Chapter 229 - 227: Dragon... Really Exists?

Harmony Island, at night.

Diesel generators supported a relatively functional power grid, allowing various pieces of equipment to operate normally.

They gave this island, untouched by man since time immemorial, the glimmer of modern society’s lights at night.

On a white sandy beach south of the Yanhua exploration camp, a figure stared out into the boundless Vast Sea in the dead of night.

The sea at night... It was profound, but not peaceful.

The sound of the waves was ceaseless, yet you couldn’t see them clearly, as if reminding humanity that this was not a domain where they could act as they pleased.

A figure approached from behind. "Officer Luo, are you fond of the sea?"

Shen Juanzhou walked onto the beach, barefoot.

Luo Sheng shook his head. "No... I don’t like water."

Shen Juanzhou spoke casually, as if making small talk. "You’ve worked hard this time. With so many countries developing this place together, the open attacks and hidden schemes have never stopped. We’ve already discovered several infiltration attempts, and there are even signs of leaks from an inside man."

"We really need an experienced detective like you to help us unravel this."

Luo Sheng exhaled a puff of smoke. "I’ve already been in contact with the national security people on the island. The current suspicion is that it’s the Rebel Species, but they’re not from Yanhua. It’s likely the European side."

He had come as part of the "project team" and wasn’t responsible for the security of the entire Yanhua Base. He couldn’t handle that responsibility anyway.

However, it was essential to protect Professor Xu Mo’s research and ensure the project proceeded smoothly.

"The European side? They’ve truly been infiltrated so thoroughly they’re like a sieve... It’s not out of the question that they’re even collaborating with the Rebel Species."

After all, those European Martial Arts nobles... facing the pressure of their decline, they’d naturally be willing to try something dangerous.

The Rebel Species didn’t all come from the "Si Realm." They were keen on stirring up trouble in every Exotic Realm across the globe...

It wasn’t even out of the question... that they wanted to sow discord in the new "Noon Realm"...

Luo Sheng recalled something and said, "I’m worried that someone on the European side might be working with the Rebel Species to deliberately provoke conflict in the Noon Realm, like maliciously harassing our people. We might need to send out a warning."

An unreadable smile appeared on Shen Juanzhou’s face. "Provoke conflict... The weakest one has the most ideas. They’re probably still dreaming of sailing their warships and plundering the globe."

If a suitable excuse presented itself, Yanhua wouldn’t mind justifiably kicking out a troublemaker.

The title of the strongest on Cyan Blue wasn’t earned by boasting; it was earned through fighting.

"In any case, I’ll remind the people at the camp. You should get some rest too, Officer Luo."

Without another word, Shen Juanzhou turned and walked away, his bare feet padding on the sand as he grew more distant.

But in his mind, he recalled the private conversation he’d had with Yang Shen before he left.

...

"Lieutenant Shen, this Luo Sheng... he has a terrible reputation in Jianghuai. You could even call him a dirty cop. The complaint letters against him are endless. I suspect there’s something wrong with him."

Inside the Yanhua Base, Shen Juanzhou frowned slightly. "Why didn’t you say so before we set out?"

Yang Shen said earnestly, "This is where I was being a bit selfish. I have a history with him. If I left and he remained in Jianghuai, I wouldn’t be able to rest easy about my family. I had originally planned to keep an eye on him personally this time, but he volunteered to stay on Harmony Island..."

"I don’t have much evidence. All I can do is file a report and be on my guard. You can think I’m just being an alarmist, but I hope the organization will be wary of him."

Shen Juanzhou: "I understand. I will report this to my superiors..."

...

A long time later, after a dozen cigarette butts had collected at Luo Sheng’s feet and the night had grown completely dark...

He took off his jacket and walked toward the sea.

He walked further and further away, yet closer and closer.

Finally, he plunged headfirst into the pitch-black depths.

A long time later, in the deep sea...

A flash of golden light flickered and then vanished.

——————

「Noon Realm, Yixiantian.」

In an earthen house of the Xi Family, Yang Shen sat opposite an old man, with the shepherd girl kneeling to the side.

When Yang Shen proposed exchanging information for supplies, the Xi Family members finally deigned to offer him a cup of water.

However, Yang Shen didn’t touch it at all, merely pushing it aside.

The things Yang Shen carried on his back were priceless to the Noon Realm.

Food, seeds... and medicine more precious than gold.

In Jianghuai, this entire pack would probably be worth ten or twenty thousand yuan. Even after being transported thousands of miles to the Vast Sea Center, it shouldn’t be worth more than 100,000.

But here, it was enough to trade for a dozen young boys and girls.

Yang Shen didn’t want people, only information.

The old man said, "Outsider, when you first came, someone asked a similar question."

Yang Shen replied coolly, "Then you must not have answered thoroughly enough."

If Yanhua knew of the "Dragon’s" existence, they would definitely have paid attention. It was a matter of great interest, but to this day, Yang Shen had never heard anyone mention it.

