Elf: Start with small diamonds, then mutate into Diancie!

Zhao Yunlan stared in disbelief, his eyes wide, and said, "I really can't believe that the devil not only personally brought you to the dormitory, but also answered your questions along the way."

As if recalling some terrible memory, Zhao Yunlan's body trembled involuntarily.

Su Hao was full of questions and didn't quite understand. Was Chief Instructor He really that strange?

Seeing that no one was eavesdropping, Zhao Yunlan gestured for Su Hao to come closer and whispered a few words in his ear.

As he listened, Su Hao's curiosity grew.

It seems like something interesting is about to happen?

..............

Just before noon, a sharp assembly whistle rang out, reminding Su Hao of the military training he had before his time travel.

Despite his boundless energy, he didn't rest. He shook his two teammates, who seemed eager to catch up on sleep, awake and then ran downstairs to assemble.

Thanks to Su Hao's quick reaction, their group was the first to arrive at the dormitory building.

College students of similar age also quickly arrived from the surrounding area.

Su Hao counted them; there were roughly fifty or sixty people.

Assuming three people per team, that would be a dozen or twenty students from different universities.

Moreover, Su Hao unexpectedly saw some familiar faces among these college students.

------------

Tom the Roaring Tiger.

Chapter 399 Training Mission: Border Patrol

Su Hao didn't recognize many people; there were only two.

One of them is Jiang Zihan, who was mistaken for a freshman or sophomore when he visited Shanghai University and played a coaching match with him, only to be utterly defeated by Milotic.

There's another one, the junior girl from Imperial University whom he met at the Ice Peak City auction. She's the niece of the scoundrel Bai Du, and a direct descendant of the Dragon Royal Clan named Bai Zirou.

The former, Su Hao, had only played one match with her; the latter, Su Hao had once owed her a promise—to defeat Bai Du.

However, after Su Hao sent her the video of Diancie soloing Noivern via communication software, Su Hao and Diancie were even.

Soon, the personnel were assembled.

Everyone present is an adult, so they naturally know to line up in the correct order; there's no need to elaborate on that.

As if confirming that everyone had arrived, He Jie, whom Su Hao had met not long ago, stood expressionlessly on the small platform erected in front of the group, surrounded by a dozen people also dressed in camouflage.

Unlike when he was chatting with Su Hao before, He Jie's imposing aura slowly emerged under his gaze, and the forty or fifty people instantly became obedient.

Zhao Yunlan and Xia Xiaoguang beside him stood up straight instantly, looking incredibly docile, like mice that had encountered a cat.

After looking around, He Jie spoke:

"I can see many familiar faces among you here, but there are also some new faces participating in this training. Let me give a brief self-introduction first."

"Hello, my name is He Jie. I am the person in charge of this snowfield base, responsible for training you college students. You can call me Chief Instructor He."

He Jie paused for a moment, then continued, "The purpose of this training is to test your teamwork skills. In fact, after you graduate from university, when you explore secret realms and take on alliance missions, you will often team up with people you trust to complete them. The power of a team is far greater than the power of an individual."

"Of course, some people may feel that they can rival Elite Four level trainers or even Elite Four powerhouses in the future, and have full confidence in their own strength."

"But that's only in the future. Right now, some of you haven't even passed the certification for professional trainers. Teamwork is far more effective than individual efforts."

Su Hao, who is not yet eligible to apply for certification, said: "I think you're subtly criticizing me."

"I won't waste any more time on small talk. After lunch, you will begin your first mission of the week—border patrol."

He Jie pointed with both hands to the person standing beside him with a resolute face, like an impenetrable wall: "The specific details will be introduced to you by the instructors assigned to your respective teams. The nineteen instructors standing next to me now are all elites from the Snowfield Base, who have trained countless college students like you."

"I hope you won't be the worst class they've ever taught. Now, start assigning instructors!"

Immediately, the students below erupted in an uproar, as if they had been called "the worst class" countless times.

..............

Looking at the sumptuous lunch in front of him, a look of surprise flashed in Su Hao's eyes.

He is currently eating the standard lunch set meal per person per day at the snowfield base.

Two steaming hot meat buns, three meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and a soup. Unlike some school cafeterias where the meat is so thin that only a few pitiful pieces remain, this dish almost completely filled the plate.

A man in camouflage with a tanned complexion and a buzz cut, sitting opposite Su Hao, chuckled, "Why do you look so surprised?"

Upon hearing this, Su Hao raised his head and explained to the man sitting opposite him.

"No... I was just thinking the food was really good."

The man was the instructor assigned to their three-person team, named Xiao Yan, a professional-level trainer.

