"Alice, have you found a place to stay yet? I have a spare tent."
Feng Che had no intention of revealing the existence of his secret treehouse. While he and Alice were allies, they hadn't reached the level of intimacy required to trade deep secrets. He had bought two tents during his shopping spree as a backup, and now that foresight was paying off.
"Thank you, but I brought one as well," Alice said, her face breaking into a smile that revealed a faint, charming dimple. "My 'tent' is a bit large, and since I was being hunted by the Bard, I never had a chance to set it up."
"By the way, there's one more person in our alliance," Feng Che added. "Jiade Tianchen of the Jiade family."
Alice's red lips parted slightly. "Oh, so that unlucky fellow is here too?"
"You know him?" Feng Che asked curiously.
"He's one of the famous twins of the Jiade family. You probably know his sister—Caitlin (Caitleya), the world-renowned psychic prodigy. But Tianchen is the 'trash' of the family. If his sister's psychic power is a blazing sun, his is a dim star. I heard he's only a novice psychic and had a falling out with the clan because he refused an arranged marriage. Since he wasn't a genius, the elders viewed him as a bargaining chip for a political union."
Hearing this, Feng Che thought of James (Kojiro), who had also fled home to escape a forced marriage. It seemed rich kids across the world shared similar struggles.
"I was surprised he joined Team Rocket's evaluation," Alice continued. "Actually, my situation is similar. I have a gifted sister who sees me as an enemy. She became a powerful psychic at a young age, unlike her 'useless' elder sister. That's why I spent my time perfecting martial arts."
She spun the desert eagle she had taken from the Bard with practiced ease. "I spent all my credits on survival gear and didn't have enough left for weapons. With this, I can protect myself."
The gun was a custom Desert Eagle—a .55 caliber semi-automatic beast with a 10-inch barrel, an optical scope, and an ambidextrous safety. She had also scavenged three spare magazines. A gun with this much recoil required a person of significant physical build just to handle the kickback.
"Let me show you my aim, Kongjian."
Bang!
A wild duck plummeted from the sky, its head virtually non-existent. Smoke curled from the barrel. Seeing her use the weapon without flinching, Feng Che realized Alice's physical stats were exceptionally high.
"Wait, let me handle that," Feng Che said, picking up the duck. "Wild duck blood has a pungent scent that attracts predators. I need to contain it." He pulled a small jar from his bracelet to drain the dark red fluid.
"There are natural Matsutake mushrooms here. Let's gather some," Feng Che noted, spotting a patch under a pine-like tree.
"Kongjian, are those colorful ones edible?" Alice asked, pointing to a nearby cluster.
Feng Che's eyes lit up. "Those are Hallucinogenic Mushrooms. They induce intense hallucinations in Pokémon and are a core ingredient for high-potency sleep draughts. With these, our nights on the island will be much safer." He harvested every single one.
"I was wondering how to keep Fletchling in a deep enough sleep for surgery. With these, it won't wake up for three days and nights."
"I need a safe, sterile environment to operate on its wings."
"Then come into my tent," Alice smiled.
Feng Che thought he understood, but once Alice "released" her tent, he realized how naive he had been. She pulled a capsule from her ring, pressed the switch, and tossed it into a clearing.
The capsule expanded rapidly into a three-bedroom, one-living-room house made of nano-silicone materials.
"The exterior walls are coated with a chemical that mimics the scent of predators that Pokémon detest. They'll smell it and turn back automatically. It's incredibly light—it can even float on floodwaters. And check this out..."
Alice pressed a button on a remote, and the entire house vanished.
"Nano-optical cloaking. It blends perfectly with the environment. It's mobile, too—we can just pack it up and drop it wherever we go."
Feng Che didn't even bother asking for the price. The answer was "Expensive," and that was all he needed to know.
Suddenly, his secret treehouse didn't seem so impressive anymore.
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