The giant golden gate, radiating an aura of "light and peace," beckoned the trainers present to push it open and step inside. Shen Yu was the first to take the lead, having decided she could no longer linger here. Even if what lay beyond the gate was another pit of suffering, Shen Yu was determined to take a gamble.
Shen Yu entered the gate first, followed by others who also exited their dreams. The gate slowly closed after everyone had passed through.
...
In the hotel, Shen Yu and the others still lay beneath the equipment. Mu Zhishui and Tong Ruo, watching the fluctuating heart rate and curve displayed on the laptop, felt their own heartbeats mirroring the intense ups and downs.
"This curve must be problematic," Tong Ruo asked Mu Zhishui. "But how serious is the problem, and is it solvable?"
Mu Zhishui stared intently at the line graph on the screen. "It's hard to say. For an experiment of this scale, involving a thousand participants, we've never done anything like it. At most, we've handled samples of a few dozen people, and even then, the data was limited."
Hearing Mu Zhishui's explanation, Tong Ruo couldn't help but recall the dream they had in the training room at Liuling University. "Could it be..."
"Yes, that time. It was our only recorded experiment with a larger sample, and it went wrong. But I'm still very confident. Our legal team at Rainbow Star and the Awakened Ones can handle over a hundred universities without any issues."
"Let's be serious, is there actually a problem or not?"
Tong Ruo anxiously watched the line on the screen. Mu Zhishui pointed to a turning point. "It's fine now. Look, from here on, the entire fluctuating curve has stabilized. There's no more fluctuation at all. Although it came suddenly, it's good news. It means everyone has exited the dream state and is now asleep."
Mu Zhishui breathed a sigh of relief. "So, is it better to wake them up now?"
"No, this curve indicates a forceful exit. It consumes a lot of mental energy, so it's best to let them have a good sleep."
...
Although Tong Ruo followed Mu Zhishui's advice and let everyone sleep, the sleep seemed to last a bit too long. This year's opening ceremony was scheduled for nine o'clock, but it was already seven-thirty, and they were still asleep. Tong Ruo looked at Mu Zhishui, who had been called over by a phone call. "So, can I wake them up now?"
Mu Zhishui nodded. "Yes, go ahead and wake them up. If you don't, they'll miss the opening ceremony."
Tong Ruo quickly roused everyone. "Wake up, wake up, it's already seven-thirty."
One by one, the students rubbed their eyes, woke from their slumber, were urged to wash up, and then hurried downstairs to board the chartered bus to the stadium. As for meals, they would have to make do on the bus.
On the way to the stadium, Tong Ruo took the opportunity to ask everyone what had happened in their dreams the previous day. However, everyone expressed that they didn't want to talk about it. Even Shen Yu, who was quite close to Tong Ruo, didn't tell her the truth.
Feeling rebuffed, Tong Ruo sat in the passenger seat and complained, unsure if she was dissatisfied with everyone else or grumbling about the unlucky traffic in Linglong City.
The bus swayed from the hotel to the stadium, taking a full hour. Upon disembarking, the group joined other teams in the training grounds.
...
The clock ticked to nine, and the opening ceremony of the Collegiate Pokémon Championship officially began. As in previous years, the main event was the speech by our beloved Chairman Malanqi. Of course, it wasn't considered a highlight because of its great value, but rather because of its excessive length. Looking at the thickness of the manuscript, this speech seemed poised to set a new historical record.
In the audience, Shen Yu whispered to Chu Xiaodie, "Sister Die, why does this speech sound so familiar?"
Before Chu Xiaodie could reply, Feng Bing, sitting nearby, quietly explained to Shen Yu, "Do you know, when I was in my third year of high school, Chairman Malanqi's speech was this same one. I'm already in my third year of university, and Chairman Malanqi is still giving the same speech. I suspect that when I was in junior high, or even elementary school, his speech was already like this."
Shen Yu nodded slightly, then looked at Chairman Malanqi on the stage, still passionately reading from his script. "As expected of Chairman Malanqi."
On stage, Chairman Malanqi's speech continued. Meanwhile, in the stands surrounding the venue, a young man stood up from his seat. Covered from head to toe in a black cloak, he should have been conspicuous in the venue. Yet, as he walked through the stands, no one voiced any objections. They simply watched as he descended from the stands, then walked through the crowd of students in the center, all the way to the stage, beside Chairman Malanqi.
