75: Chapter 75 Birth

The next morning.

Outside the porthole, the sky remained tightly shrouded by lead-gray thunderclouds.

Gale-force winds mixed with slightly corrosive rain lashed against the composite armor of the [Cloud Top Fortress] like machine-gun fire, emitting a teeth-grinding, dull, popping sound.

Occasionally, streaks of pale lightning struck down, illuminating this lifeless, apocalyptic sky.

Yet, inside the fortress's high-dimensional thermostatic incubation chamber, it was a completely different, bustling scene.

"Crack—"

A crisp sound of eggshells shattering, exceptionally abrupt in the quiet chamber, instantly ignited the atmosphere.

"Boss! It's cracking! It's finally coming out!"

Luo Ning was pressed against the explosion-proof glass of the incubation chamber in a spread-eagled pose, her eyes shining.

Zhou An immediately stopped what he was doing and walked forward quickly.

He saw that inside the two thermostatic incubation chambers, both legendary-grade dragon eggs were glowing with blinding light, causing even the incubation chamber's energy detectors to emit a faint hum.

The [Black Flame Dragon Egg] on the left made the first move.

With a muffled "boom," a scorching, pure black flame instantly swept violently across the entire chamber!

Fortunately, the incubation chamber's energy isolation level was high enough to tightly lock this destructive aura inside.

As the flames gradually dissipated, a small hatchling dragon, about half a meter long and covered in crystalline, angular scales resembling obsidian, proudly raised its head.

Its golden vertical pupils coldly scanned its surroundings, with flickers of black flame occasionally puffing from its nostrils.

Although still just a hatchling, it already exuded an aura of tyrannical disdain for the world.

In comparison, the movement from the [Star Skeleton Dragon Egg] on the right could only be described as "subtle."

The eggshell didn't explode; instead, it fell off in chunks like flaking rock debris, eventually revealing the little creature inside—a creature with an appearance that was truly "hard to describe."

It completely lacked the streamlined, imposing physique of the Black Flame Dragon.

Its scales looked like a haphazard patchwork of meteorite craters and star fragments, uneven and pitted.

Its massive head was topped with two underdeveloped, short, thick horns, and a pair of large, soulful eyes exuded a sense of pure, clear-headed stupidity.

The little guy was stumbling as it tried to crawl out of the ruins of its eggshell, but it tripped over its own feet and went "splat" with a crisp sound, landing face-first and sliding quite a distance across the smooth chamber floor.

Two system identification panels simultaneously popped up in front of Zhou An:

[Black Flame Dragon (Hatchling)]

[Grade]: Legendary

[Level]: LV1

[Trait 1: Destructive Black Flame]: Naturally controls high-dimensional fire laws; the black flame carries immense destructive power and true burning damage.

[Trait 2: Abyss Immunity]: Baptized by activation fluid, it possesses extremely high resistance to mental corruption.

[Trait 3: Berserk Symbiosis]: After binding with the host, it can share high fire-attribute bonuses.

[Star Skeleton Ancient Dragon (Hatchling)]

[Grade]: Legendary

[Level]: LV1

[Trait 1: Star Energy Devour]: Can obtain growth nutrients by consuming high-tier energy, spirit plants, and ores.

[Trait 2: Gravity Control]: Naturally possesses the ability to manipulate local, weak gravity.

[Trait 3: Bone Dragon Star Body]: Possesses the most monstrous dual physical and energy resistance among creatures of the same tier; a true "Starry Sky Tank."

"Wow! This Black Flame Dragon is so cool! The streamlining, the texture—it's the ultimate art of violence!"

Luo Ning stared at the Black Flame hatchling, drool almost dripping from her mouth.

But when she turned to look at the Star Skeleton Ancient Dragon next to it, which was lying on its back and struggling to flip over, she immediately put on an expression of extreme disdain.

"Uh... Boss, why does this Star Skeleton Dragon look like a potato meteorite with legs? It's ugly-cute and funny, but can it really fight? I hope it doesn't get kicked around like a soccer ball by monsters the moment we step outside."

"What do you know."

Zhou An smiled dismissively, opened the hatch, and scooped the Star Skeleton Ancient Dragon, which had just struggled to its feet, into his arms.

