Dragon Tamer

"I told you, Steve wouldn’t die so easily!" After hearing Emma’s certain answer, Alex looked like a believer who had received a reply from the gods. His face shone with conviction as he said even more firmly, "Steve won’t die!"

Seeing Alex’s brow finally relax, Emma let out a soft laugh. She turned and began preparing the unknown beast, cutting off a chunk of thigh meat, skewering it on a stick, and roasting it over the fire. Before long, the spacious cave was filled with the aroma of meat.

Nothing happened that night. Early the next morning, Alex woke up first as usual. After washing up, he began exercising at the cave entrance. Once he had finished a simple warm-up, Alex practiced the killing techniques Logan had taught him, without neglecting the skills of Nick Fury and Natasha either.

Alex had never been particularly hardworking. After gaining the powerful body granted by the Super Soldier Serum, aside from the period when he had worked a little harder while learning combat techniques from Logan and the others, he would rather lie around in the military camp soaking up the sun. If he could, Alex would have liked to lie beside the stream at the cave entrance, listening to the babbling water and enjoying the early morning sunlight.

Unfortunately, this was not a safe place. A beast could leap out of the bushes at any moment. For the sake of his own life, Alex had no choice but to work a little harder.

After practicing for a while, Alex was drenched in sweat. Just as he was about to head to the stream to wash up, a thunderous roar suddenly rang out beside his ears.

"A pterosaur?" Alex jolted in surprise and turned to look. He saw a massive black shadow circling above the distant forest, faint bloodstains visible on its spread wings.

Hearing the sound, Emma also ran out of the cave. Her unadorned face carried a captivating laziness, and she wore only a long dress sewn from animal hide. Her exposed pale skin made her look even more alluring.

But Alex did not notice Emma. His eyes were fixed on the pterosaur in the sky as he said, somewhat fancifully, "Emma, what do you think about catching a pterosaur and flying over the swamp and forest?"

Emma’s small mouth fell slightly open as she stared at Alex in disbelief. "You aren’t dreaming, are you?"

"You think it’s impossible?" Alex curled his lip, lifted his chin proudly, and said, "Ever heard of a Dragon Tamer? We’re going to become Dragon Tamers, fly over the swamp and forest, and conquer the unknown temple."

Emma stared blankly at Alex, feeling as though she had never known the person standing before her.

"All right, I was joking." Alex felt that Emma had no sense of humor. He shrugged, then said seriously, "Do you really think it’s impossible for us to ride a pterosaur over the swamp and forest?"

"How do you plan to tame a pterosaur and make it obey us?" Emma spread her hands, looking at Alex with amusement.

Alex pointed at his head and looked at Emma. "Don’t you have telepathy? You should be able to control a pterosaur, right?" Alex turned to look at the pterosaur, which had already vanished from sight, and snorted. "A creature like a pterosaur is all body and no brains. Its Psionic Power probably isn’t very strong."

"It’s not a bad idea, but have you considered how far it is from here to the other side of the forest?" Emma glared at Alex irritably. "I’m afraid I’d turn into an idiot before we even made it across the swamp!" Mind control consumed Psionic Power, and prolonged control would cause tremendous harm to herself.

"It would be great if my ability were still working!" Alex shook his head in disappointment, his expression dim. After his Teleportation had failed, Alex had discovered that his Replication Ability was gone as well. He could not replicate Emma’s telepathy.

Emma did not know that Alex was referring to his Replication Ability. Hearing him, she gently comforted him, "Your mind has been sealed. If you can open it, your teleportation will definitely return."

Alex shook his head with a bitter smile and changed the subject. "We’re out of mushrooms. I’ll go find some more." With that, he turned and slipped into the forest near the cave.

After walking through the forest for more than half an hour, Alex had gathered quite a few mushrooms. Just as he was preparing to head back, he suddenly heard waves of labored breathing. The sound was incredibly loud, like a pressure cooker releasing steam.

With a hint of curiosity, Alex cautiously walked toward the source of the sound. After only a few steps, he spotted a pterosaur collapsed on the ground through a dense cluster of trees. Its long, narrow beak was slightly open as it breathed heavily, while its enormous wings, each several meters long, drooped beside its body and flattened a patch of brush.

A pool of blood was slowly gathering beneath the pterosaur’s abdomen, and a faint scent of blood drifted over. It would not be long before the beasts of the forest followed the scent here, and this pterosaur would become food for other beasts.

Alex did not want any part of this. He turned to leave, but at that moment, he noticed that the pterosaur’s open eyes were looking at him. Two pearl-sized tears rolled from its eye sockets.

All things possessed a spirit—Alex had always believed that. Seeing the tears in the pterosaur’s eyes, his heart trembled, and his steps came to an immediate halt. He turned and slowly walked toward it. "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

The pterosaur gave a low cry, and one of its wings slowly rose.

Alex leaned forward to look and was surprised to find a perfectly round egg hidden beneath the pterosaur’s abdomen, covered by its wing.

Alex crawled beneath the pterosaur, carefully lifted the dragon egg into his arms, then walked back around to its front. Looking at the pterosaur, he asked softly, "Is this your child?" Judging by where the egg had appeared, the pterosaur must have laid it only moments ago. The enormous dragon egg was speckled with blood, and faint heat still rose from it.

The pterosaur dragged its head across the ground as though nodding.

Alex looked into the pterosaur’s eyes. He was silent for a long time before finally asking, "Do you want me to raise it?" Alex had read many stories like this, but he had never believed them. Yet at that moment, he suddenly did.

Sure enough, the pterosaur nodded once more, its eyes filled with gratitude.

Alex carefully held the huge dragon egg in his arms. Looking at the dying pterosaur, he said solemnly, "Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of it."

As the pterosaur closed its eyes in contentment, Alex quickly left with the dragon egg in his arms. The scavenging beasts would find this place soon enough.

When Alex returned to the cave carrying the enormous dragon egg, Emma’s face lit up with delight. "Are we having something special today?" She had mistaken the egg for food.

"No. I’m going to hatch it and raise it." Alex held the dragon egg tightly in his arms, watching Emma with a guarded expression.

Emma could not help rolling her eyes. She said in disbelief, "You really are planning to become some kind of Dragon Tamer?!"

Alex shook his head and said heavily, "Its mother entrusted it to me…"

After Alex finished telling her about the pterosaur’s final request, Emma’s beautiful eyes reddened as well. Her voice carried a trace of tears as she slowly said, "All right. We’ll take care of it together."

P.S. Happy New Year, everyone!