The time was 9:00 a.m.
The elimination round was about to begin.
The marketplace area outside Greenwood Secret Realm had been converted into a rest zone for competitors.
Jiang Shuyun, Coach Liu, and the others were already waiting there.
"Why hasn't Oliver arrived yet?" Coach Liu asked anxiously.
"Don't tell me he overslept. The match is about to start!"
"I tried calling him," Jiang Shuyun replied, frowning.
"But I can't get through."
"He didn't run into trouble, did he?" Guo Shengfu asked nervously.
"Shut up with your bad luck talk," Qi Jun snapped, smacking the fat boy's belly.
"But… what if the match starts and the captain still isn't here?"
"Then there's nothing we can do," Liu Lixuan said quietly.
"The four of us will have to go in first. With our strength, clearing the elimination round shouldn't be a problem."
Coach Liu looked at the time again.
Unable to contact Oliver, he could only sigh.
"…We'll have to do it this way."
Soon, all teams gathered in front of the secret realm entrance.
League staff began distributing Emergency Beacons one by one.
If pressed, investigators would arrive within one minute.
When it was Chengdu No.1 High School's turn, the staff member frowned.
"Only four people?"
Coach Liu replied awkwardly,
"There's one more. He's delayed by something and should arrive soon."
"The match won't wait for him," the staff member said coldly.
"When the time is up, the secret realm will close. If he's not inside by then, he won't be able to enter."
He had seen this too many times—
teammates backing out at the last moment out of fear, leaving others to compete short-handed.
In his eyes, Oliver was no different.
Time passed quickly.
"The Emergency Beacon has a sound emitter on the back," the announcer reminded everyone.
"When you approach a wooden token, it will activate. Your goal is to retrieve one token and leave the secret realm safely!"
"Final warning: holding multiple tokens is strictly forbidden.
Violators will be disqualified immediately!"
"Now—
the elimination round officially begins!"
With the command given, countless competitors released their Pokémon and charged toward the entrance.
The match had already begun—even before entering the secret realm.
Speed meant opportunity.
In an instant, several Pokémon surged ahead of the main group.
A Pidgeot, a Greninja, and an Arcanine shot forward, their speed clearly at high-rank level.
The Pidgeot's trainer laughed arrogantly as he overtook the crowd, deliberately whipping up dust with a powerful wingbeat before disappearing ahead.
Inside the officials' lounge, guests watched the live feeds.
Mu Xue was not present.
The deaths of the Creation Society executives required her immediate attention.
Zhang Zhixing sighed.
"Kids these days are incredible. Back when we competed, several years might pass without even one high-rank Pokémon."
The event director nodded.
"As Pokémon research advances, this growth is inevitable. I wouldn't be surprised if many high-rank Pokémon are still hidden."
"The real battles will be in the group stage."
Meanwhile, Meng Ming's team from Chengdu No.2 High School advanced with the main crowd.
One teammate scoffed,
"So what if they're fast? Once the captain's Blaziken comes out, they'll all bow their heads."
Meng Ming scanned the front ranks.
He didn't see the Gabite he was looking for.
A hint of disappointment flashed across his face, but he said calmly,
"Don't rush. This isn't a race. Speed alone won't decide who advances."
The moment he said it, he paused.
Would the old me have said something like that?
Ever since losing to that man,
he had changed—
less arrogant, more cautious.
Jiang Shuyun's group blended into the crowd, deliberately moving at a slower pace.
"Why aren't we rushing in?" one teammate asked.
"If we're late, all the tokens might be taken."
After getting beaten senseless by Jiang Shuyun during training, they now respectfully called her Boss Jiang.
She replied calmly,
"We're only four people. Our strength isn't weak, but staying low-key is smarter."
"Besides—
a token isn't secured just because someone gets there first."
With Oliver absent, Jiang Shuyun forced herself to think like him.
If Oliver were here… what would he do?
As the strongest remaining member, she had to be the anchor.
The group soon entered the secret realm, choosing a less populated direction.
Inside the secret realm, danger was no longer limited to wild Pokémon.
The rules forbade holding multiple tokens—but said nothing about stealing one.
The real challenge was surviving both Pokémon attacks and human opponents.
High above, hidden among the branches of a massive tree—
Oliver crouched silently.
Beside him stood a tall, imposing Garchomp, radiating quiet menace.
Below them, a team crept forward cautiously.
The apparent leader frowned.
"Strange… the beacon is beeping, but I can't see the token."
"Maybe it's malfunctioning?"
"Unlikely…"
As they moved on, Oliver glanced down at his waist.
Several wooden tokens were tied there.
Eight of them.
They clacked softly against each other whenever he moved.
He had picked them up earlier while evading League investigators—
pure coincidence.
"Looks like the match has already started," Oliver muttered.
"Guess I'll go find Jiang Shuyun and the others first."
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