Chapter 121: The Flame-Haired, Burning-Eyed Eri

Su Lin leaned against a stone pillar, glanced at the half-breeds bustling in and out of the portal below, and twisted open the crystal bottle’s cap.

Tap-tap-tap

Footsteps came from behind; Su Lin turned to see Lao Lu.

“So, you invited all the representatives of the human factions?” Su Lin asked, stressing the word “invited.”

Su Lin hadn’t expected Lao Lu back so soon—he’d just said he was going out to build goodwill and invite human faction representatives, and it had been barely an hour.

“Yes, most of them—not all. Dawn City will be completed in a few days, then opened to everyone as a demonstration city,” Lao Lu said. “What’s more direct than seeing it with your own eyes?”

“Food, clothing, shelter, transportation, healthcare, entertainment.”

“All next-generation tech—probably skipping five hundred years.”

He planned to build a future metropolis on this floating island; with access to some of his power, expanding the island a hundredfold posed no problem.

“Why not bring your family over for the New Year?” Lao Lu suggested.

“How do I explain to my parents that their son, just six months out of college, got a job conquering the world?” Su Lin waved his hand. “Take it slow. There’s no rush now. Lu Mingfei keeps messaging me in the group chat to stab you in the back—you know that, right?”

“I don’t know about that. Though my body is temporarily under my control, that chat group isn’t bound to me. Hmm… could the one who’s supposed to be asleep—or merely an observer—still control the chat group? Your group’s got something strange about it.” Lao Lu spoke with interest, then suddenly glanced at the crystal bottle in Su Lin’s hand, filled with red liquid. He sniffed. “What’s this? Strawberry drink?”

“Yeah, want some?” Su Lin shook the bottle. “I like the tech components inside.”

“No thanks. I’m off to make neural-signal gaming helmets.” Lao Lu declined. “Come play with me tonight.”

“Oh, right—go wake up Xia Mi first. Let’s squad up.”

“OK, OK.” Su Lin made an OK sign with his fingers. Watching Lao Lu’s retreating back, his lips curled unconsciously.

Swish

Lao Lu turned back, fixing Su Lin with a stare. “You—”

Su Lin’s expression remained calm, only a smile lingering at his lips. He lowered the bottle from his mouth. “Anything else?”

“Nothing.” Lao Lu shook his head and vanished around the corner.

Was it an illusion? A bad feeling kept nagging at him.

Su Lin probably couldn’t do it—the contract was in black and white. He can’t even exploit a loophole. Helping me conquer the world is mandatory. I know the remaining pact between him and Lu Mingze.

Then it must be Lu Mingze. That brat.

Su Lin glanced at Lao Lu’s departing figure, then turned his gaze back to the bottle in his hand.

【Divine Power Dye: Flame God】 Price: 399 points: For deities only. After consumption, grants the ability to disguise one’s divine power as flame attribute divine power, with flame traits—but does not alter the user’s fundamental divinity or essence. PS: Even without divine power, you can drink it—it’s just concentrated strawberry juice. (He told me to fake the crime scene as a love triangle to teach X God a lesson for cheating… but He doesn’t know I’m the original spouse. —God of Assassins, Luo Xiwei)

Su Lin suppressed his grin, nearly stretching to his ears, opened the cap, and downed the entire bottle.

Lao Lu, I’m a man of integrity. I haven’t broken the pact, and I have no intention of betraying you. Brother, I’m walking this path with you to the end.

I just want

to offer pure love to this beautiful dragon world.

Clatter—

The crystal bottle fell to the ground.

Su Lin clutched his throat; a searing heat surged through his body.

His divinity and divine power were being reshaped!

‘Why didn’t the description mention this?!’

‘Stupid mistake!’

Meanwhile, inside Sohji Heavy Industries

Uesugi Eri woke from a drowsy sleep. Last night’s banquet had been joyful—her brother had, for the first time ever, not scolded her for running away.

After returning home, Uesugi Jisheng told her he was her real brother; the old man dressed as a ramen chef beside him was her biological father, named Uesugi Katsuo; and the man who looked just like Jisheng, named Uesugi Jinyu, was her second brother.

She remembered the uncle, auntie, father, and mother she’d seen at the restaurant—Sakura’s family. Suddenly, she thought: if Sakura were here now, she could introduce him to her family.

She watched them celebrate. Jisheng, unlike his usual calm and composed self, laughed heartily, drinking sake freely. Though Eri didn’t understand what was happening, she felt it was good—she’d gained two new family members.

Later, Jisheng explained everything to Eri at the banquet.

‘Ogami Masanori is evil. If you see him, kill him directly.’ Eri thought, picking up a necklace from the bedside cabinet, intending to write on its back: ‘Sakura and Eri’s necklace.’

The necklace had been bought for her by Lu Mingfei in Ginza.

