Chapter 382: Chapter 280: The Standard of Arthropods
Leaving the secret room, the Worm Vehicle retreated, the road was sealed off, and Long Yi, Ai Lin and Isrile quickly headed towards the nearest Crystal Core Research Institute.
"It’s mealtime! Mealtime!" Isrile excitedly mumbled to herself.
Halfway there, they saw Ma Deburg, the Dean of the Crystal Core Research Institute, rushing towards them from afar.
As soon as the Worm Vehicle appeared, Ma Deburg received the news. Not waiting for Long Yi and his friends to arrive at the institute, he decided to welcome them halfway. Also impatient was Angidd, the Dean of the Mechanical Research Institute, and the Four Heavenly Kings of the Magic Research Institute, led by Master Ding Ge.
Ever since Long Yi left, these people had barely had any time to rest, waiting for Long Yi’s return at all times. For them, the appearance of Long Yi undoubtedly promised a pleasant surprise!
The three groups of people coming from afar converged together. Before anyone could speak, Long Yi had already taken the lead.
"Don’t speak just yet, I have two things to say! First, the overhaul of the two crystal cores went very smoothly. We have enhanced both the explosive power of the battle armor core and the endurance of the Molten Beast core. Second, gather all the meats in the nearby area to the cafeteria immediately! The second matter is more important, tell the Emperor that I requested it!! Hurry up!"
Long Yi spoke at top speed. This wasn’t the first time Ma Deburg had heard Long Yi speak in such a manner. Although he didn’t know what was going on, if Long Yi said the second matter was more important, then it certainly must be!
Suddenly, the flunkies around these Deans started to disperse. The Deans, carrying the cores, returned to the lab.
In the lab, the Deans couldn’t help but admire the new core structure. The internals had been meticulously modified to allow further enhancements of these cores. This proved that the technology of Darkness City was indeed more advanced than humans! Moreover, the overhaul process was not encrypted, so the Scientists at the institute could easily replicate these modifications, paving the way for future system upgrades on these cores.
Indeed, Long Yi was someone who never failed to surprise them!
But what does he plan on doing with so much meat?
Currently, it was evening time, which was also when the catering business in the Imperial City was most booming. Particularly in this midsummer night, friends would gather together, head to the restaurants for some alcohol and meat, engage in friendly banter, and chat happily.
However, a large number of the City Defense Army suddenly appeared at these places.
"By the Emperor’s urgent command, each shop is to provide half of its meat food!"
The shiny-armored soldiers left behind gold coins, took away all kinds of meat, whether fried, roasted, steamed, or cooked in any other way. As long as it was meat, they took it all. They gave no explanation; this was simply an order.
The massive meat purchase on such a scale was probably a first in human history. Some observant individuals noted down this detail and conveyed it to the spies hidden in the shadows.
"So much meat? Is the White Dragon Empire secretly raising and taming magical beasts?"
An intelligence high command speculated.
"But they’re collecting cooked meat, not raw."
"Damn it, what are they up to? Why hasn’t any news leaked from our plants inside? The institution has been mysteriously working on something! Why hasn’t any news leaked out?"
"Report! One of our spies was just thrown out of the institute, frozen solid."
"Frozen? Hell! Is that female demon responsible? Is that bastard Long Yi still in the institution without leaving?"
At this moment, the spies went into full alert, while in the institute cafeteria, Isrile was sitting happily among piles of food.
Yes, happiness. Standing half a meter taller than Long Yi, she sat with the expression of a little girl, relentlessly stuffing the meat around her into her mouth. Her eating manners weren’t particularly attractive but not as crude as a tomboy’s.
Long Yi was curious as to why Isrile ate so much, considering that she had already transformed into human form. After all, he knew that Bajie has a limited appetite in his resting form. Bajie would always turn to his resting form when he found something he liked to eat, so he could eat more and for a longer duration.
In response to his question, Isrile provided an explanation.
It turns out this is related to the principle of the Dragon Clan’s transformation.
From the juvenile dragon stage to the young dragon, and on to the adult dragon, a lot of elements and nutrients are consumed in the process. But when an adult dragon turns into resting mode, they don’t discard these nutrients; they adopt another method.
They take on a substitute form.
That is to say, when a dragon is in resting mode, it is not the real dragon, but a substitute. In resting mode, the real dragon body enters the dragon’s personal space, and this substitute shares a soul with the real body. Of course, if this substitute is killed, the real body would suffer great damage, damage that reaches the soul.
