Chapter 4: Cocolora

Cold, gloomy, and stifling.

Even though the Quicksand Team had cleared the abandoned mine once, the environment was still extremely worrying.

The ceiling above was cracked as if it might collapse at any moment.

Fortunately, the interior was still fairly spacious; the space left for the ore carts to run nimbly was surprisingly large.

Baimu could not help but admire that, though the Ore Region was desolate, its technological level was extremely high.

Ten minutes had passed since they entered the mine.

After someone entered the cave, they chose to dig out a jade stone at the outer perimeter; the ping-ping-pang sound of the pickaxe striking the rock wall made Baimu extremely uneasy, so he quickly moved away with his colleagues, and before long he heard a terrifying boom and a scream.

This brave soul's mine-clearing act put an end to similar thoughts for many people.

"Pay attention to your surroundings, don't get separated."

Headlamps lit up the area one by one; the bolder colleagues walked at the very front, occasionally reminding everyone in low voices.

In the silent darkness, the breathing of those nearby could be heard clearly even through masks; the enclosed environment subtly intensified their psychological pressure.

Most children in Pyrite Town had experience going down mines, but the safety of a normal mine and an abandoned mine was completely different, let alone the potential traps and ambushing Pokémon.

The existence of being attacked by Pokémon in the examination was, to the Ore people, as terrifying as being shot at while playing an escape room in China.

Therefore, huddling together for warmth became the current state of affairs, and since the Quicksand Team had never forbidden teaming up for the examination, it was only natural to bunch up and advance.

However, according to predecessors who had participated, moving in groups inside the mine made one more likely to be attacked and targeted. Even if luck was good and they obtained any target, situations might arise where the spoils were unevenly divided and they turned against each other.

Baimu did not really want such a thing to happen.

Originally, they did not hold much of an advantage against that group from Shibata; if they started infighting, there was a high chance they would be bullied for life.

"There's a fork ahead, be careful."

He called out a reminder, looked around at his colleagues, "The ambushing Pokémon are very likely there... you all don't need to be so tense, relax, take a deep breath."

These people were either drenched in sweat or breathing heavy and coarse, their expressions slightly panicked, clearly nervous to the extreme.

After finally waiting for them to calm down, Baimu said, "Don't linger at the fork, quickly choose a direction and pass through; I'll cover the rear."

"Eh?"

A group of people looked at him in surprise.

"Stop saying 'eh,' hurry up; the tokens are limited, if others take them we won't have a chance."

Baimu walked to the very back of the group, "Quick."

A crisis occurring during extreme tension would make people lose their reason; the will to survive would force them to do some unwise things. If he walked at the front of the group and chaos broke out, being dragged down by someone would be the end.

Even if the other party didn't mean to.

How does the saying go? When you meet a bear in the wild, you don't need to run faster than the bear, just faster than the others.

He had no intention of kicking someone when they were down, but he had to avoid being kicked when he was down himself.

"Baimu..."

How could his colleagues know what was on his mind? They all looked at him moved, then began encouraging each other and slowly advanced forward.

Baimu took a deep breath and cautiously observed his surroundings.

Carelessness could cost lives.

The threat to his life constantly reminded him to stay calm, to focus his attention, and to watch for anything suspicious.

The Quicksand Team's Pokémon were mostly Ground and Rock type, perfectly suited to underground mines; any struggle with them here would be unwise.

He stepped into the fork.

The space widened a little again, and everyone instantly tensed up, glancing around nervously to confirm whether it was safe, ready to give warning at any moment. The colleague at the very front did not dare hesitate at all and headed straight for the left-side mine—

"Wait."

Baimu, who was walking at the very back, suddenly spoke up.

Everyone's heart gave a jolt, and cold sweat instantly poured from their foreheads and backs.

"Wh-what is it?" someone asked, trembling.

"You were the one who said not to linger at the fork!" someone said, extremely nervous.

Baimu hissed a "shh," "Listen carefully, do you hear that rumbling? The ground is trembling too!"

The group looked at each other, instinctively holding their breath and listening.

Baimu was also listening; with his keen perception, he quickly realized that not only was the ground trembling, but that faint rumbling sound was also growing louder, as if something was gradually approaching.

The source was—that middle tunnel!

He was startled, and immediately ran toward the left-side tunnel while shouting, "Run! Something's coming! Quick!"

The moment his words fell, a massive rolling stone as tall as a person suddenly appeared in the middle cave, moving from far to near at a startling speed!

"Which way do we run?"

"Left!"

"Which side is left! Where's Baimu!?"

"Quick quick quick! Don't just stand there in a daze!"

The other four instantly panicked; their headlamps swayed back and forth, dazzling everyone, making it impossible to see the pitch-black road around them.

But what made things even worse was that as the shaking intensified, rocks kept falling from the ceiling, looking as if it might collapse; everything visible to the naked eye began to tremble along with it.

Crisis, panic, and shouting.

The terrifying surprise attack of the massive rolling stone.

Driven by all these scalp-numbing factors, Baimu instinctively ran a very long distance.

Not only that, but in the midst of all the chaos, he was still carefully observing his surroundings to avoid triggering traps and ambushing Pokémon.

When he stopped to confirm safety and looked back, not a single person behind him had caught up.

That boulder, which was most likely a Graveler in disguise, had also vanished without a trace.

"There are three paths in total—I picked the left one, right?"

Baimu frowned, waited on the spot for a full minute, and realized he had truly been separated from his colleagues.

Go back?

Impossible—Long Long Stone might very well be waiting right there.

"……"

A look of regret crossed his face. Teaming up during the assessment had its pros and cons; those colleagues had admittedly performed poorly when panicked, but who could say whether they might not have lent a helping hand in a moment of peril?

Still, if they'd been separated, then so be it—no point forcing it.

Baimu gathered his emotions.

Moving forward inside an underground mine, it was easy to lose one's sense of direction. Fortunately, if he carefully observed the rock walls on either side, he could see directional markers—simple enough that even a half-illiterate like him could understand them at a glance.

He walked for roughly ten minutes.

He suddenly stopped, crouched down, switched off his bright headlamp, and squeezed himself into a hollow between two rocks, concealing his figure.

He waited half a minute in silence as two ultrasonic larvae, dragonfly-like, buzzed past overhead; the sound of their wings beating sent wave after wave of aching pain through Baimu's head.

What made Baimu's heart tremble was that one of them was clutching a youth whose entire body was covered in bloodstains.

Unconscious? Dead?

Either way was not great—going it alone was too dangerous.

After barely waiting until the two ultrasonic larvae had flown far away, he let out a breath and was just about to stand up—when he abruptly froze.

At the end of his line of sight, a pair of blue eyes was watching him.

"Goo?"

The unknown entity let out a low call.

Baimu's movements were slightly stiff; the ultrasonic larvae's wing-beating had been far too loud, so much so that he hadn't been able to make out the movement sounds of the fellow before him.

He tried to make out what it was.

It was a bizarre creature, dark grey all over, at first glance resembling some kind of insect, with a head like a hockey mask.

It was as large as an ordinary Border Collie, and the several pitch-black holes on its body were rather unsettling.

【Iron Armor Pokémon, Roggenrola】

A Pokémon that feeds on iron ore; driven by hunger it will even gnaw on bridges and railroad tracks, regarded by many as a pest. Steel- and Rock-type Pokémon.

Damn it.

His luck was terrible.

Baimu's heart grew heavier.