I opened a restaurant in the Pokémon world.

He encountered a formidable enemy during a mission and died, just like that. Today is the day of Ms. Lori's funeral. Heath was somewhat taken aback, but he still drove towards that place.

That's how time works; it always takes away familiar people without you even noticing. One of Heath's old customers is gone.

Chapter 744 Separation and Death

Ms. Lori is an investigator in the Pokémon League. Investigators seem powerful and capable of handling anything, but in reality, investigators, like Officer Jenny, have a very dangerous profession. Both Officer Jenny and investigators rank among the highest in the annual occupational mortality rate published by the Pokémon League. After all, not every villain is focused on doing great things; some are simply evil people who have no bottom line when it comes to their crimes.

These people are also key targets of the Alliance, but even so, they keep emerging. Some are not very skilled and can be dealt with easily, while some are very clever and cunning criminals who will set traps and the like. The Officer Jenny that Heath saw last time was such a case. She encountered someone who blew up the base and died in the line of duty.

It can only be said that there are very few people like Boss Sakaki—who are very smart and know that if they go all out, the League will go all out, but if they can control their organization, then the League will turn a blind eye. Most people don't have this idea and wish they could cause some big news every day.

"..." Heath silently arrived at the funeral home in Kuye City. There were many people standing there, all dressed in black suits, with solemn expressions. These were obviously Ms. Lori's colleagues or something, but their relationship probably wasn't very good. Then there was a group of people crying so hard they were almost breathless. Among them were middle-aged men, elderly couples with gray hair, and several children who were clenching their fists and had red and swollen eyes. These must be Ms. Lori's family. Heath even saw some other people who were equally saddened; those must have been Ms. Lori's friends.

Heath didn't know any of these people. He only knew Ms. Lori and her Gengar. He saw the Gengar at the funeral, but the Gengar didn't come to play its favorite game of rock-paper-scissors with Heath. Instead, it stood silently beside Ms. Lori's family, seemingly lost in thought. Heath sighed and tried to widen his eyes to hold back the tears welling up in his eyes.

What is a funeral like? Heath experienced three. The first time was when Heath was in elementary school. His grandfather passed away. Heath followed his parents to the crematorium in a daze. Looking at his grandfather in the coffin, Heath didn't shed tears. He was just curious about why his grandfather was lying there. He even thought that his grandfather would get up and make him a delicious braised pork. Later, Heath learned the meaning of death.

Death means disappearance, it means that everything about this person will disappear from your life, and the only evidence that he/she is still alive is probably in your memory.

The second time was when Heath's relative passed away. Heath's cousin cried uncontrollably, leaning limply in her husband's arms. At the funeral, most people solemnly entered, bowed, walked around the coffin once, comforted his cousin, and then left. The funeral was repeated at the crematorium, but Heath was not invited to the crematorium that time. He was ignored by his cousin. At that moment, Heath realized that funerals were also a kind of social interaction and a matter of courtesy.

The third time was this time. Heath silently looked at Ms. Lori. He remembered how Ms. Lori looked when she came to his place for dinner, but now Ms. Lori was just lying peacefully in the coffin, without any movement. She was covered with the flag of the Kanto Alliance, which meant that Ms. Lori had died for the Kanto Alliance, so the funeral was still held. But looking at Ms. Lori's family, who were crying their hearts out but could not shed any tears and could only wail, Heath felt that perhaps they wished their daughter could come back even more.

There was nothing Heath could do. He was just an ordinary person, a regular cook. Although Heath had some tricks up his sleeve, the problem was that none of them worked at this moment. If he had been there when Ms. Lori was seriously injured, he might have been able to think of a solution, but at this moment, he was truly helpless.

The Nightmare Flower still hadn't bloomed, and even if it had, Heath didn't know if it could save Ms. Lori's life, since who knew how much time would have passed by then.

Life is always filled with the words "birth and death," and Heath knew this very well. Although some people in the Pokémon world can live forever, the vast majority of people will die. Heath had thought about what he would be like if his parents were gone, and every time he thought about it, he felt endless fear. He was afraid of death and afraid of losing his family. With his parents, life still had a destination; with his parents gone, life would only have a destination left.

