Forge a path to success.

Chapter 2 Dragon City

Chu Hengkong has seen a lot in his short career. He has fought wild beasts in the old forests of the northeastern border, and also killed enemies in the labyrinthine sewers of Paris. He has risked his life to fight drug dealers' private soldiers in the alleys of South America, and also visited ancient dojos in Japan to duel with Aikido masters.

Having faced countless life-or-death situations, I've gradually become less concerned with supernatural beliefs. While I wouldn't say I was born and raised under the red flag and bathed in spring breezes, I'm still a staunch materialist. Yet, my firmly established worldview, solidified over many years, suffered a tremendous blow in less than five minutes—

The ceremony I just witnessed... it looked like it was performed by supernatural forces, didn't it?
He was fishing peacefully at sea when, in the blink of an eye, he was "summoned" to this secret room. The process of his movement was utterly inexplicable. And the new left arm that appeared out of nowhere was even more absurd. Normally, when someone goes to the hospital to have a tooth pulled, they at least get anesthesia. Who would believe that an arm could turn into a tentacle in the blink of an eye?

"This is really weird." Chu Hengkong clicked his tongue, then vigorously shook Alex's robe.

While his mind was racing, his hands weren't idle either. In less than three minutes, he had thoroughly searched the entire secret chamber, leaving behind several watches, tobacco of unknown origin, a few transparent beads, and a purple pendant. The final loot was Alex's personal belongings. Chu Hengkong was quite certain that the great wizard's skills were insufficient to allow him to evade the sweeping tentacles, but after grasping the pendant, he seemed to have preordained it and took evasive action.

It was at that very moment that the necklace emitted a faint glow.

Chu Hengkong casually wrapped the pendant around his right wrist, hoping it would come in handy. He'd exhausted all the usable items in the secret room, and he wasn't too surprised to find everything unfamiliar. The tobacco smelled like moldy bananas, the transparent beads contained swirling water, and the "numbers" on the watch looked like pretty scribbles.

There were no newspapers or books around, so the available information was extremely limited. The only clue that hadn't been investigated yet was the large book used by the high priest during his rituals.

Unlike the clutter in the room, the book looked exquisite and refined. The large, hardcover book was about half the thickness of a dictionary, with a smooth, pale white fabric covering the hard cover. In the center of the cover, a single eye was embroidered with silver thread. The composition of the eye was simple yet lifelike, giving one the illusion of being looked back at at first glance.

Chu Hengkong quickly flipped through the silver-eyed book, discovering that all the pages were blank, the crumpled paper emitting a musty smell, as if it had been soaking in seawater for three to five years. The only writing was hidden on the title page, an entire paragraph blurred by moisture, with only a few severely distorted words barely discernible:

Knowledge...wisdom...eyes...touch...

Mysterious...the realm of slumber..."

The bottom word is highlighted in bold, and the bright red lettering is very enticing: "Summon"!
Chu Hengkong slammed the large book shut, stuffed it into his coat, and walked out of the secret room without looking back. His expression wasn't good; even the most thick-skinned person would have some doubts seeing this.

This is clearly a relic of some unknown evil god! A bunch of idiots were just looking at you with expressions of "you ruined the summoning ritual," but if this summoning ritual had actually succeeded, some giant tentacle monster tens of meters tall would probably have descended to earth on the spot to feast on you. The first thing the god would eat would be you fools!

What made Chu Hengkong even more upset was that he could read these unfamiliar characters effortlessly, his reading fluently as if it were his native language. He decided to ponder this matter more carefully when he had time, after all, there was a more important task than his newly acquired reading ability: figuring out where he was now, and whether this place was still Earth.

Outside the sealed room was a long, straight staircase leading upwards. The environment was dark and unlit, and he couldn't hear any other sounds. Chu Hengkong's cell phone had no signal, so satellite positioning was useless; he had to rely on the environment to determine his direction. He tried to shorten his tentacles and used his right hand to support himself against the wall as he moved forward step by step. The damp, sticky feeling on his hands and the ground and under his shoes made him realize that the floor and walls were covered in water droplets. The enclosed space was cold and damp, so thick that it felt like it could seep into his skin and rust his bones.

