An abstract trainer who taught Charmander the Incinerate move

Chapter 161 For Your Sake (Seeking Monthly Tickets and Subscriptions)

The murky air in the warehouse seemed to solidify into lead, pressing heavily on Gongping's hunched back.

Mo Zhen's call, piercing through the smoke of battle, was like a rusty key that suddenly rammed into the rusted lock deep within his consciousness.

This soft call was more powerful than any of the violent impacts in the previous experiments.

[Together...]

That call was all too familiar, carrying a temperature that he both longed for and feared, instantly stirring the stagnant abyss of his consciousness.

Who am I? Who am I?!

Chaotic thoughts clashed wildly in my head, creating a monstrous storm.

On one side are the gutter rats yearning for light in the sewers, and on the other side are the "hope for the future of the United States" in Mo Zhen's words.

On the other side is the submissive "Experimental Rada 114514" in the laboratory, who only knows how to squeak.

Two identities, two worlds, locked in a fierce battle deep within his soul.

[Fake! It's all fake!]

The personality of the experimental little Rada emitted a sharp, piercing scream from the depths of his consciousness.

[Look carefully! Gongping! This is all Lord Akromar's experiment! It's an illusion! You made it up because you couldn't bear the pain! That man in red doesn't exist! How could he possibly care about you? You're just expendable material! A disposable experimental Rattata! Nobody in this world cares about the life or death of a expendable object! Wake up! It's all fake! Fake!!!]

Little Rada's voice was full of seduction and fear, trying to drag him back into that cold, numb, but safe abyss.

Gong Ping struggled to raise his head, his bloodshot, empty, and dull eyes staring intently at the figure through the pervasive dust and acrid gunpowder smoke—that bright red suit that still shone brightly even in the dim warehouse.

His body began to tremble slightly, and an indescribable emotion slowly welled up from within him, with fear and shame overwhelming him like a tidal wave.

The unbearable pain of not being able to breathe drove him completely insane!

This touch of red, once the warmth he had fantasized about getting closer to countless times, has now become the instrument of torture that nails him to the pillar of shame.

Right now, he wished he could really turn into a rat and dig a hole in the ground to hide his ugly body...

[Squeak—Can you feel it?! The pain in your heart is telling you to stay away from this man; he will only bring you pain and misfortune. Come back and reclaim your true identity and place...]

"Peace for all!"

Mo Zhen's voice rang out again, piercing through Little Rada's shriek.

This time, his voice lacked the previous rage; instead, it contained a concern that almost stopped Gong Ping's heart.

The gaze seemed to pierce through his filthy, ragged exterior, through his twisted, crawling posture, and land directly on his crumbling soul.

"After you disappeared, I've been looking for you. I've searched the entire city of Liyong (big lie), but I haven't found any trace of you. I thought you..."

That usually spirited and carefree tone actually contained a hint of sob at this moment?!

"It's so good to see you again."

Xiaomengzi's two big red bean eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets!
Damn it, what are they trying to do?!
Who the hell is this guy?!

Give me back that hot-blooded, good man who could make me tremble with just one punch!

What the hell? Could it be that I've been hypnotized by the enemy, and everything unfolding before my eyes is just some nonsensical local drama from Johto?!
"Uhhh-!!!"

At that moment, Gongping let out a howl that was of unknown meaning.

The pain, fifty times more intense than any previous electric shock, any special training session, or any nightmare of being trapped by seashells, erupted from the depths of my soul!

The pain nearly crushed his remaining consciousness!
No...don't...don't look at me...don't speak...disappear...please disappear...

Hallucinations... they're all fake... not real!!!
Please...stop it!!!
Did you see that?!

Little Rada's voice caught the moment of excruciating pain, screeching even more piercingly.

Indulging in false illusions will only bring endless suffering! Accept your fate! He is fake! He doesn't exist!

[Think about where he was when you were enduring hell in the lab? Where was he when you were pinned to the ground by superhuman strength, your dignity utterly shattered? Where was he when you were desperately counting prime numbers, on the verge of fainting?!]

He never existed! He abandoned you! Just like everyone else abandoned you! This is all a lie your brain made up! It's a pain-relieving illusion! Wake up!!!

Just then, Mo Zhen's voice rang out again, piercing through the sharp noise in his mind, deep and clear, with an unprecedented gentleness that was almost like a sigh.

"Don't be afraid, I've found you."

Mo Zhen took a step forward, his movements carrying an almost dance-like elegance and rhythm, ignoring the gun barrels pointed at him around him, his gaze fixed firmly on Gong Ping.

