After Chen Mo reported Suicune's prophecy to Professor Zhou, the authorities took the impending disaster at Cangqing Mountain extremely seriously. They had already conducted multiple rounds of investigation across the entire mountain using various methods.
One of those methods was satellite surveillance.
Before arriving at Cangqing Mountain, Hu Chengliang had already reviewed a large amount of data. Given his position, he had access to satellite footage of the area.
So he was certain—absolutely certain.
The ruins before him, spanning several hundred square meters and connected to a series of caves, radiating an ancient aura, were definitely not something that had originally existed on Cangqing Mountain.
"When exactly did this appear…?"
Hu Chengliang frowned.
The group had already inspected the outer perimeter of the ruins.
Aside from towering stone pillars carved with what appeared to be unknown script, there was nothing particularly noteworthy.
Hu Chengliang and the other researchers carefully used their phones and various devices to record the patterns on the pillars, quietly discussing among themselves.
"This kind of structure gives me the same feeling as the ruins Xiao Mo entered before—the ones with the Zekrom murals."
"I feel the same. But why would ruins suddenly descend into the real world?"
"No idea. Just like how we don't understand why Pokémon suddenly appeared in our world—this ruin might be the same."
Listening to the discussion and speculation, Hu Chengliang remained silent.
Not far away, Officer Jun, accompanied by a Growlithe, walked over.
Seeing her, Hu Chengliang immediately asked,
"What's the situation inside the cave?"
"It's very strange." Officer Jun's expression was serious. "There are indeed more ruins inside the cave, but the entire structure seems perfectly integrated with the environment—as if it has always existed there naturally."
"…"
Hu Chengliang's frown deepened.
In fact, the outer ruins showed a similar phenomenon. Based on the distribution of surrounding trees, there should have originally been a large forest where the ruins now stood.
But after the ruins appeared, that forest seemed to have been erased by some force.
At the edges of the ruins, grass seamlessly connected with the ancient flooring. If one didn't know better, they might assume the ruins had always been there.
It was as if…
Another world had perfectly merged into this one.
"Can we go in and take a look now?"
After thinking for a moment, Hu Chengliang asked again.
Although most of the researchers in the team had their own Pokémon, they generally lacked combat ability. Fearing potential danger inside the cave, they had previously been left outside while Officer Jun and the Arcanine unit conducted a preliminary exploration.
Hearing Hu Chengliang's question, Officer Jun—who had already had the Growlithe pack thoroughly scout the interior—nodded.
"You can. But it's best not to send too many people in at once."
"No problem."
Hu Chengliang nodded, then selected several capable researchers with diverse expertise and led them into the cave.
The moment he stepped inside, something immediately caught his attention—
A massive collapsed structure not far ahead.
Compared to the solitary stone pillars outside, this building, though mostly ruined, was still the best-preserved structure they had encountered so far.
"Let's go take a look over there."
Driven by curiosity, Hu Chengliang quickly headed inside.
Officer Jun's Arcanine unit followed closely behind, ensuring the researchers' safety.
"This is…"
Upon entering the collapsed structure, Hu Chengliang was immediately drawn to the surrounding walls.
Unlike the outer pillars, the walls here were densely covered with the same mysterious symbols seen earlier.
And beneath those symbols were small carved murals.
"That's Natu, right?"
One researcher pointed at a round, somewhat peculiar bird depicted in a mural.
Everyone looked over.
As official personnel, they were familiar with Natu thanks to the extensive records left by Yi-ge. After just a glance, the group confirmed the creature in the mural was indeed Natu.
Natu—and its evolution, Xatu—were inherently mysterious Pokémon. With their abilities to foresee the future and glimpse the past, it wasn't surprising to see them depicted in ancient ruins.
However…
"If Natu appears in the murals, then this ruin really does belong to that Pokémon world."
One researcher spoke softly.
Unlike the ruins Chen Mo had explored before, which contained detailed murals, the carvings here were sparse and mostly symbolic, revealing little information.
As for the ancient text above, no one could decipher it yet.
"So frustrating…"
"It's fine. The ruins aren't going anywhere. We'll have plenty of time to study them."
"That's not guaranteed. Just like how these ruins suddenly appeared—who's to say they won't suddenly disappear?"
"Enough chatting."
Hu Chengliang cut them off.
"Each of us take a section. Start recording all the murals and text."
"Got it!"
Everyone nodded.
Seeing the dim lighting, Officer Jun offered,
"We'll handle illumination."
Since they hadn't expected this situation, no Pokémon capable of producing light had been brought along. Fortunately, Officer Jun's team had prepared high-powered flashlights.
"Thank you, Captain Jun."
Hu Chengliang expressed his gratitude.
