Kitsune Headquarters.
"Sea?"
Hearing the sound from Naira Sorkin's side, Zero frowned. "What does he mean by sea… Is he referring to the ocean, or the monsters in the sea?"
The Priest looked at Zero. "Looking at this through different mythological systems, I think it refers to the sea monsters."
"Their overall appearance and names are similar to the Outer Gods, or the followers of some outer abyssal evil gods."
"And I don't think the dragon belongs to their faction. It clearly should come from a different mythological system."
"Dragons traditionally control the waters and rule the four seas. If the ocean is the dragon's territory, then right now, a group of foreign invaders is occupying the ocean. If I were the dragon…"
"Would you eat them?" Arthur said.
"Get out!"
010 was kicked out of the meeting room.
The Priest clasped his hands in front of his chest. "If I were a dragon, my primary target would be to drive out those foreign invaders."
"Extending this further, the dragon deliberately appeared here, before us. Doesn't this mean it's asking for help?"
"Makes sense."
Listening to their discussion, 019 The Vermin yawned.
His thoughts had already drifted away.
Literally.
From The Vermin's perspective, he wasn't in the meeting room, but under a clear blue sky, above a school.
A small insect flew quickly through the sky, then landed on the windowsill of a classroom.
Through the insect's perspective, The Vermin saw many students.
The insect stayed there, motionless, for a long time.
...
Outside.
A passerby took a picture of the sky. "It's really foggy today."
After taking the picture, the passerby casually sent it to a group chat.
Soon, someone sent the photo back, with a shape outlined in red.
"Is some expert undergoing tribulation?"
The passerby squinted. They could vaguely see a figure in the fog in the picture.
The passerby looked up at the sky again, and the sky had darkened.
Dark clouds gathered, thunder rumbled, and lightning occasionally flashed across the sky!
Boom!
Lightning flashed, illuminating the sky. The figure in the dark clouds was clearer under the lightning!
"Holy crap!"
"Which expert is undergoing tribulation?"
The man took a picture with his phone. Before he could send it, a bolt of lightning struck his phone!
Boom!
The man instinctively dropped his phone. It exploded the moment it hit the ground!
Seeing this, the man quickly crouched down, covering his head. "Fellow Daoist… no, Senior, this junior didn't mean to offend you, I just wanted to post it on my WeChat Moments! Please don't strike me!"
...
At this moment, several photos and videos were uploaded to the internet.
Many people, at the same time, took photos and videos from different angles.
Because of the different angles and the video evidence, this news instantly went viral.
"Holy crap, cultivators?"
"Is this a Nascent Soul undergoing tribulation?"
"There really are cultivators?"
"Why do I feel like this world is getting harder and harder to understand?"
"Weren't there vampires before?"
"Not just vampires, there were also Fish-Men. Bro, look at my photos!"
"Isn't this the start of a spiritual recovery?"
"A dragon?"
"I saw a dragon!"
"Where's the dragon?"
"Look at the other blogger's video. There was a dragon shadow when the lightning struck!"
Someone recorded a video at the scene.
In the video, at exactly six seconds in, lightning struck. A figure and an enormous dragon shadow appeared in the dark clouds!
"The dragon rises in the East. The Heavenly Dao flourishes!"
"This is our chance to catch the spiritual recovery!"
"Come on, everyone!"
"I want to cultivate!"
"Wake up, buddy. Time for work."
"The demonic cultivator slaughtered three thousand miles. You are a commoner on the plains."
"The expert destroyed the mountains with one strike. You're a woodcutter in the mountains."
"The great demon caused waves of three thousand meters. You are a fisherman at sea."
"Stop it, guys. I'll go to work, okay?!"
"We were born free. We're not going to be someone's slaves. If cultivation is the path to death, we'd rather throw ourselves at it!"
"You do you. Good luck, buddy."
...
In a residential building.
Reinhard looked at the darkening sky outside and the videos on his computer screen, lost in thought.
"My gut tells me this is related to monsters."
"So close to me… dangerous, very dangerous."
Reinhard suddenly opened his door. He saw his parents eating sunflower seeds and watching TV in the living room.
"Mom, Dad, I'm moving out."
"Huh?"
"Why are you suddenly moving out?"
"Are you sick again?"
Reinhard sighed and went back to his room to pack his things.
No need to say more. Someone like him, just staying alive was a struggle.
Seeing his actions, his mother scolded his father from the sofa.
"Go and see."
His father stood up and went into his room, closing the door behind him.
"Why are you moving out?"
"To survive."
"You can die staying here?"
"I can."
"Okay, then go."
"I was planning to."
Hearing Reinhard's words, his father was silent for a long time.
"You're not my son, are you?"
Hearing his father's words, Reinhard's hand suddenly stopped.
Before he could respond, his father continued, "You don't have to lie to me. I know you're not him. As a father, how could I not recognize my own son?"
"Then why didn't you ever expose me?" Reinhard turned his head and said.
His father gave a bitter smile. "Because I didn't want to accept this reality. My son… is already dead."
"That day, he suddenly stood up. I could tell that the person inside had changed. But at least this body, it's my son's."
"…"
Both fell silent.
"What's your name?"
"Reinhard, that's what I call myself."
His father raised his head in confusion. "I thought your name was Enko… that's what you wrote in the diary."
Ugh.
Who writes a diary?!
Reinhard calmed his emotions. "Anyway, that's the situation. I can't say too much more."
"In short, it's very dangerous here. Leave while you can."
Reinhard finished packing his luggage, then opened the door and left.
Before leaving, he hugged his current body's parents.
Nothing else, just to fulfill a wish.
His father didn't say anything. His mother was confused.
"Let him go."
"He doesn't belong here."
Downstairs.
Reinhard, carrying his luggage, was walking when a drunk fatty suddenly bumped into him.
Thump.
The fatty was careless. Two men in black suits were following behind him.
Reinhard quickly backed away and apologized. He sensed trouble.
Just as he was about to leave, the careless fatty suddenly grabbed his suitcase.
"You… look familiar. You are… who?"