Chapter 4

Having completed the task, the challenge lay in leaving the small dark room. Once out of that specially designed house, running away would be a piece of cake for any time traveler, ancient or modern. However, since Ye Ziyun’s teleportation was directed towards the outskirts of the city, he could only control the direction but not the precise location. Therefore, after raising his head to survey the surroundings, he immediately found the right direction and vanished.

Of course, this time he walked. Continuous use of his ability was still too much of a burden for his current body, which was why Ye Ziyun had spent time in the room disguising himself and buying time. The lessons from his past experiences were still deeply etched in his mind; arrogance was something he could not afford.

After walking for a long distance, Ye Ziyun confirmed his safety and found a large tree. After several attempts, he finally managed to teleport to a sufficiently large branch. Looking up at the bright moon in the sky, Ye Ziyun began to think about his next steps.

First, he needed to train his spatial abilities. Although this ability was given to each participant in the competition, it was not a weak one. On the contrary, it was a high-end ability. While it could not do everything, it had a wide range of uses depending on how it was used. However, all of this was predicated on having good energy control. Otherwise, with Ye Ziyun’s current level, where he had to try several times just to get up a tree, doing anything else would be a joke. Therefore, training his control was a must.

Second, he needed to fish. This was actually the most important thing, as it related to his progress in this world, his right to participate in the final competition, and more achievement points... But none of that mattered. What mattered was that this would determine whether Ye Ziyun could gain control in this competition! Whether he wanted to stay in this world forever or return to his original world, or even after completing the conquest of a world, he would receive a wish as a reward. Unfortunately, he had nothing now, and these thoughts drifted through his mind as he drifted off to sleep.

In his dream, Ye Ziyun revisited his past and present. Well... this phrasing was a bit off, as the events in the dream were from his junior high school days. He would go fishing with his friends rain or shine, starting at 5 a.m. and returning home at 6 p.m., even skipping school to do so.

Although these activities were unusual for junior high school students, they were neither from the countryside nor the suburbs. Apart from watching TV at home, the children seemed to have no other entertainment. In elementary school, it was still fine to play around with neighborhood friends, but in junior high, weekends were taken over by tutoring and homework. Moreover, cliques began to form in school, and students who were neither from the city nor the countryside, and not even locals, often had a tough time. Fortunately, there was a river near the compound where Ye Ziyun lived, and fishing became a daily pastime for everyone, from retired elders to young children.

Who would have thought that Ye Ziyun, a seasoned shut-in who rarely saw the sun, had once been a young angler who woke up early and spent his days fishing in the rain and sun?

The early autumn morning sun filtered through the gradually thinning tree canopy, casting light on the young boy's face. A gentle breeze ruffled his slightly messy black hair, and his long bangs swept over his closed eyes.

"Hmm..."

He opened his eyes and instinctively shielded them from the sun with his right hand to help his eyes adjust to the light.

"Redi?... diba?!"

What he saw was a large head, a red helmet-like skull, big eyes, and a pair of black antennae.

The owner of the voice was initially puzzled by Ye Ziyun’s movement, but after a few seconds, it seemed startled. After a series of wing flaps, it flew away.

Following its flight, Ye Ziyun saw a beautiful morning scene.

The morning sun filtered through the forest, casting beams of light. The red little creatures, awakened by the sunlight, began to stir. The sound of their takeoff or the air currents disturbed their still-sleeping companions, and soon all of them were awake. After stretching their wings, they took off one by one, gathering in an open area. The group gradually expanded, and their red elytra shimmered in the morning light, casting a warm and heartwarming glow.

These were ladybugs. At this moment, Ye Ziyun realized that the tree he was in, along with several nearby trees, were home to ladybug colonies. Ladybugs were very timid creatures; if they left the group, they would be too scared to move. They needed the courage of their companions.

"YAFU~~ So beautiful! It would be great to have a camera right now!" Ye Ziyun exclaimed sincerely.

[Ding! At the host's request, the image recording function has been activated. This session recorded 3 minutes and 55 seconds, consuming 4 achievement points.]

"I bought a bag last year!"

