Pokémon Detective Case Files.

The job itself is nothing unusual; it's just typical full-time maid work—cooking, laundry, house cleaning, and other ordinary household chores.

The benefits and conditions are also very good. Meals and accommodation are provided, there are fixed holidays every month, and the salary is relatively generous compared to others in the industry.

However, the location of this job is rather complicated—it is a mysterious mansion located deep in the Hundred Forest. Without a map or by simply flying through the air with a flying Pokémon, outsiders would have no way of discovering the existence of this building.

Even though the housekeeping service request had already been certified by a legitimate organization, it still exuded an eerie and suspicious atmosphere.

Almost no one wanted to take on such a job—deep in a remote forest, where no one could call for help and safety was simply not guaranteed. Even the agency that offered the job had rumors circulating that working in that eerie mansion might lead to some terrible thing happening any day.

Before she mustered the courage to contact the owner of the mansion, Zina thought the same thing...

However, having worked at the Mori Mansion for over a year, she was no longer afraid of anything in the mansion.

—This is what the maid, Zina, confidently believed before the familiar yet unfamiliar knocking sounded at the door.

"We might have a few guests today, and we'd appreciate it if you could take care of them, Miss Qi Na."

In the morning, the mansion owner, who usually buried himself in his research in the basement, made a rare appearance and instructed Zina in this way.

Although the mansion was located in a remote area, it was not entirely deserted. At least, according to the maid, besides herself and the mansion owner, there were two other people who frequently visited the mansion.

One was the daughter of the manor owner, Miss Vinnie, who was still in school. Whenever school was out, or during long holidays like Golden Week, she would come to the Mori Mansion to visit her father.

The other was the curator's assistant, a young man named Neil. All the living supplies in the curator's room, as well as the research materials needed by the curator, were transported into the forest by wind-borne spheres under Neil's command.

However, Neil doesn't seem to like the atmosphere of the mansion and doesn't usually live there.

Therefore, when she heard that the manor owner was planning to entertain guests, Zina subconsciously thought that perhaps Miss Venetian was about to take a vacation, or that the next supply of resources would arrive ahead of schedule.

However, after a moment's thought, the maid dismissed this idea. Because in the past, even when those two had visited, the owner had never given her such instructions beforehand.

Besides, even if Neil, the assistant, is one thing, the museum owner isn't so heartless as to refer to his own daughter as a guest.

The person who would be so valued by the owner of the mansion must be a more important guest.

However, regardless of the type of guest, due to the unique environment of the Mori Mansion, they will only land on the roof of the mansion.

To serve the guests promptly, Qi Na made sure to finish her chores before the afternoon. She pretended to be diligently sweeping the floor and waited on the second floor near the hidden door to the roof.

The reason for making these preparations was twofold: firstly, to leave a good impression on the distinguished guests who had traveled from afar and to dilute the strange atmosphere of the Forest Mansion; secondly, because Zina herself was also a little curious about what kind of person the fifth guest who would appear at the Forest Mansion would be.

Clang, clang, clang.

Ah, the guests have arrived...

Out of professional ethics, Qi Na subconsciously put down the broom, turned around, and prepared to go downstairs to greet the guests.

What bad luck! I happened to be sweeping the second floor of the mansion, otherwise, given my usual work rhythm, I could have opened the door right away...

Wait a minute! Something's not right!

As she descended the stairs, Qi Na froze, a chill creeping up her spine and into the back of her head, instantly breaking out in a cold sweat.

The mansion's only entrance was on the second floor, near the roof. I had specifically come to the second floor to wait for the guests!

The gates of the Forest Mansion have been sealed off by dense trees for over a hundred years, haven't they? How could someone be knocking on the door? Was what I just heard just a hallucination?

Thinking of hallucinations, Zina suddenly remembered the suspicious, dense, and tinnitus-like noise she had heard on the second floor before!

What exactly is that thing standing in front of the main gate of the Mori Mansion at this very moment?

Beside her, in the painting hanging by the stairs, there seemed to be a pair of red eyes staring at the maid, who was secretly laughing.

