Chapter 110: Little dragon

When she came to, Bunny felt like she was resting on a rock that was both scorching hot and rock-hard. Instinctively reaching out to feel it, her fingers brushed against a texture resembling coarse scales.

Instantly snapping awake, she looked up—only to lock eyes with a pitch-black dragon face.

Or rather, a pair of massive, coal-black nostrils huffing blasts of warm air right onto her face.

"Who are you?!"

Bunny reached for her sidearm, only to realize a soft, warm dragon wing was draped over her like a blanket. Compared to the rock-hard scales on the outside, the inner layer of fine downy fur was remarkably soft.

It seemed to be tucking her in, worried she might catch a chill.

Seeing Bunny wake up, the little dragon beamed with joy. Sticking out its large red tongue, it grinned broadly at her, giving her cheek a big, wet slurp that left a streak of glistening drool behind.

A red blush of irritation quickly spread across Bunny’s right cheek.

"Ah! Don’t lick me!"

The little dragon flapped its wings cheerfully, spinning in a few giddy circles around the room before retrieving the stuffed rabbit in its jaws and setting it down right in front of her. It gently nudged her palm with its head, as if offering the doll as a present.

Only now did Bunny get a clear look at what it actually was. Its entire body was clad in jet-black scales that gleamed like polished dark gold under the moonlight.

Its bright yellow slit pupils possessed unfathomable depth, with irises split like jagged canyon rifts. Two regal horns crowned its head, while a row of overlapping dorsal spikes ran all the way down its back to a thick, sturdy tail.

It even had a pair of wings carrying a hint of chubby baby fat.

The more she looked at it, the more strangely familiar it seemed... almost as if she had seen it somewhere before.

Strange... this should be some Sentinel’s spirit guide, but why is it here with zero trace of its master’s spiritual energy fluctuation nearby? There isn’t even a whisper of Sentinel pheromones.

Seeing that the little dragon harbored no ill intent toward her, Bunny holstered her sidearm and realized she was sitting inside a giant nest.

The dragon must have scavenged materials from all over the place to build it—a messy clump of miscellaneous blankets and rotted quilts, decorated with synthetic flowers and shiny crystals it had found appealing.

Bunny had no idea that the button-eyed stuffed rabbit was the little dragon’s most prized treasure—it had offered it to her simply to make her happy.

It was impossibly lonely. A solitary dragon living in a dead, sunless wasteland, with no one to play with and no one to talk to.

It couldn’t break out of this place, nor could it rescue its own master.

Corroded by radiation for far too long, its completely hollowed-out mind had forgotten everything.

It had forgotten who it was, forgotten where it was, and forgotten what it was supposed to do.

Every single day, like a roaming ghost, it drifted aimlessly across the ash-colored, fog-choked soil of the radiation zone.

The Aberrations showed zero interest in it since it wasn’t edible; when the little dragon got bored, it would chase them around and spew fire at them for fun.

Once it grew tired, it would retreat to its nest and go back to sleep.

The days bled into one another in a numb, repetitive blur, the poison of solitary isolation seeping deep into its very bones.

Until it began to feel its own strength fading away day by day.

Just like the fading spark of its master’s life.

Deep down, the little dragon instinctively understood that perhaps one day, after closing its eyes for sleep, it would never wake up again.

Until tonight, as it wandered the silent streets like a lost spirit, it caught the faint, delicate scent of a Guide’s pheromones—as crisp and pure as spring water.

Its clouded mind jolted awake. Like a stranded sailor spotting a lighthouse in the dark, it rushed toward the source without stopping for a single second.

On Bunny, the little dragon caught a secondary scent—an ancient, shared bloodline heritage. Much like Chi, the moment it laid eyes on her, it recognized her instantly.

Which was why it had excitedly dragged Bunny straight back to its nest.

Bunny stared at the dragon hatchling squatting obediently in front of her with its front paws splayed outward, and asked, "Got any food?"

She was starving to death.

The dragon didn’t need to eat, nor was there any food to be found in this wasteland, so it shook its head dolefully.

"What about water?"

It shook its head again.

Drinking nuclear-contaminated water was out of the question—it was pitch black.

Bunny cast a disdainful glance at it. "You don’t have anything at all, so how did you have the nerve to drag me back here? I am very high maintenance, you know."

"Awoo..."

The little dragon whimpered pitifully before flapping its wings and taking off.

Ten minutes later, it returned from its hunt, dropping a freshly roasted Aberration right at Bunny’s feet.

Thanks a lot, but I can’t digest that.

Bunny patted down every single pocket on her person, finally uncovering her last remaining energy serum vial.

This single vial would only sustain her metabolic baseline for another 48 hours. In other words, she had to navigate her way out of this radiation zone within two days.

With no radar, no transport, and no teammates, it was a task as daunting as scaling the heavens.

"Where is your master?"

The little dragon, who had been playing with a ball at her feet, raised its head. Bunny could have sworn she saw pure, unadulterated heartbreak written across a dragon’s face.

It used its tail to trace a circle on the ground, signaling that its master was trapped somewhere inside.

Bunny understood all too well that surviving alone in an Aberration-infested radiation zone was nearly impossible. Before any reinforcements arrived—if they ever did—she desperately needed an ally.

She didn’t dare gamble on whether the military command would actually dispatch a rescue team for her.

The fact that this spirit guide still existed meant its Sentinel was still alive.

After taking a quick inventory of her remaining weapons and ammunition, Bunny patted the little dragon’s head:

"Let’s go. Lead the way."