The young man walked so brazenly, yet no one stopped him. Even as he approached Malanqi and even turned his head to look at the manuscript in Malanqi's hand, the entire audience remained silent, with no one expressing any objection.
The young man glanced at the manuscript twice, then patted his shoulder. With a distortion, he mysteriously appeared before everyone.
Suddenly appearing beside him, even Malanqi, who had been Chairman for decades, showed a flicker of surprise. However, Malanqi could truly be described as "old and cunning." He cleared his throat and said, "Young friend, though I don't know what you're here for, could you please step down? It is time for the opening speech."
The young man seemed not to hear him and remained standing there. Malanqi frowned. "Ahem, young friend, if you continue to disrupt, I will have to take some measures to escort you out."
The young man pressed a button on his ear, likely activating a translation device, and then began to speak in fluent Manying. Malanqi was bewildered, not understanding a word. A young man jumped onto the stage, intending to translate for Malanqi, but was kicked off by the young man. The latter then returned to Malanqi's side, raised his hand, and placed a dagger at Malanqi's throat. "While this is rather impolite, it will make everyone listen more obediently."
A knife at the neck of the Alliance Chairman was a grave matter. The surrounding security personnel immediately prepared to act according to their plan, but then they heard the young man shout towards the stands, "Sanlang, I'll be leaving first. You can cause a scene here as you please."
After saying this, the young man took out a Poké Ball and threw it to the ground. "Alakazam, Teleport!"
Alakazam's thumb gently pressed on its spoon, and the young man and Malanqi vanished from the arena. This incident had escalated into a major problem...
All the trainers in Minglong Country witnessed this outrageous event, but the outrageousness of the situation was far from over.
Before the young man left, he had called out to someone named Sanlang. All the security personnel on site were searching for this Sanlang. The students, at this point, were unsure what to do: disperse immediately and evacuate, or assist the security personnel in finding Sanlang.
However, something else captured everyone's attention: several giant tubes suddenly appeared in the sky, spewing various kinds of viscous liquid onto the ground. The liquids were of all sorts of appearances and colors, dazzling the onlookers. The students present were instantly bombarded by a surge of vivid memories, as if their past nightmares were returning to life.
Shen Yu reacted quickly, pulling out her Poké Ball. "Everyone, prepare to battle!"
The others were not slow to react. They took out their Poké Balls and began a battle against the advancing sludge. The leading teachers and coaches followed suit. Tong Ruo finally understood what they had encountered in their dreams yesterday. If they hadn't dreamt of this, everyone wouldn't have reacted so swiftly.
However, unlike the dream from last night, this time the trainers went all out. Each of them had at least three or four Pokémon. From the outset, the battle was completely unequal.
"Delphox, Mystical Fire! A Kong, Multi-Attribute Combo!"
"Butterfree, Sleep Powder whirlwind! Butterfree, Pollen Puff!"
Shen Yu and the others went all out from the start, no longer concerned about revealing their strength. This was clearly a terrorist attack, and if they didn't fight with all their might, they would be killed.
Unlike the students, who were protecting themselves while also looking for opportunities to break out, the security personnel were dealing with experimental subjects of unknown designation while simultaneously searching the entire venue for Sanlang.
"Captain, no one's in that area. Could he be over there?"
A sharp-eyed team member spotted a clean, untouched patch of ground amidst the sludge-filled arena. The captain slapped his shoulder. "Good job, you've earned a great merit! Let's go!"
The security team hadn't run far towards the patch of clean ground when a teasing voice echoed from the venue's loudspeaker. "Why are you looking for me like this?"
Hearing this voice, the security personnel were stunned. This brat was provoking them, how could he be so arrogant?
The voice from the loudspeaker continued, "Don't think about struggling. This time, we have absolute confidence. The power of Experimental Subject 1723 is beyond your capabilities."
1723? Had the numbering progressed so quickly? In just a few months, over three hundred experimental subjects?
Mu Zhishui felt his worldview about to shatter. What kind of evil organization could possess such financial and human resources?
At this moment, Sanlang continued from the loudspeaker, "Everyone present, don't think about struggling. Our goal is here, to wipe you all out in one go. Prepare to be caught in one net!"