Gamers Are Fierce-Chapter 664 - 662: The Master
"What's... what's going on??"
This was Sunset Gold Smelter's question, and also the question on the minds of Shou Margot, high above, and all the spectators watching the match.
A notification chime from the System, signaling the completion of the task, sounded in their ears, and Li Ang's voice came from inside the Leviathan War Chariot.
"This is an agreement I made with Ash."
The Leviathan's mutated appearance gradually receded. The plant vines withered to ash, revealing Li Ang standing at the rear of the chariot. Beneath his feet was a plant-wrapped rectangular object, resembling a coffin, its contents unknown.
Hundreds, even thousands, of Worms fell onto the transformed metallic framework of the chariot, beginning to devour one another—the smaller consumed by the larger, and the larger by even larger ones. Eventually, only one corpulent, grey-white Worm, as large as a tank, remained sprawled on the framework.
Li Ang jumped down. He gently patted the Giant Worm's forehead (through the greyish gelatinous layer, the pink Brain Worm underneath was visible). The Worm's outer skin immediately erupted with countless holes, like a water-filled balloon pricked by needles, gushing out tissue fluid and blood. In a matter of seconds, it dehydrated and shriveled to the size of a carriage, looking like a dry, shriveled husk, which Li Ang easily stowed in his backpack slot.
Seeing the puzzled looks from his comrades, Li Ang smiled and casually explained, "Earlier, in the repair area, I had a chat with Ash. His only race teammate was Brock. He couldn't find anyone else to join him in the race, and he didn't trust outsiders, so he simply had his Pokemon fill the remaining two crew spots. Ash and Brock's personal strength is quite good, but their vehicle and driving skills aren't great. They're strong on offense but weak on defense. Facing the all-encompassing ranged attacks from other drivers, they would probably struggle to make it to the finish line."
"So, I formed an alliance with him."
Ash, expressionless, used a PokeBall to recall his Pokemon, leaving only Pikachu, who hopped back onto his shoulder. He continued, "After the race started, I pretended to attack Ezio Auditore, but he constantly dodged using a bug from Ubisoft games, the Flash technique. Then the Mutant Chariots began to emit spores, creating an isolation zone. I didn't choose to wait outside the spores and cooperate with Gordon Freeman and the others. Instead, like some other teams, I acted recklessly, as if I'd lost my mind, and attempted to cross the Otherworldly spore-zone with the help of Shaymin's ability." (Shaymin is a Grass-type Pokemon that looks like a white hedgehog with grass on its back, capable of purifying toxins in the air and turning wastelands into fields of flowers.)
Li Ang picked up the explanation, smiling. "To the other drivers, it appeared that Ash's chariot was quickly submerged by an endless sea of spores and became overgrown with mushrooms, with no chance of retrieval or rescue. In reality, I had already made preparations. The spores, under my command, only eroded the outer shell of Ash's chariot, not harming him or his Pokemon. Instead, using vines hidden under the highway and concealed by the spore mist, they towed his vehicle to the rear of the Leviathan War Chariot, along with other vehicles destroyed by the spores, for the Leviathan to consume."
Sunset Gold Smelter suddenly understood. "No wonder! While in the spore zone, the vehicle kept slowing down for about half a minute. I thought the spore fog was just too thick to see the road."
Li Ang nodded. "The other scrapped vehicles naturally became food for the Leviathan. Ash and his war chariot were hidden beneath the Leviathan War Chariot—his vehicle still had its wheels and engine intact, theoretically capable of moving slowly at a few centimeters per second. Therefore, it wasn't considered wrecked, and he didn't lose his eligibility to compete. When the finish line was near and all the other racers were running on fumes, Ash, who had conserved his energy, could then reap the fruits of victory. And incidentally, help us secure second place."
As Li Ang spoke, Shou Margot descended from the sky.
Ash glanced indifferently at the reporter-cum-referee, then turned to Li Ang. "I never expected you to actually keep your promise and let me win the championship. You know, in this race, the winner takes all, and the runner-up gets nothing."
"Haha, just consider it a loyal Pokemon fan settling a personal regret," Li Ang said, spreading his hands with a nonchalant smile. "My youth is finally over."
