The crowd didn’t know what the Little Golden Statue Award was, but when the dragon retracted, they were nearby and thus caught a glimpse of the dragon suddenly full of vitality and heard its resonant roar.
Vaguely, they sensed that something was amiss, but they thought a dragon’s acting skills couldn’t be that good, so they chose to ignore it. Their attention was now entirely focused on the dragon egg, with their eager gazes almost piercing through the eggshell.
“By the way, why is there a broken eggshell in the dragon’s nest?” Ning Zhi, who was gazing at the dragon egg with a face full of tenderness, suddenly recalled the scene of selecting the dragon eggs and spoke in confusion. Could it be that an egg broke while crossing an interdimensional rift? But there was no sign of any dragon hatchlings’ corpses in the valley.
“Could it be that a dragon hatched and left early?” Zhou Yi offered another guess.
Shu Bao thought about the eggshell he had casually stored in his spatial ring and felt that the latter possibility was more likely, as the eggshell was relatively intact and showed no clear signs of external damage. “Then where did it go?”
“This rift is so remote and dangerous that exploration teams usually don’t find it. Perhaps someone nearby discovered the trace of the earliest hatched dragon and thus searched the vicinity and found the rift,” Nan Ming speculated, as he had not obtained the most original information from the tavern owner.
“But on the way here, we didn’t see any dragon hatchlings, nor did we find any traces of them, and no one discussed them.” If there were dragons in the Chaotic Swamp, it would have caused a bigger stir, and it would have been impossible for no news to leak out. “Unless it is no longer in the Chaotic Swamp but has gone to a more hidden place.”
Shu Bao suddenly stopped in his tracks, and the others looked over with expressions of doubt.
“It’s going to rain,” Shu Bao said calmly.
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately looked around to find a place to take cover. As soon as they found shelter, it began to rain. This time it was warm rain, not boiling-hot, but a pleasantly warm rain with a moderate temperature.
The group decided not to hide from the rain and instead continued on their way while enjoying the warm rain, to avoid leaving traces that could be tracked by any exploration teams.
“Can you really not feel the change in the environment?” Shu Bao still found it hard to believe.
“In the Chaotic World, rain isn’t just weather; it’s merely a phenomenon. The same goes for the seasons—they’re just a simple phenomenon here. It might be summer in the morning and winter in the afternoon. Right now, it’s raining, but in the next second, it could be snowing…”
Nan Ming patiently explained that the Chaotic World has no regular seasons. It is a chaotic place where everything is disordered, and environmental changes are extremely subtle and instantaneous. Most people can’t perceive them; it’s a world without a natural climate.
“We’ve arrived.” Nan Ming’s explanation paused as he pointed to a vast lotus swamp not far away. Shu Bao immediately spotted a lotus as large as a bedroom. The lotus emitted a pearly white light, casting a soft silver glow over the entire giant lotus area.
Under the magnificent, moon goddess-like lotus, the huge lotus leaves spanned forty to fifty square meters, and a familiar creature, the bucket frog, was resting on them.
Shu Bao’s eyes lit up. “I recognize that frog; it tastes pretty good!”
The others: “…”
Following Nan Ming deeper into the giant lotus swamp, Shu Bao felt as though he had been shrunk. The frogs here were quite large, and so were the fish. The group used the lotus petals to make small boats, each big enough for two people.
As they continued into the swamp on their lotus boats, they saw even more fascinating creatures. The undisturbed waters were crystal clear, revealing groups of tadpoles swimming and various glowing little fish.
However, Nan Ming mentioned that most of these fish were toxic and not suitable for eating, though they had good ornamental value. If one could take them out alive, they could fetch a good price, though keeping them alive was challenging.
Hearing this, Shu Bao abandoned his plan to catch fish, since he still had two eggs to care for and feared he wouldn’t have the energy to look after the fish.
“The giant lotus area is not uncommon in the Chaotic Swamp, but there is a black lotus here. The center of the lotus contains a stable interdimensional portal, which leads to the Shadow Valley…” Nan Ming continued guiding the way.
