Chapter 150: Obstruction

Chapter 50: Interception

Yes, this man who had recently stepped into middle age already had a devoted wife and a pair of mischievous, adorable children. This was perhaps the only hope that sustained Kolo, keeping him alive in this dark, lightless world.

Retracting his gaze, Kolo rested his hands somewhat loosely on the steering wheel. He had driven the road from Qibao City to Xiarong Town a thousand times over. Every sharp turn, every slope, and even every view along the way was etched into his memory.

The League branch stationed in Qibao City had cleared away the nearby nightmare Pokémon decades ago, ensuring that Kolo had no worries at all, even when transporting crucial cargo for the Qibao Chamber of Commerce.

What was more...

Kolo shifted his gaze forward, letting it fall upon the off-road vehicle at the very front of the convoy, a hint of awe crossing his face.

The goods they were transporting this time were extremely scarce yet vital—they were supply rations destined for the League garrison in Xiarong Town, and nothing could be allowed to go wrong. For this reason, the League had specially drafted several experienced drivers from various places to handle the transport. With his decades of safe driving record, Kolo had naturally found his way among them—a feat that had caused him to boast to his wife at home for days.

At the same time, even on a road whose safety was completely assured, the Qibao Chamber of Commerce had still equipped the convoy with two squads of fully armed security personnel just in case, including two official Pokémon trainers from the League. It was as foolproof as could be.

"Pokémon trainers..."

Kolo could not help feeling a sense of yearning. Even in Qibao City, one of the nine major human metropolises, the number of trainers remained pitifully small compared to the massive population base. Trainers, wielding the terrifying power of pocket monsters, invariably held important posts within various major factions and commanded lofty statuses. Such things were entirely beyond the imagination of a commoner like him.

"Sigh."

He let out a soft sigh, his thoughts tangling deep within his heart. He had once read in history books about the description of the bright era before the Cataclysm. In those days, people lived and worked in peace and contentment, free from worries about food and clothing, holding eighty percent of the world's natural resources. The wild Pokémon had not yet been infected by the Nightmare Seed; most of them possessed gentle dispositions and rarely attacked humans proactively.

Even without expending excessive resources, ordinary citizens could become regular trainers.

The book's glowing records of that bright era filled Kolo with longing, making him wish he could push his birth date back a few centuries to return to that perfect age.

"Jingle-ling."

The crisp and pleasant sound of a wind chime interrupted Kolo's reverie. With a self-deprecating shake of his head, he reminded himself that life had to go on; it was fine to occasionally indulge in such thoughts, but the mouths waiting for him back home still needed to be fed.

"Screeech!"

Abruptly, accompanied by wisps of white smoke from the violent friction between the tires and the ground, a piercing, harsh screech of brakes rang out ahead.

Kolo was startled for a moment. He saw the large truck driving in front of him come to an abrupt halt, its exhaust-emitting metallic rear end drawing closer and closer by the second. Amidst the shock to his mind, his right foot instinctively slammed down on the brake pedal.

Boom—

A violent jolt, coupled with strong momentum, suddenly threw Kolo's body forward. Fortunately, the protection of the seatbelt kept him from shattering the windshield and flying out of the vehicle. Behind him, like a row of falling dominoes, continuous screeching sounds of braking echoed through the air, accompanied by loud curses.

Inside the cab, covered in cold sweat, Kolo hurriedly unbuckled his seatbelt. Ignoring his faintly throbbing abdomen from the tight restriction, he shoved the door open and leaped out. He rushed clumsily toward the rear compartment to inspect it thoroughly.

When driving heavy trucks laden with cargo, the absolute taboo was braking suddenly during transit. The intense momentum generated by such braking carried a high probability of causing the transported goods to crash into the walls of the compartment and suffer damage. Some heavier cargo might even breach the metal container and thrust into the driver's cab, threatening the driver's life.

"Phew..."

Kolo let out a long sigh of relief. Fortunately, the vital supplies inside the compartment had been securely fastened in place with straps during loading and were none the worse for wear. If anything had actually gone wrong, his job—the very thing feeding a family of four—might well have been lost.

Only then, gripped by a lingering terror, did Kolo turn around, muttering foul curses under his breath, and look toward the front of the convoy. He had to see what on earth had happened!

Yet the next second,

as if seeing something horrifyingly macabre, Kolo turned pale and shrank back, the cold sweat still clinging to his skin as he scrambled back behind the truck.

A persistent, gentle drizzle fell endlessly from the leaden clouds in the sky, as though it would never stop. The fine raindrops struck the metal surfaces of the vehicles, making a pattering clatter. The iron convoy sat stalled on the road like a train without tracks.

The guard vehicle at the very head of the convoy had stopped sideways. On the muddy road, the dark scorch marks left by its braking drift were clearly visible. Five security personnel in black combat uniforms and full gear were gripping their firearms, using the off-road vehicle as cover, and pointing their freezing, abyss-like gun barrels straight ahead with the tension of facing a formidable enemy.

Right there, a massive silver-gray figure stood quietly.

A grayish-white metallic shell, boasting a hardness comparable to diamond, covered its entire body; six retractable sickle-like legs extended from its sides, flashing with menacing light in the rain; a pair of vibrant purple antennae extended from its mouthparts to the top of its head, as if warning the world of the horrifying cruelty of the monster before them.

Golisopod, an armored Pokémon hailing from the Alola region, had mysteriously appeared on a road where no nightmare Pokémon had been seen for decades.

"Clack, clack..."

The mineral-purple antennae of the Golisopod swayed gently in the air, as if sensing something. Its hard exoskeleton plates collided and rubbed against one another, producing a harsh and dense clatter that sent chills down the spines of everyone not far away.

At this moment, behind the lead vehicle of the convoy, a pale-faced young man wearing a classic League trainer's uniform was trembling slightly. Beside him, a Pokémon standing less than half a meter tall with an adorable rabbit-like appearance was anxiously and uneasily peering through the gap in the car window at the Golisopod blocking the road ahead.

Qing He felt utterly terrified.

Why on earth would a Pokémon like Golisopod appear when he had merely taken on a routine assignment on a whim just to fulfill a graduation credit requirement for the academy?!

"Run!"

"Hurry up and run!!"

At this moment, running was the only thought left in Qing He's mind.