Fire Emperor

Night finally fell.

The land was shrouded in darkness, and the entire Tokiwa Forest turned pitch-black. A cold wind blew past, making Dongshu shiver uncontrollably.

Rustling sounds occasionally came from outside, likely Wild Pokémon moving through the grass and bushes.

Dongshu curled up inside the tree hollow, too afraid to move.

Wild Pokémon were extremely dangerous. It would be fine if he encountered something like a Pikachu, but if he ran into Pokémon such as Beedrill or Ekans, he would probably have to delete his account on the spot and start over.

Dongshu only felt hungry, exhausted, and cold.

With a thought, a pale blue panel slowly appeared before him.

The code he had personally written in his previous life for this webnovel adaptation was now displayed in its entirety before his eyes.

[Shock Value System: A miraculous cheat that obtains currency by making others feel shocked. Currency can be used to exchange for all kinds of items and tools in the store.]

This was the protagonist's cheat in Reincarnated into Another World, Growing Stronger by Shocking Others. In that novel, the protagonist could use this system to exchange for all kinds of abilities and cultivation techniques in the System Store, growing stronger in the process.

However, perhaps because of the worlds merging, all those techniques and abilities had vanished.

In their place were all sorts of items that fit the Pokémon world's setting.

For example: Moomoo Milk, Cloudy Ice Cream, all kinds of Berries, Energy Cubes, Poké Balls, Potions, Attack Enhancers, Evolution Stones, and so on.

Besides that, there were also many strange items in the store.

Furniture such as premium fabric sofas, various wallpapers, and luxurious double beds.

Or some cutting-edge technology unique to the Pokémon world.

[Secret Power: A mysterious power that can be used to hollow out mountainsides and tree trunks, turning them into a Secret Base.]

[Spatial Technology: A technology developed through Palkia's spatial power that can compress space and increase storage capacity.]

Right now, Dongshu only wanted to exchange for a warm cup of Moomoo Milk to fill his stomach.

But a can of Moomoo Milk required 5 Shock Points. He had arrived in this world less than a year ago and had spent all that time as a bewildered infant, with no chance to earn any points at all.

Trapped in a dangerous forest, without food, and in the freezing cold...

Maybe he really was going to die here?

Dongshu could clearly feel his strength gradually draining away.

Cold... so cold...

Dongshu's consciousness gradually blurred.

He did not know how long passed. Maybe it was only a few minutes, or perhaps several hours.

In his haze, Dongshu suddenly felt his body slowly warming up, as though he had been wrapped in a warm, fluffy embrace.

Mom...

Dongshu murmured softly without thinking.

Beneath the Tokiwa Ancient Tree, Fire Emperor lowered its head and watched the human infant burrow deeper into its fluffy belly fur, its feelings immediately growing complicated.

Had this human infant mistaken it for his mother?

The image of that lifeless figure in the small car suddenly surfaced in Fire Emperor's mind.

Your mother is already dead, Fire Emperor thought.

She had lost her life protecting Pokémon from those hateful Pokémon Hunters.

Thinking of this, Fire Emperor's gaze toward the human infant filled with sympathy, pity, and an even more complicated emotion.

It silently sighed, then sheltered the human infant beneath its body, using its body heat to keep him warm as best it could.

The night passed without a word.

The next morning, when Dongshu opened his eyes, he saw a huge furry face right in front of him.

"Uwah!!!"

Dongshu jumped in fright.

The next second, the tightly shut eyes on that large face suddenly opened, revealing a pair of majestic golden-red eyes staring directly at him.

That was... Fire Emperor?!

Fire Emperor had returned? And it had used its body heat to help him survive the cold night?!

Dongshu froze on the spot.

Just then, his stomach suddenly growled.

Fire Emperor's gaze slowly lowered, eventually stopping on his belly.

This human infant was hungry.

It said nothing. It merely rose from the ground, shook the dew from its fur, placed the infant back inside the tree hollow, and then ran off into the distance.

Hungry... so hungry!

Dongshu, who had gone more than ten hours without food or water, felt so hungry his stomach was practically pressed against his back.

But he had no time to worry about that. He hurriedly crawled to the edge of the tree hollow on all fours and poked his head outside to look around.

Where had Fire Emperor gone?

Although Dongshu had no idea why Fire Emperor was treating him this way, he knew one thing with absolute clarity: Fire Emperor was the only one he could rely on right now!

If Fire Emperor abandoned him, he would definitely die here today.

Fire Emperor had not gone far. It quickly found a wild Berry tree, picked several Berries from it, and returned to the tree hollow.

Before Fire Emperor even came close, it spotted the human cub peeking out from the hollow, looking left and right as though searching for something—or waiting for something.

The moment their gazes met in midair, Fire Emperor clearly saw the human cub's eyes light up.

Was he looking for it? Fire Emperor could not help feeling a little surprised.

It returned to the entrance of the tree hollow with the Berries in its mouth and placed them before the human.

Berries were an extraordinarily magical kind of fruit in the Pokémon world. They contained abundant nutrients, and many Pokémon ate them as food.

Fire Emperor had gone to find food for him!

Pokémon really were intelligent creatures!

Dongshu shot Fire Emperor a grateful look. Then, like a thirsty man spotting water, he picked up a Berry with both little hands, bit through its peel with his not-yet-fully-grown teeth, and desperately sucked down the juice inside.

Like a large cat, Fire Emperor lay sprawled on the ground with its massive head casually resting on its front paws, its eyes unblinking as it watched the human cub eat the Berry.

After swallowing one Berry, Dongshu felt his entire body become much more energized.

He let out a satisfied burp, then looked at Fire Emperor as something suddenly occurred to him.

Fire Emperor had worked so hard to find Berries for him. It probably had not eaten anything itself yet, right?

Dongshu picked up a Berry from in front of him and held it out to Fire Emperor, using it to repay the life-saving kindness it had shown him.

Although Fire Emperor had found the Berries, Dongshu could not just eat them all himself. That would be far too rude.

At the sight, Fire Emperor froze on the spot.

It stared blankly into the human cub's sparkling eyes.

This child... was sharing his food with it?