Hidden Quest - Amber

A black Honda sedan stopped at the entrance of an estate on Celadon Avenue.

Chen Yue carried Mimikyu out of the car and followed Dr. Fuji along the cobblestone path towards the main house.

On both sides of the path were green lawns, and a fountain stood near the wall. Not far away, there was an artificial beach with an unfinished sandcastle.

It was as if not long ago, a little girl was playing there with a shovel and a bucket.

The estate was very quiet, and there were no traces of humans along the way. There wasn't even a single Pokemon in sight.

As they approached the main house, Chen Yue faintly smelled a strange odor, something he had smelled before but couldn't quite recall.

"Amber, Daddy's back! Did you miss Daddy today?"

Dr. Fuji pushed open the main house's door, threw his briefcase onto the sofa in the living room, and gently called out upstairs.

Chen Yue stood to the side, holding Mimikyu, and couldn't help but feel sorry for this man.

But in the next moment, everything that happened before his eyes left Chen Yue in shock. He began to wonder if he was hallucinating.

What the heck?!

Didn't Ariana say that Dr. Fuji's daughter was already dead?

Then who is this little girl coming down the stairs?!

And just at this moment, Dr. Fuji turned back and proudly said to him, "How about it? This is my daughter. Isn't she adorable?"

"Adorable," Chen Yue forced himself to nod calmly. Leaving aside everything else, this little girl had fair skin, grape-like black and shiny eyes, and long light-blue hair, making her look like a princess stepping out of a manga.

"Amber, come over here. This is your Big Brother who's here to play with you. Daddy's going to be very busy for a while, but don't worry, Big Brother will come to see you every day," Dr. Fuji said in a very gentle tone.

Amber's reaction to these words wasn't as happy as Chen Yue had imagined. On the contrary, there was a hint of fear in her eyes when she looked at Dr. Fuji.

In that instant, Chen Yue's mind conjured up a dramatic scenario.

Shocking! An old father who refuses to believe his daughter is dead kidnaps other little girls to bring home as daughters!

Damn, what kind of devilish plot is this!

Chen Yue didn't want to speak anymore; he felt like Ariana should add "kidnapper" to her list of adjectives for Dr. Fuji.

Dr. Fuji didn't seem to sense Amber's emotions. He reached out to pat her head and said, "Go play with Big Brother, Daddy will prepare lunch for you!"

With that, he walked straight into the kitchen, leaving Chen Yue and Amber staring at each other in the living room.

Chen Yue felt a bit nervous and couldn't help but hold Mimikyu tightly for warmth.

Mimikyu felt a moment of suffocation and even its neck with the hood went limp to the side. It shifted its body and sighed helplessly, then nuzzled its trainer's arm with its head to comfort him.

Chen Yue greeted with forced courage, "Hi, your name is Amber, right? I'm Chen Yue, you can call me Brother Chen Yue. Don't be nervous, I'm not a bad person, I'm just here to play with you."

Amber looked at him, pursed her lips, and didn't respond.

Her gaze shifted downward, eventually resting on Mimikyu.

Chen Yue noticed and took the opportunity to loosen his grip on Mimikyu, saying, "Do you like Pokemon too? Its name is Mimikyu, from the Alola region. Have you heard of the Alola region? The sea and beaches there are very beautiful."

This time, Amber spoke, saying, "Pokemon, Amber likes Pokemon."

Just as Amber spoke, a notification popped up on the interface.

[Hidden Quest Triggered!]

[Accept? Accepting will provide quest details.]

[Hint: Hidden quests are far more dangerous than Main Quests, choose carefully. Note: Completion rewards include rare and mysterious items! No punishment for failure.]

Huh?

There's something like this?

Chen Yue hesitated for only a second before decisively choosing to accept.

He didn't care about rare items; he just wanted to take care of the child.

Besides, there would be no punishment for failure.

The next moment, the quest updated automatically.

"The only Hidden Quest [Amber] has been accepted!"

"Objective: ???"

"Quest Completion: 0%"

"Due to accepting the Hidden Quest, the time limit for Main Quest completion has been extended from 28 days to 90 days."

