When the last traces of the sun's afterglow sank behind the mountains, the cool, bright moon quietly crept over the peaks and slowly climbed into the sky, gently casting its light upon the land—a light that, despite its chilly appearance, was incomparably soft.
Chen Mo sat in a moon chair with Pichu in his arms, silently admiring the moon reflected upon the surface of the lake.
Perhaps captivated by this scenery as well, the Magikarp in Redleaf Lake became even more active than during the day. From time to time, several would leap together, tumbling across the surface of the water as if trying to see clearly, from above and below, the moon that had fallen into their lake.
Not far from this lively group, however, there was one Magikarp that behaved very differently.
At some point unknown, it had appeared near the shoreline, quietly lingering in the shallow water. With what looked like the gaze of someone watching a pair of fools, it observed its companions in the center of the lake, who were jumping and thrashing about with wild abandon.
This scene did not escape Chen Mo's notice.
From time to time, Chen Mo would use his aura-sensing ability to check the situation in the surrounding forest. With a single glance, he spotted this unusual Magikarp.
Occasionally, perhaps sensing Chen Mo's gaze, the Magikarp would turn its head and look back at him as well.
But perhaps because its companions were still frolicking wildly in the middle of the lake, or because Chen Mo was farther away this time and wasn't staring at it with any particular intent, the Magikarp did not immediately leave his field of vision as it had earlier.
And so, this quiet mutual awareness continued—until drowsiness gradually crept in.
"That's about enough. Time to rest. We still need to get up early tomorrow," Chen Mo said softly.
Hearing this, Pichu yawned as well. As a juvenile Pokémon, Pichu needed plenty of sleep too.
"Alright then, today's livestream will end here. Thank you all for watching. If nothing unexpected happens, we should go live again tomorrow at eight in the morning. By then, let's explore together what other kinds of spirits might exist deeper within this forest."
The moment these words left his mouth, the previously sparse and sleepy chat—clearly ready to rest—suddenly exploded with an overwhelming flood of comments.
[Mo Bao, nooo!]
[It's strange. I don't even know why I've stayed in this stream all day. Mo Bao is clearly not a very professional streamer, but I just really like the quiet atmosphere here. So, Mo Bao, could you just leave the stream on?]
[Mo Bao, I have a suggestion. Just keep the stream running! Even if it's just you and Pichu sleeping, we'd still watch. Or if you don't want that, at least show us Redleaf Lake. Watching Magikarp jump out of the water is way too fun—I don't think I'd ever get tired of it.]
[That's right, Mo Bao! If you don't end the stream, I'll immediately send you a Little TV Spaceship!]
[Nooo, don't do that kind of thing ╥﹏╥]
[Mo Bao, think about it—if you set the camera outside, even if danger shows up, we could warn you. Wouldn't that be great?]
"Thank you for your concern, everyone," Chen Mo said with a helpless smile.
"But as you've seen before, I've set up alarm traps around the area. If an animal or a spirit enters and triggers them, I'll wake up very quickly. So there's really no need to worry."
"And besides," he added, "the batteries on my livestream phones and cameras aren't in great shape anymore. If I want to give you a better stream tomorrow, these devices that have worked all day need some rest too."
After reassuring the audience a bit, Chen Mo turned off the stream, officially ending the first day of his journey.
Turning his head, he glanced once more at the Magikarp still lingering by the shore. Then, quietly, he said something to Pichu—who hadn't noticed the Magikarp at all.
Pichu's eyes immediately lit up. It leapt out of Chen Mo's arms and scurried toward the lakeside on its short little legs.
"Pichu, pichu! Pichu, pi!"
"Glug, glug…"
"Pichu!"
While Pichu chatted with the Magikarp, Chen Mo saw it turn back several times and point at him, as if explaining something.
"..."
Though he had no idea what Pichu was saying, Chen Mo was certain of one thing—it wasn't something he had instructed.
He had only told Pichu to go say good night to the Magikarp, since they had played together so happily earlier.
"Well… whatever."
A faint smile appeared on Chen Mo's face. He raised his right hand and waved in the Magikarp's direction.
Not long after,
The Magikarp watched the backs of Chen Mo and Pichu as they returned to their tent to rest. It then lifted its head toward the night sky, its expression still somewhat vacant, as if lost in thought.
...
Late into the night, all things returned to silence. In the dense forest, the sound of insects chirping continued without pause.
On Redleaf Lake, one or two overly energetic Magikarp still showed off the boundless vitality of youth.
Then, suddenly, a loud, piercing cry rang out from somewhere unknown.
The Magikarp resting quietly in the water—its body nearly motionless, its eyes dulled by rest—regained a trace of light at that sound.
It glanced at its carefree companions, then looked toward the direction from which the cry had come.
All of a sudden,
A distinctly unnatural gale swept in. Waves immediately rose upon the lake's surface, yet the Magikarp remained unmoving in the water, its gaze fixed firmly in one direction.
Moments later,
Two bird-type spirits—one small, one large—cut through the moonlit sky in rapid succession.
The smaller one abruptly twisted midair, beating its wings violently. A fierce storm erupted from nowhere, blasting straight toward the larger bird spirit behind it.
"Glug, glug…"
Watching the spirit being swallowed by the raging wind, the Magikarp calmly blew bubbles in the lake.
Here we go again…
This scene was not unfamiliar to it. After all, in this lake region, such events played out almost regularly. Even as a fish, it remembered them well.
And the outcome of these battles was almost always the same.
"WOAH!!!"
Another shrill cry pierced the air.
In the next instant,
The storm powerful enough to uproot towering trees was torn apart by a pair of massive, glowing wings. Then, with a sharp dive, the larger bird slammed directly into the smaller one.
The smaller bird spirit—covered in wounds—could no longer hold on. Its body plummeted rapidly toward the ground, falling near the tent Chen Mo had set up.
Just as the victorious bird spirit prepared to pursue and finish the fight, a sudden jet of water shot up from below, forcing it to halt.
It lowered its head, beating its enormous wings, and looked down at the calm surface of Redleaf Lake.
After a long moment—
Finding nothing amiss, it let out another loud cry and, bearing the posture of a victor, flew away from Redleaf Lake with effortless grace.
Looks like something unexpected happened…
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