Anping City Criminal Investigation Brigade Headquarters.
"Professor Zhou, the hotel has already been arranged. When would you like to head over?"
"Hey, what's the rush?"
Inside the office, Professor Zhou—dressed in a black suit, wearing black-rimmed glasses, his silver hair neatly combed—smiled as he looked at the middle-aged police officer in front of him.
"Xiao Wang, it's been so many years since we last met. Can't we sit down and chat for a bit?"
Hearing this, Officer Wang couldn't help but smile bitterly.
He had met Professor Zhou more than twenty years ago. Back then, he was still a junior police officer, and due to a rather special criminal case, he came into contact with this well-known professor from Capital University.
However, because their time working together was short, even though they exchanged contact information, the two barely stayed in touch over the years. It wasn't until recently—when the Monster Research and Countermeasures Bureau suddenly called and asked him to keep an eye on an Anping City resident named "Chen Mo"—that Wang and Professor Zhou reconnected.
Just as Officer Wang was about to say a few casual words to ease the atmosphere, the office door was suddenly shoved open. Two young men in casual clothes burst in, one of them holding a phone.
Before Officer Wang could speak, Professor Zhou turned around, recognized his two students, and immediately flared up.
"What's wrong with you two?! Do you think this is your own home? Do you have any basic manners at all? Don't you even know to knock before entering a room?!"
Seeing their teacher's anger, Hu Chengliang instantly wilted. But when he thought of what was happening in the livestream, he hurriedly said:
"No, Professor, it's not like that—something big has happened!"
"Something big?!"
Professor Zhou scolded, "Even if it's something earth-shattering, that doesn't give you the right to barge in like this!"
The young man in the white shirt behind him shook his head, stepped past Hu Chengliang, and placed the phone directly on Professor Zhou's desk.
"Professor, take a look at this first. It really is something big."
Professor Zhou frowned and lowered his gaze to the phone on the desk.
On the screen was a video waiting to play, showing a young man Professor Zhou recognized at a glance.
"Comrade Xiao Mo?"
After tapping play, the short clip showed the moment Chen Mo was taken away by the mysterious Pokémon called Unown.
Immediately afterward, Hu Chengliang hurriedly added:
"Professor, after Chen Mo was taken by those mysterious Pokémon—Unown—and entered that rift, the livestream signal has almost completely dropped. It's been nearly a minute now."
"What?!"
Professor Zhou's expression instantly turned serious.
He raised his head, pointed at the image on the phone, and looked at Officer Wang.
"Xiao Wang, can we access real-time satellite surveillance of that area?"
"We should be able to. I'll get someone on it right away."
Officer Wang didn't hesitate. He stood up and quickly walked out of the office.
Professor Zhou replayed the video, his expression grave.
At present, the Monster Research and Countermeasures Bureau had documented over a hundred Pokémon species. All the Pokémon Chen Mo had encountered during his livestreams were ones Professor Zhou had either personally seen or read about in the archives.
But this time—the Pokémon that took Chen Mo away—he had never seen before.
The unknown was the most frightening thing of all.
As things stood, humanity's understanding of Pokémon was still far too limited. Even people like them, working within the Monster Research and Countermeasures Bureau, were often powerless in the face of many unanswered questions.
"I just hope nothing goes wrong…"
Professor Zhou placed great importance on Chen Mo—naturally because of the immense mystery surrounding the Pokémon knowledge Chen Mo possessed.
In fact, judging by what Chen Mo had already shown during his livestreams, many people in the Countermeasures Bureau were growing restless. If not for Professor Zhou's firm opposition, Chen Mo might have already had his movements restricted.
After all, in the eyes of some officials, they believed: You can fully trust the country. If the goal is peaceful coexistence between humans and Pokémon, that's entirely possible. We can sit down and talk—there's no need to take such risks by livestreaming in the wilderness.
Thinking this, Professor Zhou couldn't help but feel a trace of regret. He had never wanted to use state power to pressure a young man—but now, perhaps he should have listened to those old colleagues.
Sensing the change in Professor Zhou's mood, the man in the white shirt—who had been watching the livestream—spoke up to comfort him.
"Professor, I don't think Chen Mo is in immediate danger. The one who brought him there was his newly partnered Pidgeotto. Logically speaking, Pidgeotto wouldn't deliberately harm him."
"Is that so?"
Professor Zhou rubbed the space beneath his glasses.
"Tell me—what exactly happened during today's livestream?"
Just as the man in the white shirt was about to give a brief summary, Hu Chengliang—who had been staring at the phone—suddenly shouted:
"It's back! The livestream signal is back!"
"Give it here."
Professor Zhou directly took the phone from Hu Chengliang and began watching.
The man in the white shirt glanced at Hu Chengliang's stunned expression and chuckled, but soon the two of them also focused their attention on the small phone screen.
"It looks like he's okay. If that's the case, the situation probably isn't too serious."
"Pay attention to the surroundings—what is this place? Some kind of ruin? It looks like it has quite a bit of age."
"A secret realm? Does Comrade Xiao Mo recognize this place?"
Hu Chengliang studied Chen Mo's expression on the screen, deep in thought.
"Could it be… that Chen Mo has encountered places like this—these 'secret realms'—before?"
The man in the white shirt suddenly realized something as well.
"I think I'm starting to understand why Chen Mo knows so much about Pokémon. Look at the murals around him—there are Pokémon depicted there, as well as humans dressed in very primitive clothing. This ruin is almost certainly a remnant of the Pokémon's original world."
Just from the murals alone, it was easy to judge that this ruin did not originate from this planet. It belonged to another world—one where Pokémon originally lived.
"It's still too early to draw conclusions."
Professor Zhou watched the footage and spoke slowly.
"However, the fact that humans also existed in the Pokémon's original world answers some of the questions we've been struggling with in our research."
As he said this, a spark of excitement ignited in Professor Zhou's heart.
He was deeply interested in the world Pokémon originally came from—and in how humans in that world dealt with the threats posed by Pokémon.
If only I could personally visit that ruin…
Just as Professor Zhou was thinking this, the office door was pushed open once more. Officer Wang rushed in and said quickly:
"Professor Zhou, we've pulled up the surveillance footage. You'd better come take a look—things are starting to look more and more wrong."
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