Chapter 136: Mystery of the Dragon

Lander secretly sighed to himself. Although Seeker's answers were I don't know, compared to the earlier answers, it was better,

"Alright. I understand that you have two personalities and that you see Australia as a country that we should be abandoned. However… I have a proposal. Send in me in there. Help me infiltrate the entire area. I can simply say that I was able to escape and had to hide because I was captured. We can easily fake my escape from New Great Britain. Isn't Admiral Audenvise the former butler of the Humphreys?"

Harker and Seeker gave Lander a meaningful look.

"It's too late to save them, Lander. If anything, they will be more aggressive to us. Our actions against them have already made Australia an opposing force. Even if we manage to get you inside, you cannot save your country. The Aragarians may have abandoned that group, but if ever the Aragarians arrive in the future, and they find out about us, and what we did to their country, they'll still side with the Aragarians."

"I'm not like you, General. I don't act that childish, nor do I have any desire to save the world. I know the path that my countrymen will take. I won't save them all, but let me save some. Have the Twelve Disciples establish a base there and give me command over it. I will build my own team. I still have a few friends who I want to save. Just like you in the future would burn countries to ensure the survival of their friends, give me the same opportunity!" Lander argued.

"You cannot tell them about me-"

"I don't intend to. I intend to show them the dark operations of our country. My request isn't to save Australia. Let me be its downfall." Lander's gaze was serious.

Seeker finally smiled.

"Granted." Seeker gave a light laugh.

"Hm?" Harker then noticed an interesting ping.

"General… I have something interesting to report." Harker's expression gave a complex look.

Somewhere in the great high mountains of Mongolia was one of the most complicated and war-filled lands. Situated at the borders of three nations who have had several military skirmishes, the mountain range famously referred to as Mordor stood in deathly silence.

This mountain had been the battlegrounds of several skirmishes that had been estimated to hold over a million deaths. When the New Russian federation started to move against the Arabic nations to the East, this battle had been the chosen spot. When China had defeated India and started to make a grand charge up north, it was also on this mountain that the great battle occurred.

The weapons launched to it, the many battles and deaths had caused the towering mountain to have a shade of dark-reddish color. And so, it was called Mordor, the same name of the great mountain in one of the timeless tales that was famous even during the Supra-Modern era.

Because this mountain received several weapon strikes and had always been a location of war, very little attempts to restore the environment and repair the radiation and chemicals that liter the mountain.

It was a lifeless, barren and extremely lonely land.

Two figures continued to walk through the reddish snows that fall on the mountain.

Despite the frost and the potentially dangerous radiations, the two wore no suits.

The first was a man. His brutish body had a strange greenish hue. He wore strange metallic armors that look like stone. The second figure was that of a beautiful woman. Her skin was flawless, but unlike Meryl's skin which was predominantly white, this woman had a strange blueish glow that would only be discernable if you look at it closely.

"Are you tired?" The man asked caringly. Despite his strict expression, he gave a soft and careful question to the woman.

The woman merely smiled and shook her head.

"Such a question… you already know that I'm reaching Inhuman. This little hike and the cold weather isn't affecting me." The woman laughed.

The man gave a rare smile.

"My father always would remind me to treat my mother with respect and concern, even though my mother could easily kill a battalion of soldiers. It's just a habit."

"Oh? What a kind woman."

"She was. I wish you would have met her."

"Oh? Maybe she's so strict and her standards are too high, that she'd fight me to test my strength and see if I'm worthy for you." The woman chuckled.

Greydon Meng just gave a strange smile.

The woman looked with curiosity.

"You mean she would have done that?"

"Of course. The burdens I bear are quite heavy. If a war breaks out that could end our country, I'd have to have the strength to face the countries and even the World Governing Powers. My wife should be at least as strong as my mother." Meng gave off a laugh.

"Then would your father have demanded the same thing?"

"My father… is a mystery. Whoever is trying to get me here must have intelligence surpassing that of the Aragarians. And even Lennox and his boy said these were impossibilities…"

"Well… Don't worry. I'll protect you." The woman smiled.

"We should move. The designated location is a few kilometers from here."

The pair slowly walked towards the direction where the designated meeting was to take place.

"He's near." Meng suddenly spoke.

"I didn't sense anything. And I thought my senses were better than yours."