For the first time in her year of work, Qi Na felt a sense of fear.

Chapter 263 The Atheist in the Secret Room

Although the "Iaijutsu" easily cleared away the obstacles in front of the Mori Mansion, the door still opened much later than Chikuran had expected.

She knocked two or three more times, almost starting to doubt whether anyone lived in the mansion, before the ancient door finally creaked open with a rough scraping sound of rusty iron, and was slowly pushed open from the inside.

A timid young woman appeared behind the door.

Her clothes were simple, with the cuffs rolled up to her upper arms, and her long brown hair was simply tied up on her head. In terms of appearance, she gave people a good impression of being very hardworking.

However, the little girl who opened the door still bore traces of fear on her face. Like a timid little curly-eared cub afraid of a stranger, her arm gripping the door trembled slightly, while she clutched a broom tightly in her other hand. It was as if she were facing a formidable enemy, ready to slam the door shut at any moment.

And when she looked up and turned her gaze to the guests waiting at the door—

"Oh! You're not... the League's Bamboo Orchid Champion, are you?"

Before Zhu Lan could speak, the woman behind the door immediately exclaimed in surprise.

To be honest, this way of greeting is quite impolite, but Cynthia is already used to being recognized at a glance. Even the berry breeders in the Unova region can recognize her, let alone here in Sinnoh where she is the champion.

So, without any surprise, she calmly nodded and got straight to the point—

"Yes. I heard that there are some research sites related to mythology in this mansion, so I came to investigate. Are you a resident here?"

"Ruins?" The little girl's eyes widened. "Isn't this Mr. Meidan's mansion?"

Mei Dan... Zhu Lan was also somewhat surprised.

As a mythologist in the Sinnoh region, she had naturally heard of this name. However, coincidences of people sharing the same name exist all over the world, and it was not yet certain whether it was the same person.

"I see. Is that anonymous property owner named Mei Dan? To actually buy such a strangely styled mansion, he's quite an eccentric character."

Officer Jenny, dressed in a police uniform, stepped out from beside the champion. First the champion, then the police officer—this surprised Zina even more, who was already in a state of shock.

The policewoman didn't know Mei Dan's identity, but she also looked thoughtful.

In today's information age, sometimes even just one or two characters can unlock endless intelligence.

From an investigative standpoint, just hearing the name "Mei Dan" was enough to make Officer Jenny's trip worthwhile.

She believed that by following the name, she could easily trace the person's social connections and economic situation. At that point, the mysteries of the Forest Mansion, the clues to the Crimson Sun Galaxy, and the secrets of the mythical ruins would all be solved.

Normally, such intelligence gathering should be completed before any investigation is launched. However, strictly speaking, while the mansion might have been the residence of Akatsuki, the property itself wasn't directly involved in any criminal activity. Even if Officer Jenny held a key position within the Sinnoh League, she still wouldn't have the authority to directly inquire about the house's later ownership.

Of course, within the complex bureaucratic system of the Sinnoh League, there are ways to bypass the rules and gain access to the homeowner's privacy. But clearly, since there's no entrance fee to Erimo Forest, none of those gray-area methods are as simple and effective as directly visiting the mansion.

Therefore, although her appearance and police uniform were already convincing enough, Officer Jenny still skillfully pulled out her police handbook and used her official identification to demonstrate her legitimate identity.

“Hello, I’m Officer Jenny from the League’s Investigation Department. Unlike the mission of this Sinnoh Champion, I’m visiting this residence primarily on official business. Besides the mythological relics, this mansion may also hold some clues about Team Galactic, which once ravaged Sinnoh. If possible, we would like to have the opportunity to visit the mansion.”

To Zhu Lan and Jun Sha's surprise, the woman who opened the door nodded without hesitation and politely bowed, saying—

"Yes, please come in. Although I don't know the specifics, the owner must have known you were coming, which is why he specifically instructed me to prepare to welcome you. He's currently working in the basement, so let me take you inside first."

