An abstract trainer who taught Charmander the Incinerate move

Chapter 136 The Dream God of the Common Path (Please subscribe and vote with monthly tickets)
"Uhhh-!!!"

A piercing scream, so shrill it was inhuman, tore through the cold air.

Gong Ping suddenly sat up from the cold metal table, the movement so violent that it almost broke his spine.

His heavy breathing was like that of a broken bellows, each breath carrying the cold smell of rust and disinfectant, burning his throat and lungs.

Sweat, icy sweat, instantly soaked through his thin clothes, clinging tightly to his skin.

It wasn't the sweat from exercise, but rather the product of the melting of a chilling fear that seeped from the depths of my bones.

Upon waking up in the terrifying hellish gym, the first thing Gongping did was cover his buttocks.

Thankfully, it wasn't completely destroyed...

Machine squats... protein powder infusion... four large syringes...

This is some kind of hellish program; it's beyond the comprehension of the human brain.

Under the relentless onslaught of these terrifying programs, even the sturdiest iron gate will crumble and flow unimpeded.

He then came to his senses and looked around blankly.

The surroundings were no longer a warm bedroom, nor a hellish octagonal cage.

This is a cold, metallic chamber.

A cold, pale light poured down from above, illuminating the alloy walls that gleamed with a chilling luster.

The complex network of cables and pipes on the ground, the massive instruments surrounded by indicator lights and displays emitting a low hum, and the pungent smell of disinfectant in the air all testify that this is a laboratory.

"You're awake, Gongping."

A calm, emotionless voice rang out, like a scalpel slicing through the air.

Gong Ping, like a startled rabbit, suddenly looked in the direction of the sound.

On the other side of the room, a tall figure stood with his back to him, intently watching a holographic screen that was suspended in mid-air.

The screen was filled with a waterfall of meaningless data and waveforms.

The man wore an immaculate white researcher's lab coat, his short blond hair was neatly styled, and the signature blue spiral bangs on his forehead gleamed eerily in the cold light.

Akroma slowly turned around, his eyes behind his glasses sharp as a hawk's, with a focused gaze as if examining an experimental specimen and a hint of barely perceptible amusement.

His face was expressionless, as if he were wearing an elaborately crafted mask.

"Welcome back to reality. It seems the beautiful dream I meticulously crafted for you... has had a slight side effect?"

He spoke slowly and deliberately, the corners of his mouth seemingly curving upwards very slightly, but the curve was so cold that it contained not a trace of a smile.

"Hmm, the data feedback from the dream fluctuates quite dramatically, even exceeding some safety thresholds. It's quite interesting."

Gongping's pupils dilated due to extreme fear.

It was him! He was the one who orchestrated all of this!
That damn dream!!

"you you……"

Gong Ping's voice was hoarse and dry, like sandpaper being rubbed.

"What did you do to me?! Those dreams... those monsters..."

"What have you done?"

Akroma took two steps forward, his footsteps echoing clearly on the cold metal floor, as if striking Gongping's heart.

"I merely provided a stage, a stage where your deepest fears and desires can be visualized. As for the actors..."

He spread out his hands, which were covered by white lab gloves, with an elegant yet indifferent gesture.

"You chose it yourself. Or rather, it's the role you subconsciously believed would appear there. After all, in dreams, belief is everything."

He leaned forward slightly, his expressionless face close to Gong Ping, bringing a tremendous sense of oppression.

“Let’s get to know each other formally. I’m Akromma. You may not have heard of me, but that’s not important. What is important is that thing that made you scream so beautifully in your dream, that thing that made you forget all your pain… it’s called Dream Smoke.”

Akromma paused, seemingly enjoying the complex expression on Gongping's face—a mixture of fear, humiliation, and a lingering desire.

"Yes."

He announced calmly, his voice crystal clear in the cold laboratory, carrying an oracular authority.

"I am the creator of Meng Ziyan."

Gongping's body trembled violently, and his breathing almost stopped.

The creator... the master of the smoke that dragged him into heaven and then plunged him into hell...

"That...dream just now..."

Gong Ping's voice trembled uncontrollably; the immense shame and fear of being manipulated made it almost impossible for him to utter a complete sentence.

"It was...it was also...specially made by you?"

"special?"

Akroma's lips finally curved into a clear, cold, and cruel smile.

"Of course. To welcome you, such a special guest, a unique gift is naturally needed. Ordinary Meng Ziyan can only weave beautiful dreams, but I can already precisely control the direction of my emotions."

He pointed to the enormous instrument behind him, which was flashing with countless data streams.

