DADH Chapter 68

Vaguely seeing a group of people walking in a line through the forest, Jing Nian didn’t have a chance to speak before everything blurred before his eyes.

He found himself in a different place, and his viewpoint had suddenly shifted in a strange way. His eyes seemed to be moving in a direction he couldn’t control.

It was very much like the situation when he was inside the little dragon’s body.

Sure enough, he soon heard “himself” speaking.

It was the voice of the little dragon, but it sounded slightly more mature than the adorable voice of the dragon hatchling.

If the previous voice sounded like a two-year-old human child, it now resembled a four-year-old.

“Umm…”

The little dragon sat in a young dragon nest, looking a bit bewildered. After a while, it began to glance around, as if searching for something.

“Little one? What are you looking for?”

Jing Nian attempted to communicate with the little dragon but quickly realized that there was no communication possible; the little dragon couldn’t hear his voice.

After unsuccessful attempts, he had no choice but to follow the little dragon’s gaze and examine the surroundings.

Once he understood that he was in a young dragon nest, he felt puzzled.

After all, since the little dragon hatched from its egg, it had been living in the dragon palace. The young dragon nests were prepared for every dragon egg that hatched.

But it seemed that the little dragon’s nest had turned into a storage room, specifically for its collection of gold, silver, jewels, treasures, and toys.

Jing Nian opened the player system again, trying to access information and contact his brothers. However, he discovered that the player system had disappeared.

He was stunned.

—

The Abyss Dungeon has opened!!!

The players were ecstatic!

Remember, this dungeon was named “Dragon Slayer”! Many players had been initially attracted by the lifelike golden dragon featured on the promotional poster!

It was rumored that after completing the dungeon, players could potentially obtain a dragon as a pet!

The news of the Abyss Dungeon opening was of interest even to lower-level players who couldn’t enter the new map yet due to their levels.

Some clever individuals even set up livestreams, planning to sneak into the dungeon and provide a live broadcast of the world-first kill.

Outside the game…

After discovering they couldn’t enter the Abyss, and suddenly losing contact with Jing Nian, the three of them saw the news about the Abyss Dungeon’s activation, and they immediately logged out.

Of course, they were heading to the studio to demand answers.

Facing the three of them’s cold, questioning gazes, the studio’s leader was sweating profusely.

They felt unfairly accused. Since the game world began to destabilize, thanks to the financial support from their wealthy father, they have hired several top-notch interstellar tech experts.

Although they still hadn’t found any traces of hacking or tampering with the game.

But after their meeting with Jing Nian, when they were entrusted to monitor player movements and the movements of NPCs from the Temple of Light, their surveillance team had been expanded.

In fact, the Jing siblings had also hired a large group of players to “observe” the actions of those unaware players.

Yet, no one had detected anything unusual.

The three Jing brothers were furious, but after venting their anger, they had to suppress it and gather the studio’s staff for discussion.

Based on reasonable speculation, Jing Nian should still be in the Abyss Canyon.

So, they couldn’t allow players to attack the Abyss Canyon.

Therefore, the three brothers spent a considerable amount of money to enlist most high-level players and gather them outside the Abyss Canyon to try to prevent the remaining group of players from entering.

In reality, these players who had quietly infiltrated the battlefield and “hidden” outside the Lost Forest without being detected had used secret passages of the Temple of Light.

Almost all of them were devout believers of the Temple of Light.

Thanks to the lavish financial support from the Jing family, they quickly entered the interior of the Lost Forest and caught up with the group that had first entered the map.

“It looks like someone’s trying to lock the map!”

When the “Jing Family Army” appeared menacingly, someone in the queue shouted.

This exclamation immediately resonated with the others. They had been wandering in the forest for so long and hadn’t even caught a glimpse of the dragon’s shadow!

There had to be some trickery afoot!

The Jing family had brought this team to stop these players from entering the dungeon in the first place.

Suddenly, the two sides, who were supposed to be opponents, found common ground and engaged in a fierce battle.

On one side, there was the Jing family’s relentless financial support, while on the other, there were the blessings of the Temple of Light’s divine skills. The battle was evenly matched.

However, what worked against the Jing family was that due to the intense fighting, large areas of trees in the Lost Forest were felled one after another.

As the battle continued, the battlefield gradually pushed further into the Lost Forest, and not long after, it reached the outside of the Abyss Canyon.

