Chapter 4:

Chapter 4:

Standing in front of a mirror, Yulong Jie stared at his own reflection. His face was pale, and his body appeared frail and thin. His face, gaunt from malnutrition, made his cheekbones stand out prominently. However, his features were still handsome, and his height was slightly above 1.7 meters. He looked undernourished, but considering he was only 15 years old, there was still room for growth. This pitiful appearance was caused by being used as an experimental subject, but Yulong Jie figured that with time, his future still held some potential.

Ever since Yulong Jie had woken up, the members of Team Rocket had paid him no attention. They probably thought that since the Mewtwo Project was completed, he, the test subject, was no longer of any use. As long as they implanted the necessary concepts into Mewtwo's consciousness before it emerged from the container, Team Rocket would have perfect control over the strongest weapon they had created. However, life doesn't always go as planned. Team Rocket's research institution could never have anticipated such a major flaw in their carefully designed plan, nor could they fully grasp the power of their creation.

From his previous conversations with Professor Oak and Blaine, Yulong Jie learned how Professor Oak had ended up here. Unlike Blaine, who voluntarily joined out of temptation, Professor Oak, being a well-known Pokémon expert, had initially been approached by Team Rocket members posing as legitimate researchers. Not knowing they were part of Team Rocket, Professor Oak had enthusiastically helped answer all their questions.

Because of this, Team Rocket deemed Professor Oak to be valuable and kidnapped him. However, Oak remained steadfast and refused to cooperate, which frustrated Team Rocket. Given Professor Oak's special status and fame, his mysterious disappearance or death would attract a lot of attention. By that time, though, the Mewtwo Project was nearly complete, and Professor Oak wasn't of much use anymore. So, they kept him and Yulong Jie under surveillance, planning to let Oak die off naturally or kill him when the time came.

"Jie-kun, how's your recovery going? Here's lunch for today, eat up," came Professor Oak's warm and cheerful voice from behind as Yulong Jie continued to observe his new body in the mirror.

A small smile tugged at Yulong Jie's lips. He had great respect and affection for Professor Oak, this optimistic and kindhearted old man who always loved to joke. It was Oak's determination to save him, even when it seemed Yulong Jie was doomed, that had led to this 'miracle.'

"I'm feeling better now. I've regained some strength, and I think I could even run if I tried."

"That's good to hear. Remember, food is fuel. Come and eat! Say what you will about Team Rocket, but the food they provide is actually decent," Professor Oak said as he placed two trays of food on the table. Team Rocket's research facility was clearly well-funded, and although they didn't treat their test subjects or prisoners well, the meals were still delicious and nutritious, which Yulong Jie appreciated. Only a few days ago, he had been living in a relatively peaceful place where he could eat his fill every day. He wasn't ready to immediately plunge into a life of starvation and hardship.

"Jie-kun, how are things going?" Professor Oak asked with a deeper meaning behind his words as they sat down to eat.

"It's going smoothly... I guess," Yulong Jie replied.

The two spoke in a cryptic manner, careful not to say too much, knowing that the room could be bugged. In reality, a few days earlier, after Yulong Jie had regained consciousness, Professor Oak and Blaine had already worked out a plan to escape. However, without any Pokémon, their chances of successfully fleeing were slim. As the Gym Leader of Cinnabar Island, Blaine had never been fully trusted by Team Rocket. Every time he conducted research here, his Pokéballs were temporarily confiscated. The elite Team Rocket troops, numbering in the hundreds, were there primarily to keep Blaine in check.

The other researchers had no real combat abilities, but Blaine, as a Gym Leader, posed a serious threat to Team Rocket.

Recently, with the Mewtwo Project nearing completion, the surveillance on Blaine had loosened, giving him an opportunity to access his Pokéballs. The escape plan was now moving forward. However, because Yulong Jie had just regained consciousness and his body was still weak, they had agreed to wait a few more days until he had recovered enough to engage in more strenuous activity before executing the escape.

Over the past few days, Yulong Jie's routine had consisted of eating regularly, doing simple recovery exercises, and reading the books available in the room. Although the books weren't particularly deep or complex, they provided a basic understanding of this world's fundamental knowledge.

Yulong Jie spent most of his time reading about history. He figured that the quickest way to understand a world was to study its history books. Whenever he encountered something that differed from his memories or that he didn't understand, he could always turn to the Pokémon expert next to him for answers.

"Professor Oak, I've been reading some history books these past few days, but they're not very comprehensive. I still have some questions. For example, it's now the year 2010 in this world. What's the basis or origin of this calendar system?"

Yulong Jie was puzzled. The calendar system in this world was almost identical to the one from his original world. The similarities in how they measured time were astonishing. What was even stranger was that Yulong Jie remembered transmigrating in the year 2018, and this world was currently in 2010—a difference of only eight years. He felt there might be some inexplicable secret hidden in this small gap in time, possibly even the reason for his transmigration.

In the original world, history was measured from the year of Jesus's birth. So how was time measured in this world?

"The calculation of the calendar dates back to a certain legal code established by humans. Two thousand years ago, in a country located in the Kanto region, a legal system was first implemented that included both humans and Pokémon in the law. About fifteen hundred years ago, a researcher decided to use the year the law was enacted as the start of the calendar, and that system has been in use ever since."

"Our current civilization? Does that mean there were human civilizations before this one?" Yulong Jie asked as he finished his meal, listening intently. He had sensed that this Pokémon world was vastly different from the light-hearted, child-friendly version he remembered. As a world that had developed normally, it couldn't possibly be as illogical as the one in the anime.

"Yes, from the various ruins we've unearthed, we've found evidence of many ancient human civilizations, dating back two thousand years or even further. While those civilizations may not have been as advanced as ours in terms of social systems, in some areas of science and technology, they were far more advanced than we are today. Much of our current technology has been improved based on knowledge we discovered from those ruins. Did you know, Jie-kun, that the extinct civilization of Portlantis even had the technology to seal human souls in Pokéballs? Sadly, much of that knowledge has been lost."

As Professor Oak spoke about these mysteries, his enthusiasm grew, and he excitedly shared many of the stories he knew, which sounded more like tales from a novel.

"So, if ancient humans had such advanced civilizations, how did they become extinct? Do modern researchers have any conclusions?" Yulong Jie asked, equally intrigued. His love for history drove him to feel a thrill of excitement, as though discovering a new world's history brought him a deep sense of joy.

Professor Oak fell silent for a moment before he sighed softly and said, "Actually, it's related to an event that happened seventy years ago. Most history books don't explain it in detail, but since you've asked and you seem eager to learn, I feel it's only right to tell you as a scholar."

"Seventy years ago, our civilization was still in its infancy. Scholars had many theories about the extinction of ancient civilizations, but they couldn't reach a consensus. However, what happened seventy years ago led most scholars to believe that those ancient civilizations were wiped out by legendary Pokémon, leading other Pokémon in their wake."

Yulong Jie straightened up, his eyes alight with curiosity. This was the true history of this world, something no game or anime could ever reveal—a development that made logical sense.

"Seventy years ago, human technology underwent a massive revolution. After two thousand years of accumulation and the discovery of more and more ancient ruins, these things combined to push humanity to the brink of a new developmental path. At the time, human greed for natural resources had reached its peak. Many mines were emptied, vast forests were chopped down, and underground energy sources were exploited on a large scale. Polluting factories were built everywhere, nearly destroying the environment. Pokémon lost their homes and began to flee, and countless Pokémon died due to human greed. During that time, humans also developed terrifying new weapons from these resources, believing they no longer needed Pokémon. They thought they could just enslave them."