Zhou Wan urged, "Su Wen, hurry up and call Uncle Su to ask."

  Knowing Zhou Wan was anxious, Su Wen immediately took out his phone and dialed his father.

  The phone rang once, then twice, but no one answered. Just as Su Wen started to worry, the third call finally connected.

  "Dad, what’s going on? Why did it take so long to answer?" Su Wen asked hurriedly.

  "Huff... huff..." Su Chuan’s heavy breathing came through the phone, as if he’d just been engaged in some intense activity.

  "Nothing, son. I was just busy. What’s up?" Su Chuan asked after catching his breath.

  Su Wen didn’t have time to wonder what his father had been doing. He quickly expined what had happened to Zhou Wan.

  "Dad, do you know what 'Dawn' means?" Su Wen asked, holding his breath as he, Chen You, and Zhou Wan waited for Su Chuan’s response.

  ...

  There was a long silence on the other end of the line. After what felt like an eternity, Su Chuan finally spoke.

  "'Dawn'... that’s a familiar name. I didn’t expect you to encounter it so soon."

  After a deep breath, Su Chuan seemed to make a decision. "Chen You and Zhou Wan are with you, right?"

  "Yes, Dad," Su Wen replied, switching the phone to speaker mode so everyone could hear.

  "Good. What I’m about to tell you must not leave this room. Do you understand?" Su Chuan’s tone was grave.

  "We understand, Dad (Uncle Su)," the three of them replied in unison.

  "Alright," Su Chuan began. "To understand 'Dawn,' you first need to know that our country’s archives are cssified into five levels: S, A, B, C, and D. The detailed information about 'Dawn' is cssified as S-level—top secret. Even the mere existence of 'Dawn' is heavily guarded information."

  "The phrase 'A Heart Cleansed of Shadows, Dawn Eternal Rises' is their motto. 'Dawn' is one of the world’s rgest terrorist organizations. Their ideology is that only when every human heart is free of darkness can true dawn arrive."

  "But, as the saying goes, extremes lead to opposites. How can every person in the world be free of darkness? So, 'Dawn’s' philosophy has twisted into the belief that all humans, including themselves, must be eradicated to achieve this so-called purity."

  "The World Pokémon League has issued the highest-level bounty for 'Dawn.' Anyone who can capture or kill their leader, Nine Crows, will gain wealth beyond imagination."

  "Unfortunately, while 'Dawn' has gone underground, they’re still active. To date, three small nations have been completely annihited by them."

  Su Wen’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Annihited entire nations?"

  Su Chuan’s voice was heavy. "Yes. Conservative estimates put the death toll at over six million people."

  Chen You couldn’t hold back. "How is something this serious not common knowledge in our country?"

  Zhou Wan added, "And has 'Dawn' never caused trouble here?"

  Su Chuan chuckled, his voice filled with pride. "Over twenty years ago, 'Dawn' plotted to detonate a restricted area and destroy one of our cities. Although the pn was thwarted, many civilians still died. In response, the former Dragon-type Elite Four member personally led five Elite trainers, over twenty Champion-level trainers, and more than three hundred Gym Leader-level trainers in a raid on 'Dawn’s' headquarters."

  "In the end, Nine Crows was severely injured and fled, three of 'Dawn’s' four top officers were killed, and their core forces were nearly wiped out. 'Dawn' was almost completely destroyed, and it was only after that they went quiet. They’ve only recently resurfaced."

  "Do you three know why our country pces such importance on trainers? Do you know what Elite and Champion-level trainers usually do? Every inch of our borders, every piece of nd, is guarded by us. No matter what evil forces dare to cross our borders, we will hunt them down, no matter how far they flee!"

  Even through the phone, Su Wen, Chen You, and Zhou Wan could feel the killing intent in Su Chuan’s words.

  Su Chuan continued, "So, you don’t need to worry too much. The Pokémon League is closely monitoring 'Dawn’s' movements. No one can set foot in our country. However..."

  Before Su Chuan could finish, the call abruptly ended with a series of beeps. When Su Wen tried to call back, there was no signal.

  "D*mn it! I wasn’t finished," Su Chuan cursed, staring at his phone, which now showed no signal.

  He had wanted to say that, like a centipede that doesn’t die even when cut into pieces, 'Dawn' might still pose a threat, and it would be safer to hand the box over to the Pokémon League.

  Beside him, Wang Xuan looked anxious. "They won’t misunderstand, will they? We need to get out of this dungeon as soon as possible!"

  Half a month ago, Su Chuan and Wang Xuan had accidentally entered this dungeon, which was semi-connected to the real world, and had been trapped ever since. The signal was intermittent, and although Su Chuan had sent a distress signal to the Pokémon League when he had a connection, there was no telling when help would arrive.

  The heavy breathing earlier had been because they had just escaped a swarm of Beedrill. To avoid worrying Su Wen, Su Chuan hadn’t mentioned their predicament.

  Seeing Wang Xuan’s concern, Su Chuan comforted her, "Don’t worry, honey. Su Wen’s smart. He’ll understand what I meant. My Sking is almost breaking through to the Champion level. Once it does, I’ll try to force our way out."

  Su Wen, indeed, believed he understood his father’s message. "Dad said 'Dawn' can’t enter our country, so we don’t need to worry. Sister Wan, do you know what’s in the box?"

  Zhou Wan was still uneasy. "But Uncle Su didn’t finish what he was saying."

  Su Wen confidently replied, "He must have meant that we should keep an eye on Uncle Zhou’s recent activities."

  If Su Chuan knew his son had twisted his unfinished words into this, he might have been too frustrated to leave the dungeon.

  After exchanging gnces, Zhou Wan and Chen You reluctantly accepted this expnation. Zhou Wan then led Su Wen and Chen You to the basement. "It should be here."

  After some searching, Chen You accidentally triggered a hidden mechanism, revealing a compartment. Inside was a silver metal briefcase, about the size of a magazine.

  "It’s so light," Su Wen remarked as he picked it up and handed it to Zhou Wan.

  Zhou Wan took the case and noticed a lock on the side. After a moment’s thought, she tried Zhou Li’s birthday—wrong. Then her own birthday—still wrong. Finally, she entered her te mother’s birthday.

  With a soft click, the lock opened.