Replacing it was the creaking pendulum, more intrusive than the sound of dripping water, and even noisier, reaching its fifth swing.
Click.
The door handle made a crisp sound.
It seed that soone was opening the room door from outside.
The desolate room beca extrely cold, as if the temperature had instantly dropped below zero.
Tap, tap, tap...
After the door opened, a faint sound was heard, like the crisp sound of high heels on a wooden floor, but even sharper. Yet in a room carpeted wall-to-wall, such a sound appeared particularly eerie.
Sothing had co in!
In the bathroom.
Baimu curled up, lowering his breathing frequency and volu to the minimum.
Was that thing outside the clue he was supposed to avoid?
Footsteps?
That doesn’t seem quite right either; whose footsteps sound like chains scraping the ground, and the carpet outside is so thick that even jumping around it shouldn’t make much noise...
It could only be coming from that creature itself!
He looked down at the Corsola and Dreepy in his arms; although their hearing wasn’t as sharp as his, they too had detected the presence of an intruder, their facial expressions differing.
Ti ticked by, second by second.
The unknown creature was probably roaming around the room!
Looking for soone?
It’s now 2:31... more than 18 seconds.
Sooner or later it would head over to the bathroom.
How long exactly did he need to hide? The clue didn’t provide any hints, only instructed him not to make a sound.
The piling unknowns made him tense, especially in this Spirit Realm of afterlife; he couldn’t relax even if he wanted to.
After all...
Between life and death, there’s imnse fear!
Yet seeing the unwavering Corsola in his arms, Baimu took several deep breaths, quickly calming himself down.
If his Pokémon could manage it, he had no reason not to.
In contrast.
Dreepy on the other hand was evidently not as composed as Corsola, initially okay after sensing sothing outside, but as the tapping sounds drew closer, it quickly beca restless.
Waiting for what?
Regardless of what’s coming, it didn’t want to sit idly in the bathtub!
Obviously, Dreepy felt secure beside Baimu, but that didn’t an it had unwavering trust in him, so it couldn’t simply comply without understanding the current situation.
Especially with such a aningless action!
Thus.
It attempted to fly out of the bathtub.
Baimu’s eyes widened, hurriedly grabbing its triangular head, pressing its mouth shut, and gazing strictly into its yellow lamp-like eyes, signaling it sternly to remain silent.
Though this creature could beco invisible, in a place like the Spirit Realm, who knew if it could escape the "eyes" of other unknown entities.
Yet the grasped Dreepy couldn’t comprehend his intention and struggled, oblivious to the persistent tapping outside.
Luckily, its struggle wasn’t very powerful, likely due to its lower level.
Hence, dealing with "wild" Pokémon is troubleso indeed!
He could understand not having gained Dreepy’s full trust, but its abrupt behavior left him flustered.
What to do?
Ah!
Right! Use Dragon’s Heart!
Connect with Dreepy’s mind, fully sensing its emotions and conveying his own thoughts!
Baimu suddenly recalled this special skill he desperately wanted to learn, triggered by his extre love for Dragon-type Pokémon.
Honestly, he loved all kinds of Pokémon, but not to the extent of Alice’s affection for Dragon-type Pokémon.
So how to communicate with Dreepy temporarily, in the absence of this knowledge?
Think quickly!
Grasping Dreepy, Baimu listened intently to the sounds of the unknown moving outside, locking eyes with it.
What is this little guy thinking now?
To have the other party understand, one must first understand the other party.
Through those lamp-like yellow eyes, now averting his gaze, he seed to see fear, urgency, and... anticipation?
What are you anticipating?
Baimu was puzzled, then suddenly it dawned on him.
’Could this creature think the sudden intruder might be its brother!?’
He looked incredulously at Dreepy.
Its eyes indeed showed such a aning, like eager verification, making its struggles all the more intense and impatient to the extre.
Apparently, from start to finish.
Dreepy hadn’t forgotten its purpose, knowing exactly what it was doing and aiming for.
Even if it was a re possibility, it believed that the creature outside making the atrocious tapping could’ve sensed its existence and was coming from the Spirit Realm to find its brother—
Is such a thing possible?
Baimu couldn’t fathom Dreepy’s logic, though its eyes clearly showed fear and confusion, indicating it was also afraid of the creature outside.
Yet its stance was so firm.
Kindly put, it’s stubborn; bluntly, it’s foolish.
But...
He could empathize.
Putting himself in Dreepy’s shoes, suddenly flying into the Spirit Realm without simulator clues, Baimu might very well make a similar choice.
"Sitting and waiting for death" wasn’t his nature either.
And now critiquing Dreepy’s actions as foolish and reckless is only possible because he had vital information it didn’t.
That is the information gap.
Now that he held crucial information, or rather trusted the simulator clues himself, why continue to criticize Dreepy’s actions when it had no aning.
Baimu knew what he needed most was to earn Dreepy’s trust.
Trust he would certainly help find its brother without resorting to such dangerous ans!
But with no sound, and unable to use the ability of Dragon’s Heart, how to convey his will? What can be done?
In silence.
He thought of the only way.
Eye contact.
Since he could roughly understand Dreepy’s various expressions, perhaps Dreepy could also understand his thoughts, so long as he earnestly tried to convey them.
Anyway, given the situation now, he had to try.
It was only now that Baimu realized how challenging it was to strictly follow clues, seemingly accompanied by varying degrees of danger with each trigger.
From escaping the underground caves of Aron, to the hijack at the Deino auction and his own bloodline misverification, Corsola’s incident was slightly better, though unfortunate for Xiaosheng and Mawile, since he only had to save them...
And now the "hurdle" involved persuading a restless wild Pokémon to remain quiet.
If Pokeballs didn’t activate with light and sound effects, he might have attempted capturing Dreepy long ago.
Co on!
’Don’t move around, don’t make a sound! Trust ! We’re in this together!’
Baimu looked intensely into Dreepy’s eyes, trying to convey everything he thought.
In return he received two seconds of stunned stillness, followed by more vigorous struggles after turning its head, even biting his hand in desperation.
At that instant.
The tiny teeth hidden in its mouth punctured Baimu’s skin, burrowing into the flesh, causing blood to flow and fill its mouth.
The rich taste of blood stunned Dreepy.
Outside.
The unknown presence moved closer.
The steadily increasing tapping sounds testified as much.
Yet the bathroom remained silent.
Dreepy slowly opened its mouth, revealing the already bloodied hand, gazing up at Baimu’s unchanged expression filled with unfathomable complication, its heart trembling.
Sitting and waiting for death?
Could soone who endured such intense pain without changing color, without making the slightest sound, truly sit and wait for death?
Or maybe...
For the first ti, it t Baimu’s gaze head-on.
At this mont.
Those incomprehensible emotions instantly transford into comprehensible information.
’Don’t take risks! Don’t do anything futile! Leave it to ! Trust !’
’Trust !’
In a daze, it seed to see a curtain of gold, as if the voice echoed from the depths of the heart, continually reverberating within Dreepy’s mind through the curtain.
As if staying in the most reassuring place.
Involuntarily agreeing with those voices.
User Comments
0 comments from readers