Transmigrating into a dragon clan experimental subject, is that even possible?

"Hey, don't look so gloomy. It's just a little monster." Caesar walked by and patted Lu Mingfei on the shoulder. "You'll get used to it."

“…A little monster?” Lu Mingfei almost dropped his knife. Looking up at Caesar’s nonchalant expression, he felt that his own mentality was on a completely different level. He shook his head with a wry smile and said in a low voice, “It might be a little monster to you, but to me… it’s scary enough.”

Caesar shrugged, not continuing to mock him, but instead glanced at Xia Mi and said in a low voice, "This kid you brought along is quite interesting."

Xia Mi walked over to Lu Mingfei, squatted down, handed him a bottle of water, and said softly, "Don't listen to Caesar, he's just a smart aleck. You did a great job just now, even better than I expected."

"Really?" Lu Mingfei was taken aback and looked up at her face. He always felt that there was a warmth in Xia Mi's eyes, as if it could melt away the tension in his heart.

"Of course it's true." Xia Mi smiled slightly, her eyes full of encouragement. "You're my partner, how could you be bad?"

Lu Mingfei grinned. Although he knew Xia Mi was probably just trying to comfort him, he still felt a warmth in his heart. He tilted his head back and took a few sips of water, then slowly stood up, dusted himself off, and said casually, "Okay, I'll definitely do better next time."

"Okay, it's settled then." Xia Mi stood up, her smile still bright.

Not far away, Chu Zihang was squatting beside the monster's corpse, using the tip of his knife to pry open its chest cavity. A pungent odor mingled with thick black blood, but Chu Zihang showed no discomfort. He carefully examined a glowing crystal deep within the monster's chest cavity, then reached out and pulled it out.

“It’s the core of a dragon.” Chu Zihang stood up and held up the fist-sized crystal. The inside of the crystal emitted a faint red light, as if it were still pulsating.

“Not bad, this effort wasn’t in vain.” Caesar walked over, took the crystal, examined it for a few moments, then turned to the sky and said, “Remember to report this to the academy when you get back; this thing is valuable.”

"Don't worry, I know how to handle it." Tian yawned wearily, clearly exhausted from the battle.

Chu Zihang turned his gaze to Xia Mi, his tone low but carrying an undeniable air: "Why did you know just now that the monster could self-destruct? This kind of core creature has never been recorded before."

A faint smile appeared on Xia Mi's face. She tilted her head, seemingly unconcerned about Chu Zihang's question: "I told you, it's intuition."

"Intuition?" Chu Zihang's gaze sharpened slightly, as if trying to find some clue on her face.

Xia Mi raised her hand, gently tapped her forehead with her index finger, and smiled, "Girls' intuition is very accurate, you boys don't understand."

Chu Zihang's expression remained serious, but he ultimately did not press the matter further. He withdrew his gaze and refocused his attention on the monster's corpse.

Caesar shrugged, breaking the awkward silence: "Alright, alright, stop wasting time. This place is too remote; it'll attract other things sooner or later. Let's hurry up and take the spoils and retreat."

Everyone nodded and began cleaning up the scene. Caesar and Tian were responsible for packing up the monster's core and some important tissue samples, while Chu Zihang used the Dragon Cutter to cut the monster's corpse into small pieces, ensuring that no traces were left.

Standing to the side, watching their practiced movements, Lu Mingfei couldn't help but mutter in admiration, "You guys are so professional..."

“Of course.” Caesar turned back and raised an eyebrow at him. “We’re dragon slayers, dealing with these little monsters is no problem for us.”

"Uh, should I learn these things?" Lu Mingfei asked hesitantly.

"Let's talk about it when you're no longer scared of the monster," Caesar replied bluntly.

Lu Mingfei scratched his head, smiled awkwardly, and didn't refute. Xia Mi covered her mouth and chuckled softly, her eyes filled with a hint of teasing, but mostly with gentle concern.

