Chapter 62 He was even willing to humor us for ten minutes, which shows he still cares about us in his heart.

This is an illusion, an illusion so indistinguishable from reality.

Mismagius stood up with a breezy smile. "When did you figure it out? It's not like no one has ever seen through Mismagius's illusion, but you don't seem to have any special abilities."

"It's not really that I saw through it, it's just that things felt a bit too out of place." Qian Lin stood by the table, looking up at the ceiling. "I mean... I've been live-streaming this whole time."

The drone used for the broadcast was gone, and the live chat window in front of his eyes had also vanished. Although he hadn't realized it at first, when he saw the new Pokémon and subconsciously wanted to popularize knowledge about it, he suddenly noticed the complete absence of both the drone and the chat.

"Besides, as an ordinary human with no special abilities, how could I possibly see a soul? Obviously, you made me see it on purpose." Qian Lin shrugged. He knew his own limitations; there was no way he could perceive human souls.

You could say... it was a flaw in an otherwise flawless plan.

"A flaw in an otherwise flawless plan..." Mismagius raised its head to look at him, its smile unchanged. "Not quite. It's just that, given my abilities, I couldn't completely replicate your live-streaming equipment within the dream. But now that I know this is the reason, it actually makes sense to me."

The smile froze at the corners of Qian Lin's mouth.

Live-streaming equipment that even an Overlord Mismagius couldn't replicate?

Mismagius shook its head. "Not unable to replicate, but unable to replicate completely. There is an indescribable power within that set of objects, resisting my ability."

An indescribable power...

Wait a minute!

Qian Lin stared at Mismagius in horror. "Mind reading?"

Mismagius was also slightly stunned, tilting its head in utter puzzlement. "You only just realized?"

Qian Lin: "..."

He felt an inexplicable urge to shed tears.

Whatever, Qian Lin sighed. At least he wasn't thinking about anything weird anyway. "Anyway, let's break this illusion first."

"To correct you, this isn't an illusion..." Mismagius's ribbon-like right arm rose, playfully holding it up in front of its mouth as its left eye blinked gently. "It's a dream, yo."

Crack—

As Mismagius's words fell, a subtle shattering sound reached Qian Lin's ears. Before he even had time to process what Mismagius meant, the next second... he opened his eyes.

"Awooo?" Growlithe lay on the ground, looking at Qian Lin, who was resting his head against it, its eyes full of puzzlement.

Pangoro stood nearby with its arms crossed like a qualified bodyguard, vigilantly scanning the surroundings.

The drone hovered in the air, its camera pointing right at them.

[Leaving Growlithe out while you take a nap, huh?]
[Growlithe: 6]
[Seeing the streamer's practiced posture of leaning against Growlithe to sleep, you just know he does this all the time.]
[Lmao, so much for seeing a Ghost-type Pokémon; instead, we get a streamer who falls asleep on the spot... Though I guess it's not a bad deal.]
[Baby's sleeping face is so cute, Mama loves you~]

"I wasn't sleeping—well, okay, I was sleeping, but it's a bit different from what you guys think." Qian Lin stood up and patted Growlithe's head. "Thank you, Growlithe."

"Awo~" Growlithe happily wagged its tail.

Pangoro looked at Qian Lin, a trace of concern in its gaze.

Qian Lin smiled and shook his head. "I'm fine, I've already met the Ghost-type Pokémon here."

With that, he looked back at the drone and asked, "How much time has passed since I fell asleep until now?"

[About five minutes.]
[Why ask that? Want to sleep a bit more?]
[11 minutes and 54 seconds since the stream started, 6 minutes and 32 seconds since you let Growlithe out, 6 minutes and 12 seconds since you lay down on Growlithe and fell asleep, and 1 minute and 12 seconds since you woke up. Which means you slept for exactly five minutes, not a second more or less.]
[Damn, we got a human stopwatch here!]
[We've got a pro, cease the jokes! Cease the jokes! Over!]
[I'm no pro, I just happen to have the habit of timing things.]
[What kind of job has the habit of timing things? A referee?]
[Emmm, rather not say.]
[Understood, big shot.]

Five minutes...

Qian Lin looked up at the sky. The pitch-black night sky had no starlight, only the brightly lit buildings surrounding them.

I spent nearly half an hour in that dream, but in reality, only five minutes passed? Overlord Mismagius is truly terrifying.

Anyway, tonight's mission was accomplished.

Qian Lin clicked his tongue while dusting off his clothes, turned to look at the drone, and said, "Well, that's it for tonight's broadcast. In these ten minutes, we've gotten to know quite a few Ghost-type Pokémon, including the Overlord Mismagius, Gastly, Pumpkaboo, Gourgeist, and Misdreavus. I hope everyone remembers tonight's knowledge so that when you encounter Ghost-type Pokémon in the future, you'll think of what I said today."

"So, does anyone have any questions?"

Qian Lin smiled at the camera, looking utterly innocent.

[...]
[Yes, is your brain short-circuiting?]
[A stream of consciousness broadcast?]
[You streamed for less than ten minutes in total: three minutes of walking, five minutes of sleeping, one minute of questions, and the last minute just brushing us off.]
[Has live-streaming evolved to this stage now?]
[You can't look at it that way. Qian Lin squeezed out ten minutes amidst his busy schedule just to brush us off; he cares about us in his heart.]

Qian Lin rubbed the back of his head, feeling a bit awkward.

He didn't want to brush them off either, but... none of the things mentioned above had actually appeared. Even if he talked about them, the viewers wouldn't have any real sense of it. If he had managed to encounter even one, he could have improvised a decent explanation, but not a single one showed up. What could he do?

"Ahem..." Qian Lin gave a dry cough, choosing to ignore the chat's sarcasm, and continued on his own, "Anyway, today's broadcast ends here. I am the streamer Qian Lin, a Pokémon science popularizer. The start time of the next broadcast will be announced on the notice board. If you are interested in learning about the Pokémon in this world, please be sure to follow me."

With that, he turned off the drone and ended the stream right on the spot.

[Good grief, I must say—good grief.]
[Did he really start a ten-minute stream just to brush us off?]
[That practiced stream-ending posture.]
[What on earth did we just watch for ten minutes...]
[The streamer sleeping?]

Qian Lin had no idea that these guys hadn't left even after he turned off the broadcast and were still slandering him there. At that moment, he had more important things to do.

Recalling Growlithe and Pangoro, he left the construction site, explained the situation to the police officers outside, and headed together with them toward the An City Police Headquarters. Sitting in the car, Qian Lin contacted Supervisor Che and told him about the Overlord Mismagius.

Supervisor Che stated that he would immediately contact the higher-ups to discuss a countermeasure.

Another meeting was held throughout the night, and by around four in the morning, the results of the discussion came out.

First, those people must be rescued. Second, the authorities would choose a time to have the surrounding residents temporarily stay indoors, clear out the area, and then assist Mismagius and the other Ghost-type Pokémon with their relocation. As for the relocation site, after negotiating with Mismagius, the authorities specifically selected a prime geomantic location suited for ghosts.

Within just a single week, they built a five-story grand villa... truly terrifying.

Just by the way, that prime geomantic location was found by hiring specialists, reportedly a place where Yin energy gathers and Yang energy retreats.

In any case, Mismagius seemed to love it.