https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-377-The-Calamity-Pokemon-Reversal-Plan/12537539/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-379-Evolve-Eevee-Change-of-Weapon-Leeku-/12537541/
Chapter 378: The Treasure Trove, Mung Bean Soup, and the Season of Mature Green Onions
Chapter 378: The Treasure Trove, Mung Bean Soup, and the Season of Mature Green Onions
June 23, 199 of the League Calendar.
The Padia region welcomed the hottest season of summer.
The scorching heat rose in the air, and the warmth was so intense that Babbo, Eevee, and a host of other Pokemon fled to Ice Eevee's ice cave to escape the heat.
Their fur was thick and dense, and running around outside in this weather could easily lead to overheating.
Even traveling trainers took shelter in towns during this weather, only venturing out again in the cooler evenings to journey to the next town.
The ranch, too, was temporarily free from trainers seeking to challenge its trials.
After all, in such heat, who would want to go gallivanting through the wilderness?
Naoki relished the break from the usual hustle and bustle. Taking advantage of the cooler morning temperatures, he finished his chores early and retreated to the comfort of his home.
The sun shone brightly outside, and the occasional chirping of cicadas could be heard from the mountains beyond.
The air conditioner hummed inside the house, with Re Crown watching TV downstairs while Babbo, Eevee, and their friends had been invited to Ice Eevee's ice cave.
His siblings, Ai Guanshi and her brother, were tidying up the living room, which had been messed up by the other Pokemon.
Naoki sat at his computer upstairs, checking the post he had made earlier to see if anyone was interested in selling Padia ancient coins.
Over the past month, he had gradually acquired more ancient coins from various people on the forum.
With the ones he had saved up previously, his collection for the Treasure Spirit now stood at 230/1000.
"Just 20 more, and I'll be at a quarter of the way there," Naoki mused to himself. "If I can keep this up, I should be able to have enough by this time next year." But he couldn't make any guarantees, as the process of acquiring the coins was far from smooth.
On top of that, there were plenty of antique lovers lurking on the forum, and ancient crowns and coins were right up their alley when it came to collecting.
These people had become Naoki's formidable competitors, even driving up prices to outbid him for the coins just a few days ago.
This situation gave Naoki quite the headache.
While the ranch was doing well financially, he didn't have the freedom to splurge recklessly.
Just then, a private message popped up on his screen.
Naoki clicked on it and saw it was from Lei Huo.
[Ancient Explorer: How's it going? Any luck with the acquisitions?]
Lei Huo had just finished lunch at this time.
With no classes in the afternoon, she had returned to her air-conditioned dorm, browsing the forum for any information on ancient legends and ruins while chatting with Naoki.
[Wing King: Not really. Someone offered a higher price and snatched the coins I was after from right under my nose.]
[Ancient Explorer: That's quite normal. After all, when these antiques hit the market, they're usually sold through auctions, and only the highest bidder gets their hands on them.]
Naoki understood this logic, and he sighed. Just as he was about to reply, Lei Huo sent another message.
[Ancient Explorer: Are you thinking of other ways to get more coins? If so, I might be able to help you out!]
Naoki paused, a fantastical idea popping into his head.
His fingers tapped away at the keyboard: [...You're not suggesting we go tomb raiding, are you?]
[Ancient Explorer: That's exactly what I'm proposing! Are you up for it? If we're lucky, we might strike it rich with a whole bunch of coins!]
To be honest, Naoki was tempted. But his rational mind told him that such an act would be highly impolite.
After some internal struggle, he decided to let go of the idea of joining Lei Huo on her tomb-raiding adventures: [Never mind, it's not very moral to rob someone's burial site.]
However, Lei Huo was quick to respond.
[Ancient Explorer: Burial site? This time, it's not a burial site! My target is an ancient ruin buried deep underground.]
Padia Academy, in the teachers' dormitory.
Lei Huo hit the send button and turned her attention to the ancient book resting on her computer desk.
Her eyes sparkled with excitement, reflecting the thrill of discovery.
This ancient book was one she had stumbled upon in the depths of the library.
As one of the oldest schools in the world, Padia Academy boasted a long history and profound cultural heritage.
Its library housed countless books, including many ancient tomes passed down through the ages.
Lei Huo's decision to teach history at this academy was partly driven by her desire to access this very library.
And now, she had finally found information and materials related to the Calamity Treasure.
This ancient book meticulously recorded the great calamity that had occurred thousands of years ago.
