Chapter 318: The Drifter Chasing a Phantom

Chapter 318: The Drifter Chasing a Phantom

The Akagawa River is formed by the confluence of two streams.

One stream flows into Mount Fuji, heated by magma, turning into scalding water. The other is a cold underground stream. When the hot and cold waters merge, they create a thunderous roar, like the sound of a raging storm.

Three hundred meters beneath the ground, a drilling machine roars, its massive drill bit spinning rapidly, kicking up clouds of dust as it steadily advances deeper into the earth, as if engaged in a power struggle with the very land itself.

The operator of this machine is not a man in a protective work suit, but a woman with a slender waist and long legs, her beauty captivating and enchanting.

A woman of her caliber, no matter where she goes, is the center of attention, surrounded by countless men vying for her favor. She could walk the red carpet without makeup and outshine female celebrities, but now, she finds herself operating a drill at a depth of over three hundred meters, a truly surreal situation.

Sake Toku Mai's face is pale, her body drenched in sweat. Her physical and mental endurance has reached its limit. She endures the deafening noise, the impact, and the pitch-black darkness as the drill bit grinds against the siliceous rock. She bears the scorching heat that seems capable of melting a person.

Since receiving her orders, she has been operating in this extreme environment for twelve hours. Even a well-trained female ninja with exceptional endurance is starting to falter.

"This is killing me," Sake Toku Mai sighs, almost groaning.

In her ear, Su Enxi's anxious voice reaches her. "Are you okay? If you lose consciousness now, I won't be able to help you!"

Deep-sea hybrids can also dive quickly, but the underground is filled with obstacles. To save time and maintain stealth, the clearing work was rough, and the tunnel Sake Toku Mai has been drilling already has several collapsed sections. In this situation, she can't even stop, let alone turn back.

This is a one-way journey to death.

The only glimmer of hope is what her boss mentioned—a giant dragon ecosystem beneath the Akagawa River, created by the "God" and the fetal blood of the eight-headed serpent, Yamata no Orochi.

"I'm fine, at least for now," Sake Toku Mai manages a faint smile on her pale face. "Don't worry, I still have to recreate the feats of Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi. I need to kill that eight-headed monster. I can't even enter its ecosystem yet, let alone slay a god."

"That's good," Su Enxi's voice relaxes slightly. Then, the sound of chewing chips and a sigh follows. "I haven't rested either. The boss is really treating us like workhorses."

Sake Toku Mai doesn't respond to her complaint. Her consciousness is blurred due to oxygen deprivation, her heart racing, and her entire body feels like it's on fire. She is barely coherent, and only the noise indicates that she is still working.

Time passes slowly. Just as Su Enxi is about to ask about the situation again, Sake Toku Mai's ethereal voice reaches her.

"If I'm going to be treated like livestock, I'd rather it be on a bed than in this deep, dark underground."

"Hey, why are you suddenly talking like that?" Su Enxi's voice lightens. "Are you planning to become a true Sea Queen?"

"Who knows? Maybe it's just biological instinct?" Sake Toku Mai purses her bloodless lips. Perhaps it's the isolation and the darkness that makes her feel vulnerable, and for once, she allows herself a moment of weakness, offering a self-deprecating smile.

"Maybe when faced with the threat of death, all living beings want to leave behind a genetic sample. Although, as a woman, it's not like I can do much even if I die."

"..."

This is the first time Su Enxi has heard Sake Toku Mai speak like this. Amidst the unstable signal and the crackling noises in her earpiece, her voice carries a sense of conflict and struggle.

"But... we can't disobey the boss's orders."

"I know, and I don't plan to disobey them." Sake Toku Mai's tone is indifferent, simply tired from the physical and mental exhaustion.

An ominous red light glows in the darkness as an alarm buzzes. The diamond drill bit is damaged, and Sake Toku Mai adjusts her breathing in the pitch-blackness. The scent of death permeates the narrow control room, and they are just inches away from breaking through to the riverbed above.

