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He had originally thought there would be a third part to the test, but there wasn't.
The testing ended there.
Judging by the content, it seemed they had simply conducted a basic assessment of his mental state and endurance.
Li Xiang didn't know what Su Qian and the others had experienced back then, but he always felt the content should be different from theirs.
It seemed like they were testing his psychological resilience and ability to function under extreme conditions.
Meeting a certain minimum standard meant passing.
Most likely, they believed Mirage Island posed some danger and wanted to ensure he wouldn't freeze up or be unable to run in a critical situation.
Whether he would expose the secrets of Mist Island didn't seem to be a consideration for them.
To be honest, Li Xiang personally thought that even if Mirage Island had dangers, they would mostly come from wild Pokémon.
The Lake Guardians couldn't possibly have too much hostility towards humans. Otherwise, they wouldn't have invited the Dean inside and allowed rangers entry all these years.
They even let a ranger stay there long-term.
After all, they could communicate with the wild Pokémon inside as spiritual entities at the Knowledge Museum.
But undeniably, his thoughts were just thoughts. They couldn't be taken as infallible rules.
It was right to be prepared for every eventuality.
No one could say for sure that Mirage Island was truly without threats. What if something like the situation in the movie's Alamos Town happened? That would be disastrous.
Well, thinking about it that way, Li Xiang felt it might be necessary to prepare an Oración.
But Oración alone wouldn't be enough; he would also need the Space-Time Tower. Without those two things, if a similar situation arose, he would have to rely on the mercy of Arceus.
However, the probability of a situation like Alamos Town occurring was very low. That was a result of the spaces of Dialga and Palkia colliding, caused by the two Temporal Pokémon fighting in that area.
Besides, whether this world even had some great genius capable of composing an Oración was a question in itself.
"Thinking about it this way, adventures really are dangerous."
Li Xiang inexplicably felt a bit timid. But then he thought that the Ho-Oh Guard were very likely all there. If those three fell, Ho-Oh would definitely come to rescue them.
His heart immediately settled again. After all, the photographer was particularly skilled at saving people.
In the movie, Ash was reduced to nothing but a hat, and he could still be saved.
Could anyone else do that?
Furthermore, to put it bluntly, Li Xiang might not even be able to stay inside for long, if his luck was bad.
Mo Ye's main reason for taking him in was to use the special environment within Mist Island to accelerate his growth.
If time passed faster inside, with one day inside equaling two days outside, then going in would be meaningless.
Li Xiang would definitely be brought out, and he himself wouldn't want to stay.
Hopefully, his luck would be a little better.
Was the fortune slip he drew last year "Great Luck" or "Superior Luck"?
"What are you thinking about? Frowning non-stop, like a little old man."
Zhong Hai looked at him strangely.
"Nothing, just a little anticipation."
Li Xiang responded casually, turning his head to look at Zangoose.
"Zangoose!"
Zangoose's expression stiffened. It backed away several steps, covering its tail to prevent Li Xiang from getting close.
Then, it hid behind Zhong Hai, only poking its head out to hiss at him.
"Hiss—"
"Hmm?"
Zhong Hai glanced suspiciously at the humanoid cat behind him, then at Li Xiang, who was smiling awkwardly.
He couldn't help but laugh at Zangoose. "Hey hey! You're a whole dozen years older than him. You could be his uncle. Is this really necessary?"
"Zangoose!"
Zangoose shook its head frantically. Precisely because it was older than Li Xiang, that kind of behavior was especially embarrassing!
"Hahaha, lighten up. This is proof of your popularity, you know." Zhong Hai laughed heartily.
His reward was Zangoose's furious scratching.
"Ouch!"
Zhong Hai clutched his arms, now marked with two clear red lines, feeling somewhat helpless. "You're always so stingy."
"Pfft!"
Zangoose stuck its tongue out at Zhong Hai.
After a bout of roughhousing, Li Xiang still got his wish and stroked Zangoose's fluffy tail before leaving. After that, there was nothing more for him to do.
Mo Ye apparently still had to discuss something with the Ranger Union, so he temporarily sent Li Xiang back to school.
All that was left to do was wait.
And as for preparation, there wasn't much to prepare. Just some clothes, basically. The only regret Li Xiang had was that obtaining candies might become more difficult once he was inside.
According to current tests, candies could only be obtained by battling against Pokémon belonging to trainers, and the battles had to be serious. Pretending to battle, or battling wild or one's own Pokémon, wouldn't yield any.
Therefore, he had to think of other ways to get candies.
Ruby had Sapphire to team up with, plus Kaede and Minami as sparring partners. It was incredibly convenient.
He wasn't so lucky; he was going in as Mo Ye's dependent.
The possibility of defeating Mo Ye wasn't zero, but it wasn't high either.
To obtain candies inside Mist Island, the most straightforward method was to get another person in, preferably one of Song Jie's group.
But it was already incredibly generous to let him enter Mist Island alone. Thinking about bringing another person along...
Did he think Mist Island was his own home? Letting whoever he wanted in!
