Chapter 377: Dragon

When he opened his eyes again, he saw the familiar ceiling.

"Oh my, I'm exhausted—someone say 'Hui Sister is awesome' already!"

Hui Yu sighed loudly; during the last dozen minutes before mission end, she violently cut and precisely detonated until she finally broke the bronze giant ship into segments and shoved them whole into the 3D storage warehouse.

This is all money!

The ship itself weighed over twelve thousand tons; assuming 80% copper and 20% tin in the bronze, that's ten thousand tons of copper and two thousand tons of tin.

On the open market, copper is 75,000 per ton, tin is 250,000 per ton—total value one point two five billion.

Of course, theory is theory; the Killing Ground brought advanced mining tech, and major guilds have set up mining outposts inside the Killing Ground's physical realm.

Except for gold and some rare earth elements, metals on the black market actually sell at a 30% discount. Moreover, the bronze ship's greatest value isn't its material—it's its anti-gravity technology.

"Good work."

Li Cheng patted Hui Yu's small head; she crossed her arms, grinned dumbly, accepted the praise,

then headed to the living room, pulled a chilled cola from the fridge, and grabbed spicy chicken claws, pork jerky, potato chips, and seaweed from the packed snack cabinet.

She flopped down with a thud into the lazy sofa, adjusted it to the most comfortable position, picked up the remote, and turned on the massive TV Li Cheng bought her—equipped with a home theater sound system,

munching snacks as she muttered, "Why does this downloaded Tang Ren Jie Tan 5 feel off? All the actors changed, and Bao Qiang isn't here."

"?"

Li Cheng blinked. "Where did Tang Ren Jie Tan get a fifth movie? The latest is still the fourth."

"Huh."

Hui Yu pointed at the screen—there, in bold pink letters, was the title: *Tang Ren Jie Tan 5: Tang Ren Jie Hua*.

What the hell, is this even a real movie? I want to ask.

Li Cheng's eyebrow twitched; since every corner of the house had been soundproofed, he just let it go and returned to his study to review the mission rewards.

【Routine Mission "Return Home" Completed】

【Reward Settlement In Progress】

【Player Overall Performance: S+, Game Currency and EXP Boosted to 160%】

This mission's difficulty was oddly nuanced. The main challenge was escaping the Divine Molting Realm and surviving under the Toad God's watch.

Theoretically, switching sides to the Tu family and eliminating all survivors on the island would also complete the mission—but the final evaluation would never match the reward for killing the Toad God.

【Mission Reward 1: 1500 EXP Points】

【Mission Reward 2: 6000 Game Currency】

Before this mission, Li Cheng's level was Lv20, with EXP at 272/2000; after adding 2400 points,

he leveled up to Lv21, with EXP at 672/2400.

His game currency rose from 9541 to 19141.

【Mission Reward 3: Random Item ×1, Quality Based on Mission Rating】

Here it comes again—another loot box moment.

Li Cheng rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Open!"

A flash of white light—there, in the last inventory slot, was a hominid skull?

Especially after reading the detailed description—even Li Cheng, who had faced giants and chatted casually with Truth-Side Lv40 transcenders—couldn't keep his composure.

【Item Name: Old Baijing Hominid Skull】

【Type: Ritual Item】

【Quality: Perfect】

【Effect: Ape God. After devout prayer, immediately summon a mighty upright hominid. Its physical stats equal an Lv22 transcendent beast, wielding stone maces and wooden bows. The upright hominid can partially understand user commands and lasts up to one hour. Offering fresh meat, roasted meat, or fruit increases its favor, extending summon duration by one hour. Summon ends early if severely damaged.】

【Cost: At least 300 Spirit Power】

【Cooldown: 24 Hours】

【Usage Condition: Must hold Baijing household registration, possess property deed for a Sihe Academy within Baijing's Second Ring, and speak Baijing dialect daily.】

【Note: You won't believe it—Old Baijing's specialty? Mammoth stir-fried liver, saber-toothed tiger braised in soy, topped with garlic paste and served with soybean juice. Take a sip along the bowl's rim—oh my god, that's authentic!】

Auv, you're blessed.

Li Cheng's expression twisted; the skull's design clearly matched the Zhoukoudian upright hominid, living 700,000 to 200,000 years ago.

Modern humans' ancestors, Homo sapiens, emerged from Africa only 100,000 years ago and had no direct genetic link to upright hominids.

But that didn't stop upright hominids from being the true Old Baijing—the ones with the actual Heaven-Connecting Mark on their foreheads.

"The effect is excellent—summoning an Lv22 melee transcendent beast is perfect for pursuit, interception, or cover. The only problem is the usage conditions."

Baijing household registration and Sihe Academy property deed were easy—either get them himself or ask Yuan Zhixia.

But the daily language requirement—must speak Baijing dialect—was a real headache. Could he really walk into class speaking "auv" and "authentic" all day?

"Forget it."

Li Cheng shook his head, put the skull back in his backpack, and planned to list it on the auction house later.

Purely by combat power, Hui Yu—with her immense strength, max physical resistance, and survival ability—was far stronger than most summoned creatures.

His gaze shifted to the next reward.

【Mission Reward 4: Random Skill Scroll ×1, Quality Based on Mission Rating】

With low expectations, Li Cheng casually opened the chest—a parchment scroll appeared out of thin air.

【Skill Scroll Name: Dragon's Breath】

【Attribute: Learning-Type (One-Time Only)】

【Type: Spirit Energy】

【Usage: Active】

【Level: Perfect】

【Special Effect: Tiamat's Roar. Open the mouth and exhale dragon's breath from within. There are five kinds of breath in total, namely the Red Dragon's flames, the Blue Dragon's lightning, the Green Dragon's poison gas, the Black Dragon's acid, and the White Dragon's cold. Each exhalation may freely choose one of them, and only after all five breaths are used does it enter cooldown.】

【Cost: 150 Spirit Power and 150 Sanity per single breath】

【Cooldown Time: No cooldown between breaths within a single round; after all five breaths of one round are used, there is an 8-hour cooldown】

【Learning Requirement: Possess a supernatural bloodline whose Mystery is equal to or surpasses that of a dragon】

【Note: The power of the breath depends on the user themselves, and is related to factors such as lung capacity and the health of the respiratory and digestive systems】

【Note: Bro Dragon is a dragon, after all. Don't mess with him.】

"This skill is pretty good."

Li Cheng's eyes lit up. Tiamat is the evil dragon goddess in the DND worldview, possessing five dragon heads in white, black, green, blue, and red, corresponding to five kinds of evil chromatic dragons.

A pillow comes just when one feels sleepy. Most of the skill and item combinations on his hands were concentrated on the physical attack and defense aspect.

And the Evil Dragon Breath was an energy attack, and it even had five attributes — the cost-performance ratio was truly maxed out.

If one had to name a flaw, it would probably be that the cost was too high; each breath required 150 points of Spirit Power and Sanity. But there were other ways to compensate.

Li Cheng no longer hesitated. He immediately took out the scroll and clicked to learn it.

(End of this chapter)