Lu Mingfei opened his eyes, and the tide of sounds surrounded him once more, drums blaring, crows flying.
Lu Mingfei did his best to unravel the noise, strand by strand. There must be an unusual sound—that’s the direction the Dragon King Norton would attack from, at fifty knots. Thousands, tens of thousands, millions of sounds—he had to be there. It was like an astronomer searching the sky for a new celestial body, only he had just a few seconds left.
In the final few seconds, a boy used a telescope to observe the flowers he had planted on Mars. Could he see them?
All sounds were filtered out. Lu Mingfei looked up, as if seeing the last returning kamaitachi in the sky, carrying… the final sound.
The boy saw the flower he guarded through the telescope, blooming on distant Mars.
Lu Mingfei gripped the knife with both hands and pushed it against his abdomen.
He was struck head-on, as if hit by a cannonball, his internal organs tumbling. He was propelled backward in the water, like riding a roller coaster in reverse.
“Ah!” Lu Mingfei screamed with all his might.
Not because of the terrifying acceleration, but because he was holding a person whose entire body was a bluish-gray. Holding a person wasn’t the issue; it was worse that there was a dragon beneath this person…
He was holding the Dragon King, Norton.
The Dragon King, Norton, was also holding him tightly.
With the dragon’s giant claws, just a light squeeze could have shattered all of Lu Mingfei’s bones into pieces. However, in the moment of collision, the last “kamaitachi” brought back precise information. Lu Mingfei curled his body, colliding with the Dragon King at the perfect angle in the perfect spot, and held onto the Dragon King’s true form.
The Dragon King’s only weakness was himself.
After all, it was just a fusion, not a direct embodiment; the human body was still just a human body, with bones and muscles no stronger than before. The two of them embraced tightly like old friends, unable to cause any harm to each other. The dangerous tail swayed cautiously around them, not daring to approach.
Indeed, like old friends—Lu Mingfei recognized that face.
“Lao Tang! It’s me!” Lu Mingfei shouted at the Dragon King, “Do you still remember me?”
The Dragon King’s furious golden eyes glared at him, as if ready to swallow him whole.
“Lao Tang… how did you end up like this? You…” Lu Mingfei felt a pang of sadness, stumbling over his words, “Look at you, not even wearing clothes.”
The Dragon King’s hands gripped his throat, nearly crushing his windpipe.
Lu Mingfei could no longer speak, his face turning pale.
They rolled through the river, unsure of where they were going. Lu Mingfei recalled how they should have been traveling along the American interstate highway on a Greyhound bus, singing bad songs, with no idea where they were heading. When they saw a nice place, they would get off, buy hot dogs, and eat in the exhaust of cars, waiting for the next Greyhound to take them further. Lao Tang had promised Greyhounds and hot dogs.
How had it come to this? Why wasn’t Lao Tang listening to him anymore?
After an unknown period, they floated in the river. The Dragon King’s dull, leaden eyes silently met Lu Mingfei’s gaze. Slowly, he released his grip, letting go of Lu Mingfei.
“Sorry… I mean… it wasn’t on purpose.” Lu Mingfei’s voice was hoarse. “It really wasn’t on purpose…”
He unbuckled his belt, which sank with its lead weight, while he slowly floated up, drifting farther from the Dragon King.
Black blood dispersed in the water, the massive dragon body slowly sinking, with a dark golden dagger embedded in the Dragon King’s abdomen.
Lu Mingfei suddenly felt overwhelmed by sadness, wanting to cry.
Caesar, using the last of his strength, dragged Nono out of the water. In that instant, his ice-blue eyes blazed like fire. He rushed over and embraced her tightly, trembling slightly.
“Is anyone there? Is anyone there?” he shouted at his surroundings. “First aid kit! We need a first aid kit!”
A head popped up from the water not far away, and raised his hand high. “There’s a person! There’s a person!”
Lu Mingfei was holding onto the side of the boat, gasping for breath. He had really used up all his strength and didn’t even have the strength to climb onto the boat. Caesar looked him up and down. Lu Mingfei’s diving suit was obviously one size too small, and Nono, who had just emerged from the water, was only wearing a bikini, exposing a large area of skin.
“I changed my clothes underwater… Anyway, the situation is very complicated! We’ll talk about it when we have a chance!” Lu Mingfei panted nervously.
People carrying first aid kits rushed over, surrounding Caesar, with no one paying attention to Lu Mingfei. Covered in blood, Nono became the first priority.
“She’s awake! She’s awake!” someone shouted.
In the firelight, Nono slowly opened her eyes, as if waking from a long dream. Caesar embraced her tightly, his joy evident. Nono stared at him for a long time, finally recognizing him, and gently touched his cheek, showing a faint smile.
“You’re here,” Nono said softly before passing out again. Caesar held her head in his arms, a tear sliding down his cheek.
Moments later, everyone started applauding. Student Union President Caesar Gattuso, who could face the Dragon King without expression, shed a tear at that moment.
Far away, Mingfei was still floating in the water, willing to be alone in silence while the ship left him behind.
He could only smile bitterly. However, in the end, there was still someone looking out for him. Zero actually hadn’t left. When she emerged from the water, she was already wearing a form-fitting white swimsuit, and her hair was tied up. Her slender figure glowed with the fire.
He didn’t know where her composure came from; clearly, the boat beneath their feet was burning fiercely, yet she still remembered to change her clothes and fix her hair before jumping into the water to save him.
The Russian girl didn’t waste any words with Lu Mingfei. With a powerful dive, she jumped into the water, dragging him back to the boat like pulling a floating corpse. Her swift movements could easily earn her nicknames like “Dragon of the River” or “White Striped Fish of the Three Gorges.”
“Thank you,” Lu Mingfei said.
“No worries, just buy me a large meal and we’re even.”
Sakatoku Mai raised an infrared scope, looking out into the white mist, where something seemed to surface, struggling across the river toward the opposite shore.
“Hit directly by a storm torpedo, and still alive—perhaps only a Rage round can kill him,” Mai marveled. “What a powerful vitality.”
“But this is the end!”
A dark red bullet slid into the chamber, the hammer struck, and a thin flame briefly flashed at the muzzle. With a sharp whistle, the bullet flew into the mist.
Mai stopped watching and pulled out her phone, making a call: “Mission accomplished. Norton, the King of Bronze and Fire, is dead. Lu Mingfei survived.”