Hero? I'm just here to borrow power!

"Thank you."

She didn't know who she was thanking.

Then, with her right hand, which was bloodied and mangled from the glass shards, she gripped the katana tightly.

The power of the hybrid was instantly unleashed.

Even without transforming into a Deadpool, she was still a half-blood of the Sakurai family, one of the Eight Serpent Clan. Therefore, the katana in her hand transformed into a breathtakingly beautiful light in this endless rainy night.

Samo Manifestation Stream!

This is one of the ancient Japanese swordsmanship schools. Because it was passed down in the Satsuma Domain, it is also known as the Satsuma Jigen-ryu. It is a unique swordsmanship school that has never existed in the history of either the East or the West before. The combat method of the Satsuma Jigen-ryu is to raise the sword high above the right shoulder when engaging an enemy, and then swing it down violently to the lower left, completely ignoring how the opponent attacks. If it is an offensive, the Jigen-ryu has overwhelming power and speed; if it is a parry, the Jigen-ryu will knock the opponent's weapon down in one fell swoop!

This is the ultimate offensive technique, and when used by a hybrid, it becomes even more powerful.

"Secret Sword Yan Hui!"

But with a soft groan from Byakuya, his body appeared behind Sakurai Kogure without anyone noticing.

Because both are katana sword techniques, Sakurai Kogure's Satsuma Jigen-ryu was far surpassed by Sasaki Kojiro's Anti-Human Demon Sword.

Three dazzling blades of light, seemingly folded within the same space-time, instantly pierced through the body of the girl dressed in a magnificent twelve-layered kimono.

"Having spent his entire life as a ghost, did he choose to die as a human in the final moment?"

As Bai Ye sheathed his sword, Sasaki Kojiro's ancient longsword transformed into scattered spiritual particles and slowly dissipated.

He didn't turn back, but slowly left the Elysium, which had been completely reduced to ruins.

His steps were steady, just as they were when he arrived.

Black Moon Tide: Chapter 109 Reunion with an Old Friend

"Caesar said that the most memorable trip in life is the one where you jump into a car with a full tank of gas with some crazy person who comes to your window and shouts at you, and you rush into the night with a map in hand, not even knowing which way you are going, you just want to go as far away as possible."

Xia Mi raised her delicate eyebrows, her voice carrying a mischievous smile, "He also said that there should be no cage in the world that can confine a real man, with only one exception, and that is the girl you like."

She paused, her gaze falling on the cold, handsome profile of the man in the driver's seat.

"And yet you put a knife to this girl's neck."

Xia Mi stretched out her slender fingers and gently tapped her neck, which still felt a trace of coldness. There, pressed against her, was a jet-black blade, a sharp treasure called "Gan Jiang Mo Xie".

Her fingernails collided with the sharp blade, producing a sound like metal striking stone.

"So that's why you secretly jumped into my car, which is going 120 kilometers per hour?" Bai Ye asked.

After confirming that the intruder was Xia Mi, he put away the projection weapon that was capable of cutting through steel.

Not long ago, his sinful place called "Paradise House" was razed to the ground. Now, he is driving this inconspicuous black car back to Tokyo like a bullet fired into the night.

Outside the car window, the rain was pouring down, the raindrops pounding against the roof and glass, creating a dull and rapid drumbeat.

The windshield wipers swung back and forth at a high frequency, each sweep bringing only a brief moment of clarity for one or two seconds before being blurred again by the raging spray of water.

In this isolated, torrential rain, someone silently appeared in his car. Without hesitation, he projected his twin blades, and only when the blades touched that warm, delicate skin did he recognize that familiar yet unexpected face in the dim light inside the car.

It was Xia Mi, the girl who should have been thousands of miles away, or rather... the dragon named Jormungandr.

“If you hadn’t noticed, then it would have been ‘secret.’ But since you’ve already noticed, it can only be considered jumping on openly.” Xia Mi’s tone was light, with a hint of self-righteous sophistry.