When a dragon becomes an elder dragon, the knowledge and power it gains would enable the substitute form to evolve into human form. At this point, the human-shaped dragon could learn human talents, perform magic and Fighting Aura. Of course, at this juncture, the dragon is soon returning to the Dragon Tomb.
Isrile, being a Dragon Hunting Spider, gradually gained the power of the Dragon Clan after devouring a Giant Dragon and several of her kind. She had lived long enough and acquired plentiful power. Moreover, she had been modified by the Giants and gained their strength, which led her to have a human substitute form.
But that’s when the problem arose.
This substitute form was not completely independent of the main body. She had an extremely strong connection with her main body. For instance, the Spider Silk she shot out all came from the supply of her main body. And the hunger of the main body got transmitted unequivocally to her. The most frustrating part was that all the food Isrile consumed actually ended up in her main body.
"So you’re saying you’re trying to fill the belly of your hundred-meter body?" Long Yi felt his eyes twitching.
"No, it’s now a hundred and fifty meters. I’ve told you, the hundred-meter me you saw previously was just my shed skin."
Isrile lifted her face from the pile of meat, her mouth full as she spoke.
"It’s great to spend from the treasury." Staring at the continuous flow of meat coming in, Long Yi spoke in a daze.
"Oh, you humans really are lucky. You can taste so many flavors, you don’t even know. The body of a Dragon Hunting Spider doesn’t have many flavors to savor." Isrile murmured incessantly.
"Well, do you have any interest in tasting food besides meat?" Long Yi asked.
"No! I haven’t had enough meat yet!" Isrile responded.
An entire night!
Isrile spent the entire night eating in the restaurant! That night, all the eateries in the Imperial City that served meat worked overtime, constantly delivering various meats to the Imperial Research Institute in the inner city. Rumors flew throughout the Imperial City, some saying the Emperor was rewarding the Dragon Riders and their Mount Dragons, preparing for war, while others said the Emperor was training magical beasts.
In any case, when the Emperor finished dealing with his night-long workload, he came to the research institute’s restaurant. Upon seeing the nearly one-meter tall cast-off list, he was dumbfounded.
"Is this, all eaten by her?" The Emperor looked at Isrile, whose face still showed signs of yearning for more, completely unable to believe it.
"Amazing, isn’t it." Long Yi laughed.
"She... isn’t human, is she..." The Emperor lowered his voice to ask.
"No..." Long Yi whispered back.
"Dragon?"
"No."
"Then... How is her strength compared to yours?"
"Strong!"
With just one word, the Emperor understood. Long Yi was definitely not the type to be modest. If even Long Yi said she was strong, then this woman called Isrile was undoubtedly incredibly powerful.
"Who exactly is she?" The Emperor was very curious.
"A very old friend of mine. Even though I really want to tell you about her, I’m too afraid to. It’s just too unbelievable. In any case, all you need to know is that she is here to help us." Long Yi explained.
"Alright, I understand." Though Kirei was the Emperor, he trusted Long Yi more than he trusted himself. Nobody but Long Yi had saved the kingdom from danger multiple times, so this level of trust was only fitting.
"No way, I really want to brag to you!" Long Yi leaned in once more, his voice lowered to a whisper: "She has eaten more dragons than I have defeated."
Eaten!
The Emperor was dumbfounded.
Who the heck is this woman!
She eats dragons?
Could it be some ancient beast!
Where on earth did Long Yi find her!
The Emperor didn’t ask any more questions, shaking his head and quickly forgetting everything Long Yi had said. If utilized properly, Isrile could certainly be a secret weapon for the White Dragon Empire!
The Emperor arrived in a hurry and left the same way. He still had to visit a few more research institutes. Clearly, Long Yi had brought some good news and needed to spread the joy elsewhere.
"Ah, I forgot to mention the vaccine to him." Long Yi patted his head.
"Was that your Emperor?" Isrile leaned in to ask.
"Yeah, a Master-Class Joke Master." Long Yi replied.
"Master-Class Joke Master?" Isrile asked in confusion.
"Yes, haha, he once told me a joke, I’ll tell it to you." Long Yi then recounted the joke verbatim.
"Wahaha! Help! Why is it so funny! Why is it so entertaining! Hahahahaha!" Isrile laughed so hard she rolled on the ground.
Watching Isrile laugh, Long Yi also found himself laughing. In the end, the two were in fits of laughter.
Ai Lin silently watched the two of them laugh, and glanced sidelong at Little Zi next to her. Little Zi, seeming helpless, said, "Brother Long’s sense of humor is, without a doubt, on the level of an arthropod."(To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to qidian.com to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
