Chapter 521: Suonia

Huo La looked at the girl who suddenly sat opposite him, furrowed his brow slightly, and asked in puzzlement, "Do I know you?"

The girl gently shook her head, smiling brightly, "You've definitely never seen me, but I've heard of you for a long time."

She lifted her hand to touch the red glasses perched on her hair and introduced herself generously, "I'm Suonia, Doctor Mu Lan's assistant, and also Dande's childhood friend; we grew up together."

"Dande's childhood friend…"

Huo La felt something stir inside, instantly recalling. He remembered that Dande indeed had a friend he grew up with.

He set aside his thoughts and asked directly, "Did you come to me about something?"

"I'm not here specifically to find you," Suonia waved her hand to explain, "I'm acting on Doctor Mu Lan's orders, investigating the ancient legends of Sword and Shield abroad, and happened to come to Waterwheel Town to rest and resupply, purely by chance."

"Dande mentioned you to me, and I later looked up a lot of information about you. I saw you from afar just now and thought you looked like you; when I got closer, it was indeed you!"

After hearing her words, Huo La's guard lowered considerably.

Galar is now fully open to the outside, with trade and information flowing freely, so it's normal for someone to know him. Most crucially, Suonia is frank and open, showing no hint of concealment.

Suonia leaned forward a bit, asking curiously, "Did Dande summon you? Is the League planning to use this chance to bring Galar back under its jurisdiction?"

Huo La gently shook his head, "No, I'm here in Galar for some other personal matters."

"Now Galar is stable and prosperous under Luozi's administration, far better than the chaotic regions elsewhere, so there's no need to force it back to the League. If genuine cooperation is desired, Galar will naturally initiate contact."

"So that's it," Suonia realized, then her tone added a hint of longing, "Honestly, how's Dande lately? He hasn't returned to Galar for a long time."

Huo La sighed helplessly, shaking his head, "I haven't been back to the League for ages either, so I'm unclear about his situation. But lately every region is in turmoil, the League is a mess, and he's surely swamped."

"Indeed," Suonia nodded.

Galar never blocks outside news; all the upheavals abroad and the regions rejoining the League are fully known here.

At that moment she recalled Huo La's earlier words, her eyes brightening, and she asked proactively, "By the way, you said you came here for something to handle; do you need my help?"

Huo La thought briefly, then said, "I'd like to meet Chairman Luozi."

"Chairman Luozi?"

Suonia froze in surprise, then furrowed her brows tightly, her expression growing solemn.

"Is he hard to see?" Huo La asked.

Suonia nodded, explaining seriously, "In the past, wanting to see him wasn't difficult. But since about a month ago, after Chairman Luozi returned from somewhere unknown, he's completely changed."

"He's kept himself locked in the lowest private laboratory of the Macrocom Group for a full month; almost no one in the group has seen him appear."

"The deepest underground laboratory…"

Huo La repeated the sentence softly, his mind racing with calculations.

He knew the place well; it's Luozi's private lab, and within the entire Macrocom Group, no one besides Luozi himself has the right to enter.

His earlier meeting with Luozi was rushed and unpleasant; now Luozi's sudden lockdown in the lab, secluding himself, clearly indicates he's preparing something.

Moreover, Luozi once displayed the ability—to trigger Dynamax outside Galar—which is precisely why Huo La came to Galar specially this time.

Huo La sighed lightly, "Chairman Luozi has locked himself in the lab for so long; it's likely he's conducting some critically important research."

He then shifted the conversation, looking at Suonia and asking, "By the way, you mentioned you're investigating the ancient Sword and Shield legends; do you have any leads right now?"

When the topic turned to her investigation, Suonia thought carefully, then shook her head helplessly, "There's no substantial progress yet."

"From the names, Sword and Shield should be two weapons. According to Galar's ancient texts, three thousand years ago this region was shrouded in endless night, the whole land in crisis, until two heroes rose and saved all of Galar."

"So I speculate that the legendary Sword and Shield were most likely the personal weapons of those two heroes."

Huo La raised an eyebrow slightly at the remark, feeling a hint of helplessness deep down.

He asked about the Sword‑Shield legend proactively, precisely to prepare in advance.

Luozi has been fixated on solving Galar's energy crisis a thousand years later, and no one can guarantee whether he'll risk everything to forcibly unseal Eternatus.

If Eternatus were to rampage in the world, the entire Galar would face annihilation.

And the only known forces that can counter it are the dual Divine Beasts of Sword and Shield—Cangxiang and Zang Marante.

Even though no one today knows what power these two legendary Pokémon wield to suppress and defeat Eternatus, the outcome three thousand years ago clearly shows Sword and Shield won; otherwise Galar wouldn't be as it is now.

Huo La thought for a moment, then said, "Could it be possible that the so‑called Sword and Shield and the savior heroes are actually the same entity? Two Pokémon gods that look like a sword and a shield?"

"Pokemon god?"

Suonia was stunned on the spot, staring at him incredulously, then couldn't help laughing and shaking her head, "Pokemon gods that look like a sword and a shield? Huo La, that's absurd."

"I know you've seen Pokémon gods across regions and that Divine Beast legends are widespread, but Galar's ancient texts and folklore have never mentioned such a claim."

"I don't deny Sword and Shield could be legendary Pokémon, but their appearance being identical to the weapons… is hard to believe."

Huo La shrugged helplessly, his tone even, "I was just guessing on the spot."

He then shifted again, offering a new clue, "But I've heard that Galar's Wei Ji Forest is extremely mysterious, shrouded in perpetual mist and rife with anomalies. If those two Divine Beasts truly exist in Galar, the forest likely hides the crucial clues."