Chapter 324: The Machine Spirit is Greatly Pleased: A Semi-Annual Bonus and the Ancient Ruins in the Scorching Desert

This picnic lasted late into the night, and the Pokémon around Luo Mu changed in several waves.

Although the nearly forty Pokémon on the farm couldn't possibly finish all the watermelons in such a vast melon patch, thanks to the activity of a few bottomless pits, more than half of the watermelons were clearly consumed.

The remaining watermelons, if eaten sparingly, should be enough to get through the hottest days; unfortunately, until every watermelon was picked, no "badger" came to steal from the melon patch, so Luo Mu never got the chance to perform his trick of stabbing a badger under the moonlight.

Fortunately, in a few more days, after stripping the stems and leaves from the watermelon vines, adhering to the principle of sustainable development, they could have Comfey and Bai Bai Pengpeng continue cultivating the vines in the melon patch, perhaps even welcoming a second harvest before midsummer ends.

Feeling the time was nearly up, Luo Mu directed the Pokémon to start cleaning up the mess, gathering the trash generated tonight, packing and sorting it into garbage bags of different colors, ready to be taken back to the farm and handed over to the garbage transport truck that passes by the farm daily.

The way this world handles garbage is actually quite environmentally friendly and convenient.

Among Pokémon, several Poison-type species feed on various kinds of trash, eating whatever garbage comes their way; their powerful digestive abilities can break down that trash into energy for their own activities or into poisonous gas used for attacks.

Grimer, Muk, Trubbish, and Garbodor, along with the Alolan forms of Grimer and Muk, are all experts in this field.

For instance, garbage generated in Cortondo Town is transported to a waste processing plant built outside Mesagoza, where these Pokémon raised within the plant process the trash.

Initially, Luo Mu had planned to raise one such Pokémon on the farm to handle kitchen waste.

But considering the incurable and inescapable stench of Grimer and Muk, he ultimately abandoned this idea, deciding to honestly pay the waste processing plant to handle this garbage instead.

However, it is said that if Trubbish and Garbodor receive meticulous care, they won't produce much odor; furthermore, the Alolan forms of Grimer and Muk produce no smell at all, but in exchange, toxin crystals condense within their bodies after decomposing trash.

Those toxin crystals, though incredibly beautiful and shimmering, are even a favorite among some bizarre collectors.

Yet the deadly poison contained within them is terrifying; Luo Mu worried that after introducing Alolan Grimer, these toxin crystals might accidentally fall and be touched by other Pokémon, which would cause trouble, so he ultimately gave up on this notion.

After all the trash was packed and the lawn cleaned spotless, Luo Mu was just about to call out for the Pokémon to return to the farm with him when a clear sound of mechanical operation and movement came from not far away.

In this silent late night, the Kricketot who had been playing their concertos had already rested, leaving only the flowing sound of the babbling brook; even the sound of a needle dropping to the ground would be crystal clear, let alone this unmasked noise.

Luo Mu and the Pokémon looked toward the source of the sound, immediately spotting that incredibly conspicuous Pokémon flashing with pink-purple radiance under the moonlight.

"Iron Valiant."

Luo Mu narrowed his eyes, as if confirming whether that Iron Valiant was the one he knew.

Luxray, Mimikyu, and Swampert did not rashly approach, merely protecting the daily-life Pokémon who possessed no resistance against Iron Valiant.

Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, who had been busy carving watermelon rinds into little rabbit shapes to hone his carving skills, stopped his movements and looked at the newcomer; discovering it was Iron Valiant, the white smoke burning in place of pupils within Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's purple eyes swayed slightly, revealing the fluctuations in Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's state of mind.

If sparring with Luxray, Swampert, and the others honed Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's combat techniques, then battling Iron Valiant injected fresh vitality into Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's stagnant sword Dao cultivation.

After a period of settling and refining, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's swordsmanship became increasingly refined, and he could clearly feel his own progress.

At this moment, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's first reaction to Iron Valiant coming to his door again was actually delight.

