The next day.
Cheng Hong came over.
The young man only had some bruises and small injuries, and after a day's rest, he was fine. Upon entering, he found Baimu playing catch with a Pokeball with Lairon.
"Eh? Have you gotten so close already?" he was a bit surprised, having seen Lairon's previous resistance to Pokeballs.
Baimu did not respond, silently watching Cheng Hong open a Pokeball with a sense of pride.
In the midst of white light.
The Pokémon landed on the ground.
It was a strange creature that looked like a black rock sphere, with a pale yellow hexagonal hole in the center, slender rock pieces on its head, and rock legs.
This fellow seemed a bit panicked, trembling non-stop in the unfamiliar place.
"Roggenrola — it suits you quite well."
"Not bad, huh? It's very well-behaved!"
Cheng Hong laughed cheerfully as he picked it up, saying, "Speaking of which, Baimu, when do you plan to choose a Pokémon? If you wait too long, all the good ones will be taken."
"No need to choose, I'll take the cash option."
Baimu shook his head.
Since Lairon had become a partner, it was necessary to help it overcome its malnourished state, and he also needed to get used to the task of raising a Pokémon.
Raising a real Pokémon is nothing like the game, anyone who's had a pet knows how troublesome it is, and training it to become combat-ready is even more strenuous and challenging.
Many in the Quicksand Team couldn't raise Pokémon properly, often opting to replace them rather than seriously nurturing them. It was much like buying new artifacts in cultivation novels.
This trend was popular throughout Pyrite Town and even the Ore Region, so Pokémon that were strong when caught were particularly expensive.
Some Pokémon that were rare but not very strong in the eyes of Trainers from other regions weren't in high demand even when priced high.
"Cash option, huh... well, you do have Lairon after all."
Cheng Hong nodded, then talked a bit about his colleagues.
The three people they rescued were more severely injured and might be bedridden for ten days to half a month, and among the few who didn't meet up with them on the first day, only one passed the exam.
Unfortunately, even after coming out, they were as good as wasted, currently lying down to recuperate.
Six passed on the first day.
It undoubtedly gave their small group a huge boost.
"Hopefully the following days will be just as smooth."
Cheng Hong sighed.
"Mm."
Baimu nodded, looking at Lairon interacting with Roggenrola, casually playing with the Pokeball in his hand.
Last night, they shared their sorrows; although the language barrier slowed their progress, it also brought them closer. Unfortunately, when talking about goals, Lairon couldn't give him an answer.
Or maybe it did, and he just didn't understand... Hopefully, he'll get an answer in the future.
In the blink of an eye.
Four days of exams passed.
Apart from some incidents on the first day, the ensuing days were exceptionally smooth, with more people passing.
In the small group Baimu was part of, some who participated later also passed the exam, while for Chaitian's group, it wasn't very clear.
In the end, nearly a hundred people stood out, stepping onto the threshold of becoming official members, making up a quarter of all participants. It seemed like a lot at first glance, but many in there had participated multiple times before finally passing.
Thus, as the acting leader, Yogo was not satisfied with these results.
There were only about 2,800 formal members under the Quicksand Team's command in this town of hundreds of thousands, like a drop in the ocean. Without enough new recruits, they would forever remain second-rate.
And never be able to develop better.
Still, this anxiety did not affect those joyful passers; for many, obtaining the official status was akin to reaching the stars, representing an end to their hard days.
They should be happy.
——
On the day of discharge.
Baimu and Lairon were packing up their things when they suddenly heard a knock on the door behind them.
"You're Baimu?"
The visitor met his gaze and began scrutinizing him, "Pretty solid build, you're qualified. Report to the Sand Group tomorrow, and bring along your colleagues who can come."
With that, without giving Baimu a chance to reply, he turned and left.
"... It's alright."
He shook his head at the puzzled Lairon.
The Quicksand Team had its internal factions as well. Just talking about the operation department, aside from the leader at the top, below were the Sand, Crystal, and Stone Groups, each led by one of the top commanders.
The top commander of the Sand Group was over two meters tall, known for being hearty and straightforward, disliking procrastination, supposedly caring for his subordinates. A good leader.
Hopefully, the rumors are true.
Baimu knew he had no choice; only the Special Service Team in the Quicksand Team could operate independently like James Musashi, but members of the Special Service Team were meticulously groomed from within.
The fact that the other party showed up in person already showed sincerity.
After packing up his belongings.
Baimu took Lairon and left the hospital, heading straight to the Quicksand Team's building to register his identity and receive materials related to being an official member.
The assisting clerk looked at Lairon with some surprise, hardly seeing minions who already had Pokémon beforehand.
After all, most of those who could get them directly looked down on them.
"Please convert my Pokémon reward to financial aid, should be possible, right?"
"Eh? Uh! Yes, it is!"
Baimu's words snapped the clerk back to reality, who nodded hurriedly.
After a round of operations later.
The former obtained 100,000 yuan, leaving with Lairon satisfied.
The Pokémon provided to new members by the Quicksand Team were usually Roggenrola and Geodude, occasionally Wooper, Sandshrew, or the like, and despite differences in species, the prices were generally similar.
It's worth mentioning that the Pokémon Yuan used in the Ore Region has a value close to yen, with a Pokeball priced at two hundred, and a Refreshing Soda priced at three hundred.
Most prices were reasonable, except Pokémon were far more valuable than in other regions due to needing to import them—especially in this area of Pyrite Town, where Jinqing Port by the sea and the largest city, Silicon City, were slightly cheaper.
"Our food budget has increased again~"
Baimu waved the bills at Lairon with a smile.
"Goo!"
Lairon lifted its head, happily responding.
Copper Mill Street.
Here was the apartment allocated by the Quicksand Team for its subordinates, a three-and-a-half-story concrete building with a gray, weathered façade, devoid of green spaces, and broken and dilapidated roads.
But the infrastructure here, like water pipes, sewage, and electrical systems, was much better than those in the plank houses on Cyan Iridium Street before.
Apparently more resilient too, after all, they needed to bear the weight of Pokémon.
Baimu liked it here very much, unrelated to the facilities; it was simply because he could see various Pokémon playing around.
There were only people near his previous residence, and many times he wasn't sure if he was even in the Pokémon World.
"Baimu! Want to go out for dinner tonight? Everyone wants to thank you and also celebrate a bit."
Carrying bag after bag, Cheng Hong beamed.
"Sure, let me know the place."
Baimu nodded. Even if the Quicksand Team's subordinates were just higher-level bottom ranks, even as the top commander, building connections was very important.
But socializing... it's what he was least good at.
Was it a deliberate arrangement? Their group was placed close together, like Cheng Hong's just a few doors down, and the rest weren't far either.
Was it arranged by the person from the day?
No idea if he could get detailed information about Stone Wall from him, family environment, friends, background, or Pokémon.
"Let's tidy up the new home!"
"Goo!"