rslcontracting Chapter 66
Chapter 66
Chapter 66: The Calm Before the Storm IV
6:05 AM.
"No Words Needed… has made it back onto the leaderboard."
Wan Changzheng and Zhao Yan exchanged a glance and nodded with satisfaction.
"Not only that—Silk-Stocking Desperado has also been quietly building up and burst onto the scene, shooting all the way to 4th place!"
Zhao Yan pointed at the leaderboard excitedly.
"This proves that our Huaxia children are rapidly adapting to this brutal world."
"A shame, though…"
Wan Changzheng took a sip of tea, his gaze drifting to the name in 19th place.
"Huaxia's No.1 Romantic is gone."
"In his place is this young man called Lone Warrior Yang Wei."
"Mm."
Zhao Yan nodded and analyzed:
"I reviewed yesterday's footage. That Lone Warrior should be the same boy who was hunted by the Scarecrow before."
"Most likely he's joined No Words Needed's group."
"To have made it out alive—decent luck and ability both."
"And there's more great news on top of that!"
Zhao Yan's eyes lit up.
"Tomorrow, the Trading Function will be made available for newcomers to try."
"This will not only help those children stranded in remote areas—it might also…"
"Give us a chance to make contact with No Words Needed!"
"Here's hoping."
Wan Changzheng set down his teacup and rose to straighten his uniform.
"Do what you can, and leave the rest to fate."
"We do what's within our power."
He glanced at the clock on the wall.
"It's 6:05 now."
"Shen Lian's preliminary experiment on the Dragon God Imperial Armor is about to begin."
"Shall we go watch?"
"Go! Absolutely go!"
Zhao Yan perked up immediately, grinning.
"That's going to be Huaxia's future single-soldier superweapon! We have to witness it with our own eyes!"
……
The open-air testing ground.
Dozens of researchers in white lab coats busied themselves calibrating equipment.
Armed guards formed a perimeter around the area.
In the center of the field stood 2 individuals selected for the experiment.
A powerfully built young soldier, and a slightly timid short-haired girl.
"Good morning, Commander. Good morning, Chief of Staff."
Shen Lian, the project director, walked over to greet them with dark circles under both eyes, snapping into a salute the moment she saw the 2 seniors arrive.
"Chief Engineer Shen, you've worked hard."
Wan Changzheng returned the salute and went straight to the point:
"Give us the overview first. What exactly is this Dragon God Imperial Armor?"
"Of course."
Shen Lian moved briskly, leading the way and delivering a rapid briefing as she walked.
"After an overnight analysis by the 9th Base's Think Tank, the strongest armor depicted on the mural—the one whose inscription was deliberately erased—has been identified as the【Dragon God Imperial Armor.】”
"It is the most powerful armor ever created by the legendary Dragon God, and simultaneously… the weakest."
"Strongest and weakest?"
Zhao Yan raised an eyebrow. "Does that have something to do with that phrase?"
"Exactly."
Shen Lian nodded.
"More precisely, there are 2 phrases. These are the Dragon Tongue created by the Dragon God—they also serve as the activation incantations."
"'Born for war, resting only in death' is the 1st phrase."
"'Adapting to all, evolving beyond all life' is the 2nd phrase."
"Each phrase of Dragon Tongue represents a single unlock stage of the armor."
"According to available intelligence, fully activating the complete Imperial Armor in its final form would require 9 Dragon Tongue phrases."
"We currently have only the first 2."
"9 phrases…"
Wan Changzheng was thoughtful. "So how does one use it? Surely it doesn't work just by shouting the words?"
"Excellent question, Commander."
Shen Lian stopped walking and pointed toward the testing platform ahead:
"That is precisely what we are about to find out. Practice is the only path to truth—please watch for yourselves."
The 3 of them moved to the observation area.
Shen Lian gestured toward the 2 people in the center of the field.
"The first volunteer is Pu Bo, selected from our special forces units."
"Age 30. No ability. An Enhanced Human with a D-Grade physique."
"The second is a young survivor girl our base took in yesterday—Qin Ying."
"Age 19. F-Grade physique. However, she has awakened a B+-Grade【Dragon Bloodline】 ability with 20% purity."
Wan Changzheng and Zhao Yan exchanged a glance, instantly grasping Shen Lian's intent.
Without question, this was a control experiment comparing someone with no bloodline against someone who possessed one.
"Have the safety measures been put in place?" Wan Changzheng asked in a low voice.
"Rest assured, Commander."
Shen Lian pointed to a woman standing at the edge of the field—she radiated a cold aura and was casually eating an ice cream bar.
