"Phew~ We're finally almost there. The mission location should be up ahead."
Xu Ruofeng panted, looking at the lush forest in front of him, which formed a stark contrast with the bare ground behind him.
"This game being too realistic isn't entirely a good thing. We have to walk step by step ourselves. I'm starting to miss the auto-pathing feature of those trashy web games."
"Then go play those kinds of games. What's wrong with the game being realistic? Look how delicate you've become."
"Hey, I was just saying it for fun, and I was also praising that the game is indeed realistic, okay?"
Chen Yan was too lazy to argue with Xu Ruofeng. He saw Ryan, who had been leading the way in front, stop and then turn his head to look at a rock behind him, saying with a slightly helpless tone: "Alright, stop hiding. Scyther has already smelled your scent."
"."
"Still not coming out? I can have Scyther go catch you."
As soon as he finished speaking, a purplish-red shadow flew out from behind the rock and quickly pounced on Ryan.
"Boun boun~"
Ryan hugged it immediately, touching Bounsweet's calyx with his hand.
"Didn't I tell you to wait at home? Why did you secretly follow us? Aren't you afraid of being snatched away by a Fearow?"
"Boun~ (Wasn't afraid at all~)"
"I really can't do anything with you. Let's wipe off your sweat first. The scent of your sweat is too strong."
Ryan affectionately wiped Bounsweet's sweat. He didn't know why Bounsweet liked him so much. In his memories, the original body hadn't interacted with it, so it couldn't be that he had forgotten, right?
Just as Ryan was searching his memories, a fiery gaze was fixed on the Bounsweet in his arms.
"Um... Excuse me, Lord Baron, may I hold this Pokémon?"
"Huh?" Ryan looked at the female player named [Moonrise] in front of him with some surprise.
In fact, Ryan had noticed this female player from the beginning. The other players had been exclaiming in surprise as soon as they logged in, their mouths barely stopping.
Although Moonrise also showed signs of shock, her facial expression hadn't changed, always maintaining a cold and aloof look. Ryan had even started to suspect if she had facial paralysis.
But now her eyes were extraordinarily fiery, even making Ryan feel a bit uneasy.
"Alright, then please hold it for me for a while."
He didn't want to dampen the players' enthusiasm for Pokémon, and Bounsweet didn't resist either, so he handed it to Moonrise.
Moonrise received Bounsweet with slightly trembling hands. Although her face still maintained a cold appearance, her heart was already a turbulent sea.
"Aaaaaah! So cute! How can there be such an adorable creature? It's a pity it's not fluffy, but it's still so cute! I feel like my life is complete, sob sob sob~"
Ryan naturally couldn't see the player's mental activity. Seeing that Moonrise and Bounsweet seemed to be getting along well, he led the players into the Flowing Firefly Forest.
As soon as they entered the forest, they saw many Pokémon scattering and fleeing. Some Pokémon that hadn't had time to run could only stay in place, shivering and trying to hide themselves.
"Why do they run as soon as they see people? I didn't even get a clear look at them before they all disappeared."
Seeing this situation, Ryan couldn't help but sigh in his heart. It seemed that the relationship between Pokémon and humans had indeed 1 deteriorated to an extreme point.
"Alright, let's not worry about those Pokémon for now. You'll have plenty of opportunities to interact with them in the future. Now pick up the tools on the carts and start logging."
"Got it!" The players nimbly picked up the tools, ready to get to work.
"By the way, before you cut down a tree, make sure there are no Pokémon on or around the tree. Don't accidentally hurt them."
"Understood!"
Looking at the players' energetic appearance, Ryan nodded with satisfaction. Scyther, who was beside him, also seemed eager, indicating that it wanted to cut wood too.
"How could I forget you? Go ahead."
Scyther relied on cutting trees to make its forelimbs sharper. After getting Ryan's permission, it came to a tree with great interest, crossed its arms, and slashed horizontally. With a "swish" sound, a tree fell to the ground.
The players, who were still struggling with the trees, were all very surprised to see this scene.
"It cut down a tree in one go? That's too strong!"
"We're not even needed. It can handle it by itself."
"Hurry up and cut! In a moment it will have cut down all the trees, and our rewards will definitely decrease." The players all sped up their actions.
Fortunately, Ryan stopped Scyther after it had cut down a dozen trees, which made the players breathe a sigh of relief.
"This game is really interesting. We even have to compete with NPCs for quests."
"That means this NPC has exclusive artificial intelligence and doesn't act according to a set program. I just don't know if this is unique to the protagonist or if every NPC has AI."
"Impossible, how could they be so extravagant? I reckon only the game's protagonist is like that."
"But I've observed the commoners in the town. Their movements and dialogues don't repeat, and they also react accordingly to our actions."
Chen Yan recalled the fearful expressions of the commoners in the town. They were so vivid, just like real people.
"I think it's alright. This is a virtual reality game after all. They've even developed this kind of technology, so giving all NPCs AI isn't a big deal."
"Indeed, what you said makes a lot of sense, but why is this technology—wait a minute! The bushes next to you seem to be moving!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Ruofeng immediately turned his head to look, wanting to see what was in the bushes. As a result, he looked carefully and found that the "bushes" were moving on their own.
A blue creature with green grass on its head was running forward in a panic, then crashed headfirst into a big tree, falling backward onto the ground.
"Is this also a Pokémon? Why does it look like a potted plant? What's wrong with it that it's running into trees?" Xu Ruofeng asked in confusion.
"It was scared by you, okay? Hurry up and ask Lord Baron what to do."
At this time, the other players also discovered some hiding Pokémon.
"Wow, this caterpillar is so big, and this bug actually has horns on its head!"
"Damn it, this Bellsprout actually grew legs and ran away? And why do these bugs have two mushrooms growing on them?!"
The Pokémon, realizing they had been discovered, also began to flee haphazardly. The players and Pokémon were in complete chaos.
"Scyther, Shadow Clone! Stop them!"
Scyther created several clones of itself through rapid movement, blocking the path of those Pokémon, preventing them from running around乱跑 (luànpǎo - running around chaotically).
"Bounsweet, release your fragrance," Ryan ordered again.
"Boun!" Bounsweet rotated its calyx and flew up, beginning to emit its fragrance in all directions.
Bounsweet's fragrance had the effect of calming emotions. The Pokémon that smelled it were no longer so panicked and frightened, gradually becoming quiet.
Then, Ryan took out two bags of Pokémon food and distributed them to the players.
"Haven't you always wanted to interact with Pokémon? Now's your chance."
"Their moods are much calmer now. You can take this food and try to interact with them."
Upon hearing this, the players were immediately excited and quickly approached the Pokémon slowly with the food.
The Pokémon also realized that these humans didn't seem to have any malicious intent towards them, and the food in their hands smelled very fragrant.
"Here, do you want to eat something?" Chen Yan held the food in one hand, came to the blue potted plant, and slowly extended his hand.
Oddish hesitated for a moment, looked up at the smiling human in front of it, and finally couldn't resist the temptation of the food, lowering its head to eat.
The other Pokémon followed suit and ate the food in the players' hands.
"It's still a bit itchy~"
"Good heavens, this eating speed is so fast! Is it really that delicious? I want to try some too."
"West Wind, have you no shame? Still trying to snatch food from Pokémon? Have you forgotten the time you wanted to taste dog food and were chased all over the house by your own dog?"
"Brother! Why do you have to say everything out loud!"
"Hahahaha~"
Looking at the giggling players and the Pokémon who were engrossed in eating, Ryan felt that this scene was particularly harmonious.
This, was the future he wanted!