The old man hesitated. He hadn’t spoken of it before because he was waiting for the right price. But now, after waiting for so long, he had become numb.

The major families were in close contact, so they already knew about the changes in the other families. But the Xi Race, priding themselves on being the foremost family, had missed the initial opportunity for contact and were located farther away. They were starting to grow anxious.

The resentment from the younger, more radical faction within the clan was also growing heavier.

To be honest, the resentment wasn’t about "profit," but about something the Noon Realm People had never possessed.

"Hope."

The hope of saving themselves...

After a long, thoughtful pause, the old man decided to reveal the information he had originally intended to sell at a high price. It wasn’t just for the trade of these few supplies, but more importantly, to re-establish a connection with these "outsiders."

"It started with a member of the Hei Race, who was the first to discover the ’gate’ in the cave. That man was very bold; he walked right in. When he returned, he proclaimed that the other side was a sun-drenched paradise..."

"The Hei Race’s Clan Leader didn’t believe him, thinking he was lying in a bid for power, so he punished him severely. But that young man had many supporters. He later led a team through the ’gate’ again, brought back green plants, and convinced everyone."

This kind of communication was difficult, with the translator device constantly being passed back and forth. Fortunately, Yang Shen had a power bank among his supplies.

The old man said slowly, "The Hei Race must have explored it secretly already. They found it was just an island. Although it had sparse vegetation, there was no accumulated fresh water. The few plants they brought back couldn’t be cultivated and weren’t edible. So, they contacted the other families, planning for joint development."

"The Xi Race, as the family that commands the Water Curse Engraving, was naturally invited. They hoped we could go fishing for them. I also went to see this so-called ’paradise’ for myself, dragging my old bones along..."

Recalling that clear sky, the old man still felt a sense of longing.

"Unfortunately, that vast world only opened up an island to us, and we couldn’t cross the ocean. The island had nothing of value besides rocks. We couldn’t even drink the water or farm the land... Only the Xi Race could gain a little from fishing, but even that was very unstable. So, exploring the world beyond the great sea is something we must do."

There was certainly some food to be found in the coastal waters, but it wasn’t enough to feed the nearly ten thousand mouths of several families combined. Moreover, due to a lack of understanding, several incidents of fatal poisoning occurred.

The other families had barely even seen water in all these years; only the Xi Race had the ability to go to sea and fish. Not only was the catch insufficient, but the poisonings also caused friction between the major families. The initial exploration of "Harmony Island" could be described as a complete mess.

Another inference was that "Black Rope’s" proficiency in the water, having developed the ability to swim quickly using a Curse Engraving, was most likely because his mother’s clan was the Xi Race. He must have picked it up through constant exposure during his time as one of the Nameless People.

"Later... a ship discovered us and docked. Many outsiders disembarked. They quickly deduced the existence of the ’gate,’ then set up a camp, learned our language, and gave us precious supplies."

Yang Shen interrupted, "Did those people ever come in here, to your world?"

The old man nodded. "They did... and then left, extremely disappointed. They said this place was a land of despair with no value... They were only interested in our Curse Engravings."

It wasn’t that it had no value, just that the Noon Realm was too broken, and the Rebel Species lacked the power to develop it.

Even the three giants of Cyan Blue couldn’t develop the Noon Realm independently, let alone a rebellious organization accustomed to using conspiracies and plots.

The Rebel Species spent some time tricking them out of some "Curse Engraving" secrets, but then they lost patience and wanted the Noon Realm People to serve a greater purpose:

As bait.

"They used some precious supplies to ask for our help in retrieving an item from the bottom of the sea. This task naturally fell to the Xi Race. We made a request as well, hoping that after the job was done, they would take us away from this island to a place with land."

The Rebel Species painted the outside world as weak and evil, guiding these Noon Realm People to approach Cyan Blue with a hostile mindset from the very beginning, seeing themselves as "invaders" fighting for living space.

What followed, naturally, was the incident where the Tattooed Guest was ruthlessly betrayed. But to this day... the Xi Race people still don’t know what happened to the Tattooed Guest afterward.

"At that time, the Xi Race selected its forty best members, who left with them by ship to retrieve that item."

"The forty clan members traveled far by ship, then dived into the deep sea and found a slumbering behemoth. It seemed to be undergoing some special state and was completely unresponsive to the outside world. We took something from one of its foreheads, and then... the sea began to boil..."

Yang Shen: "Wait, what kind of behemoth? What do you mean, ’one of its foreheads’?"

’What a strange turn of phrase!’

The old man pondered for a moment, gave a couple of orders, and someone from behind him brought over a drawing.

The drawing was extremely crude. You couldn’t expect the Noon Realm People, on the verge of extinction, to have any artistic skill. It was merely a scribble of charcoal dust on a stone slate.

But... Yang Shen was still flabbergasted.

On the slate was a...

"three-headed long serpent."

Or rather, a Three-headed Dragon...