Dragon Clan: Starting with the Azure Dragon Fruit

“I would like to take this opportunity to formally invite you both to join us on behalf of Kassel College.”

Lin Yuan noticed that Chu Zihang, the expressionless man who had been playing the background role the whole time, paused his breathing slightly when he heard that he was joining Kassel College.

Even though his face remained expressionless and indifferent, Lin Yuan saw through him. This guy had definitely heard of this place before and had an undisguised and intense desire to join that academy.

Instead of accepting Miranda's invitation, he followed up by asking tentatively, "If I join your academy, will I have to deal with these kinds of monsters every day?"

Now that it has been confirmed that this monster can serve as nourishment for the Azure Dragon Fruit, he must find out whether this so-called academy is a super organization that allows him to hunt without restraint.

Chapter 11 Word Power

But when Miranda heard this, it took on a completely different meaning, and she asked, "Do you have to deal with this kind of monster every day?"

That must be because they are filled with fear of the future!

This is a rare mixed-race genius; I absolutely cannot scare him away.

She waved her hands repeatedly, soothingly saying in a gentle tone, "Don't be nervous, don't be nervous! Don't be intimidated by the scene tonight. Although our academy implements military-style management, we absolutely respect individual career plans."

"Students are not forced to fight on the front lines. Many people shine in logistics and research positions. If you hate this kind of fighting, you can choose an administrative major. After graduation, you can stay in the school office, enjoy the air conditioning and coffee, and organize historical archives. It's safe and reliable!"

To reassure Lin Yuan, she continued to offer reassurance: "Even if you get carried away and insist on joining the Execution Department in the future, you generally don't need to consider field missions until after you graduate from your senior year. The college's higher-ups aren't crazy; who would send a freshman straight to the battlefield?"

The glimmer of hope that had just ignited in Lin Yuan's eyes visibly dimmed.

So we have to take four more years of academic courses? That's such a hassle.

He raised his chin listlessly, his gaze sweeping over Miranda from head to toe: "So what's going on with you now? Didn't you just say you were only a junior in college?"

Miranda was quite taken aback by those words. The aura she had painstakingly built up was completely exposed by his words.

She awkwardly ground the pebbles on the ground with the tip of her shoe, her eyes darting around: "My situation... is a special case. It's because I failed 'Dragon Genealogy' last semester, and to avoid repeating a year, I'm doing fieldwork to earn some credits to make up for the shortfall in my academic courses..."

She abruptly stopped speaking halfway through her sentence.

No, no, I'm here representing Kassel College to recruit new students. How can I reveal all my past mistakes—failing grades, working odd jobs to make up for lost credits—?

After listening to Miranda's explanation, Lin Yuan stood quietly in place, his mind quickly processing all the intelligence he had gathered that night.

Without a doubt, he was in an unknown world where a supernatural group called "hybrids" existed, as well as a huge transnational organization like the Kassel College.

And this blonde woman in front of him was extending an olive branch. For him, who was currently worried about where to find experience packs to level up his Azure Dragon Fruit, this was a perfect opportunity.

However, if you want to curry favor with someone, you have to first consider how strong that person is.

He subtly shifted his gaze back to Miranda, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.

This woman just brazenly said that the fat man who turned into Deadpool was originally her target.

However, according to my Observation Haki, her internal energy wasn't strong, and her breathing rhythm was normal. Her strength seemed a bit too weak.

Putting aside her eye-catching figure, just looking at her muscle density, let alone comparing her to the masters of the One Piece world, if she were given a little time to recover, a casual basic attack would be enough to knock her down on the spot.

Lin Yuan glanced at the corpse not far away. He had just personally cut off the monster's neck and knew how hard those bluish-gray scales were.

If Miranda were to face that out-of-control hybrid alone tonight, she would most likely be torn to pieces by that monster.

So what exactly does she rely on to target that out-of-control mixed-race person?

Lin Yuan asked directly, "I have one last question. You said this out-of-control hybrid was originally your target, but I noticed you weren't carrying any firearms. So how did you originally plan to deal with him?"

Miranda suddenly realized that she had been underestimated! The other party was doubting whether what she had just said was really true.

It was beneath her to not activate her Golden Eyes earlier; now, words alone wouldn't be enough to gain people's trust. She decided to show off her real skills.

Not only to prove that she was one of their "kind," but also to save face for her as a senior in college.