The little guy wasn't shy at all; instead, it affectionately rubbed its rough, large head against Zhou An's palm, its throat emitting a "purring" sound similar to an idling engine.

Zhou An stroked its head and turned to look at Luo Ning, who was staring longingly at the Black Flame Dragon. "Stop looking. That Black Flame Dragon is yours. It'll also add a fire attribute to your attacks; from now on, the 'Dragon Knight' title for our squad is yours."

"Long live the Boss!!"

Luo Ning cheered, impatiently opened the hatch, and scooped the Black Flame hatchling into her arms.

The little Black Flame Dragon had originally wanted to struggle, but after sensing the familiar fire-attribute aura on Luo Ning's battle armor, it not only put away its hostility but comfortably coiled around her shoulder, proudly lifting its chin.

"Gurgle..."

Just at this heartwarming moment of bonding, a thunderous protest came from the stomachs of both little dragons.

Having just hatched, they urgently needed a massive amount of energy to grow.

"Hungry? Perfect, let you guys try our fortress's specialty."

Zhou An reached into his system storage and pulled out two handfuls of freshly picked epic-grade [blood crystal spirit wheat] and purple [wind spirit berries], handing half to Luo Ning.

The Star Skeleton Ancient Dragon in Zhou An's arms sniffed the spirit wheat, and its clear, large eyes suddenly erupted with a frighteningly bright light.

It opened its abyss-like mouth and unceremoniously swallowed the wheat ears and berries in one gulp.

Its heaven-defying [Star Energy Devour] trait activated instantly, skipping even the chewing, as the pure spirit energy transformed directly into visible starlight that merged into its rough scales.

The little guy ate until it was completely intoxicated, let out a loud, comfortable burp, and even had berry juice hanging from its mouth, looking at Zhou An with eager eyes, wanting more.

But on Luo Ning's side, a major problem arose.

The Black Flame hatchling barely ate a few bites of the spirit wheat fed by Luo Ning; although the spirit energy contained within gave it a hint of satiety, its golden vertical pupils were filled with disdain.

It shook its head vigorously, repeatedly bumping its scaly horns against Luo Ning's cheek, emitting anxious "hissing" sounds.

"Ouch! Stop bumping me, Boss, it's being so noisy in my mental link!"

Luo Ning grabbed her head in pain, shouting in a state of collapse.

"It says it doesn't want to eat grass! It wants meat! Fresh, bloody meat!"

"Eat meat?"

Zhou An frowned slightly.

The high-tier exotic beast meat in the fortress was carefully rationed by Old Zhang specifically for squad members to replenish their energy; the current fresh meat stock was nowhere near enough for a dragon with a bottomless stomach to feast on.

"Use canned food to make do for now." Zhou An pointed to the storage cabinet nearby.

Luo Ning had no choice but to open a can of [blood crystal berserk special ops canned food] that had just come off the fully automated production line and handed it over.

The Black Flame hatchling leaned in to sniff it, reluctantly stuck out its tongue to lick it twice, and then disdainfully "pfft"-ed, spitting it directly onto the floor.

It rolled its eyes with extreme human-like expression, frantically transmitting a protest signal to Luo Ning through the mental link: "Disgusting, I refuse to eat processed synthetic meat."

"Hey! You little brat, you're quite the picky eater!"

Luo Ning's face turned dark; she grabbed it by the scruff of its neck and scolded it fiercely.

"Why don't you go outside and see what kind of knife-rain is falling! Who's going to go out and kill an exotic beast for you right now?! You're lucky to even have epic-grade canned food, eat it or leave it!"

Watching this comical scene of the girl and the dragon staring each other down, Zhou An didn't laugh; instead, he stroked his chin and fell into deep thought.

[Cloud Top Fortress] had top-tier carbohydrates, top-tier medicinal herbs, and fruits, but it lacked a steady, continuous supply of fresh meat, eggs, and dairy.

We can't really have the dragons eating compressed canned food and vegetables with us every day, right?

"Muzi's 5,000-square-meter [cultivation space] has plant zones that haven't even filled up a third of the area; leaving the rest empty is just a complete waste."

Zhou An tapped his fingers lightly against the edge of the incubation chamber, a plan suddenly forming in his mind.

Since he had time to kill during this long thunderstorm season, it was time to build a self-sufficient, high-tier "living breeding ranch" for himself.