Chapter 122: Memory

The Red Dragon’s choice caught Huang Ze by surprise; she had actually chosen to accept!

"Seriously... are you really going to just throw yourself at me like this?"

Huang Ze felt a bit hesitant. Although he had been pursued by women in the past, he had never been courted by a female dragon, and he found it somewhat difficult to adapt. However, hesitation aside, he knew he had to secure the deal. After all, this Red Dragon was high-quality in every regard, and if he could win both her heart and her allegiance, it would undoubtedly be a massive boost to the nation’s combat power.

"Don't come crying to me if you regret this..."

Huang Ze muttered, then fed the Black Gold Dragon Blood to the Red Dragon, affectionately licking her head. Since she trusted him so completely, his fondness for her naturally soared; he began to view her as one of his own—one of his own dragons.

Huang Ze didn't fully understand the mechanics of how the Black Gold Dragon Blood worked. However, based on the reaction of the Hellhound last time, the substance seemed incredibly domineering. It would trigger a violent rejection reaction with the host’s body and soul, eventually forcibly seizing control over certain permissions within the host’s consciousness. Thus, Huang Ze’s act of licking her head was, in part, meant to soothe her and provide some comfort, hoping to prevent her from collapsing under the intense mental struggle to come.

To Huang Ze’s surprise, while the Red Dragon’s body displayed clear signs of agony and struggled fiercely, it remained within a controllable range. Instead, it was Huang Ze himself who suddenly felt dizzy and lightheaded. It felt like a computer whose memory usage had jumped from 10% to over 50% and was still climbing.

Eventually, the Red Dragon was the first to recover, and she licked Huang Ze’s head until he regained his senses. He had no choice; if he didn't clear his head, he wouldn't be able to suppress his instincts, and they would end up in a real "dragon-on-dragon" battle.

...

"So... this Black Gold Dragon Blood isn't something that can be used recklessly?"

After the commotion, both dragons were exhausted. The Red Dragon leaned against Huang Ze’s head and fell asleep, but Huang Ze couldn't sleep; he was lost in thought. If he had to use an analogy, he felt this substance was like an application; once enabled, it severely occupied his brain’s processing power. Perhaps after two or three more recipients like the Red Lady, his brain would be unable to manage the load. Not only would his processing speed drop significantly, but he might even crash.

"Does this mean... I can only have at most three Tier 7 subordinates?"

Huang Ze flicked his tail, feeling somewhat disappointed. This number was far too small; it wasn't even enough to form a squad, let alone a division. Of course, it was possible this Red Dragon was a special case. Having lived for nearly a millennium, her soul was incredibly strong and her personal data vast, which might explain the high memory consumption of this "program."

He mused on this, not rushing to browse the memories inside the Red Dragon’s head. Since she had been so cooperative and had essentially handed herself over, he felt he should respect her privacy; to do otherwise would be quite scummy. Of course, the main reason was that he hadn't detected anything amiss during the integration of the Black Gold Dragon Blood. The Red Dragon’s worldview seemed to have been heavily "Xia-ified," and her spiritual resonance with him was very high. Otherwise, he would have had to perform a full scan to ensure there were no ulterior motives hidden in her mind.

...

The location where the Black Dragon hatched its eggs was naturally under close surveillance by the relevant departments of the Xia State. Not long after the Red Dragon arrived, staff members discovered her and reported it, leading Yu Xiaomin to arrive with a team to assess the situation.

With the situation taking a sharp turn, Academician Ding could no longer keep the secret of the Black Dragon’s Gold Dragon Blood, so he proactively reported it to the highest authorities. After comprehensive deliberation, the central leadership agreed that while Academician Ding’s concerns were valid—that an excess of gold could potentially lead to deeper mutations in the Black Dragon’s heart, fundamentally altering Mr. Huang Ze’s mind and soul—the pressure of the current situation made it imperative for elite soldiers loyal to the nation to accept the transformation of their life form.

