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That afternoon.
After getting plenty of rest, Li Xiang and his group set out again.
Rumors had it that the number of remaining participants had sharply dropped—only thirty-five were left now.
Likely, some had pushed through without resting at noon, or they simply hadn't prepared enough, leaving both themselves and their Pokémon exhausted.
For Li Xiang and his team, one-point or three-point Pokémon were nothing. Even five-point Pokémon could be taken down with proper preparation.
But others weren't so lucky.
From the trio being chased by a five-point Probopass earlier to the duo forced to retreat by a pack of Vigoroth, it was clear these Pokémon weren't easy prey for everyone.
Not something you could just catch on a whim.
And among the remaining thirty-five, not all of them were in good condition.
Some had probably gambled on pushing through noon without rest, hoping to overtake others and score big.
The group chat logs made that obvious.
But they didn't stop to think—the golden period for abundant Pokémon was long gone. How many could they realistically find in one afternoon?
When Li Xiang's group returned to the competition area, they only ran into stragglers every ten minutes or so. They had already combed through the main mountain and repeatedly checked the riverside.
Pokémon were scarce.
After over an hour of searching, their gains barely reached ten points.
However, this finally led them to an unexpected reunion with the missing Lin Feng and Xu Wan.
Under very coincidental circumstances.
A long time ago, it was mentioned that Xu Wan had a persistent admirer from No. 2 Middle School who couldn't stand Lin Feng.
As luck would have it, when Li Xiang's group stumbled upon Lin Feng and Xu Wan, they were already in a heated confrontation with that guy and his two lackeys.
The root of the conflict?
A five-point Steelix and its three three-point Onix underlings.
Unsurprisingly, Lin Feng and Xu Wan had spotted the Steelix first and were preparing to capture it, but the guy and his crew suddenly appeared, spouting "finder's rights" nonsense and forcing their way into the hunt.
In the end, Lin Feng's quick thinking allowed him to secure the five-point Steelix and two of the three-point Onix.
This left the guy fuming.
In his mind, he should've been the one walking away with most of the spoils, not this brat.
By the time Li Xiang's group arrived, the two sides were locked in a tense standoff, eyes burning with anger—on the verge of throwing hands.
Had they been any later, a fight might've actually broken out, but a camera-equipped Magnemite hovered nearby.
Silently watching.
If they dared to throw a punch, both sides would be disqualified from the camp immediately. Rules were absolute.
"Do you all think that thing's invisible?"
Li Xiang's arrival snapped them out of their rage as he pointed at the tree where the Magnemite lurked. The five followed his finger and paled at the sight of the recording device.
Had they actually fought, the evidence would've been undeniable.
This wasn't something connections could smooth over—they'd likely be made examples of.
"Tch. Lucky break."
The guy shot Lin Feng a glare before turning to leave with his lackeys. "We'll settle this after the match. Hope you're still this cocky then."
Lin Feng opened his mouth to retort, but Li Xiang stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
"Save it. Trash talk only hits hard after you've crushed him. That's when it actually feels good."
"...Right."
Lin Feng nodded, then slung an arm around Li Xiang's shoulders. "Glad you showed up. I might've actually swung on him."
Teenagers often struggled with emotional control—blame it on hormones. Most were like firecrackers with deceptively long fuses.
One would think poking them a few times was safe. Then, before you knew it, the fuse burned out in an instant, and boom—everything exploded in your face.
Acting on impulse, ignoring consequences—this was why teenage trainers had such high crime rates.
After relocating to a quieter spot, the group shared intel and marked the areas Lin Feng and Xu Wan had already explored. Inevitably, the topic of Li Xiang's team—three people supporting one—came up.
Lin Feng immediately stood up, declaring he'd be happy to contribute his points too, but Li Xiang shoved him back down.
He was already feeling guilty—he didn't need another troublemaker.
Xu Wan hesitated, clearly wanting to say something, but Li Xiang didn't let ger speak up.
While he appreciated his friends' willingness to help, their insistence was starting to weigh down on his conscience.
After firmly rejecting their offers, Li Xiang considered whether merging into a six-person team would improve efficiency.
But how would they split the rewards?
Should Li Xiang take the first four shares, leaving Lin Feng and Xu Wan to divide the rest? Or the other way around?
It sounded workable, but something felt off...
