CHAPTER 58: CHAPTER 45: THE EMERGENCE OF THE SKELETAL DRAGON!

Drip, drip, drip!

The phone rang.

Wu Xiaode picked up the phone and saw it was a message from the S-Class Club.

"All members immediately mobilize and head for the Capital to fight the monster that appeared in the sky!"

It was a message from the team leader.

Go to fight?

Wu Xiaode glanced once again toward the high sky in the distance.

Why...

Why did this gargantuan creature give him a sense of familiarity and closeness?

Wu Xiaode glanced at the Book of the Dead.

The Book of the Dead quietly opened, revealing rows of ice-crystal small print that exuded a chill:

"The aura of the Death Realm has already appeared in the world."

"You are on the same side as it."

"You don’t have to worry about your own safety."

What I’m worried about isn’t my own safety, it’s this world.

Why would the aura of the Death Realm appear in the real world?

Wu Xiaode’s heart grew more and more uneasy.

Suddenly.

Little Shi’s voice came through: "Dad, is that a dragon?"

"I don’t know, Dad has never seen a dragon." Qian Mingkui muttered, lost in thought.

"Dragons... they should have flesh on them, right? This one has no flesh at all, only bones; it might not be a dragon," Lu Renyi also said.

The creature soared in the sky for a while, gradually vanishing into layer upon layer of semi-transparent barriers; it became invisible for a long while before reemerging and flying out again.

Was it reconnoitering the situation or doing something else?

Wu Xiaode was dazed.

Bones...

Bones!

He suddenly remembered something.

Last night, in the Bright Mechanical Union Technology Company, when he finished off that guy, he said—

"Wait! I have a secret to tell you! It’s about the ultimate secret on the 130th floor underground of our company."

"I’m not interested," he had replied at the time.

But the man became anxious and hurriedly said aloud, "This will let you know the real secret behind the world! I offer it to you, just spare my life, actually it’s a colossal bone—"

He had been very cautious at that time and did not listen to the secret that followed.

Thinking about it now...

It must be a bone dragon.

If that monster really was released from the Bright Mechanical Union Technology Company—

Sister Lan went to the company this morning; she’s there!

Wu Xiaode hurriedly dialed her number, only to find the phone had already been turned off.

Wu Xiaode’s heart suddenly lifted.

Then the phone automatically connected to a number, and a female voice came through:

"Wu Xiaode?"

"Yes, I am," Wu Xiaode said.

"Hello, I am Zhao Junyu’s sister. Just wanted to let you know, Xia Huilan has been rescued by me, you don’t have to worry," the female voice said.

Wu Xiaode sighed with relief and quickly asked, "How is she now?"

"She has been scared, plus very fatigued, and has temporarily fallen into a coma, but she’s okay—if you’re worried, let Zhao Junyu take you to the Royal Hospital to see her."

"By the way, her sister has been with her the whole time."

Her sister...

That must be Xia Ni.

The other party also said let Zhao Junyu bring him.

That made Wu Xiaode believe it, and he immediately said, "Thank you for your help, I’ll be right there."

"There’s one more thing," the woman voice continued.

"What is it?"

"If you have a way... deal with that bone dragon first, if you let it fly in the sky, the vibrations it emits are very dangerous!"

The call ended.

Wu Xiaode made another call to Zhao Junyu.

"Little Wu, I’m safe for the moment, if you’re worried about Xia Huilan, come to the Royal Hospital," Zhao Junyu said.

"Let me see the situation, yes, video."

"Okay."

The video quickly connected.

Wu Xiaode saw Zhao Junyu standing in the hospital corridor; the camera turned, and in the room was Xia Huilan lying down.

She was asleep.

Xia Ni was indeed by her side.

"Let Xia Ni take the phone," Wu Xiaode said.

"Brother Little Wu," Xia Ni said softly, holding the phone, "Don’t worry, sister just fainted, she’ll be fine after some rest."

Wu Xiaode felt his blood flow returning to normal, and his heartbeat wasn’t as uncomfortable anymore.

"That’s good, that’s good. You stay with her, I’ll come find you after I’m done," he said.

