Life is tough, so Honglong resorts to performing?

Chapter 135

"Forget it, even if there is something wrong here, it's not something a minor like me should get involved in."

Loren thought about it carefully for a while and decided to put those strange doubts aside for now and just remain vigilant enough against cult members.

Little Red Dragon knew all too well that, without sufficient prior information and an incomplete knowledge system, any answers that could be forcibly pieced together through thought were basically conspiracy theories.

Aside from seeming reasonable at first glance, it's basically meaningless.

Just like the Guiyou edition of Dream of the Red Chamber, as long as it's reasonable, that's fine. As for anything outside of reason, you can ignore it.

"I have three paths and three options for you to choose from. Pick one yourself."

Loren spoke to the stone egg, explaining that all three paths were left by the brass dragon. This special method of dealing with such a large prize had been verified and tested by many members of the dragon clan, and there were basically no problems.

"Please show me, please show me."

The voice coming from the stone egg became increasingly obsequious, making Loren feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Where's that arrogant, domineering attitude you had when you called us crawlers? Go back to your old self.

Even if I give you a chance, you can't do anything about it.

"Option one: I'll smash you up and sell you to the official magic crystal factory for reshaping. Your active quality is high enough that they can grind you into powder using their special methods to make some special magic crystal industrial items. In return, they'll give me an internal 10% discount magic crystal card, which is said to have a very high limit. By using this card, we can have a job in the Federation's energy industry for the rest of our lives."

Loren said that this is the most economical way for ordinary individuals to exchange for a secure job that they can live on for a lifetime and even pass on to the next generation.
"Uncle Long, you absolutely mustn't choose this! If you do, the little god might be ground into powder and made into some strange thing. Don't do that!"

The stone egg quickly sent out a voice of refusal. From the perspective of a god, it had lived for a very long time, long enough to be tired of it. But in reality, according to the red dragon, it truly possessed consciousness and had only been born into this world for a short time. Before it could properly enjoy life, it had to die.

Don't do this kind of thing!
"Alright, then let me tell you about the second one."

Loren continued, saying that he hadn't originally intended to choose the first option anyway. Even the brass dragon advised him against it unless he had already broken the grand prize in battle, was really short of money, or had family, friends, or businesses in that area. Otherwise, the second or third option would be more profitable for the dragons.

"The second way is for me to sell you entirely to the federal research institute."

"The researchers there will take good care of you and will use you for experiments and research. In return, I will have the priority to purchase and use the magical items and corresponding spells researched on you. At the same time, I will have one hundred to five hundred Federation contribution points. These contribution points are very valuable and can be exchanged for many things that cannot be obtained outside."

As Loren spoke, he stared at the stone pebble with great interest, waiting for the other party's response.

"This won't do, Uncle Long. This little god is just a bunch of pseudo-active aggregates. Even if you give it to researchers, they won't be able to extract any intelligence from it. You'll only be losing money this way, Uncle Long."

The stone egg then lamented its incompetence and uselessness, hoping that Loren would come up with a third solution.

"So you mean you want to choose option three?"

Instead of speaking directly, Loren first confirmed with the other party.

Upon hearing this, the stone egg immediately became alert. Could this creature be setting a trap for it to fall into?
Otherwise, why didn't he just say it directly?

"Won't this third option grind me into powder?"

It asked tentatively first.

"No, you basically maintain your own integrity."

Loren said with certainty.

"They won't use me for all sorts of experiments, torturing me to the point of near death, will they?"

"No, from a practical point of view, it will be quite good."

"That's it then."

Shi Luan replied decisively.

"Why don't you first hear what Option Three entails?"

Loren asked, somewhat surprised.

"You first presented the two unusable solutions, just to make me choose the third one, so what else is there to say? I'll do as you please."

Shi Luan said, sounding somewhat resigned.

"Ah."

After successfully defending against another mind invasion, Loren let out a sneer. "I thought you were really giving up, you bastard."

"Then let's sign a contract. Become my only magical pet. Once we become high-level legends, you can be the manager of my ideal world. Apart from being subject to me, you'll be no different from the gods of the past."

