Live Stream Treasure Appraisal: Your elf isn't thriving!

Chapter 673 Snow Hat Monster and Blizzard King: Changing the Climate of a Mountain, the Reason for Reverse Migration! Deep-Sea Fish Shadow!

Ye Yinchuan looked at the white birch ridge in the picture and did not speak immediately.

Mid-May. Rice seedlings are being planted at the foot of the mountain. Snow is falling on the mountain.

This is not some mountain god's anger.

"Village Chief Sun, that little white thing in the photo," Ye Yinchuan said, "is called Snow Hat Monster."

"What's so strange about snow?"

"Snow Hat Monster. Ice and Grass type." Ye Yinchuan explained in detail, "Its body is cone-shaped, white on top and brown on the bottom. The hat-like thing on its head is not a hat, but part of its body, made of a mixture of ice crystals and plant fibers. The ends of its hands are green leaf buds, which can perform photosynthesis."

The barrage of comments is scrolling.

Ice and grass? Could this combination get any more outrageous?

[A little mushroom with snow on its head! I want to pet it!]

[A Grass-type being in the snow? Doesn't it feel cold?]

"It's not cold. Snow cape monsters are naturally adapted to extremely cold environments. They usually inhabit areas near the snow line at altitudes above 3,000 meters, surviving on photosynthesis and minerals in the snow."

He paused for a moment.

"But the altitude of Baihua Ridge is only 2,300 meters."

Old Sun rubbed his hands together in the video: "That's right! We've never seen this thing around here before! It just suddenly appeared this year!"

"They didn't just appear out of nowhere," Ye Yinchuan's voice deepened slightly. "They were forced out."

Old Sun was stunned.

Ye Yinchuan didn't explain, and changed direction.

"Village Chief Sun, is there an industrial zone north of Baihua Ridge?"

Old Sun's eyes widened.

"How did you know? The Zhenbei Chemical Industrial Park is just over there on the other side of the mountain to the north, about 30 kilometers away as the crow flies. It has a rare earth smelting plant and two chemical workshops, built two years ago. They said it would boost the economy, and the town even set off firecrackers—"

Ye Yinchuan closed his eyes briefly.

Open your eyes.

"Village Chief Sun, I roughly understand why the snow doesn't melt on Baihua Ridge."

The chat was silent for a moment.

"But before I explain why, I need you to confirm something for me. Can you take your phone and head up the mountain now? Not too far, just close to the snow line. I need to check the conditions there."

Old Sun hesitated for a second: "We can walk, but the snow is thick and the road is slippery—"

"Wear something warm. Take your time."

Old Sun gritted his teeth: "Fine!"

The scene began to shake violently. Old Sun trudged uphill along the mountain path, his feet sinking into ankle-deep snow. Birch branches were laden with icicles, and the wind whipped snowflakes against his face.

The May wind carries the warmth of December.

Twenty minutes later.

Old Sun's breathing grew heavier and heavier.

"The anchor is almost there—" His words were cut off.

The footage on camera silenced more than 300 million people at once.

The edge of the snow line. An open hillside. The snow depth jumps from ankle to knee.

Seven snow-hatted monsters in the middle of the snow.

Scattered in twos and threes on the hillside. Some squatted beside snowdrifts, their green leaf buds at the ends of their hands stuck into the snow, as if absorbing minerals. Others moved slowly across the snow, their cone-shaped bodies swaying back and forth.

The two furthest away huddled together, their white conical hat-like structures gently colliding, producing a soft, icy sound.

So many snow-hat monsters!!

Are they eating snow?

[The visuals are so soothing—no, no, the important thing is, why is it snowing in May!]

Ye Yinchuan's gaze passed over the group of cubs and looked towards a higher point on the hillside.

At the end of the tree line.

Under the largest birch tree.

A huge figure stood there.

It stands over two meters tall. Its long white fur ripples in the wind, and its body is a thick, dark green trunk. Its arms are like two old tree stumps, ending in huge, pale green claws. The white fur on its head billows backward like a cloak woven from a blizzard.

