Cold winds swept across the frozen Arctic Ocean, rolling up clumps of tiny ice chips. Although the temperature has risen to minus 56 degrees Celsius, the oceans of the far north are still dead and show no signs of being alive.

Li Zhen, walking on the ice with Kitagawa Qingming.

They're heading north.

After walking for a long time, Kitagawa Qingming said: "You said that you borrowed some strength from it. So, when are you going to go back? ”

Li Zhen turned his head to look at her. His mouth and nose were covered by a thick scarf to keep the cold wind and ice chips out. And the water vapor that comes out of the breath forms a thin layer of ice on the outside of the scarf, making the scarf an iron plate.

So his voice became a little muffled: "No hurry." Much later. ”

Compared with his "embarrassment", Kitagawa Qingming seems to be much calmer. She was originally not afraid of the cold, but that "fearlessness" also has a limit. As a result, she always maintains a vacuum barrier around her - the air inside the barrier becomes a warm layer when heated, and her face is always rosy.

Yes, she's changed.

This appearance has both the youth of the shopkeeper Beichuan and the coldness of the ice king Beichuan, which makes her whole person look more mature and more peaceful. She was back to her normal appearance, with dark eyes and red lips.

In fact, she was a little puzzled - Li Zhen was letting himself be frozen.

He had at least three ways to make his surroundings warm and warm, but now he didn't use that ability, and he was struggling with his body and the outer layer of clothing. So she suspected that Li Zhen was reluctant to waste the strength he had "borrowed". But he replied that he denied his speculation.

So she asked directly: "Why is this happening?" You don't look good at all right now. ”

Li Zhen pulled the corners of his frozen mouth and smiled: "I'm doing low-carbon environmental protection." ”

It's a joke, of course, but the joke shows the attitude. Beichuan didn't ask any more.

She thought things were a little strange - Li Zhen seemed to be carefully controlling his own abilities since he recovered. He prefers to use it when necessary.

At the moment, he looks a bit like the extremists who oppose the art because of the overdevelopment of the technique, but Kitagawa doesn't understand what the underlying reason for this is. And she doesn't know if Li Zhen has been like this all these years.

But she didn't think more.

Because at this time, they saw the huge cave not far away.

The cave has a huge mouth open and appears on the surface of the ocean. It was a huge mouth the size of a basketball court, deep and bottomless. It leads diagonally to the lower part of the slope at a slope of forty-five degrees. The outer half of the cave has some snow and ice on the gentle slope, but further inward it is clean and smooth.

This is because there is a faint air flow whining out of the cave. Blowing away all the snow and ice.

"This should be it." Li Zhen said.

He smiled at Kitagawa. Jumped without hesitation.

So I experienced the taste of riding a slide for the first time in a long time. The inside of the cave is extremely smooth, which is also due to the fact that someone has deliberately leveled it. Even the ice blocks out sunlight as it gets darker and darker, so simple lighting devices appear on the cave walls. That's made with a strong fluorescent material. Plunged deep into the ice. Illuminate the neighborhood in a crystal clear. It's like a crystal palace.

The two men slid towards the sliding alley. At first, they accelerated under the force of gravity, but the drag from the ice quickly balanced this acceleration, and they descended at a constant rate of high speed.

The more downwards and inwards. The "whine" sound of the wind became louder and louder. By the time the two of them had slid down for three minutes, the "whining" sound had turned into a rumbling sound. And the wind doesn't always gush outward – it blows inward. At this time, Li Zhen felt the temperature of the cold air coming from the ocean from his back.

There is a behemoth in the depths of this cave. To paraphrase a Westerner, this is a dragon's den.

But this dragon is not a dragon, it doesn't have a mountain of glittering gold coins, and it's not sleeping—it's imprisoned.

Kitagawa Qingming followed closely behind Li Zhen, and the friction between the wind and the sliding made her voice a little blurred-

"Could it be its nostrils?"

Li Zhen laughed because of this childish words: "The size is similar, but it is definitely not." Because I'm sure Ying Long has two nostrils. ”

The wind formed by the dragon's breath is long and warm, and this warmth becomes more pronounced the further you go to the bottom. After another three minutes, Li Zhen felt a chill in his neck. He reached out and touched it, realizing that it was water dripping from the roof of the cave on his neck.

Here, it's already zero.

Eventually, the slope turned flat, and Lee Jin and Kitagawa Harumi stopped. After a few dozen steps forward, they saw a ...... hidden thousands of meters deep beneath the frozen surface of the Arctic Ocean.

Lake.

A lake the size of two football fields sparkled with the dragon's breath. The area of the lake is almost the size of this cavity under the ice, and the circular walls of the cavity are also equipped with strong fluorescent materials. The pale blue light emitted by the lighting fixtures illuminates the lake and the ice, making it difficult to tell where the boundary is between water and ice.