"Yes, in the material world, you can even use my body to perform divine descent, although it requires my permission and you must be manipulated by me."

Loren proposed Plan Three, which was a rather complex plan. Essentially, it involved using this newly cobbled-together false god as a Pokémon, or more precisely, using Kurama as its envoy.

The advantage of doing this is that it allows us to simulate the next realm after the legendary level, which is now the realm of the saint.

In the past, this was part of the demigods.

The Saint Realm is a newly defined realm in the Federation era.

The combat power standard for this realm is said to be the maximum output that a past deity can achieve when descending not in their true form, but with divine power upon their bloodline followers.

Saints possess immunity to conventional magic, extremely high physical resistance, immunity to instant death, immunity to time stop, and a whole host of other abilities. Their weakness is that they cannot use divine power and authority as freely as true gods, so they are essentially super-powerful beings created by combining magic and conventional abilities.

Once their divine power pool is depleted, their health bar will then be displayed.

If a god bleeds, he will be defeated by a team of people.

Not to mention that while divine power and authority are useful and strong enough, they will definitely be countered by special items that are against divine power and divinity. Countering is paramount, and in Ellen's past, it was a common occurrence for agents to take advantage of gods.

If a god dares to descend repeatedly, then there will be teams ready to slay the god and then ascend to godhood themselves.

Saints were demigods in the past, after all, they possessed divine legacy, could wield some authority and ability, and even enjoyed the divine power generated by faith.

However, after five hundred years of development in the Federation, the gap between demigods has become too great, which is why they were divided into two.

Above the higher legendary level, there are demigods who possess self-generated divinity but have not established a demiplane to bear the principles of their own legend; these are the saints of today.

A being who merges their own legendary principles with a material world to create a demiplane and establishes their own earthly divine kingdom is a demigod.

The only difference between today's demigods and the true gods of the past is that they cannot respond to a wide range of believers, accept and generate the divine power generated by faith, and their divine kingdom has not yet been hung in heaven.

It's not that they can't hang, but that the world today confines them to the ground.

Suppose the little red dragon turns the stone egg into a magical pet under his control. Once the little red dragon becomes a high-level legend, the world of the concept of the Legendary Principle will take shape. With a former false god sitting in it, in concept, this is a virtual divine kingdom.

Then he wouldn't need to construct his own exclusive material demiplane, nor would he need to generate his own divinity. He could descend to the divine in advance and use those shameless abilities and permissions that only saints could use.

Moreover, these items will be excellent building materials when it comes time to build one's own earthly divine kingdom, and will also serve as the future stewards and servants of that kingdom. In addition, magical pets will grant their masters certain attribute bonuses, and because of the extremely high quality of this stone egg, this bonus will definitely surpass that of ordinary magical pets like ravens and cats.

"If you choose this, you're tied to me for life. If you die, I won't die, but if I die, you will definitely die. You must sincerely sign this contract, otherwise you will explode on the spot, and I can only sell you as fragments. If you explode and are still relatively intact, you can still be rescued at the research institute."

Loren explained leisurely.

Three roads? Where did the three come from? There was only one road from the beginning, okay?

Either sign this pet contract, which has been studied by countless dragons, or die.

The brass dragon said that the first major prize encountered after forging the magic crystal heart is, in metaphysics, the best supplement for you.

In this day and age, if you have a pet slot, it's best to acquire it and use it to fill the land and build a divine kingdom in the future. If not, sell it to the research institute to earn contribution points and learn some new spells.

It must be said that the talkative brass dragon was quite detailed. Aside from being a bit long-winded at times, he didn't miss any important or useful information.

Among the brass dragons, he should be considered a master of information processing with concise speech.

"Give me your choice, former god?"

Loren stared at the stone egg before him, waiting for the other party's reply.

The stone egg fell silent.

The faint shimmering light seemed to freeze.

In the little red dragon's psychic perception, the emotions it conveyed were too complex to describe. There was humiliation and anger, a hint of despair, but more than anything, there was a cold calculation of weighing the pros and cons.

