I, Uchiha Hikaru, have joined the chat group.

Chapter 271 Xia Mi: Holy crap, Gundam!

With this idea in mind.

Uchiha Hikaru immediately used the Flying Technique to leap into the air, circling over the river for a while, his eyes constantly scanning his surroundings.

In this process.

The wind began to howl high in the sky, and the air above the river became increasingly humid. The faint sound of thunder rumbling from the clouds could be heard, as if a downpour was about to begin.

"...It should be that ship, right?"

Finally, Uchiha Hikaru's gaze locked onto a pitch-black tugboat.

She had never met Mans, Ye Sheng, or anyone else, and did not know what they looked like.

Even knowing that at this distance and with such poor visibility, accurately identifying the person inside the cabin wouldn't be very realistic. Unless she had Byakugan instead of Sharingan in her eyes.

but……

The tugboat had a string of English letters starting with "M" clearly printed on it, so it should be the "Moniach".

Just as Uchiha Hikaru was about to approach to check what the people on the ship looked like.

A searchlight suddenly shone from the ship, its thick beam instantly tearing through the pitch-black night and illuminating a large area as if it were daytime. Uchiha Hikaru immediately dodged, then used his "Mini Bracelet" to shrink his body and hover at a safe distance.

"……Um?"

Onboard the tugboat "Moniach".

The lookout rubbed his eyes, feeling like he'd just seen something: "Was that shadow... a bird?"

still is……

Something related to dragons?

After a brief hesitation, he turned the ship's searchlights to maximum power, carefully observing the surroundings while reporting to Captain Professor Mans via walkie-talkie.

When dealing with matters involving dragons, they cannot afford to be careless. Any potential risk must be eliminated.

At this time.

Uchiha Hikaru had already quietly crossed the night sky and returned to where he started.

"How's it going, Hikari-neechan?"

"We've seen the men from Kassel, but we haven't seen Samson yet."

As Uchiha Hikaru spoke, he glanced up at the sky; "Looks like it might pour rain later?"

If I remember correctly...

In the original storyline, the salvage operation at Kassel College was carried out on a stormy night, with winds reaching force 10. If that storm is the same one we're about to experience, then the enemy's operation is very likely taking place tonight.

This made Uchiha Hikaru abandon his idea of ​​going back to sleep and coming back to check on things the next day.

"Xiao Ai".

"Um."

With a signal from Uchiha Hikaru, Esdeath raised her hand and conjured a square ice house, covering the four people present, along with the black sedan, inside. Then, with a snap of her fingers, tables, chairs, and sofas made of ice appeared inside the house.

"?!"

Seeing this, both Uchiha Hikaru and Erii remained calm.

But Xia Mi raised an eyelid and looked at Esdeath with a surprised expression, hesitating to speak.

—Can one unleash the power of ice and snow without chanting dragon runes? Can a human-hybrid achieve this?

Or perhaps... this blue-haired woman is also a pure-blooded dragon, born into the lineage of the Water King, and with a remarkably high purity of bloodline?

Faced with Xia Mi's questioning gaze, Uchiha Hikaru simply smiled and said, "Well, there are four of us here. Let's play cards for a while. We can also wait here and see if we can witness anything unusual."

Esdeath's ice house is semi-transparent.

So when you're sitting inside playing cards, you can clearly see what's happening outside.

It started around 1 or 2 a.m.

Then it started to rain.

At first, it was just a light drizzle.

But it quickly turned into a torrential downpour.

The dense raindrops, whipped up by the howling wind, poured down from the sky, pelting the water's surface with a deafening crash, bursting into huge sprays. In an instant, the entire Yangtze River became turbulent, and fishing boats near and far began to rock violently, as if they would be capsized and sunk to the bottom by a single wave at any moment.

but……

All of this had little impact on the Uchiha and his group.

The snow hut they were in was sturdy enough that even if the storm were twice as fierce, it would not be able to overturn it.

As for whether anyone might pass by and see them...

This area is a relocation zone for the Three Gorges Dam project, sparsely populated. Uchiha Hikaru even used some special methods to drive the car here. If someone else could do the same thing, she would admire their abilities, and in that case, meeting them wouldn't be a bad idea.

……

Time passed second by second.

Uchiha Hikaru had already played dozens of rounds of poker with Erii and the others, and even played mahjong for a while. It wasn't until the afternoon of the following day that they finally saw violent lightning and thunder in the sky. The already raging winds became even more ferocious, and the rainfall reached its limit in a very short time, slightly raising the water level of the Yangtze River.

