[Restart Volume] Chapter 271: Dragon Fang Island

"Shiyan!"

Mo Xing's eyes turned red instantly, and he lunged forward, but since he lacked flight skills, there was simply no way for him to offer any help.

"Ha哈哈哈! Everyone must die!" The Gale Knight brandished his golden spear, slashing toward Shiyan.

A grayish-white afterimage erupted behind Shiyan, dramatically enhancing her movement speed and combat mobility, allowing her to deftly dodge the attack.

Flash Step!

A staple skill for dual-gunner classes, it substantially boosts mobility and agility, making the user unmatched in guerrilla skirmishes.

"Ha哈哈哈! Speeding up, are we?" The Gale Knight continued his onslaught against Shiyan with his spear, his own speed accelerating alongside a rising gale. "I told you, before absolute strength, you are all nothing but scum!"

Just as his voice trailed off, a sudden, giant blue-and-white hand materialized and grabbed the Gale Knight.

Coldwater Grasp!

"Wudan Ce! Catch the shell!" Mo Xing roared.

"Got it!" Wudan Ce raised [Dragon's Roar] and fired a cyan-white stun shell, blasting it straight at the Gale Knight.

"Damn it!" Unable to break free from the giant hand's restraint, the Gale Knight was hit dead-on by the stun shell.

"Burst Double Strike!"

Shiyan raised her weapon and followed up with several shots, the bullets erupting into a series of explosions upon contact with his body.

"Hell yeah, nice shot!" Xiaoming cheered.

"Roar—"

A massive dragon spread its wings, lunged forward to swallow the Gale Knight in its jaws, and then soared away into the dark night.

"Trying to run?"

At that moment, the group of senior martial brothers who had been missing in action suddenly burst out from nowhere, blocking the dragon's path and unleashing a barrage of various techniques.

"Brothers! Charge!"

It was Gou Ge who shouted. The others immediately drew upon their signature moves, beating the dragon mercilessly.

"Oh, come on! These guys show up only now?" Xiaoming protested indignantly. "Riding on our coattails for assists is a bit too obvious!"

"Roar—"

The giant dragon roared, unleashing a fierce hurricane that blew everyone nearby away before plunging back into the night.

"After them!" Gou Ge bellowed.

"Stop chasing! The situation outside the Divine Ark is unclear!" Shiyan shouted.

"At a time like this, we mustn't scatter! Don't fall for their trick!" Hearing Shiyan's warning, Mo Xing realized that the situation was far from simple.

Judging by the Gale Knight's tone, as a Draconian, his strength should have been formidable! He shouldn't have been defeated so easily by the group. Mo Xing had only been stalling for time to let Mentor Su Yuanzhou intervene, yet the dragon had simply carried him away?

A bitter flesh ruse?

Or a diversion to lure the tiger from its mountain?

"Bah! Letting go of prey we worked so hard to catch?" Gou Ge cursed angrily. "You guys might not want the academic credits, but I do!"

"Is it worth it?" Wudan Ce raged. "Risking your life for a few credits?"

"I don't have time to talk nonsense with you!" Gou Ge swore. "Brothers, we're going after them!"

"Yes!"

The other senior brothers followed Gou Ge and bolted into the pursuit, leaving only Mo Xing, Shiyan, Wudan Ce, and Xiaoming on the deck.

Shiyan walked down the stairs from the upper deck.

"Shiyan, are you alright?" Mo Xing ran over.

"I'm fine, just a minor injury." Shiyan shook her head, pressing a hand against the wound on her shoulder.

"Goodness, it's actually this bad!" Mo Xing got close enough to see that Shiyan's clothes were stained red with blood. "Let me take care of it for you."

With that, Mo Xing retrieved a roll of gauze from the [Ring of the Titans], supported Shiyan's arm, and applied the bandaging skills he had learned previously.

"Mo Xing..." Shiyan looked slightly surprised.

"Don't move yet, I still need to clean the wound, otherwise it'll get infected." Mo Xing operated with utmost care, his little heart pounding wildly.

"Mhm..."

Shiyan smiled and said nothing more.

"Sigh, having to witness romance in the middle of the night~" Xiaoming shrugged from not far away.

"You're the one with too much to say." Wudan Ce punched him again.

By the time Mentor Su Yuanzhou and the other senior brothers rushed over later, Mo Xing had already finished bandaging Shiyan's wound.

They reported that several other sectors of the Divine Ark had also come under Draconian attack. Under Mentor Su Yuanzhou's leadership, those Draconians had been completely beaten back. They had wanted to pursue them further, but the mentor had stopped them.

When Mentor Su learned that Gou Ge had led a group in pursuit, he simply shook his head and remarked: Since they've gone, let fate decide their survival.

After discussing various matters, everyone returned to their respective quarters to rest.

Naturally, there were still those who couldn't sleep because of the ordeal, including Wudan Ce. They stayed behind to keep an eye on the chatterbox Xiaoming and handle patrols across the Divine Ark.

After all, experiencing two emergencies in a single day meant not everyone could sleep peacefully.

Through this intrusion, Mo Xing realized their team collaboration still had noticeable shortcomings. If Zhang Zhihao were still awake, this problem probably would have been resolved smoothly.

Mo Xing rolled over and glanced at the still-unconscious Great God Zhang Zhihao...

Just like when the Divine Ark was falling, relying on Great God Zhang Zhihao's command had enabled the few of them to unite and salvage the situation.

Much like an orchestra featuring a lead vocalist, a guitarist, a bassist, a drummer, and a keyboardist with clearly defined roles—that was a prerequisite for creating a great work of art.

