100 [Return to Aether] / 101 [The foundation's secrets]

The Competition between Qiao Ran and Mei only took half a day. In the following half day, Qiao Ran and Mei and the others relaxed and had a good time. They had meals together and went out to play. Anyway, he was going to leave Jinling tomorrow.

Eve was going to stay in Jinling. Although she personally wanted to go with Qiao Ran, for the sake of her future, she still had to stay and seek an opportunity to talk with her elders.

As for Mei, she will continue her archaeological work with Dr. Lilia in Jinling. However, after Qiao Ran reports to "that Elite Four," Mei will also arrive and join the Expedition Team.

According to Mei, this is because Dr. Lilia isn't planning on going out for field excavations lately, so Mei has been free. Dr. Lilia has a bunch of unfinished projects piled up in her own research institute, so letting Mei go out and take on some freelance work is a good idea; she might even bring back some special intelligence.

"Alright, this is the letter of recommendation that Lilia and I prepared for you. Keep it safe, and don't come back if you lose it."

That night, Iron Maiden found Qiao Ran and slipped a letter into his hand.

This letter has no special markings and feels thin to the touch, yet it is something many people would only dream of.

--This is a letter of recommendation that can be handed to the current Elite Four; it's no exaggeration to say it's a meteoric rise to power.

"May I ask... what kind of person is the one I'm meeting?"

Qiao Ran carefully put it into his backpack. Since it was such an important item, he naturally wouldn't treat it casually.

"That girl is... well, you'll find out when you meet her."

Iron Maiden didn't finish her sentence. Like Lilia, she abruptly stopped halfway through, without elaborating.

"As the oldest Elite Four, she hasn't been active in public for a long time, so I can't be sure about her current condition. In short, she's definitely very strong."

"Isn't that obvious?"

Qiao Ran rolled her eyes. As one of the current Elite Four... how could she be Elite Four if she wasn't strong?

However, Qiao Ran's casual action still made Iron Maiden frown.

"Oh, you actually rolled your eyes at me?"

Iron Maiden suddenly hooked her arm around Qiao Ran's shoulder.

"...!" A bead of cold sweat dripped down Qiao Ran's forehead. What... is this guy planning to do??

"No... that is..."

Qiao Ran wanted to explain something, but seeing Qiao Ran's nervous appearance, Iron Maiden suddenly laughed, her long Silver White hair, which shone like steel, swaying slightly.

"Look how nervous you are, hahaha."

"You're leaving tomorrow, so it's fine to be a little casual today. How about we go out and try some Jinling snacks tonight? Jinling's snacks are quite famous, you know."

Iron Maiden's hand was still around Qiao Ran's shoulder, and although her tone had suddenly become very relaxed, almost like a conversation between brothers, however... Qiao

Ran always felt like her neck would be snapped if she disagreed.

"Okay... okay."

Qiao Ran could only nod in agreement. What better way could he possibly deal with this humanoid monster?

Section 103, Chapter 100 [Return to Ether]

Early the next morning, Qiao Ran was already prepared. He packed his luggage and left Jinling Gym.

Last night, Iron Maiden really took him to eat his way through every street and alley in Jinling. To Qiao Ran's surprise, this Gym Leader really had her own standards when it came to food. And when she got really into it, she even tried to get Qiao Ran to drink alcohol. In the end, Qiao Ran managed to refuse by citing that he was underage.

He didn't want to be bedridden the next day.

"Qiao Ran, are we... just going to keep going like this?"

"No, let's find a place to rest first, then we'll go to the Aether Foundation. You should go help Mei too, and I'll go catch some more jellyfish."

Looking at the blonde girl wearing a sun hat beside him, Qiao Ran revealed his plans for the future.

Lillie will accompany him on this trip, but of course, this companionship is only temporary. She can only stay in this world for half the time. In fact, Mei will need her more than Qiao Ran.

Moreover, Qiao Ran's progress in capturing Nihilego is about to reach 100, and before going to see that Elite Four, Qiao Ran feels that it is necessary to summon his next partner.

"Hmm... I'll do my best." Lillie nodded. She had been cramming a lot of knowledge during this time, and after the complete expulsion of Nihilego, she was able to put her knowledge into practice using the Aether Foundation's equipment.