The natives of the isolation sandbox saw winning the Death Race as their ultimate goal, whereas players only needed to finish in the top three to pass. Their objectives were different, so mutual understanding was naturally impossible.
"Wait," Sunset Gold Smelter frowned thoughtfully, glanced at Li Ang, and hesitated. The plan was indeed effective, but in his mind, this Li Rising didn't seem like the type of person to stake everything on another's adherence to the Spirit of Contract. Those who uphold the Spirit of Contract are good people; those who unreasonably trust others to do the same are fools.
"True fairness only exists when both parties possess the power to enforce the due benefits of a contract."
Li Ang smiled faintly, pulling a snail from his chest that was nearly identical to the Leviathan Brain Worm. The snail also carried a healthy, vibrant brain on its back.
Seeing the snail, Ash's breathing hitched for a moment, and he pursed his lips.
The three players immediately realized—the brain on the snail's back, could it be—
"Yes, it's exactly what you're thinking." Li Ang held the snail in one hand and snapped his fingers with the other.
The plant coffin on the vehicle instantly disintegrated, revealing a dark-skinned, squinty-eyed young man in a brown jacket, gray jeans, and blue shoes. This was Brock: the leader of the Deep Grey Gym in the Kanto Region, champion of the Pokemon Balloon Race, a squinty-eyed future Pokemon doctor, and the savior Ash's close friend and former travel companion.
The young man lay flat inside the plant coffin, his eyes closed, his expression serene. An Arrow protruded from the top right of his head—the Short Arrow accidentally fired by the master assassin Ezio Auditore, the very weapon that had claimed the Pokemon trainer's life.
"Huh???" Shou Margot, having landed on his hoverbike, ran over with his camera, looking shocked. He circled Brock's body, then sharply looked up at Li Ang. "What's going on here? I remember on the previous track, the medical team officially declared him dead. They said he couldn't be revived, right?"
"Mm," Li Ang nodded, stating calmly, "Conventionally, brain death does signify the end of a human life. However, Brock's brain activity had only just ceased. From my perspective, there was still a chance to save him. I used the Brain Worm as an example to convince Ash, obtained Brock's brain, and preserved it in a gelatinous substance. Either way, death was certain for him then. Since the medical team in Central City had exhausted their options, it was better to pin their hopes on the various other data-based methods available in Central City. As a result, we used Brock's life or death as our pledge: Ash would provide us with combat support at the end of the racetrack, and I would provide him with a living Brock, as well as first place in the Death Race."
"Alright, enough talk," Ash urged, his face stern, a hint of impatience in his voice. "Our contract isn't complete yet."
"Young people are always so impatient." Li Ang shook his head noncommittally and strode over to Brock's body. He pulled out the Arrow from Brock's temple, placed his hand on the squinty-eyed young man's head, and with a SNAP, flipped open the already-cut cranium.
"Lift up your skull~" Li Ang hummed, singing some horrific tune from who knows where as he carelessly shoved the entire snail into Brock's empty skull. Then, he closed the cranium and activated the Origin of Life.
The surrounding onlookers saw a continuous flow of colorful, transparent liquid pouring from Brock's nostrils. Then, his entire body suddenly trembled, and his limbs began to flail wildly.
Li Ang pressed down on Brock's face with one hand while leisurely slapping down his flailing limbs with the other, like playing whack-a-mole. "Stop moving. If you don't lie still, I'll give you a few extra pairs of hands, feet, eyes, noses, mouths, and ears, free of charge."
Seemingly heeding Li Ang's threat, Brock stopped thrashing. After a moment, under Ash's anxious gaze, he slowly opened his eyes.
"What's... happened to me...?" Brock's voice was rough and hoarse, as if he had just been dredged out of a desert—he had lost a lot of bodily fluids during the procedure, and Li Ang certainly wasn't kind enough to prepare mineral water for him.
"Brock!" Ash, his face alight with excitement, rushed over, wanting to embrace him. However, seeing his friend's feeble appearance, he abandoned the idea and stood back, breathing a long sigh of relief. The joy on his face was irrepressible—even winning the race couldn't compare to the joy of his companion's resurrection.