It remained motionless.

But the air around it was visibly sinking, condensing, and crystallizing.

Snowflakes don't fall from the sky.

It was generated out of thin air from around its body.

One flower. Ten flowers. One hundred flowers.

A continuous stream.

As long as it stands there, winter will not leave.

【Holy crap!! What is that thing?!】

The boss is here! The boss is here!

[Is it making snow?]

[A walking weather forecast! No, the walking weather itself!]

Ye Yinchuan's discerning eye was fully activated.

Pokémon: Abomasnow

[Type: Grass/Ice]

【Special Feature: Snowfall - Upon entering the battlefield, the weather automatically changes to snowfall.】

[Rank: Lv.58]

[Status: Healthy/Fatigued/Alert]

The last piece of additional information.

[Note: This individual is female. Abdominal body temperature is slightly elevated. She is currently gestating.]

Ye Yinchuan's finger stopped on the table.

Pregnancy period.

It wasn't one Snow King leading seven Snow Hat Monsters.

It was a mother with seven children, and an eighth one in her belly.

They moved from the 3,000-meter snow line all the way to the 2,300-meter-high Birch Ridge.

"Village Chief Sun."

"Yes—yes!" Old Sun's voice trembled.

"Don't be afraid. The Snow King has no intention of attacking first. Just keep this distance."

"Blizzard King?!"

"The evolved form of Snowcap. Grass and Ice type," Ye Yinchuan said. "It has an ability called 'Snowfall.' As long as it stays in an area, the temperature in that area will continuously drop, and it will snow continuously."

He looked at the camera.

"The snow in your village doesn't melt—it's not a weather problem. It's the snow itself that's the problem. More precisely, its very existence alters the mountain's climate."

The barrage of comments surged.

Can a single Pokémon change the weather on a mountain?!

This feature is practically a living weather weapon!

Why is it staying here? Shouldn't it be somewhere higher?

"Yes. The Blizzard King usually inhabits the snow line at altitudes above 3,000 meters. It's a natural home there because of the year-round snow cover and low temperatures."

Ye Yinchuan's voice was completely flat and without any emotion.

"But this Blizzard Queen, pregnant and with seven cubs, ran from 3,000 meters to 2,300 meters."

"Because there's a problem with the air above 3,000 meters."

He looked at Old Sun.

"The waste gas produced by rare earth smelting in the Zhenbei Chemical Industrial Park you mentioned contains a large amount of fluorine compounds and sulfur dioxide. These gases rise up the mountainside under the influence of terrain and airflow, forming a stable pollution belt in high-altitude areas."

"People can't detect it. The concentration hasn't reached the threshold for harm to the human body."

"However, Ice-type Pokémon rely on clean, cold air to maintain their internal ice crystal structure. Fluorine compounds can disrupt this process."

His voice lowered.

"The air in their original habitat was poisoned. They couldn't breathe anymore."

The live stream went silent for a moment.

Then the barrage of comments exploded.

[Did the chemical plant force them down the mountain?]

Humans pollute other people's homes, forcing them to relocate, and in the end, it's ordinary people who suffer the consequences!

[The Blizzard King is pregnant! What's wrong with taking seven cubs to find a place to survive!]

The more I listen, the more suffocated I feel.

Old Sun stood in the snow, his mouth open, unable to speak.

He turned his head to look at the northern horizon.

He couldn't see the chimney. But he knew—those pipes were spitting things into the sky every day.

"Host—" His voice was hoarse, "What do we do now?"

Ye Yinchuan looked at the Blizzard King in the picture.

It clutched a few frozen grass stalks in its paws. They'd dug them out from under the snow. For its cubs to eat.

Seven snow-hatted monsters began to gather around it. The smallest one, with its short legs, stepped into the deep snow, tripped, got up, tripped again, and rolled halfway across the snow.

Blizzard looked down at it.

A giant claw reached out and gently lifted the smallest snow-hat monster, placing it at its feet.

