Even If I'm Reborn as a Cute Dragon Girl, I Will Still Make a Harem-Chapter 81Book 6: : Beasts

In the quiet room, the old lights flickered now and then, as if foretelling an approaching storm.

The old man checked the time, then gazed out at the blood-red sunset. He turned to the girl who was trying to make her little brother sleep.

“How much longer will your big brother take?” he asked anxiously.

Bernie glanced at the terminal and replied, “He said he had some work to finish, so he’ll be a little late. I think he should be here soon.”

“Didn’t I tell him to quit that job? Why won’t he listen?” the old man grumbled.

At a time like this, the boy was still clinging to work. Was he responsible… or just plain foolish?

Not long ago, another massacre had torn through the lower districts, leaving over a thousand ordinary citizens dead.

Chaos had swallowed the area. The order the alliance had spent years building had collapsed in less than a month.

Tension was spreading to other districts too. Streets were usually empty in broad daylight now, and the people who occasionally passed through hurried along with their heads down.

Rumor had it the alliance’s leadership was determined to crush the unrest before it could spread, and had already approved a plan to forcibly suppress the lower district.

But the old man knew such measures alone would never put out the flames.

He would need his own way to protect his family.

*Ding-dong.*

The doorbell rang.

“Donnie, get the door. That must be your big brother.”

Since Bernie couldn’t get the door with a kid in arms, she called to the boy who was doing his homework nearby.

“Alright.”

This time, Donnie stood up without complaining.

But the old man suddenly grabbed his arm.

“Take your younger brother into the bedroom,” he ordered gravely.

There was no joy in his eyes, only the tension of a man who sensed an enemy drawing near.

“Don’t come out unless I say so.”

“Okay…”

The boy didn’t understand why, but nodded anyways.

“Bernie, go to my study. Take out the thing inside the third drawer, on the right side of the desk.”

” What is it exactly?”

“You’ll know when you open it.”

He tossed her a mechanical key, an uncommon object these days.

“Go.”

“Alright.”

The girl ran off toward the study.

The old man approached the door alone and peered through the electronic peephole.

“Hello, this is the Locke Residence.”

“Dean, it’s me—Woodman,” the middle-aged man outside greeted him with obvious urgency.

“Woodman?” The old man frowned at his assistant, whom he hadn’t seen for so long. “What are you doing here?”

“I have very important news, Dean. Can you open the door first?”

“Important news…?” The old man tightened his grip on the doorknob, palm already damp with sweat. “Are you alone?”

“Yes, just me.”

Woodman stepped aside, showing the empty yard to the camera.

The old man activated the house’s full 360-degree surveillance sweep, along with life detector and thermal scans.

There was indeed no one but Woodman.

He let out a sigh of relief.

“Come on in.” The old man finally opened the door.

His assistant was panting heavily, looking as though he had just been chased by a dog for three blocks.

As soon as he entered the door, he familiarily found the water dispenser, poured himself a large cup of water, and drank it all in one gulp.

“Phew… I finally made it. I almost got killed by those madmen.”

“Sit.” The old man eyed him, furrowing his brow. “You just came back from the lower district?”

“Yes, I went there to inspect it, as per the higher-ups’ instructions.”

“Inspect what? How the people there are faring?” The old man scoffed.

At a time like this, they finally remembered these people. The higher-ups were so hypocritical it was sickening to watch them.

“No, not that.” Woodman wiped his sweat, set down the paper cup, and said seriously, “I went to inspect the level of chaos there.”

“Level of chaos?”

“The lower district is completely out of control, Dean. Two hours ago, all communications there were deliberately cut off, all electronic surveillance devices were destroyed, and no devices capable of transmitting information are functioning. In Gaia Center’s network, that area is now a total darkness.”

“Nothing can be seen. That’s why we need to confirm it with our own eyes,” Woodman explained.

The old man paused, then immediately understood the severity of the situation. “So… Things are beyond control now, huh?”

Woodman sighed. “Yes, the suppression order from above has already been issued.”

The old man suddenly stood up, knocking over the teacup on the table with his sleeve: “When?”

“Now.”

As the words fell, the world seemed to fall into silence.

But the last remnants of peace were ruthlessly shattered by the roar coming from outside the window.

The old man stiffly turned his head. Perhaps because he turned too quickly, he heard the agonized cries of his joints.

Then, he saw the massive aircraft breaking through the clouds in the setting sun outside the window.

Its hull caught the blood-red light, while the blazing blue trail it left behind resembled the eyes of the God of Death, mercilessly fixed on the lower districts doomed to destruction.

“Military Adaptation Type 3, T-5 interstellar warship?”

The old man clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging into his flesh without him noticing. “They’re using this planet-destroying weapon on ordinary people?”

“No, the T-5 is just there as a precautionary measure. The real force taking action is another unit.”

“Which one? Wolf Fang or Conqueror? It can’t be the security enforcement team, right? If they’ve brought out something like this, the military must be directly involved already.”

The response was cut off.

*Click.*

The old man heard the click of the hammer locking.

Woodman had somehow pulled out a gun and was pointing the black muzzle at the old man he once called his mentor.

“So it really is you, Woodman.”

Feeling the malicious intent from behind, the old man didn’t seem surprised; instead, he sighed sadly.

“So, you were the one spreading rumors online.”

“Yes, it was me, Dean.”

The panic on Woodman’s face had long since vanished, replaced by a coldness as if he were wearing a steel mask.

“You knew it was me, yet you still let me in. Dean, you’re still as prone to making mistakes in critical moments as ever.”

“I was just holding onto a sliver of hope. After all, I was the one who mentored you. I always thought you were a good kid.”

“… I was a good kid, once upon a time.”

Woodman slowly pulled the trigger. This old-fashioned revolver, undetectable by electronic detectors, slowly summoned Death.

“It was you, Dean, who released the beast in my heart. No, it was you who released the beast in everyone’s heart. I was only one of them.”