"Of course, to deal with potential spies, hunters, or members of evil organizations from other countries who might smuggle themselves in, and to face wild Pokémon populations that could riot at any time, it's natural to need to be well-fed to have the strength."

After Xiao Yan finished explaining, under the dumbfounded gazes of Su Hao and the other two, he finished a large bowl of rice and a large plate of vegetables in just two minutes.

After quickly wiping his mouth clean, Xiao Yan said, "Don't look at me like that. Emergency missions can happen anytime, anywhere. There's no time for us to leisurely savor our food."

"You all eat. While we still have time, I'll explain the details of the upcoming mission to you."

.........

A few minutes later.

"Therefore, the next step involves the possibility of camping out in the Crown Snowfield or facing a blizzard. We need to be prepared for the possibility that we may not be able to return for a short period of time."

"Do you understand?"

"Got it~" ×3

Su Hao and the other two nodded, indicating that they understood.

Even Su Hao, who was there for the first time, knew what his task was.

Considering the lack of experience among these college students who haven't yet graduated, the Snowfield Base selected nineteen experienced individuals to serve as instructors.

These instructors would form teams of four with three college students from each school, leading them to complete tasks assigned within the base.

For example, Su Hao and his team were assigned the simplest border patrol task today.

The task of border patrol is to patrol within a designated area and pay attention to any unusual situations.

In addition, there are missions such as driving away wild Pokémon that approach the base.

These are the only tasks they will receive, as students who come here for training.

For high-risk missions such as chasing spies, poachers, or members of evil organizations, Su Hao and his fellow students would not even get involved, let alone allow them to get close or know about them.

"I'm feeling a bit bored... I should have just pretended to be unwell and trained at school."

These were Su Hao's only thoughts.

However, this is, after all, the Crown Snowfield, and it might bring some unexpected surprises.

It would be interesting if something like an ultimate hole suddenly opened up in the sky, poachers chasing mythical beasts, or people accidentally stumbling into legendary secret realms.

The time to depart arrived quickly.

Packing all the necessary equipment for wilderness survival, Su Hao's team set off for their target mission location.

Because they were acting separately, they didn't encounter any other college students along the way.

After overcoming numerous obstacles and stepping out of the base, a pure white world unfolded before the four of them.

All around him were sparse trees covered with thick snow. Following the pre-assigned duties, Su Hao took out a Luxury Ball and released a Pokémon.

A loud, slightly excited cry rang out, and the Emerald Warrior Eagle flapped its wings, seemingly quite pleased with its surroundings.

Su Hao's job is to conduct investigations.

After all, he's the only one with a Flying-type Pokémon that isn't afraid of icy and snowy environments.

Zhao Yunlan and Xia Xiaoguang released the Greatsword and Alola Raichu respectively.

Xiao Yan released a Fire-type Emboar, which is very suitable for dealing with Ice or Grass-type Pokémon and can also keep warm.

Their duty is to protect.

Their destination was the frozen snowfield not far from the border between the China Alliance and the Russian Alliance.

------------

Bonus Mini-Theater:

The Rockets headquarters, in the pitch-black boss's office.

"That's the situation... After careful consideration, we believe this action is contrary to the Rockets' philosophy, so we intervened and affected the operation."

The trio of Musashi, Kojiro, and Meow Meow knelt on the ground, their eyes looking down, their faces filled with panic.

On that day, a large number of elite Team Rocket members, including two high-ranking officers, Apollo and Athena, were sent to the Kanto Alliance prison under the influence of some mysterious force.

As the only survivor, Team Rocket's leader Giovanni demands an explanation from the trio.

After hearing the whole story, Sakaki stroked the cat boss and sighed softly.

This even made the trio, who were afraid of being punished because of this incident, tremble.

After a while.

In the darkness, Sakaki's authoritative voice rang out: "Hmph, two good-for-nothing idiots, they should calm down in the Alliance Prison for a while."

"Musashi, Kojiro, and Meowth, you did a great job."

"What Apollo and Athena did undoubtedly went against the founding principles of the Rockets."

"As long as the world exists, Team Rocket can conquer the world."

"What they are doing is tantamount to drinking poison to quench their thirst. You may continue your operations as usual and leave."

Upon hearing this, the trio's faces lit up with joy, and they replied energetically, "Yes!"

After the trio left the room, Sakaki's expression instantly turned sinister, and his movements became much more forceful.

He murmured, "The incident at Mount Tsukimi, the incident at the Tree of Beginning... it seems someone is stirring things up behind the scenes..."

"Hehe... Interesting."