Xia Huanao, having finished his battle with Yu Longdu, approached Tong Ruo's office. "Ruo Jie, I'd like to request some leave."
"Hmm? You've only been here a few days, and you're already asking for leave. And..."
Xia Huanao gave an embarrassed smile. "Well, Ruo Jie, it's not that I'm not dedicated to my work, but the Grand Festival is coming up. I need to go home and get some things. I won't be gone long."
Tong Ruo irritably tore off a leave slip, stamped it, and handed it over. "Here. Fill it out yourself."
Xia Huanao bowed repeatedly as he backed away. "Thank you, Ruo Jie, thank you, Ruo Jie."
With his leave approved, Xia Huanao was in high spirits. He rushed out of the Six Spirits Academy and straight to the train station, buying a ticket to go home. Yu Longdu, who had been keeping an eye on Xia Huanao, was dumbfounded. *What are you doing? The plan hasn't even started, and you're already wandering around like this.*
On the train, Xia Huanao called Zhang Hong, telling him to wait at the secret base that day as he had something to do.
...
The train rumbled along the tracks from Liuling City to Jinghai City. After getting off the train, Xia Huanao immediately took a taxi to his secret base.
Outside the secret base, Xia Huanao saw Shen Yu waiting for him, wearing a light pink padded jacket. The moment they met, Shen Yu threw herself into Xia Huanao's arms. "I missed you."
Looking at Shen Yu's teary eyes, Xia Huanao hugged her tightly. "There, there, I'm back now."
Shen Yu pulled away from his embrace. "Hmph, why did you come back?"
Xia Huanao rushed to comfort Shen Yu, much to Zhang Hong's annoyance as he watched from inside the house. He wanted to be in a relationship too; even arguing constantly would be better than watching Xia Huanao flaunt his affection.
Fortunately, it wasn't long before Xia Huanao and Shen Yu entered the secret base together.
In the basement of the secret base, Xia Huanao, Zhang Hong, and Shen Yu began drawing up design plans.
"Zhang Hong, what we're about to do is a groundbreaking invention. Let me explain the theory first."
After spending a considerable amount of time explaining the steps for turning Berries into Pokéblocks, Zhang Hong frowned. "This is a bit difficult. Achieving these goals and miniaturizing the process... I'll give it a try."
True to his ambition of becoming a Pokémon researcher, Zhang Hong rummaged through a pile of parts in a newly constructed warehouse in his villa's courtyard. With some effort, he managed to build a device. However, seeing the machine that reached his waist, Xia Huanao hesitated. "Isn't this thing too big?"
Zhang Hong had no choice. "It can't be helped. Although I've prepared all sorts of parts in the warehouse, the components needed for miniaturization are still too numerous. And I can't guarantee that this device will actually produce the blocks you described, boss."
Xia Huanao directly took two Berries, placed them inside, and pressed the switch.
The Berries were quickly ground into a pulp. The juice and powder separated, and after a series of reactions, a sticky block appeared.
Xia Huanao poked it with his finger, and a long strand of the substance pulled out, resembling the caramelized sweet potatoes he had eaten in his past life.
Xia Huanao frowned. "How do we deal with this? It can't be stored at all."
Zhang Hong leaned closer to the machine and tapped it. "That shouldn't be the case. According to your description, the machine I built is no different."
Xia Huanao proposed his own theory. "Could it be that the pressure applied was problematic due to insufficient precision?"
Zhang Hong nodded. "That's a plausible explanation. After all, the parts I used were bought for experimental equipment. If you're willing to wait, it might take a while."
Xia Huanao patted Zhang Hong on the shoulder. "Zhang Hong, you need to work hard. This is your first step towards becoming a renowned Pokémon researcher."
Hearing Xia Huanao's words, Zhang Hong paused, then became very excited. Becoming famous as a researcher was his dream. With that in mind, Zhang Hong opened his computer and, after a thorough search on a shopping website, placed an order.
"Boss, please wait a moment. Although Jinghai City is the largest commercial city in the Minglong Kingdom, the parts I ordered will still take a considerable amount of time to arrive."
More than two hours later, Xia Huanao heard the doorbell ring. He and Zhang Hong immediately went out to receive the parts.
After signing for the delivery, Xia Huanao looked at the large boxes in front of him and asked, "Zhang Hong, do we really need so many parts? I have a feeling you might be using this for personal gain."
Zhang Hong held up a finger. "Shh, just know it, don't say it. My mother's monthly allowance is limited. If you hadn't come, I wouldn't have known how to get more money."
"Yes, I know your research life is difficult, but how are the three of us going to move these four large boxes?"
Looking at the four boxes, each one meter wide, one meter high, and three meters long, Xia Huanao frowned. "If we had a strong Pokémon or a Psychic-type Pokémon, they could help us. What do we do with the Pokémon we have now?"