“That’s right. You’ve just awakened and don’t understand the true fighting style of hybrids. Physical attributes are only part of our strength. Our real trump card is a supernatural ability that comes with us from the depths of our bloodline, which we call ‘Word Power’.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she threw out the ball of "yin lightning" that she had compressed in her right palm before entering the room.

The compressed air mass left a distorted, transparent trail in mid-air before crashing into an abandoned gasoline drum a few meters away.

"boom!"

A deafening thud echoed through the factory.

The shockwave kicked up a cloud of dust, the oil drum dented and twisted inward, flew seven or eight meters away, crashed into the supporting column, and kicked up a large cloud of choking smoke.

As the smoke and dust slowly dissipated, Miranda put her slightly trembling right hand behind her back, while her left hand subtly massaged the web between the thumb and index finger of her right hand.

The recoil from that moment left half of her arm numb and sore, but she still tried her best to maintain a calm and composed demeanor, as if overturning an oil drum was nothing more than casually flicking off cigarette ash.

"See that?" She raised her chin.

"This is our hybrid race's primary means of combat: 'Word of Power'."

Seeing the two people opposite her remain silent, Miranda comfortably took their silence as shock and admiration.

She straightened her back, thoroughly enjoying herself, and decided to take the opportunity to educate these two naive prospective juniors about what "Word Spirit" is: "You can think of 'Word Spirit' as a talent that comes with the awakening of one's bloodline."

"Ordinary people's language is only used to convey information, but the language of the dragon race is the authority to directly command this world."

"When the dragon blood in a hybrid reaches a certain critical point, they can hear those ancient syllables deep in their minds. As long as they chant them through specific resonance, they can unleash all sorts of abilities, and even temporarily tamper with the laws of nature to create domains."

Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow. This setting sounded pretty domineering. Being able to use various abilities just through language made him wish he were a hybrid. After all, no one would complain about having too many cheat codes.

Seeing that her demonstration had gone exceptionally well, Miranda turned to Lin Yuan, her emerald green eyes gleaming with inquiry: "Since you awakened your bloodline at the brink of life and death, calm down and carefully sense whether you've noticed any special abilities you've gained?"

Lin Yuan glanced at the iron bucket. He had eaten a Devil Fruit and had no dragon blood at all.

But even if you have to make something up, you still have to come up with a skill to deal with the situation.

You can't just say that you're incredibly strong and that given enough time to develop, you'll be able to split the ocean in one stroke. That would be too far-fetched.

Chapter 12 The Giant Wave That Had Been Waiting All Night

Since this so-called "word power" ability is also diverse, and he had previously tested the Azure Dragon Fruit's control over fire elements, Lin Yuan planned to try something different this time, and try lightning.

He then feigned hesitation, his brows furrowing slightly, as if recalling some feeling.

"Special abilities... I think I have a little bit."

A wisp of blue-green electric arc appeared out of thin air from Lin Yuan's fingertips.

Immediately afterwards, a second and a third electric arc rose up in succession, weaving and entwining between the five fingers.

The deep blue light illuminated his golden eyes, which seemed to flow with molten lava.

Miranda was stunned.

Although her incantation is called "Yin Lei" (meaning "Shadow Thunder"), which contains the character for thunder in her name, it is essentially nothing more than using the resonance of dragon runes to compress air and create an airflow explosion. It has absolutely nothing to do with real lightning.

But this high school student in front of me just casually grasped the raging power of heaven and earth in the palm of his hand!

Able to summon and command lightning out of thin air, only one name matches on that vast and strict list of incantations.

High-risk spell, sequence 92, forbidden zone.

A terrifying authority born purely for killing and destruction. It is said that once fully unleashed, the surrounding area will transform into a sea of ​​lightning.

A hybrid possessing such a high-risk incantation would at least be rated as an A-level monster!

Lin Yuan felt a little uneasy looking at Miranda's horrified expression, as if she had seen a ghost.

"Judging from this woman's reaction, could it be that I overdid it? Or is it that lightning-related abilities are some kind of forbidden operation in this world?"

He looked suspiciously at the arc of electricity on his fingertips, feeling increasingly uncertain.

Miranda was completely oblivious to Lin Yuan's thoughts at that moment. She had only one thing on her mind.

A super hybrid who is suspected of possessing the Sequence 92 Word of Power "Thunder Pool"! If I can successfully recommend him to join Kassel College...

What's so bad about her failed course, "Dragon Genealogy"? Even if she went and overturned the desk in the registrar's office right now, Principal Angers would still be all smiles and give her a scholarship!

