Let you make a game, what the hell is Pokemon?.

Chapter 208 A Shocking Secret, Fragments of a Survivor's Page!
The old smoker, with his pipe in his mouth, didn't touch it with his hand, but just looked with his intact right eye and gestured for the raven standing on the shelf next to him to come over.

The raven flapped its wings and landed, deftly untying the rope at the bag's opening with its mechanical beak, then rummaging through the contents with its claws.

The first things to roll out were several red and white balls—the ordinary Poké Balls that Ling Feng was carrying.

"Ok?"

The old smoker raised an eyebrow, seemingly intrigued. He picked one up and examined it closely under the dim light, his fingers tracing the smooth surface of the sphere. "This workmanship is quite old-fashioned. Nobody uses these bulky and inefficient containment devices anymore. Kid, where did you get this thing?"

Ling Feng didn't answer him, but simply raised his chin slightly, signaling Dark Raven to continue.

The raven then took a small cube with a metal socket from the bag—a USB flash drive.

Upon seeing this, the old smoker's eyes visibly lit up. He took the USB drive, weighed it in his hand, and a satisfied look appeared on his face: "Tsk, a storage disk? And with this old-fashioned physical interface. I haven't seen this kind of thing for almost several hundred years. It's a real antique, not bad."

Seeing his reaction, Ling Feng had a better understanding of the situation.

As expected, the technology in this world is too advanced, even in terms of civilian technology, it far surpasses the Pokémon world I'm familiar with.

Conversely, some things from their own world become rare collectibles here; anything taken out can become an antique.

This is a classic time-travel trope; items from ancient times would be very valuable in modern times.
Finally, Ling Feng took out a green berry with a faint fragrance from his system space and gently placed it on the table. This was a special berry he had obtained through a lottery using his emotional points; it was a "Dark-type Pokémon Fruit" that could slightly enhance the abilities of Dark-type Pokémon.

"This is an extra gift for him. It will be of great benefit to him if I give it to your Dark Raven."

Ling Feng smiled.

However, this seemingly ordinary tree fruit instantly changed the old smoker's expression.

He sat bolt upright, almost dropping his pipe from his mouth. He stared intently at the fruit, his eyes filled with disbelief. His previous composure vanished instantly, replaced by extreme seriousness and astonishment, a reaction far more intense than when the two other items had appeared.

He waved his hand, and the mechanical Murkrow immediately picked up the Poké Ball and the USB drive, flying back to the shelf to fiddle with them. Old Smoker then gestured towards the door, and the two burly men who had been standing like iron towers by the door immediately retreated silently and closed the metal door of the secret room.

Only Ling Feng, Ah Xuan, and Old Smoker remained in the room. Ah Xuan stood close to Ling Feng, clutching his backpack, the faint light of the small candle flickering barely through the gaps in the backpack.

The old smoker took a deep breath, smoke slowly billowing from his nostrils. His gaze sharpened as he looked directly at Ling Feng, lowering his voice and asking, word by word, "You're not from this world, are you?"

Ling Feng was stunned for a moment. How did this guy figure that out?

He only wanted to find out why the game was banned; he didn't intend to reveal his identity or background, since normally no one would believe him.

It seems the other party must have noticed something from the gift I gave them; the problem lies with that tree fruit.

But why is it possible to make such a bold conjecture based on just this one tree fruit?

Does this tree fruit not exist in this world?

But that doesn't make sense. It's impossible for an old smoker to recognize all the fruits. That shouldn't be the reason.

Ling Feng stopped thinking about it and simply nodded, confirming frankly, "That's right. I come from another world."

The old smoker fell silent, just puffing away, his expression shifting amidst the swirling smoke.

After a long while, he exhaled a heavy smoke ring, his voice filled with complex emotions: "No wonder. So what exactly did you come to this godforsaken place of mine to find out?"

Ling Feng then briefly recounted what had happened. After arriving in this world, he created and released the game "Dark Phantom," which was quickly and completely banned by the so-called alliance of this world. A mysterious person contacted him, saying that there was a problem with the game's content and directed him to Old Smoker for answers.

"A game? What game could cause such a commotion?" Old Smoker seemed somewhat surprised.

Ling Feng didn't say much. He took out another USB drive and plugged it into the port of a similarly old-looking computer in the corner of the secret room. The computer screen flickered a few times before it barely started. Ling Feng operated it for a few moments and brought up a meticulously crafted CG animation from "The Darkest Nightmare"—a scene of Rayquaza traversing the ozone layer, with a spectacular view of azure oceans and green continents below.

The moment the video started playing, both Old Smoker and Ah Xuan froze.

The old smoker stared wide-eyed, his mouth slightly agape, his pipe tilted to one side, not even noticing the ash that had fallen onto his coat.

Ah Xuan seemed completely absorbed in watching.

The vast blue sky, the surging ocean, and the endless, vibrant forest on the screen were all sights he had never seen or even imagined in his long life.

The world that had vanished five hundred years ago was presented to him in such a vivid and shocking way, which had a tremendous impact on him.

The CG ended, the screen went dark, and the old smoker was still in a daze for a long time.

It wasn't until Ling Feng coughed lightly that he trembled and looked at Ling Feng with a complicated expression.

"Sigh," the old smoker sighed deeply, took the long-extinguished pipe from his mouth, and tapped it on the corner of the table. "Normally, no matter how much money someone offers, I would never utter a single word about this information. But today, considering your gift and your background, I'll make an exception."

He paused, as if organizing his thoughts, before speaking in an unusually low voice: "Kid, listen carefully. This place we live in, this so-called 'city,' is not a normal world at all. We... are actually living underground in a huge, man-made shelter."

