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

Chapter 236 Re-exploring the Maze, New Mechanisms?
Meanwhile, on Liuli's side, the game had already entered its second day.

The morning sea breeze, carrying a salty, damp scent, blew into the broken door frame and awakened the fireflies on the straw mat.

What's amazing is that even in front of the screen, Liuli could feel the scent of the wind and the sea.

She's already used to it; this is just the incredible skill of Feng's father.

Liuli shook the burning insect's head, and after a night, the flame tentacles on her head seemed to have wilted a little.

She immediately looked at the straw mat next to her.

Hakron lay there quietly, his eyes closed, his breathing weak but steady.

The sapphire-like scales shimmered in the morning light, but the scars on its body were still shocking to behold.

The image of that eerie black mist from last night resurfaced in Liuli's mind.

She couldn't help but feel a bit of a headache. This Hakron was definitely a big problem, but she couldn't just leave it alone and abandon it, could she?
"Hmm..." Squirtle next to him rubbed his eyes and sat up. He subconsciously looked at Dragonair first. "Is it dawn? It..." He immediately went over to check carefully and breathed a sigh of relief when he found that the situation had not worsened.

Immediately afterwards, a loud "gurgling" sound came from his stomach.

Squirtle's face instantly turned red, and it awkwardly clutched its stomach. "Uh... um... I... I'm a little hungry..."

The next moment, Liuli was stunned.

hungry?

He glanced at his team's status bar and noticed a yellow bar below his and Squirtle's stamina bars.
Holy crap? This game has a hunger meter??
At this moment, both of their yellow bars were almost empty.

Looking at Squirtle's embarrassed state and remembering his dilapidated little house, Liuli sighed inwardly.

Oh no, I never thought I'd be so broke in the game that I couldn't even afford to eat.

This turtle is quite strong, but its life is truly miserable.

Everyone is so poor they can't even afford food. I'm just a burden who can only spit out silk, and now I've picked up a comatose, almost godlike patient... The starting difficulty is off the charts.

“Let’s go,” Ruri said, controlling her Burning Bug to stand up and gently touching Squirtle with her antennae. “We’re a one-star rescue team now! Getting some quests from the guild and earning money to buy food won’t be a problem. And while we’re at it… let’s see if we can find out anything about this guy.”

Although she still had her eye on the purple stone that cost fifty gold coins to appraise, she was too poor to consider it for now.

"Yes!" Squirtle nodded vigorously, agreeing wholeheartedly.

The tortoise and the insect carefully bypassed the dragon, left their drafty "home," and headed back to the Fat Koopa Guild deep in the forest.

On the way, Ruri, controlling her Flamethrower, followed beside Squirtle and finally had a chance to ask the question she'd been holding back all night. "Squirtle, what exactly happened with those mazes? And what about those Pokémon emitting purple mist? How did the rescue team get here?"

After what happened before, she began to be curious about the basic settings of this world.

Not only her, but also the viewers in the live stream.

As Squirtle led the way, he began to explain earnestly.

"Those labyrinths... weren't always like this. The seniors in the guild told me that a long, long time ago, one day, these strange places suddenly appeared all over the world. The terrain inside changes on its own, like it's alive, and it's full of danger."

He paused, lowered his voice, and sounded a little scared.

"The scariest thing is the Pokémon inside. For some reason, they've become completely unable to communicate. Their eyes are red, they're surrounded by a purple mist, and they're incredibly aggressive, attacking any other Pokémon they see. Many Pokémon living near the dungeon have suffered; some have gone missing, and others... have become like them."

"Once you enter the maze, if you lose your combat ability, it's not so bad for low-star mazes, but in high-star mazes... there will be a fog everywhere, and if your stamina is low, you may be in danger of being assimilated at any time."

As Liuli listened, she gained a general understanding.

From this perspective, these labyrinths are the source of those Pokémon mutations, and the purple mist is the pollution.
What is the ultimate main storyline of this game?
“So,” Squirtle continued, his tone becoming firm, “the Jigglypuff Guild was formed! In the beginning, it was Jigglypuff Guild Master and some powerful seniors who, in order to protect everyone, entered the dungeon to rescue trapped Pokémon, retrieve lost important items, or investigate the cause of the dungeon's anomalies.”

"Gradually, more and more Pokémon joined, and it developed into what it is today! Our rescue team exists to help Pokémon in need and fight against the threat of the dungeons."