Chu Hengkong smiled, finding a sense of familiarity in this unfamiliar environment. This was typical of the southern region of his homeland, the "Return to the South" region: a windowless, windowless room with steps leading straight up, indicating he was most likely in a basement. Thinking of the books reeking of the sea, and the fanatical followers of an evil god… a dilapidated village, a fishy sea breeze, superstitious locals—this was probably a small village in a coastal area. He'd smashed up countless places like this during previous missions, which gave him even more confidence. A few breaths later, he reached the end of the long staircase. The door wasn't vertical; it opened like a skylight at the top. Chu Hengkong wasn't intimidated by this anomaly. He pushed open the door and peered out of the basement.

A chilling wind howled in, strong enough to blow trees away. Chu Hengkong had just leaped out of the passage with a somersault, but before he could even see his surroundings, he was sprawled on the ground like a salted fish. A cold light, carrying a murderous aura, slashed towards him, tearing through the air above his head.

The cold light appeared and disappeared without a trace, moving with incredible speed, as ethereal and undetectable as if blown by the wind. Immediately following, similar sounds of wind arose one after another, and gusts of cold light swept in. Chu Hengkong instinctively sensed something was wrong. He squinted and focused his gaze. As his eyes adjusted to the light, the surrounding environment gradually became clear, its reality leaving his mind blank.

That wasn't light at all; it was a multitude of rusty weapons! Great axes, longswords, sturdy spears, sharp swords… countless blades howled through the wind, transforming into a torrent of death above the secret chamber's exit. And the wind wasn't real wind either; it was a tsunami-like surge, with thousands of tons of seawater carrying the weapons rushing through the air. The current was so close to Chu Hengkong that if he leaped, he would fall into the water.

Chu Hengkong swallowed hard. He cautiously extended his body and crawled forward amidst the tide of weapons. After crawling about fifty meters, he found a gap where he could barely stand. Chu Hengkong carefully got up and tried to look around.

He found no safety, only more weapons flying through the air like flocks of migrating birds in autumn. The tide of swords and spears was everywhere, the entire sky filled with this maddening spectacle. No, there was no sky; the colorless current formed a thick curtain of water—that was the "sky" here!
As he stood up, his vision broadened, and Chu Hengkong saw even more. He saw dilapidated buildings standing tall beneath the water curtain, layered upon each other like a mountain city. From the tops of the tallest buildings, white lines reached into the water curtain, like fishhooks "fishing" away weapons and armor. Countless old buildings hid in the shadows of the high-rises, and the light behind their windows flickered like firelight, illuminating the dark night.

Where the frenzied water curtain surged, a slender, snake-like white shadow danced. Chu Hengkong tried to grasp the purple pendant, and the relic that enhanced his senses activated at this moment, allowing him to see the true form of the white shadow.

It was a dragon! A white dragon as long as a ladder to the heavens! Its long body swam through the curtain of water, moving alongside weapons without being harmed in the slightest. Its pair of azure eyes shone like stars, its gaze visible even from a thousand miles away. The white dragon rode the eddies, like a guardian deity embracing the capital city beneath the currents.

Chu Hengkong was completely stunned. The worldview he had cultivated over the past 22 years was shattered by those few seconds of looking down at him. He moved his lips, making a dry sound.

"Holy crap... I really time-traveled?"

“That’s right. Welcome to Dragon City, the place where fates intersect, the capital of ancient dragon migrations.” A clear female voice sounded behind him. “Now, please turn around slowly so we can see you clearly.”

Chu Hengkong slowly turned around with an unbelievable calm. Ten meters away stood a beautiful blonde girl, holding a gleaming golden shield. Ten burly men wearing strange masks stood behind her, each fully armed and carrying a gun; each looked like a ruthless fanatic.

All eyes were fixed on Chu Hengkong's left arm, staring at the gleaming silver tentacle. The blonde girl flashed her ID, grinning, her small fangs reflecting a dangerous glint.

"I am Ji Huaisu, captain of the Resurrection Force. Unfortunately, you have been arrested for your involvement in a demon summoning ritual."

(End of this chapter)