Chapter 5: The Dragon Named Ao Bing
Baiyin City is a Gobi city located outside the 400-millimeter rainfall belt, receiving little rain throughout the year. Such places are generally half farming and half animal husbandry, and are synonymous with poverty.
The Yellow River flows through this area, with 258 kilometers within Baiyin territory alone. However, in this region, the Yellow River is mostly situated in deep mountain canyons, making it very difficult to utilize Yellow River water for irrigating the land.
After the advent of modern science, extracting water sources from deep mountain canyons is no longer difficult. Thus, once Yellow River water flowed gurglingly across the dry plateau Gobi, the area quickly became a grain-producing region.
It’s miraculous to think about: scorching sun overhead, endless fields of corn and sunflowers underfoot, along with flax swaying with purple flowers—it effortlessly evokes many emotions.
These things are good, but they lack insect chirps.
Even at night, there are no croaking frogs.
When Yun Ce woke up, he found he had drooled a lot. The drool soaked the bamboo mat, and at the same time, the bamboo mat had left an indelible mark on his face for the time being.
The sky outside the window was pitch black, pitch dark—you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. This was Yun Ce’s own feeling, after all, the village still had bright streetlights.
Even with streetlights, Yun Ce still felt everything before his eyes was pitch black.
“Rumble”
1 A thunderclap exploded right by the window, shaking the small panes in the window frame with a clattering sound. A large glass panel embedded at the top of the gate developed several radial cracks.
1 Yun Ce felt like he understood this thunderclap.
1 He got up from the kang, didn’t wash his face, picked up his packed backpack and slung it over his shoulder, glanced back at the memorial tablet on the offering table, then pulled open the door and walked out.
1 Outside the door stood a man wearing a black Zhongshan suit. The outdated style fit him perfectly. Standing in the darkness, he easily blended into the night. If he hadn’t stepped forward, Yun Ce would have had a hard time noticing his presence.
1 “Don’t worry, I won’t run away.”
1 “You can’t escape.”
1 “You would kill me if I ran, right?”
1 “I have no power to kill you if you run, but you will surely die.”
1 “I just don’t understand. If measured by knowledge, loyalty, and skill, clearly you are the best candidates to carry out this mission. Why choose us, who are inferior to you in every way?”
1 A hint of a smile suddenly appeared on the black-clad man’s originally stiff face. He said somewhat gently, “Only by including you in the ranks of the sacrificable does our sacrifice have meaning.”
2 Besides, dragons are creatures born from class distinctions. They think people like you are more valuable than people like us, so they specifically chose you.
2 I used to think only dogs and horses emphasized bloodline. After all, purebred dogs and pureblood horses have their merits, but purebred humans are useless. Your reproductive ability is inferior to ours, as is your knowledge, loyalty, skill, and endurance. Tell me yourself, what use are you?”
2 Yun Ce looked at the black-clad man disdainfully and said, “Even so, aren’t you still obeying Yun Linchuan, that purebred human’s orders?”
2 The black-clad man shook his head and said, “Yun Linchuan is different from you.”
2 “What’s different?”
2 “He is a revolutionary. He redeemed countless people mired in suffering. He fought for a relatively better path for everyone. He has spiritually felt the pain of the masses and physically endured the pain for the masses. His fearless spirit and his compassion for the world are the roots of why we must obey him.”
2 You’re different. You’re just the elite among billions of sperm, no different from us. If you want us to respect you as we respect him, then complete this mission well. I guarantee that when you return, the respect you want will be yours.”
2 After the black-clad man finished speaking, he opened his palm, revealing a bottle emitting a silver-white glow in his hand. The glow came from the silver-white liquid inside the bottle.
2 “Mercury?”
2 “Very precious nanobots, the culmination of eleven years of effort from the National Defense Science Institute. Their functions are not yet complete. These given to you have specially enhanced recording and signal transmission capabilities. Now, you need to drink it.”