"Human dreams, in my laboratory, are nothing more than editable, compileable, and runnable code programs. Pain, pleasure, fear, love... all emotions are under my control."

He slowly raised his hand, his fingertips seemingly plucking invisible strings in the void.

"Now, I am the god who weaves your dreams."

Akromah's voice was deep and powerful, carrying an undeniable declaration.

"I let you enter into beautiful dreams, and you can only sink into them; I let you enter into nightmares, and you can only endure them. This is my authority, a divine right built on the foundation of science."

As Gong Ping listened to these words, which sounded like the whispers of a demon, and looked into Akromma's eyes, which gleamed with a cold light behind her glasses, his last shred of hope was completely shattered.

Fear, like a cold tide, instantly overwhelmed all his thoughts of resistance.

The man before me is a hundred times more ruthless than the Quick-Gun Team, and ten thousand times more terrifying than Muscle-Head Four! He is a true demon!
"no, do not want……"

Gongping's body trembled violently, tears streaming uncontrollably down his face, his voice filled with desperate sobs.

"Please... Lord Akromar... please... give me that smoke that only makes me dream... I just want to dream... I don't want to wake up... please..."

He struggled to roll off the cold metal table, almost crawling on his hands and feet to Akromma's feet, humbly clinging to Akromma's shiny leather ankles like a begging dog.

"I'll do anything! Anything! Just... just let me go back... back to Miss Ruri's side... back to that warm place... without pain... please..."

His forehead pressed hard against the cold floor, making a dull thud, as if he wanted to gain a shred of pity with this extremely humble posture.

"Please...give me a cigarette...give me a dream..."

Akroma looked down at the man at her feet, who had completely collapsed and lost all his dignity, a hint of satisfaction and disgust flashing in her eyes.

This attitude of willingly succumbing to depravity to escape reality and selling everything for a fleeting dream is exactly what he needs.

However, the other party's spineless attitude disgusted him from the bottom of his heart.

How could he possibly have set his sights on such trash? It's infuriating...

He slowly squatted down, his voice still calm, but with a playful, cat-and-mouse tone.

"Oh? You're willing to do anything? That sounds... very sincere."

Gongping abruptly raised his head, his eyes blazing with the ecstatic joy of a drowning man grasping at a straw, and nodded frantically. "I'm willing! I'm willing! I swear! Lord Akromma!"

"very good."

Akromma extended her foot, clad in an expensive leather shoe, and gently lifted Gongping's chin, forcing him to look directly into her emotionless eyes behind her glasses.

"My request is simple. Tell me... everything about Mo Zhen."

Gong Ping's ecstatic expression froze instantly, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head.

Mr. Mo Zhen? Why would he ask that?!
A tremendous sense of dread gripped Gongping's heart.

The matter between him and Mr. Mo Zhen... is the secret behind his brief "glory," his most private past.

This demon before me… he even knows this?!
"Mr. Mo... Mr. Mo Zhen..."

Gong Ping's voice trembled again, and his eyes darted away.

"He...what happened to him?"

Akroma's voice turned cold, carrying an undeniable sense of oppression.

"As far as I know, before you met that guy in the red suit, you were just a gutter rat struggling to survive in the lower city, making a living through day jobs and theft. Your otter, Ah Shui, was also a malnourished good-for-nothing who couldn't even spray water properly."

Akromah's every word was like a knife, precisely cutting open Gongping's most unbearable scars.

"However, everything changed after you came into contact with Mo Zhen. You suddenly became a trainer. Your Oshawott's Water Gun power increased dramatically in a short period of time, and it could even penetrate the ceiling of a cramped room. It could also unleash amazing power in a Pokémon tournament and go head-to-head with that Scorbunny... This leap in improvement does not conform to any known Pokémon breeding model at all."

Akromah leaned closer, her voice lower, carrying a chilling allure and threat.

“Tell me, Gongping. What did that madman in the red suit do to you? What did he say to you? What did he give you? Or… what did he do to your spirit…? Tell me everything you know about the secrets of his power, without missing a single word. In exchange…”

He straightened up and took out a delicate little glass bottle from the pocket of his white coat. Inside was pink smoke that shimmered with a dreamy glow.

"This is your ticket to Miss Ruri's side. Pure smoke that only dreams."

Akroma gently shook the bottle, and pink smoke swirled under the light, exuding a deadly allure.

"Speak. Your beautiful dream is right before your eyes."

Gongping's eyes were fixed on the small bottle, and the pink smoke flowing inside seemed to transform into Miss Liuli's gentle smile, her warm embrace, and the praise of her fans...

A beautiful dream... Miss Ruri... No pain...