"It is. But for a person like him, I would be the one who could sense it. That familiar aura. They have different scents. Richie had a very jolly sensation. Perhaps it's because he enjoys battling others. Seeker has a complicated sensation. The friction is something you could feel as if two opposing forces are crashing are grinding at each other. The Tyrant Empress emits an extremely tempting sensation. Even if you know what her skill is, perhaps those who aren't Unlocked would look at her anyway. Lennox has the most terrifying of them all. His aura makes it feels like a thousand men are looking down on you. But this aura… it's quite interesting. You can't help but feel… that you are vastly inferior to him." Meng then stared at a certain direction.

An Old man was walking in that direction. The ground was parched red and the darkening skies only made it look like an extremely evil background. And there, walking in the foreground of this massive painting was an old man who looked like a disguised god or devil.

Rosa couldn't help but shiver. She finally understood what Meng was talking about.

"Robertson. It's been a while." The Old man laughed.

"Father." The young dragon bowed his head. Never in his life has this Overcomer bowed his head, but now he did so, not only because the man before him was his father, but because this was the man he respected the most in his life.

Ros's body continued to shiver. It was an impossible scene. The cold never bothered Rosa, but yet, the sight of how his beloved bowed to another in full-submission caused her great fear.

It was a scene of legends. The Black Dragon had bowed its head to the Golden Dragon.

"Nogard Meng… The Inverse Dragon is alive!" Rosa couldn't help but be amazed.

Meanwhile, back in Pangea

"The age-old champion of China, the Golden Dragon is alive. Meng just informed us about this development as he found his father."

"Nogard Meng is alive?!" Seeker was stunned at the fact. He actually stood up almost pushing the computer desk before him.

Harker was surprised.

"Why are you shocked? It makes sense. His son is such a monster. Having a father like that would-"

Seeker immediately started walking. He went to his private room and motioned for the two to follow.

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Harker and Lander were confused. In this room were some of Harker's most trusted men and more than that, these were all Programmed Slaves and wouldn't see the light of day. They would live and die in this lab and yet Seeker went to his private quarters to discuss something?

Lander and Harker followed quickly hiding their confusion.

"What's with all the secrecy. It was you who said that everyone in here would be our secret keepers and would die if they even try to link it…" Harker was confused.

"The reason why these people are allowed to know about everything we know of the future is because of many reasons. First, the game will be one of the most critical tools for our training. Therefore, we have to ensure that they obey us because of many things. The first is because they are Programmed Slaves. But of course, we all knew that if they reach a certain level of their Unlocking they can be like Lander. So we need the second reason. And it is similar as to why Lander remains our ally despite his capability to override the Programmed Slave chip."

Lander was quiet. He didn't meet the gazes of Harker and Seeker.

"And that reasons are knowing the future will give them a moral stand and they would want to remain with us. So like Lander, even if he can have greater control over his emotions, he will continue to fight for us. However, the information that I will be telling you is one that can actually be detrimental if they know."

"Is it about the lifespan of the Golden Dragon? What about it?"

"Yes. It's almost impossible for the Golden Dragon to be alive! I would wager, that based on history and Greydon Meng's description of his father, his father would probably be on the late stages of Unbecoming. It doesn't make sense! There is a price for our Path."

"A price?"

"The hyperactive nature of our cells causes us to break down more of our own cells. The breaking down process of our bodies is pushed to its maximum because our cells are working beyond the normal! That's why we need to eat a lot of food! But more than that is the observed phenomenon that our cells simply die out eventually. The Overcomers of my time concluded that the more we use our unlocking, the more it eats up our lifespan.

At this statement, the expressions of Harker and Lander turned ugly.

"Only Meng was estimated to live beyond seventy because of his unique body. The rest would probably die at an earlier age! Even with the various experiments to prolong life, Lennox himself concluded that he would die before he reached sixty!"

Seeker observed the two and noticed their expressions.

"As you probably can tell, even you are affected. After the passing away of the Lab Generations during the post-war, where many died at such an early age, our world has long since had the fear of anything that can lessen our lifespan. For the Lab generations, their untimely deaths made everyone more vulnerable to our mortality. And since we all have the disposition to be extremely fearful of being unable to live past our fifties or sixties, this is one information that I've kept from everyone.

"Even with our current sciences in prolonging age… going fifty or sixty is the limit?"