"Okay, don’t worry, we’re fine," Xia Ni said.

Wu Xiaode hung up the phone.

Since that was the situation—

"Elder Qian, Little Yi, go buy supplies, I’ll be back in a bit, see you tonight," Wu Xiaode said.

"Okay!" Qian Mingkui responded.

The electric tricycle drove out the door and rapidly disappeared at the end of the alley.

Wu Xiaode closed the door of the martial arts studio and, without any hesitation, activated the Book of the Dead, opened the Wall of Wishes, and looked at the wall.

As expected.

In the corner of the Wall of Wishes, there was a small crow mark.

Wu Xiaode placed his hand on the mark and whispered:

"Ya, come help."

"A fight?"

"A big guy, don’t know what it is, let’s go check it out!"

"A big guy, huh... good, that’s a good deal."

The sound of fluttering wings echoed.

A black crow descended from the sky, perching on Wu Xiaode’s shoulder.

Wu Xiaode’s figure vibrated, and he flew into the sky, heading toward the location of the Bright Mechanical Union Technology Company.

...

Ten minutes later.

The Capital.

The bone dragon was constantly soaring in the sky.

Ya had already seen it—

Down below, the crowd had settled down for the moment after the initial panic.

Police were everywhere, maintaining order.

Ya breathed a sigh of relief and was about to fly down when he suddenly noticed that some new situation had arisen at the Bright Mechanical Union Technology Company.

The whole building split in the middle, dividing into two parts as if something had pried it open.

There was a deep crack in the ground.

Perhaps the bone dragon had flown out from there.

And atop the towering building, more than a hundred floors up, stood a familiar figure.

Xiao Baihong!

He stood in the corner of the rooftop, perfectly hidden from all angles of view.

If it weren’t for the crow looking down from above the sky, his trace would not have been discovered.

Has the battle already started?

With a flap of its wings, the crow landed on the rooftop of another tall building, pulled out a smartphone, and dialed Xiao Baihong’s number.

"Eh? Little Wu, you’re looking for me?" Xiao Baihong sounded somewhat surprised.

"Yeah, I’m on the building behind you. What are you busy with?" Wu Xiaode asked.

Xiao Baihong glanced around and soon spotted him.

"Didn’t the captain order us to strike as a whole? —— I’m in the middle of killing people."

Xiao Baihong waved at him cheerfully, the black umbrella hanging from her arm dripping with fresh blood.

Wu Xiaode looked around the building.

He saw ambulances racing down the streets.

Quite a few injured were being loaded onto the vehicles.

And some who had died on the spot were left there temporarily.

Lives were withering away just like that.

Wu Xiaode’s gaze was as sharp as a blade’s edge, he spoke softly, "Who exactly released that bone dragon?"

"Although they are all nobodies, I know they’re a bunch of bastards groomed by the empire’s military forces, we’ve crossed paths several times before," Xiao Baihong said.

"What about the bone dragon in the sky? Didn’t the captain demand that we deal with it?"

"Buddy, that’s a bone dragon, it’s too powerful," Xiao Baihong said excitedly.

"How powerful?" Wu Xiaode asked.

"It’s covered with a layer of mist, equivalent to some kind of enchantment —— the captain and I can’t break through it!" Xiao Baihong exclaimed.

"Can’t the others from the club break it either?" Wu Xiaode asked.

"Nope! That’s why the captain is furious and is leading everyone in a bloodbath, hunting down those professionals everywhere," Xiao Baihong said.

"Why does our club have to deal with this bone dragon?" Wu Xiaode asked again.

Xiao Baihong sighed, "The club accepted a royal commission with a substantial reward to take down this bone dragon, but now no one can break that enchantment... it seems the mission will fail."

Wu Xiaode looked up.

The bone dragon ——

For some reason, this dragon gave him an indescribably complex feeling.

Suddenly.

The Book of the Dead opened before Wu Xiaode.

Lines of ice crystal small letters that exuded a chilling aura emerged on the page:

"Because you have awakened the Undead system ability: Book of the Dead."

"You are qualified to understand the details of all matters related to death, the undead, and heroic spirits."

