two of us are going to provide support. Since this is an emergency mission issued by the League, we can't pull in any additional manpower for the moment."
Iron Maiden commanded the steel beast beneath her while talking to Qiao Ran.
"Also, because there may be a spy within the expedition team, we can't directly contact them this time. They've surely tapped all internal lines. So, Qiao Ran—this is when you come in."
Iron Maiden turned her head and glanced at him through her sunglasses.
"Wh-why me?" Qiao Ran blinked in confusion.
I can't use a radio or transmit signals. Why was this the moment for me to step in??
"Why you?"
Iron Maiden shook her head with an amused smile.
"Of course, it's because of your powerful psychic abilities."
Qiao Ran: "...????"
Qiao Ran blankly scratched his head.
Um... when had he acquired an ability called "psychic powers" again???
Had all these Gym Leaders agreed beforehand that they liked adding strange settings to him??
Seeing Qiao Ran's blank expression, Iron Maiden thought he had not understood, so she explained further.
"Eve may not have told you, but her sister Lilia is also a psychic. As long as the two of you are nearby, you can communicate directly through psychic powers. As long as they don't know our movements, they won't have time to escape."
"Then... we can attack from both front and rear and wipe out all those poachers in one go!!"
"Wh-what a clever plan..."
Qiao Ran's mouth twitched. The plan was indeed clever, but there was one massive problem—he did not know how to use psychic powers at all!
"Qiao Ran? What's wrong? Why did you suddenly stop talking?"
"Ah... yeah, I was thinking about something. And I'm a little carsick."
Watching the curb fly past outside the window, Qiao Ran's mind had already become a complete mess.
Should he say it, or not?
Qiao Ran hesitated.
What lay before him now was completely different from everything before. If he did not tell the truth, it could very likely lead to disastrous consequences. But... Qiao Ran felt that if he told the truth now, he would probably face disastrous consequences immediately.
"Gulp."
Qiao Ran swallowed nervously again and took out Rotom, disguised as an ordinary phone, to ask for her advice.
There was no one else Qiao Ran could ask right now. Rotom could at least serve as a reference. She often came up with all kinds of sneaky ideas, and perhaps she could open up a new path for him.
With no one else to ask, Qiao Ran could only ask a ghost.
Qiao Ran: "Rotom, did you hear our conversation just now? Is there any way you can let me communicate with someone who has psychic powers?"
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