Chương 66: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 66 - Interrogation (2) — Words Unspoken

[Friendly Reminder: Best viewed before or after meals.] Spurt Grass is a plant similar to croton. Except its effects hit considerably harder. Su Nian had tested this personally on his Blackwater Pythons. Once a Blackwater Python eats Spurt Grass, it generates massive amounts of intestinal gas, causing the snake's belly to swell up like a balloon. The spray distance is impressive, a full ten meters, easy. The Blackwater Pythons can even catch brief air time off the recoil.

The only downside is that what comes spraying out is entirely Origi-Splat. If he weren't worried about his Blackwater Pythons accidentally killing someone with it, honestly? Not a bad biochemical weapon at all. Disgusting enough to get the job done.... Yamamoto Nanjirou was still reeling. A Black Dragon. An actual, living, legendary Black Dragon, standing right in front of him. And not just any Black Dragon, this one was massive. Majestic. Every inch of it radiated power and dominance.

Yamamoto Nanjirou had loved dragons his whole life. Tigers too, but especially dragons. He'd even gotten one tattooed on his back once. Unfortunately, he hadn't had much money at the time. The tattoo looked more like an earthworm. He'd just opened his mouth to speak, to somehow convey the depth of his reverence, when Banana Wolf spotted the opening and shoved a fistful of Spurt Grass between his lips with practiced precision. The taste hit him first. Sweet. Pleasantly fragrant.

Yamamoto Nanjirou chewed on reflex, and swallowed. Delicious! What wonderful monsters! He'd clearly misunderstood the situation. These creatures were giving him sweet food. Sure, the whole tying-him-up part was a little confusing, but still.

"Great Black Dragon Lord, thank you for your generous gift."

"It is very sweet. It reminds me of the cherry blossoms of my homeland." Su Nian stared at him. Was this guy out of his mind? He didn't let it show on his face. It didn't matter. Spurt Grass works fast, this Sakura Island player was about to learn firsthand what "thoroughly relieved" actually meant. Su Nian took two quiet steps back.

"... Great Black Dragon Lord, I have admired powerful beings like you since I was a child. I even dreamed of becoming a Dragon Blood Warrior one day..." Yamamoto Nanjirou kept talking. Then, mid-sentence, his intestines gave a violent lurch. A pressure built from somewhere deep inside, impossible to ignore, demanding release. His face changed. Something was coming out. He could not spray Origi-Splat in front of the Black Dragon Lord. That would be an unforgivable desecration.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. He couldn't stop it. PFFT, PFFT PFFT PFFT, BLRRRRP PFFT PFFT. His pyloric sphincter had gone completely offline. His intestines, electrified by the Spurt Grass, launched into a full waltz, enthusiastic, rhythmic, and completely uncooperative. Su Nian retreated another two steps. The spectacle was considerably more impressive than anything his Blackwater Pythons had produced.

This was what the poets meant when they wrote about a waterfall thundering down three thousand feet. This was exactly that. Su Nian shook his head with a trace of genuine regret. Back in his previous life, Spurt Grass would have been a miracle cure for constipation. One plant. That's all it would have taken to make him a very wealthy man. A legendary career in pharmaceuticals, gone. Unfortunately, this was a different world.

He watched Yamamoto Nanjirou's face go the color of old wax and waited until the worst was clearly over. Then he stepped forward, switched off his olfactory system, and smiled. It was not a kind smile.

"Here's how this works. I ask, you answer. There's another human being interrogated in the next room right now. If your answers don't match his, well." Su Nian tilted his head.

"You'll be eating what you just made." Eat it. The blood drained from Yamamoto Nanjirou's face in an instant. He remembered now. Back in the Sakura Island beginner village. That bodyguard of the Yamaguchi-gumi young master, the one who'd been fed by a group of monsters. The man still hadn't recovered. Everything he ate came straight back up. And this game didn't have a taste-disable option.

"First question. How many of you are there?" Yamamoto Nanjirou did not hesitate. He was not going to eat that.

"Res... respected Black Dragon Lord, we, we have over eight thousand people in our beginner village..." Su Nian caught Bolikri's eye. Bolikri understood immediately. He trotted to the door, had a brief chat with Anna, then trotted back and announced at full volume:"Great Master! That's different from what the one next door said!"

"Heheheh." Su Nian's smile went sharper.

"Banana Wolf. Feed him."

"No! Black Dragon Lord, I'm telling the truth, I swear, ugh, glug glug glug, ugh, " Banana Wolf pinched his mouth open without expression. A large spoonful of Origi-Splat, enhanced with a generous serving of Tyrant Stinkbug shit pellets, went straight in.

"Ask again. How many people?"" Ugh... really... really only eight thousand... ugh... people..."

"Report, Master! Still different from next door!"

"Heheheh. Banana Wolf. Keep feeding."" Glug glug pfft, ugh —""What do you use to open treasure chests?"

"Keys, ugh, keys, please, I'm begging you—""Report, Master. Different."

"Heheheh. Feed him! Keep feeding, damn it!"

"Glug glug glug pfft, ugh—"... Fifteen minutes later, Su Nian had everything he needed. There was no one being interrogated in the next room. Yamamoto Nanjirou was the only player who'd woken up. Su Nian had simply kept feeding him to demolish his psychological defenses, one spoonful at a time. It had worked beautifully. Yamamoto Nanjirou talked. He told Su Nian everything. He held nothing back.

He nearly got around to discussing how many times his mother had cuckolded his father before Su Nian decided he had enough. Origi-Splat. Truly a remarkable substance. Origi-Splat mixed with Tyrant Stinkbug shit pellets was the premium grade, and the best part was the zero-waste policy. Self-produced. Self-consumed. A perfectly closed loop. Yamamoto Nanjirou himself was a living demonstration of this principle.

He sat there, expression placid and full, his mouth sealed with a gnoll's tattered underpants wrapped twice around his head to ensure he received every last bit of the benefits. He even let out a small, contented burp. Now to the intelligence itself. Sakura Island's No. 1 Beginner Village currently held over eight thousand players. Of those, roughly six thousand remained in the village, the others had pushed out toward the Anlius Empire capital to explore.

More than half of the six thousand had organized under Yamaguchi Mura Chicken into a guild called [Flower Girl Mishi Mishi], with plans to grind their levels up and launch a counterattack on Silvermoon Forest. Su Nian let out a short, cold laugh. Delusional. Flower Girl Mishi Mishi, was it? When the seventh-day safe zone expired, he'd Mishi their beginner village first. The second piece of intelligence covered treasure chests. Wooden chests required no key.

Black Iron chests needed a Black Iron key, purchased for 200 Invasion Points. Bronze keys ran 500. Silver keys, 1, 000. Gold keys, 5, 000. Diamond keys and Purple Gold keys cost Invasion Points, the exact figures hadn't come up. Nothing higher than that, for now. Su Nian filed this away. Invasion Points were clearly the player-side equivalent of his own system points, game currency, essentially, generated by whatever system governed these invaders. Keys could also drop from killing treasure guardians.

Which meant he currently had a Gold key somewhere on his person, he just couldn't feel it. That bothered him. A Gold key. Five thousand points. That was the floor, not the ceiling. His target was clear: whatever key he carried needed to become a Purple Gold key, and the chest needed to evolve alongside it. Open it then, and the reward would be something worth opening. ➤ Next: Planting Potatoes