Pokémon: Did you play Pokémon today?

Chapter 349 "Masked Man: It's a pleasure working with you, Mr. Intelligent Researcher."

Seeing the praise in the comments, Qibana felt a surge of secret satisfaction.

He triumphantly tossed his flamboyant hair, nudged Dandi, who was staring in disbelief, with his elbow, and shoved the controller back into his hand.

"See? I already told you, I'm a skilled streamer!"

Sometimes, solving problems requires a more "direct" approach!

"You bunch of stubborn fools, you still won't believe me!"

Such a commotion could not possibly go unnoticed by the handsome researcher who was "studying the murals" nearby.

He rushed over, his face initially showing a hint of reproach.

But when he saw the large hole that had suddenly appeared on the ground, and the man-made steps that were faintly visible inside, his reproachful expression quickly turned into admiration.

"Handsome Researcher: You! This—"

"Handsome Researcher: Well done! Ah Xiang! I've long suspected there's something hidden beneath this tower! I searched for ages for the mechanism but couldn't find it, but I never expected—"

"Handsome Researcher: I never expected it could be opened using only physical methods! Truly—ingenious!"

He perfectly justified his earlier "slacking off" and quickly steered the conversation back on track.

"Handsome Researcher: It seems what we're looking for is likely hidden down there. Let's go, there's no time to lose, let's go down and take a look!"

After saying that, he didn't even wait for Ah Xiang.

He walked to the edge of the cave entrance first, then ignored the four or five-meter height difference, and leaped down, landing steadily on the steps below.

He then looked up and gestured for Ah Xiang to follow.

Dan Di wasn't stupid enough to make Ah Xiang jump down directly; he wasn't stupid. This was clearly the game developer's malicious intent.

If he dares to jump, Ah Xiang is willing to die to prove him wrong.

He dutifully pulled a rope from his backpack, skillfully used it, and safely landed on the bottom floor.

Upon reaching the bottom floor, the handsome researcher was already standing beneath an ancient, arched stone altar.

On the altar sat a wooden box that looked very old.

The sunlight filtering through the gap above formed a beam that precisely enveloped it.

The simple wooden box seemed to be bathed in holy light, shining brightly.

The handsome researcher slowly walked up to the altar, his expression a mixture of anticipation and caution, and gently opened the lid of the wooden box.

Swah—

Like a rainbow, seven-colored light flowed out of the box in an instant, illuminating the originally dim underground space in a dreamlike way!

At the heart of that dazzling light, a gradient feather, embodying all the beautiful colors of the world, gently floated up.

Finally, as if guided, it landed steadily in the handsome researcher's palm.

He held the beautiful feather, examined it carefully from left to right, and a look of understanding flashed in his eyes.

He then turned around and gave Ah Xiang, who had just landed, a knowing smile.

"Handsome Researcher: That's it, this is what I've been looking for."

Before he finished speaking, he opened his backpack and carefully took out another feather.

A beautiful feather with a flowing silver luster.

He carefully layered the two feathers together.

A buzzing sound came right at the moment the two came into contact!

The silver and rainbow light no longer emanated softly, but surged forth, intertwined, and surrounded!

Two streams of light intertwined and danced in the air, creating an incredibly beautiful and breathtaking energy spectacle!

"A silver feather! Holy crap! That seven-colored one is definitely the Rainbow Feather!"

"Case solved! Case solved! I knew it! No wonder the gold and silver balls made with feathers as a catalyst couldn't attract the Celebi! It turns out that what truly attracted the Celebi was the primal aura of the feathers!"

"What are you waiting for! This is an opportunity! A golden chance! Let's raid the handsome researcher right now and snatch both feathers! With them, making a dozen gold and silver balls from steel won't be a dream!"

"Ambush my foot! Didn't you see how easily they jumped down from four or five meters high? Are you sure your level 10+ Fireball Rats can beat them?"

"I know the clues to obtaining the Silver Feather, but this Rainbow Feather—there's no guide on the entire forum right now! It's unique! Let's take a gamble, maybe we'll win big!"

