Recap
The wind blows everything in the garden, rustling. This is the edge of this area, and there is no road ahead.
Like the end of the world, the moonlight is clear.
He stood on tiptoe slightly, with the huge full moon behind him——
The next second, Shen Chaomu’s cheek felt a little warm.
He opened his eyes slightly.
It was a kiss.
Long Shiyu said: “Princess, I will give you all the gems and flowers in this world.”
Long Shiyu, flustered, pulled away, his ears burning. “Let’s go somewhere else,” he mumbled. “Royasno must have left more clues.”
“You can kiss me somewhere else next time,” Shen Chaomu murmured, his arm tightening around Long Shiyu’s waist, his lips close to his ear.
Long Shiyu’s blush deepened. “You’re such a hooligan princess,” he accused, though his voice lacked any real heat.
Shen Chaomu was confused. He was the one who had been kissed. Why was Long Shiyu calling him a hooligan? Dragons have strange ways, he thought, shaking his head.
Long Shiyu escaped his grasp and hurried away, searching for traces of Royasno. He found nothing, but the color finally receded from his ears.
“I found the black box!” Yang Zhiming’s triumphant cry echoed through the garden.
They returned to find him surrounded by disassembled robot parts. His hands, covered in blue oil, carefully extracted a small black box.
“Can you access it?” Shen Chaomu asked.
“Yes. The dwarves’ encryption methods are simple. Ancient technology.” Yang Zhiming connected the box to his terminal. It held a massive amount of data, centuries’ worth of clear holographic recordings.
“Show us the last two weeks,” Shen Chaomu instructed.
Yang Zhiming fast-forwarded through the footage. Initially, it was mundane, the garden’s scenery a blur of motion. The robot patrolled its designated route, its path intersecting with its companions’ every three days.
Then, seven days ago, the routine was shattered.
The garden’s protective barrier, normally invisible, was violently torn apart. Lightning crackled, and a torrential downpour ensued. A clawed hand pierced the barrier, then ripped it asunder.
A monstrous form roared, its eyes burning gold.
The barrier, powered by a unique machine that materialized spiritual energy, flickered and died. Shen Chaomu, with his precise control over spiritual power, could bypass such barriers without causing significant damage. But Royasno, as Long Shiyu had explained, possessed only a physical form now, his spiritual essence gone. He had used brute force, tearing through the garden’s defenses.
This triggered the patrol robots’ defenses. The robot they had found earlier, being near the perimeter, was among the first casualties.
The footage showed a flash of lightning, then the camera spun wildly.
Nothing remained.
“That has to be Royasno!” Yang Zhiming exclaimed, his jaw dropping.
“I’ll send this to the association,” Shen Chaomu said, his voice grim. “This is our first concrete evidence.”
“I’ll export the video,” Yang Zhiming said, his fingers flying across his terminal.
“Rewind it a bit,” Long Shiyu requested.
“What is it?” Yang Zhiming asked, surprised.
“I think I saw something,” Long Shiyu replied. “I’m not sure.”
Yang Zhiming, having exported the video, handed the controls to Long Shiyu, who rewound the footage and played it at double speed. He paused eight days back, slowed the playback, and pointed at the screen.
“There’s a figure here.”
Yang Zhiming squinted. “It does look like someone. Judging by the height, either a child or a dwarf.”
The figure, carrying a large bag, stood near some fruit trees, then disappeared into the deeper parts of the garden.
“Probably the person from the pyramid,” Shen Chaomu said, ruffling Long Shiyu’s hair. “Good eye.”
Long Shiyu beamed at the praise.
“That’s impressive,” Yang Zhiming agreed. “It was only a couple of seconds; we completely missed it. Have you had practice?”
“I used to be a security guard at a nightclub,” Long Shiyu replied. “I watched surveillance footage all day.”
Yang Zhiming stared at him, speechless.
“And that person was carrying oranges,” Long Shiyu added. “I was wondering where all the oranges had gone, so I paid close attention to that area.”
Shen Chaomu’s thoughts drifted to the Black Knight’s miniature fruit trees.
He sent the video to the association.
Ten minutes later, Qiu Ruowen contacted him.
“Based on your knowledge of dragons,” she asked after he had briefed her, “do you believe that was Royasno?”
“Yes.”
“Then find the person from the pyramid. Support is on its way.”
As Shen Chaomu was about to end the call, Qiu Ruowen added, “Bai Yiyi returned twenty minutes ago.”
“What happened?”
“She encountered a strange beast, likely Royasno,” Qiu Ruowen said, her voice grim. “And according to her report, there was a man in a suit with him.”
Shen Di.
It must be Shen Di.
Qiu Ruowen continued: “She was injured, but it’s not serious. I’m just reminding you, after all, I don’t have time to go to Tabu for the time being.”
“How is the three-headed dog?”
