Dragon Clan: Starting with the Azure Dragon Fruit

The air conditioning in the corner coffee shop was blasting.

Lin Yuan pushed open the glass door, and accompanied by the clear sound of the copper bell on the top of the door, he walked straight to where Chu Zihang was sitting.

As he passed the bar, he snapped his fingers at the waiter inside, frantically searching his meager repertoire of Chinglish: "Two ice cola, more ice, very more ice!"

Nono, who had just followed in, stumbled and touched her forehead, somewhat speechless.

She quickly stepped forward and, trying to smooth things over, said to the bewildered waiter, "Two iced colas with extra ice, please. Thanks."

After waiting at the counter for a while and getting the drinks, Nono came over with two cups of iced cola.

She handed Lin Yuan a cup and then naturally sat down next to him.

Lin Yuan took the cola and took a big gulp. The stimulating sensation of the carbonation in his throat made him squint his eyes comfortably.

He freed his other hand, took out his notebook from behind his back, and placed it on the table.

"It seems to be going smoothly?" Chu Zihang looked at the notebook in front of him.

"It went quite smoothly." Lin Yuan leaned back in his chair, looking relaxed.

"After finding the shop as Gao Yuan said, we played rock-paper-scissors with the owner for a while, and he told us everything."

Hearing that they had played "rock, paper, scissors" for a while, Nono, who was drinking cola, imagined the bald boss being lifted into the air with one hand and getting hit with three heavy punches.

She couldn't help but burst out laughing, her shoulders trembling as she did so.

Chu Zihang was slightly taken aback.

His gaze swept back and forth between Lin Yuan and Nuonuo twice, scrutinizing the two with suspicion.

Before going to the black market, they disliked each other and were full of resistance. How come they have developed an inexplicable tacit understanding in their every move after returning?

This subtle change in atmosphere naturally did not escape Young Master Chu's notice.

However, he was always someone who kept his gossipy nature hidden. Although he felt something was off, he spoke of serious matters.

"That's good. How's the situation now?"

When Chu Zihang brought up serious matters, the two of them immediately dropped their joking expressions.

"The situation is not optimistic." Nono's expression turned serious.

“We found out the details of that batch of drugs on the black market. The mastermind behind the distribution was the Sackler family, a mixed-race family from the United States.”

Chu Zihang frowned slightly. Although he did not know that the Sackler family was a mixed-race family, the financial group it represented was already well-known. He regretted his promise to Lin Yuan not to notify the academy first.

"Is the Sackler family, a long-established conglomerate, now also making money by selling illegal drugs?"

"Make my ass off." Lin Yuan leaned back in his chair and sneered, tapping his finger on the notebook on the table.

"They are using desperate people as guinea pigs for live experiments."

Nono continued, "According to the bald boss's confession, when the Sackler family gave him the medicine, they required him to record in detail the name, address, and frequency of use of each person who bought the medicine. Once someone bought the sixth bottle, it had to be reported immediately."

"Is the sixth bottle the critical point?" Chu Zihang immediately realized.

"Correct."

"After consuming the sixth bottle, the concentration of dragon blood in the body will exceed the limit, and the genes may collapse at any time, turning the individual into a monster."

Nono opened her notebook, turned to the page with the folded corner, and pushed it in front of Chu Zihang: "The biggest trouble now is this. This morning, a woman named Amei just bought her sixth bottle of medicine."

Chu Zihang's gaze fell on the hastily written notes in the notebook, and the address registered at the back.

“A shady pub…” Chu Zihang looked up, the scene from that morning flashing through his mind.

"Is it the middle-aged woman we bumped into on the stairs this morning?"

“Yes, the source of all this should be her.” Lin Yuan rested his elbows on the table, his previous laziness gone.

Once the target was identified, even the faint smell of blood on her body earlier became a plausible explanation.

“I think so too,” Nono said with a serious expression.

"She's already on her sixth bottle of the drug, which means her genes are on the verge of collapse. She's currently in a transitional phase of 'Deadpool'."

