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Chapter 045:  Black Dragon in Despair
This chapter is translated by Hoenimochi, translation checked by Rin, and edited by Mika.
Tang Xun’an held Lu Yan’s finger in his mouth.
Lu Yan didn’t keep pets but was unexpectedly welcomed by stray animals; every time he passed by the large flower bed downstairs of the hospital, there were always three or four cats surrounding and rubbing around his trouser legs.
In an attempt to imitate human behavior, Lu Yan has also tried to touch the chin or head of these little wild cats.
Each time, the kittens would happily show their bellies, cutely asking for more affection—some would even hug his fingers and lick them intimately.
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Lu Yan knew cats had little barbs on their tongues—what he didn’t expect was for Tang Xun’an to have them too, causing the tip of his fingers to itch as the barbs swept over.
Tang Xun’an’s golden pupils were slitted like a cat’s eye; his gaze focused intensely on the man before him.
The breath of [Time] spread from him, causing the vines that bound him to wither and decay, turning to ash as it fell to the ground.
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Ohld qsa psxlsdl yp pzso yp vbl ckt Jyduyd Mall, kv dsvknle vbyv psxlvbkdt oyp oasdt.
“Gald’v usw y twkel qsa vbl Tszu Qse?! Tso nswze vbkp cl?” Rvp vsdl oyp qwzz sq pbsnj, “Zsw nzlyazu byhl vbl cayde sq vbl Tszu Qse sd usw!”
Nw Zyd, “Ms cl bsdlpv, vbl Tszu Qse oydvp vs awzl shla vbl Vszzwvydvp yde clnsxl jkdt. Bdqsavwdyvlzu, vblal yal vss xydu bktb-zlhlz Vszzwvydvp kd vbkp osaze, obknb okzz bkdela bkp rzydp. Fs xu zsae yde xydjkde byhl elnkele vs nssrlayvl yde pktdle y nsdvaynv— “Mbl Sltwzyvksdp sq Vlynlqwz Uslmkpvldnl”—usw’al fwpv vbl qkapv pvlr vs lzkxkdyvkdt vbl ekppkeldvp kd vbl Tszu Qse’p oyu.”
Mbl ckt Jyduyd Mall oyp swvaytle, “Tl ynvwyzzu zlyadle vs clvayu zkjl yd wtzu bwxyd clkdt!”
Mbl Jyduyd Mall oyp ldaytle, zkqvkdt kvp zsdt caydnblp yde pokdtkdt vblx vsoyaep NwZyd.
Tsolhla, clqsal vbl Jyduyd Mall nswze tlv nzspl kv’p caydnblp olal kdvlanlrvle cu y qzypb sq zktbv.
Sle pyr prwavle qasx vbl casjld caydnblp, vbl Jyduyd Mall oyp pvwddle.
Mydt Dwd’yd pralye srld bkp okdtp yde pvsse kd qasdv sq Nw Zyd, “Qs yde bkel, esd’v ts vss qya.”
It was still too dangerous for Lu Yan. There was a high probability of him being affected by their fight if he stayed here.
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The brand of the Holy God had lost its effect, which means if he strays too far, he would have to fight off the other Pollutants that were waiting in the shadows. Lu Yan considered his options briefly before he gave a terse nod and turned away.
The Pollution Disease Prevention and Control Center in P City finally received the long-awaited help signal.
The large number of distress calls from the  past two days finally reached the other side, the backlog was heart-attack inducing—there were even many calls for help sent from the  teaching assistants that were in the field.
The two A-level Enlighteneds stationed in P City immediately took action and entered the botanical garden to assist in the evacuation of the students and field staff.
In the confusion, many Pollutants escaped from the botanical gardens, although their overall pollution value was only three or four thousand, because of the large number of escapees, it was still annoying.
The hiding place Lu Yan chose for himself was a pool.
It had been tested with a detector, and there were no Pollutants in it. The pool was not too big or deep, so it was not a problem for Lu Yan to swim in it.
Water was filtered through the gills behind Lu Yans ears, it was no different from breathing air.
And the water source in nature was much better than the tap water in the Headquarters.
Under the strong request of the System, Lu Yan stuck out half of his head from the pool and looked at the battle in the distance.
[Look at how other people fight, then look at you.]
Tang Xun’an’s fighting style was very similar to a CG movie full of violent aesthetics.
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The big Banyan Tree was enormous; it was an extraordinarily tenacious living being.
Thousands of roots burrowed out of the soil,  these roots were pitch black, looking poisonous with sharp thorns visible on the ends.
It didn’t believe that this human, with a mutation degree as high as 97, dares to use his ability without restraint!
But Tang Xun’an dared.
The roots and swaying branches were cut off one by one, red sap and green leaves falling to the ground. Within half a minute, they withered into yellow mud.
The Banyan Tree roared, “You forced me to do it!”
