Chapter 1 In the Dragon's Lair Base

In Longku Base, in Commander Xiao Bo's office.

Xiao Bo looked at a member of the Tail Feather Team clad in a cloak, his heart a mix of joy and worry.

The joy stemmed from the Tail Feather Team's completion of another mission to explore the Dragon's Lair. Without a doubt, this team would bring back a large number of Dragon Race Star Beads.

The worry... why did they come out in just three days?

Didn't they agree not to confront the Prisoner Dragon? Didn't they agree to collect more resources before dealing with the Prisoner Dragon?

In just three days, had these people ruined the Dragon's Lair?

"Um, um... hehe..." Jiang Xiao smiled awkwardly, beckoning to his side. Xia Yan immediately activated the Calamity Shadow World, flew inside, and brought out all the Star Beads the team had obtained.

As the others passed them along, Jiang Xiao handed the Star Beads to Xiao Bo, reporting, "Here are 22 Crystal Dragon Star Beads, 7 Mist Dragon Star Beads, 10 Star Dragon Star Beads... We were a little rushed when we left, and I didn't have time to absorb a few Hidden Dragon Star Beads, so I won't hand those in..."

Xiao Bo hurriedly took the Star Beads, sorting and placing each Dragon Race Star Bead in its proper category.

Looking at the pile of Dragon Race Star Beads, the worry in Xiao Bo's heart lessened somewhat.

He adjusted his mentality, consoling himself.

After all, before the Tail Feather Team entered the Dragon's Lair to carry out their mission, Xiao Bo had personally said: the lives of the Tail Feather Team are the most important. Therefore, their sudden exit must mean they encountered a particularly serious crisis, right? Yes, that must be it. The safety of the Tail Feather Team members is paramount.

Who would have thought that Jiang Xiao would speak again, saying, "Um... um... actually, we didn't plan to destroy the Dragon's Lair, but some problems arose. Due to our lack of experience, the Dragon's Lair collapsed, and the process of collapse was irreversible. We regret it very much now."

Commander Xiao Bo raised his eyebrows slightly. Lack of experience?

Among all the teams from Huaxia and the Russian Federation, only the Tail Feather Team had no right to say that! If their experience was lacking, what were others supposed to do?

Xiao Bo calmed himself and asked, "Report what happened."

"Well..." Jiang Xiao pondered for a moment, looking troubled as he said, "I absorbed a Prisoner Dragon as a Star Pet. You know its status in the Dragon's Lair. The aggro it generated was maxed out, attracting countless dragons to besiege us. I used a little trick and put the Prisoner Dragon into my Star Map.

I fantasized that without the Prisoner Dragon as a target, the Dragon army would fall into internal strife and kill each other. But it turned out that as soon as the Prisoner Dragon entered my Star Map, the Dragon's Lair collapsed."

"Oh, I see. Regardless of whether the Prisoner Dragon dies, as long as it disappears from the Dragon's Lair space, the Dragon's Lair will collapse." Xiao Bo nodded thoughtfully, muttering to himself.

Suddenly, Xiao Bo froze. He felt like something was off.

Xiao Bo abruptly raised his head, staring blankly at Jiang Xiao, and asked, "You absorbed the Prisoner Dragon as a Star Pet!?"

"Ah." Jiang Xiao scratched his head sheepishly and said, "This is thanks to the Little Hidden Dragon."

As he spoke, Jiang Xiao gently patted the head of the Hidden Dragon on his shoulder and said, "When we were gathering resources, we encountered a Prisoner Dragon being chased and fleeing. At that time, I was unhappy. I thought to myself, with me here, I definitely can't let anything happen to the Prisoner Dragon!"

Xiao Bo: "......"

Jiang Xiao continued, "Then a few of us went to rescue the Prisoner Dragon. During the battle, the Prisoner Dragon noticed the Hidden Dragon cannon mounted on my shoulder and also discovered the Star Dragon wrapped around Han Jiangxue...

The Prisoner Dragon is very intelligent. It realized that the Dragon Race could coexist harmoniously with us humans. After the battle ended, the Prisoner Dragon ran over, wagging its tail, and begged me to absorb it as a Star Pet."