Li Zhen soon realized that the lake must have been formed later. Because he saw some instruments in the extremely clear water. It looks like the equipment was once on the ground, when it was just an ice cave.

There was a deep darkness across from them, a huge cavern. And the warm wind gushed out of the cave.

There is no doubt that the dragon is gradually recovering and awakening. Its breath brought with it the heat, and the temperature slowly melted the snow and ice in the ice cave, melting into the lake.

"We've got to get there." Li Zhen said.

Kitagawa understood what he meant. She looked at the lake in front of her—you'd hard-find a clearer body of water on earth than this underwater lake—and waved her hand.

Then there was a click, and a crust of ice quickly appeared on the surface of the lake.

Actually, he could fly over. Kitagawa thought.

Li Zhen walked across the lake on the ice. The sound of breathing coming from the black hole became slightly fainter. He tore a fluorescent lamp from the wall and used it as a torch in his hand.

The cave behind the glacial lake was frighteningly tall, and if an ordinary person looked up, they would find that they could not see the roof of the cave at all. With the cold light, Li Zhen walked forward.

But after a dozen steps, he stopped—in the darkness ahead, he heard the sound of metal grinding.

It was as if countless thick, hard, cold pieces of metal were scraped together, and they were slightly twisted and deformed by the interaction between them, making a low but sharp humming sound. This humming sound was accompanied by the sound of ice chips falling, and the rumbling vibration came from under his feet, and Li Zhen was a little worried about whether the cave would collapse suddenly.

Kitagawa Qingming also stopped beside him and said in a low voice: "Is it ......?"

Li Zhen nodded: "Yes." ”

So in the faint cold light. A smooth, watery, golden-yellow curved wall appeared in front of the two of them.

The walls are as if the enamel shell has been painted with a layer of water. Transparent and clear. Underneath this shell, there is a thick black mark. The imprint is two people wide, tens of meters high, and pure black. And many other things that were equally thick, golden, like long petals, spread out in a radial pattern. This curved tall wall is all over the place.

The next moment. The black mark expanded. So the golden petals around it also changed. Make it shorter and thicker.

Kitagawa Harumi covered his mouth in surprise.

Because she realized that it was an eye.

And Li Zhen stretched out his hand, trying to touch the surface of the eyeball. Eyeballs of this size are uncommon. And that transparent layer looks amazing—like an incredibly transparent jelly.

Then there was a thunderous rolling sound in the cave, and the dragon said, "I feel the same." ”

Li Zhen withdrew his hand. He smiled, "You're awake - I thought it would take some effort." ”

The dragon's slender pupils moved again, as if aimed at Kitagawa Harumi: "You did it." ”

Li Zhen replied first: "Thank you, thank you, for telling me about that - you can use that gun to resurrect her." I just didn't expect it to be the other way. ”

The dragon was silent for a moment.

Li Zhen said again: "You are Ying Long, and that one is Candle Dragon." It can take on human form, why do you keep meeting us like this? I know that the eyes are the windows of the soul, but your windows are too big, and I am not used to them at all. ”

Beichuan blinked and looked at Li Zhen's face.

The person next to her was smiling, but she realized that the smile was like a scarf around his neck, hanging on his face. The smile was fake, and she thought it could be modified with the phrase "smiling but not smiling".

And the words that came out of his mouth sounded a little sharp to her.

She frowned slightly. According to Li Zhen, he was inspired by Ying Long's guidance to resurrect himself, and she thought that Li Zhen had brought herself to thank the dragon. But now, it doesn't seem like it's what I imagined.

The dragon still didn't speak.

Li Zhen slowly wrapped the scarf around his neck. The temperature here was already quite high, and the thin layer of ice that had been frozen on the scarf had melted, and the scarf had become drenched and uncomfortable to stick to the neck. He clutched the scarf in his hand and sighed, "So, you can at least become ten meters long, right?" Like that arm in the city of Murmansk. ”

Kitagawa Harumi was about to stop Li Zhen's slightly harsh words, and at the same time asked what really happened between the two of them. But then, she heard a faint sound.

This was also the sound of metal rubbing, and she already knew that the loud metal sound she had heard before was the sound of the scales on Ying Long's body rubbing when he turned his head. This time it's the same sound, but it's undoubtedly much milder.

The next moment, she was surprised to find that a smaller Ying Dragon appeared in the cave.

The dragon more than ten meters long is also a behemoth compared to two people, but it is indeed enough to be called "pocket" compared to its own appearance just now.

At the moment, the "pocket" version of Ying Long is coiled in front of the two people like a snake, hanging his head. The two golden whiskers of flesh around the mouth hung down meekly, as if they had been forged from gold.

It's a golden dragon. It sat solemnly, without the slightest variegation on its body—it was all a golden glow. Its scales appear to be made of gold, and its hair appears to be made of gold. It rattled as it turned, and bits and pieces of pale golden light wafted out of the cracks in its scales.

