Escape from the Mine

The two of them worked together to carry their unconscious teammates out one by one.

Only after they had moved a considerable distance away from the Jade Mine did Baimu learn from Cheng Hong what had happened while he was gone.

"So that's how it was."

"Those bastards deserved it! It would've been great if they'd died in there!"

Cheng Hong said viciously as he wrapped bandages around himself and sprinkled on some medicine powder. His eyes were red, as though they were about to bleed, when he looked at the three companions Aron had struggled to rescue.

"Forget about them for now. What matters is that we passed the assessment. We can't suffer all that for nothing."

Baimu shook his head. Their revenge had to be taken, but the assessment results were equally important.

There had been eight companions in total, counting him, when they entered on the first day. Apart from the five present, three were still missing. If all of them passed, then they would have nothing to fear—not even Shibata, let alone his uncle, the Squad Leader.

After all, there were very few official members among the Quicksand Team's younger generation.

"Gurgle."

Aron's cry rang out.

Baimu turned around and immediately saw it open its mouth and spit out several jade stones the size of fingers.

"Thanks. You've worked hard."

He thanked it softly, then crouched down and pushed the iron ingots over. "It might be a little less than before, so I hope you won't mind. If I get the chance, I'll make it up to you with a few more."

Aron glanced at him, lowered its head, and easily swallowed them with two crunches. The hard iron blocks were as crisp as biscuits in its mouth.

Cheng Hong looked curious. "Baimu, it seems to listen to you especially well?"

"What do you mean, listen to me? This is called helping each other."

Baimu waved his hand, but after thinking it over, he still pulled out a Poké Ball. "May I ask if you have a Trainer—"

Before he could finish, Aron had already retreated several steps warily.

It stared nervously at the Poké Ball as though it had seen something unpleasant. It even made a short, hurried sound.

"Gurdo!"

Baimu felt awkward.

"S-sorry."

He quickly put it away. Just as he was about to say something to make up for it, Aron suddenly turned and ran.

It soon disappeared from sight.

"Ah... damn..."

Baimu sighed. He had never expected such a strong reaction. Thinking about it now, Aron was probably an abandoned Pokémon.

Pokémon like that often had particular triggers when it came to Trainers—things that absolutely could not be touched.

He had been too hasty.

He rubbed his face. The three seriously injured teammates needed to be taken away immediately, and in his haste, he had forgotten to take things slowly.

"You seem to have been disliked, Baimu." Cheng Hong chuckled gleefully, only to receive a smack on the head from Baimu.

"Shut up."

He picked up the jade stones from the ground, stuffed one into the arms of each unconscious person, and said, "Let's carry them out first."

Waiting there for rescue would be equivalent to giving up on the assessment. Otherwise, he would never have moved the wounded so recklessly.

"Right." Cheng Hong nodded. Although he was injured and bleeding too, he felt much better after bandaging himself. He could barely manage to carry one person.

Baimu took responsibility for two people. Using the ropes he had prepared in advance, he tied one to his back and carried the other in his arms. With his physical strength, the combination was not too great a burden.

"Let's go."

He exhaled a breath of stale air and followed the route he remembered toward the exit. "It'd be best if we ran into those other three along the way."

"...Yeah."

Cheng Hong answered with difficulty and hurried after him.

Not long after the two left, Aron, which should have slipped away, quietly poked its head out and followed them again.

After Aron had gone far away, Galarian Yamask appeared.

As an observer, it meticulously broadcast the scene and intended to continue following them.

Suddenly.

A sharp shriek came from the passage leading to the Jade Mine behind them. It was filled with rage, causing Galarian Yamask to stop.

→

It hesitated for a moment. Just as it was about to turn and fly toward the passage leading to the Jade Mine, a violent explosion suddenly erupted from that direction!

Boom!

The screams were swallowed by the blast, but they could still be faintly heard.

The mine shook thunderously, and rubble kept falling from the ceiling, as though the entire place was about to collapse.

Numerous panicked Pokémon rushed out, as if they had encountered something terrifying. Two of the slower ones were directly seized by a thick black arm and violently dragged back inside.

Roars and explosions rang out again!

Galarian Yamask was startled and immediately found a place to hide, its camera sweeping over the many fleeing Pokémon.

Among them was a Rhyhorn carrying a terrified young man. The youth was covered in blood, and one of his arms was bent unnaturally.

--

Inside the gloomy mine.

Baimu turned his head and looked at Cheng Hong, who was panting heavily and drenched in sweat. "Can you keep going?"

"I'm fine! You keep moving!"

Cheng Hong growled. It was not that he was dissatisfied with Baimu; he genuinely had no strength left. Without shouting, he felt he could not even get the words out.

If he had not been injured, how could he have ended up in such a state? Carrying a mere two hundred pounds would have been nothing!

Seeing Cheng Hong stagger as he walked, Baimu could only speed up.

Fortunately, his memory was good. Otherwise, they would have had to search for the route again while carefully observing their surroundings to avoid traps, wasting who knew how much time.

Rumble!

The mine suddenly shook violently.

Baimu did not stop walking. He guessed that a battle had broken out near the Jade Mine.

The gathered Pokémon were much like the animals of the natural world in his previous life. They used sounds and movements to intimidate each other and search for an opening, often remaining locked in a stalemate for a long time.

Now, they had finally started fighting.

"Ah! It hurts!"

Cheng Hong cried out in pain behind him. Baimu raised his head slightly and suddenly saw countless pieces of rubble and dust falling from the ceiling. Cracking sounds continued to ring out.

Damn it!

It was collapsing!

"Run! Don't look back—run!"

Baimu's eyes trembled as he shouted and accelerated while carrying the two people.

Cheng Hong's face went pale. The thunderous noise close behind him filled him with terror, and he ran forward for his life.

A huge cloud of dust swallowed the two of them like a dragon. Their faint headlamp vanished completely into the cavern, leaving only continuous tremors and rubble crashing down wildly.

But in the blink of an eye, the two of them burst through the dust and ran out. They were fighting for their lives and did not dare stop for even a moment.

Only when the shaking gradually subsided did they slowly reduce their pace.

When they turned around, the road they had come through had completely collapsed. Rocks and dust had blocked it so thoroughly that not even a mosquito could have flown through.

"I..."

Cheng Hong's legs began to tremble uncontrollably. Since he had been running behind Baimu, he had been closer to the collapse. The aura of death had lingered beside him the entire time, and the feeling of repeatedly narrowly escaping death had been utterly terrifying.

Several times, he had wanted to throw off the heavy burden on his back, but the frequent shouts from ahead urging him on had made him abandon the thought.

A short while later.

"Relax. We're safe... It was a blessing in disguise."

Baimu took a deep breath.

At first, he had considered carrying the people out one trip at a time instead of leaving himself with no free hands like this. But then he had thought about how a battle between the Pokémon could cause the mine to collapse.

He had not dared take that risk.

They had no choice but to carry all three people out together.

Now, he could only hope that the Pokémon that had attacked the miners at the entrance was no longer there, and that the entrance had not been buried.

"We're almost there. Hang in there."

Baimu encouraged Cheng Hong quietly. "Once we get out, we'll be official members! Pokémon! Money! They're all waiting for us! Think of your mom and dad—they're still waiting for you!"

"—Mm!"

Cheng Hong gritted his teeth and nodded.

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