Fate Play (IV)

"Little White Rabbit has arrived at the battlefield! Calling Enxi, Little White Rabbit has arrived at the battlefield!" Shuuder Mai, wearing a black earpiece, toyed with the ninja blade in her hand, her gaze fixed on the figure on the subway platform.

At last, they could see things clearly. The green mist had been too dense earlier, and the surveillance cameras had failed to capture the movements in the underground mall. They had only seen shadows flashing rapidly through the fog one after another.

Su Enxi's lazy voice came from behind Shuuder Mai. Wrapped in a bathrobe, she had just finished enjoying a rose milk bath. "Got it, got it. Why did he only just enter Nibelungen? He's five minutes later than expected, but it doesn't really matter."

"He skipped the nearby subway station and took a detour all the way to Wangfujing... Which genius strategist gave him that idea?" Shuuder Mai muttered to herself. "Right. It was most likely Cassell College's doing. Chu Zihang entered from here, and didn't his last signal disappear at this very subway station?"

"Interesting. I hadn't even had time to use that Golden Subway Card to swipe open the gates of hell for Little White Rabbit No. 1, yet he already found a way in on his own."

Su Enxi rested her fair arm on Shuuder Mai's shoulder and stroked her chin. "We aren't the only ones helping him. Opening the door isn't that surprising. Maybe the Boss opened that door for him. What's strange is that Little White Rabbit actually rushed in voluntarily to save someone. Is Chu Zihang really that important to him?"

"Who knows? No one can truly see through someone who is truly lonely. Sometimes they're like onions—peel away one layer, and there's another beneath it. I just hope he isn't acting on a hot-blooded impulse."

Su Enxi's eyes flickered. "This subway station is much more dangerous than the entrance we originally planned for him."

"Shouldn't I step in and escort our dragon slayer? I'm sick of warming the bench." Shuuder Mai swept up her long black hair and tied it behind her head. Her close-fitting combat suit outlined her graceful figure, while two ninja blades were strapped diagonally across her waist.

"No rush." Su Enxi watched the relevant surveillance footage with confidence. "Didn't we already use a fragrance on his clothes that can drive away the Kamaitachi in the subway? Its effect on those creatures is like garlic on vampires. Anyway, as long as the subway coming to pick him up is fine, then—there are only so many problematic trains... Damn it, my stupid mouth!"

After the surveillance feed flickered with gray static, an old-fashioned subway train appeared like a ghost in one section of the tunnel, like a phantom train emerging from a distorted time and space.

Normally, subway trains protected those entering Nibelungen, much like safe zones in survival games. Otherwise, how could humans move about in the dragons' realm? But this old-fashioned subway packed with passengers did not belong to that category. It belonged to a safe zone that had already fallen.

"There's nothing wrong with the circuit control system I hacked into. We didn't dispatch this train—there wasn't even supposed to be a train on this line!" The ninja girl felt a chill crawl over her and instinctively tightened her grip on her blade. "Have we failed to understand Nibelungen's rules? Or is someone with higher authority... a dragon, operating it?"

"The good news is that we've pulled up the surveillance feed. This subway has cameras, so at least we won't be 'blind.'"

Su Enxi quickly regained her composure, her fingers moving rapidly as she tried to remedy the situation. "It's fine, hurry over. Little White Rabbit values his life. From what I know of him, he would never board a subway that obviously has a huge problem. We still have time."

"No... Potato Chips, look up. He's already gone in."

As they watched the latest footage from the subway station, the color visibly drained from Shuuder Mai and Su Enxi's delicate faces.

"And the subway that was originally supposed to be on this route is coming from the other direction. A collision is only a matter of time."

Having officially entered Nibelungen, the green mist actually grew thinner, and his field of vision became much wider.

The tunnel walls were built from layers of aged red brick. Fine streams of water trickled noisily between the bricks. In this eerie space, it seemed as though only Lu Mingfei was barely clinging to life.

"At least let a rat squeak or something." Lu Mingfei looked around, silently complaining to himself.

This godforsaken place was more than a dozen streets creepier than Genji Heavy Industries. Just entering it had already made him distinctly uncomfortable.

"Father..."

That familiar distant voice came again, like the tolling of a bronze bell and the surging of seawater.

Lu Mingfei, who was standing on the Wangfujing Station platform waiting for the train according to plan, shuddered. He still could not find the source of the voice. He suddenly wondered whether some father-starved evil ghost had secretly set its sights on him.

So I've finally run into a real ghost. The only time I've ever played the role of a strict father was for those Deadpools. I haven't even given away my first hand-holding with a girl yet, so please, ghost bro, don't sully my good name.

The sound of waves roared around him. Lu Mingfei looked from side to side, worried that monstrous waves might suddenly surge from the green mist and swallow him whole.

It felt as if an entire ocean was somewhere nearby, following his every movement.

Wherever he went, the sound of the ocean flowed with him. Beneath the mournful roar of the sea came a deep, whale-song-like voice.

A crushing gust rose, and Lu Mingfei suddenly snapped awake. What followed was the sharp screech of wheels grinding against rails as a subway arrived. The ground began to tremble, and a powerful beam of light suddenly tore through the darkness of the long tunnel. A passenger-filled train was speeding in.

Before long, a subway train came to a steady stop in front of him. Its square, outdated red-and-white cars carried an inexplicably lively atmosphere.

It was a subway train from the eighties or nineties. Through the fogged-up windows, he could only make out numerous figures moving inside. Some passengers pressed pitch-black palms against the windows, leaving distinct handprints behind.

Even from outside the glass, Lu Mingfei could tell that this was likely a crowded train. Finding a seat inside would probably be difficult.

The doors opened, and the interior was pitch-black. It seemed the passengers inside had no habit of turning on the lights.

Lu Mingfei sniffed the strange odor in the air. It was the faint stench of blood and rotting flesh.

He waited for several seconds and blinked, trying to close his Golden Eyes. After failing once again, he simply stopped pretending. Carrying two blades, he stepped into the old subway train.

In his left hand was one of the Seven Sins, called Wrath.

In his right hand was one of the Seven Sins, called Lust.

This was his first time using Lust, one of the Seven Sins. The moment he picked it up, he successfully resonated with the alchemical weapon. It was a wakizashi with a dim sheen, its curved blade engraved with ancient Hebrew and Draconic inscriptions. Narrow at the front and broad at the back, it incorporated the characteristics of Japanese tachi from the Heian period.

After being fully activated by Lu Mingfei's bloodline, the wakizashi called Lust seemed a little too excited. The living spirit sealed within had become so active that the blade kept vibrating toward a certain direction.

He did not know whether the Seven Sins weapons possessed any special traits. At the very least, his trusty old companion Wrath, which he handled with ease, had never shown any sign of wanting to "lead the way" on its own.