Outside the room, the two staff members who had accompanied Steven stood on either side of the door, carrying a black leather case.
Inside, Yong took out his backpack, carefully removed the tablecloth wrapped around the fossils, and set it on the table.
Steven frowned and said disapprovingly,
"Don't you have anything better to keep the fossils in? Hey, be careful! Don't damage my stones!"
Yong watched the Champion in exasperation as he cradled the ancient fossil fragments and examined them from every angle, his eyes brimming with curiosity and a passion for stones.
"Wow! Just as I thought, they really are fossils! They're similar to the ones I found in Misty Cave last time!"
Steven produced a magnifying glass from somewhere and carefully inspected each fossil.
"This looks like a feather? Shame it's incomplete... Hmm? This one is definitely a tooth. Judging by the shape, it should be a canine! What a wonderful find!"
Yong watched helplessly as Steven lost himself completely in his work. Unable to get a word in, he could only step aside and patiently wait for him to finish.
Yet as time passed, Steven showed no sign of stopping. Instead, he grew even more enthusiastic, putting on a pair of gloves and lifting a fossil to sniff it. Yong had no choice but to interrupt him.
"Ahem! Um, Mr. Steven..."
No response...
"AHEM! Mr. Steven!"
"Hm? Oh! Yong, were you calling me?"
Steven finally looked up, gazing at the boy in confusion.
"Mr. Steven, you could actually take them back and study them at your leisure... Um... Ahem!"
"Oh! Right, right!"
Suddenly realizing what he meant, Steven gave an embarrassed smile.
"Look at me! Haha, sorry about that. My greatest hobby is finding all kinds of stones, especially fossils! Whenever I see them, I can't