As he explained the next steps, Nan Ming couldn’t help but exclaim, “It was just a plan before, but I never thought we’d actually need to use it!”
Clearly, before entering the Chaotic Swamp, Nan Ming had already figured out how to make a safe exit if they obtained a dragon egg. Such a stable interdimensional portal was extremely valuable, and he wouldn’t have brought people here so easily if it hadn’t been for the dragon egg.
As they discussed this, Nan Ming and the others became excited once again.
“The look on those Empire people’s faces was priceless! Hahaha, it really feels satisfying!”
“That’s what they get for being so deceitful and overbearing.”
“Shu Bao, you were really amazing!”
“Tsk tsk, since the negotiations fell through, I’ll take everything! Everyone in the valley was shocked!”
“Too bad one of the eggs hatched early; otherwise, we could have obtained one more dragon egg!”
The group excitedly discussed the thrilling events at the valley, reminiscing about the expressions of the Empire and Lan Zhou’s people when they were caught off guard, and of course, the satisfaction of beating the Bai You team.
Shu Bao paused his rowing and suddenly exclaimed, causing everyone to look at him anxiously. Shu Bao stroked his chin and said, “I might have an idea of where the dragon that hatched early is.”
Even Fu Qing looked interested, likely pondering whether it was possible to capture that hatchling.
“But you can’t go to that place, and the dragon has been tamed by someone,” Shu Bao said, not wanting to reveal too much just yet.
Upon hearing this, Nan Ming and the others weren’t too disappointed, as taming a hatchling was quite difficult. It was preferable to start with an egg and build a bond from hatching, which would naturally lead to taming.
Fu Qing quickly understood. The hatchling must have ended up in the real world by chance and was then tamed by some participant forced to land there.
Fu Qing’s guess was correct. Shu Bao was referring to the dragon that had suddenly appeared in the Sishe Tribe. Initially, Shu Bao thought it was an adult dragon, but after seeing a real adult dragon, he realized it was actually a hatchling.
The lava fire dragon hatchling would frantically seek shelter whenever it rained. At the time, Shu Bao thought it was just the fire dragon afraid of rain. Now it seemed that the hatchling had been repeatedly caught off guard by the unpredictable weather of the Chaotic World, with its alternating hot and cold rains.
So even when it arrived in the real world, it would habitually seek shelter whenever it rained, as the young dragon couldn’t distinguish between the rain of the real world and that of the Chaotic World. Thus, Shu Bao suddenly thought of a possible method to avoid the hatchling’s attacks, “Is there anything here that causes rain to start as soon as it appears or can control the rain?”
Although Nan Ming and the others found it odd, they answered truthfully, “There is a type of sprite called a Rain Girl. She looks like a little girl in a light yellow raincoat. Whenever she cries, it starts to rain around her. The rain is always of normal temperature. There is one in the Chaotic Swamp, but it’s very shy and hard to find.”
Shu Bao pointed ahead, “Is that what you’re talking about?”
Nan Ming and the others looked over and saw a Rain Girl lying asleep on a lotus leaf. The group: “…”
Shu Bao quietly approached in the lotus boat, then cupped his hands together to catch the small yellow sprite.
The sprite was startled awake and looked at Shu Bao through the gaps in his fingers. Its tearful face quickly turned into a smile when Shu Bao smiled at it.
Nan Ming and the others were amazed, wondering if this was a beast tamer’s talent—being able to make the Rain Girl smile.
Ning Zhi happily slapped her thigh, “See! I told you Rain Girls are all about looks! You didn’t believe me!”
Nan Ming and the others still didn’t believe it, so they conducted an experiment where everyone smiled at the Rain Girl. They discovered that the Rain Girl only smiled at Fu Qing and Shu Bao, while everyone else received a crying face.
Zhou Yi found it hard to believe, “I’ve seen Rain Girls raised by good-looking people before, and they were always crying!”
“It must be because that person was ugly,” Fu Qing concluded decisively.