Many viewers who had watched Qishu's previous live stream recordings immediately recognized the two key items, and the chat was instantly filled with greed...

Excitement and complaints overwhelmed the crowd.

Dan-di naturally wouldn't listen to those "suicidal" suggestions in the live chat.

Although he was aware of the significance of those two feathers, his composure as a champion and his game-playing skills made him understand.

This is absolutely a key item for advancing the core storyline; messing with it will only lead to a restart.

He silently controlled Ah Xiang, making him stand obediently below the altar, waiting for further instructions from the researcher Shi Qi.

"Handsome Researcher: Now that both feathers are here safely—I can finally feel a little more at ease."

The handsome researcher let out a long sigh of relief, his tone noticeably more relaxed, but then quickly became serious again.

"Handsome Researcher: Some time ago, the gold and silver orbs that could borrow some of Celebi's power were stolen by an unknown force."

"Handsome Researcher: If even these two key feathers of Rabi's main body fall into enemy hands during the summoning—then we'll be in real trouble."

"Handsome Researcher: Well, it seems we made it in time—"

However, before he could finish expressing his relief, he had already finished speaking.

Snap, snap, snap —

A burst of applause, laced with utter sarcasm, suddenly came from behind Ah Xiang!

Dan Di instantly became alert and immediately tried to control Ah Xiang to turn around and check.

But Ah Xiang seemed to be frozen in place by an invisible force, unable to turn his perspective at all!

Immediately afterwards, a tall figure wearing a wide black robe and a strange white mask walked directly into the front of the game screen.

He completely ignored Ah Xiang beside him, his empty eyes on the mask staring straight at the handsome researcher on the altar.

"Masked Man: Keeping the Key to Summoning Separate from the Cage of Control" — A Quite Wise Precaution —

—”

His voice came through the mask, his praise undisguised, but upon closer listening, one could detect a hint of smugness, like a cat catching a mouse.

Masked Man: But, unfortunately—your caution actually did me a great favor.

"Dan-di! What are you doing?!"

The moment the masked man appeared, Chibana let out an urgent growl.

"Stop listening to this guy's nonsense! He's the bastard who stole the gold and silver balls! Quick! Make your move before he can react!"

Although Dan didn't recognize the masked man, Chibana's intense reaction said it all.

He immediately pressed the button, trying to get Hibiki to summon a Pokémon to strike first.

but----

"No! It won't move! All commands are unresponsive!"

Dan Di frowned, noticing something amiss.

Only then did they notice that a fine layer of frost had formed around the edges of the game screen!

In the picture, Ah Xiang's entire body, starting from his feet, is covered with a thick layer of solid ice, freezing him firmly in place!

Only his head could still turn with difficulty!

No matter what Leon did, Hibiki could only make tiny struggling movements and couldn't move an inch, let alone take out a Poké Ball.

"You're disabled! You can't move! You can't use items! You can't fight!"

"Damn! This guy played dirty! It was a plot-driven death!"

Cibana leaned back rather unhappily, slumping into the chair.

It's quite frustrating to feel like you've put all your effort into something but ended up punching cotton.

"Since the game still allows us to make micro-managements and struggle with the camera angle, it means that this may not be an absolute scripted death."

Dan didn't give up and kept trying various button combinations in an attempt to find a way to escape the frozen state.

"Perhaps we just haven't discovered the correct interaction method? Or is it that we need some kind of prerequisite or tool that we don't know about?"

The argument between the two has not yet reached a conclusion, and the standoff shown on screen continues.

The masked man did not immediately step forward. Instead, he calmly took a step back, which happened to be next to Ah Xiang, who was frozen in ice.

Masked Man: Well then—how about we make a deal?

His gaze was fixed on the researcher, Shi Qi, whose face had turned extremely ugly, and his hoarse voice was filled with the pleasure of being in control.

"Masked Man: Exchanging the life of this innocent child for those two tiny feathers in your hand, isn't that fair?"

"Handsome Researcher: You—!"

