CHAPTER 377: CHAPTER 229: THE DRAGON’S SHADOW IN THE LIBRARY

August 1st, fifteen hours have passed since the end of the Whale Court destruction event. Due to the time difference, it was already late at night in Li Jing, while here in Bergen, it was still afternoon.

Stepping out of the underground tavern, Xia Pingzhou and Ayase Origami walked shoulder to shoulder along the streets by the harbor.

At this moment, the warm midday light spread across the road, and the two, blowing in the sea breeze, gazed at the distant scenery, turning their heads to take in the colorful wooden houses of Bryggen Pier at a glance.

The ocean stretched far and wide, its surface shimmering under the sunlight, as the sails of fishing boats swayed with the wind.

In the sunlight, the skin of the kimono-clad girl was almost translucently white, the hair at her temples fluttered gently like bird feathers in the sea breeze, grazing her pale cheeks.

After a moment, she released Xia Pingzhou’s sleeve.

"Feeling better?" She didn’t speak, but instead used paper to write in the air.

Xia Pingzhou absentmindedly raised his head, looking at the words formed by the paper.

After a moment of silence, he spoke: "I didn’t expect that the kids we met at the underground bar were related to the people they were looking for; it’s no wonder the Bloodline and Bai Tanlang who’ve been searching for so long are anxious."

The kimono girl lowered her eyes, looking at the sun-drawn elongated shadows of the two on the ground.

She seemed to try to empathize with the feelings of those two, but her lack in this aspect was as if a doll tried to understand humans.

In the end, she simply murmured:

"If you were missing, I would look for you too."

Xia Pingzhou remained silent for a moment: "What if you couldn’t find me?"

"I’d keep looking."

"What if you still couldn’t find me?"

"I’d continue to search."

"Then you’d become a Longevity Love-Chasing Old Lady, just like the Bloodline."

"No, I would be a Short-Lived Cat-Chasing Old Lady... because I’m not a vampire, so I won’t live long."

"What a pity, I’d have to disappoint you."

"Disappoint about what?"

"I won’t disappear."

Xia Pingzhou said softly, then picked up his phone and sent a message to a hacker.

[Xia Pingzhou: Are you still alive?]

[Hacker: Finally remembered your brother... lucky for you, the young lady helped you escape, what about me? I might not be able to get out of the tavern today, this old lady and Bai Tanlang haven’t let me go yet.]

[Xia Pingzhou: Take care of yourself, just explain what happened back then.]

[Hacker: You’ve got to be kidding me, I’m never recommending a bar to you again. I had no idea this mess would come up, are you my jinx or what?]

Xia Pingzhou no longer looked at his phone, turning his head to Ayase Origami: "Are you tired? After this operation ended, we haven’t rested until now, really makes us like superhumans."

"A bit sleepy." She yawned.

"Then let’s go back and rest."

With weary tears in her eyes, the kimono girl slowly nodded. They walked back all the way to Bergen’s hotel, checking into the room arranged by the hacker.

Even before the sun set in Norway, they closed their eyes early for rest.

...

...

At this moment, on the other side of the world, Yaguba and Cezar wandered the streets of Li Jing.

The first and second bodies lay in bed, leaving it to care for the two like a babysitter, introducing Cezar to the flora and fauna of the human world.

The little shark hid in Cezar’s pocket.

One human, one shark strolled aimlessly through the market, discussing how to make a living in the human world in the future. Otherwise, once their savings ran out, they wouldn’t have enough to eat, drink, or find lodging.

By then, they might truly end up wandering the streets!

Not long ago, Cezar was still a pampered prince; it would be truly pathetic to become a vagrant overnight.

As for why a prince of a feudal kingdom and a shark of the ocean world had savings in the human world, it started when Cezar left Bergen:

The leader of the White Crow Travel Brigade approached him proactively, becoming his friend.

Urushibara Osamu stood on Bryggen Pier, hands tucked into the pockets of his coat, silent for a moment, then suddenly turned to ask Cezar if he’d like to join the White Crow Travel Brigade with the shark, as there was a vacant spot.

Cezar shook his head, declining the offer.

He said he planned to travel the world with Yaguba next, collecting generational fragments, just like Li Qingping used to do.

The leader didn’t press the issue, though at parting, he gave Cezar a phone, saying it had a fake account and some money onboard, adding that they could stay in touch if convenient since he didn’t mind knowing some capable people.

Cezar didn’t quite understand what exactly the White Crow Travel Brigade did, nor did he know that the bearer of the plague fragment that poisoned his father—"Bernardo"—was, in fact, a member of the White Crow Travel Brigade until half an hour ago.

But Bernardo met a tragic demise in the collapsed Royal Court Hall, so Cezar would never learn of this incident.

So Cezar happily made friends with Urushibara Osamu and accepted the gift he offered.

Only Yaguba knows that the mobile phone Urushibara Osamu gave them is for the convenience of having hackers monitor them 24/7, to test whether they can learn the true identity of the Black Cocoon through them.

