Dragons begin with courage

Dragon King Norton... and Lu Mingfei are online friends?! And judging from everything that happened inside and outside Bronze City, they seem to be completely unaware of each other's existence?!

This is no coincidence! This is a massive and chilling scheme! Someone, or rather, some force, has long ago quietly connected these two seemingly unrelated entities through the modern and covert method of "online friends"! Lu Mingfei's S-class bloodline, his "spiritual vision" in Bronze City, Old Tang being "hired" here... everything has another chilling explanation!

It's not as simple as it seems on the surface!

"Chen Motong, the Eye of the Black King, your insight is indeed the most troublesome variable." A cold voice, tinged with a hint of admiration but filled with resolute killing intent, rang out almost close to Nuonuo's ear.

Nono's hair stood on end! It was Mai Shude! When did she get behind her?!

Before she could react, a heavy, hammer-like elbow strike slammed into Nono's unsuspecting side! The excruciating pain made her curl up instantly, oxygen forced from her lungs. Then, Mai's long, slender leg, like a steel whip, kicked her heavily in the ribs!

"Ugh—!"

Nuonuo was kicked into the air and fell several meters away, crashing into a bronze lamp base. Her vision went black for a moment.

"Nono!" Caesar turned around in surprise and anger, and Dick Tudor was about to turn around.

however--

boom!

Another sniper shot! From the direction of the water cave they had just rushed out of! A Friga tranquilizer dart came at a tricky angle, exploding into a cloud of pink mist on Caesar's back! A figure hiding in the darkness fired the shot, but Caesar couldn't see who it was because his vision began to blur due to the tranquilizer dart.

The attackers weren't just Mai Shude! There was also a mysterious figure lying in ambush at the exit! They were caught in a pincer attack!

At this critical moment—

A slender yet lightning-fast figure burst forth from the surging river to the side! It was Zero!

"Take Caesar and go first!" Ye Sheng also noticed the change and said to Zero.

Zero grabbed Caesar's diving suit strap and unleashed an astonishing strength beyond his petite frame, dragging him at breakneck speed toward the shrinking bronze rift!

"What should we do about Nono?" Jiudeya looked into the Bronze City, but the entrance had already begun to close, and most importantly, countless living beings were about to surround Nono, leaving her with no chance of escape.

Ye Sheng clenched his fists and said in a deep voice, "First...leave."

Ye Sheng practically spat out those three words, which meant they had no choice but to abandon their comrade. If he could save Nuonuo with his own life, Ye Sheng would not hesitate to take on the responsibility of being the captain, but it was clear that if he went in, one more person would die.

Without further hesitation, Ye Sheng and Aki joined forces to support Zero and the semi-conscious Caesar. Like fish swimming against the current, they struggled to squeeze towards the gradually narrowing slit of light.

Mai Shude did not stop them. She even stood there calmly, watching the disheveled figures of the few people disappear into the rushing river outside the crevice. Her gaze finally fell on Nono, who was unable to get up for a moment due to the heavy blow to her abdomen.

"Goodbye, Red-haired Princess. Your knight should be here to rescue you soon." Mai Shude activated her diving helmet, looked at the approaching spirits not far away, and said, "But you have to find a way to survive until the knight arrives."

Before she finished speaking, she stopped looking at Nuonuo, turned around gracefully and swiftly, and like a black mamba that could see through the water, she flashed out at the last moment before the bronze crack completely closed.

Boom—Crack!

The crack closed completely, utterly cutting off the last ray of light from the outside world and the sound of the river.

Deathly silence returned. But this time, it was an absolute silence that belonged only to her, abandoned in the deepest part of the Dragon King's lair.

Nono struggled to prop herself up, the excruciating pain in her ribs and abdomen making her vision blur. She had no time to think about why Jiude Mai had spared her. Looking around, she saw Samson growling in the distance; the silent, serpent-headed, human-bodied creatures had completely surrounded her, wielding ancient bronze weapons, their silver pupils fixed on her, the only "outsider," devoid of any emotion.

Desperation was like an invisible hand, gripping Nono's throat.

But she didn't suffocate. On the contrary, the extreme pressure made her thoughts, like a tempered blade, exceptionally clear and sharp.

Only she herself can save her. No, perhaps... there's also the ghost hidden beneath the Dragon King's majesty, named "Ronald Don".

Nono calmed herself down and looked at Norton at the very back of the Living Spirit Legion. She said, "Ronald Tang, Lu Mingfei's profile says you are his only 'friend'."

The word "friend" was like a pebble thrown into an ancient well, resonating deep within Norton's superhuman eyes. The air around him seemed to freeze for a moment, and his powerful dragon aura experienced a brief, unstable fluctuation.

“…Lu Mingfei.” The Norton syllable rolled from his lips, carrying a strange and complex texture, as if savoring a bittersweet wine. “Yes. You’re right. When I was…Ronald Don, he was my only…friend.”

Or rather, it's like Ronald Don's Norton, just like Lu Mingfei. It's not just Lu Mingfei who considers Don a friend; Don also considers Lu Mingfei a friend. In the dark and cruel underground community of America, in that cannibalistic dark world, Don is also lonely, and playing StarCraft with Lu Mingfei is Don't's only pleasure.

They were two people who redeemed each other!

That's why Lao Tang has the same look in his eyes as Lu Mingfei; Lao Tang is also lonely.

However, that was Old Tang. The one standing in front of Nono now is the King of Bronze and Fire. He has abandoned his identity as Old Tang and has naturally severed his relationship with Lu Mingfei.

"Are you leaving now?" Nono's voice held a hint of urgency and a sharper understanding. "Leaving without saying goodbye as the 'King of Bronze and Fire'? Lu Mingfei will never know that the timid 'Old Tang' who promised to take him out for a big meal but would fight for him in the game is actually the mortal enemy he is destined to face in the future."

Norton's (Old Tang's) lips curved into an extremely slow smile. There was no warmth in that smile, only a kind of cruel, farewell-like resolve.

"You're right. The end of an era requires a ceremony befitting it." His golden pupils seemed to hold flames condensing deep within. "A grand, all-encompassing... crimson farewell."

"Emotion is the most redundant 'code' and the most fatal weakness on the path of dragon evolution." His voice grew colder, as if he were pronouncing a verdict to himself. "To regain the complete 'authority' and 'dragon heart,' one must... format all the redundancy."