Chapter 154 – A Move That Shouldn't Be Possible! Desperate Hyper Beam!

Within the tiny sun that had formed in Gyarados's mouth… was a seething core of heat and fury.

Gyarados had always been a temperamental creature. Even in the games, its notorious rage was emphasized with that signature anger mark drawn over its head.

If it had only been the Death Beasts provoking it, that would've been tolerable.

But those monsters had dared to injure its trainer.

That—was unforgivable!

Its rage could not be bottled up anymore.

Gyarados threw its head back high into the air, and the energy it had been gathering exploded into a blinding, searing beam of destruction. As it swung its head forward, the blazing energy ray shot straight toward the lunging Death Beast!

In that moment—

Nighttime in Haicheng, specifically the district around the Pokémon Center, was lit up like midday!

Within that terrifying pillar of light, the heat ray completely engulfed the charging S-class Death Beast.

A terrifying creature of death and decay, reduced to ash in the blink of an eye—without even managing a scream.

Even its S-class beast core—normally the hardest part of its body—was completely vaporized by the beam!

"BOOOOOOM!!"

Like a giant celestial plow cutting through the earth, the beam continued on even after obliterating its target.

The commercial plaza's stone pavement and even the viewing platform in front of the Pokémon Center… were reduced to fine powder without a sound.

The intense heat distorted everything in sight—reality itself seemed to shimmer and blur.

A massive, terrifying gash now stretched over a hundred meters across the ground in front of the Pokémon Center!

Meanwhile…

"What the—hell?!"

A patrol squad had just arrived on the scene—and one of the soldiers, eyes wide, couldn't help blurting out a curse.

That devastating beam had stopped just a few steps in front of him.

One more second, one more inch—and he, a loyal B-class Awakened stationed in Haicheng, might've died right there while rushing in to help.

"What kind of monster has that kind of power?!"

The squad leader looked up at the sky, staring at the savage-looking Pokémon hovering above.

"Thank God… that thing's on our side."

"And thank God most of the city's residents had already evacuated…"

Although the Pokémon Center had taken over most of the commercial street area, a few residential homes still remained scattered nearby.

If they hadn't been evacuated already, the consequences would've been unimaginable.

They didn't need to be told—none of them recognized this Pokémon, but even from its fierce presence, it was obvious…

This wasn't a Death Beast.

Suddenly, a teammate cried out, pointing at the sky:

"Captain! That Pokémon's falling!!"

The captain looked up just in time to see it—

The terrifying monster that had just unleashed that apocalyptic beam attack was plummeting from the sky, its massive body crashing down like a meteor.

If Su Bai had been there, he would've recognized it instantly.

That was the ultimate move of the Normal Type.

A finishing move that should be impossible for a newly evolved Gyarados to use.

A move with a base power of 150, so powerful that it left the user completely immobilized afterward.

A true, all-in desperation technique—

Hyper Beam!

Dawn.

Morning dew dripped from the trees, splashing gently into the puddles on the forest floor.

Su Bai, who was supposed to be out patrolling with the other trainers, sat still, frowning at a device in front of him—a replica of the Pokédex.

Like every morning, he was reviewing the progress log.

But today, something strange had appeared.

The number of registered Pokémon had… quietly increased by one.

But as far as he knew, no trainers had reported any Pokémon evolutions the previous night.

"Found it."

"Wait… Gyarados?!"

Su Bai's eyes locked onto the newly added Pokémon in the log, and his heart skipped a beat.

He knew of seven or eight customers who owned Magikarp.

But most of them were unawakened civilians of Haicheng.

There was no way those Magikarp had enough training to evolve.

In fact, none of their owners had even participated in the defense mission.

Which left only one possible answer.

Zhou Xiaofei.

"The evolution's a good thing, but… Zhou Xiaofei's Magikarp… evolved this fast?"

From the time Zhou Xiaofei received his Magikarp to now, not that much time had passed.

Even in the world of Pokémon, evolving a Magikarp into Gyarados required an enormous amount of effort, training, and determination.

Zhou Xiaofei, a beginner-level trainer?

Even if he'd trained it in some fluke, that shouldn't be enough.

"Unless…"

But Su Bai shook his head.

"No way. The Pokémon Center is protected by rule-based barriers. And Zhou Xiaofei's not the type to run around randomly…"

"So what the hell happened?!"

Su Bai's expression darkened as he stared in the direction of Haicheng.

And then the tent flap was thrown open.

In walked Zhu Jianyuan, face serious, with a dust-covered patrol guard behind him.

"Su Bai… there's something I need to tell you."

Zhu Jianyuan placed both hands on Su Bai's shoulders and said gravely:

"But first—promise me you won't lose control."

Su Bai's heart sank.

Seconds later.

A lean, muscular figure shot out of the tent like a rocket.

Wang Tao, on patrol nearby, instinctively looked up—just in time to see Su Bai leaping at full speed in the direction of Haicheng.

"Wait—that's Su Bai, right?"

"Where's he going?"

"Man… I can't even envy that kind of travel speed…"

"But… why do I get the feeling something serious just happened?"

Wang Tao narrowed his eyes.

He knew his brother well.

Su Bai was calm and steady, even when facing total failure—like when he'd initially failed to awaken and risked never gaining powers at all.

If something could make Su Bai rush off like that…

It had to be serious.

"You guys hold down the fort here. I'm heading back to the main tent."

Wang Tao gave a few quick instructions to nearby trainers, then recalled his Torterra and hurried off.

And he wasn't the only one.

All the old customers—Pei Jingguo, Liu Yunlan, Murong Nan…

Each of them turned back toward the main tent.

With the two S-class regions already cleared, most of the remaining Death Beasts weren't that much of a threat anymore.

Any beasts that crossed the perimeter could be handled by the Pokémon army and the other trainers.

Right now, everyone was far more concerned about what had just happened.

After all—Su Bai was the one among them most eagerly awaiting the full arrival of Pokémon into this world.

With berry farming making steady progress, Su Bai was the last person who should've left camp.

Haicheng.

Inside the most advanced ICU of the Haicheng Central Hospital—

Lu Liangpeng and Liu Qiaoqiao sat silently by a hospital bed.

On that bed lay Zhou Xiaofei—his eyes closed, hooked up to a blood transfusion, barely clinging to life.

Outside the window, a massive head peeked in, eyes filled with worry and concern.

It was Gyarados.

Lu Liangpeng sighed as he looked at the peaceful expression on Zhou Xiaofei's face.

"If I'd been just a bit later… that child might've died."

Even with the miracle supplies he had on hand, it had barely been enough.

Without them, there was no way any regular treatment could've saved him.

"To survive a disaster like this… must mean the heavens have plans for you, child."

He gently patted Zhou Xiaofei's head and turned toward Gyarados again.

Thanks to medicine, Gyarados's wounds had somewhat stabilized, though its broken whisker and damaged back plates hadn't regenerated.

At the window, Liu Qiaoqiao nodded off little by little.

She hadn't slept a wink since the previous night.

For a child, no matter how thrilling the adventure, the exhaustion always caught up.

But she refused to sleep until her Xiaofei-gege woke up.

Just as her tiny head slipped lower and lower—

The hospital room door creaked open.

A tall figure entered the room.

"How's Xiaofei?"

Su Bai's voice trembled—full of guilt, regret, and boiling anger.