Just as he was mulling it over, a group of Magneton descended from the sky, their bodies fused with loudspeaker-like machinery.
"The final Pokémon has been captured! The Competition is officially over!"
"All participants, please return to the field to submit and register your results!"
"Repeat—"
'...It's over?'
Li Xiang stared blankly at the Magneton.
'Over? Before 3 PM?'
He checked his watch. The event was supposed to end at 6:30 PM—apparently, it also concluded early if all Pokémon were captured.
"Well, that's that."
Li Xiang sighed and turned to his friends. "Let's head back."
With the competition over, his earlier dilemma no longer mattered. The group nodded and began making their way back.
At the registration desk, Li Xiang reported his haul—170 points for the day. Combined with his previous score, this put him at over 370 points total.
Still in C-tier, but now tantalizingly close to B-tier.
"Instructor, when's the next Points Competition?"
Li Xiang quietly asked Zhong Qizhi.
Events like this—testing physical endurance, Pokémon battle skills, and competitive spirit—were surely a staple of the camp.
"First of every month." Zhong Qizhi chuckled. "Didn't expect you to have such charisma. Doubt there's another kid like you in all of Yuzhou."
Three people willingly feeding one person their points was pretty wild.
"You flatter me."
Li Xiang's expression didn't change, but internally, he was calculating. With this and other point-earning methods, he might be able to trade for that shiny Metang sooner than expected.
Post-match grudge battles—stemming from earlier clashes over Pokémon—would take place tomorrow, during the next group's Points Competition.
The camera Magnemite had recorded everything, so false claims wouldn't fly.
However, some participants, still stuck at zero or negative points, were beginning to lose their minds.
Honestly, the Competition was a golden chance to recover. If they couldn't even manage that, staying in the camp was a waste of time.
They'd be better off going home to focus on regular exams.
Only twenty would make the final cut anyway.
Li Xiang muted the group chat. These idiots were openly discussing fake battles to trade points—did they think no one was watching?
He was certain Xiang Yangwei would find ways to weed people out, regardless of their point totals.
Anyone thinking they could coast just because they still had points was in for a rude awakening.
Turning around, Li Xiang found Song Jie standing behind him, scrolling through his phone.
"The backlash of playing hero."
Song Jie turned the screen toward him—it displayed their class group chat, managed by Zhong Qizhi and Song Jie himself.
Li Xiang skimmed it and looked away.
Just some nobody blaming him for "not helping" when he "could have."
The name wasn't familiar—not from No. 1 Middle School, maybe not even from their city.
No idea where this guy got the nerve, but this was just one flavor of desperation. Not worth acknowledging.
Li Xiang had never cared about his reputation among peers. His earlier efforts were purely for performance points—if this guy wanted to shift blame, let him.
Thankfully, most people had common sense.
The moment the guy spoke up, No. 1 students immediately tore into him.
Others from different schools joined in too.
When someone sarcastically remarked, "Oh wow, the Vice Class President didn't hand you free Pokémon? Even our negative-point guys aren't this shameless—how thick is your face?" Li Xiang finally placed him.
One of the two who'd shamelessly begged for his Pokémon earlier that morning.
Truly a lost cause.
Still at negative points, too. A couple of captures hadn't been enough to dig him out. Li Xiang had even less desire to engage now. He pushed Song Jie's phone back.
"Only one idiot, thankfully."
He was relieved most of his classmates were reasonable. Even those still in the negatives hadn't tried blaming him after his clear refusals.
This round, about twenty-plus had been eliminated, including two from No. 1 Middle School.
They'd been part of the running group and had tried keeping up with Li Xiang's nightly jogs, though they often fell behind. Their battle skills weren't up to par either.
A regrettable exit.
But unlike the whiner, they'd defended Li Xiang in the chat. Proof that the gap between people could be wider than the gap between people and pigs.
"True."
Song Jie glanced at the chat. "Putting skill aside, at least our guys have decent character... Hope I never have to take that back."
"Assuming the worst in everyone isn't healthy. Everyone has their merits."
Li Xiang slung an arm around his shoulder. "C'mon, let's get out of here. I'm beat."
The two headed toward the Pokémon Center.
No nightly run today—the rest of the afternoon and evening was free time.
After their heart-to-heart, though Li Xiang hadn't given Song Jie a direct answer, their relationship had still taken a step forward.
One had voiced his dream.
The other was now striving to make it come true.