Chapter 112: The Sky Eye Surveillance System

In the southern province, at the Sky Eye Center, a sudden, sharp alarm blared urgently. The timing was precisely when the Black-Scaled Jiao had left the water’s surface, appeared in the jungle, and snatched Jiang Xue away.

“Director, Sky Eye alert!”

The person addressed as Director was neither an old man nor middle-aged, but a very young girl, no older than fifteen or sixteen, chewing gum like a child.

No, she was indeed just a child.

The Sky Eye Center had seven directors in total, rotating day and night shifts to oversee its operations.

The Sky Eye Center comprised more than twenty departments of varying sizes.

To understand the Sky Eye Center, one must first grasp what the Sky Eye system is. At its core, it’s the nation’s most critical satellite monitoring network—composed of about three hundred satellites in orbit, forming an extensive satellite web that covers the entire globe. It provides uninterrupted, twenty-four-hour surveillance of activity worldwide.

Each department had its own responsibilities. One such department was the Domestic Monitoring Division, whose primary duty was to monitor movements within the country via the Sky Eye satellite system.

This young “little director” was a member of the Domestic Monitoring Division.

People differ greatly—some become prime ministers at eight years old, while others remain aimless at eighty. This “little director” was among the elite of humanity; she had been a director in this crucial domestic department since she was twelve.

Shao Xiaoyao had her hands in the pockets of her white lab coat, chewing gum as she walked toward the monitoring equipment, her voice sweet and childish as she asked, “What’s up?”

Tonight, she was on the graveyard shift.

Working here paid a million yuan a year, was not exhausting, and allowed her to gain vast knowledge and witness things ordinary people could never see. It was fascinating and fun—otherwise, Shao Xiaoyao wouldn’t willingly stay cooped up here.

“Look!”

A researcher in a white coat stood up, giving his chair to Shao Xiaoyao as he pointed to the LCD screen, his expression fearful.

On the screen, a small red dot was flashing rapidly.

Without hesitation, Shao Xiaoyao sat down in the chair and stared at the flashing red dot. Her chewing ceased, and her expression turned serious.

“Bring up the big screen. Zoom in on this area!”

“Yes!”

Someone responded promptly. Soon a massive screen, roughly fifty meters square, lit up in front of them.

Only with such a super-sized display could they use the Sky Eye system to see any corner of the country.

Frankly, when weather permitted, even during the day, the Sky Eye system could see a strand of hair on the ground.

“Zoom in!”

Shao Xiaoyao leaned back in the chair, watching the screen enlarge little by little.

Everyone on duty in the lab was fixated on the screen, collectively holding their breath.

“What a huge snake!”

Someone whispered in awe. That serpent must have been at least one or two hundred meters long.

“Seeing things,” muttered Shao Xiaoyao, “that’s not a snake.”

A white-coated man standing beside her agreed, “Right, definitely not a snake. No ordinary serpent grows that large. It should be a python, a giant python.”

Shao Xiaoyao curled her lip, muttering, “Pretending to know.”

Her words brought a hint of embarrassment to the man’s face, but he laughed awkwardly and said, “Then, Director, why don’t you enlighten us? If it’s neither snake nor python, then what is it?”

Shao Xiaoyao fixed her gaze on the massive creature on the screen, furrowing her brows slightly as she murmured to herself, “This should be a Jiao, black-scaled. We should call it the ‘Black-Scaled Jiao.’ Strange, this area isn’t a mysterious zone, nor does it have any special magnetic fields. The Sky Eye should easily detect it. Why has this Black-Scaled Jiao come here?”

Black-Scaled Jiao?

All the staff in the lab knew that the enormous creature on the screen was almost certainly the ‘Black-Scaled Jiao’ the young director mentioned.

Despite her youth, she was incredibly knowledgeable—far beyond ordinary people.

“Is there someone nearby?”

Shao Xiaoyao raised her hand, pointing at the giant screen. “Southeast corner, 25 degrees, extending 300 meters. Zoom in, yes, zoom in more!”

The figures of Zhao Xiaoyue and her companions appeared on the screen.

