Pokémon: I picked up a reborn Eevee at the start of the game

Lillie, fully aware of the gravity of the situation, nodded emphatically.

Without even having time to greet the housekeeper who might still be cooking downstairs, Xia Chen opened the room window and threw out a Poké Ball.

The large, bright red lizard immediately hovered outside the window.

Xia Chen leaped up from the windowsill with Lillie in his arms and landed steadily on Gu Leton's back.

"Teacher, the equipment."

Lillie reminded her.

Xia Chen told Gu Leton to set off without turning his head, "Never mind that. Even if we know there are hundreds of Ultra Beasts appearing, we still have to face them. Lillie, you lead the way."

Lillie paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "Understood, let's fly to the tallest building first."

Upon receiving the order, Guleton immediately ran in the direction Lillie had indicated.

The Aether Foundation has very tight security, and the complex is surrounded by a huge, arc-shaped energy barrier.

This can stop ordinary foreign invaders, but it cannot stop Guleton.

Without even using any special techniques, the transparent and invisible energy barrier melts away like ice and snow with just a slight touch.

This situation naturally triggered a deafening alarm that blared throughout the sky.

Xia Chen smiled wryly as he watched the guards and elves running out of the research institute in an orderly fashion.

If I had known it would come to this point, I would have preferred to come and force my way through sooner.

However, this period of time was not entirely useless. At least I met Zeraora and gathered enough information from Lillie.

Xia Chen ignored these unimportant people and Pokémon, and simply let Guleton expand its aura. These Pokémon, whose strength was at most at the elite gym level, were frozen in a state as if they had entered a time barrier.

Lillie was stunned by the horrifying sight. Helpless, Xia Chen shook her shoulder to force her to turn back on, and the girl finally came back to her senses.

Xia Chen asked, "Now, where should we go?"

Lillie thought for a moment, then replied, "Mom is most likely in the laboratory on the third basement level!"

Xia Chen called for Gu Leton to land on the ground, then switched to motorcycle mode and charged straight in.

There were indeed doors along the way that required iris recognition to unlock, but Xia Chen didn't care and let Gu Leton break through them all by brute force.

Soon, they arrived at the laboratory that Lillie had mentioned.

…………

It's less of a laboratory and more of a high-class prison where Ultra Beasts are held.

The cell was separated by some kind of transparent, sturdy, glass-like material, and the Ultimate Beast imprisoned inside was tortured in a rather inhumane way.

There are also other strange beasts such as the Bursting Mosquito, whose muscles are extremely shriveled because it hasn't drunk blood for hundreds of years, the Nihilego Id, which is so transparent that it is almost invisible and blends into the environment, and the Electric Wood Poison Baby.

Their common characteristic is that they are depleted of energy and extremely weak. They are so weak that even Xia Chen and Gu Leton, who forcibly broke in, are too lazy to take a second look at them. More accurately, they are too weak to take a second look.

Xia Chen could guess that this was deliberately arranged to prevent these dangerous elements from causing trouble, perhaps because they could only ingest enough energy each day to sustain their lives.

Regardless of the circumstances, this illegal imprisonment was far too cruel. Lillie looked at them, her eyes revealing a hint of sadness.

She had known for a long time that these elves were her mother's "collection," and some of them were also experimental subjects.

From that time on, she felt that her mother, who gave birth to her and raised her, was somewhat of a stranger, a terrifying stranger.

Xia Chen strode through the passage between the two "cells" and headed toward the end of the corridor that was flashing with bright white light.

He had already sensed it with his aura; Lusamine was there.

At the far end of the laboratory was a hidden world, with rows of sophisticated instruments placed in a clean, pure white room that was almost frightening. Researchers with solemn faces were diligently carrying out their work, seemingly oblivious to the sudden intrusion of Guleton.

Xia Chen recognized Lusamine at a glance. She had the same dazzling blonde hair as the Gladio siblings, a tall and slender figure, and a cold and beautiful face.

She looked up at a number with a progress bar on the large screen in the laboratory, her eyes filled with fervor, like a loyal believer waiting for their deity to bestow blessings upon them.

The figure above jumps from 49% to 50%.

Xia Chen was startled. Could this be the spatial fluctuation deviation rate?

The worst case Lillie mentioned was only 27%, and nearly a hundred Ultra Beasts appeared that time. 50%...wouldn't that be at least double?

"You still came."

Lusamine didn't turn her head, and Xia Chen didn't know whether she was referring to him or Lillie.

"Your parents and I used to be very good friends."

Xia Chen remained calm; he was now certain that Lusamine was speaking to him.

Lillie was somewhat confused. She looked at Lusamine, then at Xia Chen, her delicate face full of bewilderment.

…………

Xia Chen didn't explain anything to Lillie, an outsider. He calmly asked, "So where are they now? In the Ultimate World?"

"That was an accident."

