Chapter 15: The Ghost of Extra Money
Chapter 15: The Ghost of Extra Money
Splash splash splash—
Shaking the rain off his umbrella, Jing He quickly stepped into the room and closed the door.
“Phew—”
Heaving a sigh, Jing He looked at Gastly.
“C-Croak.”
Noticing Jing He’s gaze, Gastly’s expression stiffened slightly, and he averted his eyes. If he could whistle, he’d probably be whistling right now.
Did he notice?
No, he couldn’t have.
Gastly was still worried that Jing He might have discovered his return to leave a memorable nightmare for that person. But then he heard Jing He say, “Gastly, you did well.”
In truth, Jing He had seen Gastly’s return, but since it wasn’t a significant matter, he hadn’t given it much thought.
“Croak.”
Well, it’s nothing much.
This was the first time Jing He had seen the little guy look awkward.
Smiling faintly, Jing He said, “I’ll go change my clothes.”
He then turned and walked into the room.
The rain wasn’t heavy, but the commotion with Roserade and Shiny Roserade had soaked his clothes quite a bit.
“Croak~~”
Seeing that Jing He wasn’t going to question him, Gastly heaved a sigh of relief.
Jing He quickly changed into dry clothes, tied an apron around his waist, and walked into the kitchen.
Soon, two steaming bowls of noodle soup were placed on the table.
“Croak!”
Seeing the ordinary-looking but aromatic noodle soup, Gastly’s eyes lit up, and he eagerly approached the table, calling out while waiting for Jing He to sit down.
Ψ（￣￣）Ψ
Even though there were energy cubes available, Gastly still loved eating the food Jing He made. And with Jing He’s current financial situation, he couldn’t afford to make energy cubes a regular meal. Regular food was still necessary.
“Since you got wet, drink some hot soup to warm up and prevent a cold.”
As soon as he sat down, Gastly couldn’t wait any longer and picked up the fork, twirled the noodles, and stuffed them into his mouth.
“Croak?!”
But after the first bite, Gastly quickly realized something was wrong.
It’s so spicy!
He opened his mouth wide, panting, and looked at Jing He.
Did you mistake the chili for salt?
Jing He said, not in the best mood, “I added ginger. I told you to warm up, or you might catch a cold.”
“Croak!!”
Gastly’s eyes were as wide as saucers.
Have you ever heard of a ghost needing to warm up?
But this time, Jing He was firm, “You’re a Ghost-type Pokemon, not a real ghost. All Pokemon can get sick. Finish it, and don’t leave any soup behind!”
“Cro-Croak-Croak—”
Gastly’s face was filled with resignation as he dragged out the word.
Gurgle gurgle—
Despite the spiciness, the soup was quite delicious, and Gastly ate faster and faster. In no time, he finished the noodles and the soup.
Whether it was the ginger or something else, Gastly felt a warm feeling in his heart as he ate.
“Croak~~”
Gastly: ( )
After the meal, Jing He and Gastly settled on the sofa.
Jing He held the rough stone that Gastly had been sleeping in, examining it, while Gastly stared at the computer screen, licking his lips excitedly.
A Pokemon battle was taking place on the screen.
“So, what secret does this stone hold that it has the ‘remnants’ of the Roserade Corporation so interested? And how did they find out that Dr. Solance had discovered it?”
Though the immediate threat was gone, he couldn’t feel completely at ease without understanding the stone. Besides, he was now quite intrigued by it.
“Fossil?”
That was his initial guess.
But why would a fossil interest an energy company like the Roserade Corporation?
“Guess I’ll just break it.”
After much thought, and with no expertise in stones, Jing He finally made his decision.
If it was a fossil, breaking it might reduce its value, but he could still extract important elements. If it wasn’t a fossil, then it was a different story.
“Grrr—Grrr?!”
Ghast had initially nodded in agreement, but soon realized the gravity of the situation, his voice rising several octaves.
He stared at Jing He in shock.
Smash what?
Smash a rock?
“Grrr grrr.”
His head shook back and forth like a tambourine.
No way, no way.
“Three.”
Jing He didn’t argue the pros and cons, simply holding up three fingers.
Three energy stones.
“Grrr, grrr.”
Ghast paused, then shook his head even faster.
No, still no!
For Jing He, these might just be valuable stones, but for Ghast, this was the place where he had slumbered for nearly a thousand years.
It was both his bed and his home, his only “dwelling,” so.
He’d need more, much more!
Seeing this, Jing He’s brow furrowed slightly.
He raised two more fingers.
“Five, no more.”
Gulp—
Ghast swallowed hard.
His eyes darted around, catching a glimpse of the kitchen, his gaze lighting up.
“Grrr!”
He pointed at the kitchen.
We need to go inside!
Jing He’s face darkened, taking a deep breath.
“One minute, one minute at most, or forget it.”
“Grrr!”
Deal!
Ghast, with a satisfied smile, waved his black mist, gesturing for Jing He to smash, just smash!
They quickly moved to the balcony.
Jing He placed the stone on the ground, holding it steady with one hand while grasping a hammer with the other, gently tapping.
Tap, tap—
However, this stone was much harder than he expected. The hammer barely made a dent.
“Grrr!”
Hit harder, are you hungry?
Jing He glanced at him, increasing the force of his swings.
Bang!
Crack!
With this hammer blow, the stone emitted a crisp sound, small rock fragments breaking off, and fine cracks appearing like a spider web.
Jing He carefully picked up the stone, Ghast immediately leaning in.
The once whole stone was now covered in fine cracks, with a significant fissure in the middle.
Through this crack, something inside could be faintly seen.
“Grrr!”
There really is something?
All these years, and I never noticed?
He hurried back to the room by his desk.
Turning on the lamp.
Under the light, the object inside the stone glowed faintly.
At the same time, under the lamp’s light, Jing He and Ghast could vaguely see the object.
It seemed to be a transparent sphere, like a glass bead.
Inside this sphere, there appeared to be a red and purple, leaf-like structure, resembling both a leaf and a spiral.
“This is—”
Seeing the sphere inside the stone, Jing He’s pupils dilated, a mix of surprise and bewilderment.
“Grrr”
Ghast’s expression was similar, but compared to Jing He, he could faintly feel a strange attraction to the sphere, a peculiar sensation.
He looked at Jing He.
Jing He should know what this is.
Rustle—
To confirm, Jing He decided to clear away the outer layer.
As layers of rock fragments peeled off like peeling an apple, the sphere inside the stone was finally fully revealed to Jing He and Ghast.
A transparent sphere, with a faint red glow and a subtle purple hue.
Jing He leaned back in his chair, letting out a long breath.
“It’s really a Mega Stone.”
(End of Chapter)
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