“It’s still the same. Several lines of defense were breached, and I took people to grab them back. However, the decisive battle is probably coming soon.” Qiu Ruowen said flatly, “There are other planets waiting for me to go. Xiao Shen, you also know that it is now the outbreak period of strange beasts, and they are eager for the throne like they are chasing drugs. After so many years, we must be ready for the alternation of old and new kings at any time. Hopefully, the next king will be what we expect.”
——Hope the next king will be human.
I also hope that every next king will be human.
Shen Chaomu knew her subtext.
The communication is cut off.
Three minutes later, they found the fruit tree in the video just now, and Shen Chaomu carefully probed it with his spiritual power, and sure enough, he found a little residue.
“Go this way.” He pointed to a stone step.
The stone steps lead to the center of the garden among the lush weeds and bushes, all the way up.
On the way, Yang Zhiming grabbed a mechanical bird and began to study it.
There are also many small mechanical animals here, all made by dwarves for viewing.
Initially, the garden hadn’t been this vibrant, unable to attract the diverse fauna now inhabiting it. So the dwarves created these mechanical companions.
The bird, with its glassy eyes, sharp beak, exposed gears, and silver-blue metal body, was a far cry from any living creature. Only its red, pulsating heart hinted at life.
But Yang Zhiming, his passion for machinery rivaling the dwarves themselves, was entranced. He had always been this way, spending days on end tinkering in engine rooms, his enthusiasm unwavering. He had been a frontline mechanic until an injury cost him his leg, forcing him into a logistics role.
Now, he clutched the bird, its gears whirring gently in his grasp. He also picked up a small mechanical butterfly, its barbed legs and oversized eyes suggesting a more sinister purpose.
They reached a higher level, a field of lavender stretching before them. The fragrant blossoms, taller than a man, filled the air with their sweet scent.
“Careful,” Shen Chaomu warned, pulling Yang Zhiming back.
He had almost stepped on a deactivated patrol robot hidden among the lavender. Its red eyes flickered faintly. “Intruder…” it rasped, its sensors detecting their non-dwarven nature.
“A new model!” Yang Zhiming exclaimed, noting its location for future retrieval.
He resumed his fascination with the mechanical creatures, then froze as Shen Chaomu spoke.
“When did this happen?”
“What?”
“You carry the aura of a strange beast.”
Shen Chaomu’s brief contact with Yang Zhiming had been enough to detect the anomaly.
Yang Zhiming stared at him, speechless.
Shen Chaomu said: “What kind of blood did you inject? Does it have anything to do with the church?”
Silence spread between them for a while.
The butterfly in Yang Zhiming’s hand has crystal compound eyes, densely packed, each reflecting his face.
After a long time, he smiled wryly: “I was so careful, but you still found out.”
He cleared his throat, his voice a little dry: “Let me declare first, I have nothing to do with the people in the church. The blood of the strange beast… comes from another source.”
Shen Chaomu said: “Except for the church, no one can master the purification technology. The only possibility I can think of is that Lu Shanhuai and Lu Shanyao both know about this. The laboratory often uses purified blood as a sample. With Lu Shanyao’s position, it is not particularly difficult to hide one or two tubes.”
This time Yang Zhiming’s expression became a little flustered, he scratched the back of his head: “Oh, this is troublesome, I wouldn’t have involved anyone…”
“So, why did you inject blood?” Shen Chaomu’s eyes were like torches.
Seeing that he couldn’t hide it anymore, Yang Zhiming confessed: “I’m sick, and I can only live for less than a year. To be honest, if I hadn’t injected blood, I might be lying in a coffin now.”
“…Why have I never heard of this?”
“Because only Lu Shanyao knows about this.” Yang Zhiming said, “The lesion is in the lungs, so he gave me the blood of the deep sea ghost.”
The deep-sea ghost, much like the water ghost, possessed unique adaptations that allowed it to withstand the pressure changes of rapid ascents and descents. Dissections revealed that its lungs, while similar in structure to humans’, had a far greater capacity and resilience.
“I was curious,” Yang Zhiming explained. “I hadn’t heard of anyone being cured by injecting strange beast blood. But after the injection, the changes in my lungs did help. It bought me some time.” He smiled. “You know me, Brother Shen. I’m not interested in strange beasts. I just want to study machines. To find this place, to maybe even see Xijia… it’s a dream come true. Don’t worry, I haven’t done anything to betray the association.”
Shen Chaomu’s expression shifted, a question forming on his lips, when a gruff voice interrupted them.
“shnII2%Qndou—”
The terminal translated the dwarven curse: “You damned intruders!”
They turned to find a short figure standing at the edge of the lavender field. He had a bushy white beard, brown goggles, a dented miner’s helmet, and an array of tools strapped to his belt. A machine gun, warmed up and ready to fire, was clutched in his hands.
“Have you finished?” he roared. “Buck will blow you to pieces!” He unleashed a torrent of dwarven curses that overwhelmed the translation software.
He pulled the trigger.
Half a minute later, Buck’s confiscated machine gun lay abandoned in the lavender field. Shen Chaomu’s golden light flakes held the dwarf captive.