Heath bowed deeply, walked carefully around the coffin, and earnestly comforted the grieving family. Then he sat down and watched as Ms. Lori was cremated. Then an elderly gentleman in uniform, who looked like a high-ranking official, appeared. He solemnly carried a small urn containing her ashes. Ms. Lori, who was so big, had become so small now…

Heath took a deep breath and widened his eyes even more.

The old man held an urn covered with the Kanto flag. He walked over silently and then handed the urn to Ms. Lori's parents with both hands.

"I'm sorry, I led her out from inside by the hand, and now I'm handing her hand back to you." The old man's tone was steady, tinged with shame, and his eyes were red.

Ms. Lori's parents cried even harder. Gengar stood to the side, its eyes fixed on the small urn, without saying a word.

Heath silently participated in Ms. Lori's funeral. Finally, Heath left with the others. From now on, Ms. Lori would not come to eat anymore; she would never come again. Heath knew that Ms. Lori would become a memory for some people, but those memories would slowly fade, and only her loved ones would remember more.

"..." Just as Heath was about to enter the food truck, he was stopped by Gengar. Gengar silently looked at Heath, and Heath looked at Gengar. He wanted to comfort it, but he didn't know what to say.

After a while, Gengar took out a banknote from its body and handed it to Heath. The banknote was a hundred League Coins, and Heath stared at it blankly.

"...Would you like something to eat?" Heath looked at Gengar, and seemed to see Lady Lori. Heath knew what Lady Lori liked to eat.

Chapter 745 Ms. Lori's Favorite Jianbing Guozi

Hiss returned to the food cart with a serious expression. Zoroark didn't dare to speak and could only cower there obediently. Hiss looked at her and wanted to laugh. He rubbed her little head and told Zoroark to go play with Ralts. Hiss didn't care about anything else. He calmly stood in the kitchen preparing the food that Ms. Lori liked to eat for Gengar.

What does Ms. Lori like to eat? That is a question, but it is not a question either. Heath knows exactly what Ms. Lori likes to eat. Although Heath had not yet awakened his chef's eye at that time, he was, after all, a veteran chef. So Heath knew very well what Ms. Lori liked to eat. What Ms. Lori liked to eat was actually a jianbing (Chinese crepe) with a sausage and plenty of Heath's special mushroom sauce. That was Ms. Lori's favorite food.

Ms. Lori was in a hurry at the time, but perhaps she smelled the aroma from Heath's food stall, so she stopped and ordered a jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe). After that, whenever Ms. Lori had free time, she would come to Heath's stall for a jianbing guozi. Heath knew Ms. Lori's taste very well, and he didn't even need Ms. Lori to ask him what to put in her food. This was the tacit understanding between Heath and Ms. Lori, a unique tacit understanding.

A jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe) was a piece of cake for Heath with his current culinary skills, so he made it quickly and served it to Gengar. The steaming hot jianbing guozi with its familiar aroma made Gengar finally unable to suppress its emotions, and it burst into loud sobs. Heath gently patted Gengar's back. It was a sad thing, but there was nothing Heath could do but say, "Please accept my condolences."

"Wow, Gengar is crying so sadly. And little Heath, he really had to bring over a jianbing guozi. Sigh, I really want to have a bite..." A familiar voice made Heath pause for a moment. Then he looked up and saw that behind Gengar, Ms. Lori, dressed in a very nice outfit, was standing there looking at them. She had her arms crossed and looked a little greedy, but there was also some sadness in her eyes, a very complicated emotion.

"Little Heath, aren't you happy to see your respected Sister Lori? Too bad, I'm dead now, so you can't see me anymore~" Ms. Lori walked over triumphantly, then waved her fists at Heath a few times. Heath's lips twitched. He really didn't know Ms. Lori had this kind of personality. So, the Ms. Lori with the overwhelming aura he saw every day was all a lie? Heath had to admit that this gave him a hard-to-describe feeling.

Heath was still mourning the passing of Ms. Lori, but he never expected to see her here and discover another side of her. This made Heath somewhat amused and exasperated. He had forgotten that there was a reverse world in this world, where the dead would live again. Although Ms. Lori died in this world, she was reborn in that world. He just didn't know how Ms. Lori got here.

Ms. Lori seemed to notice that Heath was watching her. She walked around Heath, and Heath's eyes were fixed on her, even following her around once, which puzzled Ms. Lori.

