Chapter 6: So This Has Been Keeping You Busy Lately?

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United States, Kassel College.
In the central control room, Manstein and Schneider’s eyes were bloodshot as they flipped through a thick roster, crossing out names one by one.
Gudrian stood nearby, yawning repeatedly, muttering with discontent, “What’s with the board of trustees? They come up with the most random ideas. Why are they suddenly investigating elemental turbulence in China?”
“Don’t know,” Manstein replied. “Apparently, they’ve detected traces of the Dragon King. They come around like this a few times every year; you just have to get used to it.”
“Every time it’s the ‘Wolf is coming’ story, and not once have they actually found the Dragon King. I bet this time is no different, but fine, let’s look.”
“We’ve found something,” Schneider pushed a stack of files across the table. “There’s been some odd activity in a southern Chinese city recently.”
“How strange could it be?” Gudrian grumbled, taking the files. “It can’t really be the Dragon King. Something like that wouldn’t be so easy to find…”
Suddenly, he froze, his pupils widening slightly. Inside the folder was only one photo—more precisely, a satellite cloud image showing a swirling black vortex.
It was a very small cloud mass, indicating a limited coverage area, yet an enormous volume of clouds, making it appear like a black hole on the satellite map.
“Elemental turbulence,” Manstein’s voice grew serious. “Turbulence of this magnitude might actually bear traces of the Dragon Clan.”
“Not necessarily the Dragon King; it could just be some third or fourth-generation creatures.”
“Then we should send someone to investigate,” Schneider rasped. “I’ll assign a specialist.”
“But…” Gudrian glanced here and there before speaking, “How did the board of trustees know about this?”
The entire control room fell silent. Schneider and Manstein exchanged looks, both sensing hesitation. Gudrian scratched his head awkwardly, lowering his voice.
“I just find it strange. How do they know there’s elemental turbulence in China right now and instruct us to check it out? Without their tip, such a small area would have been easily overlooked.”
“Look, it took us this long to find it. If they hadn’t told us to investigate, it would’ve been missed for sure.”
“So, how exactly did the board of trustees get this information?”

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Manstein and Schneider exchanged a glance, both seeing hesitation in the other’s eyes. Neither spoke, and Gudrian’s voice grew quieter still.
“Forget it, maybe I’m overthinking it. They are the board of trustees, after all, with intelligence channels we don’t know about. Let’s just decide who to send.”
...
Amid the boundless downpour, Chu Zihang gripped his spear tightly. Kunqunir swept fiercely against a shadowy figure’s chest, sending it crashing backward and toppling a line of others.
Chu Zihang was drenched, his face pale as paper. Blood dripped from numerous wounds, yet he bit his lip silently, stubbornly swinging his weapon.
The moves he learned at the Youth Palace were flashy but lacked practical combat effectiveness. Chu Zihang had to adapt, abandoning less lethal techniques and relying more on instinctual fighting.
But instincts weren’t always right. Many times, his instincts nearly cost him his life. If not for the voice in his head reminding him at critical moments, he might have died long ago.
Still, the injuries were inevitable.
Within less than five minutes of entering, he had at least three penetrating wounds. Though bleeding heavily, he felt no cold; instead, his blood seemed to heat, as if a fire burned within.
With each death of a Death Servant, that sensation intensified, until finally, it felt as if his blood was boiling. Raindrops hitting his body steamed and rose in white mist.
“Your bloodline is awakening. This is borrowed strength. If you feel exhausted, retreat immediately without hesitation. You’ve killed twenty-one already.”
“Also, there are two Death Servants flanking from your right. Take them out—don’t let them cut off your retreat.”
The voice in his mind sounded again, calm and decisive, bringing an indescribable sense of security to Chu Zihang.
He said nothing. Raindrops shattered against the spear’s tip. His pale, resolute face twisted into a fierce snarl like a snarling young beast. His face was wet, but whether from rain, sweat, or tears, he didn’t know.
Watching this boy, Tang Xi quietly sighed inwardly. She understood why Chu Zihang fought so desperately. He probably hated the former version of himself who fled. If given another chance, no matter the outcome, he would choose to stay.
Moreover, to him, dying alongside his father in battle was likely an honorable fate.
He hated his own weakness more than anyone and desired power more than anyone else.

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And this was exactly what Tang Xi wanted to see. She opened the panel and watched her experience visibly increase, her endurance rising from level two jump to five.
She had gone from a one-minute warrior to a four-minute warrior—no doubt about it, Tang Xi felt terrifyingly strong now.
Seeing Chu Zihang’s spear-wielding growing slower, nearing his limit, Tang Xi decisively said, “Enough, that’s overdoing it. Pull back.”
Hearing this, Chu Zihang finally gave up, stumbling and running outward, blood dripping and merging with the mud.
Judging by his state, Tang Xi doubted that if she hadn’t ordered him to stop, the boy would have kept fighting until he could no longer wield Kunqunir.
“Still got strength? If not, I’ll take over.” She said while preparing to log in and replace him, but the boy just gritted his teeth in silence and ran through the heavy rain.
Behind him was a twisted, grotesque world; monsters roared hoarsely; ahead was the blinding beam of a car’s headlights—like the very boundary between life and death.
At last, he ran out. The dense shadows halted behind him, as if the undead could never escape the darkness and were forced to stop before the light.
Yet Chu Zihang’s footsteps suddenly froze. He stared ahead blankly.
Tang Xi sensed something was wrong and was about to ask when she too was stunned, for she saw an unbelievable scene.
In the heavy rain, a small figure sat atop a Toyota’s roof, softly humming an Irish folk tune. All raindrops vanished as they approached her presence, as if entering another dimension.
Noticing someone approaching, the figure lifted her head, revealing a flawless face. Her eyes shimmered with faint gold, long black hair fluttering behind her like dancing butterflies, a few degrees more casual than when she had tied it in a ponytail that afternoon.
“Hmm? You’re back?” The girl tilted her head, smiling perfectly. She looked at Chu Zihang and enunciated each word clearly:
“So it turns out, senior brother, when you said you had no time, you were busy with this.”
“And… who are you talking to? Hm?”