chsdbacks Chapter 337 "It's that masked man! The masked man! I ************"
Chapter 337 "It's that masked man! The masked man! I ************"
Chapter 337 "It's that masked man! The masked man! I ************"
A small, ancient, and dilapidated ancestral hall stands quietly in a clearing in the woods.
Time has left deep marks on its wooden pillars and tiles, but a sense of solemnity and dignity has never dissipated.
Several ancient bronze wind chimes hang under the eaves of the ancestral hall.
Suddenly, a gentle breeze blew by.
The wind chimes, untouched by anyone, are gently tugged by the fingers of the wind.
bite----
The ethereal, melodious, and soul-cleansing sound of bells echoed in this tranquil space, lingering for a long time.
Qishu was so captivated by the scene that he forgot to speak for a moment, and even unconsciously softened his breathing.
It's a feeling that's hard to describe precisely in words.
It seems that all the noise and restlessness are soothed and calmed by the sound of the bell and the tranquility at this moment.
"----What a nice view"
"It's like stepping into a fairy tale world, so beautiful it's almost unreal."
Suddenly I'm too scared to speak loudly anymore —
"Does this place actually exist? Or is it just a figment of imagination created by Salty Fish Teacher's art team?"
"In this situation, I only have one thing to say, but I don't know whether I should say it or not—"
The originally lively and animated bullet comments gradually became sparse and calm under the influence of this sudden tranquility.
Everyone seemed to have started to enjoy this soul-stirring tranquility without prior arrangement.
"call----"
After a long while, Qishu finally let out a soft breath and murmured, "Does such a peaceful and beautiful place really exist in the world? It feels so unreal, yet it seems like this is how it should be."
She snapped out of her daze, remembering she was still live-streaming, and her face flushed slightly. She quickly tried to cover it up, saying, "Um—Abi, the masked man doesn't seem to be here—shouldn't we go look somewhere else—?"
She hadn't even finished speaking.
hum!
A slight tremor suddenly came from Xiao Qishu's small satchel!
Immediately afterwards, a soft silver light flowed out from the gap in the handbag!
The silver feather seemed to be summoned by something and flew out of the bag on its own.
As if lifted by a gentle hand, it slowly rose and finally hovered directly above the ancient ancestral hall.
The next moment, the silver light rippled out like waves!
Centered on the feather, a gentle ripple of energy spread through the air, like ripples spreading out on the surface of a lake after a pebble has been thrown in!
At the center of the ripples, the space "opened up" to both sides like a water curtain, forming a small channel of faint light!
A small head, filled with curiosity, peeked out from the passage.
The big, round eyes blinked, and the gaze swept across the front of the ancestral hall before finally settling on the little strange tree.
"Bi~"
It let out a cheerful cry, and its small body flew out of the passage, twirling playfully in the air.
Then, with a light trajectory, it flew to Little Wonder Tree, almost touching her face, curiously examining the human who had summoned it.
"Huh? Huh? Huh?! Silvabi!?"
Qi Shu was completely stunned, his mouth agape in an "O" shape, utterly bewildered by what had happened.
But her remaining rationality told her one thing.
She summoned the shrub!
And he seemed very friendly towards her! He even greeted her first!
This can only lead to one conclusion that made her heart race: it likes me!
It must like me!
"Hello, shrine maiden!"
Qi Shu's voice trembled slightly, his eyes sparkled, and his face was flushed with barely suppressed embarrassment.
Celebi didn't respond verbally, but simply nuzzled Little Wonder Tree's cheek gently with its smooth little head.
"Seriously, lady?! This is allowed?!"
"Weren't we here to find the Masked Man? How did the plot jump so far and we ended up with our final target, Celebi?!"
"It's a lucky accident! Our ultimate goal in finding the Masked Man is to meet Celebi, right? Now, we've achieved it all in one step, skipping the middleman and getting the difference!"
"Bringing the Silver Feather to this specific shrine will summon Celebi? That's the trigger condition?! Qishu, you're incredibly lucky!"
"I can't help but laugh when I think about how Cibana completely missed this moment because of his different choice! I'm sorry, Cibana!"
But I really couldn't resist! Hahaha!
Upon seeing the adorable Silavi again, the live stream chat was filled with a joyful and envious atmosphere.
But right at this warm and beautiful moment!
A swift streak of light shot out from the shadows behind the ancestral hall without warning!
Fast! Accurate! Ruthless!
