78 The Bait for Luring Dragons [Double-length Chapter. Happy Dragon Boat Festival!]

Getting rich quietly and keeping a low profile—humans fear fame just as pigs fear becoming fat; it’s not the thieves who steal that are frightening, but those who have their eyes on you. The tallest tree in the forest catches the wind. In his past life, as a native of Huaxia, Lu Chen was imbued with the traditional virtues of modesty and humility, disliking being in the spotlight or the subject of others’ attention. Yet sometimes, there’s no choice; if you want the tiger’s cub, you must enter the tiger’s den.

There are times when, to obtain true treasures, one must endure the scrutiny of countless eyes, live broadcasts, and relentless pursuit. In such moments, the importance of Lu Chen’s Shadow Whale Pearl becomes all the more pronounced—an absolute, priceless treasure.

At this moment, sheltered by the storm conjured by the pod of White-Bearded Whales, the Leonin quietly trailed the Minotaur as it flew at low speed along the course Lu Chen had set, skimming the surface of Mist Sea Star. The Minotaur, meanwhile, had shut down all its transponders. Along the way, many adventurer ships tried to approach, but the raging storms scared them off, leaving them to observe from afar.

During this time, Lu Chen received a barrage of warnings from the Angler’s League—warnings, severe warnings, final warnings, and stern condemnations. But since it was unclear whether the Leonin had captured the Shadow Whale, and with the Minotaur subdued, the League did not dare pursue the Leonin rashly. Instead, they chose to watch and wait.

In the end, after navigating layers of storms, the ship that intercepted the Leonin was none other than Guernica’s Seventeenth Ship: the Capricorn.

Lu Chen had already received a hazard alert. From his research on the Minotaur, he discovered that the ship’s radar was home to a colony of Storm Moths—spirit moths extremely sensitive to the formation and movement of storms, able to warn in advance. The Minotaur’s central gyroscope was also specially designed for storms, allowing it to easily weave through the storm’s weak wind zones. The Capricorn had similar capabilities.

Lu Chen surmised that the Minotaur’s technology must have originated from the Guernica Beastmasters. If the reserves couldn’t catch their target, it was time for the main force to step in.

Lu Chen specifically looked them up online. The Capricorn was a level-fifty starbeast ship, resembling a fish with ram’s horns. The capricorn, also called the Makara, was the mount of the water god in Indian mythology, but in this universe, it was a real spirit beast. Of course, it might not have been a natural creation at first, perhaps birthed from the whims of some ancient biologist.

Guernica’s Seventeenth Ship was already level fifty—evidence of how much their strength had grown over the past three years.

Now the question was: “Why is the Guernica Beastmaster Corps so obsessed with the Shadow Whale? It’s almost as if they know something.”

After pondering, Lu Chen decided to contact Prince Tali through an encrypted call. Perhaps he knew something.

“Brother Lu, at this point, you still haven’t left Mist Sea Star, and you’ve got the leisure to call me?” Prince Tali asked.

Lu Chen smiled serenely, replying only, “Is using interstellar locusts to fish for whales effective?”

Prince Tali was momentarily stunned, surprised by Lu Chen’s calmness, and subconsciously relaxed as well.

“It works marvelously! I plan to catch enough White-Bearded Whales, open a Desert Mist Sea Pavilion on Dune Star, and use the profits to develop the Dragon Seeker III adventure ship!”

So, you’re a business genius after all…

After a brief exchange, Lu Chen got to the point: “I want to ask you something. About the Shadow Whale—have you been hiding something? For example, clues related to dragon-seeking?”

Prince Tali’s expression suddenly grew solemn; he quickly dismissed his attendants. Even the dragon pearl he was twirling in his hand stopped as he lowered his voice: “This isn’t something to be spoken of lightly. I do know some secrets, but nothing is certain… Besides, with so many adventurer ships between our vessels, this kind of call—”

“No need to worry. This is an encrypted call, one that no one under heaven can crack,” Lu Chen exaggerated deliberately.

But Prince Tali didn’t relax. “What about those above?”

“Above? What do you mean?”

“I mean, can those in the heavens crack it?”

Lu Chen paused, frowning, and asked, “When I say ‘under heaven,’ I mean the galaxy. Who do you mean by ‘the heavens’?”

“Obviously, places like the Immortal Realm.”

“This world… has an Immortal Realm?” Lu Chen recalled that in the game, there was no such setting. Of course, perhaps after his transmigration, the developers had added a new map.

