The night in Cheng City, imbued with a hint of dampness and tranquility, quietly receded.
The faint glow of dawn, like threads of silk, gently spilled onto the room's floor through the slightly old but warmly inviting gaps in the hotel curtains.
At this moment, Chen Kai's high school classmates in the hotel gradually began to wake up.
Door after door opened, and the students, still sleepy-eyed, ambled out.
Some students had hair as disheveled and wild as a small hedgehog.
Others were rubbing their blurry eyes, yawning, and mumbling that they hadn't had enough sleep.
Still others were already full of vigor, dressed neatly, and eagerly awaiting the new day's journey.
In the hotel restaurant, the enticing aroma of breakfast wafted through the air. You Tiao, soy milk, steamed buns, porridge, and various other breakfast items were neatly displayed on the counter.
Chen Kai and his Pokémon sat together, heartily munching on steamed buns. Miraidon's astonishing appetite surprised the hotel's kitchen staff, who quickly went to steam several more baskets of buns.
Huang Mao, with Dwebble and Larvitar, was running wild around the hotel, and Teacher Xu was busy chasing after him, trying to catch him.
Chen Kai couldn't help but comment, "Huang Mao's energy is truly boundless."
Meanwhile, the girls gathered in the hallway, chattering incessantly around Qin Ying.
Chen Kai noticed that the girls' attention was not primarily on Qin Ying herself, but on the Pancham beside Qin Ying.
Pancham, surrounded and constantly praised for its cuteness, now had a slight blush on its cheeks but still feigned an indifferent expression.
However, the corners of its mouth, where it held a bamboo leaf, curled up even higher, and its eyes darted around, looking left and right, not daring to meet the gazes of the smiling girls staring at it.
Its fluffy black and white fur was ruffled, and the playful tuft of hair on its head was poked and pushed in all directions by fingers.
Yet, it insisted on maintaining its 'boss' demeanor, its stubby little paws on its plump waist, and even the bamboo leaf it usually loved to show off was now askew.
Whenever someone tried to gently pinch the soft paw pads on its feet, it would deliberately turn its head away with a 'hmph,' but its paw wouldn't move, though the tip of its tail would involuntarily wag slightly, betraying the hidden pride in its heart.
"It's quite cute," Chen Kai couldn't help but exclaim, completely different from the Pangoro he had seen yesterday; indeed, creatures are always cutest when they are young.
"Horsea!" (I'm the cutest, okay!)
Hearing Chen Kai praise another Pokémon like that, Horsea was displeased and hopped around to remind Chen Kai.
"Yes, yes, of course, you're still cuter," Chen Kai said with a smile, rubbing Horsea's head.
Logically, the youngest in the team should be Exeggcute. However, since seeing Iron Leaves a few times and participating in many Tera Crystal Pit battles in Area Zero, Exeggcute had become increasingly steady.
At this moment, it was calmly enjoying its breakfast.
In contrast, Horsea particularly liked to stick to Chen Kai. As the only independent 'female' member of the team, Chen Kai was also happy to spoil her.
Since following Chen Kai, Horsea had never participated in a single battle, eating and sleeping every day, feeling that her current life was wonderful.
Just then, Teacher Xu finally caught Huang Mao and Larvitar, giving both of these troublemakers (Pokémon) a Headbutt. Then, Teacher Xu pulled out the roll call sheet and finally began to count the number of people.
With everything ready, the students stepped briskly onto the bus, heading towards Du Jiang Yan.
Although the bus ride took about an hour, Chen Kai and his classmates finally arrived smoothly at Du Jiang Yan.
Standing beside the magnificent Du Jiang Yan water conservancy project, Chen Kai vaguely felt that it seemed almost identical to certain parts of Area Zero. The cycle of cause and effect was truly miraculous.
Chen Kai couldn't help but ponder, since the water conservancy project was so similar, then the rocks underground must also be nearly the same, right?
If that's the case, then in the Zigong area of Area Zero, are there fossils that have yet to be unearthed?
Chen Kai secretly decided to find an opportunity later to ask Huang Mao about the exact location where he found the Aerodactyl amber.
Lost in thought, Chen Kai followed the team to a building not far away.
This building was mainly built around a huge stone gate. Looking from afar, the stone gate was carved with exquisite patterns depicting a surging river, interspersed with some ancient, difficult-to-discern symbols.
On both sides of the stone passage stood many solemn and serious guardians. They were dressed in dark blue tight suits, with black belts around their waists, on which 3-6 Poké Balls were neatly arranged. Their gazes were cold and vigilant, as if no subtle abnormal movement could escape their eyes.
Fortunately, Chen Kai and his group were all students, so the guardians didn't pay too much attention to them.
Chen Kai and his classmates lined up in a single file, carefully walking towards the heavy gate.
After a staff member confirmed Teacher Xu's identity, the large gate slowly opened.
Inside the gate was like a mirror, emitting a soft light, but the mirror surface was blurry, only vaguely showing flickering light and shadows within.
Even more strangely, this 'mirror' could be passed through directly. The staff member and Teacher Xu walked straight towards the 'mirror.' The moment they touched the mirror surface, it rippled like a calm lake into which a stone had been thrown, and the light flickered and swayed with it.
The ripples spread rapidly outwards from the point where Teacher Xu touched, and gradually, Teacher Xu's figure was swallowed by the 'mirror,' slowly disappearing into these mysterious ripples.
Most of the students were startled at first, then their excitement and curiosity grew even stronger.
They walked towards the 'mirror' one by one, and when their bodies touched the mirror surface, they were also enveloped by that soft power.
Each person passing through the mirror would stir up a new ripple, as if the Secret Realm was warmly welcoming their arrival.
The moment Chen Kai stepped into the 'mirror,' he felt as if he was in a colorful space-time tunnel, where the surrounding colors constantly changed like a dream, and he heard the gentle sound of wind and flowing water.
When everything became clear again, they were already in the Secret Realm.
This Secret Realm was not large, estimated to be about the size of a town, and beyond that, it became blurry.
A wide river ran through the Secret Realm, occupying a considerable area. The river water was emerald green, sparkling, and shimmered with an attractive luster under the sunlight. The aquatic plants at the bottom swayed gently with the current, and many fish Pokémon swam and played among them, full of vitality.
There were few man-made structures in the Du Jiang Yan Secret Realm, only a small wooden house, presumably for staff to rest.
The rest were large areas of trees, which Chen Kai recognized at a glance as trees that could bear energy-rich berries. However, there were not many fruits left on the trees, suggesting they had probably been picked by staff members.
But there was still a small portion of fruits hanging on the branches, like mischievous children playing hide-and-seek with everyone.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Teacher Xu began to explain the precautions to the students:
"The berries inside the Secret Realm can be eaten, but they cannot be taken out of the Secret Realm, nor are they allowed to be wasted.
Pokémon inside the Secret Realm can be battled and captured normally, but illegal methods are strictly prohibited.
If you've all heard clearly, then you may move freely."