"Depending on your Unlocking. But even if you took the best treatment, an average Inhuman wouldn't reach seventy. Ranked Heroes are assumed to live only up to Sixty but paths that eat up a lot of energy, and the number of times they use it will even lower their lifespan. Although it won't happen continuously until they suddenly die, at most, those of my future were expected to have a lifespan of sixty. As for Overcomers, depending on their Path, they would probably die before they hit Fifty. Why do you think the Overcomers of my future were risking it all on one attack! They didn't have the time!"

Harker and Lander had a strange expression on their faces.

"Does that mean…" Harker began.

"No. It does not factor in your current age. Since you stepped into Unbecoming just now, the regression of your lifespan has just begun. Besides, Unebcomings have the longest lifespan. They could easily live up to 90. But it would be impossible to go over a hundred."

"So this age limit is if they have been given life-prolonging medications?"

"Yes. One of our major concerns in the future had always been to look for sciences that the Presiders left behind that could prolong our lifespan. But the Golden Dragon is an anomaly! I had to take Meng's power source because if I can pass it on to others, then I might be able to increase everyone's lifespan if they have the strange biology of Meng's body! But if Nogard Meng is alive, then I have to meet him! Who knows what his body holds!"

"But isn't it possible for Nogard to live up to now? What if he's just at the Unbecoming Level and started to minimize his usage of the Unlocking when he died. Wouldn't the ninety-year lifespan explain his survival?"

"Think! Nogard Meng was already a soldier before the Third World War! The fact that Meng is still on his late thirties meaning that he was born somewhere on the 2080s. Nogard was already a General way before the Third World War."

"So? He must have married late in his life. If that's the case it an explain his lifespan!"

"Seriously? For a General you sure are slow. Think! Let's say he was thirty during the Third World War. And that's a very conservative estimate."

"Then he'd be around eighty to ninety now, this year. So what? He may have been at Unbecoming his whole life and rarely used his Path. Not to mention, with the life-preservation and the techs to strengthen our reproductive organs, people could easily reach a hundred." Lander did the quick maths.

"Wrong! The Void Years! You forgot to add the 30 years not recorded in the calendar!" Seeker corrected.

"Then he'd be!" Harker realized it. He forgot to add the Void Year period which marked the building of supra-modern society.

"Yes. Today is 2116. If he was thirty during the Third World War, he would be over a hundred and twenty. Even with the latest medication, his cells would have died out even if he was just in Unbecoming. I never met him in my future timeline! The Aragarians officially revealed themselves on June of 2128. So by that time, He would have been dead already. But if I can meet him and tread on his path, then there is a possibility that I can add more years to all Overcomers!"

"Lander… I'm sure you know this information is critical. Seeker is right. No one can know about this lifespan limitation.

Lander nodded his head as he maintained a solemn and almost fearful expression.

"In our future, we had a hard time changing how people viewed life. Since the standard already was that people could live to a hundred, people who died at fifty were considered young. Such was the curse of the Lab generations who were nearly halved in just a year as they died through aging. We had to show them historically, men lived short lives and that valor, honor, and glory were better. We tried all these tactics. Greek philosophy, the Bushido code of the EAA. But sadly, people were still unwilling to be unlocked."

"Until it was practically hopeless?"

"Yes. We couldn't force everyone. A lot of our own even sided with the Aragarians because of this… It was only when things were hopeless that many agreed to go through the Unlocking."

"But it was too late."

Seeker could only nod his head.

"Originally, I was planning on hiding this truth until we had an Unlocked army and let people find it out on their own. By then they'd have no choice."

Harker and Lander glanced at Seeker but decided not to get mad at Seeker's deception.

"But now… I can actually change things. This is even better. I'm going to China. Harker. Start that operation."

"That operation?"

Harker smiled.

"Of course. With Pangea under my command, I can do that tomorrow night. I'm assuming you'll be using that as a chance to sail to China?"

"Yes. We'll make the plans."

"Then before we continue… I'd have to give my findings of the previous mission you gave me."

Seeker's eyes then lit up.

"You found them?"

"Just one."

"Was it that kid you asked me to track?" Lander asked Harker.

Harker nodded.

"Who is he?" Lander turned to Seeker.

"The first member of my personal squadron and a member of my future self's original team. The Gryphon Squadron."'

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