Chapter 48: The Candlelight Spirit’s Resolve, Tuo’s Discovery!

Meanwhile, in Celadon City.

After paying the promotion fee, Ling Feng sent the game trailer CG he had just created to the other party and then closed the window.

Given the recent buzz surrounding the game online, combined with the promotional video he had just crafted using system technology, it should help amplify the hype, quickly boosting the game's sales to a new level within two weeks!

Whether it will reach 300,000 copies sold depended solely on luck...

Of course, his intuition told him it shouldn’t be a problem.

As he pondered, another notification suddenly popped up before his eyes.

[ Ding! Host, please note that the emotion points from the last time period have been settled! ]

[ The host has received emotion points from Cynthia, Chisato, Wataru, and Professor Okido, totaling 670 points! ]

[ The host has received emotion points from the game players, totaling 723 points (including a 150-point CG bonus)! ]

[ Current emotion point balance: 2,769 points! ]

Ling Feng raised an eyebrow slightly. As the game’s sales increased, the emotion points contributed by players were clearly growing.

But...

He knew Wataru had started playing Emerald yesterday.

How did Professor Okido, the old man, start playing as well?

Hmm... It must be that certain information shared by some Elite Four or Champions in the game sparked his interest, generating emotion points.

After all, at his age, there was no way he was playing Emerald himself, right?

That must be it.

Ling Feng tapped his palm and reached a conclusion.

Speaking of which, the current emotion point balance had already reached 2,800 points.

He opened the module collection system and chose to purchase the last critical module.

[ Emotional Rendering Module (Intermediate) ]

[ Function: Automatically adjusts the color tone of the screen based on players’ heart rate data to match their emotions (red hues for anxiety, cool blues for sadness) and subtly alters the soundtrack’s tuning to enhance cohesion. When players experience intense emotional fluctuations due to the game's storyline, emotion points earned increase by 50%. ]

This module cost Ling Feng 2,200 emotion points, but it was worth it.

After all...

The upcoming “Standard Mode” would rely heavily on the game’s story to provide players with an immersive experience, drawing them in deeply.

Looking at the modules in his collection—“Emotional Rendering,” “Pressure Manifestation,” and “Advanced CG”—Ling Feng stroked his chin.

Now, only one module remained—the “Soul Music.”

Once he accumulated enough emotion points to purchase this last module, Emerald could be upgraded to “Standard Difficulty.”

In the current Madman Mode, Ling Feng deliberately simplified the game’s original storyline, focusing instead on battle experiences between players and NPCs.

Standard Mode, however, had an entirely different emphasis.

The crux of Standard Mode was player “experience” and “immersion,” which required many techniques to achieve.

Moreover, the modules he collected and was now purchasing could be used broadly in other games, making them a worthwhile investment.

As for now...

Ling Feng glanced at his computer screen.

For the next few days, he would focus entirely on updating Madman Mode to complete the main storyline, then devote all effort to creating Standard Mode!

He took a deep breath, opened the file, and immediately entered a state of deep concentration.

---

While Ling Feng was diligently developing the game, on the outskirts of Celadon City.

“Dragonite, use Hyper Beam!”

“Boom!!”

A scorching white beam tore through the air, striking precisely a withered claw emerging from a swirling vortex and forcing it to retract instantly!

After a violent tremor, the deep purple vortex and the surrounding black mist slowly dissipated into the air.

The dark clouds above swiftly parted, revealing clear skies as sunlight bathed the earth, as if nothing had happened.

“Everyone, good work.”

A middle-aged man, accompanied by a Dragonite, turned to face the group of trainers behind him, sighing softly as he spoke.

—This was the person who had just given the command to Dragonite.

Anyone could see the exhaustion etched on his face.

After fighting here for so long, he was understandably worn out.

The others, both trainers and Pokémon, looked equally battered—many with disheveled hair and torn clothes.

The Pokémon were covered in scars, panting heavily, clearly just emerging from a grueling battle.

Yet at this moment, everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, for this spiritual tide had finally ended.

“Xiao Luo, report—were there any escapes?”

---

The middle-aged man turned toward a tall, slender woman wearing glasses.

She pushed up her frames and picked up a notebook.

“There was probably only one. It slipped away during the two strongest spiritual tides this morning and early dawn, due to insufficient personnel.”

“But its aura wasn’t strong; we estimate it was a Pokémon around Gym Leader level.”

“Also, I saw it get hit by Old Li’s Blastoise’s Hydro Pump during its escape—it must be badly injured.”

Upon hearing this, the man’s expression shifted. After a long moment, he sighed softly.

“An injured elite-level Pokémon... that’s still a huge threat to the citizens.”

“But we did all we could.”

“Send this report to the League truthfully and ask them to strengthen nighttime patrols. These matters are no longer our concern.”

He glanced toward Celadon City.

“Hopefully, no unlucky soul runs into that creature...”

---

Following the game’s storyline, after crossing the bridge from Canalave City to Sunyshore City, many areas around the city were open for exploration.

For example, the road and small town to the left of Sunyshore Gym, the beach to the right, and even the old power plant reachable by Surf below...

After challenging the Sunyshore Gym, there was a vast desert north of the city, a cave filled with intense heat and flames, and two mountain cable car routes.

In short, the surrounding areas of this city required a substantial amount of game content.

Fortunately, after several rounds of development, Ling Feng had become quite adept.

After a few hours, he successfully produced these contents and uploaded them as an update.

Of course, along with the update came thousands of random hidden easter eggs brought by the Easter Egg module...