Once they break through, the fetal blood and the dragon executioners—the Oni Tooth Dragon Vipers, capable of devouring even diamond-hardened iron—will surge out, swallowing her and the machine. They will likely follow the narrow tunnel she has drilled and burst out, causing a significant disaster.

The boss probably doesn't care about the safety of ordinary people. Although he occasionally acts like a child, showing concern and affection for them, they know that he possesses the true heart of a dragon.

Cold, selfish, violent, and high above everyone else—that is the true nature of the dragon race!

Sake Toku Mai kicks open the door and steps out, navigating the cramped space. She wonders if Lu Mingfei is the only one the boss truly cares about, and if San Wu Nu has any standing at all. As she feels the scorching heat that seems capable of evaporating blood, she removes several tubes of transparent serum tied to her leg, each glowing with an enigmatic radiance. She speaks softly, "Chip Girl, have you thought about what's next?"

"The future?"

"Yeah. If the boss lets go of Lu Mingfei and lets him return to a normal life, we won't be able to stay by his side anymore. This is our final mission. If you survive, what do you want to do?"

Su Enxi ponders, "I haven't thought about it. Maybe find a livable city, buy a villa, and retire? After this mission, we'll still have a few hundred million in liquid assets. Even without using 'Tianyan' for stock trading, it's enough for retirement. We can live together then."

"That sounds good, but I probably can't live with you." Sake Toku Mai's tone becomes unusually gentle, without her usual playful or joking demeanor. Instead, she speaks with a sense of acceptance, as if waking up from a dream.

Su Enxi senses an inexplicable sense of foreboding in her words, a feeling that is particularly profound. It's as if Sake Toku Mai is standing on a rooftop, embracing the earth as a dying bird falls.

Her heart tightens, as if gripped by an invisible force.

"Hey, Long Legs! What are you doing? Don't scare me!" Su Enxi raises her voice, her tone turning anxious as she looks at her phone with trepidation.

"Silly, do you think an ordinary hybrid can escape the bites of Oni Tooth Dragon Vipers and fight the eight-headed serpent?"

"Even though it was incomplete, lacking nourishment, and trapped for countless years, the Yamata no Orochi is still an incredibly powerful monster, and it's not something an ordinary Sub-dragon could easily defeat."

Kudemaiko sighed, taking out a test tube and calmly injecting it into her body. The ancient dragon blood surged through her veins, spreading throughout her body. She felt her weakened body rejuvenating, and the scorching heat turned refreshing.

"Don't do anything reckless. I'll contact the Boss; there might still be a chance!"

"No need. The Boss has always been here."

Kudemaiko smiled, glancing at the boy in the dimly lit room, his eyes glowing red like a funeral attendee.

He wore a suit that seemed out of place, a white rose pinned to his chest, and a cold smile on his face.

"Hey, Potato Chip Girl, to be honest, working with you has been enjoyable. Although you're always lazy, leaving potato chip crumbs everywhere, and you're both lustful and timid, needing a man's WeChat but acting coy. But you've done a great job with funding and coordination."

She chuckled, "This is the consequence of liking someone you shouldn't. Perhaps being a meat-eater would be more comfortable... Suddenly, I feel like I can understand that sea king, Lu Ke."

The dragon blood, not originally part of her body, rapidly invaded, yet she began to chant as if unaware.

"Perhaps it's because of an unknown dream that a wandering soul chases after a mirage."

"So, I'm also a person chasing after a mirage."

Ignoring the anxious calls from across the room, she removed her headset and crushed it.

"One error, one shot, one content, one container, one 69 book, one bar, one look!"

Her golden eyes burned like flowing lava, and fine dragon scales appeared on her face. Her muscles began to swell slightly, and dragon transformation signs appeared all over her body, even elevating her incantations.

In this state, without an antidote injection, she would quickly become a Deathstalker. However, she calmly injected herself with a second vial of ancient dragon serum, followed by a third and fourth...