As he said that, Jiang Xiao sighed and said, "Alas... this guy is too scary. I was so frightened that I didn't even have the courage to resist, so I reluctantly absorbed it as a Star Pet."

Xiao Bo: ???

Looking at Jiang Xiao's infuriating appearance, Han Jiangxue and Xia Yan raised their legs at almost the same time, but their movements were synchronized. They seemed to realize where they were and what Jiang Xiao's current status was, so their bodies stiffened, and their long legs fell back down unwillingly.

The corners of Xiao Bo's mouth twitched awkwardly, and he said, "Jiang Brigade Commander is joking. I'll contact Mr. Di Lian's team right away. You all can rest in the Dragon's Lair for now."

Jiang Xiao said, "Our Tail Feather Brigade also has a lot of work to do. How about this? I'll stay here and accompany the Prisoner Dragon to complete the task of researching Star Beasts. My teammates can temporarily return to Dajiang Province, right?"

Xiao Bo thought for a moment and said, "That's fine. The current situation is indeed very tense. It would be a waste of manpower to have the other members of the Tail Feather Team here. Except for you, the others can go back. I'll communicate with Brigade Commander Luan. You can go back to Fencheng Base first."

"Okay!" Jiang Xiao said, turning to look at Han Jiangxue.

Han Jiangxue understood and activated the Black Sky Teleportation Cover, directly teleporting everyone back to Huaxia territory, to the Fencheng Military Base very close to the border.

Led by Jiang Xiao, the group identified themselves to the base soldiers, and after requesting a rest room, within 15 minutes, the call from Second Tail reached the Fencheng Military Base, ordering all team members except Jiang Xiao to return to Dajiang Province immediately.

And Jiang Xiao was straightforward. After receiving the order, he teleported directly, bringing everyone back to Dajiang Province, Tail Feather Brigade Headquarters, to Second Tail's office.

Second Tail's face faintly showed a hint of pride. Her narrow eyes lit up slightly as she looked at Jiang Xiao with a burning gaze, saying, "I only applied for a Prisoner Dragon Star Bead for you, not a Prisoner Dragon."

"Look what you're saying, I have to exceed the task, right?" Jiang Xiao grinned, habitually scratching the back of his head.

"Mm." Second Tail reached out her hand, and the Little Hidden Dragon on Jiang Xiao's shoulder reluctantly left Jiang Xiao and flew towards Second Tail, winding around her body.

"Go ahead," Second Tail said, gently stroking the Hidden Dragon's scales with one hand.

"Yes." Jiang Xiao responded, turning to look at the team members and saying, "During the days I'm away, Han Jiangxue will be the captain and commander, and Fifth Tail, Yi Qingchen, will automatically be added to the team."

As he spoke, Jiang Xiao looked at Han Jiangxue and said, "Listen to Second Tail in everything and be careful."

Han Jiangxue nodded silently and said, "Come back soon."

"Ah." Jiang Xiao comforted, "I estimate that I'll just stay and collect the Prisoner Dragon's body data and test the specific effects of the Star Techniques. I'll be back soon."

As he spoke, Jiang Xiao nodded to everyone, teleported away, and returned to Fencheng Military Base.

In fact, Jiang Xiao could go directly to the place where Mr. Di Lian's research team was, but Dragon Race creatures were relatively special, and the higher-ups required that research be carried out at Fencheng Base, and real-time information should be shared with Fencheng Base and Dragon's Lair Base.

Jiang Xiao had no objection to this, anyway, he was just a small soldier, and he just had to follow orders.

However, during the one or two days while waiting for Mr. Di Lian's team to arrive at Fencheng Base, Jiang Xiao could do something, and it was something extremely urgent.

That was... catching White Ghosts!

Near Fencheng Base, there was a Snowfield Other Dimension Space specially prepared for warriors exploring the Dragon's Lair, designed to allow warriors to deploy troops and practice formations.

Jiang Xiao had been here many times, so he was no stranger to this place.

After confirming that Di Lian's research team would arrive at Fencheng Base at noon the next day, Jiang Xiao greeted the base soldiers, teleported directly to Fencheng-Snowfield Other Dimension Space.

