Chapter 4
The Pokémon in the trash can.
Pidgey had never expected the Caterpie to fight back. Hit by several bursts of String Shot, it was trapped on a branch.
Pidgey screeched furiously, beating its wings as it struggled desperately to break free of the threads, which were as tough as steel wire.
But Pidgey's cries drew another hunter.
Caw! Caw!
A sharp, piercing cry rang out from the sky.
When the chubby boy beside Lu Li saw the Pokémon overhead, he exclaimed under his breath, "It's a Vulture Pokémon! The most dangerous aerial monster in the official reports! These Vulture Pokémon love hunting humans."
Seeing what the Pokémon looked like, Lu Li silently identified it. Fearow.
The Fearow shot toward the trapped Pidgey like a rocket. Bound tightly by the threads, Pidgey couldn't move and could only remain frozen in place as Fearow swooped down with a vicious peck.
With no way to resist, Pidgey had its skull cracked open in an instant. After killing it, Fearow seized its corpse in its talons and flew away.
The Caterpie that had fought back narrowly escaped death.
The food chain within the Pokémon ecosystem shook Lu Li deeply, reminding him once again of the difference between reality and anime.
After witnessing the brutal scene of Pidgey hunting bugs only to become Fearow's prey, the chubby boy remarked, "The monsters hunt each other too. That's good news for us humans."
Lu Li nodded in wholehearted agreement.
If Pokémon killed and ate one another, that meant they hadn't been deliberately sent down by some higher-dimensional beings to wipe out humanity.
That was certainly something to be thankful for.
"It's dead! That damned Caterpie monster is dead! My sweet grandson! Now your parents can finally rest in peace." The old woman hugged her grandson and sobbed softly in agitation. She didn't dare cry too loudly, afraid of attracting the other Pokémon in the mall.
She was even more afraid that the other survivors would step forward and condemn them-this was no longer a peaceful society. In this apocalypse, where order had collapsed, moral pressure was useless.
Having lost their family's breadwinners, the grandmother and grandson had fallen to the very bottom of the survivors' food chain.
"Now the old hag knows how to behave. If she'd been this considerate before, that tragedy wouldn't have happened to her family," the chubby boy commented, playing the voice of reason.
Lu Li nodded noncommittally, then volunteered, "I'm going to look around this floor and check for anything we might have missed."
"Of course you can. Nobody dares wander around now, and Sister Jun can't inspect every place on her own. If you're willing to help, all the better," the chubby boy said happily.
Lu Li wasn't here to freeload, which was good news for those who wanted the camp to last longer.
The camp was now divided into two groups.
The first consisted of those who kept their heads down and waited for rescue-the freeloaders the chubby boy had mentioned.
Convinced that the Federation would send people to rescue them, they wanted only to hide and refused to take on any responsibility.
The other group had accepted reality and knew the Federation wouldn't send anyone to rescue them.
The chubby boy belonged to this group. He believed the Federation lacked the strength to retake the fallen cities, so he only wanted to build up the camp and survive another day in this apocalypse, one day at a time.
The chubby boy took out a walkie-talkie and handed it to Lu Li, explaining, "I've already set this up. You can use it to talk to me, but its range is limited, so keep that in mind."
Lu Li accepted the walkie-talkie, his fingertips brushing its cold casing, and nodded lightly.
He mainly wanted to take a look at the Aquarium-not venture deep inside, just inspect its outskirts.
He switched on his phone's flashlight. Its dim yellow beam pierced the surrounding gloom as he headed straight toward the Aquarium.
Passing several shops, Lu Li found their doors wide open and their shelves tipped over. Clearly, the people from the camp had already looted them.
"Lu Li, can you hear me?"
The chubby boy's voice suddenly came over the walkie-talkie.
"I can hear you," Lu Li replied.
"I told Sister Jun what you're doing. She asked me to remind you not to go anywhere near the Aquarium. A lot of monsters that live in water have gathered there."
"Don't worry. I'll steer clear as much as I can. I'm turning off the walkie-talkie so it doesn't startle me at a critical moment." With that, Lu Li switched it off.
After walking for about five minutes, Lu Li reached the Aquarium's ticket hall.
With the power out, the Aquarium's interior was pitch-black, as though it had been filled with ink. Lu Li swallowed, his throat bobbing. Tightening his grip slightly on his phone, he held up the light and cautiously stepped inside.
First came the reception desk. There were no supplies there, though some souvenirs, fish tanks, and similar items sat on the shelves.
Lu Li went straight past the desk and examined the Aquarium's entrance hall. The real reason he'd come to this dangerous place was to try his luck.
In the Pokémon world, Caterpie wasn't the weakest Pokémon. There was actually one weaker than Caterpie: Magikarp.
Low-level Magikarp didn't even know Tackle. They only knew the simple move Splash. As long as he didn't stand directly above or below one, there generally wouldn't be much danger.
The moment he entered the Aquarium, Lu Li smelled dead fish. Water-type Pokémon needed to eat too. The fish that had originally lived here had probably been almost entirely devoured.
These Pokémon, which seemed afflicted with the sin of gluttony, had likely preyed on the Aquarium's ordinary fish as soon as they arrived.
There were also a few small tanks in the hall that should have held small fish, but they had all been smashed. The fish inside had vanished without even leaving any bones behind.
Lu Li's heart tightened. He suspected that Water-type Pokémon capable of moving on land had escaped their tanks. After devouring the fish and Pokémon in the small tanks, they had headed deeper into the Aquarium.
At that thought, Lu Li began to consider backing out.
The only reason he'd dared come here was that he'd assumed the Pokémon were all inside tanks, and he would be safe as long as he stayed out of the water.
Now Lu Li realized he'd forgotten a basic fact about the Pokémon world: the vast majority of Water-type Pokémon could actually live on land.
Fortunately, there were few resources outside, so the Pokémon capable of living on land hadn't ventured out. Instead, they had gone deeper into the Aquarium.
If those Pokémon ventured outside, they would inevitably run into the survivors' camp, and then...
Everyone in the camp would die.
But this wasn't good news either. The Aquarium wasn't very large, and if enough Pokémon had appeared here, its resources would soon be depleted.
When that happened, the Pokémon capable of walking on land would certainly seek new water sources. It was only a matter of time before the Pokémon here set their sights on the survivors' camp.
Just as Lu Li was about to turn around and leave, he suddenly heard an extremely faint bubbling sound.
It was the sound of a Pokémon blowing bubbles in water.
Lu Li stopped and listened carefully, soon pinpointing the source.
Treading lightly, he cautiously moved over to a green trash can and slowly lifted its lid.
It was full of foul water and garbage.
The stench inside the trash can was even more pungent than sewage in a filthy ditch. Fighting down his rising nausea, Lu Li took out his phone and shone its light inside.
There wasn't much standing water in the can. Most of the space was occupied by assorted garbage.
"It's that one!"
Lu Li stared in surprise at the "culprit" making the noise.
He had never imagined he would be this lucky. He had actually found a Pokémon with even less fighting ability than Magikarp.