“…Heath, can you see me?” Ms. Lori asked hesitantly. Heath looked at her silently, unsure whether to nod or shake his head. Would nodding be awkward? After all, Ms. Lori had seemed quite certain he couldn't see her, so she was very…

That reveals one's true nature.

"Hahaha, I knew it! How could little Heath possibly see me..." Ms. Lori laughed triumphantly, and then saw Heath nod at her. Instantly, the atmosphere in the entire food truck became awkward, with only Gengar's wailing sound. Heath looked helplessly at Gengar, and then at Ms. Lori. Speaking of which, Gengar is also a Ghost Pokémon, so why didn't he see Ms. Lori?

"Why don't you comfort her?" Heath asked Ms. Lori, who finally broke the awkward silence, regaining her usual calm and serious demeanor.

"No, Heath, I'm a ghost in the Distortion World right now, and Gengar can't see me because my current state is very special. If it could see me, it would be a problem." Ms. Lori said with a serious face. Heath's lips twitched. Goodness, Heath felt that the Ms. Lori from before was more real.

However, upon closer reflection, it didn't seem to be a problem. After all, Hiss knew before that Ms. Lori's situation was special, but at that time Hiss was wondering if Ms. Lori had some kind of obsession, like Ralts, which was why she stayed in this world. But judging from the current situation, it didn't seem to be like that? This made Hiss a little curious.

"Then what do you think I should do?" Heath was somewhat helpless. He couldn't just be a mouthpiece, and he felt that if he said that, Gengar might be very angry, after all, Ms. Lori had only been dead for a short time.

“Just pat its little ears on its head and say, ‘Don’t cry, little devil, or you’ll get bullied by the big wolfhound.’” Ms. Lori smiled, and Heath gasped. Goodness, he still wasn’t used to Ms. Lori like this, mainly because she had seemed too lively just now.

However, Hiss did it anyway. He gently rubbed Gengar's little ears—what a weird little ears! Gengar's little ears are actually part of Gengar's body, and if he wanted, he could even make them look different.

But Heath still rubbed it, and then said the words that Lady Lori had taught him. Gengar immediately stopped crying, and looked up at Heath in surprise, its big eyes full of confusion.

"...What would you do if I told you that Ms. Lori was right behind you watching you?" Heath shrugged helplessly. Gengar subconsciously made a Shadow Ball in its hand and then scattered it.

Heath's lips twitched. He had said that doing this was simply asking for a beating. Heath almost got beaten up by Gengar, which left Heath speechless. But it was normal. If it were him, Heath would also want to hit someone, after all, this was a terrible thing.

Chapter 746 The Fear of Death is a Curse

After several attempts by Hiss, Gengar finally believed that Ms. Lori hadn't gone to the Reverse World but was behind him. Hiss then became a messenger, relaying messages between Ms. Lori and Gengar. However, strictly speaking, he relayed Ms. Lori's words to Gengar, since Gengar couldn't hear Ms. Lori, but she could hear him. This saved Hiss some trouble, and he was quite satisfied with it. This relaying role lasted for more than twenty minutes before it was finally over.

"...To be honest, when I died, I really didn't expect there would be another world. And according to that seemingly serious Night Demon, Alliance public servants like me who died in the line of duty are entitled to a seven-day leave to linger in the human world. I never expected to run into you, Heath, someone I can communicate with." Ms. Lori sat on Heath's table. She was barefoot and didn't look like a middle-aged woman; she looked more like a young girl. Heath sat quietly beside her, watching Ms. Lori.

In truth, most people have a hidden self, or you could say their id. This self is more unique, completely following one's heart without needing to worry about too many things. However, to survive in this society, people have to wear a mask, so sometimes it's not easy to take off the mask and be yourself again. Take Ms. Lori, for example. Presumably, to maintain her aura and make her more intimidating to criminals, she always looks very serious, not relaxed at all, even when she comes to eat. Heath now understands why Ms. Lori acted that way earlier. She felt that no one could see her, so she didn't care. Unexpectedly, she backfired on Heath.

“…Death is not an end, but the beginning of another journey…” Heath smiled and handed the jianbing guozi in his hand to Ms. Lori. Ms. Lori was a little helpless. She wanted to eat it too, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t touch the things in this world. But she still subconsciously reached out her hand. Then Ms. Lori took the hot, soft jianbing guozi. Ms. Lori was stunned for a moment, and then she picked it up in surprise and took a small bite.