“That Black-Scaled Jiao just grabbed someone!” someone exclaimed.

Shao Xiaoyao frowned. “That can’t be right. With a creature that big, none of those people should have gotten away. Why did it only take one? Strange.”

The researchers nearby were both amused and helpless. Any ordinary child would have cried in fear at such a situation, but here, they were stunned not because the Black-Scaled Jiao ate someone, but because it had only eaten one and left the rest alone.

“This isn’t right. It’s not eating people!” Shao Xiaoyao whispered.

“Look! Someone else is coming!”

Shao Xiaoyao saw on the large screen that, despite the darkness, the Sky Eye micro-system combined with big data assistance could clearly capture human faces and distinguish features with precision, as long as nothing obstructed the view.

“First, find out where this is!” Shao Xiaoyao ordered.

“Understood!”

About three seconds later, the same voice spoke again: “Director, this is Tao County, Donghe Town, a place called Yutou Village.”

“Yutou Village?”

Shao Xiaoyao repeated the name, not because she had heard of it before, but because she found the village’s name interesting.

“Yutou Village was a poor and backward mountain village. Not long ago, rumors spread of a massive lava cave created by a heavenly lightning strike, named ‘Ghost King Cave.’ Tourism has since developed, attracting many visitors, and it has gained some fame online.”

Soon, the village’s background was laid out before Shao Xiaoyao.

“Ghost King Cave?”

She chewed her gum a few times, muttering, “So the Black-Scaled Jiao must have emerged from beneath the ground. This little village is also by the sea; maybe it came out of the ocean!”

“Yeah, that man just ran toward the Black-Scaled Jiao!”

Next was the scene of Tang Long meeting the big black creature, clearly visible through the Sky Eye satellite monitoring system.

“That man is communicating with the Black-Scaled Jiao?”

Shao Xiaoyao quickly sensed something unusual. Both the Black-Scaled Jiao and the man stood still, with the man’s lips moving—obviously speaking to the creature.

“Check this man’s info!”

Beep, beep, beep!

“Director, classified!”

Shao Xiaoyao paused, pulling her chair closer to the control panel and typing a few keys.

Only then did a line of text appear on the screen:

“Tang Long, 25 years old, served for eleven years, retired this May, currently the village chief of Yutou Village!”

The profile was brief, with no details on where he served or his achievements.

Shao Xiaoyao immediately understood: this man was no ordinary person. The scant information meant his military rank had far surpassed hers before retirement.

Hesitating momentarily, she picked up the phone and dialed a number.

After about ten seconds, the call connected, and a cold voice said, “Disturbing my sleep at this hour? Wait till I get you, brat! What’s the matter?”

Shao Xiaoyao stuck out her tongue, not daring to argue. Chewing her gum, she teasingly asked, “Have you heard of ‘Tang Long’?”

The other party was momentarily stunned, then asked, “Did your monitoring catch something?”

“There’s a Black-Scaled Jiao in Yutou Village, and a man named Tang Long seems to be communicating with it. I want to know more about him!” Shao Xiaoyao didn’t hesitate. Whatever information she had, if the other person wanted to know, they surely could—they had the clearance. So there was no reason to withhold anything.

“Black-Scaled Jiao?”

“Yeah, huge—over a hundred meters long!” Shao Xiaoyao said with a smirk.

After a pause, the voice said, “Tang Long is formidable. He spent most of his time on foreign missions, so you probably haven’t met him. In four words: ‘A living legend.’ In eight: ‘A living legend, the unparalleled war king.’”

Shao Xiaoyao was stunned, eyes wide as she chewed her gum. “Is he really that impressive?”

The voice chuckled bitterly, “That’s not just me saying it; it’s world recognition. Before he left the military, even your White Dragon brother wouldn’t dare claim to be… well, he’s that impressive!”

After a brief pause, the voice continued, “But that’s all history now. Since he left the army, his past glory is behind him. The legend no longer counts.”

“I don’t get that part. But does he really have the ability to communicate with beasts?” Shao Xiaoyao asked, curious.

