Chapter 47: Prey
At this moment, Hei Yan threw out a Pokémon, a Weavile!
Almost as soon as the Golem was launched, the Weavile leaped directly into the air.
The Weavile's sharp claws, carrying a chilling wind, sliced through the Golem's still tumbling body.
In an instant, the Golem was cut into several pieces by the Weavile and fell from the sky.
This scene shocked the hunters, then relieved them, and some even cheered.
Chen Xi looked at the Weavile's level, which was 67, and felt a slight sense of relief.
Letter Hunters are primarily judged by their merits, and the strength gap between them can range from Quasi-Heavenly King to Master.
Clearly, the leaders of these three hunter groups were, at most, Master Trainers, and had not yet reached the Quasi-Heavenly King level.
The main reason is that those who have already reached the Quasi-Heavenly King level have already been directly promoted to Letter Hunters, and the remaining slot is for these people to compete for.
And facing Trainers of this caliber, both Chen Xi and Zhu Lan had the confidence to handle them.
After dealing with this Golem, everyone was much more at ease dealing with the remaining Golem and Graveler that had fallen into the Sand Tomb.
Some Trainers even seized the opportunity to secretly capture one or two, and if these Pokémon were sold, they would fetch at least a million.
Soon, as the obstacles ahead were cleared, the hunters finally passed through this narrow and dangerous path.
As the hunter groups passed, the Small Elves that had been besieging the area immediately dispersed.
Clearly, these Small Elves also possessed considerable intelligence; with the disappearance of the excellent pincer attack terrain, continuing the battle would only be disadvantageous to them.
So, without any hesitation, they truly scattered at a moment's notice.
However, everyone did not stay here, but continued to press forward.
It was not until they saw a lake that the Trainers of the mercenary group stopped to rest.
At this time, Chen Xi also became busy.
Due to the battle, a large number of Trainers and Small Elves were injured, and as a Pokémon Medical Officer, he was naturally put to use at this time.
Chen Xi immediately instructed Ming Yan, Sha Xie's assistant, to boil water for later use.
The warm water could be used to clean wounds, and of course, it was also prepared to replenish the hydration of injured Trainers and Small Elves in the camp.
And when she brought the boiled water to Chen Xi, Chen Xi was about to take a sip, but after smelling it, his expression changed drastically, and he shouted, “This water has a problem, no one drink it!”
“Hmm?” “What’s the problem?” “Did someone poison it?” …
People around discussed animatedly, their gazes turning towards Ming Yan.
Ming Yan turned her head, saying with a hint of sass, “What are you looking at? It wasn’t me who poisoned it!”
Chen Xi said, “It’s not your fault, Ming Yan. Go find Group Leader Sha Xie. The water has a problem. Ask him to go to the place where the water was boiled.
Zhu Lan, let’s go to the water boiling area to stop these Trainers from taking the boiled water.”
With these words, Chen Xi put down what he was doing, took Zhu Lan, and decisively headed towards the team's water boiling area.
The person responsible for boiling water was a middle-aged Fire Type Trainer, and when Chen Xi arrived, he saw these Trainers directly pouring water from the lake into large vats.
Chen Xi went directly to the vicinity of the lake, scooped some water with his hand, and saw some yellow powder residue on his hand. He smelled it and immediately looked thoughtful.
At this moment, Sha Xie had already arrived. He looked at Chen Xi with a puzzled expression and asked, “What happened?”
“Tell the mercenary group to stop using the water from this lake. There’s a problem with the water in this lake,” Chen Xi said.
“No way, this is a very important resupply point for us. If we don’t get enough water here, it’s at least two days’ journey to the next water resupply point!” Sha Xie said with some hesitation.
Chen Xi said, then raised his hand, showing the yellow powder he had found in the lake water.
“What are these?” Sha Xie was startled and looked at Chen Xi, asking with some confusion, “What happens if you eat them?”
“It’s Rage Powder,” Chen Xi replied.
“Rage Powder, I don’t seem to have heard of it much?” Sha Xie pondered for a moment; even he hadn’t heard of it much.
Chen Xi was not surprised by this, because the powder produced by this kind of skill is quite rare, and it's a bit difficult to expect Spirit Hunters, many of whom are illiterate, to recognize it.
