Chapter 15 Dragon Essence

All along the way it was calm, everywhere was deserted, not even a shadow of a ghost, yet the entire amusement park was unusually lively, as if there were a crowd of invisible visitors.

This eerie atmosphere made Zhou Yuan's heart pound; the most terrifying thing to humans is the unknown.

If only a few zombies could jump out at that moment, at least he would know what kind of enemy he was facing, which would have been much more comforting.

No matter how scary, how many bullets can a zombie withstand?

Before long, Zhou Yuan arrived at a square and abruptly stopped.

He saw a person.

More accurately, a golden-haired woman lying on the ground in the shape of a "big" character.

The Eyes of Identification popped up a prompt in a timely manner:

[You've encountered a heavy-weight ally; cling to her coattails, and she can make your journey safe and comfortable.

By the way, she's very hungry right now, and you can exchange some food for something.]

Zhou Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, observed carefully, and was surprised to find that the golden-haired woman was dressed in a black suit, identical to the attire of the extraordinary people he had encountered at dinner the other day.

Do they belong to the same Supernatural Power organization?

While Zhou Yuan was contemplating this, the golden-haired woman suddenly sat up ramrod straight, looking at him with a look of astonishment:

"What the fuck, who are you, and how did you get in?"

Speaking in East Continent language?

Zhou Yuan's heart jolted, could it be that this mission's dungeon was in the East Continent?

After pondering for a moment, he fibbed, "I got lost in the fog, and somehow I ended up here."

"Who are you trying to fool? You can't get in here without some special means."

The golden-haired woman sneered, clearly not believing his story, and looked at Zhou Yuan coldly, "Has the Yingzhou branch made up their minds to meddle in affairs?"

Zhou Yuan was bewildered, Yingzhou branch? What's that?

And the golden-haired woman also noticed the confusion flash across his face, "You're not from the Yingzhou Control Bureau?"

"I don't understand what you're talking about."

The golden-haired woman thoughtfully scratched her chin and then asked, "Then do you know who I am?"

"I don't."

"Chen Guangxi, or Aurelia, heard of them?"

"Never heard of them," Zhou Yuan shook his head.

"Identified as: a pure newbie."

Chen Guangxi lay back down, she had figured out Zhou Yuan's identity— a purely wild extraordinary person, someone who didn't even know about the Control Bureau, probably came here upon hearing some rumors, looking for an opportunity.

Don't people want to live a good life?

Seeing that Chen Guangxi laid back down, ignoring him, Zhou Yuan took the initiative to speak up:

"Can I ask a few questions?"

"No, don't bother me anymore, I need to conserve my energy," Chen Guangxi coldly refused.

Zhou Yuan remembered the hint from the Eyes of Identification. After a brief thought, he took out a steamed bun from the player's bag, which he had bought at the market:

"What if I say I have food here?"

Whoosh!

Chen Guangxi sat up again, stared at the steamed bun in Zhou Yuan's hand, and said in astonishment, "You have a space-type abnormal item?"

"It's a family heirloom," Zhou Yuan made up.

"Fine, what's your question?"

Chen Guangxi's demeanor suddenly improved, her eyes fixated on the white steamed bun, seemingly emitting a green light, like a wolf who hadn't eaten for days finally seeing food.

Noticing that she had no intention of turning violent and robbing him, Zhou Yuan let out a sigh of relief and tossed the steamed bun to show his sincerity, "I'll give you this one for now."

Chen Guangxi caught the steamed bun, and a loud growling sound came from her stomach, showing she was indeed very hungry. But instead of unwrapping and eating it, she made it disappear like magic.

"You also have a space-type abnormal item?" Zhou Yuan was startled.

"This thing is standard issue for Control Bureau investigators."

Chen Guangxi showed him the ring on her hand, "Produced by the Alchemy Department, the Storage Ring."

Control Bureau, investigator, Alchemy Department... Zhou Yuan silently noted these names down, then took out another steamed bun:

"My first question— what is an abnormal?"

Chen Guangxi's expression instantly became animated:

"Oh crap, you're one of those wild extraordinary people? You dare to roam around without even knowing what an anomaly is—do you really have a death wish?"

