Lu Mingfei's Predicament

"Lu Mingfei? Still thinking about Chen Wenwen?"

The air inside the car was stifling, almost stagnant. The evening breeze drifted in through the half-open window, tousling the boy's bangs, yet it could not disperse the lingering dejection in the eyes of the person in the passenger seat.

After a long silence, Lu Mingfei's voice sounded hoarse, as if coated in sand, carrying an inescapable sense of defeat: "I still can't forget her."

Luo Qiusheng turned his head to look at the boy beside him, who seemed to live forever in self-deprecation and regret.

He slowly raised his hand and gently patted Lu Mingfei on the back. His movements were gentle, but his words were piercing, showing no mercy: "Do you always feel like you're particularly pathetic, living a complete mess, more miserable than anyone else? Do you often feel that this world is absurd and mean, targeting you at every turn? Do you find yourself unable to stop self-doubting during countless nights, feeling like a good-for-nothing born to achieve nothing?"

His pace was steady, yet his words acted like a dull blade, slowly slicing open all the embarrassment Lu Mingfei had deliberately hidden.

"Do you always feel like you're just a minor character in someone else's story, used for ridicule and amusement? That your life is dim and lackluster, mediocre, and that you don't even live as well as the ordinary people passing by on the street?"

Lu Mingfei did not reply. He simply lowered his gaze, his fingertips curling unconsciously, and the aura around him grew increasingly heavy.

He sat quietly, taking every word of Luo Qiusheng's to heart. Those blunt dissections hit the deepest insecurities and frustrations he had hidden in the bottom of his soul with pinpoint accuracy.

Seeing that Lu Mingfei had taken it in and that his emotions were thoroughly stirred, Luo Qiusheng did not stop there. Instead, he intensified his tone, striking directly at the boy's soft underbelly: "If your parents truly loved you, how could they have left you alone at your aunt's house since you were a child, living under someone else's roof? Does it really feel good to live by reading others' expressions, carefully trying to please everyone around you?"

This sentence touched Lu Mingfei's deepest reverse scale.

His parents were the only remaining hope in his gray childhood, the last shred of comfort he used to numb himself and survive his lowest points—a soft spot that no one was allowed to touch.

Lu Mingfei suddenly looked up, his eyes instantly surging with anger and panic. His voice rose sharply, strained to the point of collapse: "Enough!"

He clenched his palms tightly until his knuckles turned white, and the silent atmosphere around him shattered instantly: "Even if you've helped me, I will never allow you to slander my parents!"

Watching the boy's stubborn yet fragile, bristling appearance, a faint sneer curled at the corner of Luo Qiusheng's mouth. He carelessly tapped the steering wheel twice, his tone carrying a hint of playful perfunctoriness: "Fine, fine, you're the best. Is the little lion getting angry? I'll stop talking, alright?"

Yet, deep down, Luo Qiusheng was perfectly clear.

He had read Dragon Tribe V from cover to cover and knew the true faces of Lu Mingfei's parents better than anyone. Especially Lu Lincheng—in Lu Mingfei's fragmented memories, he was a heroic, selfless father who traveled far away to serve the country. But in reality, the truth was bone-chilling; the contrast between memory and reality was worlds apart.

So-called familial love was nothing more than a meticulously planned scam.

He had personally pushed his own son into the abyss, using his bloodline and his destiny to lay out a scheme, even indirectly causing the death of Giovanna.

Luo Qiusheng sighed inwardly: Lu Mingfei, oh Lu Mingfei, you are soft-hearted and easily swayed by family ties. Such fragile stress resistance is truly far too poor.

With that thought, Luo Qiusheng stopped the idle chatter and pressed firmly on the accelerator with his right foot.

The low-pitched engine erupted into a high-pitched roar, like a sleeping beast suddenly awakening. The deep sound waves made the ground tremble slightly, and the black car darted out like a shadow. In an instant, it was gliding smoothly, leaving the oppressive atmosphere behind and returning the surroundings to tranquility.

He was meticulous and had long since prepared everything for the lazy and trouble-averse Lu Mingfei, even carefully straightening the toilet seat in the restroom to save the other from the hassle of dealing with it.

As soon as the car pulled over and stopped, a tall, upright figure walked over quickly.

Chu Zihang stood by the car, his gaze landing first on Lu Mingfei in the passenger seat before shifting to Luo Qiusheng in the driver's seat. His dark eyes held a trace of clear confusion, his voice cold and steady: "Your file records do not show that you have ever obtained a C1 driver's license."

The two cars parked on the side of the road—the red Ferrari was flashy and eye-catching, while the black Mercedes-Benz reflected the faint light of the setting sun, looking exceptionally striking on the empty street.

Luo Qiusheng smiled candidly, easily brushing off the minor issue, and took the initiative to steer the conversation toward business: "Don't worry about those details. By the way, Chu Zihang, what exactly is the situation with this SS-level mission?"

He had already vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

In the original plot, Raymond should have fallen, and the A-level mission would have suddenly mutated into a high-risk SS-level mission. But now the plot had shifted; Raymond was safe and sound, and the mission rating should have remained A-level, yet it was still marked as SS.

There was no need to overthink it; it was certainly Jormungandr, lurking in the shadows, who had once again stirred the situation and tampered with the mission trajectory.

"For this operation, Lu Mingfei is the exclusive commanding officer. Everyone is to follow his instructions."

As Chu Zihang finished speaking, his gaze was calm and certain, and it fell, along with Luo Qiusheng's, onto the still-dazed Lu Mingfei.

Luo Qiusheng understood.

The mission email he had received earlier was extremely vague, marked only with the words "assist and cooperate" throughout. There were no detailed mission procedures, objectives, or divisions of labor; all key information was left blank.

He had assumed that Chu Zihang, as the president of the Lionheart Society, must know the inside story, but looking at the other man now, it was clear he had also just been informed and was as clueless as he was.

All the heavy burdens and decision-making power ultimately fell upon the still-unsettled Lu Mingfei.

"Are you alright?" Chu Zihang suddenly noticed Lu Mingfei, who had been dejected from the start, and asked.

Lu Mingfei was lost in thought, but upon coming to his senses, he hurriedly said he was fine.

Chu Zihang turned to look at Luo Qiusheng, though he knew the reason just by looking at Lu Mingfei's reaction.

He didn't ask further, instead looking at Lu Mingfei: "Why don't you ride in my car from now on?"

Lu Mingfei felt a sense of relief and immediately agreed: "Sure." He then quickly scrambled into the car Chu Zihang had arrived in.

Watching the two leave, Luo Qiusheng smiled and called out to Lu Mingfei once more: "Let's exchange contact information; let's keep in touch."

Lu Mingfei avoided Luo Qiusheng like he was a venomous snake, rattled off a string of numbers, and then urged Chu Zihang to drive away until they were out of sight.

Watching the Mercedes disappear, Luo Qiusheng felt both amused and helpless. Just then, the phone in his pocket rang.

He glanced at the caller ID and murmured: "Why are you calling at a time like this?"