Chapter 26: Clues

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Back at the campsite, Qian Lin returned to the car and took out something about the size of a fingernail.

“This is a tracking device the Pokémon Research Institute gave me. Swablu and I each have one on us. This is a spare. I’ll keep it with me for now, and if we really find the person, I’ll give it to him.”

It was just a precaution.

In fact, the tracking devices were not limited to Qian Lin and Swablu. The car had one too, as did larger items such as the tent. Qian Lin’s phone could receive the devices’ signals, so he had no fear of getting lost. He could locate the car at any time through his phone.

Leaning against the car, Qian Lin counted off the things he needed to do.

“First, I’ll wait for Swablu to come back. Then I’ll head in the direction we came from to pick up Growlithe. After that, I’ll look for…”

“Chirp, chirp~”

At that moment, Swablu’s cry rang out from the sky, carrying an unmistakable note of delight.

Qian Lin instinctively looked up and saw Swablu’s tiny body circling above the campsite, chirping as she flew.

A flicker of joy crossed his eyes.

“You found them?”

The next moment, Swablu descended from the sky and landed securely in Qian Lin’s arms. Her cottony wings fluttered lightly as she called out excitedly.

“You really found them!” Qian Lin’s eyes lit up.

“Chirp!” ヾ(◍°∇°◍)ﾉﾞ

“Over there?”

Qian Lin looked in the direction Swablu indicated. It was a vast orchard, with ranges of mountains stretching behind it.

“Emmmmm… It isn’t on the mountain, is it?”

There were far too many mountains over there.

“Chirp~” (*ΦωΦ*)

“Not on the mountain? That’s good.”

Qian Lin breathed a sigh of relief. There were simply too many mountains in that direction. Even with his enhanced physique, just looking at them made his legs feel weak.

“Chirp, chirp, chirp~” (灬°ω°灬)

Swablu wore an expression that clearly demanded praise.

Seeing her like that, Qian Lin burst out laughing. He reached over and gently rubbed her head, his voice impossibly tender.

“Well done, Swablu. I knew I could count on you.”

“Chirp…” (*≧∪≦)

She had actually become shy.

Qian Lin laughed even more happily.

[Finding them is what matters.]

[Next comes Qian Lin’s thousand-mile rescue mission. He encounters an enemy too powerful to handle, then Growlithe arrives at the critical moment and drives the enemy away. Qian Lin and that person whose identity nobody knows emerge from the mountains together, leaning against each other, with the setting sun shining down on them. Tomorrow’s front-page headline is already decided.]

[Huh? How do I know what happens next?]

[Obviously. That’s how every hero-saves-the-beauty story is filmed.]

[Qian Lin saves the beauty?]

[No, Growlithe saves the beauty.]

[Wait a second. Swablu is the “beauty,” right?]

[Maybe Qian Lin is the “beauty”… ]

[People can’t—at least… wait, a human and a Pokémon… Can he really do that?]

[That depends on what Qian Lin says.]

[After that, Growlithe makes his debut as a streamer, thanks his family for their support during the livestream, and sells some products on the side.]

[You’ve got it backward. He sells products during the livestream and thanks his family for their support on the side.]

[Why does this plot feel so familiar again?]

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[Why did you say “again”?]

“Well, look at you lot. You’ve already written the entire plot, haven’t you?”

Qian Lin placed Swablu on top of his head. While teasing the viewers, he reached into the car and took out a backpack.

The backpack was not particularly large, nor did it look very heavy. Inside were emergency supplies prepared for him by the vehicle manager. There were no weapons, though there was a hiking staff.

After putting on the backpack, Qian Lin took out the hiking staff and reached up to stroke Swablu’s head.

“Lead the way, Swablu. Let’s go take a look together.”

Qian Lin might not have been capable of rescuing a person by himself, but rescuing someone from a Pokémon was another matter entirely. He was a man with a Pokémon now, and Growlithe was also on his way.

A forest and a Fire-type Pokémon—Qian Lin did not know whether the director would fall in love with him, but if the vehicle manager found out, he certainly would.

Hearing this, Swablu did not waste any time. She spread her wings, rose from Qian Lin’s head, and flew in circles toward the depths of the orchard.

Qian Lin tightened his backpack and followed after her.

“Let’s go.”

This time, they were not heading in the same direction as before. Previously, they had traveled across the mountains; now, they were making their way toward the far side of them.

Villages built against the mountains generally lived self-sufficiently, so their people cultivated all kinds of plants suited to the region. Fruit trees and grain were the basics, along with crops such as tea that could be traded with the outside world.

The greatest difference between such villages and the outside world was that they did not plant a few acres here and there. They covered entire mountainsides.

Apart from the sheer scale, this had another advantage: the slopes were crisscrossed with small paths. Even after several months of weeds growing unchecked, roads that had been walked for generations did not vanish overnight. That made the journey considerably easier for Qian Lin.

To be honest, this was Qian Lin’s first time walking among hills planted thickly with fruit and vegetables. From the outside, they had looked ordinary enough, but once he actually entered and ventured deeper inside…

When he looked around, with orderly orchards stretching in every direction, the grandeur was impossible to describe.

