"Is it about to rain?" Zhang Dong looked up at the sky and muttered in confusion. The weather had been fine just moments ago—so where had all those clouds come from?
The clouds churned and rumbled like thunderous war chariots, rolling into position right above their heads. The pressure was intense. Only Kid, who was busy designing his spaceship, knew the truth—that dragon was back again. She hovered above, and he had a feeling she was here for him.
He was right. She was here for Kid.
The moment Kid stepped outside, standing on the open training ground, he saw the silhouette of the mother dragon forming in the clouds.
The soldiers nearby immediately went on high alert. They could all see the vague figure moving inside the stormclouds—huge, massive enough to crush any will to resist.
"We need the Avengers. We need the Justice League," one American soldier muttered under his breath.
Zhang Dong's eyes were stretched wide in shock, terrified that the giant creature might suddenly drop down. Even with Kid beside him, he didn't think Kid's size would be enough to even block one swipe of that thing's claw.
Finally, after taking her time to make a proper entrance fitting for the descendant of the dragon race, the dragon slowly poked her head out of the clouds.
To the Chinese, this creature was instantly recognizable—it was their ancestral totem. Deer antlers, ox nose, donkey mouth, tiger eyes, elephant ears, fish scales, human beard, snake belly, eagle claws.
A dragon. A creature from Chinese mythology was now floating before them. And this wasn't even Earth—it was a faraway planet in another Planer system.
The American soldiers couldn't understand why the Chinese soldiers were suddenly frozen in place. They had no idea how shocking it was for the self-proclaimed Descendants of the Dragon to witness an actual dragon.
"Kid, I came to ask for your help."
Though the mother dragon held her head steady, her long, winding body continued to slither through the clouds.
"What happened?" Kid asked curiously. "What could I help you with?"
"I hope you'll come with me," the dragon replied.
"Of course," Kid said. He was genuinely curious where such a fantastical creature would take him. "As you wish, my lady. Please lead the way."
"I can carry you," she added politely, knowing full well that asking for help meant showing proper courtesy.
'Sure, why not?' Kid thought. Today he was going to ride a dragon.
So Kid climbed onto her head, holding onto her tall antlers as the dragon soared into the sky. Her head moved like that of a bird—steady and smooth no matter how the rest of her body twisted. It was more stable than an airplane.
Kid was gone. He had flown away on a dragon. Zhang Dong and Haozi stood with their mouths hanging open, unsure how to process what just happened.
"A dragon?"
"A dragon?!"
"A dragon!"
It really was a dragon. Haozi was almost losing it. He desperately wished he'd wake up in bed and find out this was just a dream. That would be so nice. But reality didn't work that way. He pinched his thigh—and the pain was very real.
"Holy crap, Kid is insane!" Haozi jumped up. "How is he riding a dragon?! How does everything cool end up with him?! The Claymore girls only laugh and joke with Kid, and now even the dragon shows up just for him!"
"Haozi, do you really think that was a dragon?"
Zhang Dong's question made Haozi hesitate. "Wait… you think it's a mutant?" This planet had way too many monsters—it was a fair question. "But Captain, that looked just like a dragon from the drawings!"
Zhang Dong wasn't sure either.
"Rolling in on clouds and leaving on clouds—if that's not a dragon, what is?" Liu Qi said with certainty. He was convinced it was the real thing. No mutant could pull off an entrance like that.
Kid felt like he was the coolest person alive right now. Not everyone got a once-in-a-lifetime chance like this. He was riding a dragon—for real. That made him half a Dragon Rider at least.
Sure, he could fly faster on his own, but that wouldn't have the same epic flair. Standing on the dragon's head, Kid exuded a presence that could crush people with sheer charisma. He laughed quietly to himself, inwardly, since he had to maintain his image.
The dragon wasn't slow either. In no time, she carried Kid back to the sacred grounds of the dragon's descendants.
Kid didn't see anything particularly special at first. Beneath a deep ravine lay a massive natural cave, big enough for the dragon to fit inside. There were faint traces of human life here—stone tables and chairs that looked like the kind used by ancient immortals to debate philosophy.
"This is where our ancestors last lived," the mother dragon said, lowering Kid to the ground. "It's also the starting point of our dragon-blooded lineage."
"So, what kind of help do you need from me?" Kid asked.
"I know Earth's technology is more advanced, and you know a lot. I want your help to find the last clues our ancestors left behind and figure out the path they took."
"Oh." Kid glanced around but didn't notice anything special. "How do you even know your ancestors left you anything?"
"Come with me," she said.
The mother dragon retracted her body and walked on all fours.
Walking next to her, Kid felt like a kitten beside an elephant. He asked, "Can't you turn back into human form?"
"Huh?" She was caught off guard. She hadn't really considered turning human again.
"I mean, it's kinda awkward talking like this. Maybe if you took human form, we could have a more normal conversation."
She stayed quiet for a while. "I'll give it a try." She began shrinking—and it looked like she could manage it after all.
Unlike awakened beings who transformed back with no clothes, her dragon scales turned into a gleaming suit of armor. She still had two bumps on her head—probably because her horns hadn't fully retracted.
"This is much better. Lead the way," Kid said.
They walked to the deepest part of the cave, where there was a huge stone wall. It looked completely plain, but when the dragon girl placed her hand on it, a display lit up like a screen.
It showed another dragon—much bigger than her. Kid realized the video was the reason she believed her ancestors had left behind something. The scenes kept shifting, clearly recorded at different times and locations. The dragon shown also changed size and shape—sometimes in dragon form, sometimes humanoid. Completely unpredictable.
"This is the only clue?" Kid asked, after watching for a while. All he saw was a dragon—nothing useful.
"Yes," she replied.
"Mind if I look around the cave?" Kid asked.
"Go ahead. This is the sacred land of the dragon descendants, but the legend forbids anyone else from entering. So aside from us, no one else has been here."
Alright then. Kid sighed inwardly. The thing he hated most was treasure hunting. Stealing something? No problem. But digging for hidden stuff? That was rough. Who knew where the treasure might be buried?
But since someone had asked for his help, Kid wouldn't give up so easily. It was just like when he helped Queen Hippolyta search for the Pandora Gem—he would cross the entire Earth if needed to find it.
This time, though, was different. They didn't even know what the target was. The path could be a device, a door, or maybe a small trinket like the quantum Earth. This treasure hunt was way harder than before.
Still, Kid was Kid. After 20 hours of meticulous searching all around the cave and rewatching the wall screen several times, he finally had a hunch.
The dragon girl heard Kid chuckle lightly.
"Hehe, so that's how it is."