He Yongsen, in the middle of receiving Guo Yi's guidance, suddenly got a call from a Pokémon Firefighting Instructor.
"What!?"
"Qinling Mountains has a major wildfire!? The Pokémon firefighting teams in all nearby areas are being ordered to pull their elites and head over to contain it!?"
He Yongsen blurted out in disbelief.
The Qinling Mountains.
One of Dragon Country's most important mountain ranges.
A massive fire there...
If they couldn't put it out in time, the towns around Qinling would suffer irreparable losses.
And Qinling was also one of the largest wild Pokémon protected zones.
If the flames spread completely…
Those panicked Pokémon fleeing in all directions could, with one slip, form a Pokémon stampede.
And if it came to that—It would be a devastating catastrophe.
On the other end of the line, Instructor Wang Yu looked grimmer than ever.
Everything He Yongsen could imagine, Wang Yu knew just as well.
That was why, the moment he received the notice from above, he immediately contacted He Yongsen—once an elite member of their unit.
Still, Wang Yu didn't issue a hard order.
"Yongsen, ask Teacher Guo what he thinks first."
"If Teacher Guo doesn't agree, I can have another member '963' take your place."
Ever since Guo Yi's identity had been exposed, Wang Yu's respect for him had only grown.
And Guo Yi also occasionally followed He Yongsen to the station to give pointers on the firefighters' Pokémon training.
So by both sense and courtesy, Wang Yu had to respect Guo Yi's opinion.
"Understood, Instructor!"
He Yongsen replied, hung up, and turned to look at Guo Yi seated upright on the sofa.
"Teacher, the Qinling fire is pretty serious. I have to—"
Before he could finish, Guo Yi raised a hand to stop him.
"Yongsen, being a Pokémon firefighter is the job you love. How could I possibly stop you?"
"But this time, you have to watch your safety. Don't end up like last time."
"This time… there might not be anyone who can save you."
Heading into a mountain wildfire was dangerous, sure.
But it was He Yongsen's dream. As his teacher, Guo Yi had no reason to block him.
All Guo Yi could do was support him as much as possible.
Hearing that, He Yongsen's face lit up. He said confidently, "Don't worry, Teacher. Not only has Arcanine already stepped into Pseudo-Elite Four…"
"Kadabra's Teleport alone can guarantee my safety. And with Blastoise—Ace-level strength—supporting me, there's no way I'll be in danger this time."
These past two months, it wasn't only Su Qingxue and Hu Yan'er who were improving. He Yongsen's growth had been just as dramatic.
Especially Arcanine—its strength had skyrocketed, breaking into Pseudo-Elite Four.
With that kind of power, even among Pokémon firefighters nationwide, he was top-tier.
"Don't get arrogant," Guo Yi said.
"Strange weather has been happening all over Dragon Country lately. I have a feeling this Qinling wildfire isn't as simple as it looks."
After all—
By this world's rules, the more disasters there were, the number of Secret Realms that followed would increase at a terrifying speed.
Normally, Dragon Country had no shortage of small mishaps.
But chains like this—dense, one after another—were not a normal sign.
Taking Guo Yi's warning to heart, He Yongsen nodded solemnly.
"Teacher, I understand. I'll be careful about everything."
When it came to his teacher's words, He Yongsen trusted them unconditionally.
"Good," Guo Yi said. "Then you can… wait."
His voice cut off.
Because on He Yongsen's disciple panel, that familiar golden exclamation mark suddenly appeared again.
Fortune?
I didn't expect it… this operation comes with fortune, too.
But even with fortune appearing, there wasn't the slightest joy on Guo Yi's face.
As the saying went—
Fortune often came with crisis.
And this fortune had appeared only after he agreed to let He Yongsen join the firefighting operation.
Which meant its contents were absolutely tied to this mission.
For his disciple's safety, Guo Yi didn't hesitate. He opened the fortune at once.
[Fortune]: Hero of Ideals!
[Price]: 20000 Master Points
Twenty-thousand Master Points.
It was the highest-priced fortune Guo Yi had ever seen.
Hero of Ideals…?
Could He Yongsen's fortune be connected to Zekrom?
Guo Yi lowered his head, thinking.
In his memory, the only thing that could be linked to "ideals" was Zekrom—the Dragon of Ideals.
Without further hesitation, Guo Yi spent twenty thousand Master Points and bought the fortune.
These past two months, his disciples' strength had all surged forward—far beyond where they'd been before.
In turn, Guo Yi had received plenty of Master Points as rewards.
Now he had more than four hundred thousand.
