Blue orbs of light wandered in the darkness. They looked like oversized fireflies—phantasmal and intermittent—occasionally sweeping over blurred and ominous silhouettes. The air was damp and cold, mixed with a sour, meaty smell among the scent of dust.
In the center of the darkness, there was an area lit by blue torches.
The carcasses of some enormous beasts were stacked on top of each other; their white bones crisscrossing, radiating a strange order of beauty. Viscous liquid crawled among the gray stones, and dark blue plants filled the skulls and chests of the skeletons, together making up a chilling "garden".
"State your origin," A deep voice said from the center of the garden. "Don't fabricate lies. In the graveyard, no dragon can lie."
It was a giant dragon.
It had a pair of enormous amber eyes and bat-like wings folded at its sides. Dragon scales shimmered with metallic luster and were covered with a coagulated, brownish-red tint. Not all its sharp teeth were concealed by scales; it looked capable of effortlessly crushing a stallion.
What was most eye-catching were its horns—too many to count at first glance. They twisted and tangled like roots, forming a symmetrical shape akin to a crown. The base of the horns was blackened, while the ends were as red and clear as garnet, with tiny sparks leaping within.
Naturally, it wasn't perfect. The red dragon was missing the tip of its left wing, and its claws were covered in mud. Many scales bore noticeable absences or cracks. It exuded a unique odor of living beings. Just as cats have their scent and dogs theirs, it also had the scent of a beast—dangerous, heavy, and indescribably bitter, like charred corpses, withered trees, and sulfur.
It lowered its head, looking down at its interrogated subjects—
Two black dragonlings.
They appeared to have hatched only a few days ago; they were smaller than adult humans and covered with clumps of dust hardened by mucus.
One of the dragonlings seemed somewhat at a loss, honestly shrinking in place, making a wary posture. But the other held its head high, its eyes devoid of the confusion of a young cub.
"I've never lied!" The head-raised dragonling yelled, its voice as immature as a bird's chirping. "I possess the memories and knowledge of another world, and I can trade with you…"
"What were you in 'that world'?" The red dragon cut it off.
"A human, so what?"
"Last question, your sibling—" The red dragon lifted the silent dragonling with its claw, "—is it the same as you?"
"Didn't I tell you? I'm a special case. I've spoken to it and it's no different from other cubs. It can't understand language at all."
"Very well, thank you for your answer," The red dragon said coldly. "Glory to Subelbot."
Crack!
Flames flashed, and the previously vibrant dragonling fell to the ground. A sizzling, scorched hole appeared in its chest, and the air immediately filled with the stench of burnt meat. Its frail body was pierced through, and the edge of the wound was black like charcoal. Through that enormous hole, the carcasses behind the dragonling could be seen.
The dragonling struggled to turn its eyeballs, filled with disbelief.
Perhaps due to the innate toughness of the dragon race, its death was a drawn-out process. The red dragon just stood by, silently witnessing, its gaze heavy as grave soil.
"This is a dream… a dream…"
The dragonling convulsed in pain. It was hard to tell if it was mumbling or moaning. It tried to stand up, refusing the approach of death, but its claws only stirred up a layer of dust. The scorched wound was torn, and finally, blood gushed out.
"…It hurts. Damn, why does it hurt so much… cold… Mom…"
Its cries of pain gradually weakened. Its sibling, still clutched in the red dragon's claw, was trembling.
"Did that dragon say, 'another world'?"
"Shh! Don't get noticed!"
From the heap of carcasses not far away, two murmurs broke the solemn atmosphere. They were as light as a gust of wind, sounding more like the squelching noise of squeezed slime. It was the noise of lower beings, which the red dragon couldn't understand and didn't care about.
But others seemed to understand.
The dying dragonling on the ground twitched, gasping weakly and hurriedly. The dragonling being held abruptly raised its head to look at the corner, then shrank its body as if trying to hide something, pretending that nothing had happened.
The red dragon didn't notice anything odd. It confirmed the dragonling on the ground was no longer breathing, raised its head slightly, and the small corpse was flung to the corner of the graveyard. After all this, the red dragon turned around, preparing to leave.
The surviving dragonling was clenched in its claw, its tiny body as tense as a stone.
"About two kilometers to the left of the main entrance of the Dragon Tomb Garden, along the cliff, there is a broken stone sculpture of a one-eyed knight. There's a secret passage behind the statue. Come and meet me. I can help you."
In a corner somewhere, a soft "bump bump" sound suddenly emerged.
The dragonling turns its head again. Thousands of will-o'-wisps were floating around the edge of the Dragon Tomb, among which only one was motionless, as if watching it.
…
This was Xu Yue's fourth day of awakening in this world.
