"Alright, that's it for today's stream. Thank you all for watching—see you next time."
Amid a flood of [NO!] in the chat, Chen Mo ended the livestream.
To be honest, when he first started streaming, he'd been a little nervous. After all, he wasn't the original owner of this body, and livestreaming was a complete first for him.
But whether it was the unease he felt upon first entering the forest, or the stiffness he had during the stream, all of it gradually faded with time—until it disappeared entirely.
By the end, Chen Mo was able to fully relax and do what he actually wanted to do.
"This is really nice."
A cool night breeze blew in through the open car window. Sitting in a rideshare, Chen Mo looked up at the star-filled sky and let a faint smile curl his lips.
"Pichu!"
As if responding to his good mood, Pichu—hidden in the backpack on the back seat—chirped along.
"What was that sound?"
The driver immediately became alert.
Seeing this, Chen Mo quickly turned around, reached into the side pocket of his backpack, pulled out his spare phone used for streaming, and said casually,
"Sorry, that was just my phone's notification sound."
"Oh, I see."
The driver nodded and quickly apologized, realizing he'd probably misunderstood.
"Sorry about that, man. Things haven't been very safe lately. Because of my job, I often have to drive outside the city, so I'm always on edge—constantly worried that I might suddenly run into a monster one day. I've gotten a bit jumpy. Hope you understand."
"It's fine. I get it," Chen Mo replied.
In truth, Chen Mo had run into a real problem on the way back.
When drivers heading toward the city saw Pichu sitting on his shoulder, they refused to take them no matter what. As for the drivers he hailed through the app—once they arrived and spotted Pichu, their faces went pale. Some didn't even have time to close the car door before flooring it and fleeing, leaving Chen Mo standing by the roadside in stunned silence.
The distance home was simply too far. Only after secretly hiding Pichu inside his backpack did Chen Mo finally manage to get a ride.
"By the way," the driver said, glancing at Chen Mo in the rearview mirror, "it's already dark out. What were you doing alone in the wilderness?"
"Oh, I'm an outdoor travel streamer," Chen Mo replied. "That backpack's full of equipment I need for my streams."
"Outdoor streamer?"
The driver looked at Chen Mo's handsome face again, and his unease finally eased a little.
"Still, aren't you afraid of running into monsters when you stream outdoors?"
"Of course I'm afraid," Chen Mo said without changing his expression.
"But I haven't had any new income for over half a year. If I stream other things, my viewers don't like it. I didn't have a choice but to take the risk. Luckily, I didn't run into any monsters today."
"Yeah… I get it. Gotta make a living somehow."
The driver sighed, clearly empathizing.
Then he added seriously,
"Sorry, man. You probably noticed—I was a bit worried about you. I was afraid you might be hiding a monster in your backpack or something."
"Haha… how could that be…"
"Yeah, guess I was overthinking it. But you know, I've heard that lately there are some real daredevils trying to get rich by capturing monsters. Tsk tsk. Of course, I don't think you're that kind of person. With your looks, you wouldn't stoop to something like that."
Good grief.
Is this really the advantage of being handsome—earning trust this easily…?
Chen Mo couldn't help but sigh inwardly. At the same time, though, the driver's earlier comment caught his attention.
"Capturing monsters? That's actually a thing?"
"Yeah, strange, right? But there are always people in this world who'll risk their lives for money."
The driver spoke with deep feeling.
"I'll just tell you this, man—don't spread it around. I've heard that a single monster can sell for at least six figures on the black market. And some special ones—those that can breathe fire or spray water—can fetch prices so high regular folks like us can't even imagine."
"That's… outrageous," Chen Mo frowned slightly.
"It is. But think about it—from the perspective of the rich, they already have money, power, and status. Monsters with supernatural abilities? That's something they've never encountered before. If they could figure out how those powers work—and maybe even learn them themselves—what's a bit of money worth?"
"And even if they can't learn it, just owning a monster would be a huge status symbol in those circles."
Even though it was a world far removed from his own, the driver spoke with confidence, as if he'd seen it all with his own eyes.
Chen Mo nodded along, but his expression grew increasingly serious.
"Hey, man—remember, don't tell anyone what I said."
"Don't worry," Chen Mo replied sincerely. "You trusted me enough to tell me this. I wouldn't betray that."
"Hahaha, you and I really get along, kid. You've got good conditions and a sharp mind—honestly, even if you didn't stream, you could find a decent job. So take my advice: don't do outdoor streaming anymore. The wilderness really isn't peaceful these days."
"I understand. This trip scared me a bit too. When I get back, I'll think about some other way to make money."
Chen Mo waved goodbye to the warm, talkative driver—who even refused the fare and insisted on dropping him right at the entrance to the residential complex.
"Pichu."
A small yellow head popped out of the backpack. What greeted it were rows of towering buildings and city lights so bright they seemed to illuminate the entire sky.
Chen Mo gently rubbed Pichu's fluffy little head and softly asked—perhaps for the first time—how it felt about the city.
"Are you scared?"
"Pichu!"
Pichu shook its head, grinning foolishly, as if to say What's there to be afraid of?
"That's good."
Chen Mo smiled.
But after listening to the driver's words, his heart could no longer be as calm as he appeared on the surface.
At first, when he decided to popularize Pokémon knowledge, Chen Mo's goal was simple: ease the hostility between humans and Pokémon—especially on the human side. After all, most Pokémon were kind by nature and wouldn't easily harm humans.
But now it seemed that beyond hostility, the malice humans were beginning to develop toward Pokémon was something that needed serious attention as well.
And stopping that malice was clearly no easy task.
Even in the original Pokémon world, poachers were a massive headache for the League.
Chen Mo let out a quiet sigh.
Looking up at the night sky—now devoid of stars and moonlight, drowned out by the city's neon glow—he murmured to himself,
"A heavy responsibility… and a long road ahead."
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