For Prince Tali, a native of a harsh desert planet, the belief in an Immortal Realm was unshakable. After all, his people yearned for the mythic paradise, though outsiders considered Dune Star itself a kind of earthly paradise with its crystal mines everywhere.

“Humanity in the galaxy is a cultivation civilization. The ultimate goal of cultivators is to become immortals. Is it not natural that the Immortal Realm exists?”

Lu Chen didn’t find it so natural. In his view, even at the peak of spiritual energy in the galaxy, it wasn’t enough for cultivators to transcend into immortality. Otherwise, why would humanity abandon pure cultivation, turn to spiritual machinery, venture beyond their homeworld, and conquer the galaxy? Only when the path upward is blocked do people seek outward.

“Do you have any evidence the Immortal Realm exists?” Lu Chen asked, curious.

Prince Tali shook his head. “Of course not. My point is, the secret of the Shadow Whale is something that even the Immortal Realm might take interest in. Can your call be encrypted from immortals?”

“If you don’t believe in the tales of the Immortal Realm, substitute the Imperial Emperor’s office, the Galactic Heart main server, or some abyssal bigwig…” he added.

Lu Chen shook his head, then said confidently, “Those aren’t things you can just substitute. So long as it’s not a real immortal using supernatural hearing, I think my encrypted call is unbreakable.”

“You really are confident,” Prince Tali remarked. After hesitating, he returned to his private quarters and pointed to a bone chair. “This is a flood dragon spine, tens of thousands of years old, still as new.”

Lu Chen glanced at it; the rest of the chair was exquisitely carved rare wood, with the backrest being a segment of massive beast bone, clear as jade and exuding a vast, ancient aura—truly extraordinary. This was just a thousand-year-old flood dragon bone—what would a true dragon bone be like?

“So, what is the connection between the Shadow Whale and the dragons you seek?” Lu Chen asked.

Prince Tali fetched an aged wine from his cellar, poured himself a drink, and said with some emotion, “Only a talent like you, Brother Lu, deserves to hear the next secret for free.”

“Indeed,” Lu Chen nodded.

Prince Tali began: “When White-Bearded Whales were first bred, it wasn’t to construct neural network servers. They were intended as feed—or more accurately, as bait.”

Lu Chen instantly understood. “You mean… bait for fishing dragons?”

Prince Tali sipped his wine, savoring it. “Precisely.”

Lu Chen frowned. This premise was bizarre to the point of absurdity. “There are so many White-Bearded Whales on Mist Sea Star, yet no dragons have appeared. Even if dragons existed, the whales should have been devoured long ago.”

“Because the White-Bearded Whales are failures,” Prince Tali said calmly. “Not just them, but all the other bred spirit beasts—they were attempts to feed the newly revived dragons cloned from frozen specimens. Unfortunately, all attempts failed. I don’t know exactly why, but it wasn’t a complete failure. It’s said that a rare few mutant spirit beasts could sustain the dragons’ most basic life signs. Thus, I suspect the Shadow Whale is a mutant White-Bearded Whale. If we capture it, perhaps we could attract the interest of a dragon.”

Lu Chen mused that with such a grotesquely mutated body, it was hard to imagine a dragon being interested. Wait—the Shadow Whale Pearl… Could it be that dragons crave whale pearls? Or perhaps dragons, too, desire superpowers? If there really are dragons in the galaxy, would they come looking for him?

Lu Chen still felt the idea was too wild. “Regardless, your secret about dragon bait is far-fetched. Given the current spiritual energy levels in the galaxy, it’s impossible for true dragons to exist.”

Prince Tali, however, remained mysterious. “Of course, the ancient titanic beasts are gone. But what if there are atavistic dragonkin?”

Atavism! Lu Chen’s heart skipped a beat—he immediately thought of Ellie.

Prince Tali then prepared to end the call. “I can’t say another word or my father will kill me.”

Lu Chen thanked him in turn. “In that case, I’ll share a secret: the Shadow Whale of Mist Sea Star really is a mutant, but it’s already dead.”

Prince Tali looked disappointed. “That’s a sad tale.”

Lu Chen smiled. “Farewell for now. I hope we meet again.”

Prince Tali suddenly looked confused. “What do you mean, ‘hope’? Don’t tell me your calls will be unreachable in the future.”

Lu Chen offered only a silent smile and ended the video call.

Meanwhile, the Leonin had already altered course to evade the Capricorn’s interception. In the cockpit, not only Lu Chen, but Gloria and Ellie were left stunned by the revelations.

