Although most people on the street had their attention drawn to Beibei the panda during the day, when Chen Mo later explained Pancham, he could still sense that some passersby gradually recognized him. They just didn't come up to speak to him at the time.
Chen Mo had assumed the matter would end there.
He hadn't expected that, in the middle of the night, someone would actually come knocking.
However, before opening the door, Chen Mo had already identified the two young people sitting beside the old man through his aura perception.
They were the same two zoo staff members from earlier that day—the ones responsible for capturing Beibei.
One of them, sitting to the old man's left, had his head lowered, radiating conflict and frustration. He was the very man who had grabbed Beibei by the scruff. Chen Mo remembered him clearly, which made recognizing the group easy.
As expected.
After offering apologies for the late visit, the elderly man—clearly the leader—introduced himself.
A deputy director of the town zoo.
[A late-night visit always means trouble. This Deputy Director Lu doesn't look like he comes with good intentions.]
[He hasn't even said anything yet and you're already judging? Now that Teacher Chen is famous, all kinds of people show up in chat.]
[Use your brain—it's obviously about Beibei. Maybe he's here to blame Teacher Chen for exposing Beibei as a Pokémon?]
[Is Teacher Chen going to get into trouble…]
The chat buzzed with speculation.
But Chen Mo himself wasn't too worried.
However—
Just as he was considering Old Lu's intentions, the old man's next sentence completely stunned him.
"Teacher Chen Mo, if possible, I hope that when you head into Mount Cangqing tomorrow, you can take Beibei with you… and let it return to where it belongs."
The chat instantly flooded with question marks.
[???]
[What does that mean? Did Teacher Chen expose Beibei so now they don't want it anymore?]
[He looks kind, but turns out he's this kind of person!?]
[Calm down! There must be a reason. Didn't Teacher Chen already say the zoo staff likely knew Beibei's identity? They wouldn't abandon it just because of that.]
["Where it belongs"… does he mean releasing it into the wild?]
[Don't tell me this is one of those "release animals" people…]
[No way! Why send such a cute Beibei into the wild? Let it stay! Or give it to Teacher Chen!]
[Give it to me instead! Do you even know who drove away that armored rhinoceros!?]
The chat's emotions flared instantly.
Chen Mo frowned slightly.
"Sorry, Old Lu. I need to ask first—does this have something to do with me revealing Beibei's identity?"
"It's not what you think."
Old Lu smiled gently.
"We've known Beibei's true identity for a long time. Most people in the town know as well. But back then, people feared Pokémon, so we kept it hidden."
"Now that times have changed, we're actually happy Beibei can finally walk the world as itself."
Hearing this only deepened Chen Mo's confusion.
"Then why…"
Old Lu didn't hide anything. A trace of bitterness appeared on his face.
"Because Beibei doesn't belong here."
"It sounds strange, doesn't it? From your perspective, it seems like we get along well with Beibei. But in truth, we're the ones holding onto it… not letting it leave."
"You saw what happened today. Beibei escaped from the zoo."
"But that wasn't the first time."
"It's tried to escape many times. Every time, we brought it back."
"Once, it even made it out of town. But it ran into a villager returning home."
"That person knew Beibei's identity. He wanted to pretend he didn't see it… to let it go. But in the end, he couldn't help himself. He called out—'Can you not leave?'"
"And just that one sentence… made Beibei turn back."
Old Lu sighed helplessly.
"That little one cares too much about us. It keeps ignoring its own wishes. If it had just been a bit more determined, it could've returned where it wanted… but…"
The lounge fell silent except for Old Lu's voice. The two young men beside him opened their mouths as if to speak, but ultimately said nothing.
[…I don't even know what to say.]
[Honestly, I don't get it. Why does Beibei insist on going back to the wild? It has everything here—food, care, people who love it.]
[Same, I don't understand.]
One side unwilling to let go. The other unwilling to leave because of emotional ties.
Chen Mo felt a headache coming on.
He even regretted stopping in this town… and revealing his identity.
Handled poorly, this could easily turn into resentment from the townspeople.
Sensing his hesitation, Old Lu didn't give up.
Instead, he suddenly asked:
"Teacher Chen Mo… would you be willing to visit our zoo?"
"…Alright."
Seeing the old man's sincere expression, Chen Mo sighed inwardly and agreed.
On the way, Old Lu recounted how they first met Beibei.
Back then, Pokémon had only appeared for two or three months.
A group of townspeople traveling through the mountains found Beibei unconscious and injured by the roadside.
Thinking it was a panda cub, they rushed it back for treatment.
But during treatment, the medical staff noticed differences and reported it.
After an entire night of discussion, the zoo leadership decided—
Once Beibei recovered, they would send it away.
But a problem arose.
How do you treat a Pokémon?
Animal medicine wasn't suitable.
Then a young man recalled something.
He had once seen an injured Pokémon heal itself with strange blue berries.
That gave them a direction.
But another question followed.
Who would risk entering the dangerous mountains… for a "monster"?
At first, many hesitated.
But hearing Beibei's pained cries from the hospital bed—
They couldn't stay seated.
One young man stood up.
"I'll go."
Then another.
Then more.
In the end, most of the panda enclosure staff went into the mountains.
Chen Mo's expression grew complicated.
Was it worth it?
They didn't even know Pokémon behavior. The mountains weren't safe.
Old Lu seemed to read his thoughts and chuckled.
"Maybe it was fate. From the moment we saw Beibei, we felt close to it. After all… Pancham is still a panda to us."
"And we couldn't ignore a panda."
They returned with Oran Berries.
Though not highly effective, combined with Pokémon resilience, Beibei recovered.
When it woke—
Everyone cheered.
Then suddenly remembered—
It was a "monster."
They froze… and backed away in fear.
Leaving Beibei staring in confusion.
[They're all so adorable…]
[Beibei was lucky to meet them.]
[I don't want it to leave anymore… Teacher Chen, don't agree…]
Chen Mo said nothing.
They arrived at the zoo.
Under the moonlight, the zoo was quiet.
Passing bamboo groves, they reached the panda enclosure.
Two normal pandas wandered peacefully.
But—
Chen Mo noticed reinforced fences.
Clearly added to contain Beibei.
They continued.
Soon—
They reached Beibei's enclosure.
A much taller wall stood there.
[Beibei: One day, this wall won't stop me!]
[It already didn't today lol]
The camera moved.
And there—
Beibei appeared again.
It sat atop a high platform, staring at the distant mountains under the moonlight.
Lost. Hesitant.
Below—
Several panda cubs rolled and played.
Occasionally, they looked up at this "strange" one.
Beibei glanced back at them.
Its eyes filled with melancholy.
Yes.
They were all pandas.
But—
One was an ordinary animal.
The other—
A Pokémon.
They looked alike.
But they were not the same.
Beibei knew that.
After a while—
It looked away again.
Back toward the mountains.
Under the moonlight—
Its lone figure on the platform looked unbearably lonely.
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