It had been a year since we last met, and her ability to spout nonsense seemed to have improved considerably, perhaps because she had been influenced by her association with Lu Mingfei.

"So you're the elite agent sent by Kassel College."

After sheathing his sword, Bai Ye focused on driving. Even in the rain, where the road was almost invisible, he did not slow down at all. He drove the vehicle at high speed, precisely avoiding every puddle and curve.

"What? Is it not allowed?" Xia Mi snorted twice and pouted in dissatisfaction.

"Why did you come to me?"

Bai Ye's voice was as calm as a frozen lake; his words were straightforward, just like the way he drew his sword.

"Mr. Kamishiro Byakuya of the Snake Clan, this name is now widely known in the world of mixed-race people in Japan."

Xia Mi sat in the back seat, casually complaining as she tidied her long hair, which was soaked by the downpour. Water droplets dripped from the ends of her hair onto the leather seat. "I was curious which handsome young man could make those old fogies bow down to me. Turns out, it was you, you monster, who was pretending to be weak while actually being strong."

Xia Mi chuckled.

"The name Kamishiro Byakuya... what, is it an attempt to awaken the gods of Japan and restore this place to its 'age of the gods'?"

"You are quite well informed."

Bai Ye ignored Xia Mi's complaints. His gaze swept across the rearview mirror, where the girl, even though she was soaked to the bone, still looked as radiant as a summer flower.

He asked casually, "You're here for the 'King's Burial Ground' too?"

The suburban highway was deserted on a rainy night, giving Bai Ye the freedom to speed along. The roar of the engine was swallowed by the sound of the rain, leaving only the screeching of tires as they rolled over the puddles.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's a rare reunion with a beautiful girl, and you're using this interrogation tone?"

Xia Mi immediately puffed out her cheeks, like an annoyed hamster. "Shouldn't you first treat me to a hot bowl of ramen, and then, as the host, show me around Japan? That's how things should go!"

"The normal course of action is for you to stay with Lu Mingfei and the others and prepare for the mission."

Bai Ye retorted calmly, "Instead of appearing alone in the rainy night in Osaka."

It was an extremely quiet night, but Bai Ye didn't play any car music. In the entire enclosed car, apart from his conversation with Xia Mi, there was only the endless rain outside the window and the monotonous and hypnotic swishing sound of the windshield wipers.

"You really haven't changed at all." Hearing Bai Ye's calm tone, Xia Mi suddenly chuckled, her previous resentment seeming like that of a little girl throwing a tantrum.

“Those three are so boring, and their Japanese isn’t good enough. They have to check Google Maps every few steps. But I heard that a super amazing casino has opened in Japan. They say that if you win enough, you can have any wish granted.”

She described it vividly, "With my skills, it would be a piece of cake, wouldn't it? I was about to win enough chips, but before that charming proprietress could invite me into the VIP room for a drink, we were all kicked out because of your arrival, you monster."

Xia Mi slammed her fist on the chair again, puffing out her cheeks. "Why did they have to come at this crucial moment, when I was at the height of my power?! My original wish was for 'Gokurakukan' to tailor a perfect seven-day trip to Japan just for me, and now that's all ruined!"

Bai Ye could sense that the resentment in her tone was genuine, but only she knew how much of it was true.

As the car gradually drove away from the desolate suburbs, the city lights merged into a blurry halo at the edge of the rain curtain.

Bai Ye slowed down the car.

"Tomorrow, the academy's team will dive down into the 'Burial of the Gods'."

He calmly stated a fact: "Are you going to abandon them?"

"I don't want to go to a place like that."

Xia Mi waved her hand dismissively, as if she were talking about a toilet full of garbage. "The stench of corpses deep in the Japan Trench is so strong that I don't even want to touch the seawater... Only that old pervert Angers would be so enthusiastic about sending his students to that kind of hellhole in a deep-sea submersible. It's practically suicide."

As she spoke, the streetlights along the highway swept past the car window, illuminating her brown eyes. Those eyes, which always sparkled with cunning and energy, now revealed a barely concealed, almost instinctive disgust and fear.

