106. Flames Descending from the Heavens

Chen Shang had never felt so weak. Even with the aid of sedative hormones, he felt a scorching pain throughout his body, as if he were on the verge of death.

Before his eyes, system prompts like [Host is near death; please initiate self-rescue immediately] scrolled by incessantly, but he ignored them entirely. He had one chance for a self-healing resurrection, and he had to save it for the very last moment.

"Ahahaha! Die! Let it all be blown to pieces!" White Fox was still wreaking havoc inside the Devourer Dragon. She had completely blasted through the giant dragon’s stomach, mixing blood and gastric juices together, surging wildly within the beast’s body.

The interior of this young Devourer Dragon had been reduced to a chaotic mess; it would be dead soon. As it neared its end, the Devourer Dragon instinctively flapped its wings to take flight. It fled in terror, though it knew not where to go.

"The Devourer Dragon has taken flight into the high altitudes with the two contestants from the Planner Team!" Flavius’s flower-headed mask spun at an incredible speed, his voice cracking as it reached a fever pitch: "Perhaps contestant White Fox might survive... but the Planner contestant is likely facing certain death. He hasn’t displayed superior physical fitness in this arena, nor does he possess White Fox’s terrifying regenerative abilities. I truly don't understand why he would make such a suicidal choice!"

Through the hole in the flesh torn open by the chimera, Chen Shang could barely see the ground; beneath him was nothing but hazy, indistinct clouds. The air around him grew thinner, and the intense pressure differential caused everything inside the dragon to be sucked toward the opening.

Chen Shang tried to shift away from the hole, only to find his legs unresponsive; his muscles and nerves had likely been corroded by stomach acid. Helpless, he drew a dagger and plunged it into the wall of flesh to anchor himself, barely managing to avoid being swept out by the powerful wind pressure.

Watching White Fox’s frenzied movements inside the dragon’s stomach, Chen Shang fell into deep thought. He dared not look at his legs, nor did he dare assess his injuries. If not for the sedative hormones, the pain would have driven him insane.

"Why did I come in here with White Fox?"

Chen Shang sneered, took a deep breath of the foul-smelling air, and broke into a fit of coughing.

Smooth talk wasn't a panacea; mere flowery language could not win White Fox’s trust. In truth, White Fox’s heart was not as insane as she appeared. Her past experiences in the experimental factory had turned her into a fragile, sensitive girl who used violence and mania to mask her inner self.

White Fox feared betrayal and entrapment. She worried that her two temporary teammates were merely using her, waiting until she was on the brink of death to deliver the finishing blow before walking away with the tournament prize. Furthermore, their affinity had not yet reached the level of intimacy, and since Chen Shang had indeed deceived her a few times, she was naturally on guard against him.

Chen Shang knew that if he had simply ordered White Fox to "jump into the Devourer Dragon’s mouth," she would have hesitated or even refused. Yet, in the original plot, the method for the Fist God Team to defeat the Devourer Dragon was for the chimera and the dragon to fight until both were crippled, then force the teammates to crawl into its stomach with high-yield explosives for a suicide mission.

Under Chen Shang’s control, the situation was unfolding almost exactly according to the original plot. He could not allow a momentary crisis of trust to ruin his efforts; he needed to ensure this human bomb, White Fox, would willingly crawl into the dragon’s belly.

He needed bait, and that bait was himself.

It was a simple psychological suggestion. It was like a group of kids wanting to steal corn from a field; if the one who proposed the plan wouldn't do it himself, the others would hesitate. Because such a plan carried immense risk, no one would make a losing sacrifice for another. But if the proposer led by example, the others were much more likely to be stirred into following him into the field.

Only by acting as the "mastermind" and risking his own life—leaping into the dragon’s mouth—would White Fox subconsciously obey him.

*Since the Planner is willing to risk his life with me, he must have a backup plan to get us out of here alive.*

Chen Shang wanted to plant this illusion in her mind, making her believe he was willing to live or die with her and that he was confident in their escape.

White Fox continued her rampage. Many internal organs had been breached, and countless foul-smelling fluids and dying parasites were surging about, only to be sucked out through the hole in the dragon’s abdomen.

Chen Shang’s arm, corroded by gastric acid, revealed stark white bone. His fingers, gripping the dagger, lost their strength, and he was pulled toward the hole by the pressure.

*Looks like my body has reached its limit... oh well, the goal is achieved anyway.*

Chen Shang thought emotionlessly, letting his body fly out of the dragon. If he were sucked out like this, he would fall from a height of thousands of meters and likely hit the ground as nothing more than a pile of pulp. But once he hit, he would trigger "Final Healing" and be back on his feet... assuming the Collapse Core was reliable enough.

