"Unown?"
Hu Chengliang's words stunned everyone present.
Although not everyone there had watched all of Chen Mo's earlier educational livestreams, they had all seen some of the more important segments.
One of those was when Chen Mo first entered a secret realm ruin during a livestream and introduced the Legendary Pokémon Zekrom.
At the time, the concept of Legendary Pokémon had shaken the entire official establishment. The terrifying thunderclouds over Hongjingpo Forest had been a major factor in shifting many neutral factions.
And the Unown—who had led Chen Mo into the ruin—had left a particularly deep impression.
Not to mention, Chen Mo later told the authorities that Unown were among the most mysterious Pokémon in existence, rivaling even Legendary Pokémon in terms of enigma.
"Let me take a look."
Using the flashlight for illumination, a researcher stepped closer.
The stone wall was still covered in countless incomprehensible ancient characters, but interspersed among them were some especially strange symbols.
From Chen Mo's explanations, everyone knew one key feature of Unown—
Their most distinctive trait was their single, prominent eye.
And within these symbols, the researchers could clearly see markings resembling eyes.
"It really does look like Unown…"
the researcher murmured.
"Could this ruin be related to Unown?"
No one answered. Hu Chengliang simply raised his phone and began photographing each symbol that resembled Unown.
Soon, he noticed something interesting.
When Chen Mo had encountered Unown during that livestream, many viewers pointed out that the two Unown resembled the letters "C" and "P."
Looking closely at the symbols on the wall, Hu Chengliang felt that some of them could also correspond to letters from pinyin.
Since everyone present was part of the same team, he openly shared his observation.
The group frowned.
"Why would symbols from our familiar alphabet appear in another world?"
Language systems were complex. Even though they weren't experts, they understood that different environments gave rise to vastly different languages and writing systems.
Although they knew little about the Pokémon world, they had assumed that even if humans existed there, their language would be completely different from theirs.
And so far, everything—from the ancient scripts in the ruins to Chen Mo's firsthand accounts—supported that assumption.
But now, they were seeing Unown that resembled familiar letters.
"I heard from Xiao Mo that even in that other world, research on Unown is extremely limited. But supposedly, Unown are directly tied to the origin of that world."
Hu Chengliang's words deepened everyone's contemplation.
One researcher stared at the Unown symbols on the wall and slowly said,
"If Unown represent the 26 letters… does that mean our world had some kind of connection to that other world even before Pokémon arrived?"
"Or could that be one of the reasons why Pokémon chose to descend into our world?"
The reason behind Pokémon appearing in this world had always been a topic of constant debate—and a central goal of all researchers.
Now, this major discovery regarding Unown reignited everyone's excitement.
Hu Chengliang had already made up his mind.
Once they returned, he would request reinforcements to properly preserve this ruin. If they could decipher its contents—
They might get closer to the truth of this world.
"These are treasures…"
One researcher muttered as he raised his phone to begin recording the symbols.
Hu Chengliang smiled slightly.
"Whether Unown truly correspond to the 26 Latin letters is still uncertain. And this underground ruin seems quite large. Let's explore first—we can record everything on our way out."
"Fair enough."
The others nodded.
After all, they had only just entered. Who knew what discoveries lay ahead?
Driven by curiosity, the group continued deeper into the ruins—
Completely unaware that the symbols carved into the wall behind them briefly emitted a faint glow.
"Arf?"
An Arcanine at the rear seemed to sense something. It turned back toward the dark corridor—
But saw nothing.
…
This underground ruin was enormous.
Since they were carefully observing their surroundings, Hu Chengliang and the others moved slowly.
After nearly half an hour, the many chambers and branching paths made it feel like a maze.
At the same time, the sheer scale of the structure filled them with awe.
"What kind of power could silently transfer such a massive ruin into our world?"
Finally—
After nearly an hour of stopping and starting, they arrived at a much larger and more open chamber.
"This… feels like some kind of ritual site."
The ancient artifacts lining both sides, along with the elevated stone platform at the front, gave the unmistakable impression of a ceremonial space.
Walking to a nearby stone wall, Hu Chengliang noticed that the number of Unown-like symbols here was significantly higher than before.
Just as curiosity filled his mind, someone ahead called out—
"Come take a look at this!"
Turning, he saw several researchers already at the top of the stone platform, staring down at scattered debris and discussing something quietly.
Hu Chengliang quickly joined them.
