Lu Guanhong
Reanimated, I Became the World's Bug
Biodata
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Lu Guanhong (卢冠宏) |
| Alias(es) | Old Lu 21 |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | 47 38 |
| Affiliation | Armored Warrior Training Center; formerly the Eighth Research Institute 21 38 |
| Occupation/Role | Life Alchemy instructor; former Third-Level Researcher 38 |
| Status | Demoted and forbidden from conducting Life Alchemy experiments; application for his return to the Eighth Research Institute pending 38 44 |
| First Appearance | Chapter 21: “Life Alchemy” 21 |
Background / History
Lu Guanhong specialized in Life Alchemy as a Third-Level Researcher at the Eighth Research Institute. His career was derailed by violating the Second Prohibition, which forbids life alchemists from challenging the second law: that life originates from the movement of matter. He was demoted to teaching and stripped of the right to conduct Life Alchemy experiments 38.
The institute’s project had used Forbidden Arts to obtain crucial data, triggering a Great Review. Lu Guanhong took the blame for the entire institute and destroyed the evidence, but deliberately retained the project’s information—including indispensable data—in his memory. This ensured that the institute would need him to restart its work 44.
By his introduction, he had worked at the Armored Warrior Training Center for nearly ten years. He was its only Alchemy instructor and taught both basic and intermediate trainees 21 35.
Personality
Lu Guanhong is devoted to Life Alchemy but deeply frustrated by his teaching assignment. He supplements the curriculum with jargon, proofs, calculations, and personal theories, although most trainees only want the practical laws needed to become Armored Warriors. He appreciates attentive students such as Lu Zhan and still hopes to train a genuine life alchemist 21.
His scholarly dedication coexists with resentment and condescension. He initially treats Lu Zhan as an insignificant student seeking a patron, then becomes conciliatory when that student could jeopardize his review. His later displays of orthodoxy are calculated attempts to regain his research position rather than evidence of changed convictions 45 44.
Abilities & Skills
Life Alchemy Expertise
- Holds the experience of a former Third-Level Researcher specializing in Life Alchemy 38.
- Explains advanced material normally reserved for the Intermediate Class, including the seventh law and the conditions governing contamination between life-forms 21.
- May recognize the Wide-Area Information Receiver because of his former research clearance; Xin Ya identifies this as a possibility, not a confirmed fact 38.
- Remains legally barred from conducting Life Alchemy experiments 38.
Teaching
- Uses technical explanations, proofs, and calculations rather than limiting lessons to memorized laws 21.
- Explains that same-species contamination generally requires a substantial rank difference, countering trainees’ fears about Lu Zhan 21.
- Offers Lu Zhan individual guidance and supplies an annotated introductory textbook on matter 45 46.
- Has difficulty engaging his students: ordinary attendance can fall to around thirty in a lecture hall seating five hundred 21.
Retained Research Knowledge
- Keeps crucial project information in his memory after destroying the institute’s evidence 44.
- Uses the institute’s dependence on that information as leverage for his recall 44.
Story Role / Major Arcs
Countering Contamination Rumors
An unusually large class gathers to see whether Lu Guanhong will identify Lu Zhan as dangerous. Recognizing that the trainees want him to “check for mines,” he abandons a planned review of the fifth law and teaches the seventh law instead. He rebukes their reliance on rumors and gives Lu Zhan an approving look for his composure 21.
His warning does not end the ostracism: students continue whispering about Lu Zhan and Wen Shiyan after he leaves 22.
Conflict with Lu Zhan
Lu Zhan’s initial appreciation turns to resentment after Lu Guanhong rejects him in the library and brands him a “heretic.” Lu Zhan’s attempt to become his final disciple fails, and he later feels deliberately belittled during the second-law lesson 29 33 42.
Meanwhile, Wutu Gang trainees report that Lu Zhan has secured Lu Guanhong’s patronage. They cite the instructor’s influence as a reason not to act against him 35.
Recall and Performed Repentance
After former colleagues petition the Tribunal for his return, Lu Guanhong begins publicly defending orthodox doctrine and denouncing heretics. His former superior assures him that the recall is likely, making a convincing display of repentance essential 44.
He also publicly praises Lu Zhan’s diligence and theory that life arose from lightning, offers private instruction, and explains his earlier hostility as a test. Lu Zhan accepts the useful connection but distrusts this explanation 45.
Lu Guanhong fears that the library incident could expose his true beliefs during the review. When Lu Zhan repeatedly meets his eyes, he interprets it as provocation but suppresses the urge to punish him. Unbeknownst to him, Lu Zhan has briefly received two fragments of his thoughts: “Great Review” and “holy” 44.
Relationships
- Lu Zhan — Student and potential beneficiary of his patronage. Their relationship shifts from initial approval to hostility, then to a guarded reconciliation shaped by Lu Guanhong’s review concerns 21 33 45 44.
- Ajak, Zhou Qi, and Vikram — Trainees influenced by his unconventional theories. They view his later embrace of orthodoxy as a betrayal and a warning to avoid risky activities 45 44.
- Former Eighth Research Institute colleagues — Petition the Tribunal to recall him; their project depends on data he retained 44.
- Xin Ya — Knows his professional history and flags his possible familiarity with the Wide-Area Information Receiver to Ouyang Hao 38.
- Ouyang Hao — Regards a possible connection between Lu Guanhong and Lu Zhan as troublesome, but chooses not to intervene because of the institutional risks 38.
Notable Quotes
“I've told you before: don't believe every rumor you hear. Trust Alchemy.” 21
“I'm enduring humiliation for the sake of life alchemy!” — His private justification for performing repentance 44