A black gemstone was fixed to the silver chain by two thin yellow metal rods crossing in a cross shape.

Like her toys and game consoles, Eri always wrote names on the backs of her possessions to mark ownership.

Unfortunately, there was no space to write.

Eri sighed and put down the necklace.

She was a girl with strong possessiveness.

After finishing this, Eri changed into her usual clothes, opened her door, and stepped out. Jisheng had said last night she could go anywhere now, no longer bound by her old life. But today, Eri didn’t feel like going out—she just wanted to wander around Sohji Heavy Industries.

She had just walked down the long corridor and pulled open the shoji door to the Sushin Temple terrace. Because of days of light rain, today’s view lacked its usual serene, painterly beauty.

Eri glanced inside. Many people sat there—many she didn’t recognize.

She looked around curiously and realized some were the people she’d seen last night: Sakura’s principal, Sakura’s younger brother, Sakura’s parents, Sakura’s classmates?

Seeing those girls, she pulled the shoji door shut and walked back to her room.

“You’re jealous,” Nono said flatly. She didn’t even need profiling—Eri’s dissatisfaction was written plainly on her face. “You still remember last night.”

“I don’t care,” Nono said.

“Me neither,” Su Xiaoqiang said. “Who’d fight over that idiot?”

‘Don’t lie to yourself, girl,’ Nono thought. ‘Loosen your clenched fists first.’

“Cough, cough.” Jisheng cleared his throat, cutting through the murmurs. “Let’s continue.”

Eri returned to her room, sat on the bed, and stared out the window at the steady drizzle. Water droplets clung to the glass, occasionally merging into tiny streams that slid down.

She felt bored, picked up her PSP, thought for a moment, then tossed it aside. She played with a small bear for a while, then picked up the necklace again, holding it up to examine.

“Sakura.”

“What is Sakura?” A deep male voice spoke.

Eri looked around warily but saw no one.

“Who?” she whispered.

“I’m right before your eyes.” The voice came again.

This time, Eri was certain. Confused, she stared at the black gemstone necklace in her hand—tiny red glimmers had begun to glow, like sparks from a campfire.

“You haven’t told me what Sakura is.”

The necklace turned crimson. The voice that emerged was calm yet commanding, echoing through the room.

Eri suddenly felt as if she’d seen this necklace before.

For most people in this world, the past few months had been surreal: anime characters blowing up toilets, gods descending to earth, then what seemed like two gods engaging in a globally watched battle over Tokyo and space.

Countless rock spears larger than mountains clashed violently with luminous creations. Many thought the world was ending—but that divine duel left no damage at all, as if the gods had preemptively protected the world?

This eased the fears of anxious people. It seemed these two gods, though fighting, still cared about mortal lives.

While world leaders scrambled desperately for information, every global channel was hijacked.

This time, a group calling themselves dragon-blooded hybrids took over all channels for three full hours, beginning with a science popularization on dragon history and origins, then presenting evidence from history and reality.

They demonstrated their supernatural ability, called “Yan Ling,” revealed their real identities in public—including CEOs, executives of major corporations, high-ranking officials from various nations, and even historical figures active in the early 20th century.

At that moment, ordinary people’s historical and worldviews shattered completely. They had lived all along in a world where dragons existed—and dragon-blooded hybrids had, throughout history, either led or stirred conflict. Human history was, in truth, a story of humans intertwined with dragons.

In the long history of Earth, before humans became its masters, dragons—godlike beings—ruled the planet and were humanity’s masters.

Humans stole divine power and gave birth to dragon-blooded hybrids. During the dragons’ chaos, these hybrids rebelled, overthrowing dragon rule—and thus, the age of humanity began.

But dragons were nearly immortal. Over millennia, dragon-blooded hybrids signed the Abrahamic Blood Pact, establishing bloodline ranks, restricting interference in the human world, and focusing on dragon extermination to prevent dragons from rebirth via eggs.

In prophecy, when the supreme dragon at the apex of dragonkind awakens, the world will face its end.

“This prophecy has been broken!” said the dragon-blooded hybrid Layaqi Daiken on TV—a military strategist active in the last century. “The Supreme One has already awakened! The end has not come! He will lead humanity, dragon-blooded hybrids, and dragons to establish a new world of equality!”

“The Supreme One is benevolent and loving. He is weary of millennia of strife and slaughter, and pities all suffering life. Thus, He dispatched His divine servant, the God of Light and Hope, to bless all beings.”

“When He lost His memories, He lived as a human, enduring love, hatred, suffering, and sorrow—empathizing with all life.”

“Do not fear He came to enslave. Neither humans nor dragon-blooded hybrids have any value as slaves.”

Click—

Jisheng turned off the TV, tossed the remote, and gave a bitter laugh. “Heh. It’s been looping since last night—like brainwashing.”