But this emotion was fleeting, and she quickly returned to her nonchalant demeanor, changing the subject as she sized up Bai Ye's well-tailored black suit: "Speaking of which, you look pretty good in that outfit. You've become the ace of the Snake Clan, haven't you? Rich guy, I'd like to be your sugar daddy!"

Xia Mi's thoughts jumped around like illogical sparks of electricity, but Bai Ye accurately captured the core information from these seemingly irrelevant words.

He was silent for a moment, then spoke, his voice colder than the rain outside: "You mean, you're planning to leave the Kassel College team and cooperate with me instead?"

The vehicles had already merged into Tokyo's nighttime traffic, brightly lit, with dazzling neon lights casting long trails of light across the wet car bodies.

Bai Ye glanced at the rearview mirror. The girl in the mirror had somehow dried her hair with her words and regained her fresh appearance. Hearing Bai Ye's words, her bright eyes, like summer flowers, darted around mischievously, and a knowing smile appeared on her lips.

"You're such a shrewd yet boring man." She rested her chin on her hand, looking both disappointed and approving.

"I'd like to work with you."

She frankly admitted, "Japan is not our territory after all, and the dangers lurking here are so numerous that they are making people a little uneasy, right?"

Bai Ye didn't speak, but simply held the steering wheel and listened quietly.

He knew that the real issue was about to begin.

“You are different from those mixed-race humans, so you should be able to sense it.”

Xia Mi's voice lowered, carrying an unprecedented seriousness, "Something... is awakening. Something very, very ancient. Compared to 'it,' you and I are even insignificant."

In Bai Ye's mind, the cold system notification sound seemed to ring out again.

Main Quest: Survive until Ragnarok

These words undoubtedly reveal a truth.

If he doesn't take the initiative to do something in the face of this impending disaster, he will be in a completely disadvantageous situation.

He disguised himself as "Kamishiro Byakuya" and infiltrated the Hebi family. One reason was for the legendary ancient dragon blood, and the other was to use the power of this ancient family to explore the dragon race's long-forgotten history and find out the truth about "Ragnarok".

"What do you have to say about this?" Bai Ye nodded, acknowledging her statement.

“I need power,” Xia Mi said succinctly, her gaze intense. “Overwhelming power.”

"You want to obtain the blood of an ancient dragon to evolve."

She stared directly into Bai Ye's eyes in the rearview mirror, as if trying to pierce through the mirror and see into the depths of his soul. "What I want is that ancient dragon embryo. If I swallow it, I can become a complete evolved being."

"Are you sure 'it' can replace... and help you become an evolved being?" Bai Ye's words were pointed.

As soon as he finished speaking, the carriage was suddenly enveloped in a faint golden light.

Bai Ye didn't turn around, but he could feel the majestic aura of a king rising behind him. Xia Mi's golden eyes had already lit up. The person he was talking to at this moment was no longer the lively girl Xia Mi, but the dragon king named "Jormungandr," who was in charge of "earth and mountains."

"You know more than I thought."

Jormungandr's voice was exactly the same as before, but it carried an ancient and weathered quality.

“Then I will tell you. Although I have not yet entered the Japan Trench, I can clearly sense that the embryo is indeed my brother or sister. It is not just a first-generation species, but a true king.”

Golden light shimmered in the cramped car interior, casting the shadow of the white night onto the steering wheel, distorting and deforming it.

"Unfortunately..." Jormungandr's tone carried a hint of cold pity, "Faced with a more noble king, he could only become a sacrifice."

Black Moon Tide: Chapter 110 Uesugi Kotsugi

Late at night, a small street behind the back gate of the National University of Tokyo, which should have been quiet on ordinary days, was completely filled with the sound of torrential rain.

On the street, an old wooden van stands alone with a dim yellow light shining through the heavy rain, like a lighthouse swaying precariously yet stubbornly standing in the storm.

