Dragon Raja 4; Chapter 115: Fun at the Mental Hospital (4)

Dragon Raja 4

Lu Mingfei nodded. That was a very old strategy game. He had spent two full months playing it back in the day, finally achieving the perfect ending.

The designers had crafted a tragic conclusion for the game. The young hero and heroine sought to slay Chiyou, but Chiyou’s true soul was hidden within the heroine’s body. In the final act, the soul awakens, takes control of her, and devours her own spirit, leaving the hero with no choice but to use the lethal skills he had learned to kill the girl he loved. However, there was a hidden perfect ending. To unlock it, the player had to choose the most roundabout route, triggering obscure plotlines and collecting all the mysterious items to eventually create an artifact that could preserve the heroine’s soul.

The perfect ending was notoriously difficult to achieve, requiring flawless execution. Lu Mingfei had reloaded his save files over a thousand times, but he finally unlocked the hidden cutscene.

“Bring back the determination you had when you were a kid playing video games. As long as you can reload a save, no game is too hard,” the little devil said. “Didn’t you unlock the perfect ending in Heaven and Earth Tribulation?”

“Are there hidden treasure chests here? Do I need to craft some sort of special item?”

“No, but the method to break Gungnir is hidden within this game. You’ll have to find it.”

Lu Mingfei looked far into the distance and saw rolling mountains, with endless farmland below the elevated highway and rivers running through them. In the distance, the brightly lit skyline of a CBD area could be seen.

This was undoubtedly a modified version of his childhood hometown. It had been twisted into a high-dimensional space, a maze with Penrose stairs that repeated endlessly.

“Isn’t this like searching for a needle in a haystack? I’ve lived here for years, but I’ve never even been to 99% of the places here!” Lu Mingfei frowned deeply.

“You don’t have to visit every place, do you? Are you planning to take a detour to visit the women’s bathhouse or something? Just take it one step at a time and uncover the clues.”

Lu Mingfei spun in place a few times before suddenly turning and walking up to Nono, staring at her intently.

Her red hair fluttered in the air, and the rain shattered against the edge of her blades. Her stubborn face was full of determination, like a young tigress charging down a mountain.

“Such a pretty girl! And loyal to you, too. If you let her die, all you’ll have left are photos to remember her by. Can you bear that?” Lu Mingze chirped, following closely behind.

“I spent several sleepless nights trying to get the perfect ending in Heaven and Earth Tribulation. In the end, I nearly collapsed from exhaustion,” Lu Mingfei said, turning to look at the little devil. “Do you know why I did it?”

“Because you’ve never been one to admit defeat, brother. And when it comes to games, have you ever lost?”

“No, that’s not it. I just don’t like tragic endings,” Lu Mingfei reached out and wiped the rain from Nono’s face. “Even if this world is a tragedy… there should still be a hidden happy ending, right? If there’s no hope for that, then all those so-called gods should just go to hell!”

Lu Mingze clapped his hands in glee. “My brother is amazing! Odin’s really unlucky to have run into you! So, can I explain the rules now?”

“Wait, all that earlier was just idle chat?” Lu Mingfei groaned. “Hurry up and explain!”

“Alright, listen closely!” Lu Mingze slowed down his speech. “At the start of the game, Chen Motong has already been marked as the target. You have two vehicles to choose from: a Ferrari and a Maybach, both with half-full gas tanks. Your weapons include two Desert Eagles, two Tiger Fang blades, a Scorpion submachine gun, and limited ammo. This city is an exact replica of the real one. Anything that exists in reality exists here, so there’s an ammo depot somewhere. If you run out of ammo, you can resupply. But the objective isn’t to kill as many enemies as possible. Your combat abilities are the same as in reality—you can’t level up. After each reset, you’ll retain your experience, but your Senior Sister will reset each time, so you can’t accumulate her experience.”

“So, she’s just an NPC?”

“Exactly. She’s not your real Senior Sister—she belongs to the game. She’s a fictional entity, so don’t get too attached. If she dies, she dies.”

Lu Mingfei nodded. “Got it. I’m kind of hungry, though. Before the game starts, can I get some wontons to refuel?”

“Brother, you want wontons in the Nibelungen? Won’t they taste a bit bloody? Why not just ask for a full Manchu-Han banquet instead? Maybe a few drinks?”

“No need for that. Grilled flatbread or pancakes would do. I’m not picky, but I really am starving.” Lu Mingfei rubbed his stomach.