It was indeed newly born, its memories shattered, its power waning, but it possessed an essence originating from the gods. It once scorned all living beings and possessed terrifying power. Although it faced a group of mindless beings, a god is a god, an existence far beyond mortals.

This makes it have an unwavering determination to survive.

Once sent to the factory and ground into powder, it will completely perish.

Being sent to a research institute for study was worse than death.

The only path, though humiliating and depriving of freedom, placing one's life entirely in the hands of this young red dragon, does offer a glimmer of hope.

It could even be a road to the future.

Pets under contract?

At least compared to now, cowering in a corner of the wilderness, barely surviving on a group of weak kobolds, it doesn't seem that much worse.

It's not even that bad?
At least, this cage is spacious enough and the prospects are tempting enough.

Moreover, for a former god, is this contract made by a mortal really so unbreakable?

"...Do I even have a choice?"

The stone egg's voice carried a resigned weariness; the flattery had vanished, leaving only a sense of weariness tinged with reality.

"It seems like there are three paths, but in reality, there is only one path to survival. You are honest; at least you didn't deceive me with false promises."

Loren grinned, revealing a standard dragon smile, arrogant and mocking.

"I enjoy dealing with intelligent beings. So, what's your answer?"

"I accept."

Shi Luan's voice was deep and firm, "I will sign that contract, sincerely."

"very good!"

Loren nodded, thus preventing yet another attempt at mental intrusion.

I knew you old fogies wouldn't give up!
Luckily, we took precautions in advance!
That's how cautious and careful I am, little red dragon!
Loren took out a scroll from his storage bag that was used for signing various contracts and began to draft the contract document according to the style the brass dragon had described. After finishing it, he pasted it onto the stone egg opposite him.

"Sink your core consciousness into the document, and everything else will run on its own. You can do whatever you want, and then watch yourself explode into pieces."

After giving a few instructions, Loren cast two defensive spells on himself and waited to see what would happen.

He didn't think the old man would genuinely follow him, so he was already anticipating the spell failing and exploding.

He was quite curious to see what other tricks this guy had up his sleeve, and whether this contract document, concocted by a bunch of old fogies, was any good or bad.

Since it was something he got for free, he was happy to watch the show, since he was still far from the Saint Realm and hadn't even reached the fourth rank yet.

Little Red Dragon thinks it's best to be cautious and keep a calm mind about such a windfall, especially one that seems too good to be true.

If you take it to heart and the windfall doesn't come your way tomorrow, how heartbroken would you be!

To Loren's surprise, the contract document flashed with a smooth light, and a glimmer of light emerged from the stone egg. After merging with the contract document, it turned into a dark red dot of light and flew towards Loren.

According to the information obtained by Xiao Honglong, this is a sign that the contract is functioning normally.

"It chickened out already?"

Loren was somewhat surprised as he reached out and caught the point of light. The point of light then melted along his dragon claw, and soon, a new consciousness appeared in Loren's mind.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! I won't do it again! I won't do it again!"

As soon as he connected with this new consciousness, Loren chuckled. So, the backup plan was prepared after the signing?

And then they were taught to be gods by the things designed by the dragon elders?
That's actually quite interesting.

Loren sensed his body and internal energy, noticing that both his physical strength and magical perception had been enhanced. Then, he discovered the information composed of the contract document in his consciousness space.

"Fellowship Name: Unnamed; Status: Unhatched; Consciousness Perception and Shielding: Not Activated; Taming Level: Under Training... Cough cough, what kind of nonsense is this!"

Loren grumbled, "What kind of bastards have these old dragons done?!"

But Loren became interested when he saw the unhatched eggs.

Is it possible for this thing to hatch?
He tentatively touched the unhatched words in his mind, and then saw a white light envelop the stone egg, followed by a cracking sound.

"Damn Red Dragon, how dare you turn me into this!"

Hearing the screams coming from both his consciousness and reality, Loren twitched the corner of his mouth.

Well, it seems this one is female.

(End of this chapter)