"I'll take you away from here right away. The nightmare is over. Everything will be alright."

This voice, this promise, is like the purest ray of sunshine in winter, carrying warmth enough to melt ice and snow.

However, for a "little Rada" that had been immersed in the cold sewers for too long and had become accustomed to darkness and despair, this light was too intense and too dazzling. It was no longer salvation, but the cruelest judgment!
It burned his humble soul, which only wanted to cower in a corner and eke out a living, more deeply than any experimental instrument could inflict!

"Uhhhhhh-!!!"

Gong Ping let out an even more piercing scream, his body convulsing violently, as if those gentle words were a scalding hot iron. "Hahahaha!"

Akroma's shrill laughter rang out at just the right moment, carrying the gloating of a victor and the fanaticism unique to Frankenstein's monster.

He elegantly pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting a cold light.

"See that, Mo Zhen? I won! Your 'bond magic,' your fairy tale of 'confident smile' and 'resolute gaze,' are utterly useless in the face of my science!"

As if displaying a perfect work of art, he pointed to the collapsed Gongping on the ground, and addressed Mo Zhen, his voice filled with the smugness of having everything under control.

"Look carefully! He's not some 'Gongping' anymore, he's my 'Experimental Little Rada 114514'! A perfect creation dedicated solely to science! Your childish sentimentality has been completely formatted! Hahahaha, this is a great victory for science, you now..."

"shut up!!!"

An unprecedentedly furious roar, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, suddenly exploded in the warehouse!

The sound instantly drowned out all the sounds of guns being cocked, heavy breathing, and even Akromma's shrill laughter.

Mo Zhen's almost artist-like elegance and composure, which she had always maintained, shattered completely.

He turned his head sharply, and those golden eyes, which always held a hint of amusement or calculation, were now burning with a fury that could incinerate everything, piercing straight at Akromma!
He was like a lion that had been completely enraged, and there was even a subtle...heartache in his rage.
"He is Gong Ping!"

Mo Zhen's voice was resolute, carrying an undeniable weight and a protective steadfastness.

"He's not some experimental Rattata! He's a decent human being! He's a people's trainer that I cherish!"

Cherish... treasure?!
All the struggles, all the screams, all the chaos... suddenly came to a standstill at this moment.

The experimental little Rada personality's incessant "squeaking" screams were still trying to gain the upper hand.

[Squeak—Don't believe him! He's a fraud! It's an illusion! Get back to safe reality! We are experimental little Rattatas! We belong to cold, hard science! Squeak—!]

However, this time, a fainter yet more essential voice gently rang out from the deepest part of consciousness.

【shut up】

At this moment, language seemed to be endowed with divine power.

With just a single sentence, the laws within the consciousness space suddenly began to operate.

The noisy "squeaking" sound, as if choked by an invisible giant hand, stopped abruptly and vanished without a trace.

The brain is blank.

It was as if those thunderous words had completely cleansed them.

Then, countless truths that had been deliberately concealed emerged, like rocks exposed after the tide receded, cold and clear.

What I know...

I've always known that...

The boy cried out silently in his heart, tears gushing out like a burst dam, washing over his pale and dirty cheeks.

Practicing the "confident smile" in front of the mirror in the cheat room until the corners of my mouth twitched; training with Ah Shui until I was exhausted from sweating profusely; the crazy screams at Ah Shui to shoot during the Pokémon Tournament...

Was it to become Miss Ruri's shimmering spot?
No.

Lost in a beautiful, illusory dream, escaping the cruel reality, endlessly looping those heartbreaking videos, futilely pulling the trigger in despair...

Is it because of the depth of his love for Miss Ruri?

No.

In Akromar's laboratory, enduring pain beyond human limits, allowing his personality to be torn apart and distorted, he created that numb "experimental Rada"...

Was it because the body could not withstand the torture of those experiments?
No.

Gong Ping raised his head with great difficulty, tears streaming down his face.

The gaze passed over the billowing smoke, over Akromma's distorted face, over countless dark gun barrels, and finally, with unparalleled clarity, settled on Mo Zhen.

The red suit seemed to burn brightly in the dim warehouse light.

All of this is because of you...

All the madness, all the depravity, all the self-destruction...

All for that figure in the red suit who once gave a glimmer of light to the rats in the gutter, only to turn away in the end...

But for the sake of the king, I have been pondering it so far.

------

That said, in the Dragon Raja story, despite everyone's pleas for the sake of their lord, it's still unclear who's actually acting in whose best interest? Can any knowledgeable folks explain this to me? The more I read Jiang Nan's writing, the more confused I get.

(End of this chapter)