3 Yun Ce took the bottle, looked at the silver-white liquid inside, and said, “So, even if I die, the nanobots can transmit my exact coordinates back?”
3 The black-clad man pondered for a moment and said, “It can continuously transmit signals for two hundred years.”
3 “You think too highly of me. I only hope my corpse can be preserved for two hundred years.”
3 “Possible in space.”
3 Yun Ce unscrewed the cap, closed his eyes, and drank the silver-white liquid from the bottle in one gulp.
3 His stomach felt warm and full…
3 “And a saber and mobile phone!”
3 As the black-clad man spoke, he pulled out a long box from behind like a magician and handed it to Yun Ce.
3 Inside the box was a saber and a pure black mobile phone, both with obvious army style—ugly but practical.
3 The mobile phone was clearly a solar-charging phone, full of military materials style. Nothing more to say.
4 Yun Ce was very familiar with the saber’s style. The old man’s study had an identical one hanging there, forged from Japanese invaders’ shell steel—razor-sharp, said to drink blood, with a red glow still on the blade to this day.
4 This saber had no red glow on the blade, proving it a fake. Of course, the old man treasured that knife like his life and wouldn’t easily give it away, even to a descendant he favored.
4 “This saber is precision-manufactured…”
4 Yun Ce touched his arm, where the hairs stood on end, tossed away the box, threw the saber and backpack onto his Jeep Wrangler, got into the car, and said to the black-clad man, “I won’t go see the old man.”
4 The black-clad man tossed in a military backpack and said, “Change into the gear inside.”
4 Yun Ce opened the backpack and changed into the clothes inside from the inside out.
4 The black-clad man leaned against the car window and said in a low voice to Yun Ce, now equipped, “Take one last look. Don’t leave regrets.”
4 Yun Ce smiled and said, “Yun Family people are characterized by ruthlessness. Back then, he left the old clan leader unable to close his eyes. Now, I don’t plan to let him close his eyes either.”
4 With that, he floored the accelerator and left the courtyard.
4 Outside Langpao Water Village was a four-lane provincial highway, usually sparse with vehicles. Now on the road, aside from the occasional flashing reflective warning signs, heaven and earth were pitch black.
5 The darkest place, where the thunder was loudest and lightning most intense, should be Yun Ce’s destination for this trip.
5 The Jeep Wrangler sped like lightning. Yun Ce watched the speed climb from 120 to 150, with no sign of slowing. These days, he had enough of that nameless oppression. At this moment, he just wanted to fully indulge in this early morning, even if it meant mutual destruction.
5 The thunder finally reached overhead, and lightning began flashing continuously. Under the lightning’s illumination, distant mountain ridges alternated between looking like a crouching tiger and a winding giant dragon.
5 Yun Ce’s heart pounded violently, seeming to sync with the thunder outside the window. Fear surged over him like a tide again. Strength rapidly drained from his limbs. Yun Ce pressed his entire body’s weight onto his right leg, dead set on keeping the accelerator floored.
5 Watching the speed quickly soar to 180, the car feeling light as a feather, Yun Ce roared at the dark red thundercloud ahead caused by the thunderstorm, “Come on, I’m not afraid of you!”
5 Just as the car crested a high slope and landed in a flying leap, in the bright headlights, Yun Ce suddenly saw a tire-fat, adorably plump baby standing in the middle of the road, waving at him, as if urging him to stop immediately.
5 A tangible chill pierced through the car window, chilling Yun Ce’s body to the bone. His hands gripping the steering wheel rapidly stiffened. The Jeep Wrangler mercilessly crushed over the baby without hesitation.
5 The car jolted violently twice, then crashed headfirst into the road guardrail, bounced back, and hit the left guardrail with a shrill scraping sound.
5 Yun Ce’s numb hands still gripped the steering wheel tightly, without braking. Once the shaking car gradually steadied itself, Yun Ce saw a plump baby with wheel marks on his face and belly suddenly appear directly ahead. This time, he looked extremely angry, extending his chubby, cute hands toward the speeding Jeep Wrangler.