Upon stepping onto the square platform, he immediately sensed something off.
Empty.
Too empty.
Aside from four stone pillars at the corners, some scattered rubble, and decorative patterns on the walls—
There was nothing.
"These stones…"
Hu Chengliang frowned at the fragments on the ground.
A nearby researcher pointed out,
"These pieces show clear signs of artificial carving."
Hu Chengliang fell into thought.
Could it be…
That these fragments once formed whatever had originally been enshrined on this platform?
Unlike the earlier puzzle, however, these fragments were incomplete—far too many pieces were missing to reconstruct the original form.
"What a pity…"
Hu Chengliang sighed inwardly. Whatever had once stood here must have been extremely important to be placed in such a central position.
After a moment, he shifted his attention to the wall patterns.
Two large concentric circles connected by an equilateral triangle.
"So far, this symbol has only appeared once in the ruins. I think it's closely tied to the origin of this place," a researcher speculated.
Another nodded.
"It might also be connected to those stone fragments."
Hu Chengliang said nothing, quietly raising his phone to capture the symbol.
At that moment—
The beams from all the flashlights on the platform began flickering.
"What's going on!?"
With so many lights malfunctioning at once, it clearly wasn't a battery issue.
Hu Chengliang turned—
Only to see that the flashlights of the teams below were flickering as well.
A chill ran down his spine.
Before anyone could react—
One of the distant lights suddenly went out completely.
Then—
From the darkness came a series of screams.
And then silence.
Something had happened.
Hu Chengliang's expression changed drastically.
"Everyone, gather around me!"
As he shouted, he led his group quickly toward the center.
During that movement—
Another team's lights went out before their eyes.
"What is this…?"
Under the flickering lights, the remaining group huddled together, their expressions grim.
They had all been prepared for danger when entering the wild.
But this—
This eerie situation still filled them with fear.
The unknown was the most terrifying.
The screams from the darkness made it feel as though some monstrous entity lurked just beyond sight.
"Could it be Ghost-type Pokémon?"
Officer Jun frowned.
The situation reminded her of Ghost-types.
Before anyone could think further—
All the flashlights dimmed at once.
In the endless darkness—
A wave of malice surged toward them.
"Arf!!!"
The Arcanine unit roared and launched attacks first.
Flames burst outward in a circular formation, illuminating the surroundings.
Boom!
The flames surged forward—
But were blocked by a light barrier.
And in that instant—
Illuminated by firelight, they finally saw what lurked in the darkness.
Dark bodies.
And unmistakable single eyes.
"Unown!"
Someone shouted.
Hu Chengliang broke into a cold sweat.
Too many.
Far too many.
Wherever the flames reached, the air was filled with countless Unown.
According to Chen Mo, a single Unown was insignificant.
But two together could produce mysterious power.
And now—
There were hundreds.
What kind of phenomenon would that create?
Hu Chengliang couldn't even imagine.
No wonder the earlier teams had been wiped out without resistance.
"This is bad…"
He clenched his teeth.
Regret surged within him.
Regret for bringing the team into this underground ruin.
"Strange… why are these Unown attacking us? Didn't Xiao Mo say they're usually timid Pokémon? Then why…"
"Did we disturb them by entering?"
His mind raced through everything he knew.
He couldn't understand it.
"They're coming again!"
someone shouted.
The Unown surged forward once more, emitting strange sounds as they charged.
"Arf!!!"
The Arcanine unit immediately responded, unleashing flames to halt them again.
But only temporarily.
Hu Chengliang could tell—
The attacks weren't actually harming the Unown, only slowing them down.
And the distance between them was shrinking.
"Use Flare Blitz!"
A cold voice rang out.
Officer Jun raised her hand, pointing toward a thinner section of the encirclement—where only a few Unown hovered.
At her command, the Arcanine instantly shifted direction.
Their bodies ignited with blazing flames as they charged.
The Growlithe, unable to use Flare Blitz, followed up with Flame Wheel and other attacks.
Boom!
With a thunderous impact—
A gap was blasted open in the Unown's encirclement.
"Now!"
Officer Jun shouted.
But no one needed reminding.
The moment they saw the opening—
They ran.
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed.
Go check it out and dive into the full experience.
Claim early access here: [email protected]/plotwired
🔓 You hold the keys to bonus chapters:💬 10 reviews unlock 1 bonus chapter🔷 100 Power Stones summon another
🔥 Your power determines how fast the tale unfolds.