“Can we talk now?” Shen Chaomu asked.
“You’re trying to destroy Buck’s garden!” Buck accused, struggling against the restraints.
“We’re not with the dragon,” Shen Chaomu assured him. “We came from the black pyramid. We saw your map and the coordinates.”
Buck calmed down a little bit, but he was still very dissatisfied, his beard curled up when he spoke: “What? Have you been to the Pyramid of Murals? Didn’t you see that it says private territory? You guys just like this.” He wiped the sweat from his cheeks with the back of his hand, “But if you not with that crazy dragon, Buck can almost forgive you. Tell me, why did you come to Buck’s garden?”
“We are here to track down Royasno.”
Seeing that Buck’s mood had stabilized, Shen Chaomu withdrew his spiritual power around him, but he was still on guard.
“Yes, yes, that’s the name.” Buck muttered, “Buck knew he was a lunatic before, but didn’t expect that he would sacrifice his spiritual power to save his body.”
Hundreds of years ago, due to cultural conflicts, there was very little communication between dwarves and the alliance.
But they entered space much earlier, so of course they have come into contact with and studied more strange beasts. They are not people who like to hide their words, they have straightforward personalities, and in occasional exchanges, they have carelessly revealed a lot of news to the alliance at that time.
Shen Chaomu said: “I didn’t expect your civilization to still exist… So, do you know more about the throne and Royasno?”
Buck’s eyes rolled: “Any wine?”
“No.”
“No story if no wine.” Buck’s beard curled up again in anger.
Shen Chaomu: “…But the alliance has a lot of good wines in its collection, as well as the 82-year-old elf tree brew. As long as you tell us more information, it will be yours.”
This time Buck immediately beamed with joy, clapped his hands and laughed: “This is okay, this can be said, what do you want to know?”
“What did the old Dragon King do here?” Shen Chaomu asked.
“He took away the body of the Sphinx.” Thinking of this incident, Buck became angry again, “This was originally our hunting honor.”
The Sphinx was once a legendary beast of Tabu, with a lion’s body and a human face, its wings raised a storm, and was finally killed by the dwarf mechanical army.
From Wilpan to Siren, to Sphinx.
Another missing body.
Shen Di is constantly collecting those strange beasts, devouring them into his body little by little.
Shen Chaomu asked: “Do you have a way to track him down?”
“No, no, how is it possible?” Buck pulled his beard, “He came here for such a short time and he is the original beast king, do you think Buck is Superman?”
“Then… can you track down Akasa Mo, or have any clues about him?”
Long Shiyu: “Ying.”
He tugged at the princess’s coat.
Shen Chaomu was a little confused: “What are you crying for?”
Buck thought for a moment: “You mean the new King of Beasts? Buck slept in the freezer for long time and didn’t know what happened, so no. But when you talk about this, Buck does know a little about Royasno and his story…forget it, it’s not an important matter. Come, take Buck to where Buck’s wine is.”
“Wait a minute,” Shen Chaomu said, “What’s their story?”
No matter in the records of the alliance or the family, there is no mention that Royasno and Akasa mo also met before the battle for the throne.
When Shen Chaomu read this paragraph, he was a little confused.
According to the old dragon king’s grudge-holding and violent heart, he couldn’t tolerate any sand in his eyes, and he didn’t even try to take action against Akasa mo to eliminate the threat in advance – just like he often did to other strange beasts.
But after all, it was too long ago, and no one knew what the two of them were doing at that time.
“Buck don’t really remember.” Buck was already very impatient. “They probably had a fight a long time ago, Buck mean before the battle for the throne.”
“When?”
Buck was angry: “Are you a history teacher? Stop ask, ask, asking Buck these questions. Are you going to give Buck marks later?”
“82 tree brew, two bottles.”
Buck said, “Okay, Buck’ll look for it.”
He took out a strange-looking instrument, probably a dwarf terminal.
After some searching, he said: “Probably…probably in 2154, it’s around that time.”
This point in time seems familiar.
The point in time Shen Chaomu saw in the light rain was 2144, only ten short years apart.
He was in a daze for a moment, as if something was faintly surfacing.
Long Shiyu had already begun to eat his hands.
Shen Chaomu pressed down on Long Shiyu’s hand and asked, “What about the result of the battle?”
“Bullshit, the Dragon King at that time was still underage. Royasno was at his peak, so of course he couldn’t beat him.”
“Then why didn’t he kill Akasa mo?”
“Because a human stopped him.”
“How can humans stop the old Dragon King?”
“He seems to be some kind of genius. He’s very powerful. Don’t ask Buck why he wants to protect a dragon. Buck doesn’t know. That’s your race.” Buck scratched his head again and looked at the terminal. “But that person seems pretty young, otherwise he should have calculated a good chance of winning. In short, Akasa mo escaped and he died.”
He took a deep breath and said loudly, “Buck has lost his patience and wants to drink now.”
___
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