It hit Celebi right when he was rubbing his cheek against Little Tree!
boom!
The moment the light touched the small Silavian body, it did not cause any damage, but instead bounced off!
As the light faded, it was clearly a uniquely shaped Poké Ball!
Gold and silver balls!
Celebi was instantly sucked into the red light emanating from the Poké Ball!
The gold and silver balls snapped shut without even a symbolic tremor.
As if it had lost all its strength, it plummeted straight towards the ground.
A hand wearing a black glove caught it steadily in mid-air.
It wasn't until then that Qishu, Abi, and all the viewers in the live stream reacted to this sudden and dramatic change!
The one who made the move was none other than the masked man who had been hiding in the shadows from beginning to end!
He had appeared in the shadows of the ancestral hall without anyone noticing!
"Seraphim!!!"
Kiju cried out in surprise and subconsciously manipulated Little Kiju to take countermeasures in an attempt to stop the masked man!
But the masked man didn't give her any chance at all.
Almost at the same time he caught the Poké Ball.
The spatial passage that the shrine had just appeared in did not close for some reason; instead, it twisted and expanded violently.
It instantly expanded into an unstable vortex large enough for a person to pass through, appearing beside the masked man.
He didn't even offer a victor's declaration, a superfluous glance, or a gesture.
With a flick of the wrist, the Poké Ball is caught and stored away.
Completely ignoring the small, strange tree that was right next to them and Abi who was in a fighting stance.
Without hesitation, he stepped back, his entire figure disappearing into the twisted, undulating entrance to the passage!
Just as his figure was swallowed by the light of the passage, the entire passage collapsed like a bubble that had lost its support.
It began to shrink rapidly, and it looked like it was about to disappear completely into the air!
"Stop right there!! Give the Celebi back!!!"
Kiju's mind went blank, with only the thought that he absolutely could not let him take Celebi away!
She didn't have time to think about the consequences; driven by anger, she reflexively pressed the forward sprint button!
In the last instant before the light in the passage completely faded, Xiao Qishu's figure narrowly disappeared into it!
Immediately afterwards!
The world is spinning!
The screen suddenly went black!
Only the sound of Qishu's rapid breathing echoed from the speakers, along with the unsettling spatial humming in the game's background music.
"Holy crap?! What happened?! Celebi got robbed?!"
"It's that masked man! The masked man! I...********!"
"Qishu rushed in?! She jumped into that passage after her?! That's incredibly brave!"
"Oh no! What do we do now?! Where does that lead?! You can play games like this?!"
"Wow! What a plot twist! Is this hidden story really that exciting? My heart was pounding!"
"Abi: Am I just forgotten like this?"
A few seconds later.
As darkness faded, the blurry light and shadow began to flicker and coalesce, eventually becoming clear again.
What comes into view is a desolate, low-lying rocky hill.
A yellowish-brown dirt road stretched straight ahead, with a few sparse shrubs growing along its sides.
The sky was a typical deep blue, with a few white clouds drifting by.
The environment looked ordinary, just like any other road in the world of Pokémon.
"What's going on?! Where am I? Where have I been teleported to?!"
The strange tree controls the little strange tree to quickly rotate the view and take in the unfamiliar surrounding environment.
For some reason, a faint sense of familiarity swept over me.
But she was so confused at the moment that she had no time to think about it.
The rabbi has been arrested!
That despicable masked man forcibly kidnapped me using despicable means!
The most important thing now is to find him immediately and rescue the rabbi!
But----
She clearly rushed into the passage right after the masked man, so she should have been teleported to the same place!
But why is it that, looking around, there isn't a single person in sight on this empty road, except for herself?
Is the channel randomly transmitted?
"How could this happen—that wretched masked man!"
Kiju bit his lower lip, fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his knuckles turned white from gripping the handle so tightly.
She was overwhelmed by immense anxiety, regret, and guilt!
She completely lost the ease, composure, and meticulousness that a museum owner should possess during their usual live streams.
Even though he knew that the masked man was looking for Celebi, he summoned Celebi without any warning or preparation!
As a result, that bastard had an opportunity to take advantage of the situation!
Watching helplessly as the innocent and carefree Celebi was forcibly kidnapped by the masked man because of his own recklessness and negligence—
This is like an incompetent wife who, because of her own mistakes, can only watch as her perfect husband is kicked and stomped on by a sexy, dark-skinned woman.
This is something you can only think about.