With the additional lighting, he began carefully photographing a section of the wall.
Just as he was about to finish documenting one side, a sudden shout came from a small room nearby.
"Holy—!"
A loud crash followed immediately.
Hu Chengliang froze, then hurried toward the room.
"What happened!?"
Inside, he found the researcher who had shouted standing still, holding a stone slab, deep in thought.
Around him, dozens of stone slabs lay scattered across the floor.
Noticing Hu Chengliang, the researcher turned and said,
"Brother Hu, you've got to believe me. I saw the wall had these evenly spaced cracks, so I just touched it a bit… and the whole thing collapsed…"
"Just touched it?"
Hu Chengliang looked skeptical.
The young researcher scratched his head and set down the slab.
"Okay, fine—I noticed the patterns were different from outside, and the arrangement seemed odd, so I fiddled with it a bit more… and then…"
Hu Chengliang sighed.
At least no one was hurt.
"You shouldn't have come in. You need to fix that reckless habit. Write a self-criticism when we get back."
Just as Hu Chengliang was about to leave, the young researcher grabbed him.
"Wait, Brother Hu—there's something else."
"What is it?"
The researcher didn't explain, instead pulling him toward the wall.
Behind the collapsed slabs, a line of ancient text had been revealed.
"After the slabs fell, I found this line of writing," he said.
"And the reason I touched the wall in the first place was because I felt the way these patterns connected was… off."
As he spoke, he picked up two slabs, aligned their lines, and fitted them together.
Then he looked up.
"I think this wall was meant to be manipulated. These slabs feel like pieces of a puzzle."
"…?"
Hu Chengliang paused.
The young researcher grinned.
"Brother Hu, mind if I give it a try? I'm pretty good at this kind of thing."
After a moment of silence, Hu Chengliang glanced at the dozens of slabs scattered across the ground.
"Can you do it?"
"Heh, leave it to me."
The commotion quickly drew the attention of the others, and several researchers joined in.
They flipped the slabs to the patterned side and began organizing them piece by piece.
Everyone present was highly capable.
Soon, as he studied the patterns, the young researcher had a sudden realization.
"Wait—these lines… they look like a Pokémon we know!"
"A Pokémon?"
"Look."
He quickly assembled over a dozen slabs and pointed.
"Doesn't this look like part of a spiral shell?"
"…It kind of does…"
"If I'm right, this puzzle depicts Omanyte."
"Omanyte?"
"It's just a guess—"
"Give me five minutes."
Once he identified the subject, the puzzle was essentially solved.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the young researcher rapidly completed the entire image.
Hu Chengliang stared in surprise.
"It really is Omanyte…"
Satisfied, the young researcher looked up.
"Brother Hu, should we put it back onto the wall?"
Silence filled the room.
No one was foolish.
Whoever built this ruin hadn't placed these slabs here just for entertainment.
Reassembling the correct puzzle on the wall could very well trigger something.
Given the ruin's mysterious appearance and all the anomalies so far, everyone instinctively looked toward their two leaders—Director Hu and Officer Jun.
Unfamiliar with ruins, Officer Jun deferred the decision.
Hu Chengliang frowned, already leaning toward caution.
But just as he was about to speak—
His thoughts suddenly stalled.
The next second, he said calmly,
"Put the puzzle back on the wall."
The young researcher didn't question it and quickly led others to reassemble the puzzle on the wall.
At that moment, Hu Chengliang blinked.
"…Hm?"
Watching his colleagues, he felt as if he had forgotten something.
Officer Jun noticed.
"What's wrong?"
"I…"
He hesitated, then shook his head.
"It's nothing."
The puzzle was soon completed.
When the massive Omanyte image appeared on the wall—
The ground trembled slightly.
Then, beams of white light seeped through the cracks between the slabs, converging onto a section of the floor.
With a rumbling sound—
The floor slowly sank, revealing a long staircase leading underground.
"As expected…"
No one seemed surprised.
At this point, there was only one choice.
Hu Chengliang nodded.
"Let's go down and take a look."
"We'll lead the way."
Officer Jun and the Arcanine unit moved to the front.
Seeing the powerful Arcanine even in the dim environment, the group felt a strong sense of security.
The staircase was long.
After walking for over ten minutes, they entered a narrow passage. Another ten minutes later, the space finally opened up.
Stone walls appeared once more.
But this time, Hu Chengliang immediately noticed something different.
The symbols on these walls felt strangely familiar.
After a brief moment of thought, he recalled a unique entity Chen Mo had encountered during a livestream.
"Notice anything?"
Officer Jun asked.
Hu Chengliang nodded and pointed at the wall.
"Don't these symbols look like Unown?"
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