Beichuan couldn't help but praise from the bottom of his heart: "...... It's beautiful. ”

And Li Zhen raised his head slightly and looked at the dragon for a while, and said thoughtlessly: "So, are you acquiescing?" ”

The dragon nodded silently.

Beichuan felt even more puzzled - she didn't understand what Li Zhen meant by "default". She felt that five years was indeed a long time, and the person around her, who had lived with her for a while, had become a little strange.

Maybe he has become more mature and rational, but this gives her a sense of distance.

Li Zhen turned his head. It's like the dragon in front of you doesn't exist. He smiled at Beichuan: "Don't understand? I'll tell you slowly. ”

At the same time, he looked at Ying Long again: "You also listen to what I said, is it right." ”

"You know, we found a 'dragon' in Taiwan." This is what Li Zhen said to Kitagawa Qingming, "When the fishermen found it, it still looked like a dragon." But soon it died. And turned into a rotting sea serpent. ”

"At that time. We think it's a different species. Li Zhen said, "Just like ordinary people who are polluted by a species and become a different species, a sea snake feels the strength of the species." The same has changed. It's just that it just happens to be a lot like a dragon. ”

"I know about it." Kitagawa nodded. So far, she still doesn't quite understand Li Zhen's tone and approach. At least more than an hour ago, Li Zhen told her a lot of things, including mentioning Ying Long. So she realized that this unusual species was actually firmly on the side of humans, and selflessly helped Li Zhen.

Kitagawa Qingming feels that it is the "living Lei Feng" in the species. It made her feel a lot more comfortable - after all, they had always called themselves "descendants of the dragon". And now people find out that the dragon they revere is actually real, and belongs to the opposite of humanity -

It's not a good feeling at all.

In fact, what is even worse is that people find that the dragons they revere are in the same group......

Actually, it's not a powerful character.

But if the heart of this "Ying Long" is actually very kind, it can at least make people feel a little better.

Li Zhen grinned: "Then you should notice one thing - that thing has been drifting for a long time. And at least from the time the fishermen found it to the time it was sent to the research institute and then the metamorphosis, it remained in an alienated form. ”

"And you should also be aware of one other thing - those xenomorphs that we know about the Dao will immediately complete their metamorphosis and die as soon as they leave the affected area. There have been attempts in the military to capture xenomorphs for research, but invariably, once they leave an area, they become a corpse belonging to ordinary people. ”

Beichuan was stunned and pulled his eyes to look at the entrenched dragon.

But it was as solemnly silent as a golden statue, motionless.

She also sensed a hint of abnormality in Li Zhen's narration. She did think about it. According to "common sense", the alienated should be transformed as soon as they leave the sphere of the species, but the strange sea serpent is obviously an exception. But at that time, five years ago, people only knew a little about the true face of species, so this "common sense" was not "common sense" at that time.

As a result, many people ignore this. And after that, in the years after her death, more important and strange things abounded, and no one put their minds to it.

What's more, at that time, people already knew that "Ying Long" was a moderate neutral faction even if he was not on the side of humans, and that sea snake was undoubtedly alienated by it.

She frowned. Now that I think about it...... It's really weird. This meant that Ying Long possessed abilities unlike any other species—the alienation it inflicted was so long-lasting and so powerful that the sea serpent was able to maintain its form even after moving away from it.

"So......" she said hesitantly, "what's the matter?" ”

Li Zhen pointed at Ying Long: "You are different." ”

Ying Long did not respond to his words.

"You're so different." Li Zhen sighed softly, "For example, how do you know that Lu Dao can save her by getting that gun?" Why are you so good to me—even to stand against your kindred for me? You weren't raised by humans, and I can't figure out your motives. ”

"But what I'm most interested in is what you're going to know about where that island is. The other I imprisoned you here and asked you about the whereabouts of the island. This means that the location of the island is not clear to your kind, the Candle Dragon. The first time you appeared near that island, the second time you appeared near this arm...... Hehe, Xiaobei. ”

Li Zhen turned to Beichuan and said with a sneer: "Do you know what that island actually is?" ”

Kitagawa's mind was a little confused by his previous series of questions, but this new question still captured her curiosity. So she asked softly, "What is it?" ”

"Yes, torso." Li Zhen said in a deep voice, "The torso of the head is attached." And the part of the water that we see is the skull of that thing. I once heard a heartbeat on that island...... Unfortunately, at the time I thought it was my own hallucination. ”

This answer shocked Kitagawa Haruaki. Her eyes widened, her mouth opened slightly, and it took a long time before she asked, "Skull?" ”

"You mean ......"

"That thing's head is as big as an island? What's that, exactly? Species? ”

"Species are to it what humans are to species." Li Zhen said slowly, "It is the ancestor of everything. ”

"If you really can't understand that thing, you can think it's God."

"God in the truest sense of the word."

"The mutilated God." (To be continued......)