Chapter 141: Confident Lila

Energy cubes, made from nutrient-rich berries, are inherently tempting to Snover, a Pokémon that loves berries, especially since this Snover is currently starving.

Since its parents, Abomasnow, went missing, it has been treading on thin ice near the highest peak of Frostveil Mountain, where powerful wild Pokémon abound, and it hasn't had a full meal in who knows how long.

Although they are pre-made food, the aroma of the energy cubes has been sealed within their containers until now; Luo Mu can still smell the faint scent, let alone a Pokémon with even keener senses of smell.

Snover quietly swallowed, its posture still maintaining vigilance toward the three of them, yet its little eyes couldn't help drifting toward the energy cube in Luo Mu's palm.

What is that? It smells so good, I want to eat it!

But that big cat is so scary to Pokémon; I dare not go over.

At Luo Mu's silent signal, Luxray helplessly lay down slowly, using action to show Snover it had no intent to attack, and only then did the starving Snover inch forward toward Luo Mu, step by tiny step.

"It really works!"

Lila covered her mouth, exclaiming in a small, surprised voice.

Tron stroked the feathers of his Pidgeot, smiling as he said, "Although Abomasnow's appearance seems fierce, they generally do not initiate attacks against humans; they usually live quietly and alone deep in snow-covered mountains where few people tread, and they only strike to protect young ones like Snover."

"And Snover is curious about many things; their attitude toward humans is the same. After interacting for a while, they actually become good friends with humans, and they especially like children of a size similar to their own."

Lila suddenly understood, unable not to admire Tron and Luo Mu's knowledge reserves and understanding of Pokémon.

In her impression, she only remembered news of Abomasnow, Snover's evolved form, occasionally descending the mountain to destroy villages and attack humans, but she never expected the inside story to be like this.

During the lull in the two men's exchange, Snover had already moved to Luo Mu's front; seeing that he emitted no malice, the Snover, whose mind had been tightly tense, summoned its courage and carefully took the energy cube from Luo Mu's palm.

The pine-bud-like tips of Snover's hands brushing against Luo Mu's palm skin made Luo Mu's arm twitch, but he ultimately held back and did not react too strongly.

The itchiness could be endured, but if Snover, having finally approached, got scared away by accident, that would be worse.

The blizzard was gradually getting heavier; an individual like Snover running out would easily meet with trouble.

After receiving the energy cube, Snover seemed to confirm that Luo Mu held no malice toward it; touching its rumbling, hungry belly, it looked at Luo Mu with bright, sparkling eyes, as if asking whether it could eat the energy cube.

Luo Mu smiled and nodded, saying, "Eat quickly; this was prepared for you in the first place. However, as a condition of exchange, may we stay in your cave for a while to shelter from the blizzard?"

Snover was stunned; thinking that filling its belly was the main matter, it nodded, agreeing to Luo Mu's exchange condition.

Seeing the deal struck, Snover was no longer reserved; with gratitude in its heart, it raised the energy cube to its mouth and, as if cherishing this hard-won food, began to swallow in small bites.

Unfortunately, the portion of the energy cube was only that small; after a few bites, it was finished. Carefully swallowing the last bite, Snover felt deeply disappointed in its heart.

It had traded one night's temporary right to use the cave for a single piece of food; with no other items to trade, it would probably have to go hungry again next.

But in the next instant, a warm current suddenly rising in its belly made Snover's eyes widen slightly; it suddenly felt the sense of fullness it hadn't experienced since its parents left!

It only ate such a tiny piece of food, yet it could be full?!

Snover touched its own belly, its expression changing again and again, looking very lively.

Luo Mu's smile grew even broader; he waved to Tron and Lila behind him, signaling them to come in, as he had already completed the negotiation.

Tron stroked his chin as he walked into the cave that could shelter from wind and snow, teasing, "I thought any trainer would choose to solve problems with Pokémon battles regardless of the circumstances; I've never seen a trainer as flexible in thinking as you."

Lila silently walked into the cave, squatting down to start organizing the items in her backpack; she glanced at Luo Mu, who was interacting friendly with Snover, and felt somewhat frustrated in her heart.

She had previously made such an arrogant declaration as "Leave the trivial matters along the way to me; you only need to worry about battles," yet in reality, she was the one who had been enjoying the fruits of others' labor along the way.

However, at least she was still familiar with the equipment in the backpacks the three of them carried; at least she could perform installation and debugging, and discovering Hunter J's whereabouts still relied on the technology she had brought to monitor the surrounding environment.

Lila managed to feel somewhat comforted in her heart.

By the time a bonfire was lit over there, Lila's installation had just been completed, and she began debugging the functions.

Luxray lay near the cave entrance on guard, while Luo Mu, bringing the Snover that was somewhat afraid of the bonfire, approached Lila's side, curiously examining these high-tech devices.

"Lila, what are these things used for?"

Lila paused in her action of synchronizing the system with her colleagues stationed within Frostveil Mountain and replied, "Equipment for monitoring the surrounding environment; together with the equipment in the hands of colleagues distributed throughout Frostveil Mountain, they temporarily form a monitor covering Frostveil Mountain. Hunter J's subordinates are accustomed to using technological weapons, right? This equipment can detect weapons that do not belong to Frostveil Mountain."

"There is also a radar for detecting the sky; if Hunter J enters the country aboard a spaceship, the radar can capture them."

Although her voice was neither hurried nor slow, Lila's expression was exceptionally confident.

This was cutting-edge equipment of the International Police, with extremely high technological capability, and Lila was very proud of it.

Snover, gradually lowering its guard, began to release its nature; it wanted to step forward and touch these cold black objects, but hindered by Lila, who was like a puppy guarding its precious bone, with an expression that said "strangers keep away," Snover hesitated repeatedly and still did not dare to approach.

"Then if Hunter J's spaceship can be invisible, can the radar you mentioned detect it?"

Luo Mu asked as if casually.

Lila was stunned, thinking to herself, "I thought you were going to ask something else. Rest assured, this is the most cutting-edge equipment within the International Police; it is completely beyond the level of Hunter J and his pack of hyenas living in the shadows."

"Is that really so?" Under Lila's gradually changing expression, Luo Mu unconsciously spoke words from the bottom of his heart: "But even with all this cutting-edge equipment, isn't Hunter J still at large?"

(End of this chapter)