"I'm going in to play for a while, I'll be out tomorrow." Jiang Xiao showed his officer's certificate to the guarding soldiers and entered the snowfield.

A wonderful year,

Starts with catching White Ghosts!

Extremely familiar with this place, Jiang Xiao went straight to the source, teleporting to the periphery of the Holy Ruins, to the Night Watch Army's camp. After explaining the situation to several guards, the Night Watch Army soldiers were dumbfounded.

It was not until Jiang Xiao summoned the Yinyin Bear, awakened the sleeping Yinyin Bear, and left with the Star Pet that the Night Watch Army soldiers reacted.

"Brigade Commander Jiang... what did he just say?"

"He said... to prepare Star Techniques to heal our souls." As he spoke, one of the Night Watch Army soldiers held a phantom scepter and stuck it into the ground. "He also said that for the next day, we can relax. There will be fewer White Ghosts and White Ghost Witches coming out of the Holy Ruins."

The soldiers on the other side hurriedly notified the Night Watch Army camp, requesting that they prepare Star Techniques to soothe their minds.

Here, a group of soldiers said with a lot of chatter, "Brigade Commander Jiang is going to slaughter White Ghosts!? Hey, why does a Star Sea powerhouse always have a problem with Bronze-level White Ghosts?"

"Brigade Commander Jiang's dual-blade skills were honed by killing White Ghosts! I guess he's gone to practice his blade skills again, right?"

"Hehe, have you heard? The Snowfield Other Dimension Space in Jiannan Village is almost being killed through by Brigade Commander Jiang. During festivals, Brigade Commander Jiang will definitely visit the White Ghosts in Jiannan Village."

"Now that you mention it, I understand! What day is today? Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year!"

As they spoke, a group of soldiers heard the faint sound of a bear roar!

But because the distance was too far, this roar was not a big deal at all. Even without using Star Techniques to resist, the soldiers would not lose their formation. Moreover, the soldiers were still under the protection of the scepter's faint light.

At the same time, in the valley, directly below the Holy Ruins, after the Yinyin Bear let out an angry roar, groups of White Ghosts scattered and fled, and there were even stampedes as they ran frantically in all directions.

And Jiang Xiao directly opened the door to the Calamity Shadow World and placed the door horizontally directly below the Holy Ruins. The White Ghosts and White Ghost Witches jumping out of it, no matter from the front, back, left, or right, all fell into Jiang Xiao's Calamity Shadow World.

And inside this Calamity Shadow World door was the continent of Antarctica!

Of course, Jiang Xiao was careful. The continent of Antarctica was very large, and he did not directly place the White Ghosts in the direction where the Crystal Dragon group was located, but rather in the southernmost area, the so-called center point of the continent.

Jiang Xiao bent his legs slightly, maintaining the opening of the space door while also beckoning to the Yinyin Bear beside him.

"Ying?" The Yinyin Bear crawled over on all fours, its paws stepping on the snow, making a "squeak, squeak" sound, and its furry head leaned over.

"Hehe~" Jiang Xiao smiled and pounced forward, hugging the Yinyin Bear and immediately performing a body slam!

"Ying!"

"Haha~" One person and one bear actually started rolling around in the snow under the terrifying Holy Ruins door...

At this time, the Night Watch Army in the Fencheng Snowfield did not know the seriousness of the matter!

And when a wave of White Ghosts and White Ghost Witches escaped from here, everything changed!

Brigade Commander Jiang had indeed said that the soldiers could relax and rest for a day because, in the next day, there would be very few White Ghost tribes dropping out of the Holy Ruins. The Night Watch Army would not need to keep a close eye on them all the time, and they would not need to disperse the possible White Ghost clusters.

But... this was not a small number at all!

This was simply none at all!

What's going on?

Did Brigade Commander Jiang blow up the Holy Ruins?

That couldn't be, right? This snowfield space was still in good condition, and there were no signs of tearing or vibration?

Could it be that the Holy Ruins... wasn't producing goods anymore?

In fact, it wasn't that the Holy Ruins weren't producing goods, but rather that Pikachu's purchase volume was too large...