Chapter 59: Improve Proficiency! The Two Girls

In the quiet night, a faint breeze occasionally brushed by, carrying away the summer heat.

The environment had been so silent that a pin dropping could be heard, but the cicadas' chirping from the nearby woods shattered that stillness.

After their evening training, the group lay on the grass, beside them the bonfire occasionally crackled with a loud pop.

In the end, Maqi and Xiaodi made extra food, all of which ended up in Bessji's stomach.

Bessji was strong and consumed a lot; one or two basic energy cubes weren't enough to fill her stomach.

Only Maqi, Xiaodi, and Bessji remained by the bonfire.

Luo Ge and the two Pokémon were farther away, making energy cubes.

Luo Ge wanted to try improving his proficiency.

Then attempt to figure out a method for crafting more advanced energy cubes on his own.

Because the machine made noise, he went to a spot farther from the three.

Another round of crafting ended.

Luo Ge looked at the pure white energy cube in his hand and still wasn't quite satisfied.

Although this one's quality was much higher than the first, more crystalline and purer.

But it was still far from Luo Ge's standard.

He put away a few cubes, leaving one for Nidoking, who lay curled at his feet.

"Eat up, this is the last one today."

"Woo-woo~"

Nidoking nodded eagerly, then happily swallowed the energy cube, its tail swishing back and forth in delight.

The grass beneath it, however, was less pleased—not only crushed by Nidoking's heavy weight, but also swept flat by its swinging tail.

Perhaps because Nidoking was so active, it could eat two or three basic energy cubes in one night, likely growing faster as a result.

"Hehe…"

Gastly floated around Luo Ge, occasionally making a grimace, as if jealous, sulking.

"Alright, alright, you get a share too."

Luo Ge shrugged, then pulled out an energy cube for Gastly, his smile tinged with resignation.

He felt like he'd become an unmarried father to two kids, needing to treat both equally to avoid one getting jealous.

He had to keep things balanced, or one would sulk.

"Hehe."

Gastly grinned, its huge mouth stretching ear to ear—most people would find it frightening.

While Luo Ge was crafting energy cubes and tending to his "children," the three by the bonfire were chatting.

Sizzle…

Seeing the fire dim slightly, Bessji tossed in another log, then after a pause asked the two beside her:

"Maqi, Xiaodi, can I ask you something?"

After training, both Maqi and Xiaodi looked weary, nearly asleep just moments ago.

Hearing Bessji's question, they woke up, curious about what she wanted to ask.

"Of course, go ahead," Maqi yawned, unconsciously turning her head toward Luo Ge's direction.

Seeing that familiar silhouette—even just a glimpse—Maqi instantly felt at ease.

Bessji lay back slowly, her wine-red eyes filled with the star-strewn sky, and spoke:

"Why do you two want to increase your strength so desperately?"

"I can tell you're pushing yourselves to keep up with Luo Ge's pace, but your reasons seem different from his."

"Luo Ge's goal has always been firm—he seems to have a predetermined direction, walking it without wavering."

"But you two are different; you only seem to want to follow him, without knowing why. Am I wrong?"

Maqi and Xiaodi exchanged glances, then fell silent together.

After a moment, Maqi spoke slowly: "Bessji, you know we're from Meteor Street."

Bessji nodded—Maqi and Xiaodi had told her this two days ago, and she didn't find it significant.

Though she knew people from Meteor Street generally had poor morals, she trusted her own judgment more.

These three children weren't like that—indeed, they were better than most people from the outside world.

Maqi rested her hands behind her head, her pink-purple hair spilling beside her, the starry sky reflected in her blue eyes.

Though she gazed at the sky, her thoughts drifted back to the past.

"When we lived in Meteor Street, Luo Ge was the one who gave the most."

"Not just in providing food, shelter, and daily comforts, but also in ensuring our safety."

"He was like a shield, keeping all harm away from us."

"Whenever something happened, he always tried to solve it himself first, never asking us to help."

"Both Xiaodi and I knew why—it was because our strength wasn't enough to help."

"Even so, we still wanted to do something for him, not just take his care for granted."

Xiaodi beside her nodded firmly, her voice soft: "Yes."

Maqi paused, then continued:

"More than a month ago, the three of us planned to leave Meteor Street."

"But halfway there, we encountered a Nen user who came to kill us."

Bessji, listening intently, suddenly sensed something was off and turned her head toward Maqi.

Maqi kept speaking, but a glimmer of tears had appeared at the corner of her eye.

"Bisigi, that day Luo Ge was truly in danger... This was the first time we saw him face such peril."

"..."

"Yet we could only stand aside and watch."

"We... are truly useless..."

Speaking thus, Machi slowly turned her head, her eyes filled with hazy tears staring tightly at Bisigi, and said with a determined tone:

"Since then, we have made up our minds!"

"We will not let such things happen again!"

"We refuse to witness such things again—watching Luo Ge face danger while being utterly powerless!"

"Perhaps it is overreaching, but we truly wish to share some of his burden, even if just a little..."

"So, please train us more. No matter how hard it is, we will endure." Machi said with a tearful smile.

Bisigi's expression froze slightly; she already understood why the two were training so desperately.

Later, she could not recall exactly what was said, only remembering the two girls' firm words.