When asked about the rescue team's mission, Squirtle's eyes sparkled with longing.

"Then... how can we become stronger and take on more advanced missions?" Liuli asked the most practical question.

You can't just keep fighting bugs and collecting items in a one-star maze, can you?
"Oh! This!" Squirtle perked up again at the mention of professional knowledge. "When we first joined, we were at the 'Leaf' level, the lowest level. To level up, we need to earn points by completing missions! The more missions we complete, the higher the difficulty, and the better the evaluation, the more points we get!"

"Once we accumulate enough points, the guild will upgrade our badges!"

He pointed to the green Fat Koding smiley face badge on his chest. "Above the green leaf are bronze leaves, silver leaves, gold leaves... and above that are even more powerful star-level teams. The higher the level, the more difficult the missions you can take on, and the richer the rewards!"

"I've heard that five-star teams can enter the deepest and most dangerous labyrinths."

Squirtle's tone was full of longing.

“But right now,” he scratched his head sheepishly, “we can only take on simple quests in one-star dungeons. Like gathering, finding lost items, or clearing out low-level purple mist Pokémon on the outskirts.”

As they spoke, they arrived at the huge guild treehouse once again.

The guild hall was even noisier during the day than yesterday, with all sorts of Pokémon coming and going.

Squirtle seemed a little nervous again, and subconsciously shrank behind the Firefly.

Liuli ignored him and directly manipulated the burning insects to squeeze in front of the central counter.

The meerkat detective was still at the counter, pushing up his round-framed glasses and quickly processing documents.

"Senior! We're here to accept the mission!" Liuli pressed the interaction button, her voice coming through the microphone with great enthusiasm.

Detective Mongoose looked up, his glasses reflecting the light.

"The Green Leaf Squad? Hmm."

He pointed to a notice board next to him covered with numerous white and a few green mission slips: "One-star mission area, choose for yourself, and do what you can."

Liuli approached the notice board, and a list of available tasks appeared on the screen:

【★采集任务：为药剂店收集5株‘蓝莓果’（地点：平原F1-F3）报酬：20银币 5积分】

【★Find the Lost Item: The Longtailed Monster's Lost 'Round Pebble' (Location: Mushroom Swamp F2-F4) Reward: 25 Silver Coins 5 Points】

【★清理任务：驱赶骚扰甜竹竹领地的3只圆丝蛛（地点：丝线森林F3-F4）报酬：30银币 5积分】

【★…】

All of them were one-star, with rewards ranging from 20 to 30 silver coins, and the points were all five points. Liuli frowned as she looked at them.

How long would it take to save up fifty gold coins? Her gaze involuntarily drifted to the area next to her that was covered with blue and even a few red commission slips—that was the area for higher-level missions.

Liuli suddenly had an idea. This game has such a high degree of freedom, maybe she could give it a try?
“Senior,” Liuli asked tentatively, “could we… try taking on a blue two-star mission? I guarantee we can complete it!”

She recalled Squirtle's fighting strength and her own teamwork yesterday... well, it was barely considered pretty good.

Detective Mongoose didn't even look up, a cold glint flashing in his glasses. "You, one star." His voice was completely flat. "If you want to take on higher-level missions, level up first. Nothing else matters."

Squirtle gently tugged at the antennae of the Burning Bug from behind and whispered, "Liuli... the guild rules are very strict... let's do the one-star quest first..."

The comments started scrolling by:
[Haha, the streamer wanted to fight a monster much higher level but got rejected!]

[Detective Mongoose: Rules are rules!]

[That coward Squirtle, he didn't even say anything for the streamer, haha.]

[The streamer should just stick to his regular job of manual labor~]

Seeing this, Liuli sighed.

Well, it seems the rules here are forcing me to be more strict with myself.

She scanned the task board and finally settled on a task with a relatively high reward and a familiar location.

【★Cleanup Mission: Drive away 3 round silk spiders harassing Sweet Bamboo's territory (Location: Silk Thread Forest F3-F4) Reward: 30 silver coins】

"This one will do!" She accepted the task.

This task offers the highest gold reward; every little bit helps, especially when we can barely afford food.

Moreover, I visited this Silk Thread Forest yesterday, so the mission will be easier if I'm familiar with the terrain.