Her goal is to find the people from the Aether Foundation, and even to save all the people of Alola. Achieving this goal is not as simple as just talking about it. The Aether Foundation is an organization that hides many secret weapons.

At night, Qiao Ran and Lillie had arrived in the outskirts of Jinling. Their destination for this trip was Hangcheng, further South in China.

According to Qiao Ran's original plan, after leaving Jinling, he intended to head east to Magic City. Magic City one of the largest cities in the South and has a very powerful Gym, so it would be impossible not to go. Moreover, Qiao Ran had never forgotten his mother's instructions—he had to go to Magic City to see his cousin.

However, due to the recommendation letters from Iron Maiden and Dr. Lilia, Qiao Ran had no choice but to make a trip to Hangcheng first. After all, the place where that Elite Four lived was not in Magic City but in the middle of Jinling and Hangcheng —near Zhenze Lake, the second largest freshwater lake in China.

"Cousin..."

To be honest, Qiao Ran himself couldn't quite remember what his cousin looked like. Ever since his aunt—his mother's sister—left Longjiang City, he had never seen them again. He would only occasionally hear them send him a few New Year's greetings via chat software.

"I think if it's a family related by blood, they should go and visit." After listening to what Qiao Ran had to say, Lillie expressed her opinion. As time and space go by and generations pass, even blood ties can become increasingly weak. If Qiao Ran passes by and doesn't take the initiative to visit, he probably won't even recognize her when they meet again.

"That's true. I'll go check on my cousin later."

Qiao Ran chuckled and shook his head, then took Lillie's hand.

"It's almost time. You go into your Poké Ball first. We'll rest at the Aether Foundation tonight. I'll start my journey alone tomorrow. Help Mei out at the Foundation; she's had a tough time lately."

"Mmm." Lillie nodded, blushing.

Qiao Ran then took out a Poké Ball and gently tapped it on Lillie's head. The pretty girl turned into a beam of light and was absorbed into the Poké Ball.

No matter how many times Qiao Ran had seen this scene, he still found it incredibly unbelievable. How could a perfectly healthy, living person be stuffed into a ball?

"Rotom."

"Exist!"

The Golden gate opened, Qiao Ran passed through it, arriving in another world—a world far darker than this one. However, thanks to the reconstruction efforts of Mei and Lillie, the environment here had changed considerably.

You're back?

As soon as Qiao Ran and Lillie appeared, Mei spotted them immediately, since Qiao Ran had always left from the rest area under the bridge, where Mei also lived.

Looking at Qiao Ran and Lillie who had arrived, Mei still had that same annoyed expression.

"Looks like you two are doing well lately, you've even learned to hold hands."

"...!"

Lillie was startled and quickly released Qiao Ran's left hand like a frightened rabbit, her cheeks flushed red as she buryed her head in the sand like an ostrich.

Even she herself didn't understand why she had inexplicably taken Qiao Ran's hand. Could it be... that I really...

"Likewise, you've been feeling much better lately too."

Qiao Ran didn't stand on ceremony with Mei, but sat down directly on the edge of the bed. Qiao Ran had been...

The supplies brought by the company truly changed Mei's life. Not only were there clean clothes and underwear, but also many other daily necessities. It has to be said that this was definitely the most comfortable life she had lived during this period.

"Hmph, sweet talk."

Mei glanced at Qiao Ran but didn't say anything more.

However, Qiao Ran keenly noticed that her hair had obviously grown longer... or rather, it had exceeded the scope of her original short hair, and she did not choose to continue to style it.

Are you planning to get a new hairstyle?

"It's just a hassle to cut, so let's leave it a bit longer for now."

Mei casually replied that cutting hair is still a troublesome thing under the current conditions, so letting it grow a little longer before styling it is not a bad option.

"By the way, I recently found a box while exploring the underground of the Aether Foundation... Could you come and take a look?"

Suddenly, Mei mentioned something she had recently discovered. She had a feeling that something was amiss, so instead of Sheer Force opening it, she brought it back and placed it under the bed.

With her back to the two of them, Mei knelt on the ground and began rummaging through the boxes, revealing her beautiful figure in the process.

"... Don't look!" Lillie quickly tiptoed and covered Qiao Ran's eyes to prevent him from seeing Mei's exposed skin.