It was as beautiful as looking down upon fields of rapeseed flowers from the sky. This was not a masterpiece carved by nature, but a legend created by human hands.

[It certainly looks breathtaking, but if these crops belonged to you, you’d understand what it means to suffer when harvest season arrived.]

[Um… you’ve shattered the beautiful image in my heart.]

[Just thinking about it makes my muscles ache.]

[Don’t listen to him. Everything is harvested by machine nowadays. Who still does it by hand?]

[To the person above: looking at this mountainside, what kind of machine do you think could get in here?]

Seeing that the viewers were about to start arguing, Qian Lin rubbed the back of his head and said, “Technology will continue to advance. Human ingenuity is limitless…”

“Chirp—!”

Swablu let out a long cry, interrupting him.

Everyone instinctively looked toward her and saw that she had landed on a fruit tree, flapping her wings repeatedly.

“Are we there?”

Qian Lin smiled.

The viewers stopped arguing as well and began urging him to hurry over.

Qian Lin did not delay. He ran toward Swablu.

It had taken a little over half an hour to get there. It was not particularly far, and they had not yet reached the mountain’s edge. This area consisted only of low hills, with some distance still separating them from the true mountains.

When he reached the tree beneath Swablu, Qian Lin looked around but found nothing connected to a human presence. He raised his head and asked, “Is this the place?”

“Chirp, chirp, chirp~”

Swablu nodded, but instead of flying to the ground, she pointed with her wing toward a spot in the tree and gave a soft cry.

“In the tree?”

Qian Lin looked up, but the leaves blocked his view.

“Looks like I’ll have to climb up.”

The tree was not particularly tall, perhaps the height of a two- or three-story building. Its trunk was thick. Qian Lin could not tell what kind of tree it was, but judging by the trunk’s girth, it could easily bear his weight. He only needed to be careful not to climb onto the thinner branches.

He slipped the hiking staff back into his backpack, tightened the straps, seized a sturdy branch with both hands, and hauled himself up.

Qian Lin had grown up in the countryside. Climbing trees was practically a professional skill there. What country child had never raided a bird’s nest or two?

In less than a minute, he had climbed to where Swablu was. The branches had grown somewhat thinner, but after testing one, Qian Lin found that it could still support him.

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With one foot braced on a fork in the tree, Qian Lin sat down on a relatively thick branch. Swablu fluttered her wings lightly, sprang onto his head, and called twice toward a particular branch above them.

Following her gaze, Qian Lin spotted a fragment of white clothing.

He frowned instinctively, then reached out and took it down for a careful examination.

“Was this accidentally torn when it snagged on the tree? Or was it forcibly ripped off by a Pokémon?”

He could not tell.

He rubbed the fragment between his fingers. The fabric was very new.

[It doesn’t look like it’s been hanging here for long. It was probably caught here recently.]

[Then it must belong to the brave soul carrying the same kind of backpack as Qian Lin.]

[But I can’t tell whether it was caught on the tree or torn apart by a Pokémon.]

“It doesn’t matter. Knowing it’s recent is enough.”

Qian Lin put the fragment away, picked up Swablu, and, without saying a word to the viewers, jumped straight down from the tree.

He landed smoothly.

[Holy crap! He just jumped down from that height?]

[That had to be at least three meters!]

If this had happened earlier, Qian Lin might have bragged about it to the viewers, but not now.

After brushing the dust from his clothes, Qian Lin took out the fragment again.

“Growlithe hasn’t arrived, so I have no way to use this piece of clothing to track the person. Should I have Swablu search again?”

“Chirp~” ∩(・ω・)∩

Perhaps she had heard his quiet words. Swablu proudly puffed out her chest, as if saying, “I can do it.”

Qian Lin laughed and stroked her.

“The area is too large. Unless you can search this entire plain and the mountains beside it in a short time, it would be nothing more than blind luck.”

As he spoke, Qian Lin hesitated.

“Or… Swablu, why don’t you try smelling it? Then follow the scent?”

“Chirp?” (≡ _ ≡)?

Am I a dog?

“Just try it. Give it a try.”

With an eager look on his face, Qian Lin held the clothing fragment out in front of Swablu.

You really are treating me like a dog.

Swablu pecked Qian Lin lightly on the forehead, turned her head away, and sulked.

[Good grief, even I can’t bear to watch this.]

[Using a bird like a dog? You’re the real dog here.]

Seeing that Swablu seemed about to get angry, Qian Lin hurriedly apologized. Then, while she was still wearing an indignant expression, he took out a Custap Berry and offered it to her.

The moment she saw the Berry, Swablu decisively forgot that she had been angry and happily began eating it.

The sight sent the uncles and aunties in the chat into another chorus of praise about how adorable Swablu was.

Only the people at the distant Pokémon Research Institute blinked in confusion.

If they remembered correctly… they had not put any fruit in that emergency pack, much less a Berry.

The vehicle manager merely let out a laugh when he saw this and said nothing.

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