--- Chapter 385 ---
In a vast forest, two people walked calmly, enjoying the surrounding scenery.
The beautiful forest before their eyes isn't the result of Blue Silver Grass's terraforming, which means every flora and fauna here is unique or could be said native to this planet.
The trees are tall, their roots are thicker underground, and the leaves are lush under the blue moon. Yes, due to this area of the galaxy possessing an ancient white sun, the ray it reflected on the orbiting small planet became blue.
"You know when you are asking me for a date. I didn't think of walking inside a jungle." Melissa Shield commented lightly.
"Not to mention..."
"Forest No. 12 is still an uncharted area."
Yunlong smiled and returned amusingly, "I thought you'd like a small adventure."
"Just like when we were young."
"And don't worry. As long as I'm here, nothing on this planet or even the world could touch you." The sheer confidence in Yunlong's tone made Melissa puff her mouth slightly.
Melissa knew what Yunlong said was true. After all, he's the one and only God-King in the Bright Spirit Empire.
Even though they have set a Teleportation Array in their Outer Space bases, they technically needed to do several leaps before returning to the Douluo Planet.
They are currently on the farthest frontline, several decillion kilometers away from their home base.
Yunlong smiled helplessly and cheered Melissa up, "Come on, don't sulk like that."
"Aren't you the one who wanted to contact the natives first?"
In the last meeting, Melissa indeed proposed this matter. She sighed and felt the surrounding area was too quiet for some reason.
Melissa tapped her wristwatch twice and pulled out a handgun with heavy modification. She also summoned her martial soul, an ancient-looking silver pen with unique characters marked all over it.
"Something is watching us." She said solemnly.
Yunlong watched Melissa calmly and saw her check the surroundings meticulously. It seemed when Yunlong was gone for three years, Melissa didn't slack around and trained wholeheartedly.
Her stance is firm, ready to react against any incoming attack.
She holds her weapon confidently, aiming it based on her senses and instinct.
'Well, she's still green in some field.' Yunlong suddenly pulled Melissa's collar and kicked a Spirit Beast that sneaked from the underground.
Crack! Bam!
Melissa frowned and wrote something with her Runic Pen. It was a size-modifying rune.
She fired a bullet and penetrated the rune, causing it to become as thick as a trash can.
BOOM!
The acceleration of such a massive object dealt immense damage and killed the Spirit Beast instantly. After a jolt, a black-colored spirit ring slowly floated from the Spirit Beast's Corpse.
The spirit beast looks like a burrowing rock lizard, and its entire body is "throughly." made of minerals.
"You need more training." Yunlong teased Melissa.
Melissa rolled her eyes and returned, "For your record, this lady here is a researcher. And not a fighter."
"It doesn't matter when you enter the battlefield." Yunlong retorted while patting her head.
"Whatever." Melissa took a scalpel and cut a small piece from the Spirit Beast's Corpse. She picked a device and dropped the cut piece, waiting for the analyzing result.
[Ding!]
[Name: Iron Spring Beast]
[Species: Green River Star's Native/Spirit Beast]
[Age: 46,901 years old]
[Spirit Skills: Spring Trap, Iron Wrought Lunge]
[Spirit Index's Entry: No. 014R]
"Is that Pokedex?" A weird expression appeared on Yunlong's face as he pointed at the device in Melissa's hand.
Melissa smiled and corrected him, "It's a Spirit Index."
"Mei created this when we first came to this world. Since she couldn't understand the information of her enemy, she collaborated with the Biology and Genetic Division, creating a device that could read one's genetic and origin through Spirit Scanning."
"It functions as a Race Encyclopedia."
"What about Dragon and Human's Entry?" Yunlong curiously asked.
Melissa raised her brows and answered, "Dragon is a species birthed since the beginning of the universe. Their history alone could put them in the early number of the Spirit Index."
"However, there aren't many pure-blooded dragons left, right?"
"If I remember correctly, even Douluo Planet only has Elder Di Tian, Elder Zi Ji, and Chancellor Gu Yuena."
"Well, there will be more in the future," Yunlong said in a low tone.
"Oh, really?" Melissa cast a suspicious gaze at Yunlong, who whistled innocently. There seems to be a hidden meaning in Yunlong's words.
She snorted and added, "As for Humans, we have lived long for generations since the beginning of the universe."
"However, our growth is pitiful compared to the Dragons."
"Thankfully, Human's ancestors laid a firm path, allowing us to become stronger. Our Spirit Index's Entry recorded near the Dragon Race and other Mystic Races."
"Not bad." Yunlong nodded in satisfaction.
Melissa stored the Spirit Ring in another device and tossed the Spirit Beast's corpse to her wristwatch. But she noticed something different in the Spirit Beast's corpse.
