Elf: Seriously? You only get a cheat code when you're about to die?

Chapter 20 I Have Neighbors Now!

While Anjax and Munchlax were sleeping soundly, Altaria couldn't fall asleep at all.

To be precise, it was only the mother cottonbird who couldn't sleep.

The room that Tianxi prepared for them was very comfortable, with thick blankets on the floor. The family of three snuggled together under soft blankets, and it couldn't be more comfortable.

Worried that the family of three might be afraid of the dark after just experiencing a dark, rainy night, Tianxi didn't turn off the lights when she left. She also told them to turn off the lights themselves if they felt the room was too bright, and showed them where the switches were.

The blue cottonbird and its father were so exhausted that they had long since curled up and fallen asleep, but the blue cottonbird mother just couldn't fall asleep.

Looking out the window at the pitch-black night, listening to the howling wind and the pattering rain, its thoughts drifted far away.

It seems like it experienced a similar rainy night many years ago. It lost a game and its trainer punished it by making it stand outside and not allowing it to eat dinner.

It rained heavily that night, and it was cold and hungry, eventually collapsing in the rain.

It thought that if its trainer had called it back to the house like Angie did back then, and provided it with warm food and shelter, it might not hate humans as much as it does now.

Unfortunately, no, in the end, it was the trainer's other Pokémon that carried the unconscious creature into the house.

Looking back now, everything from the past is still vivid in my mind.

After an unknown amount of time, when a sliver of light appeared on the horizon, the mother cottonbird finally drifted off to sleep.

In the morning, the bright sunlight shone into the room through the window, and the little finches gently landed on the balcony railing.

"Yo-yo~ yo-yo~~" Anjie is awake! The sun is shining on her butt!

Anjie groggily opened his eyes and found that the little Snorlax was still tightly hugging his arm, and the sleeping cap that he had worn on his head last night was nowhere to be found.

"Wow~~Wow~~" It's delicious...I want more...

It was having some wonderful dream, as it kept murmuring to itself.

Anjie gently pulled her arm out, got out of bed, walked to the balcony, and waved to Little Arrow Sparrow, "Good morning, Little Arrow Sparrow!"

The fresh air after the rain rushed towards him, and Anjie took a deep breath, instantly feeling his mind become incredibly clear.

"Wow! There's a rainbow!" Anjie suddenly exclaimed, seeing a huge rainbow bridge spanning the mountains from one side to the other in the distance.

"Ya-lo~~"

The little finches flapped their wings happily and took flight, playing with the pink succulents that flew over, flying further and further away, heading towards the rainbow until they disappeared from Anjie's sight.

After standing on the balcony for a while, Anjie dragged the little Munchlax out of bed and led it into the bathroom to wash up.

This guy can really sleep. He was still half asleep while brushing his teeth, and Anjie even squeezed the toothpaste for him.

Seeing that the little Munchlax was almost brushing its nose with the toothbrush, Anjie sighed, "I was hoping that my apprentice would be able to stand on his own and enjoy life soon, but it seems that won't be the case. Just two days ago, someone said he wanted to work hard and improve, but today he's already showing his true colors."

"Just!!!"

Anjie's words startled the little Snorlax, instantly dispelling its sleepiness. Its eyes widened, and it quickly brushed its teeth before dashing out to change into its chef's uniform. Afterward, it even urged Anjie on.

"Gang~ Gang~~" Master, hurry up! If you don't hurry up, I'm not going to wait for you!

Anjie: ...

Perhaps because it had just rained, there weren't many Pokémon coming to the shop for breakfast this morning. But that's fine, Angie thinks he can take the opportunity to rest a bit more.

After the Pokémon had all eaten breakfast, Angel asked Diancie, "Did Swablu and the others come down for breakfast?"

"No." Tianxi shook her head. "They were exhausted last night and probably frightened. Let them sleep a little longer."

Anjie nodded.

After the Pokémon finished breakfast, Angelina, Diancie, and Munchlax saw them off at the door, while Vivavo and Dugtrio also took the opportunity to say goodbye.

Anjie then changed into rain boots and went to the vegetable garden behind the house.

It had just rained, and the vegetable leaves in the garden were still glistening with water droplets, looking incredibly fresh and tender. Anjie couldn't resist picking a handful of small greens and decided to stir-fry them for lunch to try.

If you don't eat it now, it might not be as fresh and tender after a while.

Anjie also discovered that the tomatoes had also borne fruit, though they were still green. Just thinking about all the delicious dishes made with tomatoes made his mouth water.