On the first day, the darkness was thick. Xu Yue thought it was just a strange dream, in which he was a will-o'-wisps—one of the lowest-level monsters in the
Perhaps because the game was about to launch and he had worked overtime for too long and was really tired, he would have such an absurd dream.
On the second day, the dream seemed unreasonably long. Xu Yue drifted around, confirming the surrounding environment. The place was filled with dragon bones, and there were caves everywhere, with countless paths leading to deeper darkness.
As the producer of the VR game "World of Tahe", he had seen the concept art and setting documents of this ghostly place. One of the high-level maps in "Tahe" was the Dragon Tomb Garden.
On the third day, dark blue plants poked out from the decaying dragon corpse, curled up at the top, like a fern. Slime flowed down its stem, emitting a faint odor. Xu Yue realized the seriousness of the problem—no dream could be so long and detailed.
He seemed to be trapped in his own game.
Xu Yue never believed in such nonsense as "transmigration". It was impossible for a person to cross time and space unreasonably. But he couldn't explain his current situation, which was the first time he had encountered such a big change in his life.
Before this, he was used to making the most sufficient preparations and living strictly according to the plan.
The best high school in the province, the top university in the country, a world-class company—Xu Yue grew up all the way. He wasn't interested in fame, power, or the glitter of gold and silver—he just wanted to do his best to accumulate wealth, buy a property after saving enough money, maybe develop a stable relationship, and live out the second half of his life by investing in finance.
For a person of ordinary origin, this was like a dream life.
And Xu Yue almost succeeded.
"World of Tahe" was a key project of the company, which had invested a lot of financial and human resources, and the results were very encouraging. Once the operation was stable, he could give up this health-debilitating job and retire with enough wealth.
And then the absurd accident of "transmigrating into his own game" happened.
Until not long ago, he thought he was alone. But according to the game settings, different kinds of monsters didn't understand each other's languages. The creature that was whispering just now, and those two dragonlings, might all be "foreigners" similar to him.
This speculation cheered up Xu Yue quite a bit. Making sure the Red Dragon didn't understand the whisper, he made a decision on the spot and invited the only remaining dragonling.
"…Come, look at me. I can help you."
He said out loud.
He needed to save this "suspected transmigrator" as much as he could.
The Red Dragon said, "Glory to Subelbot". In Xu Yue's impression, Subelbot was the leader of the dragons—a stubborn and proud silver dragon. Under its leadership, the dragons would never tolerate unknown foreigners infiltrating their group, gaining their knowledge and abilities.
Even if the "foreigner" was now a dragon, it wasn't pure enough. If the young dragon was really a transmigrator, without enough information, it was bound to die.
The secret passage that Xu Yue gave was the entrance to the instance of the Dragon Tomb Garden. It was only big enough for humans to pass through and just right for a dragonling.
As luck would have it, his attempt was successful. A few days later, the dragonling returned as promised.
"Hello? …Hello? Is anyone there?" It didn't even dare to shout too loud; its voice was shaking terribly. "Help me."
With its arrival, Xu Yue received one piece of good news and one piece of bad news.
The good news was that the similarities between here and the "World of Tahe" weren't accidental—his game knowledge could still be used.
As for the bad news—
"I thought it was a dream, but it's not a dream; definitely not a dream."
In the dark tomb, the dragonling let out a cry.
"I don't know what happened to me. I don't know where this is. I want to go home."
"I want to go home…"
'What a coincidence, me too,' Xu Yue thought bitterly.
He knew it. The answer couldn't be found so easily. This suspected transmigrator was just as clueless as him about "what happened".
...
"It was Saturday, and my parents weren't at home. I finished my homework and went to bed on time, and when I woke up, I was in an eggshell."
In a corner of the Dragon Tomb, the little black dragon spoke in a small voice. Its round eyes were as red as coal, and at this moment they were moistened by tears.
"The one—the one that was killed—hatched from the same egg as me. Only we could understand what those monsters were saying. I was very scared and pretended I couldn't understand… He liked to show off more…"
Upon saying this, it couldn't help but sob.
"Do you know him?" Xu Yue asked softly.
"Yes," the dragonling said. "He liked to mutter to me… But I… I was afraid the big dragon would hear, so I didn't respond."
"His name is Cui Yuchen. He lives next door to me and seems to be a college student. He mentioned 'City A' and 'living in Joy Garden', so I confirmed it was him…"
"City A? Joy Garden?"
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, go on." Xu Yue struggled to keep his tone steady.
Xu Yue's residence was in the "Yunshang Joy Garden" community in City A. The community itself wasn't large, and it was comfortable to live in, mostly occupied by homeowners. The name "Yunshang Joy Garden" was too long, so people were more accustomed to calling it "Joy Garden".
These two dragonlings were once his neighbors in the same community.