In the shadow beyond the light, the young man walked slowly into the private room.
He held several brand-new hundred-yuan bills between his fingertips and slipped them into the black leather billfold holding the check. His movements were calm and unhurried. Then he handed the billfold back to the stunned waiter beside him and said in a cool, even voice, "Keep the change."
The same words, spoken by someone else, might have sounded like a deliberate, boastful display of wealth and superiority, enough to invite contempt.
But coming from Luo Qiusheng, they seemed utterly natural, almost casual.
His expression was calm, his eyes distant. He looked as if the money he had casually tossed aside were not the hard-earned wages of ordinary people, but nothing more than inconsequential dust.
There wasn't a trace of arrogance about him. He was as detached as a mountain breeze or clouds drifting across the sky, yet his presence overwhelmed the room. No one could bring themselves to resent him; all that remained was instinctive awe.
The room fell completely silent. No one spoke, and no one had even seen when he approached the door or when he stepped inside.
He wore a simple, neat casual outfit and black sunglasses that hid all emotion in his eyes. Only the lower half of his face showed: clean-cut lips and a sharp, icy jawline. He was expressionless, like a traveler returning from a long journey to spend a vacation—aloof and mysterious.
Lu Mingfei had been feeling awkward, fending off his classmates' mocking or scornful looks, his heart full of insecurity and embarrassment.
The moment Luo Qiusheng walked in, the hairs on his body shot up. It was as if some invisible threat had locked onto him.
Almost on reflex, he sprang to his feet. His back stiffened, his whole body tense, and his eyes filled with panic and wariness.
In an instant, countless thoughts surged through Lu Mingfei's mind—
Something had happened!
Something huge had happened!
Summer vacation was supposed to be peaceful and uneventful. No dragon-slaying missions, no bizarre visions, no damn Dragon Tribe monsters.
But now, at his class reunion, a stranger with an unsettling presence had appeared. How had he found this place?
Apart from Kassel College and the Dragon Tribe secrets that had haunted him all his life, he couldn't think of any reason!
Was the Dragon Tribe about to invade the world? Had the college suddenly assigned an emergency mission? Or... had some unknown danger set its sights on him?
As panic and unease churned inside him, Luo Qiusheng had already walked up to him. Behind his sunglasses, his expression was impossible to read, but his tone was calm.
"How much longer until the gathering ends? We're going to find Chu Zihang."
"The college has assigned an urgent mission. Chu Zihang and I will assist you throughout and follow your lead."
He bent slightly toward Lu Mingfei's ear and whispered two words. His voice carried a hint of helplessness, and a hint of the feeling that fate had already decided things:
"Waiting for you to get to work, boss."
"Boss?!"
Lu Mingfei's eyes flew wide open, and his mind went blank. It was as if he'd been struck by lightning; he stood there, completely stunned.
He froze in place, wondering if he'd suffered a serious auditory hallucination.
What kind of international joke was this?!
He, Lu Mingfei, had grown up dependent on other people, timid and mediocre, good at nothing. His grades were average, his looks were average, and his life was a complete mess. He'd always been the most forgettable background character in any crowd. Since when did someone with a terrifying presence like this call him "boss"?
Absurd. Ridiculous. Unbelievable!
The deathly silence in the private room lasted several seconds before someone finally broke it.
Xu Yanyan had been staring at the entrance, his face full of shock. His eyes widened, and his voice trembled with disbelief.
"Th-that's not the owner of the Ferrari parked outside, is it?!"
His words struck like thunder, jolting everyone in the room awake.
The classmates, who had been busy joking around and showing off at the reunion, all turned at once. Their eyes converged on Luo Qiusheng, shock, envy, curiosity, and awe mingling together, sweeping away the frivolity and arrogance of moments before.
Once they were outside, Lu Mingfei hurried to thank Luo Qiusheng. "Thanks, thanks. I didn't know you were such a stand-up guy."
Whatever the case, Lu Mingfei was grateful for Luo Qiusheng's sudden appearance. "I'll pay you back when I get home."
"It was nothing. But today, you really are the boss."
Not long before, just as Luo Qiusheng had walked into the Sufilade Pizza House, a message had popped up on his phone. If it had been his own phone, he might not have bothered with it. The problem was, the phone that had received the message had been issued by Kassel College.
He opened his email. The message was a mission from headquarters.
After hearing Luo Qiusheng, Lu Mingfei also opened the email on his phone.
"Urgent mission, SS-Rank? How could this be..."
He glanced at the line listing the personnel.
Assigned operative: Lu Mingfei, "S-Rank"
Assisting: Chu Zihang, "A-Rank"; Luo Qiusheng, "A-Rank"
At a glance, Lu Mingfei felt as if the whole world had turned unreal.
No matter what, he was still a freshman. Just because I'm S-Rank, they can force me to be the operative? Did the college even ask what I thought?!
And they're having an old hand like Chu Zihang, a second-year student, assist me?
Everyone knew what sort of person the school's one and only "S-Rank," Lu Mingfei, was: a "genius student" struggling on the brink of remedial exams, a good-for-nothing who would've been demoted long ago if not for the principal's unconditional protection. The sort who'd always chicken out when he was meant to step up, yet somehow pull off a stunning feat when no one expected him to show up. A wild card like that was supposed to be the operative? And command Chu Zihang, the president of the Lionheart Society, a veteran of twelve missions without a single failure? How was that any different from sending Finger, Kassel's biggest loser, to handle the nuclear crisis in the Sahara Desert? Were they trying to destroy the Earth?
At the same time, Chu Zihang was elsewhere.
The phone Chu Zihang carried with him rang. He took it out and saw a call from his advisor, Schneider.
When he answered, Schneider said, "I have a mission for you." His advisor always spoke in commands, blunt as a club swung down over his head.
"I'm listening." Chu Zihang quickly dried himself off.
"Urgent mission, rated 'SS.' Recover an important document before 19:00 today. Eva has emailed you the detailed instructions." Schneider paused, then lowered his voice. "Keep things under control... don't make too much of a mess. Avoid casualties if you can. Don't act like those madmen in the Equipment Department..." A faint explosion sounded through the phone, and anger flared in Schneider's voice. "They're dismantling the campus!"
"'SS'?" Chu Zihang wasn't interested in the Equipment Department's lunatics. The mission's rating was what surprised him. The highest-rated mission he'd ever taken part in had been "A."
"You heard me right. According to the original plan, you're returning to campus today, right? Eva booked you, Lu Mingfei, and Luo Qiusheng on UA836, a direct flight to Chicago tonight."
"Lu Mingfei?" Chu Zihang was taken aback.
As for Luo Qiusheng, he didn't know him well...
Schneider paused. Even he, stern and hard as iron, seemed to find this arrangement difficult to explain, and had to weigh his words. "For this operation, the operative is S-Rank Lu Mingfei. Your job is to assist him. You'll follow his instructions."
Chu Zihang was at a loss. What did this mean? It was as if the emperor had summoned a general and said, "I want you to go north and fight the barbarians alongside the palace eunuch Lu." The general would naturally know that Eunuch Lu had been assigned to keep an eye on him. He would fight the battles, while the other man took the credit. Still, all he could do was accept the decree and offer his thanks. That was the normal state of affairs. The abnormal state was the emperor saying, "I bestow armor, a sword, and a fine horse upon Eunuch Lu. He'll lead the charge, while you handle his logistics from behind..." Wasn't that just a way of getting rid of Eunuch Lu?
"Understood." Chu Zihang's tone remained calm. He wasn't someone who argued.
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