So, faced with the choice between candies and at least double the time plus an excellent growth environment, he could only pick one. He couldn't have it all.
Alas, it was frustrating.
He didn't have to wait long.
Wednesday.
In the pre-dawn darkness, before the sun had risen.
The Ranger Union had prepared everything and came to pick him up. Including Li Xiang, only six people were going.
They hadn't arranged for too many personnel. Apart from him, Mo Ye, and Zhong Hai, the other three were also Chief Rangers.
Two women and one man, whose partner Pokémon were Gengar, Garchomp, and Snorlax respectively.
Gengar possessed an internal extra-dimensional space, allowing it to store small items and serve as logistics.
Garchomp was amphibious and capable of flight, with strong environmental tolerance. Unless it was an extremely low-temperature environment of tens of degrees below zero, it could handle most situations.
Snorlax was the purest tank, with an extremely powerful ability to hold the rear. Standing still, it was a formidable wall that couldn't be ignored.
Adding the ranger stationed inside Mist Island, they formed an incredibly powerful force.
Moreover, there was Mo Ye, the undeniable leader of the Elite Four, to consider.
The top Chief Rangers might be equivalent to Master-level trainers, but the Elite Four represented the pinnacle of Zhu Xia.
No Elite Four member could be described by common sense.
Take the Psychic Elite Four member Cheng Xin, for example. She was simply a psychic, possessing powerful abilities like mind reading and dream invasion.
It could be said that this current team was the strongest force in Mist City.
Looking at Mo Ye's calm and composed expression, Li Xiang's nervousness unconsciously diminished.
Misty Lake.
At the stone path's sluice gate.
They gazed at the white mist shrouding the area.
One of the Chief Rangers blew a flute.
The flute produced a melodious call, a tone resembling a whale's song that carried extremely far. Li Xiang immediately recognized it as the call of Lapras.
Were they trying to attract other Lapras?
He silently waited by the side, carrying his backpack.
Lapras had a powerful ability to convey information about ocean currents and water temperatures through its songs, said to be faster and more accurate than radar.
The rangers were now using Lapras's songs to summon Lapras that could carry them inside.
This was also an agreement established between the Ranger Union and the Knowledge Museum.
Before long, amidst the hazy mist, several blue plesiosaurs emerged from the water. Upon seeing the rangers, they let out joyful cries.
"Good morning!"
The two female Chief Rangers greeted them with smiles, offering the prepared Pokémon food.
The Lapras happily gathered around, eating the small but exceptionally delicious cubes, and letting out long, drawn-out calls.
"Hey hey hey, leave some for me, will you?"
'A voice sounded from beneath the water.'
No, not a voice. It was a telepathic wave transmitted directly into everyone's minds.
Following that, a Lapras emerged, larger than its companions and with a darker shell color.
Telepathy!
Li Xiang was momentarily stunned but not too surprised, as a similar Lapras had appeared in the original anime.
"Good morning, Sage of Song."
The rangers were clearly very familiar with this Lapras. Zhong Hai greeted it, toothpick in his mouth, while others presented their tribute, saying, "We're counting on you again today."
"Small matter."
The Lapras glanced at the unfamiliar Li Xiang and Mo Ye but said nothing, immersing itself in the delicious food provided by the rangers.
Quite carefree, really.
Li Xiang seriously suspected this guy was the traitor who had originally led the rangers into Mist Island.
Those who accept gifts are soft; those who eat have their mouths sealed.
After enjoying their delicious breakfast, the Lapras lined up against the sluice gate like small boats, waiting for everyone to board.
Li Xiang chose a Lapras that looked relatively young and carefully sat on its back, covered in short, cylindrical spikes. He couldn't resist reaching out to touch its smooth neck.
"Ooo~"
The Lapras let out a tender cry, looking ticklish.
"Hey hey hey! Kid! What are you doing to my granddaughter!"
The lead Lapras, the one who could speak, turned its head and looked at Li Xiang discontentedly. "She's still a maiden! How can you just touch her!"
Li Xiang felt a bit embarrassed and withdrew his hand. "Uh, sorry..."
"You can't get away with this without a few kilograms of Pokeblocks!"
The Lapras blustered, still talking about food even though it had eaten quite a bit less than half a minute ago.
Just like some orange pigs, meowing with hunger if they haven't eaten for three minutes.
"Alright, alright. He's not much older than your granddaughter. Don't bully him."
Zhong Hai said with a grin.
"Young? Being a hooligan is wrong even if you're young! Let me tell you, here on Mist Island, you'd be sentenced to peeling corn for three days as penance!"
After grumbling, the Lapras stopped teasing Li Xiang. It let out a loud cry and took the lead, swimming deep into Mist Lake.
The other Lapras followed behind.
At the very back, Li Xiang hugged his backpack and sighed helplessly. What a situation.
But what could he do? He was the one who couldn't keep his hands to himself.
"Ooo~"
The Lapras carrying him heard the sigh and, while swimming forward, turned its head to nuzzle his chin.
It had a look of "don't worry about it."
Unexpectedly, this young lady, whom Li Xiang had taken advantage of, was comforting him instead.