Dragons begin with courage

Nono lightly touched the ground with her toes, and the computer chair with wheels nimbly spun halfway around, facing the other two people in the room. One was an Asian girl with a sweet smile, and the other was a calm-looking young man with handsome, sharp eyebrows.

"The start was average, not bad but not too surprising," Nono recalled the game, her fingers tapping the table unconsciously. "But in the middle game, he suddenly transformed. His tactical thinking was tricky, and his operational details were extremely sophisticated. If I hadn't... used some 'off-field information,' we might have lost. His on-the-spot adaptability and offensive instincts don't match the image of Lu Mingfei described in the Shilan Middle School teacher's file." She paused, a sharp glint in her eyes. "I even suspect that he might have awakened his bloodline."

"Could it be... that he also used assistive devices?" the Asian girl asked with a distinct Japanese accent.

“He didn’t,” the man continued, his screen displaying complex codes and data. He pointed to a rapidly refreshing line of surveillance footage. “I’ve been monitoring his computer the whole time, and he hasn’t used any cheat software or cheat codes. Look here. Right at the point of the ‘mid-game sudden change’ you mentioned, Lu Mingfei’s computer had a clear peripheral connection signal.”

"What do you mean?" Nono raised an eyebrow.

"He plugged in the mouse."

The room fell silent for a moment.

"...Pervert." Nono paused for two seconds before uttering two words. Playing StarCraft on a laptop already restricts operation, and this guy has been using that anti-human pointing stick (the little red dot) on the laptop all along? If he hadn't been forced into a corner, he probably wouldn't have bothered to connect the mouse at all.

Ye Sheng gave a wry smile. Lu Mingfei remembered correctly; he hadn't added "Nuonuo" on QQ. Ye Sheng had added her remotely from his computer. Moreover, Shilan Middle School's pitiful campus security system was practically useless in front of Ye Sheng; he had already reviewed Lu Mingfei's brief and perfunctory teacher evaluation.

In summary, there are three main points: poor academic performance, honest but not particularly talented.

An ordinary person, the kind you'd easily miss in a crowd.

When Ye Sheng first received the assignment, he didn't understand why the academy would include such a seemingly worthless name on the priority list. Now, he vaguely understands—the academy's vision may have penetrated the mediocre appearance and seen something else.

"Others' opinions may not be the whole truth," Nono muttered to herself, then changed the subject, "What about the others? What did they discover?"

Asian girl Jiu Deya gently shook her head: "From what I've seen, they all seem very... 'normal.' I haven't detected any abnormal mental fluctuations or physiological signs."

Ye Sheng pulled up several documents and gave a brief report:

"Su Xiaoqiang, nicknamed 'Little Fairy.' She comes from a wealthy family, is exceptionally beautiful, and has a straightforward, even somewhat fiery, personality. She is extremely confident in herself." He clicked on a shopping mall surveillance video, in which Jiu Deyaji "bumped into" Su Xiaoqiang, and the two seemed to be discussing a newly released handbag. "Contact assessment: An ordinary girl raised in luxury, with no signs of special talent or lineage."

"Liu Miaomiao has been learning piano since childhood, passed the tenth grade exam early on, has a quiet temperament, and is well-regarded among her classmates." Another video played, showing Liu Miaomiao's piano solo at the school's arts festival. "Technically proficient, but..." Ye Sheng paused, his tone flat, "lacking genuine musical inspiration and emotional impact. More like a standardized product of strict family training. No blood relation found."

"Zhao Menghua comes from a good family, has excellent grades, is handsome, and confident; he's known as 'Little Chu Zihang.'" Even Ye Sheng couldn't help but shake his head, a slightly mocking smile appearing on his face, when he mentioned this nickname. The conclusion was self-evident. "Similarly, no dragon bloodline characteristics were found."

All three people in the room were familiar with the name "Chu Zihang." He was a monster who, even in the genius-filled Kassel College, shone so brightly that he couldn't be ignored. People like Su Xiaoqiang, Liu Miaomiao, and Zhao Menghua might be considered "elites" in the ordinary world, but compared to Chu Zihang's level, they were like fireflies compared to the moon. Zhao Menghua's so-called "excellence" was more the result of accumulated resources, completely different from Chu Zihang's effortless, absolute talent. The nickname "Little Chu Zihang" was more of a sycophantic flattery from those around him.

"Chen Wenwen is quiet and loves literature; she's a typical artsy girl," Ye Sheng added, a slightly teasing smile playing on his lips. "By the way, our main focus, Lu Mingfei, seems to have a crush on this Miss Chen." It wasn't that he was deliberately invading her privacy, but when remotely controlling Lu Mingfei's QQ account, the contact person set to "Special Attention" with a different message notification sound was simply too conspicuous.

"A perverse sense of humor," Nono commented, unsure whether she was referring to Ye Sheng or the somewhat comical unrequited love itself.

"So, based on our initial screening," Ye Sheng concluded, "only Lu Mingfei has shown any possibility of being 'abnormal.' No one else has shown clear signs of dragon blood. Of course, this is only our initial observation and preliminary contact; the final decision will depend on Professor Guderian's formal interview."

He closed his laptop and began tidying up the scattered devices on his desk. "That's all for today, everyone get some rest."

"Wait," Nono suddenly spoke. She didn't turn around, still facing her computer screen. On the screen, the QQ chat window with Lu Mingfei was still open, and the grinning emoticon was frozen there.

She tilted her head slightly, her red hair slipping down her shoulders, the silver four-leaf clover earrings on her earlobes swaying gently. In her eyes, a faint golden glint flickered—it was the subtle effect of her bloodline ability, granting her extraordinary intuition.

"You say," her voice lowered, tinged with thought, "that the academy specifically arranged for Professor Guderian to come to Shilan Middle School to recruit students... is it really just because Chu Zihang once studied here, leading to the assumption that there might be other high-quality bloodlines here?"

Her gaze seemed to pierce through the screen, looking towards a more distant, shrouded truth.

"I have a feeling... this mission is a little different."

===========

Lu Mingfei's thoughts were still immersed in those unrealistic fantasies—black-clad agents, helicopters, Chen Wenwen's hesitant gaze—as if he could break free from this drab reality at any moment. Just then, the bedroom door was pushed open with a "bang," the door panel slammed against the wall and bounced back, roughly pulling him back.

Lu Mingze blocked the doorway like a moving mountain. His small eyes swept over his cousin, his tone full of impatience, as if conveying the matter itself lowered his status: "Dad and Mom called that Professor Guderian guy. The day after tomorrow, at the Regent Hotel, they want you to have an interview. Mom told you to stop playing games and prepare properly, so you don't embarrass yourself." He emphasized the words "embarrass yourself," and without waiting for Lu Mingfei's reaction, he turned and left, as if staying even a second longer would taint him with the "bad luck" of the place.

The door was closed casually, not completely, leaving a crack through which the noisy television and my aunt's faint nagging could be heard.

Lu Mingfei sat on the edge of the bed, stunned for a few seconds before processing what he had just heard. "...Oh," he mumbled a response to the empty room. All those colorful bubbles of fantasy he'd just been living in suddenly burst open. Only his heart remained, suspended in suspense by the word "interview," pounding anxiously.

The day after tomorrow. Regent Hotel.

It sounds expensive, formal, and far removed from his world.