She hurriedly pulled her phone out of her trench coat pocket and dialed the special number that indicated an emergency.

"Norma! Get me the professor on duty! I've struck gold for the college!"

......

Across Oceania, in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

The first rays of morning sunlight pierced through the thin mist along the shores of Lake Michigan, casting a soft golden glow over the buildings of the College of Kassel.

The central control room on the second floor of the library was brightly lit.

In the center of the control room, a holographic 3D Earth projection with a diameter of more than five meters is suspended. The dark blue light intertwines with latitude and longitude lines and continental plates in mid-air, and hundreds and thousands of monitoring beacons are scattered across its surface.

They mark the sleeping dragon ruins around the world, lock onto the recorded hybrid families, and track the field coordinates of the executive department's agents in real time.

The undercurrents and secrets of the entire planet are all contained within this small space.

Standing before this Earth projection, anyone would have the illusion that they hold power and influence, and that with the slightest movement of their fingertips, they could unleash an invisible storm on a certain country on the planet.

Unfortunately, at this moment, all the monitoring beacons were uniformly displaying a reassuring soft green.

Manstein's oft-repeated "crisis-ridden night" was as docile as a baby who had just finished drinking warm milk.

Professor Guderian, who had stayed up all night, was now sitting in front of the control panel without any regard for his image, stretching out a finger and idly drawing circles on the holographic projection of the Pacific Ocean.

The fingertips created virtual ripples.

He had a head of messy, gray hair that looked like a bird's nest, and thick, black-rimmed glasses perched on his nose.

Wearing faded, distressed jeans with a wrinkled plaid shirt at the collar, this outfit would likely earn you some coins if you were squatting outside a Chicago train station.

They're eagerly waiting for a red dot to pop up in some hidden corner.

At least it made his night shift have some value.

He had a circle of empty coffee cups around him.

Even after drinking so much coffee and staying up all night, drowsiness still washed over him like a tidal wave. Guderian opened his mouth and let out a long yawn, two tears squeezing out from the corners of his eyes.

“Boring, so boring,” he muttered, turning to wave at Raymond, the intelligence officer beside him.

Raymond, who was focused on the data stream, suddenly saw the professor beckoning and, thinking something urgent had happened, rushed over: "Professor, what's wrong?"

Guderian pushed up his glasses, which had slipped down to the tip of his nose, and asked with a serious expression, "What do you think the cafeteria will make for breakfast this morning?"

Raymond: (?_?)

"Professor, what other tricks can a German chef make? It's nothing more than Thuringian sausage with a sunny-side-up egg."

"This is what we had yesterday, the day before yesterday, and it will be the same tomorrow. If you're hungry, I'll get you some to go."

"No need, no need." Guderian waved his hand with little interest. Of course he knew Chef Hans's recipes, which were as stable as Norma's underlying code.

But he was just too bored and wanted to find some random topic to clear his head.

He pushed off the floor with his heel, causing himself and his chair to stumble back half a meter, as if to get up and stretch: "Who's coming to relieve me next?"

Raymond glanced at the ticking mechanical clock on the wall: "Professor Schneider is on the day shift. According to his schedule, he should be on his way to the library by now."

It's Schneider again.

The head of the executive department at Kassel College. That ruthless man wearing a black half-face mask.

Every time Guderian stood before this colleague known for his seriousness, he felt like a lazy student caught cheating by the teacher for not finishing his homework, naturally feeling inferior in terms of presence.

Now he was even more eager to create a big news story that would shake the whole school before handing over the class.

Just imagining Schneider pushing the door open and coming in, all I have to do is lean back in my chair and tell him in a deep voice, "The crisis is over." It's exciting just to think about it.

Just as Guderian was happily daydreaming, the buzzer on the control panel suddenly emitted a short "beep" sound.

Immediately afterwards, the holographic Earth projection suspended in mid-air began to rotate rapidly.

The plate representing China was magnified by the system, and a point of light changed from green to yellow and began to flash.

This means that a field agent skipped the regular reporting process and switched to the emergency contact line.

There's something going on.

Guderian immediately snapped out of his daze and sat up straight.

Could it be... that this is the giant wave I've been waiting for all night?

"Norma, what's going on?"

The monotonous, mechanical female voice of the central computer echoed in the control room: "Connecting you to the emergency contact line... Communication from Miranda Carter, an intern in the Executive Department."