It's like a kitten trying cat food for the first time, testing whether something that smells good is actually edible.

The warm, familiar taste and fragrant aroma made Ms. Lori feel as if she had been brought back to life. She burst into tears instantly, tears streaming down her face as she ate the jianbing guozi in her hand, seemingly wanting to vent her endless grievances. Heath watched this scene in silence. He could understand the sadness in Ms. Lori's heart. It is always difficult for anyone to remain calm when facing death; it is the curse of intelligent beings like humans.

Yes, Heath always felt that the fear of death was a curse on humans, such intelligent beings. Wild animals also fear death, but they spend most of their time struggling to make a living and to survive, unlike humans who have so much time to think about these frightening things.

Perhaps Ms. Lori was also very unwilling. She was unwilling to die like this, unwilling to be unable to be with her parents, lover, and children. Her parents were still alive and she should have been able to fulfill her filial duties, but she died. Her lover was still alive and she didn't want to cause him so much pain, but she died. Her children were still alive and she should have been able to watch them grow up, but she died.

Death, a heavy topic.

"...You must be laughing at me, little Heath. I thought I could take all this in stride, but when it actually happened to me, I realized how difficult it is to take things lightly." Ms. Lori wiped her eyes and then her mouth, very carefully in order. She didn't want the chili sauce from the jianbing (Chinese crepe) to get in her eyes, as that would be very painful and troublesome, although Ms. Lori felt that she probably couldn't feel pain anymore.

"It's nothing, Ms. Lori. Death is always a heavy topic in this world." Heath smiled. At least Ms. Lori didn't break down. You see, countless people want to pursue immortality. Ancient emperors practiced alchemy and believed in evil magic, all in an attempt to escape death. In this world where money can change many things, perhaps death is the most equal thing that everyone has to face. Whether rich or poor, death embraces us without reservation, granting every life eternal slumber.

"..." Gengar didn't want to speak. As a Ghost Pokémon, it possessed near-eternal life. Some of its predecessors had told it that living too long would be exhausting, so many of them chose to end their lives. At first, Gengar couldn't understand, but now it did. After Ms. Lori's death, Gengar felt that everything in this world had lost its meaning. Fortunately, Heath was there, and it could still talk to Ms. Lori. Thinking of this, Gengar's mood improved slightly.

Ms. Lori left without telling Heath what she wanted him to say to her parents and children. Ms. Lori didn't want them to suffer any more. Heath agreed with Ms. Lori's statement. Moreover, according to the rules of the Reverse World, Heath couldn't reveal too much about that world. So, Heath watched Gengar and Ms. Lori walk out together. As they left, Ms. Lori turned her head and said something to Gengar with a smile. Gengar couldn't hear her, but it tried its best to pretend that it could. Then, Ms. Lori smiled even more happily and reached out to touch Gengar's little ears.

Gengar's ears twitched. Heath thought Gengar probably didn't sense it, but Heath sincerely hoped that Gengar had, because that would be a good thing for Gengar. With these seven days of companionship, Gengar should be able to see things more clearly.

"...Phew, maybe this is what farewell is like?" Heath took out his phone and called Sister Feng. He was leaving for Golden City today, and no matter what, Heath had to tell Sister Feng. At least he could still call her now.

Chapter 747 Heading to Golden City

Sheath still embarked on her journey, which was quite normal. Most people in the Pokémon world would take such a trip; it had almost become a cultural tradition. It was already quite rare for Sheath to start traveling at her age. Ash, for example, would start traveling at the age of ten and continue traveling for who knows how long. Sheath felt that this would have been impossible in her previous life, but in this world, these things were possible and not so strange. So, Maple's opinion on this matter was very simple—tell Sheath to be careful on the road.

Children embarking on a journey is as natural as adults starting their jobs after graduation. Even the most heinous dark organizations rarely target traveling children because they know the repercussions they would face if they did, something that is absolutely intolerable.