Facing Chu Zihang's slightly questioning gaze, Nuonuo continued to explain: "During the day, human consciousness can still barely hold on, so she can barely maintain a normal human form to go to work. But once night falls, the dragon blood's desire for evolution turns into a feeling of hunger."

"Ordinary food simply cannot satisfy this kind of hunger. Think about it, what do the three previous victims have in common?"

Chu Zihang's gaze fell back on the notebook, sweeping over the familiar names of the deceased: "They were all taking this kind of medicine."

“That’s right,” Nono replied.

"Those low-level undocumented workers in Chinatown who are still taking drugs all have some inferior dragon blood deposited in their bodies. In Ah Mei's eyes, they have a fatal attraction."

After hearing this, Chu Zihang glanced at the sky outside and immediately made a decision: "Let's go back to Chinatown first and check on Amei's house. If she is still conscious, we'll take her into custody first and then make further plans."

After leaving the coffee shop, the group didn't linger and took a taxi directly back to the cafe.

The second-floor corridor was so quiet it felt somewhat oppressive.

Chu Zihang walked in front, tiptoeing all the way to Amei's room.

He put his ear to the door to listen to the sounds inside, then turned around, preparing to wait for Lin Yuan to break down the door again.

But he saw Lin Yuan standing behind him, pausing for two seconds with his eyes closed, before shaking his head at him.

"No need to bother, she hasn't come back since she left this morning."

After saying that, he turned and walked outside. Now that he was certain that Amei was the murderer, there was no point in spending time exploring her house.

Chu Zihang was stunned for a moment, and he and Nuonuo exchanged a glance. Although they were both surprised by Lin Yuan's ability to see through walls, they didn't ask any questions because of the trust they had built up over the past two days, and they decisively followed him.

"Where do we go now? Just wander around Chinatown and wait for her to appear?" Nono asked, quickly following behind.

"Let's get something to eat first, then go buy some useful tools," Lin Yuan suggested. Last time, he used a fire axe to deal with Xiong Yi, so since they had time to prepare this time, they should at least choose a suitable tool.

Chu Zihang nodded in agreement: "Using firearms in this place is too conspicuous, and my knife wasn't shipped over either, so we definitely need to arm ourselves first."

The three of them grabbed a bite at a random little shop on the street.

After dinner, as dusk approached, the shops on both sides of the street were preparing to close due to the recent series of incidents, fearing they might get into some trouble that night.

They rushed inside just before a grocery store on the street corner pulled down its shutters.

Chapter 46 A Hero Descends from the Sky (Fourth Update! Please Read On!)

The store was filled with a faint scent of sandalwood.

The owner was a thin old man, and he had already started taking inventory of the counters.

He glanced up at the three well-dressed Asian young men, assuming they were just tourists who had stumbled upon the place by mistake.

"Hey handsome, we're already closed." The owner waved his hand, speaking with a heavy Cantonese accent.

"If you want to buy any souvenirs, come back tomorrow."

"We'll be quick. We'll pick out a few knives, buy them, and leave," Chu Zihang stepped forward and stated his purpose directly.

The boss was initially a little impatient, but his gaze lingered on Chu Zihang.

Although the young man was dressed simply, his aura emanating from within clearly indicated that he was a wealthy young master who didn't lack money. Having been in business for so many years, he rarely misjudged people.

There's no reason to turn away a fat sheep that's delivered to your door.

The boss immediately changed his expression and swallowed back his words about kicking them out.

He turned around, took a long knife from the shelf behind the counter, and mysteriously promoted it: "Then you've come to the right place. Look at this, a good piece that's been around for a while! Look at the blood groove, look at the pattern, I don't usually take this out for just anyone."

Chu Zihang took the knife, gripped the hilt with one hand, and flicked his finger along the spine of the blade.

"Ding"

A slightly muffled sound echoed in the store.

Chu Zihang looked at the blade and commented, "It's made of modern high-carbon steel with a blood groove stamped by a machine tool. The pattern on the blade is a Damascus pattern created by acid washing. It's neither old nor a high-quality piece."