Lu Mingze sighed and snapped his fingers. “I’ll just restore your health bar for now.”

With the snap, Lu Mingfei instantly felt his hunger disappear. His injuries healed, and he felt refreshed and full of energy.

“You can just change my stats like that? Am I one of your NPCs too?” Lu Mingfei calmed down from the surprise and stared at the little devil.

“How could I? You’re the keystone of this world, the ultimate observer—an absolutely real part of it.” Lu Mingze’s figure began to blur. “Gamma Spring, first save!”

The world trembled slightly, as if about to wake from a dream. The suspended raindrops wavered, the muzzle flashes swelled, and through the silence came the long, eerie sound of a horse’s neigh.

“Hold on!” Lu Mingfei suddenly interrupted. “Did you name this game ‘Gamma Spring’? Spring, my ass! A game with this hellish difficulty, and you call it spring?”

“Because once we break through this damn gamma line, spring will come to your life! That’s why it’s called Gamma Spring!”

Night. Storm. Elevated highway.

Nono spun like a whirlwind, slicing through the Einherjar. Lu Mingfei followed behind, firing his dual pistols. In the distance, Odin stood with Gungnir, the golden light of the spearhead fluctuating.

The scene began with them charging toward the Ferrari, but it was parked far away, with shadowy figures standing on top of it, like a group of owls perched on gravestones.

“Follow me! Keep firing!” Nono yelled.

Lu Mingfei thought, Senior Sister, you’re being too reckless! If you take a few more steps, one of those particularly dangerous shadows will jump out and tear your uniform! You’ll be… exposed… And while that might be a nice sight, I can’t let that happen while I’m around!

He let out a roar and sprinted ahead, leaping over Nono’s head. In mid-air, he fired two shots, blasting the heads off two shadowy figures, landing on his knees and crushing two more. As he hit the ground, he fired two more shots, the bullets entering the mouths of the shadows beneath him.

The whole sequence was executed cleanly and efficiently, leaving Nono stunned. She glared at her suddenly heroic little brother. “Was that really necessary? Save your strength!”

At that moment, the dangerous shadow lunged from the side, its claws drawing a pale arc through the air. Lu Mingfei shoved Nono aside, spun around, and used the hem of his coat to wrap around the shadow’s head. He pressed the Desert Eagle to its skull and fired three times in rapid succession. Nono was still in shock when Lu Mingfei tossed his guns aside and shouted, “Give me the blade!”

Without thinking, Nono threw him the Tiger Fang blade. Lu Mingfei caught it and, with a reverse grip, stabbed it into the shadow’s skull. The skull was incredibly hard—the blade only sank in about a third of the way before stopping. But with a sharp knee to the handle, the entire blade pierced through.

Next, he shot out the knees of another shadow and kicked it in the chest, sending it flying into a line of shadows, toppling them like dominos.

“Not bad, junior! Guess you didn’t waste your time in the Execution Bureau!” Nono didn’t know what else to say.

“Do you know why they call me Patient Zero? Because when I go crazy, I’m unstoppable!” Lu Mingfei fired his dual pistols, blowing up the Ferrari.

“Why did you blow up our car?” Nono yelled in disbelief.

“Aren’t we going with Plan B?” Lu Mingfei paused, confused.

“What’s Plan B?” Nono froze, equally confused.

“Oh,” Lu Mingfei scratched his head with the butt of his gun, “I haven’t had the chance to tell you yet.”

It turned out that he hadn’t explained Plan B when the scene started, so the prerequisite plot trigger hadn’t been activated. Lu Mingfei realized that he still had a lot to learn about this game world.

“Plan B is—” Lu Mingfei began to explain.

Before he could finish, a pale claw flashed, and a lurking shadow suddenly leaped at Nono’s back. Lu Mingfei watched helplessly as Nono’s flowing hair was severed by the claws, and a bright splash of blood bloomed at the back of her neck, like a cluster of red begonias.

“Shit!” Lu Mingfei cursed furiously. “I can’t believe a minion pulled a sneak attack!”

Time froze. The downpour stopped. The chaos fell into dead silence. The severed strands of hair and the blooming blood hung suspended in the air.

Nono, unaware that she had been attacked, was still staring wide-eyed at Lu Mingfei, waiting for him to explain the plan, even though her carotid artery had been severed.

Series Navigation

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