Chapter 7: Research
“Just find a place to sit comfortably; today’s research is only for some basic external data.”
Raphael followed Fisher back into the previous room, where he explained while picking up a paper manuscript with unfamiliar writing from the table.
External data?
Raphael hugged herself nervously as the door behind her closed automatically, and the room fell completely silent.
This human always spoke words that were difficult to understand, such as “research” and “data,” which had unclear meanings in Dragon language. Most of the time, Fisher replaced these with similar terms, and when he couldn’t find any, he directly transliterated them using Nali language.
“Don’t just stand there; sit in the chair behind you.”
“…”
Raphael quietly sat down in the wooden chair behind her, and then the man in front of her touched the black, elongated objects around the room, causing a transparent cover to emit light, startling her.
Isn’t that some kind of magic, or are there bugs or stones glowing? Or are the souls of subhumans he collected glowing?
She had once heard her mother say that Dragon souls are hot, which is why they emit light, guiding lost Dragons in the wild back to their homeland every year, though she had never seen it herself and didn’t know if it was true.
What she didn’t know was that the light gathering around her was simply allowing Fisher to better observe his research subject.
He put on a pair of monocles that emitted a faint glow, which were magical items that could see the flow of magic power in living beings. Some physical characteristics of subhumans would change with the flow of magic, and she wondered if Dragons were the same.
Directly studying Dragon Race was rare in the Western Continent, and he had traveled throughout the Southern Continent to find this red Dragon. According to other Dragons, this color was quite rare, and if she was not the so-called “Crimson Dragon Queen,” he would have to recognize his failure.
“From now on, don’t move.”
He pulled over a small movable table beside the desk, which held some tools that Raphael did not recognize. However, seeing the metallic objects gleaming in the light made her suspicious that they might be some kind of strange torture devices.
Is this research?
She gritted her teeth.
Just as Fisher pulled out a tape measure, he noticed her closing her eyes with a look of determination. He paused slightly, but his expression remained unchanged as he continued with his work.
First, he needed to measure her basic data.
Such as height, weight, tail length, and age, etc.
“You’re very afraid of guns.”
Feeling something cold suddenly covering her legs, her eyelids twitched slightly. But the man’s flat statement, as if he were concluding something, made her open her eyes again.
“If that thing penetrated your body, you would look like a caterpillar.”
“Caterpillar?” As the tape measure was slightly extended, it reflected Fisher’s serious and solemn face, “Good description.”
“…”
Raphael gritted her teeth, her claws tightening in her hands as she wished she could tear apart this annoying human in front of her.
Dragon scales do not cover the entire body, but they cover a significant portion; it seemed that from the knee up to her lower abdomen, there were no scales. However, wearing her burlap clothing, Fisher couldn’t be sure.
When will he assassinate me?
If he fails, he can conduct further research.
Fisher looked down at her scales on her calves, where a small circular area, slightly lighter in color than the surrounding scales, caught his attention.
He gently reached out and grasped her calf, feeling the warm scales along with the shape of her calf muscles. The Dragon scales were not prickly; they felt very comfortable, except for a few adult ones that provided protective armor.
“Um…”
Raphael inhaled sharply, her right foot claw curling slightly where he held her.
“Beautiful scales. Here, you were shot; these scales have regrown.”
“Hmph, if it weren’t for those annoying guns, those humans couldn’t have caught me, and they would all be dead…”
She licked her lips, her emerald green eyes filled with ferocity, as if she wanted to devour him. To capture her, humans sent over a dozen slave hunters armed with firearms, about three-quarters of whom she had killed, which is why she received “special treatment” after being captured.
She still remembered how those humans beat her mercilessly and how they used pliers to pull off her scales, how they cut her skin with blades.
Raphael’s pupils narrowed into slits; if she could kill this human in front of her, she would be able to go back. She wanted revenge on the humans and make them pay for everything they had done.
Her murderous intent was too obvious, causing the scales in Fisher’s hand to stand up. Every time Raphael’s emotions ran high, these scales would respond by standing up to express her feelings; she was uncertain what the steam was about but would study it later.
He gently smoothed the standing scales and then turned to grab the silver knife from the table. Seeing him pick up the weapon, Raphael emitted a dragon-like roar, causing Fisher to feel the temperature in his hand rise sharply, as if he had grabbed a boiling kettle, prompting him to let go.
“Roar!”
Facing her frightening threat, Fisher sat calmly before her, unchanged in expression.
“It hurts here at night, like the places that were hit, doesn’t it?”
Raphael’s pupils slightly dilated.
“After you were shot, they just crudely removed the bullet; they didn’t know how to treat wounds on subhumans. The one treating your wounds wasn’t a legitimate doctor, leaving dark injuries on your right leg and left hand. Rain, activity, movement of your scales, all impact the injured muscles underneath, so it hurts a lot, right?”
“You failed to attack me before because your body wasn’t coordinated; your right leg couldn’t keep up with your left leg, and your left hand couldn’t follow your right. Your movements were too slow, and I caught the loophole. With your injuries and without my treatment, you could never succeed in an assassination.”
Taking advantage of Raphael’s moment of distraction, he gently used the silver knife to pry open the lighter-colored scales, revealing black and purple flesh underneath, starkly contrasting with the surrounding pale skin.
“This has nothing to do with you; I will kill you! Peel your skin off and smear your blood on this land; you will die the most painful way. I will make good on my words!”
Raphael’s scales stood up again, but no more steam poured out, so Fisher reached out to grasp her right leg again. With a mocking smile, he raised the silver knife.
“Can you do it, little Dragon?”
The silver knife cut into the decaying muscle, and except for the right leg firmly gripped in Fisher’s hand, Raphael’s whole body arched in pain, as if she had returned to the day the bullet had entered her body. But this time, the pain was worse, as if it had drilled into her marrow.
God knows what those slave traders had smeared on the bullets to make these subhumans, with physical qualities superior to humans, collapse and lose their combat ability; the flesh beneath was almost decaying down to the bones.
“Bang, bang, bang!”
The silver knife trembled slightly, while Raphael’s tail thrashed wildly against the floor, but Fisher’s left hand held her right leg in an iron grip, preventing her from moving even an inch.
“I will kill you!”
“I will kill you!”
“Kill… you.”
“Ugh…”
From her right leg to her left hand, as the treatment deepened and time passed, the threat filled with killing intent began to rise with a tinge of weeping. Drops of blood dripped from her body onto the ground, and then suddenly emitted searing steam, causing Fisher to look away in pain.
His floor…
But thankfully, the treatment was finally completed, and Fisher picked up the bandages and medicine, wrapping layer upon layer around her calves.
In fact, it didn’t take long; outside, there were no sounds of the subhumans returning. However, every second of this pain felt like agony, especially without anesthesia.
“…There will be a chance if you can seize it.”
This was a response to her claims of wanting to kill herself.
Fisher observed the limp Raphael in the chair, continuing to measure the remaining body data with the tape measure, ignoring her currently murderous glare.
“The bodies of subhumans recover quickly, so it won’t be long before you heal. I look forward to your assassination. Tonight’s research ends here; you can go back.”
He stood up, throwing the bloodstained silver knife onto a nearby tray and washing his hands with clean water before turning off the light beside him.
Although the light disappeared, colorful afterimages remained in Raphael’s eyes, along with the man’s retreating figure etched into her mind.
“I will kill… you…”
“Mm-mm, good luck, Dragon lady.”
I am very cute; please vote for me.
(ω)
(End of this chapter)