"Golden City, huh? That's a pretty big city in the Kanto region. I wonder if there's anything there... no, actually, I do know someone there, after all, Nami is an acquaintance." Heath sat in the food truck, which he had already set to autopilot—the biggest advantage of the truck. Other advantages were also quite unique. This upgrade had added some strange skills, some that Heath couldn't even describe. For example, his truck could now drive underwater and serve guests. This made Heath ponder. He was trying to recall if any of the movies or anime he'd seen featured anyone living underwater? It seemed like no one.

It's impossible for Atlantis to just pop out, right? But even though there aren't any people living underwater, there are still Pokémon living underwater, aren't there?

Then it can still operate normally in volcanic areas and entertain guests. It can be said that this upgrade has added some ability to withstand extreme weather, which surprised Heath a bit. However, this is also a good thing. After all, the Kanto region is a coastal city, and sometimes it does encounter some extreme weather, such as typhoons and tsunamis. In addition, with the storage room in Heath's dining car, Heath felt that even if he accidentally fell into the sea, he could survive without any pressure. What is this? The Flying Dutchman of the Kanto world? No, it should be the Flying Heath.

In conclusion, Hiss thought this upgraded food truck reward was pretty good and interesting. Although it seemed useless, it did open up some new business opportunities for Hiss. Hiss planned that if he went to the Sinnoh region next time, he might try driving it directly into the sea and landing there from there. Hiss was very interested in the ocean of this world. Even Professor Oak said that the ocean of this world was still an unknown world, and no one knew if there were more unknown Pokémon in this world, after all, the ocean was too vast.

Of course, right now Heath is more concerned about things in Golden City.

However, that will have to wait until Hiss arrives in Goldenrod City. Hiss is currently lying on the sofa playing a game with Zoroark. It's a pretty good shooting game, and Hiss thinks it's quite fun to relax and play it occasionally. The most important thing is that the weapon skins in this game are very interesting and well-made, better than the weapons in other games. Moreover, Hiss has even gotten to play with a shotgun similar to the one he played in his previous life. The long-lost Ink Girl made Hiss quite excited, so he went on a rampage, losing several games in a row.

"...As expected, playing online games always makes my blood pressure spike." Zoroark put down the controller. It has to be said that this game actually reduced the sense of discouragement from defeat, but there's no way to escape the feeling of discouragement in online battle games. Hiss, on the other hand, was very calm and did not question Zoroark about why he kept dying from beginning to end.

"Then let's play something else. There are quite a few games available these days." Heath smiled, his mood was very peaceful, which was one of Heath's few virtues. After all, if you were angry every day, it would be very tiring and not good for your health. Although anger is an emotion, it can still affect internal organs, so controlling emotions is actually a way to live a long life.

Zoroark was a little hesitant, but it quickly found the game it wanted to play, and Heath happily played with Zoroark. They even got Farfetch'd involved. They were playing Pokémon Rumble, a very popular fighting game that is extremely popular and has even dedicated tournaments. Although Heath hadn't played it much, the game wasn't too difficult to learn, so it was quite easy to pick up.

The joyful time was short-lived. Heath had even imagined what might happen on the road, but to his disappointment, the entire journey was peaceful and there was nothing worth mentioning. This left Heath somewhat helpless. He glanced out the car window and could already see the massive urban complex of Golden City. It was said that Golden City was the signature book of every famous designer, because only renowned designers could design a building in Golden City that reflected their own style. Therefore, many designers considered it an honor to design a building in Golden City.

Welcome to Goldenrod City!

A large sign stands outside the highway, marking the entrance to Saffron City. Highways in the Pokémon world still have tolls because the cost of building them hasn't been recouped yet. But Seath doesn't care; this amount of money is no problem for him right now.

However, just like those outrageous videos, Heath got brushed.

"?" Heath looked at the departing car speechlessly. He had just passed through a toll booth, but someone else had used it for him. In his previous life, this was called "ETC fraud." Heath had no choice but to call the staff and report the incident under the scrutinizing gazes of the drivers behind him.

Then Heath was allowed to leave, and the other vehicle's license plate was registered. Although the license plate could be fake, how did Heath know? Because Maple had shown her those confiscated fake license plates before. It can only be said that the Pokémon world is quite realistic. If one day Heath saw a small advertisement for fake documents pasted on his food truck, he wouldn't be too surprised.

