Chapter Twelve: The Decision

“Oh, right, I almost forgot if you hadn’t mentioned it.” Liu Weihan slapped his forehead and said, “Mr. Huang, earlier we drew four liters of dragon’s blood from you. By market value, that’s 240 catties of gold. We’ve brought it all for you now.”

“Really?” The dragon’s face lit up with joy. “That’s so generous of you! You’re really too kind. The official price, sixty to one, is obviously inflated. There’s no need to give me so much… really, a hundred catties would be plenty after a discount…”

Though those were his words, Huang Ze couldn’t tear his eyes from the gold. Excitement and delight surged from the depths of his dragon blood, and if not for the last shreds of self-control, he would have already thrown himself at the pile.

“That won’t do,” Liu Weihan observed the black dragon closely. Despite his overwhelming excitement, the dragon maintained a remarkable degree of reason—there was no trace of violence or mania in his eyes. Relieved, he quickly said, “The nation must keep its word. What was promised will be delivered. There’s no need to refuse.”

“…Alright then, I’ll just have to accept it with a smile.” The black dragon forced a hideous grin, unable to resist launching himself at the gold, rolling about on it in delight like a 68.6-ton baby.

“As expected… gold’s allure for dragons surpasses even catnip for cats,” sighed Researcher Ma. “It’s an instinct rooted deep in their blood. Even though Mr. Huang was once human, it’s almost impossible for him to resist.”

“Two hundred forty catties of gold—that’s tens of millions in Xia currency…” Liu Weihan joked, “Maybe we ought to start charging Mr. Huang for his meals; he certainly won’t be short of money in the future.”

Since the implementation of strict gold control policies, domestic gold prices had steadily risen, now exceeding 500 Xia per gram.

Two hundred forty catties was sixty million, and that was just the price for four liters of blood. A dragon of such size could easily donate a hundred or eighty liters a year.

In other words, even if Huang Ze did nothing else, selling his blood each year would earn him over a billion.

…

“I am a man, not a dragon!”

“To roll in gold and even drool all over it… this is just too humiliating!”

“This habit is terrible. I must restrain myself and change it in the future!”

Once the initial excitement faded, Huang Ze entered a period of reflection, unable to resist a deep self-examination—

How could a dragon’s instincts overpower his rationality? If this continued, wouldn’t he become more like a dragon than a human? No, that was too frightening. He had to find a solution now, nip the problem in the bud, and stop the danger before it grew!

Huang Ze’s thoughts raced, and soon reason prevailed. With determination, he flew far away, then called out to Liu Weihan from a distance,

“Brother Liu, please help me take all this gold away and put it in storage… Its temptation for me is simply too strong, deadlier than catnip to a cat. My willpower isn’t strong enough yet—I can’t let myself be corrupted by it!”

…

Liu Weihan and Researcher Ma exchanged glances, astonished that Huang Ze would say such a thing.

“Mr. Huang, are you sure?” Liu Weihan called back. “Gold is a dragon’s favorite metal. It may help awaken and fuse your dragon blood. Are you certain you don’t want to reconsider?”

“No need to reconsider,” Huang Ze replied firmly. “Precisely because it aids my dragon blood’s awakening, I must do this. Otherwise, as my dragon nature awakens, will my mind lean toward being a dragon or a human?”

“It goes without saying—I’d be more of a dragon. In the end, I might lose all trace of humanity. Rather than that, I’d rather stay as I am.”

“…Very well, I respect your decision.” After careful thought, Liu Weihan had to admit Huang Ze’s concerns were reasonable. He deeply admired his self-control and insight; even under the pull of his instincts, Huang Ze recognized the risk and made a decisive choice.

“We’ll keep this gold for you in the nearest vault. Whenever you want it, just say the word and it’ll be delivered right away.”

“No! This gold, and all future gold, must never pass before my eyes. Just put it all in a three-year term deposit!”

Huang Ze made a clean break, resolute. “I’m afraid I’ll change my mind on a whim, so the rule must be ironclad. I hope you’ll supervise and support me.”

“…Alright,” Liu Weihan agreed, sincerely adding, “With your determination and awareness, you’re sure to become a great dragon someday!”

“Let’s not go that far,” Huang Ze sighed. “Rather than a great dragon, I’d much prefer to be human again.”

…

“Is there anything else planned?”

Having eaten and drunk his fill, the dragon yawned and said, “If not, I’d like to take a nap.”

“Of course, Mr. Huang, you should rest,” Liu Weihan replied. “The experts from the Xia Academy of Sciences won’t arrive for a while, and they’ll need time to prepare. You have plenty of time to sleep.”

“That’s good. Good night, everyone.” The dragon closed his eyes, and perhaps because he was at ease, soon fell into a deep slumber.

…

The night was deep, but Researcher Ma Guanglin could not sleep. Though exhausted from a day’s work, his mind was still racing, preoccupied with his colleagues’ research on black dragon blood. He hurried back to the military research institute in the dead of night.

“How’s the research on black dragon blood coming along?” Ma Guanglin asked his assistant while changing into protective gear.

“This is how it stands, Professor Ma,” the assistant replied. “We first examined its chemical properties. It’s insoluble in water, as well as in strong acids and bases. It doesn’t volatilize easily. Its density is about 2.5, and chemically it’s quite stable, but it reacts violently with gold, releasing a great deal of heat.”

“Yes, and what else?”

“And, as with other substances from abroad, we can’t observe any cells in the dragon blood under a microscope. The microscopic world below the micron scale remains tightly locked.”

“Each catty of dragon blood emits about five roentgen per hour, it’s a good conductor, not easily flammable, and its boiling point is around 2750 degrees Celsius, slightly lower than gold…”

…

Ma Guanglin nodded, then suddenly asked, “Have you conducted any live tests?”

“Not yet,” the assistant answered. “The higher-ups want to wait for the experts from the Xia Academy of Sciences. However, we did try placing some white mice near the dragon blood—they were extremely frightened, and several actually died of terror.”