The two uninvited guests exchanged a glance, both seeing suspicion in each other's eyes. Neither of them had expected to be able to enter the Forest Mansion, which was already inhabited, so easily.

"Also, there's something I'd like to ask if I may be so bold as to ask..." Zina asked timidly and cautiously, "Where did the woods outside the mansion go?"

.

The explanation didn't take much effort. After seeing the mess outside the gate, Zina immediately understood where the trees that had originally sealed the gate had gone.

Taking this opportunity, Zhu Lan and the others also learned the maid's name and occupation, and realized that in Qi Na's eyes, this mysterious Forest Mansion was just a larger, more remote villa, and there was nothing strange or unusual about it.

"From what we've seen of the interior decoration so far, there really isn't anything unusual..."

Passing through the long entrance hall, the bright and beautiful interior of the mansion suddenly contrasts sharply with the gloomy outside world, as if it were another world altogether.

Officer Jenny adjusted her police cap and said, "The furniture is clean and tidy, all the household items and tableware on the table are in good order, and the wooden floor is spotless. Hmm... if I had to nitpick, the window glass is a bit dirty."

Zina lowered her head shyly: "These are all my duties as a maid. I'm so glad you can feel comfortable. The windows haven't been wiped clean because they can't be opened."

"I see. It seems you're working very hard."

Officer Jenny uttered the praise that Zina had hoped for, but then abruptly changed the subject—

"However, sometimes being too normal in your appearance can also be a sign of something being abnormal."

"Abnormal? What... does this mean?"

Seeing the policewoman's serious expression, the maid gripped the broom tighter, looking nervous.

“Someone once said that anything that has ever existed will leave a trace, let alone a mansion that has been inhabited for many years. Although Baidai City does have water pipes and power lines that connect to this place, how do you deal with the household garbage and sewage left over from your daily life? The house is sealed off from the outside, and there are no sewers or recycling stations nearby to handle garbage.”

"Oh, this."

The maid, who was leading the two guests to the mansion owner's basement, changed her route after hearing Officer Jenny's question. She opened the door to a small room in the corner.

"The Gym Leader's Pokémon is responsible for handling most of the kitchen waste. Although it's just a Grimer, we usually call it 'Grimer.' As for the solid waste that Grimer can't digest, we collect it and entrust Mr. Neil, who delivers supplies to us regularly, to take it to town to dispose of it."

Inside the door, a lump of mud covered in dark purple stripes was curled up in the pool, sleeping peacefully in a place where the sun couldn't reach.

As Qi Na and the others pushed open the door and entered, the clump of purple mud slowly began to wriggle, gradually revealing a cheerful face with its mouth wide open.

"It's stinky mud. I haven't seen it much lately."

Because the room had an exhaust fan on, the odor from the mud wasn't very strong.

The champion of Bamboo Orchid said with some emotion—

"Since the leagues around the world began to pay attention to environmental governance, sewage environments suitable for these sludge to live in have almost disappeared. Nowadays, people even need to build artificial sewage ponds specifically to raise them. Perhaps in the distant future, when people think of sludge, they will only think of the Alola sludge subspecies that feeds on garbage, and the image of green, not purple, sludge will appear in their minds..."

And at that very moment—

"Hehehe! In the future, even those beings revered as gods in murals might end up like beginner Pokémon in research institutes, kept in Poké Balls and casually wandering around!"

A loud and sarcastic voice suddenly came from behind the group.

In the sewage pool, the purple, smelly slime waved its mud-formed hands with even greater joy, clearly because it had seen its trainer.

Hearing the audacious words behind her, Zhu Lan didn't need to turn around to immediately confirm the other person's identity—

Professor Medan, a renowned biology PhD ten years ago, was the number one atheist in the Sinnoh region.

Chapter 264 On the Origin of the World

The question of the origin of the world is like a romantic relationship between men and women; no one can truly understand it, but everyone can offer their own interpretation.

Although this is a problem that is quite far removed from the real world compared to everyday family matters, generations of scholars have never stopped exploring its roots.

