Chapter 1234: Kinship Verification_2

Lidi recognized them—those overseers who once yelled and cursed, and were quick to hit. They were a big part of why everyone had such a miserable time.

They died so easily…

The destruction from the explosion was more terrifying than expected.

A strange emotion surged in his heart, a mix of pity and melancholy.

They deserved it!

Lidi heard someone mutter this, and the last traces of emotion in his heart dissipated.

Indeed, they deserved it.

These guys never treated them kindly, so why should he pity them? There are plenty of people who truly deserve pity.

They wound their way towards the arena.

They thought they could get in, but never expected all four passages leading to the arena to collapse.

“What should we do now?”

Everyone looked at Lidi in frustration.

The collapsed passages meant the Banette likely didn’t run this way, or maybe it squeezed through a hole with its small and soft body.

Lidi held onto a sliver of hope and searched around.

Confirming they couldn’t get in, they stopped once more.

“Let’s return, take another route to the meeting point, maybe we’ll run into it.”

Lidi gritted his teeth and made a difficult decision.

He knew that opportunities like today might never come again; they had endured until now, and failing to get out would make it nearly impossible to regain this moment’s momentum.

Lidi must be responsible for those who trusted him.

Besides, it wasn’t like they hadn’t searched. Not finding something and not looking for it are two different things.

As they were about to turn back, the passage suddenly reverberated with a violent tremor. Lidi realized someone was using Pokémon to dig underground and promptly ordered everyone to retreat quickly.

However, when the pile of rocks blocking the path was shattered, a familiar figure appeared before them.

“Cough, cough, Lidi? How come you’re here? Didn’t we agree to meet outside?”

His older brother looked at Lidi sternly, beside him was a Flygon panting heavily with multiple scars on its body, both covered in blood, looking utterly exhausted.

Lidi rushed forward in a panic, calling for people to help with the bandages, and then gathered the courage to tell him about the missing Banette.

His brother fell silent.

After a while.

He said to Lidi and the others, “Leave the Banette to me. I probably know where it went. You must hurry out, I’m not the only one who survived in the arena. Once they see you, they’ll definitely figure something out.”

“Big brother…”

“Alright, enough with the nonsense, don’t betray everyone’s trust in you!”

His brother patted Lidi’s shoulder forcefully, then suddenly instructed a few things, such as leaving some items at a station in the eastern outskirts, which could help them survive outside or within Ore.

Lidi felt a sense of unease as his brother talked, but his brother said nothing more, urging Lidi and the others to leave, and then proceeded with determination accompanied by Flygon down the path they came.

Lidi watched his brother’s back, shouting, “We’ll wait for you outside! You must come back, big brother!”

His brother didn’t respond, only waved at him in the darkness until he was out of sight.

Who would’ve thought.

This was the last time they’d meet.

——

“Afterward, Teacher Lidi and the others came close to getting trapped multiple times, expending a lot of effort to escape Pyrite Town through a pre-dug tunnel. But they waited for two full days and still didn’t see Baimu’s grandfather come out.”

Shanren shook his head with a sigh and continued, “They left Pyrite Town for survival, taking a long time to find their footing. Later, they repeatedly sent people back to Pyrite Town to gather information, only to conclude that no one escaped from the deeper arena or those mines.”

Baimu and Furong both stayed silent.

The earlier generation struggled to survive for a glimmer of hope in the future; their internal conflicts and hesitations couldn’t easily be articulated with a few words.

Facing separated companions, choosing whether to abandon or search for them was enough to nearly tear their immature team apart.

Being so close to freedom, yet still restraining themselves to search for the missing was no easy task.

“Later, Teacher Lidi still wouldn’t give up, sneaking into the underbelly of Pyrite Town multiple times to search for them, ultimately only finding the Banette…”

His words were interrupted as Hoopa emerged sleepily from the Light Wheel.

“Xiaobai… Hoopa is about to die of sleepiness…”

“Sorry, Hoopa, but we really need you.” Baimu reached out to comfort Hoopa, followed by Furong adding a few words of consolation.

Hoopa rubbed his eyes and declared loudly, “Alright then! Seeing how important Hoopa is to everyone!”

Shanren said, “Now that Hoopa is here, let’s leave some things to Teacher Lidi to explain, as details may be missed when relaying the story.”

He showed Hoopa a photo of Lidi.

The Light Wheel opened.

A few people entered one after another.

Britto and the other workers hesitated, unsure whether to follow. In that moment of indecision, the Light Wheel quickly closed.

“Well, no matter, everyone continue to rest.”

He called the workers to sit back down.

Meanwhile, in the unseen darkness, a pair of sapphire eyes gleamed. Its owner, Sableye, glanced sideways towards the arena’s location, hoping the Banette wouldn’t cause any trouble.

It also wanted to give Furong an explanation.

Silicon City.

At that moment, there was already light on the horizon, and it seemed like the Sun would rise in another ten minutes.

Inside a well-lit house.

Lidi, with his hair already turned grey and age spots on his cheeks, had a slightly stooped figure as he cheerfully catered to the uninvited Baimu and the others.

“Please sit, let’s talk slowly.”

He invited the guests to sit and brought out snacks and tea.

Baimu and Shanren were too preoccupied to taste, though Furong and Hoopa joyfully indulged, not forgetting to share with the Gengar and Dusknoir hiding in the shadows.

Dragapult longingly watched, quietly snatching a piece, relaxing when no one noticed, and munching away.

Lidi sat opposite them, holding a cup of hot tea, speaking slowly:

“Shanren has already told me everything, I didn’t expect the Banette still hasn’t come out…sigh, past memories are often unbearable, too many regrets longing to be amended…”

He paused.

“Sorry for the intrusion, but we wish to know how you saw the Banette again back then.” Baimu asked directly.

Lidi chuckled gently and said warmly, “Well, truth be told, I found it quite wondrous. I was merely trying to sneak into the mines to track down my brother, never expecting a cave-in, nearly getting buried. In that critical moment, it was the Banette who saved me, bringing me to the old arena at the deepest level.”

Interval!

Baimu and Shanren exchanged looks, both gaining a newfound understanding.

So that’s how it was.

The mine’s collapse resulted in unfortunate deaths, and the death-created magnetic field combined with proximity to the old site of the deeper arena allowed Banette to pull Lidi into the interval, sparing him.

“I inquired about my brother’s situation and what happened after we left, but it didn’t answer, only giving me a tattered corpse dressed in my brother’s clothes, then sent me out. I know it couldn’t accept my brother’s death, yet after all these years, it still…”

Lidi shook his head with a sigh.

For an elderly man likely older than Genji, the death of significant people was perhaps something he had long come to terms with over decades, leaving only a faint regret.

Perhaps he had envisioned the original scenario in his dreams, regretting decisions made, but in the end, reality had to be accepted.

“You resemble him—both in appearance and aura. I had almost forgotten what he looked like, but seeing you brought back so many memories, making everything much clearer.”

Lidi looked at Baimu, firmly establishing his identity as Long He’s descendant.

Though the recognition ceremony in Meteor Village had confirmed it once before.

He said, “My brother’s remains are placed in the eastern outskirts, you can go verify if you wish. Some answers might be important for both you and the Banette.”

“Alright.”

They exchanged glances, each nodding.

Without a doubt, Elder Lidi had seen through their intentions and offered his support—

to exhume and examine the remains.

This indeed was somewhat intrusive to the past, but an accurate answer was absolutely necessary.

Moreover.

Baimu intended to take the confirmed remains of Long He back to Meteor Village, for that is where a Dragon Tamer of Meteor Village should rest.