How Is It Still So Far?

As the image vanished, Luo Chen's gaze returned to the internet café.

The meaning of the symbols on the stone slab also appeared before his eyes.

[At the beginning of creation, when heaven and earth first arose, the dragon was one of them...]

The writing on this slab was damaged and incomplete as well. Yet like the previous Ghost-type slate fragment, it appeared to be from the beginning of the text—the piece from the slate's upper-left corner.

As for this one's attribute, it seemed to be Dragon-type?

Luo Chen considered it. If he gave this to Gengar, it would indeed be useless in his hands.

In that case, he would keep this piece for himself.

"Did you find this at that place too?"

He tucked the slate fragment into his clothes and turned to Gengar.

Gengar seemed very happy when he saw Luo Chen accept the slate.

He shook his head.

"Gehe gehe... gehe!"

[No, I found this one somewhere else... It seemed to be in an empty temple... It was called a temple, right?]

It seemed that Mount Coronet really was filled with treasures...

Luo Chen could not help raising an eyebrow.

Now that Gengar was with him, it would be much safer to go out. When he had the chance in the future, perhaps he should explore the mountains more often?

That Berry Juice Maker also seemed to require higher-grade, rarer Berries to produce higher-level drinks...

As he silently made up his mind, Gengar carried the large box over to him.

"Gehe?"

[This... where should I put it?]

"Just put it behind the counter."

Luo Chen thought for a moment.

"Didn't you just take those gold coins out of your body? Why not put this box inside your body too?"

"Ge... gehe..."

[I... I can't fit it in...]

Gengar scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly.

Luo Chen nodded without saying anything else.

He took the box from Gengar and placed it behind the counter. Then he looked up, meeting the gaze of Gengar, who sat in front of the counter.

Gengar was watching him obediently, sitting perfectly straight with that white can of Thunder Sprite in his hands... Every few seconds, he carefully took a tiny sip.

[Happy.]

[Tasty.]

Luo Chen sighed.

Weren't Ghost-type Pokémon supposed to be unpredictable and cunningly strange?

...This guy honestly seemed a little too well-behaved.

As he pondered, Luo Chen suddenly noticed a new notification floating on the left side of his system panel. It seemed to be a record left over from earlier.

[Detected a dangerous guest approaching the internet café. Defense mode automatically activated. This unit is unable to enter.]

[Detected that the host has actively invited the other party into the internet café. Danger eliminated. Defense mode suspended.]

[The internet café's security system remains active. Power below Legendary level cannot be actively used within the internet café.]

Seeing the string of messages, Luo Chen raised an eyebrow.

It seemed that, just as he had thought, this internet café system had its own security measures. At the very least, he did not need to worry too much about his safety inside the café.

But then again... he glanced at Gengar behind the desk.

Was this guy really a dangerous guest?

Where was the danger?

After the little Gengar incident ended, Luo Chen returned to sit behind the counter and quietly waited for the next guest to arrive.

But as he looked at the information on his panel, he suddenly froze.

Wait, the system had just said Gengar was a dangerous guest.

That meant... Pokémon were also within the scope of guests the internet café could receive?

If that was the case, perhaps he did not need to wait for the guest Cynthia had introduced to fulfill the task's required number of customers?

When he had gotten up this morning, he had tried seeing whether using a computer himself would count as being a customer. Obviously, it had not worked.

But what about Gengar?

Acting on the thought, Luo Chen stood and walked over to Gengar.

"Come over here for a moment, Gengar."

"Gehe?"

Gengar blinked, then obediently hugged his drink can and followed Luo Chen over to the computer.

"Sit here."

Luo Chen pointed at the chair.

Gengar did as he was told.

The next moment, the computer screen lit up, and the upper-right corner displayed the remaining computer time—an initial hour.

Luo Chen immediately raised his brows and looked at his quest panel. Sure enough, the requirement of two customers was marked as completed!

It actually worked?

But Luo Chen quickly discovered an awkward problem.

The computer desk was designed according to human height. With Gengar's short legs and arms, he could not reach the keyboard or mouse in front of him at all.

He could only wedge himself between the chair and the computer desk, holding that white drink can with an innocent look on his face.

Luo Chen felt rather helpless.

Forget it, this would do. At least Gengar could help him make up an hour of computer time.

"...Alright, stay like that. Sit properly, and I'll call you later."

"And you don't need to drink that beverage so slowly. If you want more, I still have some here."

"Gehe."

Gengar nodded obediently, picked up the can again, and still took a tiny sip before sitting motionlessly in the chair like the Leshan Giant Buddha.

Luo Chen: ...

But speaking of which, since Gengar liked drinks so much, he probably needed to find a way to upgrade that Berry Juice Maker soon.

The limit of three cups a day really was a little insufficient.

After settling Gengar in, Luo Chen returned to the counter and recorded the recipes for the three newly discovered Berry drinks.

Especially the drink called Voice of All Things. He would need it to communicate with other unfamiliar Pokémon in the future.

However, Luo Chen did not know that while he was recording the recipes, the camera on the monitor in front of Gengar quietly activated.

A livestream window subsequently popped up in the upper-right corner of the screen.

Meanwhile, on Blue Star.

In that familiar rented apartment, the young man stood before his computer desk and stretched lazily.

"Damn it, it's the weekend and I still had to hold a video meeting... Good thing it's finally over..."

He muttered to himself as he brought over a steaming cup of instant noodles and set it on the desk.

"...What should I watch while I eat today?"

He opened the livestream platform. The previous stream titled Sinnoh Champion Cynthia was dark, and the information in the upper-right corner showed that the streamer had gone offline three hours ago.

"Damn, offline again? She only streams for that little time each day. Does this streamer seriously not plan to make money?"

The young man curled his lip and moved the mouse, beginning to search the livestream lobby for a new stream.

The next moment, his movements abruptly stopped because he saw a familiar format in one stream's title.

[Livestream of a Wild White Shiny Gengar in the Sinnoh Region]

"?"

That person cosplaying Cynthia was one thing, but what was this supposed to be now?

Cosplaying Gengar?

Also, wasn't Gengar's shiny form not white??

Countless questions flashed through his mind as he clicked straight into the livestream.

Meanwhile, at the foot of Mount Coronet.

An orange figure dove down from the sky and landed steadily on the ground.

It was a Dragonite. However, unlike ordinary Dragonite, there was none of the usual soft cuteness in his gaze. Instead, it was firm and aggressive, his entire body radiating a powerful aura and oppressive presence.

A red-haired man jumped down from Dragonite's back. He surveyed the surroundings, then glanced at the location on his phone, looking thoughtful.

How... was it still so far...?

Something was wrong, wasn't it?