Pokémon: I picked up a reborn Eevee at the start of the game.

This keystone, though not as perfectly round as the polished one in the animation, is just as beautiful.

Under the sunlight, the layers of gradually changing colors shimmered with a beautiful, colorful luster, and deep within the stone, the mysterious pattern that resembled an eye was exceptionally conspicuous.

Seeing this distinctive pattern, Xia Chen felt reassured, certain that this was indeed the Keystone!

As Xia Chen was admiring the beauty of the keystone, he suddenly felt something tugging at his feet. Looking down, he saw that the mandible ant was biting his trouser leg with its serrated mandibles.

With a knowing smile, Xia Chen took out a storage sphere specifically for storing energy cubes and poured it all out, regardless of how much was left inside.

With a wave of his hand, he declared generously, "They're all yours!"

Seeing the energy cubes piled up on the ground, almost forming a small mountain, the mandible ant's starry eyes nearly turned into crescent moons with delight. It pounced into the energy cube box and began to feast.

Xia Chen ignored it and instead released Guleton. He pointed to the small hole that the mandible ant had just dug and said, "Can we dig a big pit along this small tunnel?"

So Leighton looked him over and nodded to indicate that there was no problem.

"Small idea."

Therefore, the Leighton excavator immediately began construction.

Getting a legendary elf to do this kind of digging work is something only Xia Chen could probably manage.

Even though he couldn't help, Xia Chen didn't sit idle. He turned on his phone and started recording, not to record the legendary Pokémon's embarrassing history, but to use as material for future super evolution research.

"Brother Xia Chen, is this the stone you're looking for? What's it for?"

Although Xijiana didn't know why Xia Chen was so excited, she was inexplicably happy for him.

Xia Chen gripped the keystone tightly in his hand and said meaningfully, "This is a key, a keystone leading to a new world. Remember this day, Xiao Xi. You have witnessed history. The world's格局 (geju, a term referring to the overall structure or pattern of the world) will be changed because of it."

Although she still couldn't understand it, it seemed very impressive. Looking at the shining stone in Xia Chen's hand, Xijiana nodded in a daze.

…………

Legendary Pokémon are legendary Pokémon after all; even when digging, they are much faster than ordinary Pokémon.

The video recording on Xia Chen's phone had only been running for half a minute when Leton made a round trip, carrying seven or eight keystones in its paws that were similar in size to those in Xia Chen's hands.

So Leton flew out of the pit, shook off the dirt sticking to his body, and then threw the keystones to Xia Chen.

"I brought these up for you because you like them."

That line is incredibly boyfriend-like, but unfortunately Xia Chen is straight.

Xia Chen used his superpowers to suspend the keystones in front of him, then asked, "What's the situation down there? Are there any more stones like these? How many are there?"

After thinking for a moment, Leighton replied, "Well, let me put it this way. I just casually patted that big rock and knocked it off. That rough rock could probably yield nearly a thousand of these stones."

Xia Chen nodded slightly, seemingly lost in thought, and said, "Nearly a thousand? Hopefully, the keystones aren't just distributed in one place."

There are hundreds of millions of trainers in the world, and even those who are qualified and capable of Mega Evolution number in the tens of thousands. Clearly, less than a thousand Key Stones cannot meet the demand.

Even if the entire world only had these keystones, Xia Chen, who controlled these resources, would instantly become the richest and most powerful person in the world.

Of course, it's also possible to become the target of public criticism.

Neither of these is what Xia Chen desires. What he hopes for is for the unprecedented super storm of Mega Evolution to sweep across and change the world.

The more Keystones the better, although the characteristics of Mega Evolution dictate that it will only become a tool for the elite.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Xia Chen said to Gu Leton, "Could you help me dig out the whole rough stone underneath?"

Therefore, Leighton nodded: "Okay, but it will take some time. This stone is connected to the entire Meteor Cave, and violent demolition may affect the stability of the cave."

Xia Chen didn't want to become a sinner who destroyed a thousand-year-old relic, so he naturally said he had no problem. Now that his worries were over, he could wait.

Seeing Guleton disappear from sight again, Xia Chen looked at the keystones hovering in front of him, picked out the largest and most dazzling one, and took it in his hand.

"Xiao Xi, come here."

Xia Chen waved to Xijiana.

"what."

The girl walked over reluctantly, looking at the man who had lied to her twice with a wary expression.

Xia Chen smiled helplessly and patted the little girl's head. "Alright, put your hand out. You can only do this much. Trust me one more time, okay? If I lied to you, I'd be a stupid ant!"

A mandible ant poked its head out from the pile of energy cube boxes, looking around.

Was someone just talking about me?

Higana chuckled, and though she hesitated, she still stretched out her little hand.

Xia Chen smiled slightly and placed the round keystone, about the size of a pigeon's egg, in her hand.

"Consider this my belated gift. I hope you will keep it safe. Believe me, it will shine brightest in your hands in the future."