The boss was stunned by the somewhat harsh comment, his mouth agape and he stood there dumbfounded. Just as he was about to make some excuse, he saw Chu Zihang casually twirl the knife and weigh it in his hand.

"But the feel is alright, and the material is sturdy enough. It's exactly what we need." Chu Zihang took out a Franklin note from his pocket and placed it on the counter.

Lin Yuan didn't listen to their bargaining at all. His gaze swept over the weapon shelf by the wall, and he casually picked up a single Tang sword with a black sheath.

The handle is just the right size for one hand to grip, the blade is straight, and the center of gravity is slightly forward.

This shape perfectly matches the katana he's most comfortable using in the pirate world.

Lin Yuan pressed his thumb against the hilt of the knife and gave it a gentle push.

With a "click," the blade was pushed out half an inch.

However, there was no sudden flash of cold light, and the blade was even a bit dull.

Chu Zihang glanced at it sideways and reminded him, "This kind of process steel used for display is generally not very hard."

"It'll do, it's just a consumable anyway." Lin Yuan casually drew the knife, made two feints in mid-air, and tested its weight.

For him, as long as he covers himself with Armament Haki, even if he's holding an iron pipe, he can unleash deadly power.

Whether the knife itself is good or not is not that important.

Nono rummaged around for a while and finally pulled out a solid baseball bat from under the shelf. She had left the one she used at Ding Yaozu's house, so she was just replenishing it here.

She weighed it in her hand a couple of times, popped the bubble in her mouth, and said, "I'll use this then, since I'll just be playing a support role anyway."

Listening to the three of them openly discussing things like "hardness" and "consumables," the boss instinctively sensed something was amiss.

He glanced warily at the three young men and couldn't help but probe, "Young men, what are you going to do with all this knives, guns, and clubs you've bought?"

Chu Zihang took out two more Franklins from his wallet and placed them on the counter: "The school club is rehearsing a play and needs props."

The boss looked at him with a skeptical expression.

However, when their gaze fell on the lush green Franklin and they looked at the three of them, they really didn't look like those troublemaking gangsters at all.

As long as there's money to be made, he deftly put the money into the drawer and wisely kept quiet.

……

At the same time, in the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant.

Gao Yuan leaned against the greasy door frame, panting heavily.

He's in a terrible state right now.

It felt like ants were crawling all over my body, and I ached everywhere. The fatigue from working three jobs non-stop for a long time was now coming back to haunt me.

His hand unconsciously reached for his pants pocket again; this was the sixth time today.

Whenever he felt he couldn't hold on any longer, he wished he could swallow two pills.

But at this moment, Lin Yuan's warning from earlier that day would always resurface in his mind.

"Your corpse might be the one they collect next."

Gao Yuan shivered and withdrew his hand. He gritted his teeth and calculated in his mind that he had at least made eight hundred US dollars for free these past two days because of that cold-faced rich young master.

With this windfall, I can simply go to that shady clinic that doesn't require identification tomorrow and spend some money to get a proper checkup.

All we need to do right now is get through tonight.

In order to get some rest as soon as possible, he reluctantly turned down his work at the office building that evening, eagerly anticipating that he could go back and relax as soon as the restaurant closed.

But things didn't go as planned.

Just before closing time, a few foreigners came in.

After a few bottles of beer, the group seemed to be quite drunk. They didn't order any more food, just chatted loudly in the restaurant and refused to leave.

Gao Yuan could only endure his aching body and wait on the side.

By the time this group finished paying and left, it was already an hour later than when they got off work yesterday.

Chinatown was unusually quiet at this time, with most shops already closed.

Looking at the dark streets around him, Gao Yuan suddenly had thoughts of the series of murders that had occurred in Chinatown over the past two weeks.

The old street I usually walk on had an inexplicable eeriness tonight.

He even felt as if a pair of eyes were staring at him in the darkness.

The feeling of being stared at reached its peak as I passed through a narrow alleyway.

Gao Yuan felt a chill run down his spine and turned around abruptly, but there was nothing there except a row of crooked trash cans.