Throughout history, various conjectures and theories have emerged, but just like the list of champions in various leagues, it changes completely every few years.

Needless to say, the primitive era of humankind is another story. Every region has its own totem Pokémon and origin myth. From Ho-Oh to Lugia, from Dialga to Palkia, from Xerneas to Yveltal, almost every powerful legendary Pokémon was once worshipped as a god who created the world by the people of the surrounding region.

In the modern era following the formation of the League, science and reason finally saw the dawn of enlightenment.

While clergy and religious figures were still arguing over their respective beliefs, scientists had already taken the lead—

Based on DNA data obtained from experiments and ancient fossil remains discovered in various places, they believe that there is no god in the world who can create everything with his hands, and that the Pokémon they call "Mythical Pokémon" is the earliest Pokémon to be born in the world.

They went on to hypothesize that, apart from the modern Pokémon created by humans, all the Pokémon in the Pokédex are offspring of this Mewtwo.

The reason why there are so many different kinds of Pokémon in the Pokédex today is that, in addition to their own evolutionary chain, there is also a kind of slow biological evolution between each generation of related Pokémon.

When this "slow evolution" is placed on a timescale of tens of millions of years, those dreams that originally had the same appearance, abilities, and attributes began to branch out and take different paths in order to adapt to the environments around the world.

Mew that lived near rivers and oceans became Water-type Pokémon, growing gills and fins; Mew that lived near mountains and mineral veins gradually hardened its skin and became Rock-type; Mew that needed to move through forests eventually grew wings and learned to fly... Similar research theories were eventually incorporated into the Egg Groups of Pokémon research.

Just as the researchers in their white coats were cheering and celebrating the victory of science, the newly independent and still emerging field of Elven Studies stabbed these sister disciplines in the back.

In the era when Professor Oak first began to emerge, research on Pokémon became more systematic and rigorous.

The "dream origin theory," originally derived from human biology, suddenly appears full of flaws under this new generation of academic perspective.

A fact was quickly brought to the forefront: Mew was not the first Pokémon to appear in the world.

Whether it's the ancient Pokémon slumbering beneath the deep sea crust of the Hoenn region, or the Regigigas resting in the Snow Peak Temple of the Sinnoh region, these Pokémon, now proven to be real, actually existed long before the time of those previously discovered Mew fossils.

Similarly, the "slow evolution" theory proposed by early scientists has also been fiercely questioned by a new generation of researchers.

From a macroscopic species perspective, the genes of most elves are actually much more stable and resilient than biologists had anticipated.

The subspecies observed in many regions also proves that the subspecies evolution of Pokémon is closer to a "mass mutation" of use and disuse. As long as the Pokémon of those regional subspecies are brought back to their original environment, they will completely revert to their original population status within a few generations. This evolutionary method is very different from the natural selection elimination that scholars have previously envisioned, and it almost completely shakes the foundation of the "Pokémon origin theory".

Moreover, the most crucial and fatal point is that there is a huge theoretical void in the logical framework of the "dream origin theory," namely, the position of mankind in the whole of nature.

While this theory may explain some of the Pokémon phenomenon, it completely avoids or even ignores the question of the origins of the human race. Its exploration of the world's roots is barely worth mentioning.

In the darkness, the colossal hand that created the world at its inception seemed to reappear once again in the depths of the universe's darkness.

Ultimately, amidst the overwhelming controversy, the scientists, captivated by their fantasies, were utterly defeated, and the fog of agnosticism once again shrouded the academic world. Various modern disciplines have argued and debated, yet to this day, they have failed to provide even a single, credible answer to this question about the origin of the world.

Thus, the baton of history, after many twists and turns, was passed to mythologists like Zhu Lan.

Myths and legends that were originally scattered around the world have been reintegrated in this era of the Internet of Things.

Individual legends may only be considered as bedtime entertainment to amuse children, but when countless versions of mythology are brought together and rigorously and scientifically examined, the truth hidden beneath the fog may soon be revealed.

More fortunate, or unfortunate—