Section 19 - The Value of the Metallic Dragon Clan

"Shhh, we can't talk about that here; it'll cause trouble!"

Pu Aihua was so frightened that her hairs stood on end, and she looked around furtively yet again.

Normally, mentioning the Metallic Dragons wouldn't be a big deal, but at this critical moment, at the Aircrew Base 911, it had become a sort of taboo.

"Why pick up that kind of stuff?"

Having seen the ferocity and terror of the Metallic Dragons, Chen Fei only wanted to stay as far away from anything related to the Metallic Dragons as possible.

If it weren't for being coerced by that wretched Big Bear Chekhov, he would have never willingly initiated an attack on the Metallic Dragons; only a madman would do such a thing.

Indeed, that Chekhov was a madman.

If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't overpower him, Chen Fei would have pinned him down in a toilet and beaten him up long ago, to let Yi Xiao know that those who offend us Strong Men will be punished, no matter how far away they are.

"Of course it's for money! Lots and lots of money. Don't you want to earn money?"

Pu Aihua vigorously rubbed her fingers together.

She had heard that the new guy was also deep in debt, just like everyone else in the Poor Folks Alliance; they should definitely collaborate.

Money emboldened people. Previously, Pu Aihua wouldn't have dared, but now, the remnants of the Metallic Dragons were scattered near the Aircrew Base. If she didn't seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take a risk, she would regret it for the rest of her life.

"There was once a chance to get rich quickly right before my eyes, but..."

But let it go!

What use are regrets!

Recently, about twenty-some people came to the Aircrew Base 911. They didn't interact with other departments and dug three feet into the ground in the area where the Metallic Dragons had fallen, sweeping back and forth with a metal detector, scanning each inch of the ground at least eight times before they were satisfied.

These people were certainly not doing this out of boredom.

But because the fallen Metallic Dragon was literally a gold mine, no, even more precious than a gold mine.

Despite an explicit prohibition on private dealings, that still couldn't stop the illegal buying and selling that happened behind the scenes.

"Yeah, I think so! But there's nothing, absolutely nothing!"

Chen Fei shook his head like a rattle-drum.

If he really did find something, he'd probably be stripped clean before he ever made it to the operating table, not even a hair left.

On the medical ships, nurses called this process "skin preparation."

Once someone was lifted onto the table, every big boss was called a Blue Dragon Warrior, equality between the sexes, with women known as the Unmatched White Tiger, nobody could escape.

Chen Fei's head was still bare, only slightly covered with fuzzy stubble, and that Big Bear Chekhov looked as if he had taken vows at the Shaolin Temple, especially with a very conspicuous "mini sanitary pad" on top.

Moreover, not long after the ejection, Chen Fei had fallen into a coma where he was completely unconscious of everything, leaving only others to pick up around him — he couldn't pick up anything himself!

"Think about it again, think again!"

Pu Aihua was very anxious.

She had already found out that just a piece as small as a soybean could sell for several thousand Star Yuan, and if it were as big as a fist, it would fetch even more money.

"Pu Aihua, what are you doing? Get over here and help."

From the direction of the kitchen came the angry shouts of the on-duty chef Abel, extremely dissatisfied that this wheeler-dealer was once again doing things unrelated to work.

Sooner or later, he'd fire this lazy bum and send him back to Goryeo to munch on his old rice.

"Okay, Abel, I'll come right away."

Pu Aihua quickly responded loudly, then said to Chen Fei, "If you find something, you must come to me, I can give you a good price."

"Got it, got it!"

Chen Fei had no choice but to nod his head, wanting nothing more than to quickly send this annoying fellow away.

Metallic Dragons and the like had absolutely nothing to do with him, nor did they interest him in any way.

"You must remember this!"

After taking a few steps toward the kitchen, Pu Aihua turned back, still unwilling to give up.

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm!"

What else could Chen Fei say?

This meal truly lacked any flavor.

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The Metallic Dragon Clan from the Cangqiong Realm held enormous value for the Blue Star Realm, which was built on an industrial foundation, far surpassing other dragon clans.

The Metallic Dragons, which consumed metal, unlike the entire lineage of the Dragon Clan, appeared more as a bizarre species of alloy body. The alloy materials derived from the Metallic Dragons, if used in the industrial sphere, would instantaneously break the shackles of foundational material fields and also serve as the best material for creating high-precision, high-performance, and long-lifespan machinery.

