Chapter 28: Caught a Bird and Brought It Back (Requesting Follow-Reads)

Luo Mu casually scooped a ladle of water from the nearby water vat, tidied his appearance, confirmed that the rice was already steaming in the rice cooker, and immediately planned to go out and see whether the Serperior and the others had found Bai Bai Pengpeng and the Cottonee.

As soon as he left the kitchen, Luo Mu bumped into Arven, who looked as if his soul had fled, drifting toward the kitchen with a dazed expression.

Arven's nose twitched slightly; breathing in the faint sweet fragrance in the air, he murmured, "What is that? It smells so good, so sweet..."

"We're having vegetable Berry curry rice for lunch today," Luo Mu said helplessly, stopping Arven from drifting into the kitchen. "We'll start eating only after Serperior and Bai Bai Pengpeng have returned. Come, let's first go to the fields to see if they're back."

"Oh~"

Arven could only reluctantly force his gaze away, following Luo Mu out of the small house to the five small plots in the farming area that had just been sown.

All five Pokémon had already gathered in the open space.

Upon noticing Luo Mu and Arven's arrival, Bai Bai Pengpeng's eyes darted; with a light leap, it jumped into the air, its body spinning rapidly, while the cotton fluff on its head scattered mid-spin onto the sown, watered fields.

Immediately afterward, a miraculous scene unfolded.

As the cotton fluff melted into the soil, the earth began to tremble with an extremely subtle motion; within just a few breaths, green sprouts burst from the ground, standing upright and lively.

This miracle-like sight made Luo Mu and Arven stare in astonishment, frozen in place.

At this moment, Luo Mu understood even more profoundly how miraculous Pokémon powers were; with such abilities, in an ancient setting, they would likely be hailed as deities bringing abundance.

Perhaps nowadays Bai Bai Pengpeng could only make seeds sprout, but once its strength improved somewhat, it would sooner or later be able to complete the entire process of sprouting, blooming, and bearing fruit within a few days.

If Serperior learned moves like Grassy Terrain, a gentler growth-boosting technique, causing flowers to bloom and wilt within a single night might not be impossible.

Unfortunately, Serperior only knew how to instantly grow plants as thick as tree trunks and use Frenzy Plant to attack.

After sharing nutrients once, Bai Bai Pengpeng landed on the ground, panting slightly; merely sharing nutrients and energy for one small plot exhausted it this much, suggesting they could not rely solely on Pokémon to accelerate crop growth.

After all, what difference was there between doing this and the sweatshop factories from before his transmigration?

Luo Mu silently resolved in his heart.

Lunchtime arrived.

The dining table left behind by the elderly couple was already cramped enough for Luo Mu and his six main Pokémon, let alone with three new additions and the unknown Pokémon yet to hatch from future Eggs.

Placing the steaming curry on the table, he ladled a spoonful of the fragrant curry onto the plates of rice before the six eagerly waiting Pokémon and Arven; thus, the simple and rustic vegetable Berry curry rice was assembled.

"Let's eat!"

Starving, Arven, upon receiving Luo Mu's helpless nod of approval, immediately grabbed a spoon in his right hand, lifted the curry rice with his left, and began devouring it chaotically, his table manners utterly atrocious.

Serperior was far more refined than Arven; skillfully manipulating its vines to lift the spoon, it fed itself bite by bite.

Swampert and Dragonite, despite a year having passed, still handled spoons clumsily; ultimately, they chose to lift their curry rice bowls like Arven, eating with rough, vigorous motions.

Initially, Bai Bai Pengpeng and the Cottonee were somewhat restrained, but soon, seemingly infected by the atmosphere, they all buried their heads and began eating in small bites.

Luo Mu occasionally scooped a few mouthfuls for himself, then refilled rice and curry for Dragonite and Swampert, who had finished their entire plates in a whirlwind.

This lunch lasted until one in the afternoon; having recovered its strength, Bai Bai Pengpeng ran off again to share its newly replenished nutrients and energy with the tomato test plot, only to drift down weakly amid the Cottonee's worried cries.

At this, Luo Mu rarely displayed a serious expression, repeatedly emphasizing and making a firm agreement with Bai Bai Pengpeng: it could accelerate growth only once per day and must not deplete the nutrients needed for its own development.

Otherwise, continuing like this, Bai Bai Pengpeng would sooner or later damage its own foundation.

After ordering Bai Bai Pengpeng to rest and assigning the Cottonee to supervise it, Luo Mu called over Swampert, Serperior, and Dragonite; under Arven's watchful eyes, they used their moves to process the wood Dragonite had gathered all morning.

Using Razor Leaf to strip the bark, Air Cutter to slice, and Water Gun to polish, they quickly obtained wooden planks of the dimensions Luo Mu required.

Although he was still a novice barely past the threshold when it came to farming, Luo Mu had a certain confidence in his craftsmanship.

Following the blueprints he had drawn earlier, he assembled planks of different specifications, secured them with iron nails, and ultimately constructed a miniature, purely natural small wooden house.

Finally, he laid a layer of fleece carpet inside the small wooden house; thus, a little home belonging to Bai Bai Pengpeng and the Cottonee was completed.

Luo Mu had Swampert carry this little home into the spacious living room on the first floor of the small house and invited Bai Bai Pengpeng and the others to try living in it, earning their highest praise.

Especially the two Cottonee, who had drifted abroad for so long—although most of their memories were of carefree days under Bai Bai Pengpeng's protection—once they truly felt they possessed a "home," a place to belong, they could not help but throw themselves into Luo Mu's arms and burst into tears.

From then on, the two Cottonee no longer feared Luo Mu or Serperior and the others; within just a single day, they had thoroughly integrated into the farm.

Three days later.

Three days had passed since the crops in the farming area successfully sprouted under Bai Bai Pengpeng's power and the Cottonee had fully integrated into the farm.

Yesterday, Professors Sada and Turo, who had been silent until now, finally called Luo Mu; after a conversation, Professor Sada personally came to take away a very reluctant Arven, promising to visit another day with gifts to thank Luo Mu for taking care of Arven over the past few days.

Afterwards, Luo Mu's days returned to a calm and uneventful state.

Each day, aside from routinely tending the fields, he focused on researching how to plan the pasture area and the lake area.

At three in the afternoon, Luo Mu took out a lounge chair he had just bought at the market to enjoy the sunbath, while Bai Bai Pengpeng and the others stayed quietly nearby, inserting their bodies into the soil and facing the sunlight to perform photosynthesis.

Serperior lazily swayed the tip of its tail, feeling the energy from the sun, while Swampert and Dragonite had gone off who-knows-where to play.

Just as time seemed peaceful and serene, the temperature in the air suddenly rose; Serperior's originally languid serpent eyes instantly narrowed, and it straightened up, casting a vigilant gaze toward the distance.

"Hmm? Serperior, what's wrong?"

Luo Mu yawned, looking sleepily in the direction Serperior was staring, his drowsiness instantly startled awake.

"Holy crap!?"

A classic exclamation burst from his lips; Luo Mu widened his eyes, looking toward the distance in disbelief.

There, a Luxray wreathed in lightning was sprinting rapidly toward them, with Cangyan Cangyan Rengui following closely behind; upon closer inspection, one could even see a corner of Mimikyu's rag peeking out from Luxray's shadow.

But none of that mattered.

What astonished Luo Mu was the large bird clutched in Luxray's mouth, its feathers scorched black, with orange-red flames burning atop its head, on its wings, and along its tail feathers!