"Actually, you were the one who killed Norton, the Dragon King, weren't you?"
Lu Mingfei froze.
Luo Qiusheng continued speaking at an unhurried pace. "The monster in the Three Gorges Reservoir?"
Sharp-eyed, Luo Qiusheng noticed Chen Motong walking over. He immediately stood up, left Lu Mingfei's side, and started chatting with Finger.
Chen Motong handed a piece of chocolate to Lu Mingfei, who was still staring into space.
"Why have you been so distracted lately? Is something bothering you?"
Lu Mingfei's gaze happened to fall on Luo Qiusheng. Chen Motong noticed and froze, then sighed helplessly.
Luo Qiusheng gave Chen Motong the impression that he was kind to everyone, yet somehow not kind to anyone—a walking contradiction. When she used her profiling ability on him, she could barely see the first part of what would happen. After that, she could predict almost nothing.
The last time had been when they went to China and met Lu Mingfei. Luo Qiusheng had come looking for them himself. Guderian had just finished receiving Lu Mingfei and was about to leave when he discovered someone causing destruction in the city.
Using her [Profiling] ability, Chen Motong had identified the person, but couldn't tell what kind of Spirit Word he was using.
This time, it was the scene from not long ago, when Luo Qiusheng approached Constantine. She had tried hard to deduce what had happened, but the outcome was far from satisfactory. Every trace connected to Luo Qiusheng vanished, as if he had disappeared from the world without a trace.
But then she remembered the words she often said: "No one dares bully my little brother."
So she headed toward Luo Qiusheng, only for Lu Mingfei to call her back.
Maybe he was afraid Luo Qiusheng would tell people about the Three Gorges Reservoir. He had no idea how Luo Qiusheng had found out, but he couldn't risk finding out whether he'd spill the secret.
Though even if he did, they might not believe him...
What am I even thinking?
Catching sight of Lu Mingfei's awkwardness, Luo Qiusheng silently made a shushing gesture at him.
Afterward, Luo Qiusheng ate the half-piece of chocolate Finger had forced on him, then said his goodbyes.
He went to find Principal Angers again. When Hilbert von Ange saw Luo Qiusheng coming to see him, confusion immediately filled his face.
"Luo Qiusheng? You're not spending time with your girlfriend today, so you've come to see this old man?"
"Girlfriend? Principal Angers, you know what I'm like." Luo Qiusheng said, "I'm here to apply to return to China for a mission. I want the confidential files on Jormungandr's identity."
After hearing him out, Hilbert von Ange burst out laughing. "You really are one of a kind."
"Like Lu Mingfei?" Luo Qiusheng said with a grin.
"No, no. You seem even more interesting than he is. You seem able to see through everything, as if you can predict the future."
Luo Qiusheng's expression remained calm. "Since you put it that way..."
As he spoke, Luo Qiusheng moved closer to Angers. He glanced around, then lowered his voice. "The Secret Party—or rather, Pompeii Gattuso—is Odin."
At Luo Qiusheng's words, Hilbert von Ange froze, then burst out laughing. "You're saying the head of the Gattuso family, that womanizing stallion, is Odin?"
Seeing that Luo Qiusheng didn't look like he was joking, Hilbert von Ange couldn't help frowning. "Is this what you came to see me about today?"
"I know you hate the Dragon Tribe to the bone. I also know you're a gambler. Wasn't the Little Devil Lu Mingfei drew during the 3E exam Zero, who escaped from Black Swan Bay?"
"Lu Mingfei inherited his spiritual abilities and some of his authority. That's enough to kill those immature dragons, but if he wants to kill Odin, he needs to do it soon."
He remembered that in Dragon Tribe V, Odin devoured Fenrir, the King of Earth and Mountains, and seized his power and authority, making up for Odin's lack of strength. Later, he stole the White King's authority, pushing his abilities to the point where they nearly brought the Dragon Tribe's combat power to the brink of collapse.
After Dragon Tribe V, Lu Mingfei was forced into the Doomsday Faction by Kassel College, then betrayed by his own father. By the time he watched his mother, Giovanna, get killed, he had reached the very brink of Blood Sorrow. The catalyst was the Doomsday Faction's remains of the Vinster King.
That old scoundrel Jiang Nan never even finished writing the story. Luo Qiusheng could probably guess most of what came next, but he still couldn't be sure.
But one thing was certain: unless Lu Mingfei became a complete monster, Odin couldn't die. The only way was to snuff him out before he could grow into one.
But by then, Kassel College had already been infiltrated by the Secret Party like a sieve. If Hilbert von Ange weren't still alive, Pompeii Gattuso might have turned the college into his own private harem garden.
"I understand. So what are you asking for?"
Luo Qiusheng spoke again. "Raymond. I'll help him complete the mission to return to headquarters. Chu Zihang and Lu Mingfei should come along on this operation too... I'm afraid of dying."
Hilbert von Ange had been nodding along as Luo Qiusheng laid out his plans, but the last three words made him choke. "I was already planning to send those two on this mission. They graduated from the same school, so they can watch each other's backs. And bringing Lu Mingfei along will make things safer."
Hilbert von Ange no longer saw the first-year student before him as an ordinary Hybrid. The dragon Lu Mingfei had drawn during his 3E exam suddenly came to mind: so vivid, it seemed as if he'd seen it with his own eyes.
"Fine. But Lu Mingfei has to lead this mission."
Hilbert von Ange spoke gravely. "During the 3E exam, you drew a Five-Clawed Golden Dragon. I don't think I've ever seen it in the Dragon Tribe's historical records, but my first impression was that it was domineering—different from the Vinster King. It seemed more like a ruler."
Luo Qiusheng thought for a moment, rubbing his chin. "I studied art, so maybe I just have a solid foundation. Heh. 罒ω罒"
As he left Hilbert von Ange's residence, Luo Qiusheng recalled what had happened. It really had seemed as if an Eastern divine dragon was circling through his mind.
'You stand before the throne. Why do you not kneel?!'
He shook the jumbled thoughts from his head and somehow found himself at the Alchemy Department.
"Junior Brother Luo? You're just in time. We're stuck on a step in forging Qinggui Zhusui. Come take a look!"
After that, the group practically dragged Luo Qiusheng inside. There were alchemy workshops here, each devoted to a different alchemical item.
[Storm Torpedo], [Alchemy Bullet], [Adams], [Dragon Breath of Light and Dust]...
The last room he entered was an alchemy workshop where work on [Qinggui Zhusui] was already halfway done. About ten people crowded around the blueprints, while several others hurried back and forth with materials.
Someone noticed Luo Qiusheng being led in through the doorway, but only glanced at him before returning to the blueprints in his hands, not taking him seriously at all.
"Junior Brother Luo, don't take it to heart. They're only acting like this because you're a first-year. We brought you here as a last-ditch effort, so don't feel pressured."
Luo Qiusheng glanced at the two people who had dragged him inside, and his eyelid twitched.
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