As they looked at the exposed Abyss Canyon, and with the giant dragons that used to patrol above the canyon now nowhere to be seen, the faces of the three Jing brothers darkened, and they fought with increasing ruthlessness.

However, even though they had real battle experience from the battlefield, the players were now at a high level, and their primary mode of combat relied heavily on magical attacks. Light magic, which also possessed healing properties, gave them an advantage in combat.

Soon, the attacking side was about to break through and enter the Abyss Canyon.

At this moment, Jing Nian, following the little dragon, also arrived at the interior of the Abyss Canyon, but he didn’t notice the ongoing brawl. That’s because the little dragon had its head down, searching for something on the ground.

Jing Nian had no choice but to follow the little dragon’s gaze and rummage through the grass. He didn’t quite understand what his little dragon was doing, as he was currently trapped within the little dragon’s body, and there was no sensory communication or a way to communicate. He couldn’t even hear the nearby sounds of the battle.

What Jing Nian was more concerned about was that the little dragon’s condition seemed off. It didn’t seem like a normal dragon’s state, and he immediately thought it might be due to the effects of being assimilated by the dungeon.

However, due to the inability to communicate, he could only fret within the dragon’s soul space.

The little dragon meticulously searched every inch of land and finally crawled slowly in the direction of the battlefield outside the Abyss Canyon.

Some players noticed the round body of the little dragon during their battles, but since it appeared cute and harmless, they considered it a harmless forest creature and paid it no mind.

Jing’s brothers also noticed the unidentified creature approaching the edge of the battlefield. However, due to the changes brought about by the chaotic power of space-time that had caused the little dragon to grow significantly and altered its once pale and tender appearance, they couldn’t recognize it. They thought it was just a chubby pangolin passing by.

They simply ignored it.

Everyone disregarded the little dragon, while it remained focused on its search, never looking up.

This led to Jing Nian’s complete lack of awareness.

Until the moment the little dragon’s eyes brightened, and it happily reached its little claws toward something that Jing Nian recognized. Before Jing Nian could recall how that item ended up buried in the ground, he saw a foot slowly stepping on the piece of chewing bone that the little dragon hadn’t retrieved yet.

*Crack* – a crisp sound.

Perhaps due to the effects of the space-time powers it had experienced, the material that not even dragon teeth could break turned brittle. It shattered upon the slightest pressure.

At that moment, Jing Nian and the long-lost connection with the little dragon’s consciousness returned.

It was the feeling of a broken heart.

Jing Nian: “…” Oh no!

However, the one responsible for breaking the most precious treasure in the little dragon’s heart was just a player seeking shelter from the chaos of battle.

Perhaps sensing an unexpected gaze, he paused and looked down at the shattered, weathered board beneath his foot. Then, following the muddy paw prints, he spotted the little dragon.

He was momentarily stunned, “Where did this chubby… little fellow come from? Whose pet is this?”

The little dragon, heartbroken to the point of being unable to express emotions, was struck again.

Chubby!!!

Finally, Jing Nian, who had watched the situation through the eyes of the heartbroken little dragon, got excited. It was a player! He had also spotted his brothers among the players!

“Bro!”

Jing Nian jumped up with excitement, but no one could see him through the little dragon’s body. Moreover, the heartbroken little dragon began to cry.

The moment its eyes welled up with tears, Jing Nian’s vision blurred as well. He had never seen the usually delicate little dragon so determined and desperate to find something, only to have it crushed right after it was found. Jing Nian could imagine how heartbroken the little dragon must be. He felt an overwhelming sense of pity.

He snapped back to reality from his excitement, instinctively wanting to hug the little dragon and comfort it within the Dragon Soul Space, but his hands were empty. He stared blankly and realized his current situation again.

He pursed his lips. There was no way to physically comfort the little dragon, but he couldn’t help patting it affectionately, trying to console it across the divide.

This made the little dragon, who was quivering with anger, suddenly mutter two words in a soft voice, “Jin Jin~.”

After saying it, there was a hint of confusion in its eyes. But soon, it couldn’t hold back and called out the name again. The more it called, the more desolate it sounded, like a baby who had been bullied and couldn’t find its parents.

It seemed to have forgotten Jing Nian, but after unconsciously calling out this name, it was as if some form of attachment was awakened within it. The more it cried, the louder it got, and the more desperate it became.

