Dragons begin with courage

Three gunshots rang out, brief and sharp like a sigh.

The shrieking sound of bullets tearing through the air was swallowed by the silencer, leaving only three barely audible tremors amidst Deadpool's frenzied roar. Three alchemical bullets—armor-piercing, penetrating, and exploding—were meticulously designed by the madmen of the equipment department—following the extremely treacherous trajectory predicted by Chu Zihang, each one penetrating the same point in turn.

The first one tears open the dark scales that have just solidified into armor.

The second one runs through the twisted, overgrown muscles and deformed bones.

The third bullet penetrated deep into the internal organs, causing the alchemical gunpowder sealed inside the bullet to suddenly awaken.

"Pfft—Boom!"

A muffled explosion resounded from Deadpool's chest, and a slurred mass of bone fragments and black blood erupted from the bowl-sized hole. Its attack, as if struck by an invisible hammer, abruptly veered off course, emitting an even more violent and agonizing howl. The excruciating pain did not instill fear; instead, it ignited the last remaining, frenzied killing instinct within the body. The remaining claw, carrying the corrosive stench of the air, relentlessly clawed towards Lu Mingfei's face!

Without reason, without pain, only pure malice that devours life. That is Deadpool.

Lu Mingfei's eyes, however, were as still as a frozen lake. He released the empty pistol with his right hand, letting it fall into the holster at his waist, the movement so fluid it seemed he had practiced it a thousand times. Simultaneously, his left hand reached for his side—there lay a short blade, its scabbard cool and engraved with simple metalwork.

The claws were already upon him; he could even see the viscous, foul-smelling liquid congealed at their tips.

Lean back and twist your body!

The movement was extremely small, yet precise to the millimeter. The claw grazed the tip of his nose, ruffling a few strands of hair.

It's now!

With a reverse grip on the handle, the blade flashed upwards like a silver lightning bolt flowing against the current!

There was no crisp metallic clang, only the dull thud of leather tearing. Deadpool's claws severed at the wrist, the cut as smooth as a mirror, black blood gushing out.

Lu Mingfei did not stop.

"Snap—"

After a soft click, the monstrous claw snapped off at the wrist, spinning as it fell into the yellow sand. Black blood splattered.

Lu Mingfei's movements didn't falter in the slightest. As if some dormant instinct within him had been fully awakened, he pivoted on one foot, twisting his waist and turning, sliding like a ghost behind Deadpool's mutilated back. His right hand gripped a dagger, blade pointing downwards, aimed at the wildly twisting cervical vertebrae—

prick!

There was no shout, no hesitation. The feeling of the blade piercing through flesh and bone was clearly felt along the hilt.

pull!

It brought out a thicker clump of black blood.

withdraw!

He leaped backward, using the strength of his toes to create distance between himself and the body that had begun to convulse violently.

The entire sequence of movements was fluid and seamless, from dodging to slashing, then backstabbing and retreating, all within just two or three breaths. Fast, accurate, and ruthless, it was so concise as to be almost cruel, as if it were a battle memory already etched deep into the blood.

Deadpool froze. A hissing sound escaped its throat, and its crimson pupils dimmed rapidly, like embers burning out. Its massive body swayed, then crashed to the ground with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The wind swept across the desolate battlefield, carrying away a trace of lingering blood.

Chu Zihang watched silently. He looked at Lu Mingfei's slightly heaving chest, at the sand and specks of blood on his face, at the dagger still dripping black liquid, tightly gripped in his right hand. Finally, he looked into those eyes—

It's no longer the confusion and evasion of a loser.

Rather, it was a strange and dangerous...sharp edge.

"You did well in your first real-world test," Chu Zihang's voice came from behind, unusually warm.

Lu Mingfei suddenly realized what was happening.

He looked down at his palm, at the still-dripping blood dagger, and then at the twisted corpse on the ground.

He killed it.

It's not a unit in the game, nor a target in the training ground.

He was a living, breathing, insane monster who wanted to tear him apart.

Six years of being a loser, six years of self-loathing, were severed in this moment.

Memories flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern. Lu Mingfei recalled the six years since his parents left, the bitterness of living under someone else's roof, the sarcasm from his aunt's family, the tender gaze Chen Wenwen cast at Zhao Menghua, and the expression on Chen Wenwen's face after that confession in the movie theater, when she took a half step back.

Those days are long gone.

He is now Lu Mingfei, an S-rank dragon slayer from Kassel College.

"Senior brother..." his voice was hoarse, "I..."

"You are far stronger than you think." A glint of light flashed deep within Chu Zihang's golden eyes. "You are very good."

Those failures, struggles, resentment, and the instinct for fighting etched into their very bones.

He just needed an opportunity, an opportunity to push open the door and walk in.

And now, the door is open.

Lu Mingfei slowly tightened his grip, the hilt of the gold-plated dagger digging painfully into his palm. He looked up at the sky at the edge of the desert, dyed red by the setting sun, and suddenly smiled.

That was his own, his first smile of victory.

Lu Mingfei, you've finally... walked in.

Ollie was the first to put down his gun, grinning in a way that looked more like a grimace: "My first real combat experience was so bad I peed half my pants when I saw Deadpool's face. All I could do was close my eyes and pull the trigger. You kid..." He gave Lu Mingfei a thumbs up, "You've got guts."

Juliet's beautiful eyes held a hint of appreciation as she said, "Very fluid movements, very composed."

"Snapped!"

With a crisp, solid sound, Susie's hand landed heavily on Lu Mingfei's back, causing him to stumble. Susie smiled brightly, her eyes gleaming as if she'd discovered a gem: "Good lad! So 'A Day of Freedom' wasn't just a lucky break! That swordsmanship, that movement… I'd have to be careful even in close combat!"

Startled by Susie's heavy slap, Lu Mingfei immediately returned to reality, his smiling face slightly embarrassed. He said, "Senior Sister Susie, you're joking. How could I possibly beat you? Back in 'A Day of Freedom,' we relied entirely on sneak attacks."

The palm strike was powerful, yet strangely, it dissipated the lingering aura of hostility and tension around Lu Mingfei. He instinctively shrank back, the sharp edge on his face instantly vanishing, replaced by his somewhat embarrassed and pathetic appearance. He scratched the back of his head and chuckled sheepishly, "Senior Sister Su Qian, don't joke with me... I was just... just lucky and a sneak attack..."

With the crisis averted, the atmosphere within the team visibly relaxed. The desolate land, shrouded in yellow sand, seemed to gain a touch of human life from these few words of banter.

The only one who couldn't relax was the bald viper, slumped on the sand not far away. His face was bloodless, his eyes were wide open, almost popping out of their sockets, and his gaze darted blankly between the group of people, the corpses of the dead servants, and the strangely shaped weapons. His lips trembled, and he could only utter broken murmurs: "Demon... monster... divine power... impossible... I'm dreaming... it must be..."

His worldview is silently collapsing and rebuilding, shattering into pieces that cannot be pieced back together.

However, his troubles did not last long.

Lu Mingfei had already walked up to him, holding a simple, thin, metallic-looking device in his hand—the "Memory Eraser".

With the "memory eraser" pressed, the mission was completed.