Therefore, the leadership decided that starting immediately, Mr. Huang Ze would be requested to provide 100 drops of Gold Dragon Blood daily, with an aim to increase this to 1,000 drops per day within two months, hoping to help 200,000 soldiers complete their life-form transformation within a year, granting them the ability to fight freely overseas.

The Black Dragon couldn't refuse. With Yu Xiaomin as a living example, the Gold Dragon Blood was indeed the optimal choice for helping the people of Xia complete their transformation. Choosing the lesser of two evils in the face of the disappearance of the barrier and the merging of worlds, the minor issue of having his microscopic domain locked was hardly worth agonizing over. If the situation didn't improve after a year, the leadership might even request the Black Dragon to further increase production to over a million drops a day to help the entire population achieve immunity.

Yu Xiaomin, as the first recipient of the Gold Dragon Blood and one of the few officials capable of operating freely overseas, was naturally entrusted with a major role, constantly staying by the Black Dragon’s side to provide logistical support.

"She found me on her own," the Black Dragon said, sounding somewhat helpless. "But it's fine... I've already 'tamed' her!"

"Tamed?" Yu Xiaomin looked at the traces of the struggle on the ground and instinctively drew the wrong conclusion, happily saying, "Then I must congratulate you, Mr. Dius!"

"It’s not that kind of 'taming'!" The Black Dragon couldn't help but explain. Just then, the sleeping Red Dragon let out a mumble, and somehow, the Black Dragon instinctively began licking her head again.

Well, never mind the explanation.

The Black Dragon froze, tightly shutting its mouth. On the surface, it acted as if nothing happened, but internally, it was using Mage Hand to severely punish its own tongue: *You wretched thing, who taught you this habit of licking everything? You have half a month to correct this, or you’re fired!*

"Mr. Dius... are you and Ms. Red really on such good terms?"

Fortunately, Yu Xiaomin knew Huang Ze’s character and didn't mock him too much, instead asking with a serious expression. Of course, the main reason Yu Xiaomin didn't tease him was that he dared not. Although the Black Dragon kept trying to minimize the subordinate relationship, the bloodline connection was too profound. While not quite worshiped as a god, it was close to a faith, and his internal respect for the Black Dragon was immense.

"I suppose so... is there something you need?" the Black Dragon asked curiously. With the Gold Dragon Blood as a tether, it could sense some of Yu Xiaomin’s thoughts, knowing he was asking for something important.

"Yes, Mr. Dius," Yu Xiaomin replied. "If your relationship with Ms. Red is truly good, could you trouble her to sell us the formula for the Dragon Blood Potion?"

Dragon Blood Potion...

The Black Dragon suddenly realized and felt a pang of regret. If its claws weren't so short, it would have slapped its own head—how could it have forgotten something so important? The value of the Dragon Blood Potion was self-evident; it could utilize the powerful bloodline energy of dragons to rapidly grow a Tier 1 or 2 life form into a powerful Tier 4 or 5 warrior! The relevant departments had long learned through various channels that this Red Lady seemed to possess the formula.

"Wake up... I need to ask you something!" The Black Dragon shook the Red Dragon’s head with a claw, but she remained dead to the world, showing no reaction at all.

*It’s hard to imagine... with such a carefree attitude, how did you survive this long?*

The Black Dragon sighed. Since physical methods failed, it had to rely on magic. It closed its eyes, activated that drop of Black Gold Dragon Blood, and established a mental connection with the Red Dragon.

"Wow... you finally came! I've been waiting for you for so long!"

The Red Lady seemed to have been waiting for Huang Ze all along. Seeing the Black Dragon appear, she immediately greeted it, complaining, "I thought... since you obtained my 'heart,' you would come to peek at my little secrets soon. I was worried you wouldn't find them and was about to lead the way, but I didn't expect you to take so long..."