"This flying object is not a real bone dragon, but a bone dragon’s eyeball is sealed within its body, thus it can stimulate the death enchantment of the bone dragon."

"This eye orb is unclaimed."

"You can communicate with this eye orb through this book and attempt to collect it."

There’s a chance!

Wu Xiaode’s thoughts raced as he pondered what to do next.

Looking at the whole situation, he naturally stood on the side of the royal family and the S-rank club.

So.

——Should he try to collect that eye orb?

Xiao Baihong’s voice came through the smartphone’s earpiece:

"Hahaha, it’s really funny, so many of us experts, yet we are utterly helpless against this monster."

"Why did those people release the bone dragon?" Wu Xiaode inquired.

"Probably to spread fear I guess, you know, humans reveal their true evil only under the shadow of fear, right?" Xiao Baihong said.

Wu Xiaode fell silent.

Suddenly, an urgent notice popped up on the smartphone:

"Urgent Notice: The entire nation has entered a state of war!"

"The military command has put forth a motion, requesting the royal family to command the central brain to decentralize authority, enhancing all citizens’ right to know and bear arms,"

Wu Xiaode suddenly realized.

A palace coup!

—Someone was forcing the royal family into a coup!

Ever since the central brain had begun managing all specific affairs, only the royal family possessed the highest level of authority, capable of judgment and disposition over matters big and small within the nation.

Now, someone wanted to use the bone dragon incident to coerce the royal family into relinquishing a portion of their authority!

For countless years, the central brain had been exceptionally perfected, equipped to handle any event within human society.

But—

Monsters belonged to the unknown.

They were black swans, unpredictable variables.

The central brain had no solution for this!

Wu Xiaode thought for a moment, just about to call Zhao Junyu, when suddenly a flicker caught his eye, and a man appeared not far from him.

Xiao Baihong!

Unbeknownst to him, he had already arrived before him.

"Join the fight?" He asked with a smile.

"Is the barrier around the bone dragon completely indestructible?" asked Wu Xiaode.

"No use, no attack has any effect," replied Xiao Baihong.

Wu Xiaode glanced at the sky.

Through the thin cloud layers, one could still see the bone dragon’s colossal form soaring back and forth.

What a shocking spectacle this was.

Perhaps the power structure of human society had been roiling with undercurrents from the moment it encountered such an unprecedented disaster, leading to new changes.

...This matter had to be resolved.

Wu Xiaode gazed at the Book of the Dead, thinking to himself, "Let’s give it a try, communicate with that eyeball."

The Book of the Dead trembled slightly and gently landed beside him, allowing him to place his hand on the cover of the book.

A mysterious connection spontaneously emerged—

In the unknown, Wu Xiaode sensed a strange intent.

"Come, talk to me, and tell me, what would make you willing to leave that body behind," he communicated through thought.

After waiting several breaths,

A thought was transmitted back.

Though not through words or sound, miraculously, Wu Xiaode genuinely understood that thought.

"Loneliness... seeking a master."

This was the thought conveyed from the eye of the bone dragon.

—As long as communication was possible, the situation was manageable.

"Come on out, stay with me for the time being; I’ll find you a bone dragon eventually, do you agree?" said Wu Xiaode.

No sooner had he finished speaking

Than the Book of the Dead sank heavily, taking quite a while before flying back up again.

A line of ice crystal lettering emerged on the page:

"The Eye of the Bone Dragon has been preserved within this book, on page 2."

Just—

That simple?

With a single intent from Wu Xiaode, the Book of the Dead immediately turned its pages.

Indeed, on the second page of the book, there was a sphere exuding an eerie chill, somewhat resembling the moon.

Who would have thought, that this was actually the eye of a bone dragon?

Lines after lines of ice crystal lettering surfaced among the pages:

"The Eye of the Bone Dragon is an object of the Undead system; it has its own spirit and is willing to stay within artifacts related to death and the undead."

"In the current world, only you have awakened the Power of Undead, materializing the Book of the Dead, hence it is willing to temporarily reside within your book."

"It is waiting for you to help it find a master."