At that moment, there was a "ding" sound coming from the kitchen.

Dr. Fuji came out carrying three portions of sushi rice balls.

Chen Yue noticed that Amber's portion had a heart-shaped omelet on top.

No one spoke during the meal.

After they finished eating, Dr. Fuji rested for a while before heading to work at Team Rocket. Before leaving, he reminded Chen Yue, "By the way, the estate is quite large, so it's best not to wander around, especially in the basement. Amber is very afraid of the dark."

Chen Yue nodded and replied, "Alright."

Once Dr. Fuji left, the spacious estate was left with only Amber and Chen Yue.

Amber remained silent, sitting on the couch while hugging a stuffed Squirtle plush toy.

After a while, Chen Yue started to feel restless. He stood by the floor-to-ceiling window on the second floor, looking at the vast and quiet estate. He found it hard to imagine how Amber managed to stay here alone while her father was at work.

So lonely.

Chen Yue thought to himself.

How could such a young girl not have any companions?

He recalled Dr. Fuji's instructions and realized that there was no specific prohibition against taking Amber outside. When he mentioned this idea to her, Amber's eyes filled with a hint of fear, and she said, "Daddy said I can't go outside."

Feeling helpless, Chen Yue looked at the warm sunlight outside and suggested, "Then we won't go outside. How about we go to the grassy area outside to enjoy the sun?"

After some hesitation, Amber agreed.

So, the two of them went to the artificial beach area, and Chen Yue had Amber help him dig sand and build a sandcastle, while they also created a somewhat goofy-looking sand sculpture of Mimikyu.

When Mimikyu stood next to its sand sculpture, making silly faces, Amber finally showed a happy smile on her face.

However, at that moment, large patches of red rash appeared visibly on Amber's exposed skin, and her complexion turned sickly pale.

Chen Yue furrowed his brows and quickly reached out to support her.

Weakly, Amber said, "Back to the room... Amber can't stay in the sun for too long..."

Chen Yue immediately understood and led Amber back indoors.

Mimikyu stood on top of the couch, looking worriedly at the unwell girl.

However, soon the red rash on Amber's body began to fade, and apart from some weakness, everything else returned to normal, just like any other person.

Chen Yue crouched beside her, furrowing his brows as he asked, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Amber lowered her gaze and timidly replied, "Big Brother is a good person, and Amber didn't want to make Big Brother unhappy."

Chen Yue, who had been unexpectedly labeled a "good person," became irritated upon hearing this. "But you can't neglect your own health, right? And how do you know I'm a good person? What if I were a weirdo? Then you'd be in danger!"

Amber hung her head and whispered, "I'm sorry."

Why am I arguing with a little girl like this!

Chen Yue stood up, drank two glasses of water to calm his emotions.

Mimikyu sighed helplessly as it watched its trainer get angry.

Children's friendships develop quickly. Just after playing with Amber and the sand for a while, Chen Yue felt that she had become less reserved and more familiar with him compared to when they first met.

Amber glanced at Chen Yue and then at Mimikyu. Suddenly, she said, "Big Brother, do you like Pokemon? Amber also has many Pokemon! Do you want to see them?"

Since he had nothing better to do and couldn't go out to challenge ten-year-old trainers to battles, Chen Yue readily agreed.

After spending the afternoon together, he was certain that this little girl was a real person and not someone Dr. Fuji had kidnapped from outside. However, he couldn't understand why Ariana would believe that Dr. Fuji's daughter was already deceased.

Amber led him through the main mansion and opened the door to a large room.

On one side of the room, a row of red and white Poke Balls was neatly arranged on a shelf, while in the middle, there was a large plastic battle arena.

Wearing little boots, Amber dashed to the shelf, reaching up to retrieve two Poke Balls.

With two flashes of white light, a Squirtle and a Bulbasaur appeared before Chen Yue.

"Everyone, come out!" Amber happily exclaimed as she continued to retrieve Poke Balls from the shelf. Soon, a variety of Pokemon from different Types filled the space.

Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Charmander.

Chen Yue looked at the dozen or so Kanto starters in front of him in silence.

In this setting, the protagonist doesn't know about Amber's situation.