Dragons begin with courage

Two months ago, Lu Mingfei had already guessed that some things couldn't be refused just because you wanted to. This was the price of stepping into this inner world.

"Missing Person: Chen Motong, female, 21 years old, American citizen of Chinese descent, participating in the joint investigation as a foreign expert..."

Lu Mingfei looked at the large CRT television in the convenience store. The store owner's grumbling, the sounds of traffic, even his own heartbeat—all vanished. The entire world consisted only of that photograph and the announcer's cold voice repeatedly saying, "Unknown," "In danger," "Search in progress"...

The Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, archaeology, disappearances—Lu Mingfei is perfectly clear about what this implies.

To the average person, this news report would be just another ordinary news story, the kind they wouldn't even notice. But Lu Mingfei, who knew the inside story, knew that someone had used news dissemination to tell him the news.

No matter how well Lu Mingfei hid, he was bound to receive this message. The timing of this "coincidental" event delivered the news of Nuonuo's "disappearance" like a beautifully packaged package, directly into Lu Mingfei's sight.

This was not an accidental leak. It was an invitation. An invitation from the abyss, sealed with Nono's safety as its sealing wax.

He whirled around, pulling his baseball cap down even lower, almost completely obscuring his face, leaving only his tightly pursed lips and taut jawline visible. His figure quickly disappeared around the street corner, merging back into the night, heading straight for the abandoned factory where he was temporarily taking refuge.

Pushing open the rusted iron door, under the dim yellow light inside the factory, Chu Tianjiao was meticulously wiping the scabbard of an antique Japanese sword with an oilcloth, his movements as focused as if he were treating a lover. Chu Zihang, on the other hand, was leaning against a nearby container, resting with his eyes closed. Hearing the door open, he opened his eyes, his golden pupils gleaming slightly in the darkness, and tossed his cell phone over.

Lu Mingfei caught it; the screen lit up, displaying an urgent notice from the Execution Department. The bright red "S+" level logo was as glaring as bloodstains.

"Keep it concise." Chu Zihang's voice was emotionless, but his speech was a little faster than usual. "Put aside all your current affairs and head to the Three Gorges immediately. It's a special mission."

"Lionheart's internal intelligence," he paused, looking at Lu Mingfei with a sharp, piercing gaze, "'The Bronze Gate' mission has been a complete failure. Norton has awakened. Chen Motong... is trapped in the core area, his condition unknown. Pacino," he spoke clearly and coldly, "confirmed dead, no remains."

Upon hearing the word "death," Lu Mingfei's expression changed. He naturally remembered who Pacino was, and he vaguely recalled the scene in the dormitory two months ago, remembering Pacino's face. He never expected that death would be so close, so sudden.

Lu Mingfei silently took out his phone, his fingertips trembling slightly, and entered the long-forgotten ID and password to log in to the Kassel intranet. The moment the interface refreshed, two crisp notification sounds rang out in succession, particularly jarring in the empty factory.

The email inbox, which had been unattended for two months, suddenly exploded like a bomb, flooded with two emails that could not be ignored.

The first letter was an official academy order, with a red title. The content was identical to the one Chu Zihang had received, but its scope was broader—a "call" to all registered students with A-level or higher potential, or those possessing special skills, to immediately assemble at the Three Gorges. The tone left no room for argument, like a wartime mobilization order. Like the previous Bronze City map opening, this wasn't an invitation, but a conscription.

The second letter, from Hilbert Jean Angers.

Lu Mingfei clicked on it, his pupils contracting slightly.

This is not a simple command or notification. This is an outrageously detailed mission backtracking report.

The video includes a timeline of events accurate to the second, detailed descriptions and assessments of the encounters with third-party forces, environmental anomalies in Bronze City before and after Norton's awakening, and even... several processed but still legible video clips of the action. In the video, the moment Pacino charges at Samson is shown in the blazing white of the royal flames that incinerate everything, and in the final moments, Norton's eyes, a mixture of molten gold and desolation, gaze at the camera.

The purpose of this email is obvious: it is not asking for help, but telling the truth, or rather, Angers is using his own way to completely pull Lu Mingfei into the center of this storm and force him to see the direction of the game.

A carefully crafted news article, followed by two emails with clear objectives.

All the loose ends eventually converged on him, this "S-class loser".

"What are you planning to do?" Chu Tianjiao stopped what he was doing and looked at Lu Mingfei with a complicated expression. He could see clearly that the core source of this seemingly chaotic flow of information was this seemingly ordinary young man in front of him.

Lu Mingfei lifted his gaze from his phone screen, not looking at Chu Tianjiao or Chu Zihang, but at the cold, thin moonlight streaming through a broken window high up in the factory.

Lu Mingfei glanced at his phone screen and said calmly, "Actually, people live for dignity. A decent job, a decent partner, a decent life. Before going to Kassel, I had no dignity to speak of. I was superfluous at my aunt's house, and invisible at school. It was my senior who gave me a dignified exit, preventing me from fleeing the movie theater like a stray dog."

"I, Lu Mingfei, am unlucky, have bad luck, and am timid, but my mother taught me when I was little that favors owed must be repaid." Lu Mingfei slowly raised his head, and in the shadow under the baseball cap, for the first time, a cold and clear flame ignited in his eyes, which always carried a hint of misfortune and confusion. There was no fear in that flame, only a chilling mix of rage and determination after his bottom line had been completely crossed.

"Senior brother, for the past two months, I haven't dared to slack off for a single day. I've trained like crazy." He spread his hands, revealing calluses and fine scars from training on his palms. "It's not about becoming incredibly powerful or slaying countless dragons. It's just so that... like now, when someone throws an 'invitation' in my face..."

He paused, then pronounced each word clearly:

"I have the right to choose how I walk in, instead of being kicked in."

Upon hearing this, Chu Zihang smiled, looked at Lu Mingfei, and after a few seconds, nodded very slightly. It wasn't agreement, but acknowledgment. Acknowledgment of Lu Mingfei's current understanding.

"Go, pick up your sword, and cut off those so-called arrangements." Chu Zihang casually tossed the keys to the Maybach to Lu Mingfei.

After taking the key, Lu Mingfei deleted the two emails from Kassel College. He then grabbed a special shoulder strap of the Seven Deadly Sins Sword Box with his right hand. A golden light flashed in Lu Mingfei's eyes, and with a whoosh, he lifted the heavy bronze box and carried it on his back.

He walked out of the factory alone, step by step, intending to enter the chessboard by himself.