Chapter 52: Enhanced Protection

Let me think about how to explain this.

Qian Lin sat down, gently tapping the table as he began to explain: "Ghost-type Pokémon, or Ghost Pokémon, some are born directly in the underworld, while others condense from the departed souls of dead Pokémon. In short, they form in various ways."

"A small fraction of them pose no real harm to humans. At most, they like to pull pranks, and the humans they prank come to no serious harm—maybe feeling a bit physically drained at worst, but..."

Qian Lin's tone turned serious: "Some of them, however... how should I put it, actively attack humans and cause fatalities."

"Take Cofagrigus, Dhelmise, Banette, and the like—these creatures will kill humans, and because of their Ghost-typing, normal attacks have absolutely no effect on them."

To be honest, Qian Lin did not believe that firearms and ammunition could inflict any damage on Ghost-type Pokémon, given that ghosts are immune to normal-type attacks.

"Are you saying that the current symptoms of these people were caused by the monsters you just mentioned?" Director Zhou's brow furrowed deeper.

Qian Lin shook his head: "No, if it were those three Pokémon, the ones lying in there right now would be corpses, not living people."

Even with the superhuman physiques of the people in the Pokémon world, they could not withstand attacks from such Pokémon. While deaths caused by Ghost-type Pokémon do occur annually, such incidents have become increasingly rare thanks to the continuous development of the Pokémon world.

However, this world is completely different. For these people, even a harmless prank by a friendly Ghost-type Pokémon would inflict unimaginable trauma.

Therefore, Qian Lin did not believe that the Ghost-type Pokémon intended to kill them. Instead, he suspected that the Ghost-type Pokémon merely wanted to play with them, and these people simply couldn't handle the consequences of 'being played with,' resulting in their current state.

Observing Qian Lin's pensive expression, Supervisor Che also furrowed his brow and asked softly, "Can they be saved?"

Qian Lin snapped out of his thoughts and nodded slightly: "Yes, but I need to assess these people's conditions first. At the very least, I need to know what caused them to end up like this, so I can prescribe the right remedy."

The knowledge in his memories did not contain extensive research on Ghost-type Pokémon, but there were plenty of methods on how to awaken people who had been attacked by ghosts.

Precisely because of this lack of understanding, further research was necessary. According to the data in his mind, the Pokémon world once had no knowledge of the existence of Ghost-type Pokémon, until people discovered that Normal-type and Fighting-type moves had no effect on them, leading to the discovery of the Ghost type as a new attribute through subsequent research.

Ever since then, the Pokémon world had constantly researched ways to rescue victims of ghost attacks.

Qian Lin looked up at the patients on the screen, his tone resolute: "Supervisor Che, my next broadcast location is locked."

"A broadcast?" Dean Zhou was slightly stunned.

Supervisor Che showed no surprise at all and nodded directly: "I understand. I will have what you need prepared. Rest well today and tomorrow, and set off the day after tomorrow."

"The day after tomorrow?" Qian Lin hesitated for a moment and said, "I can go back and rest for a bit, and I'll be ready by this afternoon."

"No," Supervisor Che shook his head. "Although it might not sound pleasant to say, your importance to us far exceeds anyone else's. And unlike previous broadcasts that took place in other cities, this incident happened outside city limits. You will need to drive out of the city and travel alone for at least seven hours to get there."

"Right now, there are almost no humans left outside the cities—it's entirely Pokémon out there. Nobody knows what you might encounter," Supervisor Che said with a deadpan expression. "We must ensure your safety and make sure that if anything happens to you, we can rush to the scene immediately."

In short... they were going into full combat readiness!

Qian Lin caught the underlying meaning in Supervisor Che's words and couldn't help the twitch at the corner of his mouth: "Actually... there's no need."

With Altaria, Growlithe, and Pangoro—especially with Pangoro around—Qian Lin practically didn't need to worry about attacks from any Pokémon in the wild. Even if he did encounter one, it might not be a match for Pangoro.

Qian Lin understood Supervisor Che's concern, but it was a bit excessive.

Supervisor Che looked at him with absolute seriousness: "It is not excessive in the slightest."

Uh... fine.

Qian Lin offered a dry laugh: "Then let's set off the day after tomorrow. I'm going to go get some rest now; I'm exhausted."

"Go ahead," Supervisor Che's stern expression melted into a smile. "I'll coordinate the remaining details with the hospital. You just need to get some good rest."

"Alright."

***

In fact, the two days passed faster than Qian Lin expected. When he woke up on the morning of the third day, opened his window, the very first thing he saw parked in the front yard was a vehicle comparable to an armored combat vehicle.

It was even more extreme than the last one. To be honest, if it weren't for the lack of a cannon barrel, Qian Lin might have mistaken this thing for a tank.

Maintaining a twitching smile at the corner of his mouth, Qian Lin walked out of his room and into the front yard, staring speechlessly at the heavy-duty vehicle.

Supervisor Che was standing in front of the vehicle. Seeing Qian Lin, he waved and signaled: "Qian Lin, the vehicle is ready, and everything you requested has been loaded onto it. However, we've only prepared two days' worth of food. If you haven't reached your destination within a day, the driver will immediately turn around and head back. Also..."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Qian Lin hurriedly raised a hand to stop Supervisor Che, asking with a bewildered expression, "Driver?"

Supervisor Che smiled and nodded: "Yes, the driver."

With that, he pointed toward five fully armed soldiers and one relatively lightly equipped soldier standing beside the vehicle, and continued: "Not just a driver, but also a five-man combat squad. Each of them has their own role and will protect you throughout the upcoming broadcast until you return."

Qian Lin: "..."

Last time it was just a vehicle, but this time they even arranged bodyguards.

Qian Lin was torn between laughter and tears: "There's no need for this, Supervisor Che, truly no need. I have Altaria and the others; I'm completely unafraid of Pokémon attacks in the wild."

"Of course I know that," Supervisor Che said nonchalantly. "They will only step in when you need help, just like when you were attacked by Pangoro last time. Otherwise, they won't interfere with you at all. You can even completely ignore them."

Everyone higher up had watched the entire incident when Qian Lin was attacked by Pangoro last time, and they had been regretting not assigning a security detail to him then—fortunately, Ursaring had arrived in time.

They had gotten lucky last time, but they certainly wouldn't let Qian Lin fall into that kind of situation again.

Coupled with the 'Pokédex' Qian Lin had just produced, the importance of that item far exceeded even Professor Li's verbal descriptions.

Under such circumstances, how could they possibly not send people to protect Qian Lin?