"Wait," Ash seemed to notice something. He pointed at the dark, brain-exposing arrow hole on the upper right corner of Brock's forehead and asked, "This wound..."
"Oh, that," Li Ang said casually. "That's just Brock's fatal injury. As they say, scars are a man's medals. I've already healed Brock's brain. As for the hole in his forehead, let him keep it. He can boast about it in bars when he goes drinking; that'd be nice. When he's bored, he can use a mirror to take a good look at his own hippocampal sulcus."
"???"
The crowd, including Ash, was dumbfounded. What was good about a hole in the head? Aside from the aesthetic concerns, what if dust or hair got into the hole in his skull?
Ash opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't. His contract with Li Ang was complete; Li Ang had indeed revived Brock and restored his consciousness. Subsequent cosmetic surgery didn't seem to be part of the agreement. Considering he was about to leave the isolation sandbox as the champion, he probably wouldn't have time to take Brock to get the hole patched.
Ash took a deep breath and put on a friendly smile. "Mr. Li Rising, thank you very much for your help. It's been a pleasure working with you. I was just wondering, what would it cost for you to also patch up the hole in Brock's forehead?"
Well, look at that. That straightforward kid Ash was also learning to flatter and compromise. It seemed Central City had really changed him.
Li Ang enjoyed the Pokemon series as a work of art, true, but business was business. He sized up Ash. One couldn't take anything from this scripted world, after all. It wasn't like Ash could pose for a photo with him as a keepsake, right? The 3D version of Ash looked quite different from his animated counterpart.
"How about you give me a Pokemon?" Li Ang joked. Seeing Ash's face turn ashen, he quickly added, "Those are your partners you've fought alongside; you can't give them away, right?"
Tsk. Ash's Pokemon couldn't even eat at the table. Contrast that with Team Rocket, where Meowth ate, lived, and earned the same pay as his teammates, sharing life-and-death situations. The difference was stark. Just kidding.
"Pokemon are my most important companions; I can't give them away. But I can give you an empty PokeBall." Ash took a deep breath, pulled a ball from his pocket—purple on top, white on the bottom, with two circular red areas and a capital "M" on it—and casually tossed it to Li Ang.
[Name: Minor Master Ball]
[Type: Item]
[Quality: Perfect]
[Can it be taken out of the script: Yes]
[Special Effect: Perfect Capture. Throw it at a weakened creature whose level is lower than the user's to capture it with 100% certainty, making it loyal.]
[Consumption: None]
[Cooldown: 144 hours]
[Usage Conditions: None]
[Note: The Master Ball is the most precious and highest-performance PokeBall, capable of taming any Pokemon 100% of the time. This particular Master Ball, a gift from Professor Elm of Nuvema Town, was an experimental product from the Master Ball's development process and could only be used when a creature was weakened.]
[Note: The interior of the Minor Master Ball was a spherical space thirty meters in diameter. It contained a fully equipped mansion with a bathroom, living room, dining room, bedroom, study, game room, music room, and kitchen. Outside the mansion was a yard with a lawn, swimming pool, and scenic woodland. Its domed ceiling simulated sunlight, changing from day to night according to the passage of time in the outside world.]
[Note: The flow of time inside the Minor Master Ball was the same as the outside world. The user needed to recharge it regularly to power the internal mansion and supply it with materials.]
[Note: The Minor Master Ball could only store one creature at a time. After a creature was released, the ball required 144 hours before another capture could be attempted. Each capture would reset the internal environment.]
[Note: The Minor Master Ball would cause a creature captured for the first time to feel loyal to the user. This sentiment was not constant and would change based on the relationship between the captured creature and the Minor Master Ball's user. A captured creature could refuse to enter the Master Ball at any time. It could not be recaptured if it became hostile.]
[Note: The user could release a creature from the Minor Master Ball. After release, the loyalty induced by the ball would gradually diminish until it returned to normal.]
[Note: 700! A 700-square-meter super-giant mansion!!! South-facing, with a swimming pool and courtyard! Electricity, internet, and logistics included! What are you waiting for? Move in!!!]
[Note: There seemed to be something unusual about this Minor Master Ball. It could be taken out of the data world? Perhaps you could ask someone to find out the truth behind this...]