Lusamine's cold face suddenly showed some emotion, "Only channels with a deviation rate of more than 20% have a chance of allowing people from this world to travel to the Ultimate World. The instrument detection malfunctioned that time."

Xia Chen remained silent.

Although he had expected this result, he was still deeply moved when he actually heard it from Rosamund.

"Back then, I didn't have a complete grasp of the Ultimate Star, but things are different now."

Xia Chen was stunned. The Ultimate Star... what is that?

No, more importantly, Rosamund's words seem to imply a deeper meaning—

Was the Ultimate Hole opened by her using the so-called "Ultimate Star"?

"This time there won't be any mistakes. I'm ready. I will bring them all back, as well as those unknown, and many more Ultra Beasts!"

Lusamine's voice was passionate and resolute.

Xia Chen frowned deeply and questioned sharply, "The Ultimate Hole didn't appear naturally; you opened it?"

At this moment, he already knew what the Ultimate Star that Lusamine mentioned was, most likely the legendary small nebula, Cosmom.

In the game, Nebula has the ability to open the Ultimate Space. However, because it is always by Lillie's side, and Nebula is not by Lillie's side in reality, Xia Chen mistakenly believes that the Aether Foundation does not have Nebula, thus ignoring this possibility.

Now it seems the truth of the whole incident is clear—

Lusamine had mastered the Little Nebula very early on and transformed it into a switch to open the Ultimate Void.

Because opening the Ultimate Hole in the Little Nebula requires a large amount of energy, the appearance of the Ultimate Hole follows a pattern of once every one or two months.

If this is indeed the case, then Xia Chen's parents' so-called disappearance is definitely not an accident.

Because the key to Pandora's Box has always been in Lusamine's hands!

Chapter 504 The Ultimate Void, Activated!

"The Ultimate Hole, huh? Not a bad name. If you're referring to a passage, then I opened it."

Lusamine chuckled softly, not denying Xia Chen's guess.

The young man standing not far away, having learned the truth, gradually darkened his expression; he had understood everything.

The disappearance of my parents four years ago was not a natural disaster, but a man-made one!

A man-made disaster brewed by the ambitious Lusamine herself!

She was fully aware of the dangers of the Ultra Hole, but in order to satisfy her almost perverse and obsessive desire for Ultra Beasts, she did not hesitate to drag the entire Aether Foundation, and even the entire Alola region, into the mire.

What are you doing?!

A sharp, almost piercing sound echoed in the empty laboratory.

It wasn't Xia Chen who spoke, but Lillie.

"Why did you open such a large passage? What means do you have to deal with those Ultra Beasts? Do you know how much disaster this will bring to Alola? Dad disappeared because of your ambition, didn't he?"

The questioning, tinged with sobs, did not change Lusamine's calm expression.

She looked at Lillie, her eyes lacking the usual maternal love a mother shows to her daughter; instead, they held the fervor of someone about to realize their dream.

"The wider the passage is opened, the higher the chance of traveling through it to that world. I've waited for over three years, and I don't want to wait any longer. Besides..."

Rosamina paused slightly, a rare hint of gentleness appearing in her usually cold tone, "I will bring them back, I definitely will—"

sieve--

Before Lusamine could finish speaking, a barely perceptible gust of wind suddenly arose in the quiet and empty laboratory.

The next instant, a humanoid elf with a completely red body suddenly appeared behind Lusamine, its right arm tip turning into a sharp spike pressed against her temple.

No one doubted that, if it so desired, Lusamine would never utter another word in her life.

But this almost insanely obsessive woman remained fearless, even displaying a morbid smile.

"Xia Chen, you can't stop me. The opening of the passage is irreversible. Even if Deoxys came, it wouldn't be of any use!"

Xia Chen remained silent; he had no doubt about it.

Arceus is indeed the supreme creator god, but Xia Chen is not at all sure whether the Ultimate World belongs to it.

Even if it were under its jurisdiction, the alpacas wouldn't be coming over right now.

So whether Lusamine was bluffing him or not is irrelevant; he doesn't have the ability or means to stop the opening of the Ultimate Void.

Xia Chen felt a sense of powerlessness, but he hated being threatened by this crazy woman, so he said coldly, "I'll give you ten seconds. If you don't turn it off, you're dead."

Lusamine was still laughing, her not-so-loud, obsessive laughter echoing jarringly in the empty laboratory.

…………

"Teacher, no!"

Lillie screamed in alarm.

No matter what, one thing that cannot be changed is that Lusamine is still her mother, and the bond of blood makes her subconsciously plead with Xia Chen for mercy.

Xia Chen remained silent, and Lusamine also stopped laughing.

She seemed to suddenly regain her composure and elegance, and said calmly, "It's alright. If I die, you can go to that world in my place. I only ask that you help Lillie find her father. If you can't find him... then please take good care of Lillie for me."

The tears that had been welling up in Lillie's eyes finally spilled down her cheeks.