This was a rare torrential downpour.

Presumably, the weather was similar on the night Chu Zihang encountered Odin on the overpass.

The sky had turned a dark, oppressive mass, like a black cloud looming over the city.

Uchiha Hikaru threw away the bunch of bad cards he had just received, then made a listening gesture: "By the way, did you guys hear anything mixed in with the sound of the wind and rain...?"

"Um?"

Esdeath glanced at the cards she had just tossed onto the table, a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth: "You're not saying this on purpose because you're afraid of losing this round, are you?"

"..."

Uchiha Hikaru coughed lightly but didn't turn around.

She did have some thoughts about that, but it's also true that she heard something, just not very clearly. It's hard to say whether she really heard it or it was just her imagination.

Just then.

A long, drawn-out dragon's roar echoed from beneath the river's surface, sounding both real and surreal amidst the sounds of the storm.

"!!"

Upon hearing the voice, Xia Mi's eyes widened instantly, a look of surprise crossing her face: "It's it! I recognize that voice; it must be Samson, the third-generation being who helped Norton guard the gates of the 'Bronze City'!"

"Um……"

Uchiha Hikaru nodded.

She wasn't the true White King, and didn't possess pure dragon blood, so the concept of bloodline connection didn't apply to her. However, she could still vaguely sense the aura emanating from Samson when he revealed his presence.

Now that this thing has appeared...

So, it's likely that the people from Kassel College made a move against Constantine inside the "Bronze City," which is why they lured the guardian out of its original hiding place.

"You stay here, I'll go check it out."

Uchiha Hikaru spoke again: "Such abnormal weather could very well be a sign of the Fire King's awakening, and the 'Bronze Castle' might open as a result. After all, this area is the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River; if something unexpected happens here, it could cause some trouble."

"Huh?"

Xia Mi hesitated for a moment before saying, "Why don't you take me with you? I'm a little more familiar with this area, so you can have someone to look after you, Hikaru-nee..."

"No need, I have other plans for this operation."

Uchiha Hikaru smiled and then took out a sealing scroll from his pocket.

She didn't intend to use the Kaleidoscope's eye technique here, because there was no need.

If the one sleeping in the "Bronze City" is Norton, the elder of the Fire King's twins, or if the one sent from Kassel is Lu Mingze and Lu Mingfei, who come with the strongest cheat code, then she might show them her Tsukuyomi and Susanoo as a sign of respect.

but……

Currently, within the "Bronze City," there is only Constantine, still inside an egg, and a third-generation Samson guarding the gate.

Kassel only sent Professor Mans, who was not in the combat ranks, and Ye Sheng, who was a senior student and an executive officer, to participate in this operation.

Revealing Susanoo to them would undoubtedly be making a mountain out of a molehill and would be meaningless.

and so……

"Let's use this one."

Uchiha Hikaru pushed open the door and stepped into the rain outside. He then formed a hand seal and opened the sealing scroll.

With a "bang," a cloud of milky white smoke rose and then dissipated, and a mecha ten or twenty meters tall appeared on the riverbank, witnessed by the people present.

Xia Mi's eyes widened immediately, and a phrase from the national anthem slipped out: "Holy crap..."

"..."

Realizing her slip of the tongue, Xia Mi covered her mouth, her dark eyes scrutinizing the mecha for a moment before she asked somewhat uncertainly, "This is... a Gundam? Kira Yamato's 'Strike Freedom'?!"

"...Do you know him?"

Uchiha Hikaru raised an eyebrow.

"Of course!"

Xia Mi nodded proudly: "I've watched the entire Gundam series!"

"yes……"

Uchiha Hikaru was surprised.

She forgot that Xia Mi was actually a hidden anime fan.

In the original storyline, this Little Dragon Girl cosplayed Haruhi Suzumiya during high school. Later, after entering Kassel, she could communicate with Lu Mingfei about various anime references without any obstacles, which is obviously something that a casual anime enthusiast could not do.

As an academically research-oriented dragon king, she likely treated watching anime as a way to integrate into human society, and she achieved quite good results.

"Speaking of which..."

Xia Mi paused for a moment, then spoke earnestly, "I had some doubts before, thinking that your identity might not be so simple, but now it seems... you really are the genuine White King, in charge of the fifth element of spirit beyond earth, water, fire, and wind. It's amazing that you can even recreate futuristic mecha from fantasy works!"

(End of this chapter)