Pokémon: Master System.

After a moment, Su Muzi slowly stood up, released her arms from Xia Yu, and took the initiative to distance herself from him.

She gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, trying her best to hide her emotions. She put her hands behind her back, looked up at Xia Yu, and gave him a bright smile.

It was as sweet as ever, but at this moment it felt a little bittersweet.

Although Su Muzi was smiling, the tear stains at the corners of her eyes made Xia Yu feel a little sorry for her.

"Who is that woman? Can you tell me?" Su Muzi tried her best to keep her voice calm, but her trembling tone betrayed her: "Do I know her?"

"You...know him." Xia Yu thought for a moment before speaking.

She knew both Long Yanning and Xiao Wanyu.

"Who is it?" Su Muzi then asked.

Xia Yu fell silent. Faced with Su Muzi's question, Xia Yu could only answer with silence.

Seeing Xia Yu fall silent, Su Muzi understood. She should know this person, and be quite familiar with him. She took a deep breath, looked at Xia Yu, and wanted to make one last attempt, so she asked, "Xia Yu... did you ever like me?"

Hearing Su Muzi's voice, Xia Yu remained silent. At this moment, it was meaningless for him to say whether he liked it or not.

The outcome is already determined.

Looking at the silent Xia Yu, Su Muzi's hands trembled slightly. She forced a smile, her eyes crinkling. Although she was smiling, tears, like pearls, slid down her cheeks: "It's okay...it's okay."

"Xia Yu... it's okay if you don't tell me."

"Xia Yu, you can leave me here. The school is just ahead, I can get back by myself."

As Su Muzi spoke, she turned around and walked forward into the midst of the swirling snow.

A forlorn figure, alone and forlorn under the streetlights.

Su Muzi kept wiping away her tears, her steps faltering as she walked further and further away.

As she walked, her sobs gradually rose, growing stronger and stronger, until they became heart-wrenching amidst the swirling snow.

Xia Yu watched this scene with immense sorrow in his heart. He gently took out a cigarette, lit it in the snowy night, and stood there, watching Su Muzi disappear into the wind and rain.

At this moment, Xia Yu recalled the six months he spent in the secret realm. He took a deep drag of his cigarette and exhaled the smoky smoke.

Perhaps he really lost a girl who had eyes only for him.

Chapter 504 Seeing Old Friends Again

This year, the capital city is unusually cold.

A cold front swept in from outside northern China, bringing a cold wave that has made winters in the northern part of the capital city much colder than in previous years.

In this cold season, Xia Yu's life gradually returned to normal, with eating, sleeping, and training as his routine, and his cohabitation with Long Yan Ning became sweeter.

But Su Muzi was no longer in his life. After that night, although Xia Yu often saw Su Muzi online on his phone's chat software, he never received any more messages from Su Muzi alone.

She seemed to disappear from Xia Yu's life overnight.

Even though the two would still meet in the classroom, they would act like familiar strangers, exchanging only simple greetings as classmates.

In the past few days, Su Muzi's smiles have faded, replaced by a gentle and aloof demeanor, as if she has grown up overnight, which is somewhat heartbreaking.

Xia Yu saw all this, but there was nothing he could do.

Feelings can only fade with time. Time can't make you forget, but it can help you let go. Xia Yu could only hope that she could move on soon.

…………

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

Xia Yu and Long Yanning's relationship grew closer, and the two became more and more like a real couple.

If it weren't for Xiao Wanyu, he would probably have fallen in love with Long Yanning, married her, and grown old together. But Xia Yu couldn't cut ties with Xiao Wanyu like he did with Su Muzi.

We can only take it one step at a time and wait it out.

Aside from matters of the heart, many major events have recently occurred within the Pokémon Association.

First of all, the triennial Pokémon University International Tournament is about to begin. As one of the most prestigious competitions at the university level, many people are eager to sign up for the preliminary rounds in China, represent China, and compete against a host of geniuses.

Xia Yu wasn't particularly interested in this. On one hand, it would be difficult for him to get a spot in the competition given his apparent strength. Normally, such spots are reserved for strong senior students in their third or fourth year. On the other hand, he was indifferent to things like honors at the moment.

Secondly, regarding the detective agency, after Xia Yu took over, he also sent people to investigate Chi Hanqing. However, the very next day, Chi Hanqing immediately called Xia Yu and told him to withdraw his people and stop monitoring her. She said she had no hostility towards Xia Yu and they were not enemies.

This made Xia Yu slightly embarrassed; what a terrible detective agency.

Besides these two events, something else happened in North China that surprised everyone.

That is, in the ranks of Elite Four level trainers, an unknown nobody suddenly rose to prominence and, in just a few months, went from being one of the last few in the Elite Four level trainer ranking competition in North China to successfully becoming the fifth place!