However, this crafty shark saw through the plan but didn’t reveal it, calculating in its mind—waiting for the person and the shark to deplete the phone’s funds before swallowing the phone in one gulp.

The main goal was to see if the phone was tasty and suitable for the taste of the Eternal Abyss Shark clan;

If it’s delicious, then he could join Swallowing Silver on the dining table, offering a touch of human warmth to the critter, making men silent and women weep with the truth.

In short, the third son of a country’s king and the ocean overlord falling into such a state is indeed a cause for lament.

Lastly, Yaguba suggested they could perform on the street, but Cezar waved his hand, saying it was too high-profile and might attract the wrong people, like shark hunters of the human world!

"What should we do then?" Yaguba asked, "We can’t keep starving, can we?"

Cezar stood on the street, exchanging looks with the little shark in his pocket, big eyes staring at little eyes.

"We can be bodyguards," Cezar thought of a solution, "Didn’t Li Qingping say that there are many bodyguards working for big underworld bosses at the auctions?"

"Oh, do you know what happened to those bodyguards in the end?" Yaguba said grimly, "Do you want Sharky to tell you?"

"Li Qingping told me, someone at the auction performed a magic trick, putting a playing card in the bodyguards’ pockets, and then with a bang, the bodyguards disappeared... Japanese bodyguards are so amazing, they can also perform magic."

Cezar said earnestly, clearly confusing bodyguards with guests.

The little shark covered its face with its fin: "I’m beginning to worry about our world travels, maybe we should return to the ocean world where it’s more suitable for your survival."

"Anyway, let’s head to Japan next, Yaguba, maybe those underworld bosses will indeed take us in," Cezar said.

"I think you just want to wander places, treating Sharky like a plane, but Sharky also needs to refuel..." the little shark sighed, "Tonight, let’s find a small inn to stay at, use your phone to pay."

"Alright."

Cezar nodded, his white hair and blue eyes attracting much attention from passersby.

Even though it’s the 21st century and things like cosplay exist, his exceptional appearance still drew astonished gazes, making Sharky burrow deeper into his pocket.

Once they entered the inn, all three bodies finally settled down.

The little shark jumped out of the pocket with a pop, lay on the sofa, and took a long breath, then turned to the nearby Cezar: "After this, are we just going to travel aimlessly, collecting fragments?"

"I have one more thing I want to do." Cezar sat cross-legged on the bed.

"What is it?"

"Didn’t I mention the ’Light-Devouring Bees’ to you before?" Cezar said.

"Light-Devouring Bees?"

Yaguba raised an eyebrow, suddenly recalling Cezar mentioning this name before, saying it was an extremely dangerous magical creature.

A few years ago, the Light-Devouring Bee clan fought to seize control of the Whale Terrarium from humans, ultimately battling the Royal Court Team, who drove them out of the Whale’s Mouth at the cost of near annihilation.

But the most dangerous and reproductive "Queen Bee" survived, escaping into the human world.

Even at that time, the Royal Court Team had at least one or two Catastrophe Level members, showing how dangerous this clan was.

"Exactly." Cezar said, "My father once sleep-talked about regretting letting the Queen Bee of the Light-Devouring Bees go, he said... if left unchecked, the Light-Devouring Bees might even destroy the human world."

"Destroy the world, huh, Sharky is familiar with that."

The little shark nodded, speaking with a sigh.

"What nonsense are you talking about, Yaguba."

"So next, we’ll travel the world to find Epochal Fragments, enhance our strength, prepare to rescue Sharky’s friends from that laboratory, and along the way, locate this so-called ’Light-Devouring Bee’ clan."

"Yes, that’s my plan." Cezar nodded.

"Then good night, Cezar, I’m a bit tired."

"Good night, Yaguba."

The little shark made a flying leap forward, head diving into the soft sheets, closing its eyes as its weary consciousness gradually sank.

Soon, Ji Minghuan entered the Spirit World’s library.

At this moment, a very important memory suddenly flashed in his mind, emerging when the Third Body devoured the Anecdote Fragment—"Red Dragon Wales.":

[Due to devouring a Mutant Fragment, a "New Anecdote Awareness" has been loaded into the Spirit Space.]

"Really, could it be..." Ji Minghuan raised an eyebrow, suddenly hearing a great breath sound.

He silently lifted his head, looking toward the corner of the library.

At this moment, a huge Red Dragon was crouching on the ground, its colossal wings shading the sunlight streaming through the windows. A large pair of reading glasses perched on its nose.

It lowered its head, quietly flipping through a little book it had taken from the bookshelf.

The Red Dragon raised its claw, carefully turning the page, then lifted its eyes from behind the reading glasses to look at the boy in the hospital gown standing before it.

"Excuse me, what are you?" Ji Minghuan was dumbfounded.

Noticing this, the giant dragon slowly lifted its head, its eyes like rubies fixated on Ji Minghuan.

"Are you a friend of Qingping’s?" it asked.