The handsome researcher clearly hadn't expected the other party to be so shameless as to use a child as a blackmail.

"Handsome researcher: He's just a child! How could you be so shameless!"

The masked man didn't speak again, but just stared at him quietly. The silence of the mask was more oppressive than any words.

At the same time, the ice layer on Ah Xiang's body seemed to have thickened a bit more.

"Handsome Researcher: Damn it—feather—I absolutely cannot give it to you! Celebi's power must not fall into the hands of someone like you!"

"That's backbone!"

Cibana couldn't help but give a thumbs-up, but then his heart jumped again.

Sure enough, the ice crystals on Ah Xiang's body began to spread rapidly after the handsome researcher refused!

With a crackling sound, the ice rapidly eroded most of his body, and even the game screen began to be covered with a layer of frost!

My vision became blurry and distorted, and my stamina bar began to slowly decrease!

"Handsome Researcher: Stop! Hold on! I promise you! Here's the feather! Let him go!"

The handsome researcher ultimately couldn't hold out any longer and practically yelled out his compromise through gritted teeth.

The spread of ice crystals stopped instantly and receded slightly, returning to its initial state of prohibition.

"Wow! This is huge! The incredibly handsome researcher has been completely outmaneuvered?! That masked man is too good! He attacked right where the enemy was most vulnerable!"

"It's that masked man again! He's like a persistent ghost! He was camping out in Qishu's livestream before, trying to steal Celebi, and now he's camping out for the handsome researcher?!"

"Now that's what you call a villain with brains! He gets the main characters to find everything he wants, then reaps the rewards himself—saving time and effort while getting all the benefits! Brilliant!"

"This seems to be the first time the handsome researcher has been at a disadvantage, right? But there's nothing we can do about it. Given his personality, he can't just stand by and watch Ah Xiang get into trouble."

"Stop trying to be rational about the NPCs now! Compared to us game characters, the shirabi, whose safety is at stake, is clearly more important, right?"

"Patience! This masked man is definitely the makings of the ultimate boss! He's incredibly patient, and his plans are incredibly sophisticated!"

"Tsk, as expected—I knew it wouldn't be this easy for a hidden storyline involving legendary Pokémon compared to my casual strolls before—"

As he watched the forced compromise unfold, Qibana felt a wave of frustration wash over him once more.

"It turns out it was a trap to lure us in from the very beginning."

In the scene, the masked man did not give the handsome researcher a chance to slowly walk down and hand him the feather, nor did he step forward himself.

He reached out his black-gloved hand and grabbed Ah Xiang by the neck.

"Masked Man: You know what I want—don't you?"

The masked man's voice, coming through the mask, carried an even chilling undertone.

"Masked Man: Right here, now, use the two feathers in your hand to summon Celebi. My patience is—very limited."

The final ultimatum.

The handsome researcher stood silently on the altar, his hand holding the feather trembling slightly, clearly engaged in a fierce internal struggle.

He glanced at Ah Xiang, who was being held hostage, then at the crucial feather in his hand, and finally, he let out a slow sigh.

Without further hesitation, he raised his hands, simultaneously lifting the silver feather and the rainbow feather forward.

As if sensing the summoner's will, the two legendary feathers automatically detached from his palm, slowly rotating and rising into the air, circling each other.

Buzz—

A dazzling light, ten or even a hundred times stronger than before, suddenly erupted!

The silver and iridescent light intertwined to form a pillar of light that shot into the sky, instantly filling the entire underground space and even reaching the clouds through the gaps above!

The light was so intense that the screen almost turned pure white!

A few seconds later, the light receded as quickly as the tide.

At the center where the light dissipated, there was a small, cute, green sprite, seemingly formed from the essence of the forest.

Fluttering its transparent wings, it appeared in mid-air with a hint of bewilderment and confusion from just awakening.

It was a rabbi!

However, the shock of this legend lasted for less than a moment.

"It's over!"

Ciban slapped his thigh, foreseeing what was about to happen.

