Pokémon: Did you play Pokémon today?

Chapter 261 This is an order, obey it obediently

Faced with Akin's defiant challenge, Crimson did not immediately accept.

After a moment's thought, he turned to Qinglu, who had been watching with her arms crossed, and asked with a cryptic tone, "Are you going?"

"go."

Qinglu nodded succinctly, her tone calm yet firm.

He seemed to have considered this issue long ago.

"The organizers of this year's event went all out, inviting all the official gym leaders from the Kanto and Johto regions, and even sending invitations to the Elite Four."

"They said it was to promote exchange and learning between trainers from the two regions, and anyway, they made quite a grand show of it—"

He shrugged, his tone indifferent, but there was a hint of interest in his eyes.

"I have no reason not to go."

Bai Zhou, who overheard this conversation, had increasingly bright eyes. It was as if the clouds had parted and the sun had shone through his mind, and he saw a lighthouse guiding his way in the darkness!

He couldn't help but interject, "Qinglu, you just said—how many museum owners agreed to participate?"

"Hmm? Brother Bai Zhou?"

Qinglu looked at Bai Zhou, who had suddenly come over, with some surprise. She hadn't expected him to be interested in this topic. After a moment's thought, she replied, "According to the inside information I received, basically all the well-known museum owners have agreed. After all, it's a good opportunity for public exchange and showcasing strength, and it also allows us to find out the background of our counterparts in other regions."

"OK!"

Bai Zhou was overjoyed.

This is like a dream come true, a sudden and unexpected breakthrough!

Open communication is great! He loves open communication the most!

He made the decision immediately.

"When you register, please register me too!"

"What?! Brother Bai Zhou, you're going to participate?!"

Bilan, who had been keeping a low profile and obediently (pretending) patting Bai Zhou's back from behind, suddenly exclaimed and stopped what she was doing.

"Didn't you never participate in any competitive activities?! You even found the community fishing tournament too much trouble! Why the sudden change—"

After her initial shock, her eyes darted around as if she'd spotted a business opportunity, and she quickly added, "I want to go too! I happen to have a lot of props I've stockpiled—uh, I mean props—I can set up a stall outside the venue and definitely make a fortune!"

There were still things she hadn't fully said.

That is the raging flame called "the desire to win" and "the desire for revenge".

Now, she finally had the chance to face Bai Zhou fair and square in an official match!

She was determined to win decisively over him!

To redeem myself from all the previous humiliations of being "scammed"!

They brutally ravaged his teeth!

"Keep hitting! Didn't I tell you to stop? Stop!"

Bai Zhou turned his head fiercely and glared at Bi Lan, who was grinning foolishly, and commanded in a harsh tone, "The punishment isn't over yet!"

This little brat, if you don't discipline her for two days, she'll be climbing on the roof and tearing off the tiles!

They even dared to be the "mastermind" behind his kidnapping! This score isn't settled yet!

The others around them had obviously also heard Bai Zhou's declaration that he wanted to participate in the competition.

After the initial surprise, a dangerous yet tempting thought arose in everyone's mind, unanimously and tacitly.

Brother Bai Zhou is actually going to participate in the competition!

Doesn't that mean I'll have a chance to face him in a formal competition?

Even more extreme—

Could we take advantage of the competition rules to openly and legally "bully" him a little?

After all, this is a fair competition. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, you can't just deliberately throw the game or admit defeat outright, can you?

In the arena, fists and feet have no eyes, so it's quite normal for Pokémon battles to have some "accidents" —

The thought of this possibility struck everyone present.

From crimson and turquoise to the recently "defeated" Akin, and even the indifferent-looking Little Silver, their eyes all began to look strange.

Everyone was eager and excited, their hearts filled with anticipation!

There was no opportunity before, but now the opportunity is right in front of you!

Whether you can control it or not depends on your individual "skills"!

Bai Zhou's body trembled, and he suddenly felt a strange chill.

He looked around at his companions, whose eyes were "kind" and whose smiles were "bright," with some suspicion and uncertainty.

"Wait—why are you all suddenly looking at me like that?"

He instinctively took a half step back, his tone tinged with wariness.