Zhou Yi: “…”
After continued attempts, Shu Bao confirmed that while the Rain Girl looked human, she lacked the intelligence of a spiritual being and was no different from ordinary creatures. He was relieved and decided to take her back to the base to help with dragon deterrence and watering plants.
The simple Rain Girl, unaware of her future important role, sat obediently on Shu Bao’s shoulder, curiously looking at the little kitten on his other shoulder.
The little kitten meowed, and the Rain Girl tilted her head, imitating the meow. The kitten immediately began teaching her meow language, and the Rain Girl eagerly mimicked it, though Shu Bao was caught in between their meowing.
Soon, the group navigating through the giant lotus found the black lotus. From a distance, the black lotus seemed to be made of black radiance, contrasting sharply with the surrounding white jade-like giant lotuses, emitting a mysterious black glow. Without the white lotuses providing contrast, it would be difficult to spot it in the absence of light.
As they slowly approached, it felt as if they had entered a vast shadow. Looking up, the black lotus seemed to possess a certain deadly allure. If the white lotus was the moon goddess of this Chaotic Swamp, then the black lotus was a fallen angel immersed in darkness—dangerous yet equally enchanting.
Following Nan Ming, they climbed the petals of the black lotus to reach the center, where they looked down to see a black vortex. Unlike the unstable interdimensional rift at the valley’s bottom, this rift appeared as a stable vortex, resembling a miniature black hole.
“The other side leads to the Shadow Valley. It’s very secluded, and aside from the troublesome Ember Wraiths, there are no other threats. It’s a great place for seclusion. Before the dragon egg hatches, we will stay there. I have already prepared a residence there, and you’re welcome to join us,” Nan Ming, as the team leader, had thoroughly considered the situation. Although there were now two more teammates, he had prepared ample supplies.
Shu Bao thought for a moment and declined, “No, I have a place to go, and it’s also very safe.”
Fu Qing nodded, “Me too.”
Clearly, both intended to return to the real world to incubate the dragon eggs, as it was safer there. They couldn’t stay away from the base for too long, considering they weren’t the only participants out there.
Nan Ming did not insist or inquire further about their safe location. He merely advised them to stay safe and then jumped into the interdimensional rift first.
The group understood that the Chaotic Swamp wasn’t the best place for conversation, so they quickly followed.
Shu Bao, feeling a bit curious, jumped in and found that the experience was not much different from traversing a space-time wormhole; the basic principles seemed similar. The place where they landed was exactly as Nan Ming had described—the Shadow Valley. Without the glowing giant lotuses, the world suddenly grew dark.
Shu Bao and Fu Qing asked Nan Ming about the location of the Shadow Valley and learned that it was still a considerable distance from the Chaotic Swamp, requiring at least two days of walking.
Nan Ming provided them with some pre-prepared supplies and agreed to use the tavern in the Dark Forest as a contact point before Shu Bao and Fu Qing departed.
Since the dragon egg couldn’t be stored in the system ring, the two had to avoid main roads and use small paths. Fortunately, they were on the right general course and eventually reached their starting point after winding their way for two days.
Fu Qing said goodbye to Shu Bao and left on his own.
On the way back, the two analyzed their situation in detail and concluded that while their bases in the Chaotic World weren’t too far apart, their bases in the real world were likely quite distant. Shu Bao’s base was in a temperate zone, whereas Fu Qing’s was clearly in a tropical zone.
The good news was that, according to their analysis and comparison of star maps, they had likely crash-landed on the same planet. As long as they continued to develop, they would probably meet each other sooner than if they had to cross planets.
After bidding farewell to his pretty friend, Shu Bao cheerfully headed toward his base. Although the system displayed daytime, Shu Bao was eager to get there and wait.
With the excellent spatial awareness of the Treasure Mouse, Shu Bao quickly found the way back. Carrying the dragon egg on his back and the kitten and sprite with him, he arrived at the location where the Xia Wang tribe should have been.
As expected, the place was empty; it was clear the tribe had returned to the real world during the day. Shu Bao intended to wait there, but as he stepped into the area where the tribe’s base should be, a door suddenly appeared before him!