Chen Xi explained, “It’s a rare powder produced only by Bug-Grass Type Small Elves, capable of inciting people’s emotions and making them angry.
However, this substance is not a toxin, and after boiling, its anger-inducing effect will be greatly reduced.
Adding a small amount of Rage Powder to boiled water can even replace alcohol and serve as a warming agent.
It is especially useful in low-temperature areas, where some people specifically use Rage Powder to create warming agents.”
“It’s neither toxic nor does it raise body temperature, that’s a good thing!” Sha Xie asked in confusion, “We still need to climb Mt. Coronet. The temperature is fine now, but if we continue, it might drop below freezing.”
Chen Xi said very solemnly, “But if Rage Powder is consumed, or if these Rage Powders are applied to the body, then the Rage Powder will produce corresponding pheromones.
These pheromones are imperceptible to ordinary people, but certain Small Elves with very sensitive senses of smell, or the Small Elves that released these pheromones, will be particularly conspicuous.
In other words, it will create additional variables for the team.”
“I understand…” Sha Xie nodded and asked Chen Xi, “How should this Rage Grass be dealt with?”
“After boiling the water and letting it settle for three days, the pheromones will basically dissipate completely. After three days, it can be drunk as normal drinking water!” Chen Xi said to Sha Xie.
“Thank you very much, little brother.” Sha Xie nodded gratefully and said to a tall, burly Trainer beside him, “Axe, go and explain in detail to everyone in the group the dangers and uses of this Rage Powder.
I can’t control others, but no one in our Sha Scorpion Hunter Group is allowed to touch the water from this lake for three days.”
“Okay, Group Leader.” The Trainer named Axe readily agreed.
Seeing Sha Xie go to handle it, Chen Xi no longer bothered with the matter.
However, with the Rage Powder on his hands, Chen Xi first rinsed it several times with his reserved water, then roasted it over an open flame, wiped it clean, and even applied some cinnabar to his hands to ensure that the pheromones on it were mostly destroyed.
Only then did he take Zhu Lan back to their posts to continue treating the Pokémon brought by the hunters.
In addition to Zhu Lan as Chen Xi's assistant, there were also three other assistants: Ming Yan, Xiaoju, and Luo Ying.
They were sent by the Sha Xie, Hei Yan, and Zhan Pi hunter groups, respectively. Ming Yan and Luo Ying were both tomboys in their twenties.
Chen Xi also understood that if there were casualties from these three hunter groups, he would try to assign them to the three assistants to handle.
If they were from other small mercenary groups, it didn't matter who handled them.
As for the reunion with Xiaoju, the two only showed a slight surprise and didn't say much more.
Xiaoju was Chen Xi's most convenient assistant, even surpassing Zhu Lan in this regard.
Because Xiaoju had the VIP invitation letter given by Chen Xi, she had been treated at the Elf Garden and knew the Yuan Family's treatment methods, and Chen Xi also suspected that Xiaoju had also secretly learned some treatment techniques.
Most importantly, Xiaoju was very diligent.
Chen Xi could feel the girl's ambition to be strong and to learn every skill.
Although Zhu Lan was not as diligent as Xiaoju, she was Chen Xi's most important assistant.
Because her Pokémon were strong.
Chen Xi didn't just want to Protect Zhu Lan by making her his assistant.
It was because her Gastrodon had a mud-playing skill.
This skill was almost useless in combat, but in the wild, it could serve as an emergency cast.
Of course, only Zhu Lan's Gastrodon had such top-notch control over mud and the ability to distribute water within the mud.
Therefore, in an era without medical gauze, if someone was injured, they would directly wrap boiled large tree leaves with medicine on the wound, then seal it with a layer of mud. Each time the dressing was changed, they would just peel off the leaves.
In addition, Chen Xi had once conscripted Beautifly, a silk-spitting Small Elf, to bandage injuries such as fractures.
Unfortunately, the silk gland of this type of Beautifly was too small; after treating over twenty Small Elves, it could no longer spit silk.
Then, the Trainer of that Beautifly took the Beautifly back to recuperate and then simply disappeared.
Unconsciously, it was night, and Chen Xi also packed up the relevant medical equipment, preparing to return to the tent to sleep.
At this time, he saw Zhu Lan returning with Xiaoju and Ming Yan, looking very angry.