5 At the same time, a clear child’s voice drilled into his mind.
6 “I want you to stop the car!”
6 Yun Ce’s eyes turned ice-cold, a guttural roar not human-like escaping his mouth. The Jeep Wrangler once again slammed fiercely into the eerie baby.
6 This time, the Jeep Wrangler gained no advantage. The 1.5-ton vehicle crumpled like paper before the baby’s small hand, rapidly denting and disintegrating, while the rear also collapsed inward. At the same time, all the airbags in the Jeep Wrangler deployed, instantly enveloping Yun Ce.
6 Once the momentum stopped, the fat child leaped out from the engine area, peered through the car window at Yun Ce, who was bleeding from mouth and nose, and asked puzzledly, “Why did you hit me?”
6 Yun Ce, pinned by car parts all over his body, spat a mouthful of blood and said, “You treat me like a toy, and I’m not allowed to resist a bit?”
6 The fat baby jumped up, clapped his hands laughing, and said, “Fun, fun, much more fun than those who got scared to death.”
6 A big blood bubble popped from Yun Ce’s nose, and he laboriously said, “What exactly are you?”
6 Even with a black wheel mark on his face that couldn’t hide his cuteness, the baby tugged at the only decoration on his body, the stomach band, and said, “I am the Dragon Prince Ao Bing!”
6 Yun Ce coughed up another mouthful of blood and said, “You’re that belt around Li Jing’s waist?”
6 Ao Bing shook his head and said, “That’s a rumor.”
7 Yun Ce said, “If you don’t get me out of the car soon, there won’t be a need later.”
7 Ao Bing puzzledly said, “Can’t you get out yourself?”
7 “Gasoline is spilling everywhere. If it contacts the wiring by accident, it will explode.”
7 Ao Bing scratched his head, jumped down from the car, casually tore off the car door, and roughly began pulling at Yun Ce. For a moment, Yun Ce thought he was about to be torn apart by Ao Bing and the seatbelt together. Finally, Ao Bing noticed the seatbelt, casually snapped it, and freed him from the pile of scrap metal.
7 Lying flat on his back on the road, Yun Ce continuously sprayed blood from his mouth and nose. Ao Bing amusingly kept poking his head, seemingly very curious why such a small lump of flesh could spray out so much blood.
7 Yun Ce knew his internal organs were bleeding. Not only his stomach, but his lungs were also badly injured. Fractures were minor injuries not worth mentioning. This near-death state was exactly what he wanted.
7 When Ao Bing finally realized this big toy was about to break, Yun Ce had only a few breaths left. He struggled to say to Ao Bing, “Show me your dragon powers and save me.”
7 Ao Bing thought for a moment, reached into his stomach band, scratched around for a while, and pulled out something like an eggshell. After hesitating a long time, he stuffed it into Yun Ce’s mouth.
7 The eggshell was a good thing—seemingly hard but melting in the mouth. More precisely, the eggshell turned into a warm current that instantly reached Yun Ce’s limbs and bones. The intense pain vanished in an instant.
7 Looking at his wounds rapidly healing, feeling his bones swiftly resetting and internal organs recovering, Yun Ce sat up on the road and said to Ao Bing, “Don’t be so stingy. Good things should be shared.”
8 Ao Bing looked into Yun Ce’s eyes with a giggling smile and said, “You’re impressive. At least you knew to create an accident right away to get benefits from me, seeking a lifesaving method for your space travel.”
8 Yun Ce looked at the falling lightning like meteors and sighed, “I at least needed to know if you really have abilities beyond humans. If not, my death would be too cheap.”
8 “You should be that dragon left on Earth as a hostage, right? For the sake of our shared plight, tell me something I don’t know.”
8 “Like, why don’t you leave?”
8 Ao Bing laughed and said, “Space travel is quite life-consuming. I’m only three hundred years old this year—not time for space travel yet.”
8 Yun Ce stared at the red stomach band on Ao Bing and sighed, “I’m twenty-eight this year…”
