Chapter 2: New Assignment

The next day turned out to be a rare sunny day.

Huo La, as usual, grabbed that shabby bamboo fishing rod and left the house at daybreak.

When he entered the forest near Pallet Town, his shoulders slumped and his eyes were filled with unmistakable dejection.

For the past three years, "fishing" has almost become a fixed part of his life, yet the shadow of the Golden Magikarp still hasn't even brushed a border.

His father is a biologist who spends his years immersed in the Oak Research Institute;

His mother, a native Pallet Town trainer, roamed many regions when she was young; after meeting his father she willingly settled down and returned to Pallet Town.

This is the only contiguous woodland outside Pallet Town, home to many low‑level Pokemon, and beyond this forest lie Miya Mountain and Boduoluo Mountain.

Fortunately, these little creatures are mostly gentle; they circle around people when they see them, which has kept Huo La's three‑year "fishing career" free of serious danger.

Stepping on grass blades still wet with morning dew, Huo La made his familiar way to the system‑marked fixed fishing spot by the ditch.

He flicked the rod, and the line with the hook went "dong" into the water, sending a ring of tiny ripples.

He sat on a nearby stone, stared blankly at the water's surface, and couldn't help asking the system: "System, system, is your positioning really correct? The trip is set for next month, and I don't have much time left."

"Please, Host, do not question this system's accuracy and authority," the mechanical voice repeated, unchanged.

Huo La rolled his eyes and sighed resignedly: "Just as I thought, a pointless question."

He tugged at his sun hat.

Pallet Town had been raining for a week, and today the sun finally broke through, blazing as if it had been holding its breath, making people's chests feel suffocated; luckily he remembered to wear his hat when he went out.

Time slipped by slowly, the sun rose higher, and only the occasional horned goldfish shadow skimmed the ditch's surface.

Huo La sat on the stone, drowsy, his eyelids growing heavier, and just as he was about to collapse, two crisp "beep beep" prompts rang in his mind.

Immediately after, the system's mechanical voice sounded again, this time with an unprecedented sense of urgency:

【Task Release:

Task Type: Temporary Task

Task Content: Obtain a Pokemon Egg (the system detected a Rare Pokemon Egg spawning in the forest at coordinates X107, Y26)

Task Time Limit: 1 day

Task Reward: Random Secret Machine Skill.】】

Huo La snapped to attention, leapt off the stone. The fishing rod slipped from his grip with a "pat" sound, fell to the ground, slid down the bank's slope into the ditch, and was quickly swept far away by the murky current.

"Damn! My fishing rod!!!"

He instinctively wanted to chase, but the words "Rare Pokemon Egg" and "Secret Machine Skill" hammered his mind like a sledgehammer.

After hesitating for two seconds, Huo La gritted his teeth—he could find another rod, but the rare Pokemon Egg and Secret Machine, missing this chance might mean no next chance!

He sprinted toward the coordinates the system gave, and within dozens of meters lay the forest's dense thicket. Pushing aside half‑person‑high grass, Huo La peeked and his face turned instantly pale.

Before him stood a verdant giant tree, its branches bearing several silvery‑white silk cocoons; sunlight filtered through the leaves onto the cocoons, faintly revealing the outline of a curled Pokemon Egg inside.

Outside the tree's cocoons, several large Poison Needle bees buzzed back and forth—yellow‑black striped abdomens emitting a cold glow, slender poison needles occasionally protruding, and the "buzz buzz" of their wings could be heard clearly from afar.

"System… you're really a dog!" Huo La lowered his voice, his teeth itching with anger, "You fooled me for three years of fishing, and now you make me steal a large Poison Needle bee's egg? Do you think I should die faster???"

"Beep beep, system is locking onto target… target lock successful. Analyzing feasible routes… route analysis complete, Host, please execute the task promptly, countdown starting…"

"Damn it! And it's timed? I haven't even prepared tools, and you already start the countdown?!"

Huo La couldn't help cursing, but his body honestly crouched down.

The strategy the system provided materialized clearly in his mind: skirt from the western shrubs of the tree to the shady side, where a small hole carved by rain leads directly beneath the branch bearing the largest cocoon; the large Poison Needle bees change posts every ten minutes, with a thirty‑second blind spot between shifts…

More importantly, he couldn't give up.

Although his parents have already paid the League fee to obtain starter Pokémon for the trip, those starter Pokémon are only "Su Xing stable" and far from being "rare".

In his previous life he was an ordinary person who achieved nothing, living alone for over seventy years; this life, with a system and a warm home, he wants to win from the start—especially since he no longer has to compromise for a living, he must seize every chance to become stronger.

He took a deep breath, steadied his nerves, crouched low, and quietly followed the system‑marked route, slipping around to the tree's west side.

The shrub leaves brushed his arm, making it cold and itchy, yet he stared fixedly at the large Poison Needle bees around the tree, daring not to blink.

The system‑marked "post‑change countdown" flickered in the corner of his view, each second feeling stretched tenfold.

"5, 4, 3…" Huo La counted silently in his mind, his fingertips turning white.

When the countdown hit zero, the large Poison Needle bees simultaneously perched on the trunk, their antennae touching each other as if handing over something. Their gaze was outward toward the forest edge, completely missing the figure that silently emerged from the shady shrub.

"Now!"

Huo La held his breath and, using hands and feet, scrambled toward the system‑marked hole—a half‑meter‑wide earth cavity likely left by rain‑washed roots, just big enough for him to squeeze in.

Inside the hole the air reeked of damp earth; he moved forward two steps, lifted his head, and could just see the largest cocoon hanging from the branch above. This cocoon was a notch larger than the others, its wall glowing faintly, the egg's pattern visible inside—clearly the "Rare Pokemon Egg" the system mentioned.

He fished a pre‑prepared pocketknife (used for self‑defense when fishing) from his pocket and carefully reached upward. The cocoon's material was tougher than imagined; the blade left only a shallow scar, emitting a faint "sizzle" sound.

"Oh no!"

Huo La's heart tightened; indeed, the large Poison Needle bee that was changing posts suddenly moved, its antennae swiveling straight toward him, its wing buzz accelerating to a sharp, piercing whine.

They heard the movement!

There was no time to hesitate; Huo La thrust forcefully, the blade driving hard into the cocoon.

This time it finally tore a large opening, and the Pokemon Egg inside lost its support, falling toward him.

His eyes and hands were swift; he quickly lifted a hand to catch it—the egg was heavier than expected, its shell still warm from the cocoon, covered in pale‑purple spirals that glimmered faintly in the dim light of the hole.

Before he could be happy, a massive buzzing roar suddenly sounded from above his head.

Before he could rejoice, a huge "buzz" roared from above.

A large Poison Needle bee slammed onto the hole's mouth, its slender poison needle thrust straight into his shoulder!