Shu Bao blinked in confusion. The door remained there, appearing as a semi-transparent virtual form. The style of the door looked very familiar—it was the bedroom door from the second floor of the mission hall!
Shu Bao reached out and actually grasped the seemingly virtual doorknob. He turned it and pushed the door open, revealing the bedroom space.
After a few seconds of stunned silence, Shu Bao didn’t hesitate and stepped inside with the dragon egg.
Once inside the bedroom, the door behind him automatically closed. At the same time, he heard the familiar bustling noise of the tribe. Looking out the window, he saw the busy members of the Xia Wang tribe!
At that moment, Shu Bao finally understood that the system didn’t provide the bedroom on the second floor of the mission hall for no reason. It was because even during the day, one could return to the real world through the bedroom! This feature was fantastic, saving a lot of waiting time.
Excited, Shu Bao left the bedroom. When he emerged from the mission hall, the base members were stunned, especially the little green snake, who rushed over and, with a tearful voice, asked, “It’s been a month! Where have you been?”
Shu Bao, who had only been in the Chaotic World for a few days: “???”
Though confused, to calm his teammate, Shu Bao brought out the dragon egg from behind him. “Look, a dragon egg! There’s another one in the bedroom. Once it hatches, we won’t have to fear the dragon from the neighboring tribe anymore!”
Lan Qing’s attention was indeed immediately diverted. Given his long-standing interest in the legendary dragons, he curiously touched and prodded the dragon egg with the tip of his tail.
With the return of the deity, the Xia Wang tribe members stopped their work and rushed over in excitement. The high priest, dressed in a tight leather skirt, dashed over in a hurry. When he saw Shu Bao unharmed, he let out a sigh of relief. However, the next moment, he was captivated by the enormous egg.
The Xia Wang tribe members were understandably thrilled upon learning that it was a dragon egg. But that wasn’t all. The deity proudly continued, “I also found something even better than the dragon egg!”
Lan Qing, who was examining the dragon egg, immediately leaned in with curiosity, circling around the mouse. “What, what?”
“It’s this!” Shu Bao didn’t keep him guessing and directly pulled out the dragon egg nest from his ring. He pushed the large grass nest in front of his bald teammate. “This is for you! I promised to bring back vegetarian food, didn’t I?”
Lan Qing: “???” Although he was vegetarian, he didn’t eat grass!
Seeing the snake teammate’s reluctance, Shu Bao quickly explained, “If you eat this, you’ll be able to transform into a qilin!”
“Really? Eating this will make me grow legs?” Lan Qing’s eyes lit up. While the snake didn’t care much about legs, growing legs meant transformation, and transformation meant he would finally have hair!
“Really!” Shu Bao affirmed confidently. To transform into a qilin, one naturally needed to grow horns. After growing horns, the next step would be to transform into a dragon. Raising a Western dragon cub was one thing, but Shu Bao was more interested in raising an Eastern dragon!
“I’ll eat it!” Lan Qing, no longer bothered by the dragon egg nest, was motivated by trust in his fluffy teammates and the excitement of growing legs. He thought eating grass was not a big deal; after all, fruits and grass were both vegetarian.
With that in mind, Lan Qing took a bite of the dragon egg nest and successfully hung onto it.
Shu Bao looked at his snake teammate, who was still smaller than the dragon egg nest and reached out to remove it. “That’s not how you eat it. I’ll cook it for you. Just drink it when it’s ready.”
“Alright.” The little green snake nodded obediently, thinking that drinking the soup was better than gnawing directly. “Oh? You brought the big white cat back to the base too?”
Lan Qing’s attention shifted from the grass nest to the little kitten following behind Shu Bao.
“What!” Shu Bao turned around in shock and saw the little kitten on his shoulder. He then remembered that the kitten had been on his shoulder when he entered.
“Meow~” The little kitten tilted its head and let out an innocent and obedient sound.
Shu Bao: “…” He couldn’t shake the feeling that on this trip, he had not only been tricked by the dragon but also by the cat!
