Chapter 4: Geodude

Cold, dark, and oppressive.

Even if the abandoned mine had been cleaned by the members of the Quicksand Team, it was still extremely worrying.

The ceiling seemed on the verge of collapsing at any moment.

Fortunately, the area was relatively spacious. In order for the mine carts to transport ore smoothly, there was an unexpectedly large amount of space left.

Baimu couldn't help but admire the Ore region. It might be desolate, but its technological level was incredibly high.

Ten minutes had passed since they entered the mine.

Once someone entered, choosing to extract a piece of jade from the perimeter, the ping-pong sound of the pickaxe hitting the rock wall made Baimu extremely uneasy. He quickly distanced himself from his colleagues and soon heard a dreadful roar and screams.

The brave act of Tanglei disrupted many people's similar thoughts.

"Keep an eye on your surroundings and don't stray."

Headlamps illuminated the surroundings. Bold colleagues led the way, occasionally whispering reminders.

Even the subdued breaths of others were audible through the masks, and the confined space subtly intensified their psychological pressure.

While most children in Yellow Iron Town had mining experience, the safety of a normal mine and an abandoned one were vastly different, not to mention the potential traps and lurking Pokémon.

The segment of the assessment involving attacks from Pokémon was as terrifying to Ore locals as playing an escape room game in China and facing gunfire.

Thus, sticking together became the norm, and the Quicksand Team never prohibited teaming up for the assessment. Forming a group and moving forward was only natural.

However, according to predecessors who participated, moving in large groups in the mine made them more susceptible to attacks and targeting. Even if lucky to obtain any targets, unequal distribution of "booty" might lead to conflicts.

Baimu didn't want such a thing to happen.

Originally, they didn't have much advantage over Chida's group, and infighting would probably result in lifelong oppression.

"There's a fork in the road up ahead. Be careful."

He reminded them and glanced at his surroundings, "Ambush Pokémon could be right there... Don't be so nervous, relax, take deep breaths."

This group of people either had sweaty foreheads or heavy breathing, looking somewhat flustered, obviously nervous to the extreme.

Once they calmed down a bit, Baimu said, "When we reach the fork, don't linger. Quickly choose a direction and pass through. I'll cover the rear."

"Huh?"

The group looked at him in surprise.

"Stop with the confusion. Hurry up; if others take the tokens, we won't get a chance."

Baimu went to the back of the line, urging, "Quickly."

Crises during extreme tension make people lose their rationality. The survival instinct would force them to do unwise things. If chaos erupted at the front of the line and someone got held back, it would be disastrous, even if it wasn't intentional.

There's a saying, right? When encountering a bear in the wild, you don't need to run faster than the bear, just faster than others.

He didn't have the intention to abandon them, but he must avoid being the one abandoned.

"Baimu..."

His colleagues had no idea what he was thinking. They looked at him moved, then started encouraging each other, slowly moving forward.

Baimu took a deep breath, attentively observing his surroundings.

Laxity could lead to death.

The constant fear for his life reminded him to stay calm, concentrate, and be wary of any suspicious elements.

Most of the Quicksand Team's Pokémon were Ground and Rock-type, well-suited for underground mines. Engaging in any conflict with them here would be unwise.

At the fork in the road.

The space widened again. The group tensed up instantly, looking around anxiously, prepared to be on alert at any moment. The colleague at the front dared not hesitate and directly headed towards the left mine entrance—

"Wait."

Baimu suddenly spoke from the rear.

The group shivered, cold sweat dripping from their foreheads and backs.

"W-What's wrong?" Someone asked tremblingly.

"You said not to linger at the fork in the road!" Someone was incredibly nervous.

Baimu shushed them, "Listen carefully. Do you hear the rumbling? The ground is shaking!"

The group exchanged glances, subconsciously holding their breaths and listening intently.

Baimu also listened. His keen perception quickly sensed not just the ground shaking but also a faint, growing rumbling sound, as if something was gradually approaching.

The source was—the middle cave entrance!

He was startled and immediately ran towards the left cave entrance, shouting, "Run, something's coming! Hurry!"

As his words fell, a gigantic boulder, almost a person's height, suddenly appeared in the middle cave at an incredible speed!

"Which way do we run?"

"To the left!"

"Where's Baimu!?"

"Quick, quick, don't stand there stupefied!"

The other four instantly panicked. The headlamps swung around wildly, making it hard to see in the pitch-black surroundings.

But what made matters worse was that with the increasing vibrations, rocks were continuously falling from the ceiling, indicating an imminent collapse. Everything visible was trembling.

Crisis, panic, and cries.

The terrifying ambush of the huge boulder.

Under the influence of these nerve-wracking factors, Baimu subconsciously ran quite a distance.

Moreover, amidst the chaos, he carefully observed his surroundings, avoiding traps and lurking Pokémon.

When he stopped to ensure safety and turned back, not a single person had followed him.

The boulder, likely a disguised Geodude, was nowhere to be seen either.

"There were three paths. I chose the left one, right?"

Baimu frowned, waiting in place for a minute and realized that he had indeed separated from his colleagues.

Turn back?

Impossible, the Geodude might be waiting there.

"..."

He looked regretful. While teaming up during the assessment had its advantages and disadvantages, even though those few colleagues didn't perform well under stress, who knew if they would extend a helping hand in times of danger?

But if they got separated, they got separated; there was no need to force it.

Baimu composed himself.

Navigating through the underground mine could easily lead to losing one's sense of direction. Fortunately, by carefully observing the walls on both sides, he could see simple and understandable directional signs, even as a semi-illiterate.

After approximately ten minutes of walking.

He suddenly stopped and squatted down, turning off his bright headlamp, trying to conceal himself between the rocks and crevices.

Waiting quietly for half a minute, two Dragonfly-like Vibrava buzzed over his head. The noise from their flapping wings made Baimu's head ache repeatedly.

What made Baimu tremble was that one of them was carrying a young man covered in bloodstains.

Fainted? Dead? Neither option was wonderful; fighting alone was too dangerous.

As the two Vibrava flew away, he breathed a sigh of relief and was about to stand up when he froze.

At the end of his sight, a pair of blue eyes were staring at him.

"Goo?"

A creature of unknown circumstances made a low sound.

Baimu's movements stiffened slightly. The buzzing of the Vibrava was too noisy, so he couldn't discern this creature's actions.

He tried to make out the details.

It was a creature, entirely dark gray, resembling some sort of bug at first glance, with a head resembling a hockey mask.

It was as big as an ordinary Border Collie, and the several black holes on its body were somewhat terrifying.

[Steel-type Pokémon, Geodude]

Feeding on iron ore, driven by hunger, it might even gnaw on bridges and railways. Many people considered it a nuisance, a Steel and Rock-type Pokémon.

Damn.

His luck had taken a turn for the worse.

Baimu's heart grew heavier.

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(END OF CHAPTER)