However, Qiao Ran could only blink in confusion. Even if he wanted to see, he couldn't see anything from the other person's expression...

This is even less embarrassing than the tattered clothes I wore before.

Section 104.101 [The Foundation's Secrets]

Once you've seen the ocean, other waters seem insignificant; once you've beheld the clouds of Wushan, other clouds seem pale in comparison.

Having already witnessed even more exciting things, Qiao Ran wouldn't be surprised by these minor scenes. Besides, he, Qiao Ran, has always been upright and honest, and even in the most embarrassing situations, he would try his best not to look away from his righteous gaze.

No matter how hard Lillie tried to block him, Qiao Ran wouldn't back down an inch.

"Found it, this is it."

Mei lay under the bed and searched around for a while before finally finding a square box. The box had no complicated patterns on it, but was made of smooth white material. On the front of the box was a Golden Badge of the Aether Foundation.

"When I found this box, it had a combination lock on it, and you had to unlock it to open the box. I was originally planning to Sheer Force to take a look, but then I thought I might damage the things inside, so I decided to wait for you all to come back together."

Mei placed the box on the table, and the two objects collided, making a heavy thud.

The box doesn't look very big, but it's still quite heavy.

"Combination lock?"

Qiao Ran also reached out and examined the box from all angles, but found no valuable clues. In the end, he could only turn his gaze to Lillie, who was standing to the side. As the young lady of the Aether Foundation, she might know something.

"... Let me give it a try."

Lillie nodded and took a step forward nervously. She also didn't know the exact combination to the box, but she had a vague idea of what it was.

She fiddled with the combination lock a few times, and after several incorrect attempts, she entered a string of numbers again. This time, the lock clicked open.

Ah... it seems to be open?

Lillie gasped softly, even she couldn't believe she had actually guessed the password.

"You guessed it?" Qiao Ran couldn't help but ask.

"No... Mom told me. After this disaster, she told me most of the passwords used in the foundation. But... I'd never used any of them before, so I wasn't sure if they'd work... I didn't expect them to actually work."

Lillie patted her chest, seemingly relieved that she had guessed the password correctly; otherwise, it would have been a whole series of troubles.

"Then let's open it and see what's inside."

Qiao Ran smiled and gestured to Lillie to open the box. Since it was something left behind by the Aether Foundation, it must be a very important item.

"Um."

Lillie responded and opened the box.

As the box was opened, its internal structure was revealed. However, it seemed somewhat different from what everyone had imagined. Inside the box were only a few scattered small objects. One pile was a pack of discs that looked like CDs, the contents of which were unknown. On the other side, there was a well-preserved Memory Card placed in a transparent bag, along with three strangely shaped Poké Ball.

That Poké Ball was different from ordinary Poké Ball. It had a blue Spider Web -like shape and was covered by two Golden rings, giving it a very valuable feel.

"Disc... Poké Ball... and memory card?"

Lillie looked at the things in the room with some confusion. She didn't really understand some of the secrets of the Aether Foundation, after all, she was still too young, Lusamine wouldn't let her get involved in these things.

"If it's a memory card, then let me Analytic."

~~"

Rotom suddenly appeared and took on the task of reading the data, even though the discs couldn't be inserted into her body, the small cards could still do it.

"Okay, then I'll leave it to you." Qiao Ran agreed to her request. After all, reading the memory card was something that had to be done by the machine anyway, and since Rotom wanted to do it, it was fine to leave it to her.

However, Rotom set conditions.

"No... I want my master to penetrate me Rotom."

"...?"

A question mark appeared above Qiao Ran's head, but after a second of silence, he still picked up the data card and put it into Rotom's body.

In any case, this is a public place now, and even someone as shameless as Rotom will definitely restrain himself a bit.

Qiao Ran thought to himself, however—he had ultimately underestimated this terrifying guy. After the card was inserted, the familiar Growl rang out once again.

"Ah... ahhh! Master... too... hard... no..."

Mei and Lillie: "...???"

The strange Growl made Mei and Lillie turn around instantly, looking at Qiao Ran and Rotom with confused and puzzled expressions.

What happened...????

What's that sound???

Both of them blushed slightly, but the voice was so loud that they couldn't pretend they hadn't heard it.