Its voice finally caught the attention of the players who were fighting because it had become too loud. Some players stopped and gathered around because they found it intriguing.

Since the little dragon was crying out in Dragon language, they couldn’t understand it.

“What kind of creature is this?” one of them wondered.

A few people came closer, forming a curious circle around the little dragon, inspecting it closely and commenting.

“It’s so chubby!”

“What kind of animal is this?”

“Look, it even has wings.”

“Hahaha, these tiny meaty wings, could they be some kind of deformity in its spine?”

The little dragon, still clutching the broken piece of its teething board, huddled in with tears in its eyes, surrounded by players.

Even though it had forgotten Jing Nian, it was still well-behaved. It remembered Jing Nian’s teachings: not to get angry easily and not to throw tantrums. It realized that the teething board had been accidentally stepped on and that’s why it broke. So, it didn’t get angry; it could only feel sad on its own.

Realizing it was a bit embarrassing to cry in front of people, it sniffled and felt even sadder. It looked around and felt like there was an emptiness in its heart, a kind of overwhelming sadness.

Meanwhile, the players continued to treat it as an unusual creature to be observed.

The little dragon sobbed softly, calling “Jin Jin” in a low voice, trying to curl up even more and feeling even more miserable.

This drew laughter from the players again.

Hearing their laughter, Jing Nian in the Dragon Soul Space was furious. He regretted teaching his little dragon to be too well-behaved. He knew exactly why these players were here.

They were here to slay dragons!

Even though they appeared to be easy pickings at the moment, Jing Nian couldn’t forget their true purpose. But because he had been with his brothers and friends recently, the little dragon didn’t have the same aversion to humans as the other dragons did.

So, instead of lashing out at the player who had stepped on its teething board earlier, Jing Nian would have preferred the little dragon to attack indiscriminately, sparing no one, rather than seeing it suffer in silence like it was doing now.

Jing Nian was infuriated and felt his head spinning, but he was utterly helpless, on the verge of tears.

At this moment, the little dragon unintentionally cried out “Jin Jin” in the common language, which was heard by the players.

“Jin Jin, what’s that? Little one, is Jin Jin your name?”

Hearing someone mention “Jin Jin,” the little dragon suddenly perked up, as the person didn’t seem to have malicious intentions. It thought the person might be trying to strike up a friendly conversation.

Its big, round eyes filled with hope looked over.

It shook its head; it wasn’t Jin Jin. However, it also wanted to know who Jin Jin was!

But just after asking the player, another player nearby, who had noticed someone slacking off in the midst of the battle, rushed over with a wave of attacks, almost igniting their behinds.

“What are you doing? Didn’t we come for the first kill?”

Several players who narrowly avoided being hit by their teammates touched their bottoms and made up a hasty excuse.

“Damn, look, what if this is a dragon!”

The excuse was instantly exposed.

“Ha, you call this chubby thing a dragon?”

“Hahaha…”

Laughter erupted among the group.

The little dragon sat blankly on the ground, not fully comprehending these words, but it could read the mockery in their expressions and understood the word “chubby.”

Finally, it got angry.

In the Dragon Soul Space, Jing Nian, who was on the verge of tears due to his helplessness, breathed a sigh of relief.

He didn’t expect his little dragon to take matters into its own hands. Now, maybe it could attract the dragons that had gone somewhere unknown.

Just as Jing Nian had hoped, the little dragon pushed itself up from the ground and glared with its fiery eyes.

It was angry, its eyes were blazing.

It was really angry!!!

These people laughed at it for being chubby!

Not even Jin Jin had called it chubby!

How infuriating!

With an air of annoyance, it spewed two fireballs, which didn’t even touch anyone’s clothing before extinguishing.

Not only that, but because it looked so round and cute, it appeared utterly non-threatening.

One player, charmed by its cuteness, ran over, reached out, and patted the little dragon’s head. “Chubby, do you have a master? If not, why don’t you become mine? Haha, come with me.”

The little dragon, its face red with anger, closed its eyes and slowly opened its mouth.

Jing Nian let out a silent sigh of relief, covering his ears.

The next moment, a cry that pierced through the abyssal ravine echoed.

In an instant, the entire ravine, and even the entire forest, began to tremble violently.

The terrifying aura, which had been dormant due to the influence of the spacetime power, had finally awakened all around the abyssal canyon.