She felt her heart clench, a sour feeling rush to the tip of her nose, and tears were about to fall!
"What should I do? What should I do?!"
Qishu's eyes were already welling up with tears, and his vision was becoming blurry.
In that moment of helplessness and confusion, a figure who always wore a gentle smile suddenly appeared in her mind with unparalleled clarity.
The panic in my heart was miraculously relieved.
"Oh, right! Make a phone call!"
She sniffed hard, wiping away the tears that were about to fall, her tone stubborn, yet carrying a hint of dependence that she herself was unaware of.
"That handsome researcher will definitely have a solution! He's so capable, he'll definitely help me!"
Qi Shu's words were startling, spoken without the slightest hesitation.
He directly controlled the little tree to take out his phone, found the number labeled "handsome researcher" in his contacts, and dialed it!
This move left the viewers in the live stream completely stunned.
"Seriously, sis?! Faced with such a dramatic plot twist, your first reaction is to call that handsome researcher?! You wouldn't really—"
"No way, my Kiju-chan! Don't fall in love with a two-dimensional character! That's data! That's code! No matter how handsome he is, he's just a string of binary numbers!"
"Oh no, oh no! Could my Kiriki-chan really be in love with that pixelated character? This is getting serious!"
"Where am I? The more I look at this place, the more familiar it seems. So, that passage threw the strange tree into some unknown wilderness?"
"Qi Shu's approach is unconventional, but it makes sense! His image as a handsome and reliable researcher is already deeply ingrained in people's minds; consulting him is much better than blindly groping around!"
"No problem at all! No matter how awesome the handsome researcher is, he's just an NPC. Can he directly interfere with these hidden plot points? He can't!"
Beep—Beep—
After several busy tones, the call was finally connected.
"Handsome Researcher: Feed? Hello?"
A slightly doubtful male voice came through the receiver, and a glimmer of hope instantly appeared on Qi Shu's face.
However, the handsome researcher's next, incredibly fluent "official statement" instantly froze that glimmer of light.
Her expression froze, turning blank.
"Handsome Researcher: Declaration from Unknown Caller: I am a law-abiding citizen and a minor. I do not buy cars, houses, take out loans, invest, or buy insurance. I do not accept sales calls and do not participate in any form of lottery."
"Handsome Researcher: Press 1 for sales pitches, 2 for scams/pyramid schemes, 3 for leaving a message, and hang up if you're just harassing me. Thanks for your cooperation, wow!"
"What...what are you saying?!"
Qi Shu's voice trembled with anxiety, thinking the other party either mistook him for a spam caller or didn't recognize the number.
"It's not some unknown number! Handsome researcher! It's me, Little Qishu!"
"Handsome Researcher: Little Strange Tree—?"
The voice on the other end paused for a moment, as if recalling something, before giving a reply that chilled Qi Shu to the bone.
"Handsome Researcher: I'm sorry, if my memory isn't confused or missing, I don't seem to know a trainer named Little Tree."
"How is that possible?!"
The tears that Qishu had just barely managed to hold back began to well up in his eyes again, much to his dismay.
"No! That's not how it is!"
She tried to explain anxiously, her voice growing softer and softer, filled with grievance.
"Mingming—you were the one who gave me the phone number, and you said it yourself that I could ask you for help if I encountered any difficulties—how could you forget that—"
She became increasingly upset as she spoke, eventually turning into a soft, nasal muttering.
This pitiful appearance was conveyed to all viewers in the live stream.
They felt both heartbroken and saddened, and the comments section exploded instantly.
"What do you mean?! Pretending not to know me?! You dare bully my Kiju-chan?! Handsome researcher, I think you're already courting death!"
"I'm no longer a fan! Stop pretending to have amnesia!"
"Even the handsome researcher is resorting to this kind of irresponsible shirking! Men are all the same, no two are any good! I feel so sorry for Treebaby!"
"I'm jealous, I hate it! Why does that handsome researcher get Kisaki-chan's complete trust? He's the first person she thinks of when she's in trouble!"
"Dare to make my Tree Baby cry! From now on, I don't need any of the mission rewards from that handsome researcher!"
"Calm down! Given the handsome researcher's previous persona, he shouldn't do something so 'heartless,' right?"
The comments section was instantly filled with all sorts of opinions.
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.
Just as Qishu pouted pitifully, tears were about to fall.
My fingers trembled as I prepared to give up and hang up the "wrong number"—
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