Chapter 14: The Way to Unlock the Shackles

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The shackles were specially crafted. The king, determined to restrain her, used an exceptionally dense material. Compared to ordinary shackles, the ones binding Anna's limbs were significantly heavier.

How much did Anna weigh?

Probably no more than sixty pounds, yet with these shackles on, when Anna lay on his stomach, he felt she weighed at least ninety pounds.

In other words, the weight of these shackles was nearly half of Anna's body weight. It was evident how sinister the king's methods were to slow down her escape and flight.

This predicament had truly left Anna in a miserable state.

Wearing such shackles, let alone moving freely, even lifting her arms or legs was a torment.

Su Nian suddenly realized why Anna's lifespan had been reduced to just one day after using the Recovery Card to awaken her. She must have struggled to find a way to save him, exhausting herself in the process.

Thinking of this, Su Nian's heart ached even more. He carefully examined the shackles and noticed that they had keyholes.

Keyholes meant they could be unlocked.

The mechanical technology of this world was still primitive, so locks like these wouldn't be too complex.

As a reincarnated soul from a technologically advanced planet, Su Nian didn't know how to pick locks, but he had seen it done.

Games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Dying Light, and Fallout all featured lock-picking mechanics. Su Nian realized that the keyhole on Anna's shackles resembled those in Skyrim.

Next came the tools for lock-picking.

If it were any other dragon, they might have already started raging helplessly or simply gone back to sleep. But Su Nian was different—he had the Free Modification Function.

Summoning the system, Su Nian reshaped one of the claws on his left paw into a flat, thin rod to hold the lock's core in place. Meanwhile, a claw on his right paw was transformed into a needle-like tool to turn the lock core.

"System, how many system points will it cost to modify my claws like this?"

[Ding! Calculating Free Modification... Dragon Discrepancy Rate: 80%. This modification will cost 500 system points.]

"Uh..." Su Nian couldn't help but click his tongue. Admittedly, reshaping his claws like this was a bit extreme—it didn't look dragon-like at all.

"Then, what about making it temporary? Can it be cheaper?"

[Ding! Temporary solidification of modifications will cost 10% of the total modification fee per minute.]

Looking at his remaining 153 system points, Su Nian felt a pang of heartache. But his concern for the pitiful Anna outweighed his hesitation. Gritting his teeth, he gave the order in his mind:

"Make it temporary."

[Ding! Temporary solidification complete. Modification complete. Timer started.]

A translucent countdown appeared before Su Nian. He had only three minutes to unlock the shackles before his system points would be completely depleted.

Time was of the essence, and Su Nian wasted no time.

He approached Anna, who looked at him curiously, and used his dragon snout to nudge her left-hand shackle into position. Inserting the flat rod into the keyhole to press against the lock core, he then slid the needle-like tool into the keyhole, aligning it at an angle bisecting the flat rod.

Carefully maneuvering the lock-picking tool, he began to turn the lock core. Whenever he encountered resistance, he adjusted the angle of the needle-like tool. After several attempts, he managed to rotate the lock core halfway, and with a satisfying "click," the shackle opened.

Thirty seconds had passed.

Under Anna's astonished gaze, Su Nian moved on to the shackle on her right hand. With the experience gained from the first attempt, he worked faster this time. In no time, the shackle on her right hand also clicked open.

Next came the shackles on her right foot, then her left foot. All the shackles were unlocked within one minute and eighteen seconds.

"Cancel the temporary modification!"

[Temporary solidification canceled. 59 system points deducted.]

"Phew, that was close," Su Nian muttered, a smug grin spreading across his dragon face. He let out a triumphant roar, his deep voice echoing loudly: "Roar, roar, roar!"

Anna, now free, tentatively moved her limbs. After being shackled for three or four days, her wrists and ankles were bruised and swollen, constantly aching. Yet, this didn't diminish her admiration and gratitude toward the black dragon.

"Mr. Dragon, you... you actually unlocked the shackles? How did you do it? That's incredible!"

Hearing this, Su Nian raised his dragon head proudly, puffing out his chest, and lifting his tail high.

Even though Anna wasn't a dragon, she could clearly see how pleased the black dragon was with himself.

She couldn't help but giggle, covering her mouth as she laughed. In that moment, she was like a blooming lotus flower, her delicate dimples faintly visible on her charming, youthful face.

Her slightly flirtatious almond-shaped eyes gazed unblinkingly at the black dragon, her beauty already showing signs of blossoming.

Su Nian was momentarily stunned, two drops of dragon saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth. His draconic instincts for choosing a mate began to stir.

[Anna Hathaway's Favorability has increased by 10 points. Current Favorability: 32 (Friendly).]

The system prompt snapped Su Nian back to reality. The petite half-elf, now shy under his intense gaze, lowered her head bashfully. Her bruised, delicate hands intertwined nervously in front of her abdomen, her slender fingers fidgeting uneasily.

"Hiss—" Su Nian exhaled a puff of hot air from his nostrils. Though he was a Black Dragon, he was now as flushed as a Red Dragon.

Regaining his composure, Su Nian gently picked up Anna and placed her on his back. His earlier estimation had been wrong—Anna might not even weigh sixty pounds. It was evident how much she had suffered and how frail her body was.

Anna, startled by the black dragon's sudden action, hesitated but didn't resist. Instead, she obediently sat on the broad back of the black dragon, her soft hands instinctively wrapping around the dragon's neck.

She was afraid of falling.

But her worry was unnecessary. The black dragon's back was incredibly stable, and it seemed he was deliberately moving gently to ensure her comfort.

This was a novel experience for Anna, but above all, it brought her an overwhelming sense of security.

She knew now that the black dragon wouldn't abandon her.

After all, dragons were incredibly proud creatures. Riding a dragon was ten times harder than slaying one. Some ill-tempered dragons wouldn't let anyone ride them, even under torture.

The black dragon's actions were undoubtedly a sign of acceptance, though Anna didn't understand why.

Moments later, she was surprised to see Mr. Dragon handling the corpses of two Fireflame Rabbits. The scene was a bit bloody, but she had endured countless hardships and wasn't so delicate as to be fazed by such sights.

"Is Mr. Dragon... cooking?"

Anna was dumbfounded. She lay quietly on the black dragon's back, her large, adorable eyes wide with astonishment.

She actually saw a black dragon skillfully handling the innards of its prey and even threading the meat onto sticks.

Was he planning to roast them?

If the dragon before her were an adult capable of shapeshifting, Anna wouldn't have been so surprised. After all, adult dragons had intelligence comparable to or surpassing that of humans.

But wasn't Mr. Dragon still a juvenile?

Juvenile dragons were supposed to be wild, eating raw meat and drinking blood. That was their normal behavior.