The dragon transformation accelerated, and her sanity was being eroded. The high dose of ancient dragon serum made her Deathstalker transformation irreversible.

"You've worked hard these years. I'll do my best to keep you alive."

The boy, like a fleeting illusion, finally spoke, watching as Kudemaiko approached the dragon. He observed the woman's figure becoming more exotic, and his tone softened.

At this moment, Kudemaiko's eyes, now closer to the vertical pupils of a dragon, fixed on the boy, squeezing out a smile. Her wild nature gradually replaced her rationality.

"Don't mention it, Boss. Even though your employee care is lacking, I haven't forgotten my oath. Until death, Kudemaiko will wield her sword for you."

Her sclera gradually increased, and her speech became slow and hollow. It wasn't a White Queen's bloodline Deathstalker transformation, but her mind was being eroded by dragon blood, leaving her with only some basic instincts.

"I've always been curious about what you really are."

Lu Mingze glanced at his subordinate, who was about to fully transform into a half-dragon, "Only the Black Queen herself or a new Black Queen can kill the Black Queen... That's how it was supposed to be."

"In many myths, gods create humans in their image. What do you think the Black Queen based the Four Great Monarchs on? Creating incomplete beings that need to devour their siblings to complete themselves?"

Kudemaiko shook her head with difficulty, "Old... Boss, the Riddler... They should all die."

"One last question... What if Lu Ke... can't pass the trial?"

"Nothing will happen. It just gives me a chance to start over. His appearance made the world 'heavy,' unable to reset, so the script went wrong. If I could do it again, I'd do better."

Lu Mingze spoke indifferently, "In your final moments, you're concerned about him. Did you two have contact before?"

"Sister... just... thank you."

Kudemaiko could barely speak, her words turning into roars as her beastly instincts took over.

"Oh, I remember. Kudemaiko Aki and Ye Sheng were stopped by him from going to Bronze City, and they got a second chance at life."

Lu Mingze clicked his tongue, showing clear disdain, "I knew he must have read the script. I hate these intruders who know the plot. It's as unreasonable as throwing Otsutsuki Kaguya into the Summit War."

He watched as the dragon-transformed Kudemaiko roared, her illusory body floating in front of her, his palm resting on her head.

"There's never been such a thing as a free lunch. To get something, you have to give something. Those keys aren't in our hands, and to achieve our goal, we have to bring out the coffin."

The illusory body seemed to melt, slowly flowing into Kudemaiko's body. Already heavily dragon-transformed, Kudemaiko completely turned into a dragon, letting out a piercing howl.

Then, the female ninja, in dragon form, drew her twin blades. In her left hand was "Amaterasu," and in her right, "Futsunomitama"! She wielded these legendary weapons with unstoppable force, breaking through the final barrier.

A deafening roar filled the air!

Like a river of blood, a torrent erupted from beneath the ground, a terrifying flood gushing out. Countless Ghost-Toothed Dragon Vipers emerged, their sharp, gleaming teeth bared.

The violent surge seemed to disturb the underground ecosystem, causing the ground to shake violently, and a pillar of blood soared into the sky!

...

In the deep sea, Takamagahara.

A graceful figure lifted her head, her hood floating with the seawater, revealing a flawless face that inspired awe.

"Elemental turbulence. Odin's signal has arrived, but there's another presence... The situation seems to be getting chaotic."

However, this was just as she wanted.

For the "weak" Dragon King, the more chaotic the situation, the more advantageous it was.

She turned to the enormous, winding black shadow beside her and slowly spoke.

"Initiate the Sea of Death. Let the tides engulf this island."

Then, her gaze shifted to the layered mountain rocks, to the foundation of Japan. Countless lights flashed in her eyes, and the world appeared with countless "eyes" in her vision.

After her calculations, she raised her white jade-like, dragon-scaled, sharp claws and waved them forcefully!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end