—Great, fighting one more time will definitely make me stronger.

Thinking this, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui exchanged a glance with Luo Mu; after receiving Luo Mu's approval, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui carefully handed the carved watermelon-rind rabbit to Vulpix, gave a gentle smile, and walked toward Iron Valiant.

Sister Clamcuriously gazed at Iron Valiant's figure; normally cheerful, she couldn't help but shrink her neck the moment her eyes met Iron Valiant's data eyes, sensing some kind of powerful threat emanating from Iron Valiant.

Meanwhile, Brother Clam had already retreated into his shell; no matter how Sister Clam tapped him, he wouldn't come out; after casting a look of frustration at her brother for being disappointing, Sister Clam sidled up to Shuang Nai Xian and curiously asked about Iron Valiant's origins.

Seeing that among the farm Pokémon, aside from the four Da Nai Guan who weren't present, only the newly arrived Clam siblings seemed unaware of Iron Valiant, Shuang Nai Xian briefly recounted Iron Valiant's deeds to them, making Sister Clam and Brother Clam even more frightened.

To think that even that big black bird was defeated by it as easily as chopping melons and cutting vegetables, with no power to fight back; every time the siblings saw Corviknight's steel beak and steel claws, they felt a chill, so in this situation, it was indeed best to stay safely in the back and be protected by Luxray and the others.

In the silent late night, only the sounds of the knight of mechanical flesh and the Cangyan swordsman of cursed armor moving their steps could be heard.

Neither side exchanged any words; the moment their gazes met, they understood each other's intentions, transitioning from a leisurely walk to a sprint; in an instant, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui and Iron Valiant clashed directly.

Iron Valiant split its pink-purple blades into two, charging straight to clash with the flame greatswords burning with ghostly fire on Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's arms.

As the blades crossed, a crisp hum of swords echoed through the night sky.

"Siro."

The moment they clashed, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui discovered that Iron Valiant's style was completely different from before; it was as if it had predicted—no, calculated—his sword moves, intercepting his attacks one step ahead and launching a counterattack like a violent storm.

Cangyan Cangyan Rengui frowned slightly, understanding that his sword techniques had been seen through by Iron Valiant using some method; Luo Mu had once said that Paradox Pokémon like Iron Valiant likely carried something inside them capable of assisting their combat or even performing calculations for daily activities, and now it seemed this was indeed the case.

Probably, Iron Valiant relied on that thing called "calculation" to decipher all of his patterns after just one battle.

However, fortunately, he hadn't wasted time during this period; the variations in his sword techniques and the level of his skills had improved significantly.

Thinking this, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui focused his eyes and, without the slightest hesitation, changed his sword style to launch a second round of attacks in a way Iron Valiant hadn't anticipated; within a short while, he turned around the advantageous situation Iron Valiant had occupied and continued making micro-adjustments mid-battle based on Iron Valiant's slashes.

Neither Pokémon used any moves; both relied purely on swordsmanship for their contest, their dual swords dancing so fast they seemed to create afterimages.

As the duel became increasingly intense, Iron Valiant's heart grew increasingly confused.

It continuously thought and calculated through its thought circuits, unable to understand why, despite copying all the sword techniques Cangyan Cangyan Rengui used in their previous battle and even extrapolating them to a higher realm, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui could still produce swordsmanship completely different from its predictions to counter it, while simultaneously absorbing the sword techniques it had deduced.

Did this mean that in terms of learning speed, it was even inferior to Cangyan Cangyan Rengui?

In the end, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui executed a beautiful upward slash that sent Iron Valiant's dual-wielded pink-purple blades flying; the tip of his sword pointed at Iron Valiant once more as he spoke calmly.

"Siro." (You may leave.)

Iron Valiant silently rose, gently raising a hand; those pink-purple blades deeply embedded in the soil were like magnets attracted by a massive magnet, instantly flying back to Iron Valiant's left hand, reassembling into a single double-edged pink-purple blade.

