Chapter Ninety-Three: The Higher-Ups

“The specific reaction…”

The Black Dragon felt it through carefully and said, “These radioactive elements do seem to have triggered some kind of violent reaction with my body. The organs and tissues they affected have all suffered varying degrees of burns and tears.”

“Still, maybe because the dose wasn’t high enough, all of those symptoms are within a bearable and repairable range. Overall, I’m feeling pretty good right now.”

“If I had to put it in a comparison, I’d say this stuff is a bit like counterfeit liquor. It really does taste awful, and it really does damage your body, but if you actually drink it, it even gives you this strange sort of high.”

After speaking, the Black Dragon could not help taking a few more gulps, and its face first twisted into a pained grimace before it quickly let out a long breath, looking satisfied and exhilarated.

“…”

Academician Ding froze for a few seconds, then hurriedly advised, “Mr. Huang, you should drink less. After all, bad liquor ruins people, and drinking leads to trouble!”

“It’s fine. I know my limits. This little bit won’t take me down.”

The Black Dragon’s eyes were slightly glazed as it said carelessly, “You really have to admit it—having a bit of counterfeit liquor once in a while feels pretty good!”

“You say it’s fine, and then listen to yourself. What nonsense are you talking?” Academician Ding said sternly. “Mr. Huang, before we understand the specific reaction, I suggest you’d better drink less of this.”

As he spoke, he had the staff nearby quickly take away the remaining iridium-192.

“…”

The Black Dragon was a little reluctant, but it did not stop them. After all, it had only gone to its head; its heart and the rest of its organs were still very resistant and very aware of the danger. It treated radioactive elements like a flood of savage beasts, and the rejection reaction was extremely obvious.

“But if it’s only this much, it still seems to be a little lacking. It’s not enough to make my body feel that kind of intense fear and resistance…”

Though its gaze was somewhat blurred, its thinking was still fairly clear, and it could not help asking in confusion.

It had originally thought that radioactive elements would be extremely toxic and threatening to dragons and other extraordinary beings, perhaps even causing terrible consequences like genetic collapse or the crumbling of the soul.

The reason it had come to that conclusion was that its reaction just now, when faced with a higher concentration of iridium-192, had been far too intense—almost as if it had met its natural enemy. Its first instinct had been to run and flee; forget resistance, it had not even had the courage to face it head-on.

The Black Dragon strongly suspected that even if it were confronting a true god, it probably would not have panicked and cowered like that.

It had even begun to speculate that radioactive elements within the country might be some kind of law-based weapon against dragons and other extraordinary beings, capable of ignoring defenses and posing a mortal threat to them.

But after the Black Dragon had truly tasted it, it found that this stuff did not seem nearly as mystical as it had imagined. If it gritted its teeth, it could still endure it.

“Could it be because the concentration isn’t high enough, so it hasn’t produced a qualitative change yet?”

Academician Ding also found it somewhat strange and offered a guess.

“Maybe.”

The Black Dragon thought for a moment and said, “Then how about we try some weapon-grade uranium-235… Don’t get excited. I’m not stupid. Of course I won’t be the one to test it. We can find another extraordinary creature to try it on.”

“Recently, have there been any notorious, utterly wicked extraordinary beings around here? I happen to have time now, so I could consider catching one and bringing it back for public execution, and sentencing it to euthanasia.”

“…”

Academician Ding studied the Black Dragon carefully, then said seriously, “Mr. Huang, be honest with me. Is your hand itching? Do you just want to go out, find an opponent, and pick a fight to blow off some steam?”

“No, no. How could that be? Do I look like that kind of dragon?”

The Black Dragon flatly denied it. “I just want to find out whether radioactive elements are truly a deadly poison to extraordinary beings like us. Otherwise, I’d keep this question bottled up in my heart, and I’d be absolutely miserable.”

“And besides… if such a criminal really does exist, and I go catch it and bring it to justice, wouldn’t that also be contributing to national public order?”

“All right.”

After thinking it over, Academician Ding more or less believed the Black Dragon’s nonsense and said, “To tell you the truth, there really has been an extraordinary creature recently that stirred up a great deal of public anger. Quite a few immigrants in the safe zone have been telling us they hope the country will step in and help them get rid of this menace.”

“What kind of menace?”

The moment it heard there was really work to do and a fight to pick, the Black Dragon immediately perked up. It quickly tucked away its little claws and listened with full attention.

“It seems to be a hellhound.”

Academician Ding replied, “According to an investigation by the intelligence department, this hellhound seems to have been provoked by a werewolf tribe that recently immigrated into the safe zone. Unless every werewolf in that tribe is killed, this hellhound probably won’t let it rest.”

“For that reason, quite a few immigrants from other races have also strongly suggested to our country that this werewolf tribe should be expelled from the safe zone as soon as possible. After all, since they managed to provoke a hellhound, this tribe is clearly burdened with a curse from hell. Even if they escape this calamity, they’ll definitely keep running into trouble in the future.”

“Werewolves?”

The Black Dragon looked puzzled. “If I remember correctly… when we accept and settle immigrants from outside the country, aren’t we mainly considering their racial strengths, so we can develop a high-quality labor force? Werewolves don’t seem to be part of that, do they?”

“They’re not only not very reputable, but their gifts are also rather mediocre. They can’t match minotaurs in strength or stamina, and they can’t compare with kobolds when it comes to digging or mining… They’re basically useless consumer mouths to feed. So why bring them in at all?”

The safe zone controlled by the Summer Kingdom was, of course, not open to just any race. Powerful races like lion-men, trolls, and vampires were clearly not welcome.

“Mr. Huang, werewolves are not actually as worthless as you say.”

Academician Ding smiled and said, “Although they aren’t naturally suited to manual labor, they are quite professional when it comes to being guards or joint patrol officers.”

“Their reputation is indeed poor. People often slap labels like insane and bloodthirsty onto them. But in truth, their sociality and discipline are both quite good. They have keen noses and sharp eyes, and with just a little training, they can become excellent security personnel.”

“We also mainly considered that in the future, our country’s industries overseas will certainly become more numerous, and the scale will certainly become much larger, which will in turn mean ever greater demand in public order and security.”

“So after research from many different angles, we found that the werewolf race does have considerable talent in this area, so we let them migrate here.”