Chapter 11
Ghosts! Ghosts!
Lu Li wasn't sure whether he was imagining it, but Feebas's eyes seemed brighter again. He had noticed the same thing before.
To be thorough, Lu Li took out his phone and snapped several photos of Feebas from different angles. He decided to take a few photos every day so he could compare them.
After applying some more skincare products to Feebas, Lu Li noticed that the water in the tank seemed considerably murkier.
Although that level of murkiness was nothing to Feebas, Lu Li decided to play it safe and made another trip to the Aquarium, where he found a larger tank and some fresh water.
The Aquarium had its own water supply system. Although the tap water had stopped running, its water supply was still working.
But with so many Water-type Pokémon living there, the people in the camp didn't dare go over to fetch water. That worked out nicely for Lu Li.
Of course, that advantage came at a price: if the Pokémon in the Aquarium ever escaped, he would be the first to suffer.
So no one in the camp envied Lu Li. Some even grumbled behind his back that he was still being ridiculously fussy in the middle of an apocalypse.
After all, aside from Jun Shutong, Lu Li was the only person in the entire camp with a private suite.
After moving Feebas into the larger tank, Lu Li dragged several more bags of fish food out of the Aquarium and piled them up in his room.
Water-type Pokémon would certainly eat fish food, and Lu Li worried that one of them might eventually discover those bags.
Knock, knock, knock.
Jun Shutong tapped lightly on the glass door.
Hearing the noise, Lu Li hurried to welcome her inside.
Once Jun Shutong was seated, Lu Li asked somewhat awkwardly, "Sister Jun, was there something you needed me for?"
Looking exhausted, Jun Shutong said softly, "There's something I'd like your opinion on."
Lu Li sat up straight, ready to listen attentively. "Please, go ahead."
Jun Shutong said, "I'm considering relocating the camp to the apartment building across the street."
After thinking it over for a moment, Lu Li offered his opinion. "There aren't many supplies in the apartment building. I don't think it would be any safer than the mall."
Lu Li knew Jun Shutong was worried about Mimikyu. To the people of this world, Ghost-type Pokémon were the ultimate terror. Almost everyone feared them.
Mimikyu's presence weighed on Jun Shutong's heart like a massive boulder. Ultimately, it was because she knew nothing about Mimikyu.
If she knew that Mimikyu didn't feed on life energy, she might feel much more at ease.
After a moment's consideration, Lu Li decided to offer her some reassurance.
For one thing, it would be a way of repaying her for saving his life.
If Jun Shutong hadn't stepped in back then, he probably would have died under Raticate's incisors. Besides, humans were social creatures, and Lu Li hoped the camp could continue to survive.
At least for now, there was nothing seriously wrong with the camp. Under Jun Shutong's management, none of the sordid things that so often happened during an apocalypse had occurred.
"Sister Jun, I've studied Ghost-type magical beasts," Lu Li said, looking at Jun Shutong solemnly.
He really had studied Ghost-type Pokémon. It was no exaggeration to say that, as a walking Pokédex, his understanding of Pokémon would qualify him to be a Pokémon professor at the very least if he crossed over into the Pokémon world.
Jun Shutong trusted Lu Li. After all, he was a graduate student, the most highly educated "intellectual" in the camp.
"I'm all ears." Jun Shutong looked ready to learn.
"Ghost-type magical beasts actually aren't as dangerous as you imagine."
Jun Shutong opened her mouth to respond. She wanted to caution Lu Li against underestimating the danger of Ghost-type magical beasts. Those Ghost-type Pokémon were responsible for at least seventy percent of the vast Federation's collapse.
But remembering that Lu Li wasn't someone who made baseless claims, she swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue.
"According to my research, Ghost-type magical beasts generally fall into three categories. The first feeds on the life energy of others. These are the most dangerous Ghost-type magical beasts, and the ones that have done the most damage to the Federation."
Jun Shutong nodded in agreement.
Lu Li continued, "The second feeds on souls. To these magical beasts, souls are very real. They can devour human souls, and once a person loses their soul, they die immediately."
"On the first night after the magical beasts arrived, an investigative report appeared on our internal Law Enforcer system. It said that the people of a small town had suddenly died under mysterious circumstances."
"But there were no wounds on their bodies, nor any signs of poisoning. Would that be what you mean by having their souls eaten?"
People whose life energy had been consumed turned grayish-white, so Jun Shutong immediately thought of that strange case from when the Pokémon first arrived.
Lu Li nodded. "Human technology hasn't reached the realm of souls yet, so I don't know the exact circumstances. But what you described probably was a case of people having their souls eaten."
"Ghost-type magical beasts really are bizarre. Many of them are even immune to physical attacks. That's also why the Federation crumbled so quickly against them," Jun Shutong said with a sigh.
"The third category of Ghost-type magical beasts probably feeds on human emotions, such as fear or happiness." Lu Li paused. Seeing that Jun Shutong looked thoughtful, he pressed on while he had her attention:
"I suspect the magical beast we encountered in the Arcade belongs to that third category."
Jun Shutong's eyes lit up, and she asked excitedly, "If that magical beast really does feed on emotions, wouldn't that mean it wouldn't kill people? Instead, it would keep humans captive and raise them?"
Lu Li nodded.
"Then what about Yellow Hair and the other man's disappearance?" Jun Shutong raised another question.
"They might have angered that magical beast. But this is actually very strange. No matter what kind of magical beast it is, it leaves a body behind after killing someone." Lu Li frowned as he voiced the question that had been troubling him.
Jun Shutong agreed. "It really is strange. Ghost-type magical beasts usually leave bodies behind when they kill people. After all, they don't eat meat."
The deeply unsettling disappearance of Yellow Hair and his companion was a major reason she had decided to move away.
Lu Li actually had another theory: Mimikyu hadn't killed Yellow Hair and his companion.
But if it hadn't been Mimikyu, what other Pokémon could make a person vanish without a trace, without even leaving any blood behind?
Lu Li could think of quite a few Pokémon like that, such as Gengar, Dusc-
lops, or even some of the larger Pokémon.
But the camp was so close to the Arcade that, if a large Pokémon had appeared, the people patrolling the camp couldn't possibly have missed the commotion.
Yet if it had been Gengar or Dusclops, the victims wouldn't have been limited to Yellow Hair and his companion. Everyone in the camp would have died.
"Perhaps Yellow Hair and the other man aren't dead, but missing," Lu Li speculated.
Psychic-type Pokémon suddenly came to Lu Li's mind. In this world, the only Pokémon that could rival Ghost-type Pokémon in sheer strangeness were Psychic-type Pokémon.