Ye Ziyun was flustered, not expecting his exclamation to cost him achievement points. Although he was upset, he now had a beautiful memory recorded, so he didn’t bother to argue about the system’s trickery. However, he immediately searched the system store for camera equipment and found it. But the price was 68 achievement points, and he only had 67...

"Are you kidding me, Tama? This price is obviously intentional!"

Actually, Ye Ziyun was wrong about the system. As mentioned before, the prices of items fluctuated. The base price of this high-definition, portable DV was 65 achievement points, and it could vary between 60 and 70 points. If Ye Ziyun checked again tomorrow, the price might be 60 points, or it might be 70 points. In short, it was best to buy when there was a discount.

Reluctantly, Ye Ziyun had to give up on this purchase for now. He faced a serious problem—eating!

Yes, you read that right. Although Ye Ziyun was an excellent cook in his past life, he had no ingredients. Even the most skilled cook can’t cook without ingredients! Not just a skilled woman, but even a skilled man can’t do it! Without raw materials, it was an insurmountable problem!

However, in this world, with a Pokémon at his disposal, Ye Ziyun knew he wouldn’t starve to death!

He released Wobbuffet and had it use its Water Absorption ability to find a water source. Although Wobbuffet wasn’t as specialized as a Pokémon with a "Water Pulse Radar" like a Wooper, it could still find water by following the moisture in the air. Once a water source was found, everything would be easier. There should be some tree fruits around the water source, and if not, Ye Ziyun could track Pokémon that came to drink to find food.

As for why he didn’t follow the ladybugs at first, come on, could he keep up with them flying? Even with his spatial abilities, wandering around in the forest was too dangerous! Not everyone had the protagonist’s luck! Moreover, this wasn’t nine years later; the commercial capital of the Kanto region, Saffron City, was only just beginning to be built. Vermilion City was still the largest city in the Kanto region. The impact of humans on the Pokémon world was far from what it would be nine years later. Ye Ziyun was grateful that the tree he rested in was home to the gentle ladybugs, which were not nocturnal. He had used teleportation to get up the tree, but if it had been a nest of Ariados or Beedrill, or if he had startled the ladybugs, their takeoff in the night forest would have attracted some unfriendly visitors!

Although Ye Ziyun had left Vermilion City, the Gym there was a Ghost-type. Even if he had walked far enough, the Ghost-type Pokémon around Vermilion City could still be attracted. But remember, this wasn’t nine years later. Who knew if the distribution of Pokémon was the same? Even if no Ghost-type Pokémon came, Ariados were nocturnal and toxic...

So, even with Wobbuffet, Ye Ziyun proceeded cautiously.

After walking for some time, Ye Ziyun, led by Wobbuffet, arrived at a small stream. It was truly a small stream; its width was so narrow that Ye Ziyun’s 9-year-old body could easily jump across it. However, he found a few fruit trees by the stream, including Oran Berries, also known as "Bluk Berries," which were blue and similar to oranges. They restored a Pokémon’s HP, and the main character in the anime had eaten them many times, though they were usually cooked. This proved that these fruits were edible.

So, Ye Ziyun picked some fruits, gave a few to Wobbuffet, and, after wiping one with his hand, took a bite. This world had no pesticides, and these fruits were wild, green, and natural.

However, in his excitement, Ye Ziyun forgot that this world wasn’t nine years later, and wild Oran Berries were different from the cultivated varieties.

Here’s some information about Oran Berries:

Average size (diameter): 3.5 cm

Hardness: Extremely hard

Taste composition: Spicy, astringent, bitter, sour

Yes, you read that right. Out of the five taste components—spicy, astringent, sweet, bitter, and sour—these berries had four, and the only one missing was sweet. And note the hardness...

So.

"Crack!"

"Ahhh!!!!"

Ye Ziyun was in trouble. As the saying goes, if you don’t court death, you won’t die. Not squeezing the fruit before eating it was a surefire way to court disaster. It was proven that the reason tree fruits in the game could only be fed to Pokémon was not just a superficial issue of taste.

Most tree fruits had to be cooked to be edible for humans, and this was a truth in this world.