Chapter 472: Chapter 471: Duke of the Red Dragon

“Why has it gone quiet all of a sudden, is the brother who posted the picture still here?”

“Picture? What picture? Wasn’t there a battle with a dragon? Man, I just came in, and everyone’s asking for S pictures, is it that explosive?”

“Who told you it’s about those kinds of pictures? It’s about the fight, but if you really want to post those, my friend here does want to have a look.”

“I can testify, I am that friend, and I do want to see!”

Late at night, the forum in Bin City was still very lively.

News spreads fast in the online world, and while the events in Bin City were initially just discussed within the forum, the gathering of keyboard warriors from all over the country, coupled with the gimmick of the dragon battle, rapidly spread the news and attracted countless onlookers.

The early birds got to feast on fresh gossip, occasionally, bystanders at the scene would take some photos and videos and post them in the forum.

However, as time went on, more and more netizens flocked to the forum, and the onlookers realized that videos and pictures were becoming scarce, even the previously posted threads had been deleted by the moderators.

Everyone had a pretty good idea who was behind the deletions, but the vast majority of netizens were not giving up, beginning their search for traces of the Bin City incident on various social media platforms.

Threads deleted.

Hot searches removed.

Even words linking Bin City to the dragon battle were censored according to the community management regulations of the internet.

But the more that happened, the more a group of stubborn individuals refused to give up.

They simply reconvened on the local forum of Bin City to chat and occasionally compare their keyboard prowesses, refusing to believe that the authorities wouldn’t give an official explanation for such a big incident.

It wasn’t until after one in the morning that an official message finally arrived.

The accounts of the Capital Broadcasting Station and the Abnormal Administration Bureau of Bin City simultaneously topped the trending searches.

The Abnormal Administration Bureau of Bin City’s post was very official, outlining the events of the destruction caused by the criminals, the extent of the damage, and the ultimate fate of the criminals etc.

This vague press release had no highlights; the attention-grabber was the post from the Capital Broadcasting Station.

In contrast to the Abnormal Administration Bureau of Bin City’s post, the Capital Broadcasting Station’s was more concise, just two words and a picture.

The predominant color in the photo was a dark red, gradually darkening from bottom to top, set against the backdrop of roaring flames.

At the bottom stood a little girl in a white down jacket, staring blankly up into the sky amidst the sea of fire, while in the contorted flames a menacing dragon covered in scale armor had spread its wings, lowering its head to meet her gaze.

The dragon, serving as the line between light and dark, cast shadows where a figure kneeled on its back, propping up a huge metal billboard with an arm, vaguely outlining the shape of a young person.

This photo, dubbed “Protector” by the Capital Broadcasting Station, with its stark contrast between light and darkness, struck such a visual impact that netizens couldn’t help but remember those unnamed heroes who silently guard their cities.

These unnamed heroes could be from the Abnormal Administration Bureau, traffic police, military personnel, firefighters, or any other profession silently contributing; the intense discussion immediately ignited long-buried emotions in people.

This eruption was not without reason, as the Daxia authorities rarely publicize the heroes who protect cities to prevent bloodshed from causing panic among the common civilians. The appearance of this photo became the trigger for national reflection, reminding netizens of the silent sacrifices and guardians behind their peaceful lives.

Very quickly, major media outlets began to share the story, with many netizens inquiring about the identity of the person in the photo, believing he deserved greater honor, yet the media offered no additional reporting or responses.

Some persistent netizens downloaded the high-resolution photo, hoping to discern the individual’s features through technical means. Unfortunately, no matter how hard they tried, the person’s face seemed to be shrouded in shadows.

Of course, this did not deter the enthusiastic people of Daxia who once again poured into the origin of the event, the local forum of Bin City, where the photo was also posted and pinned by the moderators.

Quite a few bored netizens began to sift through the thread, searching for any hint of the person in the photo, and soon a comment from a user named ‘Agile Fatty’ caught everyone’s attention.

The comment was manually upvoted to the top by netizens.

Agile Fatty: “Hey, isn’t that my bro? We were just protecting Bin City together.”

Moonlit Icy Wind: “Bro, who’s your big bro?”

Zui Liming: “I bet he’s bluffing, I could say he’s my big bro.”

w I Do What I Want w: “Little fatty, come out and reply, hey.”

Drunk Dream Condolence to the Ages: “Don’t reply everyone, this is a like-fishing dog.”

In a certain community in Bin City, little fatty came out of the bathroom with a towel on his head, still somewhat excited about what had happened before.

It wasn’t just because they had seen a dragon-type pet beast; after learning that the group had helped evacuate the citizens, their teacher had praised them heavily and even promised to apply for school recognition for them.

Thinking of this, little fatty couldn’t help but hum a tune.

Ding ding ding~

At that moment, the incessant notification sound from his computer caught his attention.

Upon seeing the 999+ messages, little fatty was as excited as if he’d been injected with chicken blood. Could it be that the video he uploaded on B-Site had finally been discovered?

Could he be about to become a big UP?

And then every day, soft and sweet girls would slide into his DMs, he’d find a girlfriend, and say goodbye to the miserable life of having no love life!

The more little fatty thought about it, the more excited he became, and he quickly clicked on the webpage, only for his face to fall when he saw the layout.

“So it’s the Bin City forum, sigh~”

But soon little fatty perked up again, not being a big uploader but a local celebrity wasn’t bad either.

Even though there weren’t any soft and sweet girls, those local girls who were taller than him…

Thinking about this, little fatty couldn’t help shivering.

Forget it, isn’t the solo lifestyle great?

Quickly scrolling through the replies from netizens, little fatty mumbled, “Hmph, as if you’re not the one bluffing.”

He did actually know the name Shao Zifeng because he had watched the competition live just yesterday afternoon, his stubby fingers rapidly typing out Shao Zifeng’s name and sending it.

Ding ding~

“Eh, a reply so soon?”

[Dear ‘Nimble and Flexible Little Fatty’, your message has violated the “Online Community Management Regulations” and has been deleted. If you have any questions, please appeal.]

Looking at this message, little fatty shivered out of the blue.

He suddenly remembered that, before going home, a school leader had told everyone not to reveal any information about the incident.

But seeing all those comments calling him a liar, the young and hot-blooded little fatty really couldn’t stand it.

At that moment, a clever idea struck little fatty, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth–three parts mocking, three parts indifferent, and four parts nonchalant.

He casually struck the keyboard a few times and hit enter to send.

Soon, everyone who replied to that hot post received a message.

“My big bro, ‘Duke Red Dragon’!”