Chapter 125: The Investigation Report of the Unknown Ancient Dragon.
Following the earlier alarm bells, the investigators prioritized their work within the base to gather and set out more efficiently. Meanwhile, the commander paced back and forth on the deck of the ship, occasionally staring at the distant forest, fearing he might miss a signal from the team leader.
Instead of sending more people out to investigate, he chose to wait with trust—just waiting. And while no signal came, the team leader returned.
The exploration team, led by the team leader, looked like they’d been through a gold rush, carrying heaps of golden ore on their backs.
“Hum?”
The investigators gathered around them in amazement, except for the commander, who crossed his arms, raised an eyebrow, and let out a disdainful hum.
“Cough… Has everyone had dinner? Gather everyone.”
The team leader scratched his head, still weighed down by the gold, as were the rest of the exploration team.
With the bell ringing, everyone gathered on the deck of the Starship, dumbfounded by the sight of the brought-back gold.
Apart from serving as evidence of their investigation, it was clear that bringing back so much gold wasn’t greed—it was because gold is a heavy metal. Moreover, the gold found on the ancient dragon likely held other valuable uses. The team leader was even prepared to organize another expedition the next day to collect more.
Whether to boost morale or for future connections between the New Continent and the Old Continent, collecting more gold would surely be advantageous.
On that flat terrain, the amount of gold shed during the battle between the unknown ancient dragon and the spiny dragon could fill the entire Starship. How it managed this feat was anyone’s guess.
“Meow?”
At this moment, Chef Cat Leader spotted Smoky Snow Weasel atop the mountain, looking rather dirty, probably after some wild adventures.
Before she could take him to bathe, Jié Jié hopped onto the deck of the Starship, beginning his observation of the investigation team.
Down below the mountain near the investigation base, the Ancient Dragon Person gazed at the ship perched high on the peak, murmuring in surprise. He understood the shape and purpose of a ship but couldn’t fathom why one would be built on a mountain.
“Well, now it’s time to talk about what the exploration team discovered in the forest.”
Once everyone was assembled, the team leader patted the shoulder of the exploration captain, signaling for the discoverer to speak.
The captain, well-prepared during the journey back, recounted everything—from the earthquake to the boiling ground, describing the colossal golden monster and its scorching winds.
In the end, they expressed regret for losing their target and not encountering the Lord of the Tree Sea for battle.
Regret was the cost, but discovery was the reward.
“A monster capable of destroying ecosystems yet bestowing blessings, appearing so regal, truly deserves our respect as ‘Dì Mǔ Shén.’”
The team leader laughed, wrapping up the story.
Though imagining Dì Mǔ Shén as an old mountain dragon in a golden dress was challenging, it didn’t stop him from giving everyone a beautiful fantasy.
Everyone listened captivated, filled with imaginings of the mysterious Golden Ancient Dragon. Humanity always progresses with idealistic ambition.
While objective descriptions may be precise, many details require subjective interpretation.
After the subjective narrative ended, it was time for detailed reports. Scholars occasionally posed questions, linking subjective thoughts to actual witness accounts.
Considering both subjective ideas and actual sightings made the records complete.
As more details emerged, ecological researchers handed paper and pens to the exploration team, letting them sketch outlines.
Finally, a vivid depiction of Dì Mǔ Shén appeared on the page.
“Hmm?”
So, it wasn’t an old mountain dragon in a golden dress?
The blonde man stared at the giant dragon resembling a golden mountain on the paper, stroking his chin and finally banishing the bizarre image from his mind.
“The horns of ancient dragons often have special powers; I wonder if ‘Dì Mǔ Shén’s’ horns are the same.”
The scholar muttered, pushing his glasses up and inserting the illustration into a book.
“Next, there’s another matter—the natives of the New Continent, the elderly dragon person you saw.”
“With the build of a dragon person, long pointed ears, and backward-bent feet, what about facial features?”
One of the few dragon people in the investigation team, a hunter of the Dragon People Tribe, pondered this.
Meanwhile, the technician was more interested in the gold but still paid attention with his ears perked.
“Somewhat darker than common elderly dragon people, partially obscured, making further details unclear. Unfortunately, he seemed unwilling to communicate with us.”
The team leader compared the scholar’s elderly face to the one he vaguely remembered seeing.
“What do you think?”
“Sigh, even we don’t fully understand the mysteries of our own race. Perhaps they really are our cousins in the New Continent.”
The technician turned from examining the golden ore and spoke.
“Monsters have related species, and humans vary across regions with different appearances and cultures—dragon people and beast people alike. If confirmed as dragon people, that would be great.”
Dragon people are generally peaceful. From a standpoint, they wouldn’t interfere with the investigation team’s mission.
“Of course, matters of race are best left to the individual’s self-identification.”
The scholar looked at the dragon person hunter, who was only around a hundred years old.
“I’ll observe carefully when I meet him.”
The dragon person hunter nodded, accepting this important task for the Dragon People Tribe.
“Speaking of these ores…”
Seeing they had finished discussing the natives, the technician rubbed his hands together.
More interested in their metallic properties than their value as gold, the knowledgeable old dragon person technician wasn’t just a tech expert and inventor—he could also transform into a geologist and was skilled in metallurgy.
“Alright, take them down for smelting. This is also part of ecological research. If they can serve purposes beyond being gold, that’d be ideal.”
The team leader agreed.
Gold was useless to them, far from the society of the original continent. It wasn’t even sturdy enough for nails and currently wasn’t as good as iron.
“Our reserves of gold along the way are plentiful. I hope tomorrow we can organize a group to collect more.”
But then again, this was the gold from the ancient dragon’s back, which might hold significance in alchemy.
“Manpower… let’s pause construction work for a day. Everyone can go prospecting for gold and relax tomorrow.”
The commander furrowed his brow, then relaxed and smiled.
This could also function as a large-scale exploration mission, possibly leading to discoveries beyond gold.