"It's weird and creepy—"

Afterwards, Bai Zhou asked Qing Lü in more detail about the format, rules, and registration channels of the "Pokémon All-Round Competition".

After confirming that there were no major problems, he formally asked Qinglu to help him register.

Then he prepared to discard the donkey after it had served its purpose—bah!

They were planning to politely ask Qinglu and the other locals to go home and find their own mothers, citing "it's getting late."

However, it was as if Crimson and the others had anticipated that Bai Zhou was going to kick them out, before he could even give the order to leave.

They quickly slipped into the villa and slammed the doors shut, giving Bai Zhou no chance to speak.

Through the brief opening and closing of the door, Bai Zhou also caught a glimpse of the highly personalized furnishings inside the rooms, which could not have been completed in a short time.

Clearly, Crimson and his group truly considered this place their home, and had been secretly living here for quite some time now.

Bai Zhou stared at the rows of tightly closed doors, speechless.

Seriously, man?!

Is this my house or yours? It seems like you've lived here longer than I have—

..

He selectively ignored the fact that he was often "on the go" and that the number of times he actually returned to the villa was very few.

It was mainly because Ajin, Xiaoyin, and Kristal had come from afar, and as their host, it was fine to let them stay overnight.

Crimson, Green, and Blue—they all clearly have their own houses in Pallet Town!

Besides, it's not far from here, at most a few minutes' walk! Is it really necessary to linger here?!

However—Bai Zhou thought about it again and decided it didn't matter, and even felt a little secretly pleased.

Anyway, this villa is just sitting empty, and there are plenty of rooms.

With these free laborers and liveliness-boosting individuals around, and the ability to order them around to run errands at any time, why wouldn't he take advantage of it?

Even more ruthless.

Once they've lived here longer and gotten used to it, he'll start charging them exorbitant rent!

Let them suffer in silence! Hehe————

Humming an off-key song full of capitalist flair, Bai Zhou scooped up Gengar, who was glaring at the sky, and Larvitar, who was gnawing on furniture.

Ignoring their symbolic struggles, I slowly walked into the washroom, ready to end this long day.

After a brief "bathing war".

Exhausted, Bai Zhou lay down on his soft, comfortable bed, preparing to drift off to sleep and perhaps give the little ones some special training in his dreams.

bite-

His phone, which was on the bedside table, rang, quite inconsiderately.

Bai Zhou frowned and scratched his hair in frustration.

I glanced at the caller ID and it was Olive.

Considering her meticulous nature, she would never bother him at this time unless it was urgent or important.

Bai Zhou had no choice but to resign himself to his fate and get up again to answer the phone.

"Good evening, Lord Shiraishu. I'm very sorry to disturb your rest so late."

Olive's cool and respectful voice came from the phone.

Although his tone remained calm, Bai Zhou still managed to detect a subtle, barely concealed weariness.

"Regarding the hidden story discovery event held by the Pokémon FireRed/LeafGreen game community, tomorrow is the final deadline for submissions and judging."

She continued her work report.

"The publicity department has compiled all the activity-related posts published in the community and made a preliminary priority ranking and list based on the quality, depth, innovation, and community feedback of the post content."

"However, the final determination and distribution of event rewards, as well as the proposal to recruit some outstanding players as official peripheral testers or community managers, still require your personal review and final decision-making —"

Bai Zhou rubbed his slightly swollen temples, trying to keep his tone gentle.

"Okay, I understand."

"Just send the compiled relevant information and the list link to my work email, and I'll handle the rest."

He paused, his tone tinged with concern.

"Thank you for your hard work, Olive. It's so late and you still have to deal with these things. You sound a little tired. Other routine operational matters at the company can be put on hold for now if they're not too urgent."

Seemingly feeling that simple concern wasn't enough, he thought for a moment and then added in a slightly forceful tone.

"This is an order, obey me."

Command — Obey me —

On the other end of the phone, Olive, who was sitting in her office boss's chair, trying to stay awake in front of her computer screen, trembled violently the moment she heard these words!

A complex emotion that blends the warmth of being cared for, the strange sense of obedience of being commanded, and a certain secret excitement.