"Bujin." (I will come again.)

Iron Valiant looked deeply at Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, feeling its chest filled with many emotions it could not comprehend.

However, this time it would fully deduce Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's sword techniques, and next time it would completely crush him, with no more thoughts named hesitation or indecision.

Because if one acts timidly and cautiously, one will never be able to defeat Cangyan Cangyan Rengui.

It came quickly, and it left quickly.

Iron Valiant lightly tapped its toes; its agile figure left behind only an afterimage, departing the scene like a fairy under the moon, leaving behind only the lawn neatly trimmed flat by the aftermath of its battle with Cangyan Cangyan Rengui.

All that remained were Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, who had gained further insights into sword techniques and fell into deep thought, and Luo Mu, who had just picked up a watermelon, hadn't yet had time to hand it over, and saw Iron Valiant flee, leaving him completely bewildered.

July 16th, Minor Heat.

Last night he really stayed up too late; although it was already high noon, Luo Mu still lingered in bed, whereas Luxray, Serperior, Mimikyu, and the others were full of energy, getting up early to cause a ruckus outside.

No matter how earth-shattering the commotion outside was, Luo Mu stubbornly slept until eleven o'clock before being woken by the vibration of his phone.

As soon as he opened his phone, Luo Mu found it was a text message from the bank.

【Paldea People's Bank: Alliance Year 798, July 16, 11:45. Grandma Ju Zi Academy Account 0101 transfers to your account ending in 114. Income amount: 500,000 Alliance Coins. Balance: 1,235,767.61 Alliance Coins. Remark: Semi-annual Bonus.】

"Hmm, broke through a million again, nice."

Luo Mu's drowsiness vanished in an instant, and a smile floated onto his face.

The benefits and treatment at Orange Academy were quite good; not only was there a four-month paid leave every year, but there were also bonuses like the semi-annual one he received today and an even more generous year-end bonus, with this half-year bonus alone equaling more than two months of his salary.

Although Luo Mu's raised salary seemed lower than the output of his Da Nai Guan, if one were to make an analogy, this job was like the civil service positions before his transmigration: the salary seemed low, yet it came with various benefits and treatments, making it extremely comfortable.

Not to mention that this job was relatively very free; whereas he once had to attend classes on a fixed schedule weekly, he could now adjust freely based on teaching conditions, which greatly benefited someone like Luo Mu who enjoyed scouring the world for suitable items to bring back to his farm for development.

Happily accepting the bonus, Luo Mu, with his purse bulging again, tossed and turned in bed pondering how to spend the money.

The automatic milking machines prepared for the five Da Nai Guan would cost only 150,000 League Coins if custom-made in Niangguang City; given that level of automation, it could already be considered high quality at a reasonable price.

The Da Nai Guan only needed to equip themselves with the milking devices at the appointed time, after which the machine would operate automatically, continuously extracting Tapu Tapu Moumou fresh milk with appropriate force, and could also choose to stop or pause based on the movements of the Da Nai Guan, making it very user-friendly.

Thus liberated, Luo Mu no longer needed to busy himself squeezing milk for half the day; he only needed to portion the Tapu Tapu Moumou fresh milk and seal it into glass bottles.

"This money should be enough to build a new house... Recently, there are more and more Pokémon, and cooking in the cramped kitchen always feels restrictive; it seems this must be included in the farm development plan."

Luo Mu rolled out of bed, pondering plans to renovate a larger, more spacious, and brighter new house while finishing his ablutions, changing into fresh clothes, slipping on his slippers, and walking out of the room.

As soon as he stepped outside, Luo Mu saw the Dragonite and the Dragonite Leader training Skarmory Skarmory Sanmao and its kin.

Several Corviknight that looked domineering from the outside, along with the exceedingly cunning Honchkrow, shrank their necks before the two Dragonite like frightened quails, accepting instruction.

The Dragonite Leader had previously delivered letters to passing trainers around New Island under Mewtwo's orders, so it was very experienced in this aspect.