The Red Lady’s consciousness appeared as a version of her true form shrunk a dozen times over, looking quite cute and chirping incessantly around the Black Dragon.

"...You lied to me! You said that after eating that drop of blood, I would have a spiritual connection with you. But why, even though I can feel your soul, can I never reach you? Did you block me?"

The little Red Dragon landed on the Black Dragon’s head and tugged at its ears. "This isn't fair! It shouldn't just be you coming to see me; I want to be able to reach you anytime, anywhere!"

"..." Huang Ze felt a headache coming on. He hadn't expected the Red Dragon in her conscious state to be even more lively and uninhibited. Fortunately, his soul’s firewall was high, so the messages she sent out were automatically blocked; otherwise, he would surely be annoyed to death by her in the future.

"Get down first. I have something important to ask you." Huang Ze didn't have time for her antics and spoke with a touch of masculine authority.

"Oh... what is it?" The little Red Dragon, clearly enjoying this, obediently hopped down and stood before the Black Dragon, looking curious.

"Do you have the formula for the Dragon Blood Potion?" the Black Dragon asked seriously.

"How did you know?" The little Red Dragon was surprised, but quickly realized, "Oh... the Xia people must have told you, right? They definitely asked you to get it from me?"

"That's right."

"Why are you so good to the Xia people? Why do you listen to them so much?" The little Red Dragon was deeply confused. In her eyes, the Black Dragon’s physique and temperament made him a hero among dragons. Why did he trust and exalt the Xia people to such an extent that he was practically throwing himself at them?

"That’s my business. You don't need to worry about it," Huang Ze said irritably. "Just tell me, are you giving it to them or not?"

"Give, give, give! Of course I'll give it!" Seeing the Black Dragon was angry, the little Red Dragon nodded repeatedly. "Everything I have is yours anyway. Since you want to give it, of course I agree!"

"That’s more like it." Huang Ze nodded with satisfaction. "How much money?"

"You want to talk money with me?" The little Red Dragon said magnanimously. "I belong to you entirely anyway, so you decide!"

"That won't do." Huang Ze shook his head. "Although I have the power to control your thoughts, I wouldn't do so unless absolutely necessary. I will fully respect the integrity of your personality and your privacy. So, one thing at a time: this Dragon Blood Potion is your intellectual property. Since the Xia people want to use it, they must pay. It’s about proper procedure and fair trade. Otherwise, who would dare do business with them in the future?"

"Really?" The little Red Dragon’s eyes welled up—she had already handed herself over completely, and her future was effectively in the Black Dragon’s hands. She never expected him to say something so sincere. Even more surprising was the fact that she could actually get money from the Xia people.

"Of course it's real." Huang Ze stroked the little Red Dragon’s head with his claw, saying firmly, "I have my reasons for trusting the Xia people. You just need to believe that by following me—and by following the Xia people—you won't be short-changed!"

"Mm! Mm! I'll listen to you!" The little Red Dragon nodded vigorously. "I talked to some Xia people before and asked for 100 tons of gold to give them the formula. But since you’re involved, I’ll give them a 50% discount. 50 tons will be enough!"

"..."

*Fifty tons... that’s still a lot!* Huang Ze muttered to himself, his expression turning a bit sour. He said in a low voice, "Is my face... only worth 50 tons of gold?"

"No, no, no..." The little Red Dragon quickly explained, "If it were for you, I wouldn't even need money! But the Xia people are rich, aren't they? A mere 50 tons of gold is nothing to them! Besides... this 50 tons of gold, I won't keep it all for myself. We can split it... no, 60/40. You get 60%, I get 40%. You don't have to do anything, just wait for me to give you 30 tons!"

"..." Huang Ze was speechless. He was secretly tempted by her proposal; after all, what dragon doesn't love gold? Fortunately, his ideological awareness was high, and he didn't agree to the little Red Dragon’s plan. After all, with his heart now handling such a massive order, he really wasn't short on gold.