"Spirit Bone?" She pulled a left arm bone curiously.
"A Spirit Bone from a Spirit Beast over 40,000 years old."
"This is quite a treasure."
"Do you know that our Bright Spirit Labs have successfully cultivated Artificial Spirit Bones of all types, including the External Ones?"
"No, I didn't know." Yunlong honestly shook his head.
Melissa smiled and weakly added, "Even though we thrived in cultivating Artificial Spirit Bones, its problem is that we couldn't grow them past the 9,999-year mark."
"We tried to make it grow alongside the Spirit Master, but the amount of Spirit Energy and Blood Energy it needed to evolve is simply too much for ordinary Spirit Master to afford."
"I see..." Yunlong pondered for a moment. "Have you tried injecting the Spirit Beast's DNA into the Spirit Bones and its Spirit Master?"
"About that... Someone did, and they exploded into pieces." Melissa remembered an unpleasant memory. "If it wasn't for Chisaki, Eri, and Grandma Chiyo(Recovery Girl), that person might have died already."
She crossed her arms and commented, "Talking about Grandma Chiyo... You haven't visited her very often."
Yunlong laughed awkwardly and raised his arms in defeat. It's not that he doesn't want to visit his grandmother, but she always spoiled him rotten every time.
Not only that, but Grandma Chiyo also regained her youth and looks a few years older than Melissa in terms of appearance. Coupled with Yunlong's handsome face, people always made assumptions left and right when they traveled in the city.
Eventually, Bibi Dong shut these people's mouths.
"Let's not talk about this." Yunlong changed the topic.
"We are here for a date."
"Humph, now you remember we are on a date!" Melissa sulked again.
Yunlong laughed again and lifted Melissa, placing her thighs around his neck. She blushed slightly when he abruptly did this.
"Hehe~!" An evil smile appeared on Yunlong's face.
"What are you-! Kyaaaa!!!" Melissa frowned and suddenly felt her view rushed. Yes, Yunlong ran away quickly into the forest.
They went deep into Forest No. 12 and enjoyed the view alongside some native wild fruits. Their laughers could get heard from miles away, but no Spirit Beasts dared to approach them.
Yunlong stopped at a bright-looking lake. The water is clear blue with lily pads all over it. He sensed some Spirit Beasts underwater, but none passed over 10,000 years old.
"Let's compete in fishing!" They suddenly said to each other and burst out laughing.
Melissa giggled and threw a reinforced fishing rod at Yunlong, "Do you still remember the record? We always fish on the I-Island."
"91: 89," Yunlong replied confidently.
"Good." Melissa immediately checked the surroundings and threw her fishing line. Yunlong also threw his fishing line, and they competed for a few hours.
Yunlong caught twelve underwater Spirit Beasts.
And Melissa caught fifteen underwater Spirit Beasts.
"I won!" Melissa excitedly pumped her fist.
"What reward do you want?" Yunlong frustratedly tossed the fishing rod away.nOvE)lb-1n
Melissa faked a cough and looked around, heaving her chest. She slowly came to Yunlong's side and pushed him against the ground.
"This is my reward." She said while kissing his lips.
Yunlong's eyes widened as he praised Melissa's boldness. Their lips smacked against each other feverishly, causing their bodies' temperature to rise.
As their tongue slowly intertwined, Yunlong felt Melissa's hand caressing his hair gently. Melissa gasped as they separated and blushed hard, thinking their kissing was more intense than expected.
"Well, to be honest... I didn't know my childhood sweetheart could be this naughty." Yunlong pecked Melissa's forehead and cuddled her at the top of the green grass.
Melissa smacked his chest lightly and softly whispered, "Hmph, Idiot."
In this serene moment, Melissa leaned against Yunlong's chest and fell asleep.
Yunlong sensed a thousand Spirit Beasts approaching their location and sent his Killing Intent, scaring them for life. How could he let these Spirit Beasts ruin their date and Melissa's nap?
After Melissa woke up, they returned to the base and received a message to attend a meeting immediately.
Upon their arrival, some people teased Melissa and even Yunlong. The latter ignored the teasing because his skin was too thick to get embarrassed.
Meanwhile, Melissa is simply a ripe tomato for the entire meeting.
Saiko enviously glanced at Melissa and reported, "We detected an unknown distress signal from Green Beast Galaxy an hour ago."
"Their location is not far from the Exploration Team, but we still put a hold on it for now."
"Should we make contact with them?" She asked Yunlong.
Yunlong pondered and replied, "Sure."
"They might be the first race with intelligence we meet in Outer Space."
"Even if they were hostile. We can't let this chance away."