In the end, Lu Mingfei handed over the wand.
After all, this was currently the only way to save Lao Tang. Even if it meant taking on debt, Lu Mingfei was willing.
Lu "enjoying the privilege of loans at such a young age" Mingfei.
Taking the wand, Chu Ke lightly tapped Lao Tang—or rather, the man-dragon currently known as Norton—on the head. The water beside them instantly condensed into a human shape, and a brand-new body appeared nearby.
Lao Tang's situation was much simpler than Steve's. Put simply, he had only lived a few decades as "Lao Tang," while he had lived for countless centuries as "Norton."
For example, if one day you lost your memories, had your human strength sealed away, and lived as a little bird for several days, then regained your memories and strength afterward, you would still think of yourself as human. You would not regard those brief memories as your entire life.
Likewise, when the part of Lao Tang that was Norton awakened, the existence known as "Lao Tang" became like a drop of ink falling into the sea, diluted until it vanished without a trace.
The solution was simple—just separate out the part that belonged to Lao Tang.
Then came a new problem. Modern science had an ethical question: the "self" consisted of memories, experiences, and personality. If a brand-new body was created and given my personality and memories, was he still me?
It was a classic Ship of Theseus problem. Chu Ke's answer was "no." He believed that was merely a "copy," not the "original."
Fortunately, the unreasonable nature of the Fundamental Forces spared them such concerns. Chu Ke directly pulled the label "Lao Tang" onto the new body, and with it came mysterious things such as personality, memories, and even the soul. It was simple and convenient, practically foolproof.
A moment later, the new body was wrapped in a faint glow. Chu Ke looked at Lu Mingfei and smiled. "Okay, done."
"That's it?" Lu Mingfei could hardly believe it. "I thought it was some huge problem."
It took him ten minutes just to win a plushie from an arcade claw machine, yet someone Caesar said could never be saved had been rescued after Chu Ge tapped him three times with a wand?
Then again, he was a Magical Girl. Was this what a Magical Girl was actually supposed to do?
A miraculous healer, Doctor Chu. He would definitely send him a banner of appreciation later.
"How was that simple?" Chu Ke opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, then shut it. "Forget it. Liberal arts students wouldn't understand."
He was just like a top student teaching someone math, looking at the failing student and saying that someone at their level did not need to understand the question yet.
"Damn, are you discriminating against liberal arts students?" Lu Mingfei could not take it anymore. Part of it was because he was a liberal arts student and felt insulted.
The other reason was that he really did not seem to understand.
Lies did not hurt people. The truth was the sharpest blade.
"Don't judge the whole group by a few people. People like me who can't understand are only a tiny fraction." Lu Mingfei craned his neck. "There are more than 4.2 million liberal arts students this year. If every one of them wrote a reading comprehension passage, they could drown you."
Caesar stood to one side, staring at the faintly glowing body, lost in thought.
Chu Ke glanced at him, pulled an MP4 player from somewhere, and started playing music.
"A child with a mother is like treasure~ A child without a mother is like grass~"
A gentle female voice played from the MP4. Caesar's pupils contracted when he heard the song.
"Do you have to bring her up?" Even Caesar's composure cracked a little. If it had been anyone else, he would have punched them already.
His mother was his reverse scale.
At the same time, he was wary of this familiar. It seemed as though there was nothing in the world Chu Ke did not know. Earlier, he had also used Caesar's mother to tempt him into becoming a Magical Girl.
He slowly exhaled, sending a long string of bubbles drifting through the water. Before Chu Ke could answer, he continued, "I understand. I'll take the responsibilities of a Magical Girl seriously."
Chu Ke's gaze drifted away. Fortunately, his entire body was black, so no one could see his expression clearly.
Caesar thought Chu Ke was reminding him, but Chu Ke had only wanted to make a dark joke. "All right!" Chu Ke clapped his hands. "Now let's discuss the cost. The King of Bronze and Fire's body can offset most of the LP. You'll have to slowly repay the rest—roughly 300 points."
"That expensive?" Lu Mingfei was shocked. An A-rank Dead Servant was not worth much LP, and Dead Servants were so rare. To earn more LP, he could only go around doing righteous deeds.
"How is that expensive? It's been this price for years, okay? Don't just lie with your eyes open. Sometimes you should look for the problem in yourself. After all these years, has your LP gone up? Have you been working hard?" Chu Ke asked. "Anyway, work hard to repay the loan."
"Don't forget, the King of Bronze and Fire isn't dead yet."
"A friendly reminder: Norton just ate his own little brother."
As soon as he said that, Chu Ke made a goodbye gesture and vanished.
Time began to flow again.
"Fuck!" Lu Mingfei jolted and dodged the flaming blade shooting toward him.
The Dragon King Norton before them had clearly completed his awakening. No—perhaps after devouring his younger brother Constantine, the name "Surtr" suited him better.