Did they betray Mr. Mo Zhen's secret?
A thought flashed through my mind, bringing a slight sting and guilt.

But this sting is fragile and easily broken in the face of the overwhelming longing for beautiful dreams and the fear of painful reality.

"I said...I said!"

Gong Ping practically shouted it out; he was incoherent and desperate to grasp at that last straw.

"Mr. Mo Zhen... he... he didn't give me anything special! He didn't do anything to Ah Shui either! Really! He just... he just said a few words to me!"

Akromar's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, and a dangerous suspicion crept into his voice.

"A few words?"

"Yes, it is!"

Gong Ping nodded vigorously, afraid that the other party wouldn't believe him.

"He said... he said that to become a trainer... the first step... is to have a confident smile!"

Gong Ping tried his best to imitate Mo Zhen's appearance at that time, forcing a smile that was even uglier than crying, with tear stains and snot.

"The second step is to have a resolute gaze!"

Gong Ping strained to widen his eyes, trying to make his gaze appear "resolute," but under extreme fear and exhaustion, his eyes only showed terror and confusion.

"Finally, and most importantly!"

Gong Ping's voice carried an absurd kind of piety.

"It's about believing... believing in the bond between me and the spirit! Let the spirit think what I think, feel what I feel... as long as our hearts are connected... it has the power to make everything possible for me!"

After saying that, Gong Ping seemed to have exhausted all his strength, collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, and looked at the small bottle in Akromma's hand with a mixture of anticipation and immense fear.

"That's...that's it! Really! That's what he taught me! Confident smile! Resolute gaze! And bonds! That's how I made Ah Shui stronger! Really! I'm not lying to you! Lord Akroma! Quick...quick, give me a cigarette!"

The laboratory was deathly silent. The only sound was the low hum of the instruments.

Akromma's calm was like shattered ice, peeling away bit by bit.

His sharp eyes were fixed on Gongping, who was lying on the ground, rambling incoherently and weeping. His eyes were filled with shock, absurdity, and... a raging fury of being fooled!

A confident smile? A resolute gaze? A bond with an elf?

What the hell is this?! Is this some kind of bedtime story for kids?!
This is an insult to the science he is so proud of! A mockery of the results of his sophisticated instrumental analysis!

He went to great lengths to capture this piece of trash, meticulously designing nightmares to destroy his will, just to hear this... this kindergarten-level "power mantra"?!

A surge of violent anger at being toyed with instantly overwhelmed Akromma's reason.

He suddenly sat up straight, the small bottle of Mengzi cigarettes in his hand cracking as he squeezed it, and his eyes behind his glasses became incredibly sinister.

"Ah……"

A cold, sneer, filled with extreme anger, squeezed out of his throat.

"A confident smile? A resolute gaze? A bond? Little Gongping... do you think... I, Akromar, am easy to mess with? Or... are you still keeping a secret for that madman in the red suit? Are you his loyal follower? Hmm?"

The terrifying pressure, like a solid boulder, crashed down on Gong Ping.

He was so terrified that he shook his head and waved his hands frantically.

"No! No! I didn't! I'm telling the truth! Mr. Mo Zhen really only taught me this! Really! Lord Akromma! You believe me! I'm telling the truth!"

He kowtowed repeatedly, his forehead hitting the ground with a dull thud.

"True?"

Akromma's voice suddenly rose, filled with a hysterical rage.

"Good! Very good! Since you're so loyal and enjoy playing your childish games so much..."

He suddenly slammed the small bottle of Mengzi cigarettes in his hand onto the ground!

"Clap!"

With a crisp sound, the delicate glass bottle shattered into pieces, and the pink smoke inside escaped, only to be instantly drawn away by the laboratory's air purification system and disappear without a trace.

Gongping watched the dissipating pink smoke, as if watching his last beautiful dream shatter completely, and let out a desperate cry.

"Do not--!"

Akroma ignored Gongping's despair, a ferocious and cold smile appearing on his face as he turned and walked towards the massive instrument covered with screens.

"It's alright. Science has its own methods."

His cold voice echoed in the laboratory, like a death sentence.

"Even if you stubbornly refuse to admit it, I have plenty of ways to dig out the truth from your memories, from your spirit, and even from your pain and breakdown!"

His fingers flew across the complex control panel, and the data stream on the screen instantly became even more turbulent.

"Let's see what secrets lie hidden beneath your ridiculous 'confident smile' and 'resolute gaze'! Come in, now... it's your turn! Hehe, Gongping, this is a professional I hired for you, don't disappoint me..."

(End of this chapter)