Since it was the last day of classes for the semester, the campus was buzzing with excitement after school.
Some students left in small groups to hang out, others rushed home to continue revising. Oliver, however, headed straight for Mu Xue's villa.
Ding-dong!
The doorbell rang. Mu Xue opened the door, then turned and walked inside, as if Oliver's visit was nothing out of the ordinary.
Oliver followed naturally, closing the door behind him with one hand while pulling out a plastic container with the other.
"Here. Today's portion."
Mu Xue took the box, glanced at it, and rolled her eyes.
"Couldn't you at least use a nicer container? These are top-tier energy cubes."
"Do you really think this is our first day knowing each other?" Oliver replied casually. "I'm not selling them. Why bother with fancy packaging?"
As he spoke, he grabbed an unopened drink from the table and headed straight toward the backyard.
If anyone else saw Oliver acting so casually in the home of Xia Country's Water-type Heavenly King, their jaws would probably hit the floor.
Yet Mu Xue acted as if this were perfectly normal—clearly long used to it.
At first, she had complained a few times. Unfortunately for her, Oliver completely ignored it and continued doing whatever he wanted.
In his own words:
I'm paying ten top-tier energy cubes a day. What's wrong with drinking one bottle of your water?
If anyone else dared say something like that, Mu Xue would've already ordered her Milotic to blast them with Surf. Strangely, though, she never seemed able to get angry at Oliver. Over time, she even got used to it—sometimes deliberately leaving a drink on the table so he wouldn't rummage through the fridge.
In the backyard, Oliver's Milotic condensed a white beam of light in front of its forehead.
Opposite it, another Milotic casually slapped the water's surface with its tail, effortlessly dispersing the attack.
This was Mu Xue's Milotic.
She had discovered it during an exploration of a secret realm. The moment she first saw it, she was completely stunned by its beauty. She spent two whole months in that realm before finally earning its acknowledgment.
Comparing the two Milotic, there was a clear difference in strength, but in terms of appearance, they were almost equal.
If one had to be described—
One was elegant.
The other, dazzling.
The Milotic practicing Ice Beam noticed Oliver's arrival and gracefully swam over, gently touching his cheek with its head.
"Your Milotic's foundation is extremely solid," Mu Xue said calmly. "All it needs now is higher energy levels and a broader skill set."
Her words sounded simple, but Oliver knew very well—behind that sentence was Mu Xue's own unique training methodology.
Oliver looked up seriously.
"No matter what, thank you. For everything."
Whether it was dealing with Genesis Society or helping train his Milotic, Mu Xue truly deserved that gratitude.
Faced with the boy's sincere gaze, Mu Xue awkwardly turned her head away.
"If you really want to thank me, just give me more energy cubes."
"Haha, we'll talk about that later." Oliver laughed, smoothly changing the topic.
"Oh right, New Year's is coming up. Are you going back to spend it with your family?"
"New Year?" Mu Xue replied casually. "I've barely celebrated it since I was young. I'll just stay here. What if something happens to you during those days? I wouldn't want to lose my paycheck."
Oliver stared at her.
"That dedicated? Working overtime during New Year's just for energy cubes?"
"It's nothing special," Mu Xue said quietly. "If you've got nothing else, you can head back."
Oliver sensed something was off in the atmosphere. He didn't know why, but instinctively made a mental note.
"Alright, I won't push it. I'm heading out. See you tomorrow!"
He recalled his Milotic, waved, and left.
Mu Xue lowered her gaze, murmuring softly,
"New Year… family…"
Her Milotic gently nudged her pale arm, calling out softly.
"Nass…"
Just as her emotions settled slightly, she heard movement beside her. Turning her head, she realized Oliver had somehow returned.
Ignoring Mu Xue's murderous glare, he walked to where he had been standing earlier and picked up the drink.
"I came back for my water. You carry on."
Moments later, Oliver fled the villa in a complete mess, practically tumbling back into his own house.
"That woman is way too scary!" he muttered.
Inside Oliver's room.
Celebi was still deeply immersed in mobile games, while Kirlia was experimenting with making energy cubes.
Ever since Oliver taught it his unique production method, Kirlia had fallen in love with the process.
Because Oliver's technique required extremely precise control—any small mistake would lower the final quality—it served as excellent training for Kirlia's psychic power.
At its current level of control, Kirlia could already consistently produce high-grade energy cubes. Once it evolved, producing top-tier ones would be almost guaranteed.
Seeing Oliver enter, Celebi tried to butter him up.
"Oliver, I saw a game on my phone that looks really fun—but it only works on a computer. What do you think?"
Oliver hesitated.
"But computers are even worse for—"
Before he could finish, Celebi hurriedly said,
"Psychic! I guarantee I can help your Kirlia master it within a week. Deal?"
Oliver didn't hesitate.
"Deal. You get one extra hour of computer time per day. I'll control it remotely with my phone."
Celebi's eyes lit up.
With its countless years of experience, Celebi's understanding of Grass- and Psychic-type moves was on an entirely different level. Even grasping half of its insights would put Kirlia leagues above its peers worldwide.
Just as Celebi was about to haggle further, Oliver's phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Oliver!" Tian Xin's excited voice burst through the speaker.
"My Eevee evolved! And it's a completely new form—one that's never been discovered before!"
Oliver's heart skipped a beat.
"Congratulations! Did you record it? Is there video?"
"Yes! I've already sent it to your email!"
After hanging up, Oliver rushed straight to his computer.
He had waited long enough.
Now everything was finally in place—
a discovery powerful enough to shake the entire world.
Compared to Eevee's evolution into Sylveon, even Milotic's evolution research felt insignificant.
Behind him, Celebi stood there dumbfounded.
"Hey—wait! You still haven't taught me how to use the computer!"
"…Fine! I'll just figure it out myself!"
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