Xue Rong
"That is Xue Rong. I borrowed her from the 3rd Base. She's an Extraordinary One."
"A-Grade ability:【Ice and Snow Mastery】. She has 3 years of survival experience in the Savage Realm, and has independently developed a healing branch of her ability."
"She can effectively suppress runaway Dragon Blood and terminate the experiment at any moment."
"Good. Begin."
Wan Changzheng gave the order.
……
"All units, attention! Dragon God Imperial Armor Phase 1 experiment—officially commencing!"
The announcement echoed across the open field.
Center of the field.
Special forces soldier Pu Bo glanced at the trembling girl beside him—Qin Ying—and cracked a grin.
As a soldier of the people, how could he let a young girl go first?
"Watch me show you how it's done! Stand back and learn!"
With that, he looked toward Shen Lian and called out:
"Reporting! Requesting to proceed with the experiment first!"
Shen Lian nodded. "Approved."
"Thank you, big brother…"
Qin Ying looked at him with gratitude.
She had only fled to the base yesterday.
Her parents had been killed by Werewolves while shielding her and her younger brother.
To secure a decent life at the base for herself and her brother—a proper room instead of a packed dormitory—she had voluntarily signed up for this high-risk experiment.
"Phew…"
Pu Bo drew a deep breath. His expression became solemn.
According to the documentation, the Dragon God Imperial Armor was powerful enough to be used by anyone—but on one condition:
You had to be able to bear its price.
Ching!
Pu Bo drew his tactical knife and slashed open his own wrist.
Blood poured out, but he didn't even flinch—he simply drenched his entire body with it.
Then he pried open the specialized vial clipped to his belt.
He tilted that single drop of boiling Dragon Blood onto his chest.
Sizzle!! Sizzle!! Sizzle!!
The sound of flesh scorching filled the air.
Pu Bo bit down hard, meeting the expectant gazes of his comrades.
Suppressing that unspeakable sense of being dramatically over-the-top, he roared the incantation at full volume:
"Born for war!!"
"Resting only in death!!"
Boom!!
The instant the words left his mouth—
Pu Bo felt the drop of Dragon Blood come alive, plunging straight into his heart in an instant!
Then the blood throughout his entire body began heating up at a terrifying speed, boiling!
"Aaaaahhhh!!"
Pu Bo could no longer hold it in. He let out a roar. His skin flushed crimson all over in an instant.
"This…"
The comrades who had been smiling a moment ago felt their expressions freeze.
This was nothing like the cool transformations you saw on TV!
This looked like outright suicide!
"Reporting!"
The monitoring researcher called out loudly:
"Subject's body temperature has exceeded 49 degrees! Blood is converting toward Dragon Blood! Conversion rate 8%… 9%…"
Zhao Yan watched with his heart in his throat, hands clenched tight. "Will… will something go wrong?"
"Don't call it off."
Wan Changzheng pressed down on his hand, eyes steady.
"That boy knows what he's doing."
Shen Lian remained calm as well. "Don't worry. This is normal."
"The Dragon God Imperial Armor temporarily converts a bloodline-less person's blood into Dragon Blood so the body can interface with the armor—it reverts afterward."
Just then—
"Roar!!"
Pu Bo let out an inhuman shriek.
The Conversion rate had reached 10%!
The critical threshold had been breached!
Ssssss!!
Massive jets of steam erupted from his pores.
The dark red blood flowing across his skin miraculously began to solidify and harden!
And then, across his chest and limbs, an incomplete set of dark red bone-plate armor took shape!
This was the initial form of the Dragon God Imperial Armor!
"Hah… hah…"
Pu Bo dropped to one knee, breathing hard.
"That was… one hell of a ride…"
He stared at his arm encased in bone plates and let out a bitter laugh.
"Wearing this thing… is worse than being flayed alive."
"Feels like someone's having hot pot inside my veins…"
"Test the output!"
Shen Lian gave the order.
Pu Bo forced himself upright and threw a punch at the test target.
Thud!
Then the speed and defense evaluations began!
Data readouts scrolled:
【Strength Enhancement】: 10%
【Defense Enhancement】: 15%
【Speed Enhancement】: 10%
"That's it?"
Pu Bo stared blankly. "I nearly killed myself for this? This is barely anything?"
But before he could finish his complaint—
Hmmm!
The bone plates on his body suddenly blazed with heat again, draining every last drop of energy left in him in an instant!
"What the—"
Pu Bo's vision went black. The armor shattered, and he collapsed to the ground in a heap.
The monitoring officer's voice came through again: "Reporting! Conversion rate has dropped to 0%! Dragon God Imperial Armor has exited!"
