Tang Dynasty: Starting with Dimo, he was targeted by Li Shimin.

Chapter 4 Money-Loving Duck Jiji

Cheng Yaojin stared blankly at what appeared in the Star Mirror.

He turned to look at Lin Luo and asked in confusion,

"Shopkeeper, where's the spirit beast? I can't see it!"

Seven orbs of light appeared side by side on the mirror's surface—

Four of them emitted a dim gray light, and the words "Thank you for your patronage" were faintly engraved on them;

The other three are thumb-sized crystals of various shapes, each emitting a faint glow of red, blue, and green.

Hearing Cheng Yaojin's words, Lin Luo didn't even look at him, and said casually:

"This lottery is all about luck. Those 'thank you for your patronage' items are basically nothing, while those gem-like crystals are fruit fragments. Collect enough of them to synthesize a Spirit Fruit."

"As for the elves' food..." Lin Luo pointed to the row of cocoa fruits in the display case.

"It's those round fruits called cocoa fruits. Elves gain experience and become stronger by eating them."

"Doesn't this spirit beast eat normal food?" Upon hearing this, Yuchi Gong quickly came over and asked curiously.

"Normally, elves eat cocoa berries and magic berries to make them stronger. Of course... there are special cases where they can eat anything humans can eat."

As Lin Luo spoke, he suddenly thought of his two dogs who only ate stir-fried beef, and his lips twitched.

The two who understood nodded and secretly noted it down.

They had a premonition that this elf would definitely become popular in the Tang Dynasty in the future, and it would certainly not hurt to know more about it.

"If I'm unlucky, won't I not be able to draw any at all?" Cheng Yaojin asked with a bitter expression.

"Bad luck isn't a problem, there's a safety net..."

Lin Luo paused,

"The guaranteed number of pulls is 50, meaning that after you pull 50 times, you're guaranteed to get a spirit on your last pull."

Speaking of this ridiculous lottery system, Lin Luo couldn't help but complain!

He had participated in this lottery many times before, but strangely, he could never win!

Upon learning that the system mentioned a guaranteed minimum reward mechanism, Lin Luo's face immediately darkened, and a wave of the nausea from his previous life's pay-to-win mobile games washed over him!

However, this actually benefited Cheng Yaojin—

Cheng Yaojin, understanding the explanation, was overjoyed! This meant that as long as he kept drawing, he was guaranteed to get the sprite!

It's just a little money, but is Cheng Yaojin short of money anyway?

Of course he had plenty! Cheng Yaojin's family was considered extremely wealthy among the court officials!

Without any regard for what might happen, Cheng Yaojin's face immediately started twitching!

If there are no sprites, quickly click "Next"!

Each time it was ten taels of silver, Cheng Yaojin didn't even flinch.

In Yuchi Gong's eyes, this was simply wasteful—

But when he thought that this thing might be related to the drought, he didn't stop him.

The forty lottery draws were quickly used up, and still nothing was won.

Cheng Yaojin decisively clicked "next".

But this time!

As the light on the Star Mirror suddenly brightened,

A golden beam of light shot skyward from the mirror—

It's ten times brighter than any of the previous gray light!

"They're here! They're here! They're here!" Cheng Yaojin rubbed his hands together excitedly.

The pillar of light slowly coalesced, and the silhouette of an elf emerged from the golden light—

It has a round, plump body, a flat beak, and what appears to be a tuft of hair on its head...

As the light faded, a holographic image of an elf was clearly displayed on the mirror.

"Shopkeeper, what kind of spirit is this? Why does it look a lot like that duck in a vest on the wall?" Cheng Yaojin hadn't forgotten the sketch on the wall.

Lin Luo was slightly surprised to see the elf in the center of the Star Mirror.

Cheng Yaojin was quite lucky; he actually drew Duck Gigi!

In the Kingdom of Rock, Duck Gigi is a famous star elf!

It's not just the gossip and social butterfly in the Kingdom of Rock;

More importantly—this guy can grow to enormous size instantly!

In the animated movie, the main characters ride a giant duck named Gigi across the entire continent!

Of course... its most famous label is "love of money".

Extremely fond of money.

It is said that Duck Gigi's greatest hobby is sleeping on top of treasure.

"This Pokémon is called DuckJigg, it's a Flying-type," Lin Luo introduced, unusually serious.

"Don't let its seemingly dull appearance fool you; it's actually quite intelligent, almost like a human, and can understand what you're saying."

"And... they can become quite strong once trained."

"Very strong?"

