"Tsk."
Xiao Die pouted. Brother Feng had anticipated her curiosity. She'd hoped to find a Kamen Rider belt or Ultraman transformation device in his backpack. After all, it was an open secret that Su Feng hailed from another world—and of course someone like him would own such items. She believed he had a grand purpose here, like the world-traveling Decade.
"Is something wrong?" Su Feng asked, noticing her hesitation.
"Nope!" Xiao Dai quickly pulled out meat and vegetables from the backpack as instructed. "I'll handle dinner!" She skipped off, leaving Su Feng baffled.
…
"No Kamen Rider gear… Maybe he's a Persona user instead?" Xiao Die mused while expertly chopping ingredients. Soon, mouthwatering aromas lured the entire camp.
"What's that smell?!" Lin Man perked up.
"Brother Feng didn't make grilled fish today?!" Yao Tian sniffed the air.
Xiao Da grinned. "Xiao Die's cooking smells even better!"
Su Feng watched the crowd flock to her cooking station, grumbling internally. Why weren't they this enthusiastic about my meals?
He cornered Yao Tian. "Is her food that much better?"
"Uh… It's not that, Brother Feng. But three days of nothing but fish…" Yao Tian trailed off awkwardly.
Su Feng froze. He'd assumed everyone loved his grilled fish since they cleaned their plates. Oops.
System, sell me cookbooks.
[Of course!]
A menu of Pokémon-world recipes appeared: standard dishes, Max Soup, Rare Candy formulas (priced like Master Balls), and more. Su Feng bypassed Kalos Elite Four member Siebold's gourmet guides and splurged 400 points on Pai Pa's Cookbook—a tome of reality-bending recipes that could alter Pokémon size, traits, or even shininess.
[Thanks for your purchase, meow~]
Su Feng ignored the system's sudden sweetness and pulled the hefty book from his backpack. Pages detailed ingredient origins, like Sweet Herba Mystica growing in Klawf dens.
"So cuisine can warp causality…" Su Feng muttered, engrossed.
—
Midnight. The camp slept as Su Feng studied by lamplight.
"Grr… (More fish… Energy Cubes…)" Growlithe's sleepy whimper snapped him awake. 2 AM?! He'd need to cut his eight-hour sleep short. Just one more page…
Outside, nocturnal Pokémon stirred. Murkrow and Hoothoot screeched warnings, abandoning prey to flee.
"Hoot! Hoot!"
"Caw! Caw!"
Su Feng frowned. Why so noisy tonight? A Hoothoot's cry pierced his tent.
"QUIET! PEOPLE NEED SLEEP!" He yanked the tent flap open, only to freeze.
A distorted spatial rift loomed inches from Xiao Da and Xiao Die's tents—expanding.