Ling Feng was shocked. Although he had some suspicions, he really hadn't expected it to be like this. He subconsciously glanced at Ah Xuan beside him, whose eyes were also wide open, clearly hearing this for the first time as well.

“About five hundred years ago, a great catastrophe occurred in the world above ground that no one can quite explain. It is said that the entire world collapsed and became uninhabitable. Many Pokémon also died. Those who survived, along with their Pokémon, could only hide in the underground shelters that had been built long ago, which is the place where we are now. Generation after generation, they have survived like this,” Old Smoker said slowly.

"The Alliance—those who rule here—seized power shortly after the disaster. The first and most important thing they did was to block all news about the past. They rewrote history textbooks, destroyed all records, and used every means to make the people living here completely forget that we once had blue skies and white clouds, and forget the fact that we actually live deep underground. They call this the 'Great Blockade' and the 'Law of Oblivion'."

He pointed to the now-darkened computer screen: "And what's the name of the game you made? 'The Darkest Nightmare,' right? The things depicted in it—blue skies, oceans, forests—are the greatest taboos in this world, things that should absolutely not exist. The Alliance will never allow anyone to spread this kind of information, because it shakes the very foundation of their rule."

"That's why they're banning your game as quickly as possible, at all costs, and they'll definitely do everything they can to track you down."

Ling Feng suddenly realized.

No wonder he felt something was off ever since he transmigrated here. The sky was always an unnatural white, the air always smelled of engine oil and recycled gases, and even the sun looked strange.

It turned out that he had been in a huge underground space all along.

However, if that's the case... Ling Feng couldn't help but feel a little strange.

The alliance from my original world doesn't seem to have any intention of banning my game. If they really wanted to, could they do it?
While he was pondering, a system notification quickly popped up, answering his questions.

[Host, please note that in the first world you have transmigrated to, the system has both concealed your identity and enhanced your game's network permissions. No one can influence your game through any means. However, worlds linked via the dimensional communicator are not subject to this protection.]

Ling Feng was stunned upon hearing this.

So that's how it is... It seems this problem really needs to be solved.

At the same time, Old Smoker paused, his gaze falling on Ling Feng again. His meaning was clear—if you want exciting information, it's time to pay more.

Ling Feng naturally understood what he meant. He took out one of each of the different tree fruits he had obtained from the lottery from his system space, and after thinking for a moment, he took out an additional high-grade ball and placed them all in front of Old Smoker.

These things meant nothing to him, but to the underworld, especially to connoisseurs like Old Smoker, they were true treasures.

The old smoker stared wide-eyed at the small pile of things on the table, exuding a natural aura. Without being told, the dark raven nimbly swooped down, carefully picked up everything, and placed it in a large metal cabinet, locking it away.

He seemed even more satisfied with Ling Feng's reward, rubbing his hands together and smoothing out the wrinkles on his face.

He continued in a low voice, "Go on, the Alliance has a special agency called the Bureau of Historical Truth. It sounds nice, but they do the dirty work of erasing all traces of history. The investigation into you and your game is very likely orchestrated by them. These guys are ruthless, so you'd better be careful. It's not a good thing to mess with them."

Ling Feng waved his hand, indicating that it was alright, and that there was probably no one in this world who could threaten him.

To get more information, he took out another magic candy and placed it on the table.

Although the old smoker was unclear about the specific effects of this candy, he could still clearly feel the peculiar energy it contained, and naturally knew that it was a good thing.

The old smoker took a deep breath, feeling great; he hadn't received so many good things in a long time.

Without further hesitation, he revealed a deeper secret: "That's about all I know and can say about the surface world. But in this lower city, there exists a secret organization called the 'Watchmen'."

“The Watchers?” Ling Feng repeated the name.

“Hmm.” The old smoker nodded, his expression growing even more solemn. “It is said that they are descendants of ancestors who survived the Great Catastrophe, and have been secretly passed down from generation to generation. Like preserving the last embers, they secretly pass on fragmented information and legends about the world on earth, firmly believing that the truth will one day reappear. I am also one of their liaisons outside.”

He glanced at Ling Feng: "The answer you're looking for, regarding how to deal with the Alliance, or perhaps finding a way to 'above,' might start with a relic preserved by the 'Watchers.'"

"What relics?"

“A fragment of what’s called the ‘Survivor’s Diary.’” The old smoker looked around, seemingly quite wary. “It’s said to have been left by a survivor of the disaster five hundred years ago. It not only records the horrific details of the disaster, but may also mention clues to an ancient passage leading to the earthly world that may not be completely sealed off—the ‘Sky.’”

Ling Feng immediately became interested: a passage back to the surface world?

After that disaster, and five hundred years later, he was genuinely curious about what the earth would become.

"But this fragment is hidden very deep inside the old data port. That place is now the Alliance's junk data processing center. On the surface, the security isn't too tight, but the environment inside is complex, with abandoned machines everywhere and automated patrolling cleaning robots."

Old Smoker reminded him, "As long as you don't alert those cleaning robots, there shouldn't be any problems, but you'll have to go see those Watchers to find out the exact location of the fallen leaves."

Ling Feng heard this and made a decision: first, he would go and see who these Watchers were, and then go to the old data port to find the tattered pages of the "Survivor's Diary".

With this thing, I can better understand the truth of this world and see how I should act next.

Without further ado, Ling Feng stood up: "Thank you, give me the address."

The old smoker didn't say much, quickly carved a rough coordinate on a piece of scrap metal, handed it to Ling Feng, and snorted.

"Good luck, kid. Remember, if you get targeted by Li Zhengwei's men, it's best to run away. You'd better not mess with those guys; they're all lunatics."

(End of this chapter)