What is technology, what is craftsmanship, if not simply products of submission to basic materials.

If bricks could fly, then there would be no need to painstakingly study the damned Bernoulli's principle, or the nonsense of fluid dynamics—flight would solve it all.

In the industrial field, the most expensive energy assembly components, the SEG core units, have their only public source within the Metallic Dragon Clan. The cost of artificial production is way too high, with a terrifyingly high failure rate, rendering it completely unviable for mass production. Only a few professional laboratories inadvertently succeeded in making one or two units. They treasured these imperfect products like precious secrets, kept behind closed doors for personal use, never shown lightly to others.

Even so, the quantity of high-tech industrial goods such as SEG core units provided by the Metallic Dragon Clan to both the Cangqiong Realm and the Blue Star Realm each year remained limited to a handful, making it extraordinarily difficult to extract more from those greedy beings, who wouldn't even make concessions for their own Dragon King.

To hell with it, I'm right at the Dimensional Gate, come at me if you dare!

The entire Metallic Dragon Clan was almost one with the Dimensional Gate.

The outcome, of course, was... they wouldn't dare to attack! Wouldn't dare to attack!

That was an entire world's worth of countless resources. Compared to it, the Metallic Dragon Clan was not even as significant as a drop in the ocean.

Everyone knew that the naturally treasured Metallic Dragons, formidable and fearsome, were tempting but too dangerous to provoke.

On one hand, the Metallic Dragon Clan heavily guarded the Dimensional Gate, which was of critical importance to both the Cangqiong Realm and the Blue Star Realm. Which was more important, the Dimensional Gate or the Metallic Dragons?

In fact, it wasn't even a choice; any fool knew that without the Dimensional Gate, it would be completely gone. Not only would interaction between the two realms suffer greatly, but it could also trigger uncontrollable disasters.

The history of the Dimensional Gate on the Cangqiong side was no secret—it had been called the "Annihilation Ring" for a reason, having been constructed with the power of an entire planet.

By comparison, the Metallic Dragon Clan wasn't a throwaway trade. At least they could reproduce and thrive, like endless crops. Which was more beneficial was clear, as there tended to be an emphasis on a sustainable and upright development.

On the other hand, the Metallic Dragons were ultimately a part of the Dragon Race. The contemporary Dragon King was a Metallic Dragon, and who dared to hunt any Metallic Dragon. At a word from the Dragon King, a single spit from the Dragon Race would be enough to overwhelm any nation.

Even sovereign nations couldn't afford to provoke them, not to mention organizations or individuals.

However, there were always exceptions. Everyone knew that the Metallic Dragons, famously known as the "Dragons of Slaughter," even feared themselves when maddened. If any of them courted death, there was nothing that could be done— it couldn't be allowed to run amok!

The agreement reached between the Cangqiong Realm and Blue Star Realm included specific clauses stating that any dragon entering the Otherworld without permission and going berserk could be assigned a kill tally. Then whoever made the kill could profit from it—skin peeled, tendons pulled, bones dismantled, blood drained and flesh cut to offset the damage caused. It was as simple as that.

This clause was meant as both a warning and constraint specifically upon the unrestful elements within the Dragon Clan, especially amongst the Metallic Dragons, and it also motivated relevant organizations in both realms to take action to control the situation, mitigate worsening scenarios, and prevent lawless, harmful dragons from causing too much destruction that could affect the peace and stability of the Cangqiong Realm and Blue Star Realm.

In a sense, this opened up a loophole, albeit not a straightforward one.

Honestly, waiting for the Metallic Dragons to doom themselves had a fairly high probability. Compared with the birth rate of the current Metallic Dragon Clan, such deaths mattered little. Even the contemporary Dragon King wouldn't care, turning a blind eye—it was better for such brainless fools to die off quickly so as not to trouble everyone.

Using human thought processes, it was impossible to comprehend the true thoughts of the dragons.

After all, their moral views didn't align, and the fact that they weren't fighting on the spot was already quite considerate.

The 911 Aircrew Base, along with several other bases, gradually received combat orders that, if traced to their origin, were found to actually come from the Cangqiong Realm.

This was indeed an unexpected answer.

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