Odin's Distant Realm

"Big brother, are you really not going to handle your Uncle and Aunt's affairs personally?"

"No... I'm really not interested."

"A hug." Lu Mingze held out his arms expectantly.

"Anyway, thanks. To be honest, I was a little lost when dealing with that just now." Kicking down the bicycle stand, Lu Mingfei gave him a hug... though the goosebumps rising on his skin made him reach out and pat Lu Mingze's back instead. "I'd be more pleased if you were a little sister."

"I've always granted your requests, just like Doraemon did for Nobita." Lu Mingze said with a sly grin.

At that moment, the one sitting on the back of Lu Mingfei's bicycle had become a black-haired little girl in a black Gothic dress, with splendid violet eyes.

"Hiss, how are you anything like... Is this Cardcaptor Sakura or Sixty Million Dollar Man? Change back, Sailor Moon Mingze-mon. I've already got a fixed impression of you." Lu Mingfei promptly let go in disgust, crossing his hands in front of his chest. Then he quickly narrowed his eyes. "You can grant any request for free?"

"Small favors are fine, but forget anything major. Why did you suddenly turn villainous, big brother?" Lu Mingze immediately raised his head warily after changing back, denying everything without hesitation.

"I just wanted to ask whether you could make me the leader of the modern hybrids, the kind of hands-off boss with actual authority who doesn't need to do anything. Just give me a salary and power." Lu Mingfei made his shameless wish.

"Take out the word 'just,' big brother. Why are you dreaming at seven in the evening... This isn't included in the free service. Besides, becoming the leader of hybrids would be useless. Dragons stand above hybrids, and that isn't a good position. I can trick that vengeful old man I don't know well, but I can't trick you. This is a world like The Matrix."

"Aren't dragons supposed to play the role of things that get slaughtered in this world? They can command hybrids too?" Lu Mingfei was somewhat surprised, thinking that Jormungandr and Fenrir had looked pretty impressive, but that was all there was to them... Sure enough, the truly ruthless figures hid in the shadows, just like in The Matrix.

"There have always been traces of dragons behind the Secret Party, but there's another free benefit today. You only need to pay a tiny price." Lu Mingze pressed his hands together. "The next dungeon may be the longest of all the dungeons. It's a 'two-in-one,' and I can delay your entry into Urd's Dream, letting you rest in reality for two days. Two days is the limit."

Lu Mingfei fell into thought. After clearing the Beijing Subway Station Dungeon, he had seen what the next dungeon was.

—"Grand Escape and Tokyo Tower Dungeon."

Just from the name, it sounded difficult. He had no idea whether the one chasing him inside would be a First-Generation Species or a Second-Generation Species.

"What does Urd's Dream mean? Urd is the goddess of the past, right... You can interfere with my dreams?" Lu Mingfei asked in surprise.

Thanks to having encountered Odin, his interest in Norse Mythology had deepened considerably. After learning a little about it, he knew that the Norns of Norse Mythology were Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld. Odin had even sacrificed one eye at Urd's Well in exchange for the mighty power of omniscience and omnipotence.

"It has little to do with the past. The name is merely deceptive wordplay. The important part is the future, as you can tell. The three goddesses stand for three agreements... The rest is paid content. If I say too much, I'll have to buy a house in a banned zone again." Lu Mingze rested his chin on his hand helplessly. "I can interfere a little. Do you think one of the only three Supremes in this world who possesses the lofty authority of dreams is that weak?"

Lu Mingfei patted his shoulder unconcernedly to comfort him. "If you're so amazing, how did you get banned for so long while I was fighting Genji Heavy Industries?"

He did not accuse Lu Mingze of speaking in riddles or anything. Anyone could see that Lu Mingze had already given him hints. Instead, a voice in his heart kept preventing him from thinking further.

"The resurrection match in hell was too hard. I'm not like you, big brother. I got cut several times, and all the blood in my arteries had sprayed out." Lu Mingze sighed and did not bother defending himself over his losses.

Lu Mingfei understood fairly well. The panel alone showed that this guy had a whole pile of negative buffs: Dragon Bone Cross removed from his body, extreme weakness, severe incompleteness, near-death status, world seal... Being able to remain this lively already made him practically divine.

Fenrir had two health bars. This guy had to have at least twenty. He was ridiculously hard to kill.

"If this dungeon is so long, will I turn into a Sleeping Beauty who sleeps for two straight days in reality?" Lu Mingfei asked worriedly. If he remained unconscious, nothing unexpected should happen in reality, right?

Lu Mingze said, "It won't have any effect. No matter how long the dream is, it won't affect you. You'll wake up normally the next day."

"Let me catch my breath... Two days."

"What's the tiny price you said I have to pay?"

Lu Mingze snapped his fingers. A bright yellow road lit up. Fallen leaves froze in midair in the wind. Streetlamps, windows, and the neon signs before commercial buildings glittered with shifting colors. People sank into heavy slumber, and every extraneous sound vanished without a trace. Not even a crow called. In an instant, this Binhai Town became a thorny castle cursed by Maleficent in a fairy tale.

"Follow the lights, big brother. Help me put on a show." After saying that, he changed posture and swung his legs.

"You'd better not screw me over. We just built a little trust between us..." Lu Mingfei watched the scene of "stopped time" before him and wobbled onto the road on his bicycle. Wherever he went, the lights behind him went out, making it seem as though he was chasing the last remaining light in this sleeping castle.

Everywhere on the ground were gleaming puddles reflecting the streetlights. The city's drainage system had failed to clear away yesterday's torrential rain. Since Lu Mingfei had no spare pants to change into, he had to keep riding around them.

"Ride faster. He's going to get scared and run away. I want to try borrowing your power to scare him." Lu Mingze kept urging him, poking Lu Mingfei in the waist with a finger.

A gray drizzle was still falling over the city, and the sky was iron-gray... The days of torrential rain supposedly brought by the typhoon had lasted only one day.

It was an impatient typhoon. If a typhoon raced along at over thirty kilometers per hour, its core circulation and rain bands could quickly sweep through an area. There might be violent wind and rain the night before, then sunshine the following day.

"Stop rushing me. My wheels are practically smoking." Lu Mingfei saw old tricycles parked by the roadside and wondered whether he should switch vehicles to gain speed.

The guiding lights vanished. Ahead, he saw an abandoned toll station. This was the entrance to an elevated highway.

And the number of this stretch of elevated highway was "10."

"This isn't a good place at all. Going any farther will cost extra." Lu Mingfei's gaze sharpened... In a puddle far away, he saw a majestic, terrifying reflection. Yet there was only a streamlike puddle of rainwater there. The reflection of a mounted rider was visible, but not the rider himself.

The reflection flashed by and never appeared again.

Honestly, if Lu Mingze had not been beside him, he would never have ridden his bicycle to a damned place like this.

"No need to go farther."

The impeccably dressed devil pointed at the puddle. "Big brother, I'm a little scared. Try making him get the hell away."

"He already got the hell away the moment he saw the two of us, didn't he?" Lu Mingfei stared expressionlessly at the delighted Lu Mingze, thinking, It looks like he's afraid of you, you bastard who's accusing the victim first.

Lu Mingze shook his head and gently placed a hand on Lu Mingfei's shoulder. "Not far enough. Try using the tone of an Emperor to make him get lost. Order him to leave your domain."