Although the text was written in ancient characters, it posed no challenge to Lei Huo, whose expertise lay precisely in deciphering such ancient scripts.
However, just as they were about to be sealed away, the "Ding" among the Calamity Treasures exerted its full strength, causing a terrifying earthquake.
The earth split open, and the ruined king's castle was buried deep underground, never to be found again.
Afterward, the king abandoned the old castle, which had been destroyed beyond repair, and chose to build a new one elsewhere.
This time, Lei Huo's destination was the ruins of that very castle. She intended to venture there to investigate the Calamity Treasures.
As for why she sought Naoki's help, it was because, over the past month of chatting, she had learned that he was an exceptional Trainer.
The ancient castle ruins, buried deep underground, might very well be home to powerful Pokemon. Having a strong Trainer like Naoki by her side would make her investigation much smoother.
Huh? Not a burial site?
Naoki's interest was piqued as he read Lei Huo's message.
[Wing King: Go on.]
[Ancient Explorer: It's the remains of an ancient castle that, for some reason, was buried deep underground long ago. Before the calamity struck, the people there didn't have time to evacuate and pack their belongings.]
[Ancient Explorer: If we can find the castle's treasure vault, we're sure to find all sorts of gold and silver treasures there. Who knows, we might even find hundreds or thousands of coins in one go!]
A treasure vault in the royal castle?
Hundreds or thousands of coins?
Naoki was deeply intrigued. If this were true, he could evolve his Greed Paw into a Greed King in one go!
Lei Huo was quite forthright, directly stating her reason for seeking Naoki's help.
[Ancient Explorer: That kind of place might be home to some formidable Pokemon. Having a Champion-level Trainer around would make my investigation much easier.]
Upon reading this message, Naoki paused for a moment.
After a while, he replied: [How did you know?]
[Ancient Explorer: Naoki, Naoki Ranch, Zhichen Town, that mysterious ranch... Even Padia Academy has heard a little about it. I've heard my students discussing it before.]
[Ancient Explorer: At first, I didn't realize you were the Naoki from Naoki Ranch, but then! You told me you run a ranch in Zhichen Town, and with that mysterious Golett, I just put two and two together!]
[Wing King: Alright, when are we leaving?]
[Ancient Explorer: Next month. July 20th. Padia Academy will be on a two-month summer break then, so I won't have to be at school teaching. It'll be the perfect time for me to go out and investigate the ruins. How about it?]
July 20th... That was 27 days from now.
For the sake of evolving Greed Paw into Greed King, he was in!
With that thought, Naoki readily agreed.
Lei Huo expressed her gratitude.
[Ancient Explorer: Thank you so much. If we can't find any coins in the treasure vault, I'll do my best to help you collect coins from other tomb raiders when we get back.]
[Wing King: With those words, I'm relieved.]
A backup plan—he couldn't lose out on this deal.
Moreover, agreeing to help Lei Huo might earn him her trust, and he could obtain information about the Calamity Treasures from her.
Seeing that no one else was contacting him to sell Padian ancient coins, Naoki shut down his computer and headed downstairs.
In the living room downstairs, Re Crown was elegantly sipping tea while watching TV.
Noticing Naoki coming downstairs, Re Crown turned her gaze toward him.
Watching Re Crown engrossed in the TV, Naoki wondered if she might develop nearsightedness if she kept this up.
But then again, could Pokemon even get nearsighted?
After some thought, Naoki asked, "Re Crown, have you ever felt any discomfort in your eyes?"
Re Crown looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"
Naoki gestured as he explained, "Like a sore feeling in the eyes, where you can't see things clearly from a distance and everything looks blurry."
Upon hearing this, Re Crown pondered for a moment, as if trying to sense something, and then shook her head lightly. "I've never experienced that feeling."
"...Looks like Pokemon don't get nearsighted," Naoki mused.
Glancing at the clock on the wall, Naoki realized that it was already 11:30 am.
Time to start preparing lunch.
He stretched his arms and then made his way to the kitchen. Taking out the ingredients from the refrigerator, he began preparing today's lunch for the Pokemon.
"Ai Yi~"
Seeing this, his sister, Ai Guanshi, came forward to help him.
Given the hot weather, Naoki decided to cook a refreshing mung bean soup to cool the Pokemon down.
He soaked the mung beans for ten minutes, rinsed them, and then put them in a pot to boil.
Seeing this, Zhi Shu smiled faintly and took out several Pecha Berries to feed the Magcargo as he squatted down.