As she made her choice, a prompt popped up.

[Accept a one-star quest: Drive away the orb-weaver spiders!]

【任务目标：击败/驱赶丝线森林F3-F4区域内的3只圆丝蛛(0/3)】

"Alright! Target: Thread Forest! Let's go make some money!" Liuli controlled the Burning Bug, leading the still somewhat uneasy Squirtle, and once again stepped into the forest maze inhabited by Silver Thread and Purple Mist Pokémon.

During the transition, a segment was suddenly inserted.

On the straw mat in Squirtle's hut, on the unconscious Dragonair, the deepest wound seemed to move almost imperceptibly in the morning light. A wisp of dark purple mist, more solid than the night before, quietly seeped out and quickly disappeared beneath the scales.

Liuli watched this scene and rubbed her forehead.

Brother, you don't need to keep reminding me that there's something wrong with this Hakkarosaurus, do you?

Why are you pushing so hard?!
Stepping into the familiar Silk Thread Forest F1 area, the damp earthy smell mixed with the stench of decaying plants once again hits you.

Liuli controlled the Burning Bug to follow closely behind Squirtle, observing the surroundings and discovering that the illusion within the maze seemed to have changed slightly from the last time.

"Liuli, have you noticed? Every time we enter a maze and leave, and then come back the next day, the maze changes... The changes are smaller in low-star mazes, but much larger in high-star mazes."

Squirtle seemed very alert.

"Although it's only a one-star mission, accidents can happen at any time in the maze, so we must be careful."

Soon, at a corner in area F2, they encountered their first target—a round silk spider.

The creature was lying on a newly woven web when it saw Squirtle and Flamebug. It immediately started squeaking and spraying sticky silk in an attempt to entangle the two.

"Watch out!" Squirtle growled, nimbly dodging to the side while simultaneously unleashing a precise water jet!

Seeing this, Liuli was stunned for a moment. She felt that Squirtle's behavior seemed to be even smarter than during yesterday's battle.

So, does this mean that even if it's commanded by AI, it will still grow stronger in battle?

That's pretty good.

At the same time, the water slammed into the round silk spider, knocking it off its web. It rolled several times in a sorry state, its health bar dropping significantly. Enraged, it pounced again.

Liuli controlled the burning insects, which continued to spit silk.

A thin white thread flew out and stuck to several legs of the round silk spider with a thud.

The orb-weaver spider slowed down noticeably and became clumsy.

Squirtle seized the opportunity and unleashed another water gun attack, sending the spider packing.

A line of information begins to refresh.

【任务目标：击败/驱赶丝线森林F3-F4区域内的3只圆丝蛛(1/3)】

Squirtle turned back and gave Flamethrower an encouraging smile. The two continued deeper into the F3 area.

The silver threads are denser in area F3, and there are more slippery moss and puddles on the ground.

Liuli carefully maneuvered the Flamingo, constantly watching its step. Just then, Squirtle seemed to step on some soft moss, and the ground beneath its feet suddenly collapsed!
"A trap!" Squirtle cried out in alarm, its body plummeting downwards!

Although the trap wasn't made of deadly stone spikes, it was filled with sharp pebbles!

Liuli's heart jumped into her throat.

Without thinking twice, she almost instinctively controlled the Flamebug and used String Shot on the rock next to Squirtle!
The white thread clung precisely to the rock, while the other end was held firmly by the Flaming Bug. Squirtle's plummeting body was jolted by the thread, narrowly dangling from the edge of the collapse!

Liuli quickly manipulated the Incineroar to drag it backward. The Incineroar's small body burst with power, slowly pulling Squirtle up from the edge of the trap.

Squirtle scrambled back to safety, patting his chest in shock. "That was so dangerous! Thank you, Ruri!" He looked at the Firefly with gratitude in his eyes.

The comments section instantly filled with messages:
[Holy crap! The streamer reacted incredibly fast!]

[Spitting silk has done a great job! Who said this skill is useless?]

[Squirtle almost became Squirtle Scum! lol!]

[This trap interaction came so fast! It was just as exciting as Bulbasaur falling down in the CG!]

Having survived this ordeal, the two proceeded with even greater caution. In a corner of area F4, filled with enormous vines and glowing blue mushrooms, they finally discovered two more round silk spiders, which were attempting to swarm a trembling sweet bamboo.

(End of this chapter)