This also means that he has a chance to challenge the Four Heavenly Kings of North China. If he wins the match, he will become the new Four Heavenly Kings!

Such formidable strength quickly attracted widespread attention, as the ranking of Elite Four level trainers differs from that of other levels.

All Elite Four trainers will choose one of the seven regions to participate in the local Elite Four ranking tournament, and the top four in the ranking tournament will become the local Elite Four!

The Elite Four and ordinary Elite-level trainers are two completely different concepts.

For example, if Long Yanning has a Pokémon with Champion-level strength, she is considered a Champion-level trainer and can participate in the Champion-level trainer ranking competition. However, a new Champion-level trainer like her is usually ranked near the bottom.

Similarly, trainers like Long Fan, who already possess champion-level Pokémon and whose strength is unfathomable, must also participate in the Elite Four-level trainer ranking tournament as long as they haven't become champions.

However, Long Fan was ranked first, making him the chief of the Four Heavenly Kings in North China.

Although both Long Yanning and Long Fan are going to participate in the Elite Four level trainer ranking competition, their strengths are vastly different.

If Long Yanning wants to rise from the bottom ranks to the top and become one of the Four Heavenly Kings of North China, it will take her at least several years or even decades, and there is no guarantee that she will succeed.

This is why it took this mysterious Elite 1 trainer several months to defeat all other trainers and reach fifth place, which surprised everyone.

Reaching fifth place also means he has earned the opportunity to challenge any one of the Four Heavenly Kings once a year.

If he wins, he will take the position of one of the Four Heavenly Kings and replace him; if he loses, he will have to wait another year before he can launch a challenge.

Because there are relatively few Elite Four trainers, the Elite Four in a region usually don't change for many years, and such situations are extremely rare.

Therefore, everyone is wondering if this person will become the new Four Heavenly Kings.

Just yesterday, this person confirmed that he would challenge the Four Heavenly Kings of North China, specifically Sun Zheng, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Ground System.

The date was set for one month from now.

This match also caught Xia Yu's attention, but he wasn't interested in the match itself; rather, he was interested in that unknown "little guy."

Xu Shanhe, a challenger who came from the mountains.

Xia Yu never expected to hear the name Xu Shanhe again here. The Xu Shanhe in the giant poster looked just like the one Xia Yu had seen in the patrol team.

The harsh living conditions of the patrol team have turned his temples gray and made his face look old and gaunt. He still wears his old black-rimmed glasses and still has that refined and scholarly appearance.

Xu Shanhe was the deputy captain of the Tiandu Plateau Wilderness Area Patrol Team, a person who left a deep impression on Xia Yu.

Xia Yu remembered that Xu Shanhe once said that he was from the capital city. However, after being sent to support the mountain patrol team for two years, he couldn't bear to leave the children in the mountains because he was also a teacher in Qingshan Town. So he voluntarily stayed with the mountain patrol team for more than ten years.

Xu Shanhe was the person Xia Yu admired most in the patrol team, without exception.

From their first meeting, Xu Shanhe left a deep impression on Xia Yu because he always spoke in a refined manner, with a faint smile on his face and a gentle voice.

Xu Shanhe is also the hardest working person in the patrol team. He teaches children from Monday to Friday, and on weekends, as the deputy captain, he participates in patrol work.

Aside from the summer and winter vacations when he has a little time to rest, he works almost year-round, like a wound-up machine, constantly on the go.

This is why, despite being only in his forties, he looks so old, a stark contrast to the celebrities in television commercials.

…………

Chapter 505 One-year appointment

Xia Yu remembered that during his time in the patrol team, Xu Shanhe once said with a smile that if possible, he planned to work in the patrol team until retirement, teach the children for a few more years, and then return to the capital to retire when he got old and his health failed.

But then, the unexpected death of his close friend Roger changed everything.

The Pokémon Association and various sectors of society have also taken notice of the existence of Aoyama Town and the patrol team.

The Pokémon Association sent a new captain and a large number of additional personnel, along with several teachers to support Green Mountain Town.

I heard Xie Tianming mention that after seeing that Qingshan Town had professional teachers and the patrol team had become more stable, he learned that...

Xu Shanhe treated everyone in the patrol team to drinks. That night, Xu Shanhe got drunk and said he wanted to do something for the deceased Roger and for the patrol team.

The day after that, Xu Shanhe voluntarily resigned from his position as deputy captain of the patrol team. He left a letter for each member of the patrol team, packed his bags, and left the team.

Now, seeing Xu Shanhe again, he is only one step away from becoming one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

………………

Xu Shanhe's sudden rise to prominence naturally caused a stir, attracting widespread social attention and bringing the patrol team back into the public eye.

Roger's name has been brought up by the public again, which may be the significance of what Xu Shanhe did.

Roger was undoubtedly a great man, and he should not be forgotten.

…………

Sunday.

The rising sun dispelled the thin mist in the mountains.