As long as one ignored its occasional interactions with the non-existent "ghost" beside it, the Dragonite Leader was an excellent teacher for delivery duties.

Meanwhile, the Dragonite, having accompanied Luo Mu wandering around all day, was very familiar with the environment surrounding Pingdie Town, even storing a rough map in its mind; since Luo Mu's initial milk delivery business only intended to pilot in Pingdie Town, its knowledge was entirely sufficient.

Crows were already considered extremely intelligent animals in nature, even forming gangs, not to mention the fable of the crow drinking water by dropping stones, let alone Corviknight and their kin as Pokémon with even greater intelligence.

One of the two Dragonite was skilled at navigating and rich in experience, while the other knew the layout of Pingdie Town and the locations of its various areas; combining their strengths, they had already trained the Corviknight and others to a respectable standard.

At this rate, after participating in the Pokémon Marathon Tournament later in the month, the milk delivery business would undoubtedly launch smoothly.

Beaming with a smile, Luo Mu bid farewell to the Dragonite and went straight to the warehouse, taking out a slightly yellowed map to examine carefully.

"Hmm, it indeed marks in detail the possible locations of Iron Treads and Great Tusk, but for me, it holds little use."

【Hmph!】

"Don't get cocky; when the time comes, the navigation will be left to you."

After a brief exchange with System-san, who was useless most of the time anyway, Luo Mu rolled up the map again, placed it into a prepared painting tube, and ensured it was properly protected.

Although this item was usually used by art students to carry paintings, it was quite suitable for holding a map as well.

This was something Luo Mu had casually swiped from Basilio's studio when he went to visit Basilio and Kossa last time; seeing that the dimensions of the painting tube were very suitable, he had brought it back directly to hold the map.

This map had been given to Luo Mu by Terry; at the time, after receiving it, Luo Mu had no intention of exploring that place.

Instead, since there was still some time before several major upcoming events, and most things that needed doing were nearly completed, loafing around the farm indefinitely was not a good idea, so Luo Mu dug out this map, intending to explore the Scorching Desert.

After all, in the game, the place where these two Titan Pokémon lived grew mature Herba Mystica; before the Herba Mystica in his own fields matured, he could completely rely on the Herba Mystica there to verify a series of his own conjectures.

As for the item Terry mentioned that could enable Pokémon unable to evolve to evolve, Luo Mu felt the probability of it being a Mega Stone was low.

Although Paldea and Kalos were very close, and there was a high probability that one or two Mega Stones had been lost in the Paldea region due to personnel movement, now that the Swampertite was already in hand, Luo Mu possessed no Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution.

Unless new Mega Evolutions appeared in the XY remake or the Legendary Kyogre/Groudon/Rayquaza events following his transmigration during the Legendary Kyurem era, such as a Mega Stone for Luxray, Mega Stones would be basically useless to Luo Mu; at best, he could use them to trade items with others or give them away as rewards.

Luo Mu's intuition told him that that evolution item might enable a certain Pokémon to complete a permanent evolution, rather than a time-limited evolution like Mega Evolution.

This made him unable to help but look forward to the trip to the Scorching Desert.

At the same time.

In the Kanto and Johto regions, within the Orange Archipelago area.

Xiao Zhi Cheng Gong had defeated the Elite Trainer Yuta at the Mikan Stadium, claiming his first championship; although the honor of this championship was far inferior to that of a League Conference victory, he still beamed with joy as he registered in the Hall of Victory.

At the top ceiling of the Hall of Victory, the Delibird that had witnessed Xiao Zhi's normal 6vs6 full-team battle shook its head, sighing that the youth was still too young; merely becoming this happy over a victory of such caliber, he would not win so easily when facing that old man who uses Ice during the Johto League, nor when facing the final Dragon Master, Clair.

Thinking this, the Delibird flapped its wings, left the Hall of Victory, flew out of Mikan Island, and headed toward the other end of the horizon.