The main roots of the big Banyan Tree extended far wider than everyone thought, almost the entire P city was within its reach.
It didn’t want to use this ultimate weapon. When it was still a tree, although ignorant and ugly humans always liked to carve on its trunk, the staff of the botanical garden would help to water it and keep pesky insects away. It still had fond memories and quite enjoyed their ministrations.
Tang Xun’an’s sword was deadly, with his ability [Time] attached to each attack, the Banyan Tree continued to lose its vitality.
The Banyan Tree finally had wisdom and life; it did not want to die.
The entire P City  was shaken as tree roots broke free from below.
In the middle of the road, the asphalt was broken apart as thick tree roots rose up, latching on the nearest unsuspecting victim.
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[Ability – Life Extraction]
This unfortunate civilian quickly became part of the Banyan Tree, their vitality sucked dry like sap, forever stuck to the tree root like dry bark.
“This… what is this?!”
The others who witnessed this strange phenomenon covered their mouths, screaming bloody mary as they fled in a hurry.
The ground cracked and buildings collapsed. Many cars that were driving when the roots surged up collided, people attempted to flee, either by vehicle or foot, as cries echoed through the city.
When the researcher standing above on the roof of a tall building witnessed everything, his eyes became dazed.
“Teacher, is this the future we expect?”
He leapt down from the building.
The originally weakening Banyan Tree suddenly gained strength, its aura near bursting with renewed energy.
Tang Xun’an could guess what happened, his expression was particularly unpleasant.
“Damn you.”
A translucent golden yellow flame suddenly appeared on his blade.
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This was the additional ability of the Dragon Bone, [Dragon’s Breath].
It was just that Tang Xun’an hadn’t used this ability for a long time.
The last time he used Dragon’s Breath, he fell into a violent aftermath.
It was another nightmare that, until now, he still did not want to recall.
The golden-flamed blade smashed into the  large tree trunk, a loud sound of gold striking stone resounded, causing the air to tremble faintly.
Majority of the big Banyan’s trunk was evaporated out of thin air by the extreme heat the blade emitted.
Tang Xun’an quickly sheathed his blade, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. With trembling hands, he found the cigarette-like tranquilizer in the innermost layer of his uniform and lit it up.
The big Banyan Tree spat out red sap. Its face was ferocious and twisted as it roared to the sky, “Holy God! You despicable Pollutant! How dare you turn against me and defect to mankind! My spores will carry this message and fly with the wind to all parts of the world and let every Pollutant know of your treason!”
The Banyan Tree spoke its last and fell to the ground heavily.
All around it, the previously dormant white mushrooms exploded with spores in an instant. The concentration of these small particles was so thick that it was like a dense curtain of impenetrable fog had fallen, blocking the sky for a moment.
When a gust of wind blew the spores were carried along towards the rivers and mountains.
After this mighty move,  all the mushrooms in the botanical garden withered and decayed in an instant.
The Holy God, who was sleeping peacefully in the Kingdom of God, suddenly sneezed in its dream.
The distant sound of helicopter blades came from the sky.
Tang Xun’an’s eyes were covered by  blood red tinge, he could vaguely see a human-shaped shadow walking towards him.
Tang Xun’an nose picked out Lu Yan’s scent, but this was the last person he wanted to see right now.
He held his sword  in front of him and roared, “Don’t come here.”
Stay away from me, please.
This clean-up operation and final trainee examination was far more tragic than expected.
A total of 29 trainees died, 11 were seriously injured, 3 teaching assistants died, and 1 senior researcher committed suicide.
More than 700 civilians were killed and another 1,300 were injured in P city.
And to make matters worse, they were unable to locate Subject 07.
It was obvious that there was some misstep that went unnoticed in the middle.
The main headquarters were furious. On the very same day, Gong Weibin, the current director of the First Research Institute, was invited to the bureau for tea.
This matter was still under further investigation.
After Lu Yan returned to the college dormitory, he did not see Tang Xun’an. The other party probably went to write a debriefing report.
Lu Yan ended up with a total of 53.7 student points. When converted into contribution points, it was 53,700.
He got rich overnight, but that’s all.
The headquarters gave up the idea of holding a graduation party because they were afraid that everyone would be too traumatized from the difficulties experienced during the exam. Instead, a memorial service was held.
On Saturday afternoon, Lu Yan dragged his suitcase and prepared to go back to his apartment in K City.
Zhou Qiming said that he was also in City A recently, so he would come to pick him up.
While he was waiting for the car, Instructor Tang, who had been away for a long time, stepped out of another car off to the side.
Tang Xun’an was still dressed in his standard black uniform, even the silver cross on the inner lining tie was not distrubed by the heat of early July.
He walked up to Lu Yan and asked, “Are you going back to K City?”
Lu Yan, “Yes.”
After all, it was quite difficult to get a residency permit in A City.