The enraged Dragon King's molten-gold eyes lit up. He extended one hand, and crimson metal was "killed" and forged into a two-meter-long saber.
Lu Mingfei and Caesar exchanged a glance, then stomped the ground and shot forward like two arrows of water.
Naturally, Surtr would not let them have their way. His dragonbone-covered face twitched slightly as he spat out a strange syllable, and a massive fireball exploded directly toward Lu Mingfei and Caesar.
Boom! The high-pressure depths suddenly burst into a huge cavity. Caesar was blasted backward, then sucked back partway before barely stabilizing himself.
Relying on his physique, Lu Mingfei charged straight through. Perhaps Surtr had not expected this mere human to possess such tremendous strength and toughness. Even the close-range King's Flame could not shake him in the slightest.
That moment of distraction gave Lu Mingfei an opening. He closed in and grabbed the blazing blade swinging toward him.
The thousand-degree metal remained solid only because of Surtr's power, yet when it struck Lu Mingfei's hand, it merely reddened his skin! Boundless strength surged from the blade. Amid a teeth-grinding creak, Lu Mingfei tore away Surtr's claw scales along with it.
"Awooo!!" Surtr's already furious emotions ignited once more. He opened his mouth and burst out a string of syllables, about to make this lowly commoner who had offended royal authority die on the spot.
Fortunately, Caesar, who had only just arrived, was quick enough to punch Surtr in the mouth, blowing up another spray of shattered scales.
"It's Candle Dragon! Don't let him release it!"
This was the complete King of Bronze and Fire. If Candle Dragon, one of the ultimate Word Spirits, were unleashed from such a body at maximum power, it could evaporate a tributary of the Yangtze River and turn millions of tons of water into a super rain cloud that covered all of Asia.
Even in his Magical Girl state, Caesar was not confident he could survive that attack at close range.
Surtr stretched out both hands and violently clamped down on Caesar. Under that immense force, his claws sank inch by inch into Caesar's abdomen.
Lu Mingfei casually threw away the saber, roared, and wrapped his arms around Surtr's head. His other hand pressed against Surtr's shoulder as all the strength in his body climbed from the soles of his feet, up his two-meter-long spine, and into his arms.
"Aaaah!!!"
The sound of flesh tearing came from Surtr's neck.
If Surtr had been enraged before, then now he was genuinely terrified.
He bit down on Lu Mingfei's thick arm, punching huge bloody holes into it. He tried to pull his hands free and shove Lu Mingfei away, only to realize that Caesar had somehow wrapped himself around him.
Now it was a game for the brave. Either Surtr bit through Lu Mingfei's arm and escaped, or Lu Mingfei tore off Surtr's head.
If either side felt fear and retreated, death would arrive at the same time.
Dragon teeth sank deeper and deeper, while the skin on Surtr's neck split apart and muscle fibers snapped one by one.
"I'll fuck your ancestors!!!"
Lu Mingfei erupted in a hysterical curse, as though he wanted to avenge Lao Tang completely in this very moment. Amid Surtr's agonized howl and the sound of flesh tearing apart, Surtr's entire head, along with his spine, was ripped free.
April 26, 2009. Night. Heavy rain. The King of Bronze and Fire was confirmed dead.
At the same time, all Kassel Academy diving personnel survived, while the two special agents brought one survivor out from the bottom of the Three Gorges.
The Kuimen Battle officially came to an end.
Setting a flag here (`)
Published on 2024-08-14 20:17 | Public Chapter
This book had only just entered the library, but the numbers had risen pretty quickly. Anyway, as a newbie, I felt like I was doing all right. Of course, I still couldn't compare to the big shots.
A friend told me that writing a book was apparently like becoming an uploader on Bilibili—you had to make a vow. Was that true?
Since I'm a beginner, I don't know what I should do, nor do I know how big a goal I should set based on these results.
Anyway, before the book goes premium, I'll probably set a target for first-day subscriptions based on my bookmarks and follow-up readers. If I actually reach that amazing target after it goes premium... (It's still far from going premium though o｀εo)
I started this book by writing Magical Girls, so I'll do a Magical Girl cosplay and pin it in the book discussion section for a few days. You can decide who I should cosplay.
I'm a little sleepy while writing this. Whenever I get sleepy, I tend to lose my mind. Tomorrow, when I wake up, I'll probably be confused about the vow I made, but I'll definitely do it.
I swear on my integrity! Finally, I'd like to thank all the readers who supported me. Thank you for willingly letting me farm your coins—cross that out.
And lastly, the most important thank-you section. Thank you to Black House I In the Beginning There Was the Dao for the 5,000 coin donation; Falling Leaves Follow the Wind Forward for the 100 coin donation; and Next Time I'll Fill It in Simple for the 141 coin donation. Thank you all!
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