For their tiny three-person team, changing the world was still a distant dream.
The first thing they needed to do was convince more people that they were right, bring more people to their side, and gradually change Crescent Moon Town itself.
Having lived in Crescent Moon Town for nearly thirty years without ever leaving, Qin Kaicheng was outgoing and made friends easily.
Naturally, he took on that responsibility.
Thanks to his relentless persuasion, their little group slowly grew.
From the original three people...
To eight.
Later, while wandering in the wild, Qin Kaicheng befriended a Glameow. The two formed a genuine bond, making him the third person in town to become true partners with a Pokémon.
That alone greatly strengthened their credibility.
Before long, their team had grown to more than a dozen members.
Everything seemed to be moving in a better direction.
However...
As winter came to an end and a new year approached, Qin Kaicheng realized they were still progressing far too slowly.
"No."
"We have to cooperate with the authorities."
"Only if the government publicly supports us will everyone believe what we're saying."
A team member sighed helplessly.
"Brother Cheng... have you forgotten already?"
"The last time we promoted the idea of using Wingull to improve fishing efficiency..."
"What did the authorities do?"
"They arrested Brother Heguang for 'organizing an illegal gathering and demonstration' and locked him up for a full fourteen days."
"..."
Silence fell over the gathering.
Yu Heguang's expression remained calm.
Qin Kaicheng, on the other hand, immediately wilted like a frostbitten eggplant.
Although their group had grown larger...
Their situation in Crescent Moon Town wasn't actually improving much.
As tensions between humans and Pokémon continued to escalate, calling them public enemies might have been an exaggeration...
But most of the townspeople certainly didn't greet them with friendly faces.
"I have an idea."
After a long silence, Yu Heguang finally spoke.
"In a few days..."
"Let's go back out to sea."
"Last time, didn't we discover what looked like a Wingull nesting area?"
"This time we'll try again."
"We'll see if we can cooperate with the Wingull."
"And use the method I proposed to catch fish."
"Then we'll show everyone."
"Just the few of us?"
One member looked worried.
"Brother Heguang..."
"It's not that I don't want to help."
"But honestly..."
"You know my situation."
"I don't have any experience with this."
"It won't just be us."
Yu Heguang smiled.
"If we're trying to prove this to the town..."
"Then we should invite some of the local fishermen to witness it."
"As the saying goes..."
"With enough money, you'll always find brave volunteers."
"As long as we pay enough..."
"They'll come."
"Big Brother..."
Qin Kaicheng looked at Yu Heguang with concern.
He knew perfectly well that, after months without regular business and all the recent expenses, Yu Heguang's finances were far from comfortable.
Seeing through his worries, Yu Heguang answered calmly,
"We have to do this."
"Crescent Moon Town depends almost entirely on fishing."
"Now everyone is too afraid of Pokémon to go out to sea."
"If this continues..."
"They'll only grow to hate Pokémon even more."
"If we're the ones saying humans and Pokémon should live together..."
"Then it's our responsibility..."
"...to prove we're right."
Yu Heguang had always been someone who followed through once he made up his mind.
Not long afterward...
A fishing vessel carrying everyone's hopes sailed out onto the open sea.
This time...
It was as though heaven had finally taken pity on all their efforts.
Not only did they successfully find the Wingull flock...
Thanks to Yu Heguang's natural affinity with Water-type Pokémon, they quickly established a cooperative relationship with the Wingull.
"It's a huge catch!"
"Yu Heguang and the others really worked together with the monsters!"
"They caught so many fish!"
Even before the fully loaded fishing boat returned to shore, someone had already spread the news by phone.
The entire town erupted.
People flooded toward the docks, talking excitedly among themselves.
And when Yu Heguang and the others finally arrived—nearly side by side with the Wingull—
They experienced the proudest moment of their lives.
"I'll never forget..."
"The way everyone looked at us that day."
Inside Yu Heguang's home...
Qin Kaicheng stood in the bedroom, gazing at the large group photograph they had taken to celebrate that bountiful harvest.
A faint smile rested on his lips.
"We really did change a lot of people's minds."
"Even the officials who used to dismiss us..."
"...started taking us seriously."
"If we'd simply continued following Big Brother's original plan..."
"If we'd just continued..."
At that point...
Pain suddenly twisted across Qin Kaicheng's face.
He clutched his head with both hands, muttering broken fragments under his breath.
"Let's stop for now."
"You need to rest."
Standing nearby, Chen Mo quickly interrupted him.