The wind is blowing.

Snow is falling.

"Village Chief Sun," Ye Yinchuan said.

"Now slowly walk back. Once you get back to the village, tell everyone that no one is allowed to go up the mountain until the problem is resolved. The Snow King is in its gestation period and may overreact to any creature that gets close. The shockwave from a full-force strike from an adult Snow King can snap a tree half a meter in diameter in half. You can't withstand that."

Old Sun nodded repeatedly.

"Then contact the local environmental protection department and the alliance branch. Relay my analysis verbatim: the exhaust emissions from the Zhenbei Chemical Industrial Park have caused the air quality above 3,000 meters in Baihualing to deteriorate, forcing high-altitude Ice-type Pokémon to migrate to lower altitudes. This is not an isolated case. This is an ecological warning."

Old Sun's expression changed.

"You mean not just Birch Ridge?"

"The emissions from the chemical industrial park are continuous. The pollution zone will gradually spread. Baihualing is the closest and will be the first to be affected. If it is not dealt with, similar situations may occur in all the surrounding mountainous areas above 2,500 meters within six months."

Ye Yinchuan's voice was very flat.

"When the time comes, it won't just be one Blizzard King that will be forced to come down the mountain."

A deluge of bullet comments.

This is no longer just a problem in one village! It's a regional ecological crisis!

[Chemical Plant: I'm just emitting some waste gas. Blizzard King: You're emitting the lives of my entire family.]

[Where is the UN Environment Programme? Are they just sitting around doing nothing? Are they waiting for a news anchor to discover this?]

"Oh, right, there's one more very important thing."

Old Sun stopped in his tracks.

"Feed these Pokémon."

"food?"

"They migrated down from 3,000 meters, breaking the original food chain. There is a special type of icy lichen and frost moss at the high-altitude snow line, which is the main food source for the Snow King and the Snow Hat Monster. These things are not found in the Birch Ridge at 2,300 meters."

Ye Yinchuan's gaze swept over the seven snow-hatted monsters in the picture.

They are arching the snow. Using the conical structure on their heads, they arch away the snow, revealing the frozen soil underneath.

There was nothing in the soil.

"A pregnant Blizzard Queen, with seven cubs, survives on a mountain where food is scarce, relying on the snowfall to maintain its temperature."

Ye Yinchuan made no embellishments.

The facts themselves are the heaviest thing.

"How long can it last?"

Old Sun's Adam's apple bobbed.

"Our village has cabbage—and potatoes—"

"Not enough. Blizzard King has both grass and ice attributes, and it needs frozen soil plants with extremely high mineral content. Have the village clinic prepare a batch of nutrient solution rich in potassium, magnesium, and zinc, and mix it into the frozen root vegetables. White radishes will do. Freeze them solid before sending them up."

"Place it at the edge of the snow line. Don't get close. Put it down and leave."

"It will come and get it itself."

Old Sun patted his chest: "I'll deliver it myself."

"A consistent staffing. Let Blizzard get used to the same atmosphere. Trust can't be built so quickly, but it has to start today."

Old Sun nodded emphatically, then turned and walked down the mountain.

After walking a few steps, he looked back.

The Snow King was still standing under the birch tree. Seven snow-hatted monsters surrounded its feet. The snow hadn't stopped. But the wind seemed to have lessened a little.

"Host," Old Sun said as they walked, "you mentioned that snowfall characteristic—is it that as long as Snow King is here, it will keep snowing?"

"right."

"Then let's start spring plowing—"

"The snowfall's impact range is approximately two kilometers in radius, centered on Blizzard King. Your village's farmland is at the foot of the mountain, at least three kilometers away from its activity area. Spring planting will not be affected."

Old Sun breathed a sigh of relief.

"But," Ye Yinchuan changed the subject, "if the pollution from the chemical industrial park isn't resolved, the blizzard king might continue to move to lower altitudes. At that point, a two-kilometer snowfall circle will cover your village."

Old Sun paused for a moment.