The Magcargo happily ate the berries, then focused on releasing the heat from its body to help with cooking the soup.
After practicing this routine day after day, this Magcargo had become extremely adept at controlling its temperature.
Now, it had become an indispensable helper in the kitchen, aiding Zhi Shu's sister, Ai Guanshi, and Zhi Shu tremendously.
While the mung bean soup was cooking, Zhi Shu began frying meat patties for his three carnivorous Pokemon: Gorebyss, Noivern, and Vibrava.
He had long since mastered this skill, performing it with ease.
Once the patties turned a golden brown, he skillfully flipped them into a white porcelain dish waiting on the side.
Next, Zhi Shu started steaming a sea bass for his Salamence and making sandwiches for his Trevenant...
When all the Pokemon's food was ready, the mung bean soup was also done.
Zhi Shu set the pot aside and then squatted down to use an iron hook to clean the Magcargo's body of the charred blocks of wood.
These charred blocks were what remained of the Pecha Berries the Magcargo ate; the berry flesh was digested, and the pits were transformed by the Magcargo's lava-like high temperatures into charcoal-like blocks that were then expelled.
Since the Magcargo didn't have hands, it couldn't clean itself very well.
Thus, every time Zhi Shu helped it clean, the Magcargo would let out happy cries, indicating how comfortable it felt.
After finishing the cleaning, Zhi Shu asked Noivern to go to the ice cave and call the group of Pokemon over for lunch.
Noivern obediently ran out the door.
Soon, accompanied by a boisterous chorus of calls, a large group of Pokemon rushed into the house.
Zhi Shu brought the food to the table and glanced down at the mung bean soup, only to disappointedly discover that its effect was indeed cooling.
Yes, it was exactly as the name suggested.
[Mung Bean Soup (C)
: Culinary Effect, Cooling and Refreshing. When consumed by humans or Pokemon, it creates a refreshing sensation, preventing heatstroke. It is an ideal dish for the hot summer months.]
At the dining table, the Pokemon happily tucked into the food Zhi Shu had prepared for them.
As he ate, Zhi Shu looked at the group of Pokemon before him with an apologetic expression.
In his past life, he wasn't a chef; he was just an office worker who often worked overtime until late at night.
Due to his limited culinary skills, the meals he made usually consisted of these same few dishes.
Sandwiches, fried meat patties, steamed sea bass, and occasionally dishes like braised mushroom with chicken, red-braised pork, eggplant in a sweet soy sauce, spare rib soup, and pork belly with potatoes...
At this moment, Zhi Shu deeply regretted not having taken some cooking classes at the New Oriental School in his previous life.
However, Gorebyss and the others didn't feel that way at all.
As long as it was food made by Zhi Shu, they would always eat happily, even if the dishes were repetitive.
After all, their current lives were infinitely better than when they had to forage for themselves in the wild, where their diet mostly consisted of Pecha Berries.
Out in the wild, no one would create a variety of delicious dishes for them, and they certainly didn't have treats like Pokeblocks and Poke Puffs.
In the late afternoon, as the temperature gradually dropped, Zhi Shu ventured into the ranch to check on the crops in the fields.
Nearly a month had passed since he planted spring onions for his Spring Onion Duck, and now they had all grown tall.
It was unclear if it was due to absorbing the energy from the Ride Goat's grass or if they had mutated, but these spring onions had grown to a staggering two meters in height, several times larger than normal spring onions.
This reminded Zhi Shu of the abnormally large spring onions from Shandong Province in his previous life...
When he arrived at the spring onion field, Spring Onion Duck was holding the original small spring onion it had been given, its eyes sparkling with enthusiasm as it inspected the rows of towering spring onions.
Its gaze swept over the spring onions that were taller than itself, and its eyes shone with excitement like never before.
If it used these spring onions as weapons... its attack power would surely increase significantly!
[Super Spring Onion: Special Crop, an abnormally large spring onion that has undergone a mutation due to the absorption of the Ride Goat's grass energy. It grows up to two meters in height, possessing greatly enhanced toughness. It can be used as a weapon by certain Pokemon or cooked into a delicious soup. It will be fully mature in 1 day.]
"As expected..." Zhi Shu looked at these spring onions, unsure how to react.
With these spring onions being so massive, could Spring Onion Duck still use them as regular swords? Or was it planning to switch to using these super spring onions as spears or greatswords?
(End of Chapter)
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