Chapter 264: The Purple‑Gold Birthmark on the Palm

In the room the Diamond Team arranged for Huo La, there were few furnishings, only a wooden bed and a simple wooden table, exuding the rustic aura characteristic of Hisui.

Huo La carefully placed the jade bug stone tablet on the tabletop, his fingertips brushing the tablet's warm green patterns, and silently whispered, "Collect!"

As soon as the thought arose, the jade bug stone tablet suddenly turned into a streak of green light and vanished within his palm.

He opened the System panel, and indeed the tablet interface now had an entry for the jade bug stone tablet.

Huo La exhaled deeply; his tense nerves did not relax but grew even tighter.

He slowly raised his right hand, and somewhere in his palm a tiny speck of PurpleGoldLight had appeared, like a star set beneath the skin, faintly flickering in the dim room.

He had unintentionally noticed this speck while eating with Gangshi and Ami earlier, thinking it was just reflected firelight; now alone, he realized the speck seemed to emanate from beneath his skin.

Huo La frowned, extended his left hand and pressed it onto the PurpleGoldLight speck in his right palm.

The expected prickling sensation did not appear; his palm only felt a faint coolness, and nothing else.

"System, appear!" Huo La's heart tightened, and he quickly called in his mind, "Do you know what's wrong with my body? What is this speck?"

"System is scanning the Host…" a mechanical voice sounded slowly, with a slight stutter, "Detected spacetime chaotic energy in the Host's body… System attempting removal… unable to remove… unable to remove…"

"Unable to remove?!" the four words exploded like thunder in Huo La's Heart Lake, jolting his whole body rigid.

"That's not right!" Huo La hurriedly pressed, his tone a bit urgent, "System, didn't you previously absorb and transmute that kind of spacetime energy? Why now say you can't remove it from my body? Shouldn't the two be the same issue?"

"The energy in the Host's body is residual fragments from absorbing Axe Mantis King energy, already merged into the Host's cells; the System cannot directly strip it away."

The mechanical voice remained cold, "If you wish a cure, you may choose to erase the Host, completely clearing the energy… Please confirm whether erasure is required…"

"What the hell!" Huo La inhaled a gasp of cold air, unable to hold back a swear.

Erase the Host? That's basically killing him! What kind of global joke is this! How can he just die like that! How could he just die like that!

"Cancel! Cancel immediately!" Huo La roared in his mind, "I do not consent to erasure! Quickly give me another solution!"

"System is retrieving solutions… No matching solution yet… It recommends the Host seek Arceus or find a Time and Space‑type Pokemon for assistance…"

Huo La slumped weakly into his chair, the PurpleGoldLight speck in his right palm still faintly flickering; at that moment, a light footstep sounded outside the window, followed by Ami Farm Owner's voice: "Huo La, are you asleep? I'd like to talk to you about the Mysterious Antler Deer King."

Huo La snapped back to awareness, quickly steadied his mind, clenched his right hand, and shouted, "I'm not sleeping, Ami Farm Owner, come in!"

The next morning, Huo La wore heavy dark circles, lingering fatigue still hanging at the corners of his eyes, and he occasionally raised a hand to rub his sore eyes.

Last night his conversation with Ami Farm Owner lasted until midnight, covering the evolution from Startling Horn Deer to Mysterious Antler Deer, the herd's division of labor, even poachers' obsession with antlers—every aspect, finally grasping the species' habits thoroughly.

After Ami Farm Owner left, his thoughts immediately drifted back to the PurpleGoldLight speck in his right palm.

The System's suggestion to "seek Arceus items or a Time and Space‑type Pokemon" was too vague; he tossed and turned for half the night, and only when dawn approached could he no longer resist drowsiness, drifting into a groggy sleep.

Bathed in morning light, Huo La raised his right hand again; the PurpleGoldLight speck appeared very dim under the sun, not as glaring as it had been in the dim room last night.

He leaned in for a long look, touched it with his fingertip, and still felt only a faint coolness, with no other abnormalities.

"Hope it's nothing serious," Huo La inhaled deeply, temporarily suppressing his anxiety, and turned toward the camp's open ground.

In the distance, Gangshi was shirtless, both hands holding a massive stone lock, his arm muscles bulging with each motion, each lift and drop producing a muffled thud, clearly part of his morning training.

Sunlight fell on his bronze‑toned skin, beads of sweat sliding down his muscular lines, exuding a primal sense of power.

"Oh hey, Huo La, you're up," Gangshi had just set the heavy stone lock firmly back on the ground; hearing footsteps, he turned, brushed dust off his hands, and cheerfully asked, "How's it, slept well?"

Huo La shook his still‑dazed head, raised a hand to point at the heavy dark circles under his eyes, his tone tinged with fatigue: "Captain Gangshi, look at me like this—do I look well‑rested?"

Gangshi moved closer, seeing his panda‑like dark circles, he couldn't help gritting his teeth, and softened his tone: "Those heavy circles—maybe rest another day? The Mysterious Antler Deer King's situation is temporarily stable, not urgent right now; once you're re‑energized, tackling it tomorrow won't be late."

Huo La shook his head, his gaze showing resolve: "No, let's go today."

He stretched lazily, easing his sore muscles, "Absorbing the energy from the Mysterious Antler Deer King's antlers shouldn't be hard; if nothing goes wrong, it won't take long to finish. Once it's dealt with early, I can return to Zhuqing Village and get a solid two‑day sleep to recover."

Gangshi stared at him for a few seconds, seeing his firm resolve, he stopped urging, reached out and patted his shoulder: "Alright, your call! Then get ready first; I'll have someone bring breakfast over, and after we eat we'll set off."

At that moment, a sharp whistle suddenly rang out, like a keen blade slicing the morning's silence, echoing across the entire camp area with great penetration.

Gangshi's complexion changed instantly, his previously relaxed expression vanished without a trace; he snapped upright, looked toward the source of the whistle, his brows knit: "Bad, something's happened! This is the Diamond Team's alert whistle, only sounded in emergencies!"

He turned to Huo La, his tone urgent: "It must be the Mysterious Antler Deer's side! Let's go quickly!"

Before the words finished, Gangshi already took long strides, sprinting toward the whistle's direction, his heavy steps causing the ground to tremble slightly.

Huo La's heart sank, and unable to lag, he immediately matched Gangshi's pace, simultaneously pulling a Pokeball from his pocket and gripping it.