Like an electric current, it instantly coursed through her body, assaulting her reason.

An abnormal flush suddenly appeared on her always pale cheeks, and even her ears turned crimson.

Her breathing became inexplicably rapid, and she exuded a charm that was completely different from her usual serious image—an inexplicable eroticism.

Her voice also changed, becoming slightly sticky, due to her physical discomfort.

"Ugh—My lord—"

She unconsciously uttered a muffled nasal sound.

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

Hearing the muffled groan coming from the phone, Bai Zhou asked curiously, "What happened over there? Your voice sounds strange."

No! No!

Olive was jolted awake from that strange state, her strong self-control allowing her to forcefully suppress her surging emotions.

His voice quickly returned to its usual calm and even tone, carrying a hint of apology.

"I'm so sorry! Because—because I'm a little tired, I was a bit lost in thought and failed to respond clearly. Please—punish me—"

"Punishment?"

Even though Bai Zhou was incredibly "heartless," he couldn't help but feel a pang of embarrassment and guilt.

Have I been treating Oliver too much like a "donkey in the production team"?

Not only did they dump all the work on her, but she even asked for punishment for such a trivial problem as being distracted?

Look what they've done to such an excellent and responsible employee!

Although he didn't seem to do anything—

"Punishment? Punishment my ass!"

Bai Zhou sighed and rubbed his forehead, deliberately making his tone fierce, hoping to scold the poor child out of his "crooked mind".

"If you're tired, go and rest right now! Immediately! Right now!"

He emphasized his words, trying to make her understand the importance and urgency of the matter.

"To me, all those messy, trivial things at the company are nothing compared to your health! You'd better take better care of yourself, you idiot!"

Feeling he had said enough, he decisively ended the conversation.

"Okay, that's all for now. Send the information to my email, and go to sleep! Bye!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Bai Zhou hung up the phone without further ado, eliminating any possibility of her saying anything more about "punishment".

It happened just before the call ended.

He seemed to vaguely hear a very short, strange sound coming from the phone, as if it had been forcibly suppressed.

"Hmm?"

Bai Zhou frowned and scratched his head, preparing to carefully consider and savor what exactly that sound was.

The phone then chimed with a new message notification.

Olive sent over the compiled link to the "Hidden Story Event Player Post Ranking".

His thoughts were interrupted, and he lost interest in thinking about the strange sound any further. Instead, with a mix of curiosity and anticipation, he clicked on the link.

Get ready to see just how many "Leeuwenhoeks" and "plot analysis masters" are hidden among gamers.

He was eager to know how many hidden storylines and Easter eggs players could uncover by the subtle clues he had deliberately placed in the game.

Honestly, he really admired these players. At least when he was a player himself, he never had the patience or the eye to discover so many details.

But now, our status is different.

He orchestrated the scheme! He set the rules! He was the mastermind behind it all!

This feeling—it's pretty great.

The link redirects to a simply designed page where related posts are arranged in descending order of popularity.

Next to it are constantly changing real-time numbers, showing the latest popularity of each post.

Bai Zhou's gaze swept over the headlines, and a meaningful smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.

"Breaking News! About Mewtwo! The beginning of everything, the end of everything! The start of world destruction, a mysterious organization capable of traversing worlds!"

"The story between a handsome researcher and Mew! The final step in Mew's binding bond! The ever-present Mew Island! (The final chapter of the search for Mew series, the most comprehensive collection of clues online!)"

"What?! Legendary items can be used like this?! Don't throw away the feathers of the Three Sacred Birds! They might have unexpected uses!"

"The Trial of the Elite Four! Detailed Analysis of the Hidden Story in the Second Playthrough of Pokémon FireRed/LeafGreen! A fourth person hidden behind the three main characters throughout the entire game! Who is he/she!?"

"A third protagonist with no presence whatsoever? No! She's shrouded in secrets! Let's delve deeper into the true purpose of the evolved being, Azure!"

"An Easter egg that 99% of players don't know about! The Viridian Forest, a forest with life! It can grant chosen ones abilities beyond their limits!"