Unidentifiable

It was a nice sunny day when Míngzé decided to take a walk through the park, accompanied by Dai. This was one of those days where he finally got the feeling the winter was almost over. Until it would rain again the next day. That day he decided to enjoy the sun as he took the bus towards the park. A bit of fresh eir was never a bad idea.

As always, Dai was running somewhere in front of him. By now Míngzé trusted him well enough that he would not wander off too far. With his cane in hand, he calmly walked over the path. In his other hand he held his phone. Every now and then a female voice sounded as it described what was around him. It was mostly trees, which was to be expected. Not that it mattered, simply knowing what was around him was a nice change. He actually really enjoyed it.

”Unidentifiable.”

Míngzé stopped in his tracks and raised an eyebrow. This was the first time he had said this, which piqued his curiosity. Again he tried it. ”Unidentifiable.” He took a few steps forward towards whatever this was. There was a vague shadow, but with the trees not clear enough to guess what it was.

Ever since Mingze received the gift, he had been using it to get a better understanding about it all. It was new and needed a bit more understanding before he would be able to use its full potential. So far, it has helped him. Now it only had to become second nature and that was only possible by using it and trying it out.

This was however the first time it said this, which only confused him. So far it has been able to give him information about everything, but not about this. There was a soft frown on his forehead as he tried to imagine what it could be. Perhaps maybe a pokémon? One the device was unfamiliar with? Enough new species have been discovered that are only to be found here in Cerynia. Could that be it?

A voice sounded after his phone once more told him the same line. Míngzé’s eyes shot up and he gazed out in front of him. “Not sure,” he said with a hint of confusion in his voice. “Is there anything out of the ordinary that you can see?” Míngzé had his phone pointed towards the stranger, so it should be something close. Or perhaps it could be a bug? “It should be able to tell me what is in front of me if I point my phone at it,” he quickly explained.

According to the stranger, there was nothing out of the ordinary to be seen. Only a tree. Míngzé huffed softly and shook his head. “I sure hope not, it is brand new.” Unless Vince had given him some secondhand thing he found on the streets or something. He remembered how to turn it on and off, so he gave that a chance.

There was something. Míngzé couldn't quite pinpoint what exactly it was. It was more like the feeling as if something closed in on him. He looked over his shoulder for a second, listening if there was anything that would catch his attention, but nothing. There was a frown on his head, but he tried to shake off the uncomfortable feeling. “It is easy, all you have to do is point at something, and it will tell you what it is,” Míngzé explained as he was turning the device around in his hand. “That is of course, if it works.” A small smile flashed over his lips. Maybe it was indeed some sort of software issue. Míngzé didn't have enough knowledge about that kind of thing to be certain. He lifted his phone again, pointing it once more towards the tree, but the same word sounded once more. Great, he had already broken it somehow.

While this device was nice to have, Míngzé could do without it. He had survived this long, so it would not change much. That did not change the fact that he had taken a liking to the thing. Given more time he would’ve learned how to properly work with it and it would’ve made his life easier. Too bad it was already malfunctioning.

It seemed like it was no use at all. No matter how often he tried it, the result stayed the same. A deep sigh escaped as the stranger offered to try it once more. Míngzé doubted it would make much of a difference, but there was no harm in trying. Again he raised his phone, only now it felt like it was tumbling out of his hands. He let partially go, quickly reaching for his phone as he did not want it to fall to the ground. However, he felt the other’s hand now under his. “What do you think you’re doing?” he said with a hint of anger in his voice. Had he just tried to pull it right out of his hands? Míngzé shot the man an angry glare.

It had caught him by surprise. The moment his phone was nearly ripped out of his hands, he was on high alert. Nothing had happened, but he gripped his phone more tightly. With slightly narrowed eyes, he gazed towards the man who apologized. A sigh rolled over his lips as he visibly relaxed a little again. “No, it’s fine, I simply did not expect it,” he explained. It was mostly that it had come completely unexpected.

Míngzé stared down at the phone in his hands and fiddled it between his fingers. There might be the possibility that he was the one doing something wrong. It would not surprise him. “Bought it at VoltByte Electronics a while ago.” The phone was a bit dated, but it still worked, which was all he needed really.

“If you want to, you can give it a go. I might be doing something wrong,” Míngzé said a bit reluctantly as he handed over his phone.