Bingpo, fueled by some inexplicable burst of mental energy, pushed past her limits, her speed kicking up a notch. No level-up, no stat boost, just raw agility somehow spiking—a rare fluke. Chiyan, trailing behind, was practically green with envy, wings flapping furiously but still eating Bingpo’s dust. At best, she could hang on a bit longer, just barely keeping Bingpo’s tail in sight.
“Slow down, slow down! You’re too fast! I’m dying here!” Chiyan gasped, pushing her absolute limit to avoid being left in the dust. But max speed isn’t something you can sustain forever—it’s not a casual jog.
Take a cheetah, for example. Fastest land animal, dubbed nature’s “perfect hunter,” untouchable in a sprint. But that speed? It lasts maybe twenty seconds, tops. Push past that, and the cheetah’s either out cold for hours or, worse, dead from exhaustion. Dragons like Chiyan are tougher, their bodies built to endure longer bursts, but an hour at max speed? Brutal. Chiyan felt her head throbbing, neck aching, chest burning, wings screaming, even her tail hurting.
Bingpo glanced back, not slowing a bit, just flashing a calm, smug smile—more deadly than any taunt. “Alright, Bingpo, ease up,” Filo said, perched cross-legged on Bingpo’s head. She flicked a playful knuckle against Bingpo’s scalp, a classic “chestnut” tap. One thing tames another, and Bingpo, pouting, slowed to glide beside Chiyan, letting her catch her breath.
Huff, huff, huff! Chiyan panted, her dragon jaws letting out a strangely sultry gasp. But Filo? Not a ripple of excitement. Was she so jaded that even a dragon’s alluring pants did nothing? Nah, it’s just that Chiyan’s dragon form, despite the sound, was still a giant scaly beast. Sexy voice or not, the sight gave Filo goosebumps, not butterflies.
No offense, but a dragon face with flirty gasps? Creepy as hell. Eyes closed, maybe it’d work, but Filo wasn’t some weirdo getting hyped by sound alone. She sat cross-legged, hands in a meditative pose, breathing deeply like some old sage—or maybe a wannabe cultivator. Back on Earth, during her cringey chuunibyou phase, she’d scoured the internet for “cultivation techniques,” mimicking video moves. A month later? Felt like crap. Useless on Earth, but here, it kinda worked. Or maybe it was just the gale-force winds stinging her face.
They soared above the clouds for ages. Filo wasn’t just zoning out—constant spacing out gets old. To switch things up, she played a game with Lin. “Pair of twos,” Filo said.
“Pair of jacks,” Lin countered.
“…”
“Pair of sixes.”
“Pair of queens.”
“…”
“Pair of aces!”
“Bomb!” Lin slammed her cards down.
“…”
“Argh! Boss, are you cheating? Your cards are too good!” Lin whined, hands shaking with frustration. Poker was Filo’s idea—simple rules, easy to teach. The deck? Woven from Filo’s versatile blood threads, red but otherwise perfect. Lin started cocky, vowing to beat Filo, but thirty rounds later? Zero wins.
Filo shrugged, helpless, as her cards spilled to the ground—all high cards, jokers included. “I’m not cheating. It’s just a game, no stakes. Why would I rig it?” she said, exasperated.
Lin huffed, tears welling up. Thirty straight losses would break anyone. “I’m done! You’re like a hacker! I’m sleeping—call me for something fun!” Pouting, she vanished into Filo’s body like a sulky ghost.
Filo sighed. Too much luck wasn’t great either—now she had no poker buddy. The cutie beast? It’d probably eat the cards before playing. Chiyan, catching Filo’s bored vibe, piped up, “I’ll play with you, Master! I’m not carrying anyone—Bingpo’s got the flight covered!”
“Damn, Chiyan, since when are you this smart?” Bingpo snapped. She’d thought of it first but didn’t want to lose her spot carrying Filo or let Chiyan steal it. She figured Chiyan was too dense to notice, but nope, she’d “awakened.”
“No way,” Bingpo said. “High-speed flight in unknown territory is risky. One dragon’s not enough—what if something happens?”
“Oh, please,” Chiyan grinned. “I trust you, Bingpo, the top young flier of the ice dragons. Scared of flying solo?” Bingpo gritted her teeth, stumped.
As Chiyan prepped to shift human and hop onto Bingpo, Bingpo’s eyes caught something. Using her dragon vision’s far-sight skill, she spotted swirling black winds in the distance—unseen to normal eyes.
Chaos Storm! The region between worlds, a deadly maze of razor-sharp wind currents, some threatening even level-900 powerhouses. That’s why the World Mirror, a human treasure, was so valuable. Over years, races had mapped safer routes through the storm. Bingpo and Chiyan had used one to reach the human world.
“Brace for the Chaos Storm!” Bingpo shouted. “Chiyan, get ready for impact!”