Although it and Mewtwo had challenged all the gyms in the Johto region during their leisure time just to kill time, the process of the challenge was simply Mewtwo using Teleport to take them to a city, where they would kick down the gym doors, obtain the badge, and leave.

In reality, the Delibird had not seen much of the scenery of the Johto region.

When the Delibird grew tired of flying, it landed on a coconut tree on a small isolated island in the sea, opened the notebook Luo Mu had given it, and browsed its contents; only when dusk approached did it slowly close the notebook, treating it as a treasure as it placed it along with a pair of blue slippers back into its hollow tail.

According to the handwritten content by Luo Mu in the notebook, there were many excellent places in the Johto region worth exploring and checking in at.

Such as the Ruins of Alph, the Sprout Tower in Violet City, the Slowpoke Well east of Azalea Town and the Ilex Forest to its west, the Burned Tower and Bell Tower in Ecruteak City, the Lake of Rage near Mahogany Town, the Lighthouse in Olivine City, the Whirl Islands, and Mount Silver.

Presumably, this would be another thrilling journey and adventure.

With a glow of longing flashing in its eyes, the Delibird leaned against the coconut tree and fell into a deep sleep.

In the Johto region, near the Ruins of Alph in the Green Fields.

A Pokémon archaeology professor named Shuli Snowton was conducting an investigation with an assistant in a dim ancient ruin.

The camera in his hand continuously photographed the mysterious characters carved on the stone walls until he discovered a rusted treasure chest; upon opening it, many wooden tablets came into Shuli Snowton's view.

After hesitating for a moment, Shuli Snowton picked up three of the wooden tablets, but before he could examine them carefully, the tablets suddenly lit up with a azure light, and lightning faintly flickered in the air.

"This is..."

Shuli Snowton froze, and before he could finish speaking, he found himself surrounded by a group of strangely shaped, black, one-eyed Pokémon resembling alphabetical symbols.

The next instant.

Shuli Snowton vanished from within the ruins.

Only a camera that fell out of thin air startled the assistant, who was focused on photographing the characters on the stone walls; the assistant looked left and right but could find no trace of Professor Shuli Snowton, his face inevitably filling with terror.

"Professor..."

The Scorching Desert was a vast expanse of large desert in the western part of the Paldea region; it was a nightmare for novice trainers and an excellent place for veteran trainers to strike it rich.

Just as an old acquaintance once said—

"Want my treasure? If you want it, I'll give it all to you; go find it! I put all my treasure there!"

Because of these words, the Great Pirate Era began.

Although the Paldea region was not that absurd, many rumors that seemed very true still circulated among trainers.

Approximately 2,000 years ago, the Paldea region was ruled by the Paldea Empire, and the Emperor of that time, while constantly driving his people to explore the Great Crater of Paldea, also hid away much of his own treasure.

Among the countless locations where the Paldea Emperor concealed his treasures, the Asado Desert claimed first place by an overwhelming margin; after all, among the numerous Trainers entering and exiting the Asado Desert, many exchanged quite a few valuable items found within for substantial wealth.

Some even picked up comet fragments worth a fortune, leaping instantly into the ranks of the wealthy.

As someone who had explored the Asado Desert dozens of times before and even possessed a full set of equipment, Luo Mu could not deny the possibility of this claim; after all, even he had found quite a few good things in the Asado Desert.

Just as One Piece ushered in the Great Pirate Era, the Paldea region continued to stir up an unprecedented treasure-hunting fever for the Asado Desert.

Countless Trainers and explorers rushed forward one after another into the Asado Desert, solely to seek that illusory treasure of the Paldea Emperor.

Terry was once one of them, but now he had evidently abandoned that dream, choosing to stay in Mesagoza to live a stable life, enjoying the comfort of a wife, children, and a warm kang.

On July 18, fully prepared, Luo Mu mounted his Dragonite, carrying the map provided by Terry along with a backpack full of water and food, and plunged straight into the Asado Desert in one go.

(End of Chapter)