Having watched the recorded broadcast of Qishu, he was well aware of the power of the shrine and the special nature of the gold and silver orbs.

The masked man seemed to have been waiting for a long time, and at the moment when the ghusbah appeared and was still confused about the situation.

With a wave of his hand, the gold and silver balls shot out and accurately hit the shurabi in mid-air!

With a flash of light, Celebi was sucked into the ball before he could even utter a cry.

The gold and silver balls landed on the ground without even a symbolic sway, and then with a soft "thud," they were completely locked.

"I always felt that things weren't that simple."

Dandi remained skeptical, staring intently at the screen, feeling an inexplicable sense of unease about the entire scene.

Was the handsome researcher's previous reaction a little too "standard"?

Anger, struggle, compromise —

It was so perfect, it was like acting.

"It's all over! It's all over!"

"Celebi has been controlled! The masked man simply opened a time portal and escaped; they can't catch him!"

"What a freebie! The handsome researcher's reputation will be forever cemented—"

"Handsome researcher, hurry up and do something with your invincible brain! Aren't you supposed to be the pinnacle of intelligence?!"

"This plot-driven death is so frustrating!"

The masked man strolled forward, bent down, and picked up the gold and silver ball that had captured the legendary Pokémon.

He held it in his hand, felt the surging power it contained, and nodded in satisfaction.

Then, he casually patted Ah Xiang, who was frozen in ice, next to him.

Click!

The thick ice crystals that Jin A Xiang had been holding shattered instantly, turning into a pile of ice shards.

At the same time, an irresistible force pushed Ah Xiang forward, and he was caught by the handsome researcher who jumped down from the altar.

"Masked Man: It's a pleasure working with you, Mr. Intelligent Researcher."

The masked man chuckled hoarsely, his smugness almost overflowing.

"Masked Man: Well then, I'll take my leave now. I look forward to—our next collaboration."

Having said that, he gripped the gold and silver balls tightly, and with his free hand, he gently waved it towards the air beside him—

Logically, this should be a gesture indicating the use of shrine power to open a time portal and leave calmly.

but----

A second passed.

Two seconds passed.

Three seconds have passed—

The time ripples and spacetime tunnels that Qibana and the viewers in the live stream had anticipated—none of them appeared.

The air remained calm, with only the gentle breeze and dust characteristic of underground ruins slowly floating in the beams of light.

An extremely eerie silence fell over the scene.

The masked man seemed to be stunned for a moment, then waved his arm again, still not believing it.

Still—no response.

The gold and silver balls lay quietly in his palm.

The shurabi inside did not emit any feedback of power fluctuations.

Just as the masked man began to realize something was wrong, alarm bells went off in his head, and he suddenly looked up at the handsome researcher.

The handsome researcher who, just a second ago, looked resentful and angry, as if he had suffered a major blow and lost everything.

He was like a completely different person in an instant!

All the negative emotions receded like the tide, and his handsome face was replaced by a look of keen interest—

smile.

The smile was still gentle, yet it inexplicably sent a chill down one's spine.

"Handsome Researcher: It's a pleasure working with you."

He gently helped Ah Xiang to his feet, then leisurely patted off non-existent dust from his researcher's white coat.

Her gaze calmly met the masked man's bewildered look.

The masked man's body suddenly stiffened!

As if realizing something in an instant, it immediately lowered its head and stared intently at the "gold and silver ball" it was tightly holding in its hand.

But what's lying in his palm now is no longer the glittering gold and silver lottery ball.

It's clearly just an ordinary red and white Poké Ball!

"Handsome Researcher: Hmm? What's wrong? Oh! I see!"

The handsome researcher's gentle and considerate voice came again, with a hint of barely perceptible teasing.

"Handsome Researcher: Are you looking for—this?"

On the stage, researcher Shi Qi was casually tossing a ball around in his hand.

Under the dim light at the top of the tower, the sphere shimmered with a unique golden and silver luster!

It's the gold and silver balls!

"Handsome Researcher: To get it back to its rightful owner—I really went to great lengths."