Red Dragon

The passive skill—Restraint Belt Detection—had been triggered.

The system prompt sounded, followed by a red-and-black panel popping up.

The crimson text resembled the twisting body of a dragon, churning amid flames for a while before slowly returning to its original form.

The moment Ji Minghuan saw the words on the panel, he raised an eyebrow slightly.

Target Gender: Male

Target Attributes: Strength: A-rank; Speed: A+-rank; Spirit: A+-rank

Extraordinary Species: Anecdote Envoy

Anecdote Envoy Rank: A-rank (This rank can bind up to 5 Anecdote Fragments simultaneously)

High-grade Anecdote Fragment stored in the catalog: Epoch-Grade Anecdote Fragment—"Red Dragon Wales".

What the hell kind of build is this? A-rank in every attribute, plus an Epoch-Grade Anecdote Fragment? Isn't that second only to a Mythic-Grade Anecdote?

Ji Minghuan thought to himself as he calmly took a sip of cola.

"The movie's about to start. Let's go."

"Let's go, let's go."

The two rose from the sofa, showed their tickets at the checkpoint, and entered the screening room.

Two hours later, the screen in Theater 7 went dark, and the audience walked out of the cinema chatting and laughing.

Night had fallen, and the sunset glow had been replaced by neon lights spreading out like dominoes.

Li Qingping said there was dinner at home tonight and that he could not eat out, so he headed back before Ji Minghuan.

With his back to Li Qingping, Ji Minghuan stepped into the bustling street. Just a few steps after leaving Li Qingping's sight, he turned into an empty alley.

A pitch-black Restraint Band surged from his body, instantly enveloping him from head to toe. Under the effect of Restraint Band Color Change, he seemed to become invisible. His Restraint Belt Senses were fully activated, bringing him sounds from every direction. Even the slightest disturbance within several dozen meters reached his ears; countless Footsteps from the crowd overlapped, rumbling like thunder.

Ji Minghuan diverted gravity across the Restraint Band covering his body, then leaped onto the base of an air-conditioning unit and from there onto the roof of an office building.

He reduced both the frequency and force of his breathing to the minimum, like a snake hidden in the forest waiting to hunt. His pupils reflected Li Qingping as he walked through the crowd.

He followed Li Qingping silently for half an hour, then watched him get into a yellow taxi.

The door shut, and the taxi drove toward Li Capital Coast. The tide had already come in at this hour, and few people would approach Li Capital Coast. Anyone spotted by the lifeguards would be fined, yet the taxi still headed that way.

Before long, the taxi stopped near Li Capital Coast.

Ji Minghuan landed atop a nearby lighthouse as well. Using the Restraint Band to pull himself toward the exhibition room window, he swung inside. Leaning against a dust-covered windowsill, he extended the Restraint Band and quietly watched Li Qingping walk onto the beach.

The Evening Breeze was bleak. White waves crashed against black reefs and shattered into spray, while the lighthouse's searchlight shone across the distant sea.

Li Qingping first turned his head and checked whether anyone was nearby. Then he slowly looked up. A long whale call suddenly sounded from the depths of the sea, and the surface split in two. From the enormous chasm, a gigantic creature slowly emerged.

Ji Minghuan stared intently at the monster rising from the sea.

It was a reddish-brown whale. Wrapped in surging waves sweeping in from one corner of the horizon, it rose from a massive whirlpool. Its deep, hollow eyes surveyed the distant city, like a deity high above the heavens looking down upon the human world.

The largest known creature in the world was the blue whale, but even a blue whale was only thirty-three meters long. The reddish-brown whale before him, however, was nearly two hundred meters long—comparable to the length of a Tennessee-class battleship.

Legendary Whale—"Qikana'ou."

The name he had heard from Instructor surfaced in Ji Minghuan's mind. The scene before him gave that pale symbol a concrete form.

The next moment, the red whale opened its mouth. From its bottomless maw extended a staircase seemingly formed from glass, followed by an old man in a butler's uniform stepping out.

He suddenly summoned a catalog from thin air, held it in his palm, opened to a page, pulled out a card, and crushed it.

As the card shattered, a massive oval glass barrier enveloped the world within several hundred meters.

Ji Minghuan raised an eyebrow and looked beyond the glass barrier. An electric scooter passed along the street above the coast, yet its rider was completely oblivious to what was happening at sea, as if... he could not see it.

Oh, some kind of visual concealment ability? Ji Minghuan thought.

"Royal Court Team member, codename 'Red Dragon,' correct?"

"You're the new gatekeeper?"

"Yes. My name is Nabis, and I'm now in charge of the entrance to the Whale Garden Box." The old man clasped his hands behind his back. "Mr. Red Dragon, as vice-captain of the Royal Court Team, you have not returned to the Whale Garden Box for several months. May I ask why?"

"My studies have been keeping me busy." Li Qingping said expressionlessly. "Besides, there hasn't been any trouble in the Whale Garden Box lately. I wasn't needed."

"I see." Nabis scratched at his snow-white temples. "But some say you have grown tired of the world of Anecdote Envoys. What do you make of that rumor?"

"What do I need to explain?"

"Very well." Nabis said, "Just today, the Second Prince specifically ordered you to return to the Whale Garden Box. In a few days, he wants you to accompany him to Tokyo for an auction. There is something he wants at the auction. Do you believe you are capable of handling this?"

"Are you joking? If it weren't for the Second Prince's request, I wouldn't have come back." Li Qingping paused. "Of course, if the Second Prince is willing to have someone else serve as his guard, I'd be happy to give up the position."

"No, the Second Prince specifically named 'Red Dragon' as the only one he wants as his guard." Nabis said. "I heard that some notorious criminals from the ordinary world may appear at that Tokyo auction."

"The White Crow Troupe."

"That's right, the White Crow Troupe." Nabis nodded. "If the auction really comes under attack, are you confident you can ensure the Second Prince's safety?"

"Of course."

"Then please enter, Mr. Red Dragon. The Second Prince has been waiting for you in the Royal Palace for a long time."

As he spoke, Nabis bent slightly and saluted him.

Li Qingping stepped onto the glass staircase, brushed past him, and entered the whale's mouth one step at a time. The Legendary Whale then closed its enormous jaws and sank back into the sea, while the glass barrier covering the coast vanished as well.

Main Quest 4 Completed: Investigate what your best friend, "Li Qingping," has been hiding.

Quest Reward Obtained: 1 Split Point, 1 Skill Point, 1 Attribute Point.

Main Quest 4 Updated: Form a cooperative relationship with the Royal Court Team's vice-captain—"Red Dragon"—and expand your connections within the Whale Garden Box.

At this moment, Ji Minghuan, who had listened to their entire conversation through Restraint Belt Senses, could not help standing stunned for quite a while.

After a long time, he sighed. "Is it still too late to quit the troupe?"

Requesting Moon Tickets. Thank you, everyone!