"Sorry..."
Qin Kaicheng's face had become almost frightening from the pain.
From Chen Mo's perspective...
He really did resemble a malicious spirit.
Yet Chen Mo showed no fear.
He merely sighed quietly.
"I'm the one who should apologize."
Qin Kaicheng gave a strained smile.
"You really are just like my big brother."
"Always trying to shoulder all the responsibility yourself."
"This has nothing to do with you."
"I simply wanted..."
"...to find the answer myself."
"Just let me rest."
"Ten minutes..."
"No..."
"Five will do."
Leaning against the cabinet holding the group photograph...
Qin Kaicheng slowly closed his eyes and drifted into a light sleep.
Chen Mo quietly left the bedroom.
He released Gengar.
Then he repeated Qin Kaicheng's story to the viewers watching the livestream.
It wasn't something he had to do.
He simply felt...
More people deserved to remember their story.
...
Five minutes passed quickly.
Like a machine restarting after a brief shutdown...
Qin Kaicheng slowly opened his eyes again.
His voice was filled with exhaustion as he resumed sorting through his memories.
"After that success..."
"We could clearly feel everyone's attitude toward Pokémon beginning to change."
"There were even brave fishermen..."
"...who started going back out to sea."
"They only stayed close to shore..."
"But..."
"It was progress."
"Everything seemed to be getting better."
"All of us believed..."
"That if we simply followed Big Brother's plan..."
"We would..."
His face suddenly contorted again.
Chen Mo's heart sank.
Already?
This attack had come far sooner than before.
One of the main reasons spirits could not remain in the world of the living for long...
Was that their memories gradually faded with time.
Eventually...
Even their deepest memories disappeared.
And when that happened...
The spirit itself would cease to exist.
Qin Kaicheng had died back in February.
Although some powerful lingering attachment had allowed his soul to remain...
It had already existed in the human world for nearly half a year.
Not only were his memories fading...
They had also become twisted and fragmented.
Piecing together the truth from those shattered memories was no easy task.
Following Marshadow's advice...
Chen Mo had encouraged Qin Kaicheng to begin with his oldest memories.
Only after gradually becoming accustomed to recalling the past should he attempt to unravel the heavily distorted memories surrounding the disaster.
When he recalled his childhood and how he met Yu Heguang...
He could speak for nearly ten minutes before needing only a brief rest.
But now...
Judging from what had just happened...
The breakdown had come much too early.
So the crucial memories weren't naturally distorted...
Something tampered with them.
Chen Mo immediately thought of Dusknoir.
Its treatment of Qin Kaicheng and the other spirits clearly differed from everything described by the Detection Eye.
Looks like I'll have to find another way...
Chen Mo stared intently at Qin Kaicheng's pain-filled face.
Just as he was about to stop him—
Qin Kaicheng suddenly looked up first.
His voice was filled with desperate pleading.
"I don't want to give up..."
"Just..."
"Just give me a little longer."
"I'm almost there."
"I'm almost remembering."
"Please..."
"Please let me try one more time..."
Staring fixedly at the group photograph...
His expression became increasingly distorted.
His entire spirit trembled violently.
"I remember..."
"We'd already achieved so much..."
"But all of us were thinking..."
"If only we could move faster."
"If only we could reach that future sooner..."
"I thought so too..."
"Until that day..."
"I saw something in Big Brother's house..."
"An old..."
"Very old bell..."
"I..."
His speech became faster and faster.
Suddenly—
Marshadow's voice rang sharply inside Chen Mo's mind.
"He's reached his limit!"
Chen Mo needed no reminder.
The instant Qin Kaicheng began slipping into an abnormal state, he shouted,
"Wake up!"
"If your spirit completely disappears..."
"You'll never see Yu Heguang again!"
"And your mother!"
"Think about her!"
"She might even be watching the livestream right now!"
Qin Kaicheng's spirit shook violently.
Finally...
It stopped.
His body collapsed limply onto the floor as he retched in agony.
Chen Mo let out a long breath.
This was far too passive.
The reason he could see and hear Qin Kaicheng at all was because of the Aura he continuously released.
However...
Perhaps because his Aura was still incomplete...
He could only see and hear the spirit.
He couldn't physically touch it.
Which meant he had been completely unable to restrain Qin Kaicheng just now.
That was close...
Fortunately...
He had said the right thing.
A weak whisper echoed through the room.
"...I remember."
"...My lingering attachment."
(To be continued in Part 4.)
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