"Alright then, let me give you a lesson in the transcendent."

She crossed her legs and cleared her throat,

"The so-called 'abnormal' refers to things that don't conform to the norm. Without exception, they all possess incredible supernatural powers.

"If we break it down further, we can basically categorize them into four types: 'abnormal phenomena,' 'abnormal items,' 'abnormal creatures,' and 'abnormal areas.'

"Anomalies don't play by the rules, and there's no point in researching why they're like this because even the top scholars can't figure it out.

"We only need to understand that anomalies are a double-edged sword; they can change the world or destroy it.

"Take this amusement park, for instance—it's a dangerous 'abnormal area' that suddenly went mad one day and killed more than a thousand people.

"And me, I'm an 'abnormal creature.'"

"You?" Zhou Yuan was astounded.

Chen Guangxi pointed to her eyes, "Take a good look."

Suddenly, Zhou Yuan found that he could see Chen Guangxi's face clearly.

His expression shifted slightly, astonished because he realized he had never truly seen Chen Guangxi's features before; it was as if something that confused perception was blocking it, causing him to subconsciously overlook this fact.

"Even 10 points of perception can be deceived—is this the true quality of an extraordinary person?" Zhou Yuan marveled inwardly, scrutinizing the other party.

Chen Guangxi's features were delicate and three-dimensional, with shoulder-length golden hair, making her a quite cool and abstemious icy beauty. Her eyes were a pair of dazzling golden vertical pupils, resembling the mysterious creatures of ancient legends, both majestic and enigmatic.

Zhou Yuan found himself holding his breath—this was...

"You're a snake spirit?!"

"Damn!"

Chen Guangxi couldn't hold back and corrected loudly, "It's a freaking dragon!"

"You're a dragon spirit?!"

Zhou Yuan was shocked. Were there really dragons in this world?

"A goddamn dragon spirit—it's a True Dragon! A proper True Dragon! And not just any but the awesome Golden Dragon!"

"But apart from your eyes, you don't seem to have any other dragon-like features."

"No shit, I'm in human form right now. Do humans have horns and wings?"

Chen Guangxi rolled her eyes and reached out for food.

Zhou Yuan tossed her a steamed bun and then took out another, "Keep talking."

Chen Guangxi took the steamed bun and continued her lesson:

"When it comes to anomalies, we must mention the 'Transcendent.'

"The Transcendent gives rise to anomalies, and as long as the Transcendent exists, anomalies will continue to emerge endlessly.

"The power of the Transcendent has been long-standing since ancient times. However, like the tides, it ebbs and flows, periodically alternating.

"When the tide rises, that's when various civilizations and mythologies are richest, with anomalies everywhere; when the tide falls, so-called pathways to heaven vanish, the Transcendent ceases to exist, and anomalies fall silent.

"The most recent resurgence of the Transcendent was a hundred years ago, and you can probably guess what event it triggered."

A hundred years ago...

Zhou Yuan recalled history, then suddenly frowned,

"The Third War?"

"Exactly." Chen Guangxi snapped her fingers and motioned for more food.

After Zhou Yuan fed her again, she went on.

"Ordinary people believe that the war broke out due to the growing international conflicts, but in fact, without the covert push of the Transcendent power, the war would have had to wait another twenty years at least.

"It can be said that the revival of the Transcendent directly led to the outbreak of the Third War."

"During that period, many national governments noticed the existence of supernatural powers and extraordinary people. As the war escalated, these forces were ultimately deployed on the battlefield.

"As a result, the transcendent community refers to it as 'The First Supernatural War.'

"Outside the battlefield, some people realized that the war could be influenced by some supernatural power. Consequently, several countries banded together, secretly established an authoritative agency to investigate the hidden truth."

"Before the global nuclear war broke out, this agency successfully identified the source of the problem, contained it, and the war thus came to an end.

"After the war, the Earth Federation was formed, and that authoritative agency was refined and developed into an international organization, concentrating important resources such as global manpower and materials to study the supernatural and combat 'abnormalities.'

"That organization is the current 'Anomalous Control Bureau,' and I am one of its members.

"And the mastermind behind the war, they named it—"

"—abnormal 001·War."