Upon hearing Lin Luo's words, Cheng Yaojin instantly became excited.

Is it strong? I like strong Pokémon!

The strong naturally deserve to be paired with the strong!

"Shopkeeper! I want this one! Where is it? Bring it here quickly!"

Lin Luo then turned and went to the backyard.

Before long, he came out carrying a lump of... well... carrying an elf.

Amidst the expectant gazes of the two,

A round, yellowish-green duck came into view.

It was about half a person's height, with a flat head and a tuft of black hair sticking up on top.

Its two small, round eyes, with tiny pupils, darted around, taking in everything around it.

Its flat mouth was slightly open, and its limbs were short.

She stood swaying in Lin Luo's arms.

He looked... completely clueless.

"Huh?"

Duck Gigi tilted its head, looked at Cheng Yaojin, and then at Yuchi Gong.

Then my gaze suddenly froze—

It set its sights on the jade pendant at Yuchi Gong's waist.

"quack!!!"

Duck Gigi's eyes lit up instantly!

Its two little wings flapped frantically as it broke free from Lin Luo's embrace.

He ran all the way to Yuchi Gong.

He tilted his head back and stared intently at the jade pendant, his eyes practically sparkling.

"Gagagagagagaga!!!"

Yuchi Gong was startled by this sudden enthusiasm and subconsciously took a step back.

"W-What's going on?"

Lin Luo said expressionlessly:

"I forgot to tell you, DuckGigi has one peculiar trait—he loves money."

"Extremely fond of money."

"Its greatest hobby is sleeping on top of treasure. Your jade pendant is of good quality, and it has its eye on it."

"Quack quack!" Duck Gigi nodded frantically, with an expression that said, "That's right, that's exactly it."

When Cheng Yaojin first saw the duck, there was no clam to be found.

It looked at Lin Luo with a questioning gaze, as if to say, "This is the very strong elf you told me about?"

Are you kidding me?! How can such a silly duck look strong?!

Compared to the duck, the two were more convinced that the previous water blue creature was more like a spirit beast!

"Gagaga—"

As DuckGigi chased after Yuchi Gong's jade pendant in circles, it kept chirping.

The way they were acting was as if they were saying, "Give it to me, give it to me, give it to me—".

Yuchi Gong was chased all over the shop, and the dignified Duke of E was now as disheveled as a farmer being chased by geese.

Cheng Yaojin, standing to the side, slapped his thigh and laughed so hard he almost fell over:

"Hey, you charcoal head! You, the richest man in the world, are being chased by a duck! Hahahaha—"

After laughing, Cheng Yaojin bent down and curiously approached Duck Gigi, who was chasing the jade pendant until she was dizzy.

He stretched out his large, fan-like hand and picked up Duck Gigi.

"Little duckling, stop chasing me, let me take a good look at you."

Duck Jiji was being held in mid-air, its short legs kicking, its beak agape, looking completely bewildered.

"Huh?"

Cheng Yaojin picked it up and held it in front of him, examining it for a moment—

There really are duck heads that are so round! So flat! And they can even understand human speech!

It's absolutely amazing!

"Hehehe, from now on we're friends, Duck Gigi!" Cheng Yaojin said with a grin.

With his other hand, a large, rough palm patted Duck Gigi's head forcefully.

"Smack!"

Seeing Cheng Yaojin's actions, Lin Luo's lips twitched. By the time he wanted to stop Cheng Yaojin, it was too late.

Suddenly, after being patted on the head, Duck Gigi stopped moving.

Its short legs stopped kicking, its tuft of hair stood straight, and its round little eyes suddenly widened—

Then, its body began to swell.

It's not a metaphor.

It is truly expanding.

His half-human-sized body suddenly swelled to—

Two zhang tall!!

"boom--!!"

Cheng Yaojin's hands suddenly felt empty, because he could no longer hold on to it.

A giant duck, taller than the shop itself, stood before the crowd.

His head almost broke through the roof beam.

What was once a small tuft of hair now looks like a flagpole.

Those once round little eyes now looked down at Cheng Yaojin with a condescending gaze.

His eyes held an indescribable...resentment and anger.

"Gah—!!!!"

A deafening quack!

Cheng Yaojin was completely stunned.

He tilted his head back, mouth agape, and stared at the giant duck in front of him, a duck taller than the city gate.

There was only one thought in my mind—

Should I have patted its head just now?

"Gah!!!"

The gigantic duck Gigi lowered its head, its flat, enormous beak pressing directly against Cheng Yaojin's face.

The hot breath from the giant duck sprayed all over his face.