These handcarts, known as "yatai-sha," are outdated in Japan, a highly modernized country. However, they are designed specifically for selling ramen on the streets. The small cart is fully equipped with all the necessary parts. When the windows are opened upwards, they become a small rain shelter. Under the shelter, a few shiny wooden stools serve as seats for customers. The ramen chef completes all the steps from cooking the noodles to preparing the broth in that small space inside the cart.

Compared to those fancy ramen shops that constantly boast about their "famous products," these food stalls are slightly inferior in both environment and taste, but they are much cheaper.

Therefore, most of the regulars here are students from the University of Tokyo who are short of money. The owner, Master Yue, has been running this business for decades, and like this car, he has become an unchanging sight on this street.

In the pouring rain, two figures suddenly stepped out of a black sedan that had quietly stopped. Each of them held an umbrella, one black and one orange, which stood out conspicuously in the rain curtain tinged orange by the streetlights. They walked straight toward the food stall that was still open for business.

"Still not packed up?" Bai Ye's voice pierced through the rain.

He folded his umbrella, lifted the heavy canvas curtain of the trolley, and a smell mixed with the aroma of pork bone soup and the damp, cold air of the rainy night wafted out.

"If no more customers come, we'll have to pack up and close up shop."

Inside the carriage, an elderly man with snow-white hair was slowly tidying up his noodle bowls. Hearing the sound, he looked up and a warm smile immediately appeared on his face. "It's raining so hard outside, come in and sit down, Mr. Kamishiro."

On this stormy night, even the most dedicated police officers and the most ruthless gangsters retreated to their warm homes, yet there was still this ramen stall stubbornly waiting for customers.

Bai Ye slowly stepped into the rain shelter, leaning the umbrella against the car. Immediately afterward, Xia Mi's curious little head, along with her lively eyes, peeked in. As the orange umbrella closed, it flicked out a string of glistening water droplets.

"That's rare, Kamishiro-kun."

Master Yue's gaze passed over Bai Ye and landed on Xia Mi, a subtle glint flashing in his eyes. "You actually brought a girl to eat ramen today. Is this blockhead of yours finally about to bloom?"

Master Yue looked quite old, with his silver hair neatly combed and meticulous. He wore the white linen uniform typical of ramen chefs, and had a black towel tied around his forehead to absorb sweat. He seemed to have dedicated his entire life to the art of ramen making.

"Huh? Do you often eat ramen here?"

Xia Mi looked around curiously. The ramen stall was as ordinary as it looked, even small and poor. The counter was greasy and shiny, and the labels on the several bottles of seasoning were worn so worn that the words were no longer legible.

"Yes, Kamishiro-kun is a regular customer of mine. He comes here to eat two or three bowls almost every week."

As Master Yue spoke, he took out a clean rag and carefully wiped the simple table extending from the window frame in front of the two of them. His movements were unhurried, carrying a kind of composure that came with the passage of time.

"What kind of noodles are we having today?" he asked.

"The same as always," Bai Ye said calmly.

“Then I’ll have his ‘same old way’ too.” Xia Mi immediately held up a finger, like a child imitating an adult.

"Alright, two servings of tonkotsu ramen with braised eggs." Chef Yue nodded with a smile, turned around and took out two servings of ramen that had already been prepared from the freezer in the back of the car, and skillfully put them into the boiling soup pot.

"I never expected you to eat in places like this so often."

Watching Master Yue's busy figure, Xia Mi lowered her voice and secretly leaned close to Bai Ye's ear, her breath warm, but her tone full of "disagreement" with his taste.

"You should know that even if you lower your voice, he can still hear you with his hearing."

Bai Ye ignored her teasing and focused her gaze on Master Yue's knife. The ordinary kitchen knife was precisely cleaving a braised egg in two, the cut as smooth as a mirror. "Besides, didn't you say you wanted to eat ramen?"

"I thought that with your current status as 'Kamishiro Byakuya', you would invite me to some 'Number One in Tokyo' or 'Most Expensive in Ginza' ramen shop."