Xijiana sensed the seriousness in Xia Chen's tone, and she responded softly before nodding firmly.

"I'll remember that, Brother Xia Chen."

…………

Meanwhile, in the temporary tunnel that stretched for nearly a kilometer from the ground to the Meteor Cave, Huoyan and her group had reached the end.

Seeing a glimmer of light, Fire Goose, who was walking at the front, took out a Poké Ball from her waist.

In the narrow tunnel, a flash of white light appeared, and a bird spirit resembling a sharp pair of scissors emerged.

"Your Highness Yan, go out and check the situation first, be careful."

As the most capable cadre under Chi Yansong, Huo Yan is intelligent and cunning, and always has a backup plan. This secret tunnel-digging plan was devised by her.

Now, even though she is only one step away from the success of her plan, she has not let her guard down. The villains not only die from talking too much, but also from being too bold.

Fire Goose is a timid person.

Half a minute later, the message brought back by the returning King Swallow made her expression darken.

She muttered to herself, "Someone beat me to it. Could it be Shui Wutong and her group?"

Chapter 312 A Great Forbidden Life, Can Mortals Really Control It?

? (6k)

Meteor Falls is fed by an underground river that runs through the entire cave. The tunnel that the Lava Team dug to avoid the patrols guarding Meteor Cave ended right next to the underground river.

The rushing water was so powerful that making any noise here wouldn't attract the attention of the elves above the cave entrance.

This should have been the best route for illegally excavating meteorites, but the smoothly progressing plan was abruptly interrupted by the reply from the Great Swallow.

After a brief conversation with Da Wang Yan, Huo Yan suddenly turned around and looked coldly at Solans, who was sandwiched between two Lava Team members.

"Dr. Solans, shouldn't you explain this?"

Intelligence leaked, meteorite intercepted. If it's not a coincidence, there must be an insider. Fire Goose decides to start by taking down Solans, an outsider.

"It has nothing to do with me! Haven't I been under your surveillance the whole time? You even send someone to follow me to the toilet, boohoo!"

As he tried to explain himself, Solans recalled his experiences over the past few days, and the more aggrieved he felt, the more tears welled up in his eyes.

"Shut up, stop crying. I hate men who cry the most!"

Fire Goose withdrew her gaze from secretly scrutinizing the other team members, and incidentally alerted High Solans.

She didn't really suspect the bookworm; she just wanted to see if anyone else reacted strangely.

Team Magma and Team Aqua are arch-rivals, so it's perfectly normal for them to plant spies in each other's ranks.

However, everyone seems to be behaving normally so far, so the possibility of the plan being leaked is not very high.

Having essentially ruled out that possibility, the most likely explanation is only one thing—coincidence.

According to Da Wang Yan, there were only two people digging the pit, and only two elves were with them.

No more information could be obtained, since the Fire Goose couldn't communicate directly with the Great Swallow.

Even brief information can lead to a lot of inferences.

First of all, those two people could not possibly be from the Ocean team. The reason is simple: if they were from the Ocean team, their numbers would not be so meager.

Secondly, they are most likely related to Meteor Village.

There are only two ways to enter the Meteor Cave: either dig a tunnel like you would, or come in openly through the entrance.

The former is unlikely, as the lava team checked the surrounding area for several miles when they dug the hole and found nothing unusual.

So there's only one possibility: they are either Meteor People or people connected to the Meteor People.

Having reached this conclusion, Huoyan pondered for a moment.

Should we become their enemy?

If we were ruthless enough to eliminate those two people and their two Pokémon, and then have Team Magma intercept and take over, that would be the perfect scenario.

But what if they are powerful, or realize what's happening and call for the pseudo-god patrol outside, or what if other elves are lurking in the shadows?

There are too many possibilities, and the risks are too great.

However, if the plan to excavate the meteorite is abandoned, the plan to awaken Groudon will have to be postponed.

Huo Yan frowned in thought, her pearly teeth unconsciously biting her red lips; she was unwilling to give up.

Time was of the essence; if they hesitated any longer, the people outside would dig the meteorite away.

In a flash, she came up with a temporary plan.

Huoyan turned to her subordinate, "Huomao, come here for a second."

…………

Excavation work is still underway in front of the pool at the foot of Meteor Falls.

So, three minutes have passed since Leighton went down into the ground for the second time, and he still hasn't come up. It seems that, as he said, the keystone is indeed difficult to handle.

While waiting, Xiao Xi happily played with the keystone Xia Chen had given her, while Xia Chen idly observed the ants' foolish eating habits.

Just then, Xia Chen's clothes were tugged at by something again.

"Buyi. (There was a gaze watching us from the shadows just now.)"

Xianbu reminded him calmly.

Xia Chen nodded slightly and replied, "A Swellow of Gym Level couldn't possibly be a native Pokémon, and its location is also very strange."