Then--

With a wing, it sent Cheng Yaojin flying.

"ah--!!!"

Cheng Yaojin once again flew out of the shop door in a graceful arc.

Yuchi Gong stared in horror at Cheng Yaojin, who had been sent flying once again, his mouth agape!

"This...this!!??"

Then, the gigantic duck Gigi let out two more pitiful "quack quacks," and its body began to shrink rapidly.

In a moment, it transformed back into that half-person-tall, round, adorable little duck.

It shook its feathers and wobbled to Lin Luo's feet.

Flat-mouthed creature let out a "ga" towards the door, then plopped down on the ground.

He sulked, hugging his own wings.

"...I forgot to tell you," Lin Luo sighed, bending down to pick up Yajiji.

"Duck Gigi hates it when people pat its head."

"After it's been slapped on the head, it triggers its instinct to grow to enormous sizes, just like you saw—it instantly transforms into…"

Lin Luo glanced at the beam that had been tilted by Duck Gigi.

"Hmm, it's a very big duck."

"In this state, its power increases dozens of times, and because it's an instinctive reaction, it can't control it."

"So next time... don't pat its head."

A mournful wail came from outside the door:

"You should have said so earlier!!!"

At this moment, Yuchi Gong was completely speechless.

He glanced at Cheng Yaojin, who had been knocked away for the second time outside the door.

He glanced again at the chubby little duckling sulking in Lin Luo's arms.

The image of that giant duck that had just broken through the roof kept replaying in my mind.

He swallowed hard.

This spirit beast... it really is a spirit beast.

Lin Luo thought it best to explain clearly; whether or not to buy it wasn't that important.

However, it wouldn't be good if word got out that he deliberately beat up the Duke.

He glanced at the duckling in his arms, then at Cheng Yaojin outside the door.

He sighed helplessly.

The shop's crossbeam has been tilted again, the third time this month.

(´ཀ`」∠) Raising an elf costs more money than raising a child...

That evening.

In the backyard, Lin Luo lay on a recliner, petting Dimo with one hand and swiping the system panel with the other.

Duck Gigi has already been taken away by Cheng Yaojin—when he left, he looked back at Yuchi Gong's jade pendant three times with lingering reluctance.

This is Chapter Four; it's time to record the Pokémon Pokédex.

Lin Luo opened the short video function in the encyclopedia and spoke softly into the panel:

"...Pokémon Encyclopedia, Volume 2. Duckling."

"The wing attribute, evolutionary path is: Little Duck Gigi → Silly Duck Gigi → Duck Gigi → Super Duck Gigi."

"This sprite is a star in the Kingdom of Rock, highly recognizable. It has a round, chubby appearance and seems harmless, but it's actually quite intelligent, can understand human language, and has a very distinctive personality."

"Their most prominent characteristics are twofold: First, they are extremely greedy, their greatest hobby being sleeping atop gold and silver treasures, and they have absolutely no resistance to anything shiny. Second, they can instantly grow to gigantic size—expanding from half a person's height to over two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters), their strength increasing dozens of times. In the animated film, the main characters even ride the gigantic duck Gigi across the continent."

"The trait is called 'Stand Tall'—it increases the power of any skill with a cost of less than 1 by 50%. This means that you can deal considerable damage with low-cost skills in the early game, making it extremely cost-effective."

"Training Recommendations: In the early stages, let it use low-cost skills to gain experience, taking advantage of its 50% trait bonus, which is very efficient. Later, follow the Mega Evolution route to become Super Duck Jiji, whose base stats reach 705, with Speed 130 and Magic Attack 120, combining high speed and high burst damage."

"However, there's one thing you absolutely must be careful about—never pat its head. It will trigger its gigantic instinct. Cheng Yaojin has already proven this to everyone with his face today."

"Next episode preview—if there is a next episode—depends on who comes looking for trouble for me tomorrow."

Lin Luo clicked "save".

[The Pokémon Encyclopedia entry has been recorded. Rewards: 2 Cocoa Berries, 1 Fruit Fragment (Wing).]

Lin Luo glanced at the reward, then looked at the system's main quest panel—

Main Quest: Promote the Elf faction to the Tang Dynasty. Progress: 1/1000.

Oh?

It went from zero to one.

It seems that giving DuckJiji to Cheng Yaojin was a successful promotion of the Pokémon.

One in a thousand.

Lin Luo silently did the math—

At this rate, he would need to send elves to a thousand people to complete the main quest.

How many people are there in the entire city of Chang'an?