Team collaboration really mattered a lot...

Mo Xing tossed and turned in bed for a long time before finally drifting off to sleep.

...

Elsewhere.

A magic carpet was flying at a steady speed high in the sky.

A young man slowly opened his eyes, only to find that his surroundings had changed drastically.

"What the hell! Where is this?" Xiaofeng cursed indignantly. Wasn't he supposed to be on a date? Suddenly everything went black, and when he woke up again, dusk had turned to night, and the trail behind the back mountain had been replaced by a magic carpet suspended in mid-air.

Sitting beside him were Li Xiangcao and an old codger.

"Young man, watch your language." The old man up front turned his head and smiled.

"Old codger, where are you taking me?" Xiaofeng was completely baffled before turning his head. "And Li Xiangcao, why did you lie to me?"

"What do you mean? What did I lie to you about?" Li Xiangcao asked, bewildered.

"You wrote me a love letter, lured me to the back mountain, and then knocked me out! And now you're teaming up with this old man to human-traffic me!" Xiaofeng shook his head in bitter resignation.

"Are you out of your mind? Why would I write you a love letter?" Li Xiangcao glared at him. "I don't even know you!"

"Wuwuwu~ You're treating me like a stranger just like that! What do you even want from me? I'll give you money, please spare my kidneys!" Xiaofeng buried his head in his hands and wailed.

"You're seriously sick in the head, I have no idea what you're babbling about." Li Xiangcao quickly shifted seats, scurrying over to sit beside the old man.

"Mister Shen, where do you think this magic carpet is flying to?" Li Xiangcao asked.

"I haven't the foggiest notion where the people who kidnapped the three of us are taking us." Mister Shen stroked his beard.

"The people who kidnapped us?" Xiaofeng was utterly lost. "Weren't the two of you kidnapping me?"

"Of course not!" Li Xiangcao shook her head. "Right after school dismissal, as I was walking back to the dorms, a figure suddenly materialized behind me and knocked me out."

"What? That person was that violent?" Xiaofeng furrowed his brow. "So lacking in chivalry?"

"Indeed, that individual was quite violent." Mister Shen nodded in agreement.

"When I woke up again, I found myself on this magic carpet," Li Xiangcao continued. "You were still unconscious back then, so I only managed to wake Mister Shen up, and after chatting, I learned he had suffered the exact same ambush."

"Seriously?" Xiaofeng doubted.

"Truly, I even have bruises on my back! Care to take a look?" Mister Shen slowly pulled up his shirt.

"No, no, no! What's there to see on an old codger?" Xiaofeng waved his hand in disgust. "No pecs, no abs!"

"Anyway, the three of us have formed a temporary alliance." Li Xiangcao stated. "If anything happens, remember to look out for one another."

"Alliance schmilliance, this isn't a wedding, what's the point!" Xiaofeng shrugged, then pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. "I'm just really puzzled. The person who ambushed me not only disguised themselves as you, but even mimicked a girl's handwriting..."

"What is that piece of paper?" Li Xiangcao asked curiously.

"It's the love letter, of course—" Xiaofeng was about to hand it over for Li Xiangcao to admire when a sudden gust of night wind swept in and blew the "love letter" away!

"Ah! My love letter!" Xiaofeng lunged forward to grab the fluttering paper, only to be yanked back by a strong hand grasping his collar.

"What are you doing?!" Xiaofeng whipped his head around and roared at Mister Shen, who had grabbed him.

"If you fall off, there's no saving you," Mister Shen said calmly. "After all, none of us have mastered flight skills."

"My ass I don't have wind elements!" Xiaofeng yelled back. "If I want to fly, I fly!"

"We're tens of thousands of meters in the air right now; feel free to test your theory if you're eager to die." Mister Shen smiled.

"This..."

Xiaofeng hesitated for a moment, then plopped back down into his seat.

"Young man, you grew up in the Imperial City, didn't you?" Mister Shen paused. "You've probably never taken an airship to other continents, have you?"

"Nope." Xiaofeng shook his head. "Though my family is well-off, my folks never let me run around outside."

"Ahem, I knew it!" Mister Shen coughed twice. "Trying to rely on wind elements to fly at tens of thousands of meters high—you probably have no idea how vast the airspace truly is."

"I really don't." Xiaofeng shook his head. "My theoretical classes were taught by that bastard Schrödinger, so I didn't learn a damn thing."

"Haha, then let old man here give you a brief lecture." Mister Shen began to recount smoothly, "Our world consists of five major continents and countless floating islands.

"The Imperial City is located on the largest continent, which is the Main Continent; to its east lies the Parallel Airspace, referred to as the Eastern Continent or the Immortal Spirit Continent; heading north across the Floating Cloud Bridge brings you to the Dragon Continent; and there are the Western Regions and the South Pole, just waiting for youngsters like you to pioneer!"

"Sigh, your lecture is way more interesting than that guy Schrödinger's." Xiaofeng shrugged. "I'll pay you ten times the salary, how about you replace him as an instructor?"

"Haha, the young man jokes." Mister Shen sighed deeply. "At my advanced age, I can only sweep floors and clean up; teaching is out of the question!"

"Why so pessimistic! One should be vigorous in their twilight years." Xiaofeng said helplessly, then turned his head and asked, "By the way, classmate Xiangcao, where is your hometown?"

"Me?"

Li Xiangcao, who had been listening attentively, raised her head.

"Yeah." Xiaofeng nodded.

"A place where happiness and suffering coexist," Li Xiangcao paused, and then declared:

"Dragon Tooth Island!"