“Thank Him for leaving us the freedom to use the internet. Even if He can’t control it, at least we can speak,” Angre said. “Though the net is full of surrenderists.”

“And thank Him for mentioning the economic system will remain unchanged—otherwise, we couldn’t even hire trolls,” Fenger said, holding a notebook. “Honestly, I’d consider surrendering too. After all, he’s my good junior. With our relationship, I’d at least be second-in-command.”

After he spoke, silence fell over the meeting room. Even Xiao Yan and others stared at him in surprise.

“If that’s your logic,” Caesar raised his head, “then I and Chu Zihang should lead the white flag too. He’d probably make us both Grand Marshals.”

“What do you think, Chu Zihang?”

Chu Zihang remained silent, lost in thought as he had been all day.

Fenger nodded. “Makes sense. I’ll text him later to ask about the treatment.”

“Su Lin’s actions have earned their side plenty of followers,” Kleen changed the subject. “What’s the UN’s stance?”

“Of course, they’ll resist to the end—symbolically,” Han Gao sneered. “The one behind this intends to abolish all existing upper classes, seize their power. Those at the pyramid’s peak won’t agree—neither ordinary humans nor dragon-blooded hybrids will give up easily.”

“But they’ve left themselves an escape route.”

“Naturally. After all, their power is undeniable. They’re cooperating only because we have gods too,” Du Deng walked to the glass wall, gazing out at the floating island that now covered nearly half of Tokyo’s sky.

The island expanded daily. Satellite images showed a city already built upon it.

They appeared so brazenly, utterly disregarding them—as if whatever they did posed no threat whatsoever.

“All nuclear warheads are aimed at Tokyo. Orbital weapons have arrived above the city,” Pompey swirled a glass of whiskey. “Heh heh—he probably wants to kill us all together.”

“Those things are just placebos.” Angre glanced at Zhongli, who was sipping tea, and unexpectedly felt a sense of peace.

Everyone knew full well that current human technology was powerless against these monsters, but it made them feel better anyway.

“Shall we accept their proposal?” said the representative of the Cadmus bloodline family. “Staking the fate of all humanity.”

“There is no other way,” Angre said. “This world can never return to the age of dragon domination.”

Whether the other side truly came to lead humanity no longer mattered. All factions, each with their own motives, had united only for shared interests—to shatter the impending rule.

“Do we have any chance of winning?” asked the bloodline descendant from the Saint George family; her voice was low.

Logically, our side also had a Supreme One, gathering all elite bloodline warriors from the war faction, plus three mysterious allies suspected to be deities—there was still a possibility of victory.

“There’s still a chance, but slim,” Lu Mingze smiled, glancing at the documents in his hand. “I need some time—after all, half of my brother’s soul belongs to me.”

“How was Her Majesty’s mood after she returned last night?”

“That’s my sister,” Yuan Zhisheng said discontentedly, but remembering her relationship with Lu Mingfei, he sighed. “She’s not in good spirits.”

“Gentlemen,” Board Member Charlotte said, “according to the original plan, in a few days we’ll have our only chance. Sixty-six percent of our elite squads have mastered the Blood-Boost technique.”

“Let’s just rest and adjust today.”

“From now on, everyone’s mission is officially changed,” Angre stood up and scanned the room. “Escort our Supreme One to Lu Mingfei’s side and awaken Lu Mingfei.”

He paused, glanced at Zhongli, then looked away and continued: “Or seal him!”

As soon as Angre finished speaking, he looked around; others wore expressions of confusion.

“Whose phone or alarm is that? I haven’t finished speaking—please turn it off.”

“It seems to be coming from outside,” Lu Mingze sensed. “The music is playing across the whole city—probably Su Lin listening to songs on loudspeaker.”

Everyone looked uneasy. Does the God of Light really enjoy blasting music through speakers?

“Wait…” Yuan Zhisheng suddenly realized, “Could that be the background music from the last bombing incident?!”

“Alastor,” Hui Liyi whispered, “I’ve made my decision.”

“Have you decided?” came the voice from the necklace.

“Once decided, there’s no turning back.”

“Yes,” Hui Liyi affirmed. “I will bring back Sakura!”

“Then—”

A burst of flame appeared out of nowhere, engulfing Hui Liyi.

“Make a pact with me.”

These past two days, I reviewed the new Dragon Raja setting by Jiang Nan—it’s absurd. The latest Dragon Raja lore has turned into xianxia: forget a Dou Zun like Yao Lao fighting a Dragon King; even a Dou Di might get crushed. Alchemy can create or reboot worldlines, separate causality, manifest conceptual weapons—the Dragon Raja world clearly has a multiverse of worldlines. Hahaha. Some readers say I’ve overinflated Dragon Raja’s power scale. I quietly checked the setting again. Did I hold back too much?