The fifty-fourth day after leaving the Orange Islands. Clear.
The twentieth day since arriving at Cinnabar Gym. The early morning was shattered by a burst of blinding light. In his sleep, Yu Hai felt his eyelids burning, as if a ball of fire were scorching his face.
Umbreon was the first to notice something was wrong. It had been curled up by the bed, dozing, when the white light erupting from the incubator made its pupils contract sharply. Its black fur stood on end as it frantically clawed at the floor mat, then clamped its teeth around the hem of Yu Hai's pajamas and desperately tugged backward, whimpering anxiously.
"Umbreon, Umbreon..."
"What's wrong, Umbreon?" Yu Hai groggily opened his eyes, only to squint at once under the stabbing white light. His vision was a sea of white, with only the glowing outline of the incubator before him, like a large lantern in thick fog.
He raised a hand to shield his eyes, but even the light leaking through his fingers was too dazzling to look at. Once he realized the incubator was glowing, he instantly woke up, threw off the blanket, and stepped barefoot onto the icy floor.
He nearly stumbled into the door. Even when his knee smashed against the doorframe, he ignored the pain, grabbed the scorching incubator, and rushed outside. He staggered into the hallway and quickly shut the wooden door behind him.
After glancing down the empty hallway, his tense shoulders finally relaxed. He leaned against the cold wall and panted heavily, cold sweat running down the back of his neck beneath his pajamas. He held the faintly warm incubator tightly in both hands and only gently set it on the floor after confirming no one was around.
He had specifically sought out an empty place