Chapter Sixty-Three

“…I suppose you could say it was something I’d considered for a long time.”
Yu Xiaomin paused in thought, then continued, “Books are the ladder of human progress—a saying that applies just as well to dragons.”
“Though dragons are ancient and extraordinary beings, highly intelligent, they are still shaped by the times and environment of this world. Their perspective and knowledge are, in fact, quite limited.”
“When I interacted with the black dragon, I discovered it was surprisingly eager to learn… This is hardly odd, after all, since knowledge is the most delicious and sweetest spiritual nourishment for any intelligent creature!”
“So I thought, why not use the wealth of knowledge accumulated by humanity to broaden the black dragon’s horizons, help it build a proper worldview, values, and philosophy of life, to turn it into a progressive, modern dragon—one that can find a worthy path for itself and realize its potential?”
“…”
Wang Xiaobing said, “Thank you, Researcher Yu Xiaomin, for your wonderful answer. We sincerely hope the black dragon will enjoy this special gift, come to understand our culture better, and we welcome it to visit our country often in the future.”
…
“Hahaha… I can’t stop laughing! The keeper’s move was just brilliant—giving elementary school textbooks to a dragon as a gift!”
“Exactly… Probably just another harebrained idea from some clueless leader, making the keeper take the fall!”
“Still, you have to admire how the keeper managed to spout such nonsense with a straight face. So many of our own students don’t like studying, and yet we expect a dragon to enjoy reading? That’s just hilarious!”
“Seriously, the most ridiculous part is that they also gave it ‘The Wealth of Nations’ and ‘Das Kapital.’ Do they really think a dragon can understand or relate to those?
Let’s not forget, dragons are the greatest exploiters of the other world, and yet someone’s pushing for it to join the revolution—whose revolution, exactly? Its own?”
…
On a major online forum, spectators were once again gleefully debating the situation.
“…So they’re really going to release the black dragon. I didn’t see that coming. Sure, dragon’s blood is useless to us now, but that doesn’t mean it always will be.”
“Just letting such a big dragon go… what a shame.”
Some users expressed regret. Even though the Academy of Sciences had repeatedly debunked the rumors with ample evidence that dragon’s blood and flesh are highly toxic, many still refused to give up on the fantasy of tasting dragon meat or blood.
“Come on, why are you so surprised? Making a loss for the sake of appearances—putting on a brave face—has always been our specialty when dealing with outsiders!”

Some users went right for the jugular, “What did the black dragon really do? Ate a few dozen tons of meat, caused us a few hundred million in damages…”
“No big deal. For the sake of our reputation and to show our country’s generosity, even if it had done ten times worse, we’d still send it home with ceremony and invite it back next time!”
“Why the sarcasm? America’s already out of the picture, and you’re still trying to stir up trouble here!”
Others couldn’t stand it and responded sharply, “Yes, the black dragon caused us some economic loss, but don’t forget the tremendous help it provided to our research. It contributed at least a dozen liters of dragon’s blood and several scales—materials more precious than money! All things considered, we didn’t really lose out.”
“Heh… So you agree those are precious materials. Then why release the dragon? Wouldn’t it be better to keep the whole dragon for ourselves?”
“Better? That just shows your lack of vision. Never mind how valuable the friendship of a dragon is—if we imprisoned it and word got out, do you think any other dragons or extraordinary beings would ever want to befriend us or do business with our country again?”
“Heh, befriending extraordinary beings… Who’s really being short-sighted here? Different classes, different positions, and vastly different ideologies. Are you sure they’ll truly be our friends?”
“Even if not friends, it’s still better than being enemies!”
“If the friendship is unequal, I’d rather they be our enemies! At least then we can abandon our illusions sooner, face reality, and focus on building up our own strength!”
“You think just building up can dominate a high-magic world? That’s naive!”
“It’s still better than mindlessly flattering extraordinary beings! At least that way, we might have a fighting chance!”
“That’s exactly the sort of dangerous leftist opportunism we must avoid!”
“And you’re just a weak rightist appeaser!”
…
As the argument heated up, others hurried to mediate,
“Alright, alright, enough fighting. Let’s watch the livestream—the black dragon’s about to appear!”
…
The truck carrying the black dragon rolled slowly into Border Gate Number Two.
The entire process was quiet. There was no release ceremony, no commemorative photos—just a brief stop for the national broadcaster’s crew to film some close-up shots before heading toward the barrier.

Wang Xiaobing felt a pang of regret as she watched the black dragon about to cross the border. Earlier, the military liaison had told her that, if the black dragon woke up, she’d be given a few minutes for an interview.
An interview with the black dragon!
That would be a first!
Although the national broadcast had shown the black dragon had mastered some of the language, for safety reasons, the media had never been permitted to interview a dragon up close.
If the black dragon had been awake just now, Wang Xiaobing would have been the first journalist to ever interview a dragon!
Unfortunately, the dragon was critically depleted of magic and had fallen into a deep coma, causing Wang Xiaobing to miss her chance at a major scoop.
The director had already switched the feed to the other side of the border. To broadcast the entire release live, the national broadcaster had spared no expense, setting up a dozen or more specialized high-definition cameras in advance. After this, most of them would be scrapped.
“Come on, let’s find a spot to watch the livestream. I want to see how powerful the black dragon becomes once it recovers in a land rich with magical elements!”
Wang Xiaobing said to her cameraman.
“Sister Wang! Look over there!”
But the cameraman didn’t move; instead, he excitedly motioned to her to look in a certain direction.
Following his gaze, Wang Xiaobing saw Yu Xiaomin!
Dressed in protective gear, he was walking toward the pickup loaded with books.
Wang Xiaobing’s heart leapt. Realizing what was happening, she dashed over, calling out as she ran, “Researcher Yu, please wait!”
Thankfully, Yu Xiaomin heard her. Seeing it was Wang Xiaobing, he paused and waited, then asked curiously, “Reporter Wang, is there something I can help you with?”