Twenty thousand? He truly didn't care.
As the deduction went through, the information tied to the [Fortune] slowly appeared.
[Have He Yongsen carry the Dark Stone with him at all times. When he faces a brush with death, he will pass Zekrom's trial and become the Hero of Ideals.]
"Teacher… is there anything else?" He Yongsen asked carefully, seeing Guo Yi fall silent in thought.
"It's nothing."
Guo Yi came back to himself and stood up from the sofa.
"Yongsen, wait here a moment. I'll go get something for you."
With that, Guo Yi headed toward his room.
"Sister Qing, what's going on with Teacher?" He Yongsen asked, still baffled, turning to Su Qingxue beside him.
Su Qingxue smiled. "You really can't tell?"
"Teacher's worried about you. He's going to find you something for self-defense."
Honestly, Su Qingxue lived up to being the disciple who'd stayed by Guo Yi the longest.
From his expression and movements alone, she could already guess what he was thinking.
"A tool?"
Now He Yongsen was curious too—what exactly was his teacher going to bring out?
Soon, Guo Yi returned with a pitch-black stone in his hand.
"Yongsen. Take this stone with you."
"Remember—no matter when or where, you must keep it on you."
Guo Yi didn't explain where the Dark Stone came from. He only emphasized that He Yongsen carry it at all times.
"This stone…" Su Qingxue stared at it, struck by a sense of déjà vu. "Teacher, is this the one you asked me about before?"
"That's right." Guo Yi nodded. "It's the stone I brought from your home…"
"Ah!"
He Yongsen immediately waved his hands. "If it's from Sister Qing's family, then I can't take it."
He didn't know what the stone did.
But if Teacher Guo was being this serious, then this pitch-black stone's origins were anything but ordinary.
Yet Su Qingxue didn't take it. She simply let out a soft laugh.
"Yongsen, do you really still not understand Teacher?"
"If this stone were useful to me, he would've given it to me a long time ago. Since Teacher's giving it to you, take it—and carry it properly."
He Yongsen scratched his head and withdrew his outstretched arm.
"Then… thank you, Teacher. Thank you, Sister Qing."
"Right—Teacher, what does it do? Or… how am I supposed to use it?"
If he was taking a tool, he needed instructions.
"You don't need to do anything," Guo Yi said. "Just treat it like a charm."
It wasn't that Guo Yi didn't want to tell He Yongsen about the Dark Stone's origins.
It was the words "brush with death" that made him take this seriously.
Because fortune didn't mean you were guaranteed to obtain anything.
If you failed...
Then that "brush with death" could mean He Yongsen's life.
Guo Yi didn't want Zekrom to become He Yongsen's crutch.
Otherwise, He Yongsen might start thinking a Legendary Pokémon was backing him, and volunteer for every dangerous operation without hesitation.
Seeing that his teacher truly wouldn't say more, He Yongsen didn't force the issue.
After bidding farewell to his teacher, his senior sister, and his junior sister, he drove toward the Shanghai Pokémon Firefighting Unit.
"I hope Yongsen comes back safe," Su Qingxue murmured as she watched him leave.
For firefighters, returning safely was the greatest blessing of all.
And yet...
Early the next morning, major universities received a message from the League almost immediately.
"What?"
"A magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Chengdu. There's a chance Yunlong Dam in the south could fail. Each school must send elite students to assist."
At the Academic Affairs Office, Director Tang Ming listened to the university president relay the League's directive, his face full of disbelief.
Especially the part about Yunlong Dam being in danger of failing.
That was something Tang Ming could never have imagined.
Yunlong Dam was the kind of megastructure that stood alone in the world. Even if an eight-magnitude quake struck—and even if the dam sat right at the epicenter—it still shouldn't face a failure risk.
And now they were saying it might.
How could Tang Ming not be shocked?
On the phone, the president didn't offer any further explanation.
"I don't know the specific reason either. That's the League's exact wording."
"Top universities across the country have already started mobilizing. Shanghai Pokémon University can't fall behind."
Tang Ming understood how serious this was. His expression hardened.
"Don't worry, President. I'll notify everyone right away!"
"I'll have willing and capable students form teams and head over!"
For disaster relief and emergency rescue, top universities all operated on volunteer participation.
Because if you forced students to go and they arrived in the disaster zone only to shirk and coast...
What they'd be losing was the school's reputation.
And as for strength—if you didn't have the strength and still went to a disaster area where Secret Realms were erupting frequently…
It might end up being unclear who was rescuing whom.
After that, Tang Ming immediately passed the news to every teacher.
---
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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