Gloria, after thinking it over, still felt something was off. “There’s been news of atavism in recent years, but I’ve never heard of atavistic dragonkin. There aren't even pure-blooded dragonkin left—flood dragonfolk are rare enough!”

Lu Chen agreed—there were too many uncertainties to take everything at face value. “No need to dwell on it. Prince Tali’s secret might not be true. However, the Guernica Beastmasters seem to believe it, which is why they’re hounding us.”

Gloria strode over and clapped Lu Chen on the shoulder. “If it’s true, then congratulations. You’ve become bait for the dragons. If I ever catch a true Dragon Monarch, I’ll be sure to thank your sacrifice.”

Lu Chen frowned, feeling something wasn’t right with that statement.

But if there truly were atavistic dragons, and they saw the news of him hunting the Shadow Whale, wouldn’t they come to devour him? Thankfully, he had his hazard guide, or this universe would be far too dangerous.

“It’s hard to quietly snatch treasures these days!” he sighed. After a pause, he turned to Ellie at his side. “Ellie, do you remember when you first manifested atavism? Did it happen naturally, or was it triggered by someone?”

Ellie froze, her icy blue eyes blank, as if she hadn’t heard a thing, mechanically reading and studying—like she’d suddenly shut down.

Lu Chen could sense the short-circuit in her soul—a reaction impossible to fake, especially before someone who’d mastered Omniphonic Resonance like him.

Even Gloria was helpless. “Looks like only Lady August aboard the White Dew can cure her.”

Speaking of the White Dew, Lu Chen suddenly thought of Hu Qianqian on the September Miracle… He’d promised to protect the Leonin, but no sign of him yet.

“Let’s focus on getting off Mist Sea Star first,” he said.

Gloria, wine flask in hand, shrugged and watched Lu Chen with interest. “You’re a star now on Mist Sea Star. Leaving won’t be easy. The Guernica Beastmasters are much stronger than we anticipated.”

“No matter,” Lu Chen replied, sipping his tea, supremely at ease. “I’m also much stronger than I anticipated.”

True enough, Gloria hadn’t expected Lu Chen to single-handedly storm a ship and subdue the entire Minotaur so quickly.

Under Lu Chen’s unhurried piloting, the Leonin, aided by the moving storms, quickly widened the gap with the Capricorn. The crew of the Capricorn were puzzled: how did the Leonin always seem to anticipate their interception? When had they been exposed?

Soon, the Leonin received a video call from the Capricorn. The caller appeared to be a young Capricorn woman, with ram’s horns and a fish’s tail, her lower body soaking in a bathtub, her upper body leaning over the rim. Her features weren’t unattractive; flecks of glitter dotted her freckles, her eyeshadow painted deep black, giving her a wild air.

“I am…” She began to introduce herself, but upon seeing Lu Chen’s face, she was instantly smitten. “My, aren’t you a handsome little thing. No wonder Scorpio didn’t issue a kill order—he only wants a deal.”

Lu Chen remained impassive. There may have been no kill order, but at least a forced interception was intended, or he wouldn’t have received the hazard alert.

“So, who are you?” he asked.

The Capricorn woman composed herself, plastering on a false smile. “I am Captain Jade Capricorn of the Capricorn. Your killing of Entiel was memorable—we can let it go. But whatever treasure you found in the planet’s core, sell it to us. The Guernica Beastmasters will offer a price you can’t refuse.”

Lu Chen’s eyelids drooped, his face spelling refusal. “Thank you, but the Shadow Whale is already dead. The particles floating outside Mist Sea Star’s atmosphere are her corpse. I fulfilled her final wish and let her die in peace. Aside from the gratitude of the White-Bearded Whales, I found no treasure.”

“What?” The Capricorn woman twisted her neck, feeling insulted by this pretty boy’s nonsense. “So you think, just because we’re the Seventeenth in Guernica, we’re like those minotaurs?”

Lu Chen shrugged, looking bored. “Not too different. At least they caught up with me—you’re only catching my exhaust.”

“No doubt Scorpio’s softness toward you was a mistake—a grave mistake,” the Capricorn woman snapped, knuckles cracking as she ended the video call and ordered, “No more detours—straight into the storm, full speed ahead!”

But as soon as the Capricorn plunged into the storm zone—

In the cockpit, the transparent sphere of the spiritual radar suddenly glowed red. Alarms blared in chaos.

“Captain, a level-forty combat mecha is charging at us—”

“Captain, the Minotaur is behind us!”

“Captain, the Leonin’s radar signature… it’s gone!”

——

Happy Dragon Boat Festival!

The next chapter may be out in the afternoon.

(End of chapter)