*Crack!*
Sparks flew from the handheld console, and Li Fan fainted.
When he woke up, the hospital room ceiling was gone, replaced by a night sky with a full moon hanging high.
He got up and looked around for a moment, finding himself by a stream, with the chirping of insects all around.
What's going on?
Just as Li Fan was utterly bewildered, a sphere glowing with a faint blue light slowly floated out from in front of him.
Isn't that a Thunderbug?
Li Fan's memories were quickly jogged, and he realized the scene before him looked exactly like the Flooded Forest map in Monster Hunter.
Flooded Forest, Thunderbugs...
As he stroked his chin in thought, a sound resembling a wolf's howl echoed from the hillside not far away.
"Woooo... woooo..."
The howl was long and drawn-out, as if calling out to the full moon.
Li Fan followed the sound with his eyes. In the moonlight, a blue-scaled monster with two horns on its head and white fur on its back appeared before him.
That's a Zinogre! Could this be the Monster Hunter world?
"What are you doing, meow?"
Hearing a voice, Li Fan turned around 360 degrees but couldn't see who was speaking.
"Is this... a secret transmission of sound?"
"Over here, meow!"
Seeing a cat-paw-shaped staff waving in front of him, Li Fan looked down and saw a cat in armor lying in the grass on the ground.
"Why are you lying on the ground? Isn't it cold?"
"My name is Felyne, and I'm undergoing the Felyne trial. The goal is to catch a Thunderbug and bring it back to the village. Now I've encountered a Zinogre, so I can only hide and wait for it to leave, meow!"
Felyne said, shaking a small bug-catching net held in its paw.
"Even cats have trials now? Is Monster Hunter world this competitive?"
"Only Felynes who pass the trial are qualified to assist hunters in expeditions and hunts, meow! You should lie down quickly too, or you'll be in trouble if you're discovered!"
"It's too cold on the ground, and I don't have time to lie down. If I don't go back soon, the院长 (yuànzhǎng - dean/director) will definitely be looking for me everywhere. Are there any shared bikes around here?"
"Shared bikes? Never heard of that, meow. But I can contact a Felyne corpse transport cart."
Li Fan sighed and started fumbling in his pocket.
He didn't find his phone, but he did pull out a red and white sphere with a button in the middle, and a handheld game console.
"No wonder my back was hurting, someone must have stuffed a Poké Ball in my pocket."
"Is this a new kind of dye ball, meow?"
"This is called a Poké Ball. See this button? Press it, throw it, and *poof*! If the ball doesn't burst after three shakes, the monster is successfully captured."
Li Fan explained.
"Uh... meow, did you eat any brightly colored mushrooms? I have antidotes here."
Felyne said, rummaging through its backpack.
"No, I hate taking medicine the most."
Seeing Li Fan's resistance, Felyne's ears drooped, and it said softly, "Sorry, I shouldn't have assumed, meow."
"There's nothing to apologize for, it's not your fault."
*ROAR!*
A bear-like roar shattered the quiet night sky by the stream once again.
The man and the cat turned their heads and saw an Arzuros, standing on its hind legs, raising its claws to confront the Zinogre.
"An Arzuros is confronting a Zinogre! Meow!"
Felyne took out a small notebook and began writing furiously.
"The Zinogre has a beehive on its hind leg that was pierced by claws. I think that's why the Arzuros is so enraged."
Li Fan explained.
"So that's it! You're so observant, you must be a veteran hunter, meow?"
"Just so-so."
Thinking of players with thousands of hours of save data, Li Fan was humble.
The enraged Arzuros attacked first, grabbing one of the Zinogre's front paws and attempting a suplex.
However, given that the Zinogre was more than twice the size of the Arzuros, this maneuver was impossible.
The Zinogre let out a low growl and unleashed its signature move, the "Thunderclap Palm."
*Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!*
For a moment, lightning flashed across the hillside. The Arzuros, with smoke rising from its back, was electrocuted so badly its tongue lolled out.
However, this also seemed to sober it up a bit. It turned and lay on the ground, using all four limbs to flee.
"Haha, it got zapped awake... Wait, hey! Don't run this way!"
Li Fan, who had been enjoying the show, saw his smile vanish.
"This is bad! Run, meow!"
The man and the cat then began to sprint across the grass.
After running into a patch of forest, the Arzuros leaped towards a cave entrance beneath a rocky cliff.
However, perhaps it had eaten too much recently and misjudged its own size, as only its upper body managed to enter the cave, with its rear end stuck outside.
"This is much more realistic than the game."
Li Fan exclaimed.
The next moment, the Zinogre swung its tail, hitting the Arzuros's rear end directly.
*Bang!* The Arzuros, struck by the blow, was actually propelled into the cave.
The Zinogre slammed the ground, lightning crackling around its body, looking very angry.
Following the sound of panting footsteps, it turned its head and discovered Li Fan and Felyne sprinting away.
It then stomped its four paws forcefully and gave chase.
"Quickly go to the reed bed by the river! The Zinogre will absorb Thunderbugs there, and we'll have a chance to escape by boat, meow!"
Felyne said, raising its cat-paw staff and pointing in a direction.
"Hoo... I can't run anymore."
Li Fan said, panting heavily.
"No way, meow? You're not even wearing hunter gear."
Felyne couldn't understand why a hunter would have such weak stamina.
"I didn't sleep well last night, and I'm not in good condition today. By the way, do you have anything in your bag that can boost stamina, like a Dash Juice?"
"No, a bottle of Dash Juice is more expensive than I am, meow!"
"Never mind, I'll try my best to run."
After forcing himself to run for two minutes, Li Fan finally reached the reed bed by the river.
Seeing the ball-shaped Thunderbugs floating around, just as Felyne had predicted, the Zinogre slowed its pace.
"Get on the boat quickly! Meow!"
Passing through the reeds to the riverbank, Felyne untied the rope from the wooden post.
The Zinogre let out a roar to the sky, and the Thunderbugs, as if summoned, quickly converged on its back.
Li Fan, still in the reed bed, though he didn't experience the classic flat-on-the-ground fall, was truly struggling to run due to exhaustion.
"Come on! Meow!"
Felyne shouted, then picked up a horn-shaped bugle and blew it with all its might.
As the sound waves from the bugle reached him, Li Fan felt his strength gather in his legs, and he began to run again.
He looked back and saw that of all the Thunderbugs around the Zinogre, only one was still struggling to escape.
*Woooo!*
The Zinogre's roar intensified, and its absorption power increased further.
The Thunderbug's flight path became erratic. Although it was trying its best to pull away, its position was still slowly moving backward.
No, this will fully charge the Zinogre, and then I'll be in trouble.
Li Fan looked at the Poké Ball in his hand and quickly thought of a plan.