Monster Dismantling Company

Chapter 19 Reflection

The reflection in the blood spoke in dragon language, which Li Lin couldn't understand at all.

Although he couldn't understand it, it didn't mean he couldn't understand the meaning of the reflection in the blood.

[The Ghoul Emperor. Finally, only we are left.]

A line of blood-red text appeared before him.

Just as he obtained information through taste, this information appeared directly in front of him in written form.

"What brings you here?"

"Human language?" The voice reflected in the blood suddenly rose in pitch, "Who...are you?"

The voice sounded somewhat doubtful, but the Li Lin in front of it was indeed the person it was looking for; it couldn't be mistaken.

"Li Lin." He pronounced his name. "If you've come looking for the Ghoul Emperor, then you've come to the wrong person. My name now is Li Lin."

Whatever your name is, it doesn't matter, it's all unimportant.

The idea that something is "unimportant" is exactly the same as Li Lin's.

[The important thing is that you are here—the God of Jumang, the Divine Dragon of Jia Chen, the Azure Emperor born from thunder!]

"I can't remember all these names. I told you, just call me Li Lin."

[You don't like it? Then perhaps I should call you... "The Ghoul Emperor"? You wouldn't want humans to know that name, would you?]

The reflection in the blood directly uttered the name Li Lin least wanted to hear. He was quite old then; now he's in middle school.

"What exactly do you want to do?!"

[Courtship.]

"Huh???" Li Lin was stunned for a moment.

You've accepted my gift, haven't you? I brought you prey, and you gladly accepted it.

"?????????"

Li Lin asked in surprise, "You mean, Taba is your prey?"

I offer you the flesh and blood of the catfish-dragon, its spinal cord, and its bones. I hope you like it.

"I was wondering why such a delicious-looking cat suddenly appeared so early in the morning. It was even salted until the meat was chewy and springy."

Then it's not surprising. If Taba was sent by this person, then everything makes sense.

Why is Taba here? Why has he been dead for so long? Why is he rotting so quickly? Because Taba has been dead for a long time. He is the prey offered up by [Blood Shadow in the Pool].

Clearly, it was also the one that previously controlled Taba's actions. Like the Dragon Balls, this was an intrusion from the outside world. Only this time, it wasn't the dragon's power that intruded, but the dragon itself.

She presented the prey as a courtship gift, and Li Lin actually took a bite.

According to the rules of nature, eating it means accepting courtship.

This way of doing things felt strangely familiar to him—because it was clearly not human logic, but the logic of a dragon. This was the way of thinking he was most accustomed to and most familiar with, his instinct.

For dragons, courtship and mating are natural and instinctive.

However, he wasn't in a state of "Sravana's corruption" today, so he really couldn't muster any interest.

"I refuse," Li Lin said.

Hmm...very good. Well then, let's see what your friends are like now.

In the pool of blood, his face vanished, replaced by another scene—a train-sized dragon maggot thrashing about, while the troops retaliated with laser drills and rifles. The defense forces, heavy infantry wearing exoskeletons, formed a battle line, while agents from the Monster Decomposition Corporation were scattered around, chasing the dragon maggot's body and trying to burn it through.

However, the real threat to them was not the dragon maggots themselves, but the ever-rising water level—blood rained down like a storm, soaking everyone from head to toe, turning them into blood-soaked figures. In such a short time, the blood had already reached their ankles and was spreading up to their knees.

[Based on human time, they would be submerged up to their waists in about 15 minutes. At that point, they would be killed by the dragon maggots before they could drown in the blood.]

"..." Li Lin stared in astonishment at everything in the picture. His master, the colonel he had just met, the agents in the company, people he knew and people he didn't know were all in there.

[This worked on you after all. It seems your human master has taught you quite well. Shame, a sense of right and wrong, a willingness to yield, and most importantly, compassion... I can feel your sorrow and reluctance. No wonder you're unwilling to accept your instincts, unwilling to accept courtship. You're very close to being human, but already very far from being a dragon.]

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

Before the words were finished, the bottom of the blood pool suddenly opened up, and blood poured down, revealing a dark hole.

Let's talk face-to-face now.

...

He fell freely through a long passage from the pool of blood, landing on a soft, fibrous moss. The soft down caught him, allowing him to land smoothly on the ground.

Before him lay the shape of a nest, warm and bright. But between him and the nest itself seemed to be a layer of translucent, amber-like wall. Through the amber, he could vaguely see a pool of blood-red water in the center of the nest. And rising from the water was the silhouette of a naked [girl].

The girl didn't speak, seemingly waiting for him to do something.

Clearly, this amber wall is where Li Lin needs to prove himself.

"Alright, it seems you're not entirely sure of my identity yet. Well then, I'll prove it to you."

Li Lin stretched out his right hand and took off his glove—he had been wearing gloves the whole time, even while eating.

Beneath the gloves, his hands were as white as his skin. But his fingernails were as sharp as steel cones, extending into eagle claw-like points. The gloves were there to conceal his fingertips.

He flexed his fingers, then gently traced the amber wall with his index fingernail—

Sparks flew everywhere. Although it looked like amber, the wall was far harder than steel. And with just a light scratch, a white mark was left on the wall amidst the flying sparks.

Li Lin paced slowly, his fingers tracing a long line across the wall, leaving a trail of sparks. He didn't notice until he realized the texture of the scratch was different in a certain spot.

Having confirmed the location, he flicked his finger—and the entire wall collapsed with a roar, scattering like broken candy on the ground.

He walked through the crunching shards of metal as he stepped onto the ground and reached the pool.

"Who are you..."

"This isn't me," the girl said. "This is an image I just created to communicate with you. I sensed that you seem more familiar with human communication, so I chose this human appearance—it couldn't be simpler for us, could it? This is the power of mirage."

The passageway above, which had thrown the operators and defense forces into disarray, was also a mirage-like illusion.

"What I meant was, could you please put your clothes on?"

"Ah, I forgot. You have a sense of shame, so you can't stand seeing someone like this without clothes. Hmm, okay."

She turned and disappeared into the pool of blood. When she reappeared, she was wearing a school uniform.

"Why are you wearing my school uniform...?"

"Because you seem to really like this outfit, which represents your accepted identity. Oh, and this face—I sculpted it based on your ideal spouse. So, what do you think? Do you like it?"