“Didn’t I tell you to go back to sleep after pouring out the dirty water? Why are you back?!” Chen Xi asked.
“There are still people boiling the lake water that’s tainted with Rage Powder!” Zhu Lan frowned.
“Oh, that’s what it is!” Chen Xi heard this, couldn't help but smile calmly, and didn't say much.
“Aren’t you angry? They don’t believe what you said at all,” Zhu Lan said angrily.
“After all, that lake water won’t kill people. It’s natural for some people to want to drink it to save money!” Chen Xi said directly, “We are just Pokémon Medical Officers, not saviors; we can’t save everyone.
You just remember not to drink it!”
Seeing Chen Xi accept this matter so calmly, Zhu Lan couldn't help but frown, but in the end, she didn't say anything more.
After all, Zhu Lan wasn't a naive girl; since Chen Xi himself wasn't concerned about this matter, she wouldn't force others not to drink the water.
The water with Rage Powder added truly isn't poisonous. The real question is who put the Rage Powder there in the first place.
Soon it was the next day, and after a day of rest, everyone set off again.
This time, after circling the hillside, they arrived at a relatively deep cave.
Watching Trainers enter one by one, Chen Xi frowned slightly and said, “Should we go in? I always feel this cave is quite creepy and I don’t feel safe at all!”
“That’s what we girls should be saying!” At this moment, Ming Yan pulled out a Poké Ball from her hand, and a Magcargo, sparkling with flames all over its body, appeared before everyone.
And the flames emanating from the Magcargo illuminated the surrounding environment quite brightly.
“Come in.”
The hunter group had already prepared to enter the cave.
Either by using Flash, or by having Fire Type Small Elves for illumination, at least the brightness of this passage was ensured.
In such circumstances, Chen Xi finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Chen Xi led his medical team inside, looking at the surrounding walls, which were quite smooth, with almost nothing that could climb on them.
But from another perspective, could it be that something had been climbing on the walls for a long time, making the surrounding walls so smooth?
Even on the ground, no weeds had grown. If this road had been abandoned for a long time, this would be highly unlikely.
Chen Xi remained silent and dared not think further, merely following the large group onward.
First, they walked up an incline, then descended. This stretch of road was quite long, and the entire cave became more and more spacious as they proceeded.
“This journey is a bit far!” Chen Xi exclaimed as he walked.
“Yes!” Zhu Lan also summoned her Gastrodon to walk beside her.
Perhaps influenced by Chen Xi, she felt safer summoning a Small Elf to be by her side.
Gastrodon wasn't fast, but it could keep up with a human's normal walking speed.
More importantly, the further down this tunnel went, the slightly damp it felt, and the soil underfoot was a little muddy, which was also suitable for a Small Elf like Gastrodon to move around.
“We’re about halfway there, and we’ve already started going up the slope,” Luo Ying replied to Chen Xi.
“Still so far!” Chen Xi scratched his head and said, “This path is quite long!”
“This is already a shortcut. If we hadn’t been attacked by a Salamence last time and stumbled upon this place in a panic while escaping, we wouldn’t have known there was such a path here!” Luo Ying said with a hint of emotion.
“Hmm? This path was just discovered!” Chen Xi was slightly startled when he heard Luo Ying’s words.
“Yes!” Luo Ying nodded and said, “It’s very safe. Our reconnaissance team walked back and forth once and didn’t encounter any attacks.”
“Finding such a safe road in the wilderness is itself the most unsafe thing!” Chen Xi couldn't help but give a wry smile.
Chen Xi calmed himself, his vigilance heightened to the extreme. Suddenly, Chen Xi heard a very faint “hissing” sound, as if something was rubbing rapidly.
“Did you hear anything?!” Chen Xi asked with extreme confusion.
“What sound?” Luo Ying turned her head when she heard Chen Xi’s words.
But the moment she glanced upwards, Luo Ying’s entire face twisted.
A scream of extreme terror burst from Luo Ying’s mouth.
“Ah ~ overhead!”
Everyone heard the sound and looked up.
Following the flames of the Fire Type Small Elves or the Flash used by other Small Elves, a scene that made one's scalp tingle appeared.
Countless Spinarak and Ariados were seen crawling overhead.
Like a group of hunters patiently watching their prey enter the trap they had set.