Hearing this, Zhang Hong also grew anxious. He had only thought about using Xia Huanao's presence to get more parts, but he had forgotten about the transportation issue...
Glancing at the sky, which looked like it was about to change, Zhang Hong quickly said, "Xia boss, hurry and think of a solution. We can't just leave them here."
"What can I do? We'll have to get people to help us move them."
...
Xia Huanao, along with Zhang Hong, Shen Yu, and their five Pokémon, made numerous trips for over half an hour before finally moving all sorts of parts into the warehouse.
Sitting in the warehouse, Xia Huanao gasped for breath. "I'm telling you, if you truly want to pursue a career as a researcher, I think you absolutely need a Machoke or something similar. At least it could help you move things. What do you think?"
Zhang Hong nodded. "You're right, boss. I'll get one sooner or later."
After a short break, Zhang Hong brought out a large pile of parts, and the three of them returned to the laboratory. As Zhang Hong tinkered away, Xia Huanao said to Shen Yu, "Zhang Hong is truly a capable person. He can build equipment just by listening to my explanation of the principles."
Shen Yu nodded. "Yes, Zhang Hong is indeed very skilled."
They watched Zhang Hong work with impressive speed, and before long, they had managed to assemble a second Berry machine.
Xia Huanao asked, "Is it okay this time?"
Zhang Hong thought for a moment. "It should be fine."
Xia Huanao took out two more Berries. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the moment for science to explore the future!"
The system almost jumped out of Xia Huanao's brain upon hearing this. *You dare say that in front of the equipment? Aren't you afraid of it exploding?*
Xia Huanao flipped the switch, and then there was a crackling sound, followed by... nothing else.
Xia Huanao looked at the smoking machine and asked Zhang Hong, "What's wrong with this thing?"
Zhang Hong examined the device and studied it for a while. "It seems to be an issue with excessive voltage. It's alright; we can fix it with a few adjustments."
Xia Huanao glanced at his phone and then turned to Shen Yu. "Xiao Yu, it's getting late. You should find a place to rest. Don't worry about us; we're used to staying up late."
Zhang Hong also chimed in, "That's right, Sister-in-law. Boss and I can work through the night to get it done, so you don't have to stay up."
Unable to refuse Xia Huanao and Zhang Hong, Shen Yu went upstairs to sleep, while Xia Huanao and Zhang Hong continued their research.
"Zhang Hong, can this device create a low-temperature vacuum concentration effect?"
Zhang Hong nodded. "We can achieve that. Depending on the temperature and the relative vacuum volume you require, the power consumption will vary, but based on the four Berries you mentioned, the power shouldn't need to be too high."
The two continued to adjust the equipment. Discussing the matter of concentrating fruit juice, Xia Huanao asked, "If we first do low-temperature concentration and then evaporation crystallization, would the drastic temperature changes damage the machine?"
Zhang Hong picked up a piece of metal. "No, this metal has a high specific heat capacity, so it won't be affected too much by temperature fluctuations."
After adjusting the part for the fruit juice, they moved on to the pulp.
"Boss, how small do you plan to compress the blocks?"
Xia Huanao held up two fingers pressed together. "I intend to compress them to two fingers wide. Are there any issues?"
Zhang Hong looked at the equipment. "There shouldn't be any problems, but since this isn't professional laboratory equipment, while it can be compressed successfully, it will take longer. Preliminary estimates suggest our device will need about ten minutes for compression."
Xia Huanao thought that ten minutes wasn't too long. "Let's leave it at that for now. We'll see once it's made."
The two worked diligently again and finally managed to build a device that measured fifty in length, thirty in width, and twenty in height.
Xia Huanao looked at the size of the device. "You know, this device is still smaller than the equipment I've used in the lab."
Zhang Hong thought for a moment. "This is different. The lab equipment can control variables. For this one, you've given us the parameters, so the only variable is the Berry."
"So, can we try it now?"
Hearing Zhang Hong say it was ready, Xia Huanao took out Berries for the third time to conduct the experiment. This time, the experiment was more successful. After fifteen minutes, a red block appeared before Xia Huanao.
Xia Huanao looked at the block, picked it up with his hand, and popped it into his mouth.
"Cough, not bad, it's a Pokéblock. At least it's the same as the one I made before."
Then, Xia Huanao asked Zhang Hong, "Zhang Hong, can the size of this thing be made even smaller?"
Zhang Hong nodded. "Of course. This volume was made without considering heat dissipation. If we install cooling equipment, the volume will definitely decrease, but the power consumption will also increase."
Xia Huanao stretched. "We'll discuss it tomorrow. For now, we need to sleep."
Zhang Hong glanced at the clock on the wall. "It's already two o'clock? We really should go to sleep. Even though tomorrow is Sunday, we shouldn't stay up too late."