Just as Chen Shang was about to be sucked out, a rotting hand grabbed his arm tightly.

Chen Shang looked up and muttered, "White Fox?"

"Hey! Don't just fall out! Didn't you want to watch me kill this dragon?" White Fox twitched her ears, stained with filthy blood, and shouted.

Chen Shang’s eardrums had long since burst; he heard nothing, staring at her with a dull, indifferent expression.

White Fox possessed immense strength, and with a single pull, she dragged him back from the edge of the hole. She then wrapped one arm around his waist, pulling him against her chest, while her other hand gripped a rib to ensure they weren't swept away. Seemingly worried that Chen Shang would be killed by her own explosions, she draped her discarded explosion-proof bodysuit over him.

However, for Chen Shang, even through the special material of the suit, the constant close-range explosions were enough to leave him half-dead.

More and more visceral debris and fluids flowed out as the dragon’s body was hollowed out. As expected, the dragon began to sway, like a pilot suddenly taking their hands off the controls and dancing in the cockpit.

Then, they felt a rapid sensation of falling.

"Hey, Planner!" White Fox hugged Chen Shang tightly, like a little girl clutching her favorite doll. The Devourer Dragon was dead; she could feel its heart stop beating. This meant the Phantom Thief Team had completed the tournament's hidden mission and would soon receive the gene repair serum she dreamed of.

Looking at Chen Shang in her arms—his feet melted away, arms stripped to the bone, his body riddled with holes—White Fox sighed for the first time.

"I really don't get it. Why did you come in here with me?"

"You're just an ordinary person without special abilities, right? You rely on that sword-wielding helper for fights, and you can't do anything yourself."

"I don't understand... I still don't understand what you're trying to do. You’re a strange guy who talks to himself, full of lies, yet you're unexpectedly a good person... At least you’ve never harmed me, and you fought so hard to help me get the serum."

"If you die like this, it’s going to be a real problem for me. I was planning to get my body fixed and then pay you back..."

"Planner, don't play deaf! Say something!"

White Fox spoke to herself, but Chen Shang remained silent, slumped in her arms, shivering as her exploding cells detonated against him.

*It hurts... my heart is beating so fast... not even the sedatives can handle this... why is this idiot White Fox holding me... just put me down...*

Chen Shang was in a state of near-death; everything before his eyes became blurry. He could vaguely feel the agony throughout his body, but he dared not check his wounds. He could see White Fox’s mouth moving as she spoke, but he heard nothing.

"You're about to get the serum. Congratulations..." Chen Shang smiled palely, finally closing his eyes with no strength left. "...Wake me up when we hit the ground. I'm going to sleep for a bit."

Watching Chen Shang fall into a deep sleep, White Fox sighed again. "Forget it... you're almost dead, and you can still smile like that..."

"But that little girl from the gang said you like fireworks. So, I’ll set off a firework for you before you die."

White Fox pulled a sealed canister from her suit and poured half a bottle of industrial alcohol into her mouth. Seemingly triggered by some kind of energy, a series of explosions erupted within her. The high heat of the chain reactions, fueled by the industrial alcohol, ignited a scorching flame that engulfed her entire body.

Inside the shattered stomach of the giant dragon, the white-haired woman, wreathed in flames, held the dying boy. They were covered in fire, melded together.

This was a move she had discovered by accident after drinking industrial alcohol when extremely thirsty. By consuming fuel like gasoline or alcohol, she could cause her body to ignite with surging flames while constantly exploding, turning her into a fire warrior that incinerated everything.

The pain of the explosions combined with the burning of the flames was almost enough to make her faint. But she knew that once she got the gene repair serum, she would never feel pain again. As for this dying boy, there was likely no saving him.

She was just a notorious assassin; she had nothing with which to repay this boy. If so, she would give him a firework display he would never forget in his lifetime. And this boy would have the best seat in the house to watch it.

Fierce, terrifying flames spread from White Fox’s body, soon consuming every inch of space. She held Chen Shang tightly, two souls in extreme pain nestled against each other in the fire, silent.

...

At the broadcast station, the host, Flavius, who had been about to announce the deaths of the Planner Team, suddenly discovered an anomaly. He began to dance with excitement again, his voice pouring forth:

"The Devourer Dragon, which had flown to an altitude of a thousand meters, has started to fall! It seems to have stopped flapping its wings, and its limbs aren't moving... Could it be dead already?!"

"Wait, the Devourer Dragon’s body is catching fire! It’s burning all over!"

Under the gaze of all the spectators, the body of the Devourer Dragon was gradually shrouded in flames until it became a massive, burning meteor, falling in a straight line from the sky.

It was like a gift from Prometheus to humanity. It was an inextinguishable, massive flame descending from the heavens.