"So make that call as soon as possible."

"I'll call right now!" Old Sun took out his phone, dialed as he walked, and began to speak in a rough voice on the other end of the line.

Ye Yinchuan did not disconnect the connection, but turned his attention back to the barrage of comments.

The discussion has shifted from "Blizzard is so pitiful" to a deeper level.

I checked, and the Zhenbei Chemical Industrial Park was complained about for excessive emissions last year, but nothing was ever done about it.

With over 300 million people watching, let's see who dares to fool us now.

But honestly, there are countless similar incidents across the country, and not every place has livestreamers to monitor them.

[It is recommended that the League establish ecological monitoring stations in Pokémon habitats surrounding all industrial areas. Changes in Pokémon behavior should be used as an environmental early warning indicator.]

Ye Yinchuan nodded. He has a great influence now, and the exposure of this live broadcast will inevitably have a strong regulatory effect.

Of course, relying solely on reports from local villagers via telephone will not only have limited effectiveness, but will also result in a slow response time.

Therefore, Ye Yinchuan would also secretly push things forward to ensure the event proceeded smoothly.

The connection list continues to scroll.

Ye Yinchuan's finger swiped across screen after screen, then suddenly stopped.

This is not an application from an ordinary viewer.

The source is marked as "Alliance Deep-Sea Scientific Research Bureau, Third Oceanographic Survey Team". It's an official certification mark, indicated by a gold shield icon.

[Mr. Kirby, I am Lu, the captain of the Third Oceanographic Survey Team of the Deep-Sea Research Bureau. We are currently conducting a deep-sea ecological survey. Three hours ago, in the trench designated K-1174, the R0V submersible captured a series of images at a depth of 4820 meters. The images show a Pokémon whose species we cannot identify. There is no matching result in the database. The researchers on board have searched through all known Pokédex entries but found no corresponding entry. This Pokémon is relatively large, fish-shaped, with its body covered in thick, uneven scales. Its movement is extremely unusual; it does not swim but "walks" on the seabed using its pectoral fins. We request your assistance in identification.]

"Walk on the seabed using pectoral fins."

As Ye Yinchuan uttered those words, his finger had already pressed the connect button.

The viewers noticed his reaction speed.

The anchor's micro-expressions are worth analyzing; they're quite telling!

[The league officially connected with us? That's impressive!]

[4820 meters deep in the ocean? That's incredibly deep! Most people have no idea how deep that is!]

Screen switch.

Appearing on camera was a short-haired woman. In her early forties, with a stern face and skin roughened by the sea breeze and ultraviolet rays. She wore the standard uniform of the Alliance Deep-Sea Research Bureau, with a gold anchor embroidered on her chest.

Behind her was the command center of a research vessel, a room filled with metallic accents. The walls were covered with nautical charts, and several monitors in the corners displayed sonar data and hydrographic curves.

"Mr. Kirby. Lu Chen." Her voice was crisp, without any pleasantries. "I'll get straight to the footage."

"please."

Lu Chen didn't waste any words. She turned to the side and tapped a few times on the keyboard, pushing a video to the public screen of the live stream.

The scene changes.

Deep blue.

No—it's not deep blue. It's a black that's almost impossible for the human eye to define.

4820 meters underwater.

The high-lumen searchlights on the ROV cleaved through the eternal darkness, the beam of light carving a cone-shaped area of ​​light across the water. Beyond the beam of light lay absolute nothingness.

seabed.

Grayish-white sediment covered everything. Fine, powdery seabed silt was gently stirred up by the weak currents generated by the submersible's thrusters, like ashes drifting in slow motion.

There was no coral. There was no seaweed. There was no color at all.

This is a world where sunlight can never reach.

The submersible's robotic arm slowly rotated, and the camera followed, panning across a monotonous seabed plain.

Then—it appeared.

Right side of the screen.

A massive outline emerged from the grayish-white silt.

It's not a rock.

It's moving.

It moves extremely slowly on the seabed.

The searchlight beam illuminated its entirety.