Wait a minute.

It had just rained, and the vegetable garden was wet. The freshly picked bok choy was covered in fresh mud, so Anjie took them to the newly dug pond to wash them.

Luckily, this pond was dug; otherwise, the vegetable garden would definitely have been flooded, and many vegetables might have rotted as a result.

After washing the vegetables, Anjie hummed a little tune as she walked home. Just as she reached the door, she saw the blue cotton bird and its father flying out of the house with panicked expressions.

"What's wrong?" Anjie asked.

"Chiru~ Chiru~"

"Wow~ wow~~"

The two Pokémon were speaking incoherently, and of course, even if they had been coherent, Angel wouldn't have understood them.

Just then, Diancie walked over carrying a medicine box and said, "Mother Swallow is sick and has a fever."

Anjie was surprised to hear this. He wasn't sick, but his mother, the Blue Cotton Bird, who was countless times stronger than him, was sick? He hadn't seen the father Blue Cotton Bird get sick either!

"Let's go take a look."

Anjie put down the small green vegetable and followed Tianxi and the blue cotton bird father and daughter towards the room where the three of them had rested the night before.

As soon as Anjie entered, he saw the mother blue cottonbird lying weakly on the ground, her blue skin now completely red.

Anjie went over and touched its neck; it was indeed burning hot.

Sensing that someone was touching her, the mother blue cottonbird lifted her eyelids and glanced at Anjie. At this moment, she didn't even have the strength to glare at Anjie.

"Tianxi, quick, give me the medicine."

Upon hearing this, Tianxi quickly opened the medicine box and took out the antipyretics.

The system not only provides commonly used medicines for humans in this medicine box, but also commonly used medicines for Pokémon. It is very comprehensive, but the quantity is not large. When it runs out, Angel will have to use Happiness Points to buy more from the system store.

Anjie took the medicine and fed it to the mother bluebird. Afraid that she wouldn't swallow it, Anjie whispered to her, "You'll feel better after taking the medicine. Don't be stubborn."

The mother bluebird was truly too weak to argue with Anjie. Her mind was hazy, and she let Anjie feed her medicine and give her water.

Then Anjie applied a cold towel to its forehead and wiped its body with alcohol. It took a long time for its body temperature to gradually subside.

After doing all this, Anjie saw that the bluebird and its father still looked worried, so she smiled and comforted them, saying, "Don't worry, since the fever has started to subside, it means there's nothing to worry about. You two stay with it. I'll go prepare some food for you. I bet you're hungry too?"

The blue-winged bird and its father nodded, then quietly lay down beside its mother, staring at her intently.

Anjie went to the kitchen, first steamed a basket of buns, and then began to wash the green vegetables she had just picked.

After washing the vegetables thoroughly, he took out the oil, salt, chicken bouillon, and other seasonings one by one.

Pour oil into a hot wok, then add the greens and stir-fry. Next, add salt, oyster sauce, and other seasonings in order, and finally add chicken bouillon before serving.

A simple and delicious stir-fried vegetable dish is ready.

High-end ingredients often require only simple cooking methods, and the same is true for the bok choy that Anjie grows herself.

He picked up a piece with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth, and was immediately amazed by the taste of the bok choy.

Fresh! Tender! Delicious!

It's no wonder it was grown from seeds bought from the system store.

Just as Anjie finished eating and was about to put down her chopsticks, she saw Munchlax clinging to the kitchen door frame, staring straight at her with a suspicious glint in its eyes.

"G-G-G-Master, what delicious thing are you secretly eating?"

As it spoke, it gently sniffed the fragrance in the air, its expression seeming to say: Don't try to fool me, I can smell it!

Helpless, Anjie got a new pair of chopsticks, picked up a piece, and handed it to Munchlax. "You little devil, you can't hide anything from me. Here, have a bite."

"Awoo~~~" The little Snorlax ran lightly to Anja's side, swallowed the greens in one gulp, chewed a couple of times, and then squinted its eyes with an amazed look.

"Is it good?" Anjie asked.

"Gum~ Gum~~" Delicious, delicious.

(ˊˋ) The little Snorlax looked at Anja again with a pitiful expression.

Anjie refused, saying, "This is breakfast for the Green Cotton Bird and its father. If you want some, I'll make you some more at noon, okay?"

"Gang~" Upon hearing this, the little Snorlax immediately stopped pestering it; it was such a well-behaved little cutie.