Having finished all this, Ling Feng didn’t rest but continued working at his computer, creating maps, storylines, and NPC content for Autumn Leaf Town and Meteor Falls.

By the time he finished, it was already eight in the evening.

He saved the game content and exhaled deeply.

After working so long, he was genuinely tired.

He decided to reward himself with a day off tomorrow... which was conveniently Saturday.

If he kept making games every day after crossing over, without even a weekend, how was that different from working a regular job?

Oh, regular jobs sometimes even offer two days off...

He patted the back of his Litwick on the desk.

“Good night, Litwick.”

—Time for a shower and sleep!

---

Fifteen minutes later.

Having finished washing up, Ling Feng collapsed onto his bedroom bed, fast asleep, while Litwick sat beside the bed, staring blankly at him.

They had only known each other for less than two days, but their lives had completely changed.

There was endless delicious food, a comfortable and spacious home...

No need to worry about foraging or being attacked by other Pokémon...

All of this had been brought by this human.

No, as his Pokémon, he couldn’t just enjoy all this without doing anything!

At least... he had to do something.

Like, become stronger, so he could protect him from any dangers!

With that thought, Litwick’s eyes brightened with determination.

It jumped off the bed and stepped outside.

Under the moonlight, a small figure began to gather violet energy in front of it.

---

Back to ten hours earlier.

Cynthia was sitting in front of a screen, watching a movie titled “Pikachu and Chikorita” with viewers in her livestream, when her phone suddenly rang.

It was a message from Wataru.

[ Dragon-type Ace: Finally finished this damn task... Sister Karen, you must have reached the third gym by now, right? Give me some tips? (Mini Dragon pleading eyes.jpg) ]

Cynthia paused before picking up her phone to reply:

[ Ice Cream Lover: The city with the third gym isn’t open yet. Let me challenge it first and then I’ll tell you... By the way, you’ve been staying up for so long, are you really okay? ]

[ Dragon-type Ace: Of course. I’m not talented at much, but I sure can stay up late. (Charizard smug.jpg) ]

[ Ice Cream Lover: Well... in that case, I have something else to discuss. You know Team Aqua, right? ]

Upon this, the usual emojis that Wataru added to each message disappeared.

[ Dragon-type Ace: I know... why do you suddenly ask about that? ]

Before becoming an Elite Four member, he had already been a secret enforcer for the League.

The secret enforcer role was a highly special position, a secret unknown to the public—he often represented the League to carry out covert law enforcement tasks.

Within the League’s judicial domain, Wataru’s status and prestige were considerable.

Now, upon hearing about Team Aqua, Wataru immediately became serious.

[ Ice Cream Lover: It’s like this—I encountered Team Aqua’s leader today. ]

[ Dragon-type Ace: ??? ]

[ Ice Cream Lover: Don’t worry, it was inside the game. ]

[ Dragon-type Ace: ????? ]

...

After several minutes, Cynthia barely managed to explain the in-game storyline she had experienced that day to Wataru.

[ Ice Cream Lover: Given this game’s previous performance, I think you might need to report this to the old folks so they can start investigating. ]

Although Cynthia was the Champion and held a high rank in the League, investigations related to dark organizations were better left to professionals like Wataru.

However, Wataru sounded skeptical.

[ Dragon-type Ace: Karen, I don’t think you need to be so worried. Maybe it’s just a self-made storyline in the game, not necessarily real. ]

Cynthia’s reply was firm.

[ Ice Cream Lover: No, Wataru, this is more than just a game. ]

[ On the first day I accessed this game, I had Xiao Luo help me investigate the creator’s identity, but it turned out to be classified information, even inaccessible to him. ]

[ Moreover, this game perfectly restored fossil Pokémon in ways Professor Okido’s team couldn’t, revealed new Pokémon traits unknown to the scientific community, and included ancient scripts that the Hoenn Archaeology Team had struggled to decipher for over ten years, hidden as a puzzle in caves... ]

[ The submarine blueprint I saw in the game today... honestly, it was a design I never imagined could be so ingenious. ]

[ On top of that, you saw for yourself—it even knows about legendary Pokémon like Regirock and Rayquaza... ]

[ Even “Dawn” in the game behaves exactly like the real person. ]

[ So, even though it’s hard to believe... I think all this might be true. ]

[ Because everything in this game... feels real. ]

Faced with Cynthia’s detailed explanation, Wataru fell silent.

Even the usually carefree man realized, upon careful recollection of the details she mentioned and his own gameplay experience, that something was amiss.

—It seemed this game had never fabricated anything.

After a moment, Wataru spoke again.

[ Dragon-type Ace: Got it. I will report this immediately. ]

[ If there’s any news, I’ll contact you first. ]

After sending the message, Wataru picked up his phone and dialed a number.

“Qing, help me check someone’s profile.”

“This person’s name is Shui Wutong, male... probably middle-aged.”

A female voice replied from the other end.

“Okay boss, I’ll check right away. Please wait.”

“... Found it. After excluding two females with the same name, there really is such a person.”

“However, his identity information dates back thirty years...”

“I’ve sent you the file, boss. You can take a look yourself.”

A notification sounded as a new file appeared on Wataru’s phone.

He opened it and saw a young man’s handsome and refined face.

From his appearance alone, nothing stood out.

After all, decades of time could completely change someone’s looks.

But the last two lines of the file shocked Wataru.

---

[ On September 3rd, 1277 Pokémon Calendar year, he disappeared after boarding a cruise ship departing from Sunyshore City in the Hoenn region. His fate remains unknown. ]

[ Birthplace — Hoenn region ]