After cleaning up the scene, the group quickly left the valley. On the way back, Tian suddenly said, "Speaking of which, the appearance of this monster is a bit strange... This should be a no-man's land, how could there be something like this?"

“Perhaps it’s a probing attack by the dragons,” Chu Zihang replied in a deep voice, his gaze still sharp. “The seal has been fluctuating more and more frequently lately, and there may be more anomalies appearing.”

Caesar, however, revealed a nonchalant smile: "Whatever, whatever monster comes, we can take it down. It's our job, after all, right?"

Tian didn't reply, only nodded silently. Chu Zihang remained expressionless, while Lu Mingfei followed behind somewhat nervously, wondering when he could stop holding everyone back.

Xia Mi walked at the back of the group, glancing sideways at the receding valley, her gaze deep and unfathomable. For a fleeting moment, her expression seemed complex, but she quickly regained her composure. She softly hummed an unknown tune and lightly caught up with the group.

Along the way, no one noticed a faint wisp of black mist lingering at her fingertips, quietly dissipating with the wind. The group passed through a sparse grove of trees, sunlight filtering through the leaves and casting dappled shadows on the ground. Lu Mingfei walked with his head down, crunching on the fallen leaves, occasionally stealing glances at Xia Mi walking ahead, his mind filled with questions. He recalled everything that had just happened, feeling that something was amiss, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Lu Mingfei." Chu Zihang's voice came from ahead. He stopped and turned to look at Lu Mingfei. "Watch your step. The terrain here can easily hide traps."

"Oh, I see!" Lu Mingfei snapped out of his daze and quickly looked up. Though he said that, his attention wasn't on his feet at all; instead, he couldn't help but glance at Xia Mi again. She was fiddling with her cuffs, seemingly unaware of his gaze.

Caesar yawned, turned his head, raised an eyebrow at Lu Mingfei, and said with a hint of teasing in his tone, "What, you've been staring at her for so long, have you taken a fancy to her?"

Lu Mingfei almost choked on his own saliva. He quickly waved his hand and explained, "Don't talk nonsense! I just think... she seems a little strange."

"Strange?" Caesar scoffed. "You think she's strange because she's not as useless as you, right?"

“You…” Lu Mingfei was speechless for a moment, and was about to retort when Xia Mi suddenly turned around and looked at him with a bright smile on her face.

"Lu Mingfei, you're spacing out again." She said with a smile, her tone gentler rather than reproachful. "Be careful when you walk. If you fall into a pit, I won't come to save you."

"I won't fall!" Lu Mingfei's face flushed red, and he quickened his pace to catch up with the group. He looked down at the ground, pretending to observe carefully, but inside he was a little flustered because of Xia Mi's smile.

Xia Mi chuckled softly at his embarrassed expression and continued walking forward.

Tian broke the brief silence, frowning as he said, "Caesar is right, something is definitely wrong with this area. Have you noticed how few birds are chirping, and how almost no wild animals are around?"

Chu Zihang nodded, gripped the Dragon Cutter tightly, and scanned his surroundings warily: "There's a high possibility that other dragon-like creatures were present, leaving behind a menacing aura. Be careful."

"I'm so fed up with these ridiculous missions." Tian sighed, brushing the fallen leaves off his shoulder. "Are they trying to push us to our limits or what?"

Caesar scoffed dismissively: "Stop complaining, this is the daily routine of a dragon slayer. If you find it tiring, you can consider retiring."

"I'm retiring? Then you, Caesar, should retire first." Tian rolled his eyes. "We're not even sure who'll die of exhaustion first."

The two bickered back and forth, but kept their voices low, clearly remaining vigilant. Lu Mingfei followed behind, listening to their conversation, when suddenly a strange chill crept up his spine from the soles of his feet. He stopped and looked around, but found nothing amiss.

"Lu Mingfei, hurry up," Chu Zihang urged coldly, glancing at him.