From Naruto onwards, I've become a dreamer.

Chapter 288 Herzog
Dr. Herzog swirled his glass and downed the last drop of vodka.

The burning sensation of the liquor, which seemed to ignite his blood, as he poured it down his throat, was intoxicating. It was as if only in this way could he dispel some of the loneliness in his heart.

After all, on this permafrost covered by ice, they were like a group of people forgotten by the world, guarding this port and fortress in solitude.

"Dr. Herzog, are you listening?" Andrei asked anxiously when the old man in the wool coat did not respond. "There seems to be some unexpected situation with Subject 1. We need you to go and take a look, right now."

“I heard it very clearly, every single word, Mr. Andrei.”

Herzog put down his glass, stood up slowly, straightened the purple scarf at his collar, and said methodically, "But I'm enjoying the last glass of Red Label vodka of the year. It's a good drink that can set a man's blood on fire, and wasting a single drop would be a sin."

"Excuse my bluntness, Doctor, what you should be most concerned about is Subject 1, not vodka," Andrei said, his eyes twitching.

Although he already knew that this Dr. 'von Herzog' from Germany was somewhat eccentric and eccentric, he did not expect him to be this eccentric.

"In my opinion, these two things are equally important."

Herzog smiled, then turned off the record player and said calmly, "Now, you can take me there to see what kind of trouble our Subject Number 1 has caused this time."

He strode ahead of Andrei and pushed open the office door.

What comes into view is a lawn. It's hard to imagine that there is such a grassland on the cold permafrost of Siberia. The green of the grass seems to bring a touch of spring.

On the lawn, children ranging in age from three or four to eleven or twelve were chasing and playing with each other. They were dressed in neat white cotton jumpsuits, with bright eyes and rosy complexions, looking very healthy. Medical staff chased after the children, taking their temperatures from time to time and giving them candy as a reward.

Herzog did not stop, but walked straight across the lawn to another place.

The walls were made of specially thickened steel, resembling a huge cage. Several base guards held guns, pointing their dark muzzles forward, where a small figure was hidden in the shadows.

Herzog noticed that the soldiers' weapons were in a ready-to-fire state, clearly indicating they were prepared to fire at any moment.

Moreover, everyone's face was tense, as if they had been frightened, with bulging veins and a hint of fear in their fierce eyes.

The soldier's hand holding the gun was trembling slightly.

However, this does not mean that they were a group of cowardly and weak recruits, because the soldiers who were sent to this port were all vetted and were the elite of the elite.

But at this moment, these elite soldiers were terrified of that small figure, as if it were some kind of demon from hell.

Herzog lifted his foot and suddenly noticed a sticky feeling. Curious, he looked down to examine it.

He then discovered that his boots were covered in large clumps of sticky flesh and blood.

The bright red and finely chopped flesh looked like it had been thrown into a blender and then ground into minced meat; no wonder it felt sticky when you stepped on it.

Herzog's expression remained unchanged as he slowly raised his head, turning his gaze to the small figure in the shadows. "Researcher Andrei, I need an explanation." "We were conducting our usual examination of Subject 1," Andrei said, swallowing hard as he recalled the scene that had just unfolded, as if still shaken. "But during the examination, Subject 1 suddenly broke free of its restraints and unleashed an unbelievable power, crushing several soldiers into a bloody pulp."

At that moment, the small figure hidden in the shadows slowly walked over.

"Weird. Monster!"

"Don't come near!"

The already extremely tense soldiers became even more nervous from this action, shouting loudly in an attempt to stop the figure from approaching.

"Gentlemen, please calm down." Herzog walked expressionlessly to the highest-ranking soldier, raised his hand to lower the muzzle of his gun, and said calmly, "Colonel, every child here is the most precious asset of the motherland. You should understand what this means, so please put down your gun."

The colonel gritted his teeth, his eyes fixed on the figure, a trace of fear still lingering in his trembling voice: "Dr. Herzog, I don't know what kind of experiment you are conducting here, but... that child is dangerous. He crushed two of our most elite soldiers into mincemeat in just two seconds!"

“I know, Colonel.”

Herzog glanced at the colonel, his eyes cold: "I am well aware of the danger that child poses, but you should have been authorized before coming here. Everything within the base must be done under my orders, so soldiers, I order you to put down your weapons."

The colonel struggled for a moment, but finally, unable to contain his anger, he said, "Dr. Herzog, I hope you won't regret this."

He waved his hand, signaling the tense soldiers to put away their weapons.

The small figure approached; it was a child of about ten years old, with European features, short, slightly curly, light-gold hair, and unusually bright, light-gold eyes. The clear, pure pupils seemed to reflect the inner world of everyone.

Herzog gazed at the blond boy, his thoughts drifting.

The biggest secret of Black Swan Harbor is that the remains of a creature are buried in the ice. To this day, he still remembers the indescribable shock he felt when he saw those remains.

Deep within the building beneath their feet, within a massive layer of ice, lay a terrifying behemoth, approximately sixty meters long, its massive body covered in scales, with bluish-green bone spurs growing along its spine, and its face covered in sharp bony protrusions.

The moment Herzog saw it, he was convinced that it was a 'dragon' that only existed in myths and legends!
The reason why Herzog, the port of Black Swan, and many others are willing to remain anonymous on this millions-year-old frozen land, enduring blizzards and loneliness, is to explore the secrets of dragons and attempt to steal the authority of 'gods' and reproduce it in humankind.

"PhD."

A childish voice pulled Herzog back to reality from his memories.

Looking at the blond boy who had come before him, Herzog ruffled his hair and asked in a very soft voice, "Adam, you're a good boy. Can you tell me why you did this?"

The boy named Adam tilted his head slightly, looking puzzled. "Doctor, I... I was just playing with them."

(End of this chapter)