TTW Chapter 181: Dragon Scale (Patreon)

"Cough cough…"

Masashi Toyama coughed twice, aware that he had made a mistake and was trying to cover up the awkwardness.

"We've brought two pieces of evidence to prove that dragons do indeed exist in this world. Both are highly valuable artifacts, borrowed specifically from the academy's archives."

As Toyama spoke, he opened the first briefcase with a password and fingerprint. Inside the briefcase was black foam. After peeling away the foam layers, what appeared was a palm-sized black scale with a perfect shield-shaped pattern. Its smooth surface and intricate lines were clearly visible under the classic lighting.

"This is a dragon scale!"

"That's strange, this could be a scale from some kind of mutant lizard or crocodile species. You could be wrong too, you know?" Lu Mingfei retorted weakly.

Lin Yi's reaction was much more composed. He took the dragon scale from the other's hand; it felt metallic, completely devoid of temperature. Toyama applied a bit of force, squeezing it between his fingers as hard as he could, but still had difficulty even deforming it. He stared at the dragon scale, a mechanical noise ringing in his ears.

"Walther PPK handgun, 7.65 mm caliber, initial speed of 280 meters per second, effective range of 50 meters. The guys in the equipment department have made some modifications to it. Want to test the hardness of the dragon scale?"

Toyama pulled out a sleek black handgun, startling Lu Mingfei.

"What kind of school is this, where you can just whip out a gun anywhere? This is dangerous."

"I...I don't know how to shoot," Lu Mingfei waved his hand, declining.

"Let me do it," Lin Yi took the gun, tossing the dragon scale into the air. He had practiced with firearms at CCG, but didn't see much improvement, so he quit practicing.

However, his marksmanship was still good. He aimed at the free-falling dragon scale, pulling the trigger with a deafening bang. Sparks flew, and Toyama hit the target.

Professor Goodrian and Toyama looked at Lin Yi as if he were a monster. They had no doubt about his shooting skills; the data showed that he often went to private shooting clubs to learn. However, they were shocked that the powerful recoil from the modified gun, comparable to a naval cannon, had no effect on him.

After a moment of astonishment, Professor Goodrian picked up the fallen dragon scale. It was perfectly intact; not even a scratch remained from the powerful gun.

Only Lu Mingfei was still dazed, feeling like his ears were ringing.

That wasn't a gunshot; it was more like a cannon.

"Crazy, they're all crazy."

Lu Mingfei looked at Lin Yi and found that the other party had no reaction and was exceptionally calm. He felt increasingly out of place in this world.

Guderian, on the other hand, was somewhat convinced by Nono's judgment.

Suspected to be of high-bloodline mixed heritage, he was now somewhat looking forward to Lin Yi's performance in the bloodline test.

"Now do you believe it? This is a genuine dragon scale. No chitinous creature can withstand this kind of attack," said Toyama with a slight smile.

"This dragon scale was found in 1900 by Sven Hedin in the ancient city of Loulan in Xinjiang. He couldn't recognize it at the time but knew that neither fire nor hammer could damage it, so he took it back to Europe. Later, it was recognized by someone named Meinecke Kassel, one of the founders of this academy. Now, do you have some belief and understanding about the existence of dragons?"

"Isn't it high technology?" Lu Mingfei was still a bit skeptical, as everything that had happened today had completely overturned his understanding.

"Even if it were made of titanium alloy using nanotechnology, it couldn't withstand such a shot, right?" Toyama laughed and said jokingly, "Trust me, I have a PhD in Material Science from the University of Tokyo."

"What is the second item?"

Lin Yi spoke up. Just from this dragon scale alone, he could already infer how powerful the dragons in this world were.

It's like a monster covered in heavy armor all over and capable of casting magic.

"Alright, for the second piece of evidence, just use your eyes. No need to think." Toyama stood up and opened the second briefcase, taking out a cylindrical glass bottle and placing it on the table, much like the kind used to store specimens in biology class.

"Dragon!"

Lu Mingfei exclaimed, looking incredulously at what he saw.

Inside the transparent glass jar filled with a pale yellow formaldehyde solution, there was a lizard-like creature curled up. It was no bigger than a domestic cat, with yellowish-white skin and incompletely formed scales, resembling a fetus in the womb. What was most astonishing were the thin membranous wings spread out on its back.

"This is a hatchling of a red dragon; it's not dead yet. Dragons are hard to kill. Even if you kill them, it's temporary. They will recover gradually in their sleep," Toyama Masafumi slowly said. "This is a rare specimen; it's usually very difficult for people to capture an intact dragon. That's because dragons can sense human thought radiation with their brains, and either initiate an attack in advance or run away."

But this dragon was too small, about the size of two palms. If you didn't look carefully, you might think it was a lizard hatchling.

As Lin Yi was pondering, he suddenly narrowed his eyes.

The scene before him underwent a drastic change. He vaguely felt like he was standing on the edge of a cliff with no way back. Facing him was a gigantic dragon with wings spread out, its body aflame with scorching heat, its scales pitch-black, swooping towards him.

Trying to scare me?

Lin Yi smiled faintly. Having seen the black dragons in the Dragon Valley world, how could he be moved by such a 'little thing.'

"Are you looking for death?"

As his words fell, a roaring dragon chant followed. It was the Dragon Gem from 'Jörmungandr,' trembling in rage.

Being of the same dragon race, it sensed someone challenging its status.

But how could this little dragonling compare to a black dragon?

The small dragon coming head-on was instantly intimidated and retreated. Its large figure gradually dissipated, like ashes corroded by fire.

The next moment, the scene around Lin Yi changed again, returning to the study as if nothing had happened.

The people around him didn't even notice Lin Yi's transformation.

All their attention was focused on the dragon specimen.