Little Azhdaha Is Quite Cute

Zhu Yuan, Qingyi, Jane, and Seth weren't sure if the giant beast before them... no—if the little rock Bangboo lying there was still alive.

They exchanged glances, then walked toward the small Azhdaha, Dragon King.

At the same time—

The Bangboo little brothers all swarmed around Azhdaha, Dragon King, calling out non-stop.

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm (Boss, what's wrong? Don't die)..."

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm (Boss, wake up)..."

Not only that—

Several Bangboo moved to block Zhu Yuan, Seth, and the others, protecting the unconscious Azhdaha, Dragon King behind them.

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm (Don't hurt Boss! We'll protect him)..."

Seeing this, Seth quickly explained,

"We're not here to hurt him—just to check how badly he's injured..."

After hearing Seth's explanation, the Bangboos exchanged a series of "mm-hmms," then learned that Seth and Qingyi knew how to repair Bangboos. They hurriedly stepped aside.

They added anxiously,

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm (Since you can repair Bangboos, please—please fix our Boss)..."

Seth did know a bit about repairing Bangboos.

He'd taken a related elective back in school.

However—

One glance at the mechanical Bangboo beside him, another at the pile of rocks that was Azhdaha, Dragon King, lying there... and Seth suddenly felt awkward.

No matter how you looked at it, this lump of stone didn't resemble a Bangboo—certainly not an ordinary one.

He had no idea how to fix it.

Qingyi, on the other hand, nodded briskly.

"Move aside. I'll check your Boss's condition."

Of course—

Azhdaha's body was one solid chunk of rock.

There was no way Qingyi could properly examine it.

She had only agreed so quickly because she saw Sam Li approaching. In the blink of an eye, he was already in front of them.

As Sam Li appeared, the Bangboo little brothers immediately bristled with tension.

Each grabbed a stick, taking a stance like they were ready to fight him to the death.

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm (Bad guy, stay back)!"

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm (Protect Boss)!"

"Mm-hmm (We'll fight him)!"

...

Seeing this, Sam Li wasn't angry.

He said calmly,

"I'm not here to kill him. On the contrary—I'm here to check his injuries. If you want your Boss to live, let me through."

Hearing this, the Bangboos exchanged nervous glances.

They found it hard to trust Sam Li.

After all, he'd just been fighting their Boss moments ago—how could they believe he wanted to help him now?

At that moment, Qingyi sighed,

"Think about it—if Sam Li wanted to kill your Boss, could you stop him? You can either watch your Boss die, or trust him—just this once."

Reasoning with Bangboos really was exhausting.

Fortunately, this time they understood her words and made the right choice.

Still grumbling, they moved aside to give Sam Li space.

Very soon—

Sam Li knelt before the tiny Azhdaha

He placed one hand gently on its small forehead, instantly assessing its condition.

In short—there was no serious injury.

The little Azhdaha had simply exhausted its strength after forcibly restoring its massive mountain form, then collapsing back into its small state.

It just needed time to recover.

Once its Geo element stabilized, it would slowly regain consciousness.

"Mm-hmm (How's Boss?)"

"No serious injuries. No need to worry."

Throughout the battle, Sam Li had never intended to harm Azhdaha—only to subdue him.

So he hadn't struck hard—he'd simply drained the dragon's strength.

Just then—

A truck rumbled over.

Nicole, Anby, Billy, No. 11, Nekomata, Caesar, and the others quickly piled out.

"Sam Li—where did that big monster go? How did it vanish just like that?"

"Yeah—how could such a huge beast disappear in midair? What happened?"

Just moments ago, Nicole, Billy, and the others had been watching the fight.

They'd cheered when they saw Sam Li blast the massive Azhdaha into the air.

But in the blink of an eye—Azhdaha had vanished.

It was baffling.

Off to the side—

Seth reminded them,

"Um... the giant beast didn't disappear—it got smaller."

Nicole looked confused.

"Smaller? What do you mean?"

Seeing her puzzled expression, Qingyi pointed toward the tiny Azhdaha lying on the ground.

"See for yourself..."

Following her finger, everyone stared at the little dragon—

And stood frozen in shock.

You've got to be kidding.

You're telling us this Bangboo-sized pet was the giant beast from earlier?

However—

Anby soon noticed that, aside from the difference in size, the two forms did look very similar.

Lucy mused,

"It really is him. How did he shrink so small?"

Billy immediately drew his gun, pointing it at the tiny Azhdaha.

"While it's weak, let's finish it off..."

The fight was still fresh in Billy's mind.

If not for Sam Li, none of them would've survived the giant beast.

Billy wasn't about to risk letting it go.

Seeing this—

One Bangboo suddenly jumped forward, shielding little Azhdaha.

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm (If you want to kill Boss, you'll have to kill us first)!"

Looking at the battered Bangboo—

Billy just couldn't bring himself to shoot.

He wasn't the type to bully the weak.

At that moment—

Sam Li spoke calmly.

"Billy, there's no need. He's not our enemy. In fact—he's an old friend of mine."

Billy blinked in surprise.

"An old friend?"

He'd thought the dragon was an enemy—

He hadn't expected it to be one of Sam Li's friends.

Now he was even more curious.

How had Sam Li come to know a beast like this?

Thinking back, Billy realized—

He didn't know much about Sam Li's past at all.

Before Billy could dwell on it further—

Nekomata's eyes lit up as she gazed at the tiny Azhdaha.

"Have you all noticed? Now that he's small, he's actually kinda cute."

With that—

She carefully approached and gave little Azhdaha's head a gentle pat.

To her surprise, it wasn't cold like stone—

It was warm.

Nekomata recognized the sensation immediately—

The same Geo power she'd sensed from Sam Li before.

For a moment, everyone fell silent.

They exchanged glances as they looked at the little dragon.

Since it was Sam Li's friend, they couldn't just kill it.

But... given how fierce it had been earlier—

Would it go berserk again when it woke up?

Sam Li spoke calmly.

"Let's head to Bangboo Town first."

Seth looked at the little Bangboo-sized dragon lying on the ground.

Rolling up his sleeves, he said seriously,

"Who's gonna help me lift it onto the truck?"

...