Chapter 113: The Experiment

Chapter 3: The Experiment

Transparent white bubbles, resembling a cluster of balloons tied together, rose through the thick, dark green liquid. Lu Yun kept his eyes tightly shut, floating in the life-support vessel as if trapped in a deep dream. Strangely, his otherwise blue-grey Machop skin was subtly glowing with an eerie, dark purple light.

The transparent glass reflected the thin, gaunt figure of Dr. Dahl standing outside. With his hands clasped behind his back and his head held slightly high, Dr. Dahl watched Lu Yun in the vessel with intense focus, a blissful smile on his lips as if he were admiring a magnificent work of art.

"Doctor, the attribute fusion data has been collected." The voice of his assistant came from behind.

Dr. Dahl nodded slightly, his gaze remaining fixed ahead.

"However..." The assistant’s voice carried a hint of hesitation.

Dr. Dahl frowned and turned around.

"Doctor, this set of data seems... to have no practical use. The fusion of Fighting-type and Ghost-type energy within the Machop’s body appears to be nothing more than a low-probability coincidence. No matter how we attempt to replicate it, we cannot achieve this fusion again. It has no value for our research."

There was deep disappointment in the assistant’s voice. This was understandable; after all, it was an experiment that had been ongoing for nearly two years. After countless failures, they had seemed on the verge of a breakthrough, only to find that the hard-won data was entirely unusable. It felt as if two years of effort had been nothing more than a joke.

"It doesn't matter," Dr. Dahl said, shaking his head and patting the assistant on the shoulder. "The data itself is not the most important thing. I am not looking for those dry, boring numbers."

Turning back, Dr. Dahl placed his right hand gently against the glass vessel, as if stroking the Machop’s cheek through the cold barrier. "I only want to prove that my hypothesis is correct and achievable. Two conflicting attributes can absolutely coexist within the body of a single Pokémon."

His tone grew increasingly fanatical. Dr. Dahl’s eyes became unfocused, as if he were lost in his own fantasies. "Think about it—a Charizard capable of using Hydro Pump, or a Larvitar with the Flying type..."

"Heh heh heh..." A sinister, maddened laugh echoed through the empty room.

The young assistant shuddered, watching Dr. Dahl mutter to himself. Ignoring the contradictions in his superior's words, he simply lowered his head further.

"Very well, headquarters has received news of the project's success. Pack up quickly; in a few days, we will be moving to the organization's Sinnoh branch."

As abruptly as a mental patient changing moods, the fanaticism on Dr. Dahl’s face vanished, replaced by a stiff, serious expression. Cold words lingered on his pale lips.

"And this Machop...?" the young assistant asked weakly.

Dr. Dahl’s mouth curled into a cold, cruel smile. "Since he survived the Gengar saliva essence, his body should have developed a certain degree of tolerance to Ghost-type energy. Don't stop. Once he has recovered enough, continue with more in-depth experiments. Try to obtain as many experimental records as possible before we leave."

"Understood."

*Snap.*

The bright lights in the vast room extinguished, and two sets of footsteps faded into the distance. In the absolute silence of the dark, fragile bubbles rose slowly through the viscous green liquid in the life-support tank, only to vanish like the illusion of a dream.

...

Viscous, warm. It felt like being trapped in a swamp.

Lu Yun slowly opened his eyes; all he could see was darkness. "Where... am I?"

Wait, that sounded familiar. He felt as if he had already said that once before. A intense, throbbing ache filled his brain, causing him to frown. To be honest, even now, he couldn't figure out what had happened. His memories were like fragments of a blackout from a past life, leaving him with only scattered, disconnected images.

He remembered appearing in a galaxy after leaving the Reincarnation Space. Then, at a speed seemingly beyond light, he had plummeted toward this strange planet. And then... the last fragment in his memory was lying on a metal table, similar to a surgical bed, with people in white coats—doctors—standing around him.

"Forget it." Shaking his head, Lu Yun decided not to dwell on what he couldn't remember.

He moved his sturdy arms through the surrounding liquid. A warm, sluggish sensation of viscosity washed over him. Lu Yun was thoughtful. This familiar feeling... when he was an Ampharos in his previous life, he had experienced a similar situation in the Dark Star.

*This strange, viscous liquid must be meant to repair the body,* Lu Yun realized.

Suddenly, a sting of pain shot through his wrist. It seemed to trigger his memory, and a clear, flashing image appeared in his mind. Lu Yun remembered being on that operating table, his wrists and ankles restrained by steel.

"Wait..." The keen intuition of a Pokémon made him feel that something was wrong. *This isn't medical surgery; it’s more like a scientific experiment.*

A faint sense of panic blossomed in his chest. Lu Yun now had an ominous premonition about his situation.

"But most importantly..." A sharp glint flashed in Lu Yun’s eyes. He focused his gaze and gathered his concentration.

Suddenly, a semi-transparent Poké Ball icon appeared in the lower part of his field of vision.

"Phew." He breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the system was still there, everything would be fine.

*Whoosh.*

Under Lu Yun’s mental control, the icon quickly expanded into the familiar system information and attribute interface.

"Huh!" Lu Yun exclaimed, having discovered something interesting.

On the system message board, several lines of information were scattered.

"EXP +1"
"EXP +1"
"EXP +32"
"EXP +1"

In his previous life, Lu Yun had spent a long time studying the rules of the system. He knew that even if he did nothing, he would gain experience points, though the amount was minimal—usually only one point per day. Therefore, he wasn't surprised by the "EXP +1" messages. What shocked him was the "EXP +32" interspersed among them.

He had only just arrived and taken a nap—why would he suddenly receive such a large amount of experience?

Confusion grew like weeds in Lu Yun’s heart. He pondered for a long time but couldn't find an answer. Although he had no clue, gaining a large amount of experience for nothing was obviously a good thing. Lu Yun decided to set that aside for now and think about it later.

The most important thing now was to check his attributes.