Seeing that the steamed buns were ready, Anjie lifted the lid of the steamer, took them out, put them in a rice bowl, and handed them to the little Snorlax along with the freshly stir-fried green vegetables, saying, "Good boy, take these to the Swablu and the others."

"Gang~~"

The little Snorlax nodded and obediently carried its food bowl away.

------

Around 1 p.m., the mother cottonbird groggily woke up. Although her fever had completely subsided, she was still feeling weak all over after her serious illness.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw her husband and daughter sleeping beside her. Seeing their peaceful expressions, the mother cottonbird smiled gently.

This smile was one that Anjie, an outsider, had never seen before.

"You're awake? How are you feeling?"

Anjie's sudden voice startled the mother bluebird.

Before the mother cottonbird could react, Anjie had already placed her hand on her forehead.

"Yes, the fever has completely subsided, so it seems like there's really no problem."

Before the mother bluebird could speak, he quickly withdrew his hand.

Mother Cottonbird: ...

"Are you hungry? I've saved some food for you, wait a moment." With that, Anjie walked out of the room.

Watching Anjie's retreating figure, the mother bluebird had a complicated expression.

Why wasn't the first human it encountered this person in front of it?

At this moment, it finally had to admit that Anjie was different from the humans it knew.

As soon as Anjie left, the blue cotton bird and its father woke up.

"Chirp~~Chirp~~" Mom, you're finally awake! I was so worried.

The blue cottonbird happily snuggled into its mother's arms, constantly cuddling and acting affectionately towards her.

"Wow~~~"

The mother cotton-bird gently patted her bird with her wings, trying to soothe its anxiety. Its mother's sudden illness must have terrified it.

The father cottonbird brought his head close to his wife's and gently rubbed against her neck, expressing his worries and love.

The mother cottonbird responded to her husband's affection, their necks intertwining, creating an incredibly warm atmosphere in the room.

After eating the food brought by Anjie, the mother cottonbird finally regained her strength.

Bathed in the bright afternoon sun, the family of three flew out of Anjie's house.

"Tsk~ Tsk~"

"Chiru~ Chiru~~"

In the azure sky, the clear calls of the blue-winged jay and the black-winged jay bring a unique vitality to the Nibel Plateau.

"Come visit again sometime!"

An Jie stood at the door and waved to the sky, but the only response he received was the chirping of the bluebirds.

------

On this day, Anjie invited Mud Loach and Catfish King to his home because he had bought some lotus roots from the system store and wanted the two brothers to help him plant them in the pond next to the vegetable garden.

Anjie originally wanted to ask Mud Loach and Catfish King to help grow lotus roots in their pond, but now that he has his own pond, there's no need to go to such lengths.

Standing by the pond, Anjie watched as the mudskippers and the catfish king buried lotus roots one by one into the water. Suddenly, he asked:

"Would you two like to stay at my pond?"

The two brothers were taken aback by An Jie's words.

()Um?

Anjie explained, "Look, your original home was in a remote location, and you lived there all alone. Since you are Water-type Pokémon, it's inconvenient for you to move around on land. Living so far away makes it difficult for you to come to my house for meals."

Why don't you just live in my pond? You can help me grow lotus roots and clean the pond. Once the lotus roots are grown, I'll share some with you as food. My lotus roots are much tastier than yours—bigger and tastier!

Anjie thought that the pond had to be cleaned regularly, otherwise the silt would accumulate and the pond would become shallower and shallower, and even the passage connecting the pond to Lake Nibel might be blocked. Mud loach and catfish king were very suitable for this job.

The mud loach and the catfish king looked at each other, somewhat hesitant.

Anjie continued, "Look, my pond has a direct passage to Lake Nibel. If you get tired of staying in the pond, you can use the passage to go to Lake Nibel for a stroll anytime. Isn't that more comfortable than your little puddle?"

The two brothers were finally deeply moved by An Jie's last point.

"Diggle~"

"Diggle~"

Just then, the three gopher brothers popped their heads out of the soil and joined in persuading the mud loach and the catfish king. They had come to help Anjie loosen the soil and weed in his vegetable garden again today and happened to overhear Anjie and the mud loach brothers' conversation.

"Noma~ Naoma~"

In the end, the Catfish King made the decision and agreed to Anjie's proposal.

Anjie was immediately delighted and said to the Catfish King and the Mud Loach, "Catfish King, Mud Loach, from now on we're neighbors! Please take care of me!"

"Nini~ Nini~~"

"Noma~~Noma~~"

The mud loach and the catfish king nodded, then plunged into the water to continue planting lotus roots.

(End of this chapter)