The voice replied, “That, I don’t know. He handled foreign affairs mostly; we focus on domestic matters, so contact was limited. All I know is that his skills and strength are top-notch globally, but as a person… not so great!”

“Not so great as a person?”

Shao Xiaoyao blinked, gossiping a bit, “Sister Peacock, he didn’t chase after you, did he?”

“…” The woman called Peacock on the phone didn’t answer, coldly retorting, “Stop babbling and mind your own business!” Then she hung up.

“Oh?” Shao Xiaoyao put away her phone, laughing softly, “There’s a story there!”

Little did she know, it wasn’t that Tang Long had pursued Peacock, but rather Peacock had chased him and he simply hadn’t reciprocated.

Peacock lay awake in bed, tossing and turning, her mind filled with that cold figure. This man treated everyone differently: with other girls, he was playful, flirtatious, shameless—wearing every expression imaginable. But with her, only one: coldness, almost cruel and unfeeling. She had felt deeply wronged, never understanding what she had done to deserve such treatment.

Why could he be that way with other girls but so cold and ruthless to her?

There was no explanation, and to this day, Peacock couldn’t comprehend it.

“The Black-Scaled Jiao probably hasn’t appeared for many years. The last record was during the Republic era,” Peacock whispered to herself.

She mainly handled domestic affairs and hadn’t seen Tang Long in years.

A man like Tang Long—no one knew the full extent of his knowledge. Dominating the pinnacle of the world, becoming the world’s war king, he held countless trump cards.

At his level, every mission faced world-class enemies, none easy to deal with. Every mission was a near-death experience, and no one knew what they had endured to survive.

“Director, it seems Tang Long and the Black-Scaled Jiao have reached an agreement!”

Shao Xiaoyao looked up at the big screen. Indeed, the Black-Scaled Jiao and Tang Long had sworn a blood oath.

“Should we report the intelligence on this Black-Scaled Jiao?”

It seemed this creature was within controllable range, but no one could be sure. After all, it was a beast, not human. Moreover, such a massive being could devour many people if it wanted, so why only one?

“Let’s follow protocol!” Shao Xiaoyao said nonchalantly. Regardless of whether the Black-Scaled Jiao was controllable, the information had to be reported. Their duty was surveillance, not assessment.

Shao Xiaoyao felt a spark of curiosity about Tang Long on the screen. Could he really be stronger than her White Dragon brother? Impossible—after all, White Dragon was her idol!

And how did this Black-Scaled Jiao come to appear here?

…

Back at the Huayutou Resort, as soon as Jiang Xiuzhi entered her room, her phone rang.

Seeing the caller ID, it was Wen Nuan Chun!

“President Wen!”

It was nearly three in the morning, yet Wen Nuan Chun wasn’t asleep. Jiang Xiuzhi was not surprised that Wen Nuan Chun knew about the events in Yutou Village. Even if Jiang Xiuzhi hadn’t reported it, someone surely would have informed her.

“So, do you have a clear idea of what happened?” Wen Nuan Chun asked directly, without small talk.

Jiang Xiuzhi shook her head. “We weren’t there, so we don’t know the exact details.”

After a pause, she continued, “But after Tang Long returned, he told us that the ancestors of Yutou Village crawled out of the Ghost King Cave!”

Wen Nuan Chun was stunned. “Ancestors? Crawled out of Ghost King Cave? A resurrection?”

Jiang Xiuzhi smiled bitterly. “Not a resurrection. Tang Long said the ancestors of Yutou Village aren’t human—they’re a dragon that had been cultivating in Ghost King Cave for thousands of years. Recently, it passed a heavenly tribulation and now finds staying in the cave dull. It wants to come out for a stroll!”

Nonsense!

Wen Nuan Chun’s thoughts echoed Jiang Xiuzhi’s reaction. Anyone hearing that would immediately curse and call it nonsense.

Whether Yutou Village had ancestors was a matter for another time. But a dragon living in Ghost King Cave?

The story only grew more fantastical. Who would believe it?

The question was, if no one believed it, why did Tang Long say it? Wen Nuan Chun had pondered this question long before Jiang Xiuzhi and her team.

…