He also had to go to S City to buy a house in the school district for Director Hu’s grandson.
The atmosphere was silent for a while.
They haven’t seen each other for more than a week. The impulses they had had calmed down.
Lu Yan admitted that he had improper thoughts towards Tang Xun’an — but only to the Tang Xun’an who would grunt and obediently tilt his tail at him.
That was not the man in front of him, from whom he could feel a distinct sense of distance and alienation even from several meters away.
And the current Tang Xun’an would probably never bend to wrap his tail around him like the 19 years old Tang Xun’an did, or rub against him in his arms. After all, he was a grown man and had his own sense of pride.
Lu Yan suddenly asked, “Did the things in the dream really happen?”
Tang Xun’an lowered his eyes and replied in a low voice, “It happened, but there is no you in the past reality.”
Sadly, the severe pain after the transplant surgery and the fear of being treated as a monster were what he experienced in full despair. Moreover, reality, Tang Xun’an was forced to overcome them all alone.
“What happened to Professor Qiao in the end?”
“His lover saved him, and at the last moment, it was also Professor Qiao who saved me.”
Otherwise, he might have been voted as a threat and euthanised.
Tang Xun’an knew everything.
Lu Yan thought about it and said, “I will keep it a secret.”
“I…”
Tang Xun’an wanted to say something else, but a car horn suddenly cut him off.
Lu Yan turned his head and saw Zhou Qiming driving a pink convertible, honking his horn wildly on the street, head hanging from the window as he grinned, “Yanyan! I’m here to pick you up!”
After speaking, Zhou Qiming waved his hand and raised a banner with white characters on a vibrant red background.
—[Congratulations to my husband Lu Yan for successfully graduating in first place!]
Behind him, the colored banners that the Detective and Chen Shi’er put up at the same time were exceedingly festive and lively for a while.
Lu Yan, “…”
System, [Pfft. Well, it looks like your first love is over before it even begins. ]
Tang Xun’an doesn’t normally express many emotions,  but at this moment, a look of astonishment appeared on his face.
He looked at Lu Yan and wanted to ask, but Lu Yan just averted his eyes.
Tang Xun’an was not stupid, he already knew the answer.
So, he gripped his sword in his hand and pursed his lips, “…I still have work to do, I won’t send you off.”
After speaking, without waiting for Lu Yan to answer, he turned and left.
Walking unexpectedly hastily, like a deserter.
System, [It’s obviously a movie of three people~~I still can’t~~have a name~~~~~]1
“Shut up.” Lu Yan whispered angrily.
After all, what happened in the dream was fake.
[The dream is false, but the feelings are real.] The System sighed, [I heard that dragons have two chirps, don’t you want to try it? ]
“I don’t want to at all, thank you.” Lu Yan replied blankly, “And there aren’t two, you shouldn’t listen to rumors.”
The System’s tone was suddenly full of shock, [What?! How do you know better than me?!]
Lu Yan didn’t bother to reply, instead, he started towards Zhou Qiming, asking when he reached the car, “What are you holding?”
He was referring to the word “husband” on the banner.
“On our side,” Zhou Qiming replied confidently, “Sisters call each other husbands! Unless you want me to call you wife? It’s not impossible either.”
Lu Yan, “…”
He kind of felt like hitting someone.
“Is there a problem?”
Lu Yan, “…None.”
Zhou Qiming opened the car door very enthusiastically, “Come, Gege will take you to a nice restaurant! By the way, who were you talking to just now? He looked tall and handsome.”
After speaking, Zhou Qiming looked above Lu Yan’s head subconsciously.
Because of his ability [Virtual World], he is able to view their “title” that only he could see, as long as they get within a certain distance of himself.
After a while, he took off his sunglasses incredulously, unable to hold back a curse, “What have you been doing in this training?!”
The title above a person’s head could change at any time, but generally, there was only one.
Lu Yan actually had two titles this time, one of which was a golden title with the highest rarity!
[Dragon Taming Master]
[Evil Cult Terminator (Intermediate)]
The last time Zhou Qiming saw a golden title was when he passed by Tang Xun’an at the Headquarters of the Prevention and Control Center in A City.
Zhou Qiming thought for a moment.
Tang Xun’an’s title seemed to be…[Black Dragon in Despair]?*
The author has something to say:
*Tang Xun’an’s dragon wings are from Nidhogg. Nidhogg means “despair.” In Norse mythology, it was a black dragon that rests at the bottom of the world tree and constantly gnaws at the world tree’s roots. When the roots are eaten, the tree of the world decays and the world perishes.
“How I Chased My Wife in Half a Minute” by Tang Xun’an
Book Introduction: (written by Xiao Tian)
I’ve been practicing blade for 100 years at the Headquarters, and my heart was as cold as my blade. Men only affect the speed of my blade.
If Lu Yan asked me to fall in love, just forget I said it.