"Time's up."
Shen Lian glanced at her stopwatch:
"Duration: 3 minutes 41 seconds. Experiment concluded."
"Pu Bo, fall back to your unit! Go find Xue Rong for treatment!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Pu Bo snapped an instinctive salute, then dragged his scorched body toward the edge of the field, staggering with every step.
Before he left, he gave Qin Ying a big thumbs up.
"Little sis! You've got this! It hurts like crazy, but it won't kill you!"
……
Next, it was Qin Ying's turn.
Shen Lian spoke encouragingly over the intercom:
"Don't be nervous. You're different from Pu Bo."
"You have the Dragon Bloodline. You are, by nature, a descendant of the Dragon God."
"In theory, you don't need Dragon Blood as a catalyst. You can activate the armor directly through bloodline resonance."
"And you should be able to try unlocking it to the 2nd stage."
"Each phrase of Dragon Tongue corresponds to 10% bloodline depth."
"Your purity is 20%, so in theory you can recite both of the first 2 phrases."
Qin Ying gave a small nod, drew a deep breath, and closed her eyes.
She repeated the words to herself over and over, like a mantra.
'Qin Ying, don't be afraid.'
'There are so many people in this world worse off than you—people who don't even have the right to be alive.'
'You have to cherish this chance… Mom and Dad are gone. You have to get stronger. You have to protect your brother.'
'You can do this.'
Her eyes snapped open. Qin Ying shouted with everything she had:
"Born for war!!"
Hmmm!
Unlike Pu Bo—
The moment the first half of the incantation left her lips, a faint red glow erupted across her body.
A translucent energy armor enveloped her entirely in an instant.
No pain!
Only power!
"This is incredible…"
Qin Ying cried out in delighted surprise.
She felt herself overflowing with strength, and the urge to continue was irresistible.
"Resting only in dea—"
But the moment the syllable "dea" left her mouth—
Boom!!
Disaster struck without warning!
Qin Ying's face went deathly pale in an instant. The Dragon Blood inside her seemed to lose all restraint, raging out of control in a violent frenzy!
The heat—10 times greater than what Pu Bo had endured moments ago!
"Aaaahhhhhh!!"
Qin Ying let out a piercing shriek. Her body convulsed violently. Her skin began to char!
"Warning!! Subject's body is collapsing! Energy overload!!"
The monitoring officer screamed in alarm.
"Something's wrong!"
Shen Lian's face changed completely.
"Now!! Xue Rong!!"
Wan Changzheng nearly bellowed it:
"Freeze her!!"
Xue Rong at the field's edge didn't hesitate for a single instant. Both palms slammed against the ground.
Crack!
A beam of ice-blue light engulfed Qin Ying in an instant, encasing her entire body in a solid ice sculpture, forcibly suppressing the rampaging Dragon Blood.
……
Several minutes later.
Qin Ying was rushed away for emergency treatment.
"What happened?"
Zhao Yan was sweating. "Why would someone with a Dragon Bloodline lose control? Shouldn't they have an easier time wielding it?"
"It's the physique."
Wan Changzheng watched the stretcher carry Qin Ying away and pinpointed the problem immediately.
"Her ability is B+ Grade Dragon Bloodline, yes—but her physical constitution is only F-Grade."
"It's like fitting a bicycle with a tank engine…"
"The moment you step on the accelerator, the frame falls apart."
"This is my fault."
Shen Lian pressed a hand to her forehead, filled with remorse.
"I overlooked this…"
"I assumed the bloodline would trigger Dragon Transformation on its own to strengthen her body, but it turns out that creates a logical conflict with the armor."
"Dragon Transformation and the armor cannot be used simultaneously—that's what caused the failure."
"I will take full responsibility for this accident."
"That's enough."
Wan Changzheng waved a hand and placed it on her shoulder.
"The very reason experiments are called experiments is because they are full of unknowns and failures."
"Saving lives comes first."
"Give her the best possible treatment. Compensation at the highest standard."
"Everyone else, dismissed."
The 2 seniors turned and walked away, their backs carrying a certain heaviness.
Though the experiment had hit an unexpected snag, both of them had come away with one clear understanding.
The Dragon God Imperial Armor was, without question, a divine artifact.
But to truly wield it…
Required not just a bloodline—it required a body powerful enough to carry the weight of a god's strength.
And at this very moment—
Far away on Eerie Island, Jiang Nan held the Scapegoat Straw Doll in his hands, lost in thought.
He had no idea that the S-Grade item in his grasp was precisely the final key—the perfect key—to wielding that very armor.