Chapter 748 Design Capital

His first impression of Golden City wasn't good. It wasn't that the car they just saw represented Golden City, but rather that people tend to attribute an individual's actions to a group, often with malice and sarcasm. Like the widespread theft of manhole covers or eating people from Fujian in his previous life, these were all forms of regional and urban discrimination. Initially, it might have stemmed from one or two isolated incidents—of course, there was no actual eating of people from Fujian—but people magnified the regional attributes behind those individuals, thus giving rise to regional and urban discrimination.

Ultimately, people are social animals.

Heath sighed. He didn't want to blame those people. After all, strictly speaking, were they wrong? Maybe they were, but maybe they weren't. Maybe they were just trying to save a little money by hitching a ride with him because a family member was seriously ill and about to die. Heath thought this with a hint of malice.

"But I feel like I've forgotten something?" Hiss stroked his chin, lost in thought. He was pondering a question: had he forgotten something? When he left Vermilion City, Hiss felt something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It just felt wrong, and this feeling confused him. Then Hiss glanced at the Pokémon in his lounge. Farfetch'd, Zoroark, Charizard, and Snorlax were all there. Ralts was still knitting the scarf she was planning to make. Hiss was quite looking forward to Ralts's creation, but then another question popped into his head.

"Where's Mew?" Heath paused for a moment, then his lips twitched. Good grief, he'd forgotten about Mew again. It wasn't that Heath had a bad memory, it's just that Mew was a particularly mischievous little guy, always flying around everywhere. Besides, although Mew was very close to Heath, it wasn't really his Pokémon, so Heath never bothered to restrict it from going out to play. Therefore, Heath didn't really care whether Mew was in his dining car or not. But now he was in Saffron City, and Mew wasn't there, and he hadn't even told Mew that he was going to Saffron City.

Heath covered her face, hoping that Mew wouldn't be too angry when it came over. After all, Goldenrod City and Vermilion City weren't that far apart, right? It was only a dozen or so hours by car...

Heath wasn't sure if he'd be angry.

"Cough cough, probably not. After all, Mew is such an understanding and gentle Pokémon. Although I did forget this time, Mew can definitely understand. How could such a cute Pokémon be angry? Absolutely not!" Heath deliberately muttered loudly to himself because he had just seen a pink tail outside the window. Heath felt that no other Pokémon besides Mew could look like that.

Sure enough, the next second Mew opened the window with practiced ease and flew in. It waved happily at Zoroark, then glanced at Heath with a haughty look that said, "I am a gentle Pokémon." Then Mew leisurely went to play games. Heath breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness. But Mew came back quite quickly today, which surprised Heath.

Normally, Dream would wander around outside for quite a while before returning at night, but Heath didn't pay much attention to that. He was focused on looking at the buildings in front of him. He had now entered Goldenrod City, a city signed by countless architectural masters. Heath saw some buildings that left him in awe, and some that made him realize he probably lacked any aesthetic sense. For example, there was a building that looked like a cat taking a nap, but this cat had many whiskers on its body. Heath said he didn't understand it, but he was greatly impressed.

However, Heath also admitted that there are indeed many interesting buildings here. As for how to distinguish whether a building is an ordinary building or a masterpiece, you have to go to the city hall to see the master's map. In fact, they are also sold on the street. After all, Golden City has made this a tourist attraction, and their approach is actually very wise.

Every year, many visitors travel from afar to admire the masterpieces of the masters, which is quite interesting. The large number of tourists makes Goldenrod City truly deserving of its title as the "City of Design," making it a win-win situation.

However, Heath didn't pay attention to the architecture of those masters. He went to the market first. Any chef who goes to a new city can't resist the temptation of the market. The market is so unique and so intoxicating. Heath liked this place very much. It's quite interesting to see different cities and see some of the characteristics of the city through the market. In his previous life, Heath liked to visit the market when he traveled to experience the different styles of each city. For example, in Yunnan Province, the market is the best place when wild mushrooms are in season.

But when Heath actually arrived at the Golden City market, he was still surprised because he discovered that this market was also the work of a master! Because there was a plaque of the master hanging at the entrance—not every master would do this, because it would be too tacky.

But when Heath saw the master's name, he calmed down, because the other party was indeed that kind of master. His works would all have his own nameplate on them. What's even more outrageous is that there is supposedly a public toilet on the top of Mount Crown, which is also the work of that master Ledger. This made Heath very confused.