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“But after the rebellion, he disappeared, gradually becoming silent and low-key. In fact, from what I’ve been looking at these past few days, he’s probably the only one who hasn’t been defeated, nor has he ever been forced to emerge from his cocoon,” Old Tang said. “This attack isn’t the first. When that brat Liu Xiu cornered my house before, I suspected it was related to him. It’s strange, considering he’s so powerful, he shouldn’t need to be so cautious, always hiding behind the scenes… I’m very curious, what happened behind the scenes…”

"It's definitely not a good thing," Lu Mingfei said.

“Oh right, I remember now, he said that to me back then.” Old Tang suddenly lowered his voice and leaned close to Lu Mingfei’s ear. Although this was completely impossible to hide from the girl with super hearing, he made it clear that this was a very confidential matter.

He said, "Before the rebellion started, back in the pastoral days, I heard Odin say that he promised me there was a way to ascend to the throne, because he had found the key."

"The key?" Lu Mingfei felt as if his heart had been struck by a heavy hammer.

“That’s right, but this key isn’t an object, it’s something else, he said…” Old Tang also became serious, “It requires a ritual, a sacrifice, and as long as someone’s substitute can be found, the supreme throne can be seized.”

In an instant, images flashed through Lu Mingfei's mind, one after another, like portraits, appearing before his eyes.

He was now completely certain that everything he had remembered from the very beginning, those attempts to ascend the throne through sacrifice, were all real. The face of the mastermind behind it all finally came to light: the guy who tried to sacrifice a "Frigga replica," was caught red-handed but let go out of pity, and finally launched a rebellion out of guilt, was none other than "Odin."

Now, what has been will be again, what has been done will be done again, and the so-called "ritual" has begun once more.

Lu Mingfei suddenly became quiet, because in his mind, all the mixed threads finally became clear.

Why do these things always happen to me? Why are there always people scheming against each other over trivial matters? It's just a broken throne, why do I have to endure all this?

An unnamed rage burned within him; Lu Mingfei gradually came to believe that this world was utterly awful and deserved to be destroyed.

"Nothing more to say, let's play a couple of StarCraft games, let's go!" Old Tang warmly invited him to the library.

"Huh? Ah ah..." Lu Mingfei was interrupted, his eyes suddenly becoming clear. "Then let's go..."

"Oh? No, we're going boating too—"

Chapter 186 Let Us Row Our Boats

"You promised to take me boating on the lake every day, but I've been playing games with Norton the day before yesterday, yesterday, and today. I'm practically begging you to come."

Although she said these words of disdain and complaint, Xia Mi only had a lighthearted smile on her face.

Sometimes Lu Mingfei would secretly sigh that she was a girl who was both cute and pitiful. She clearly wanted to be a simple and innocent young girl, but she had to shoulder such a heavy fate and burden. It seemed that only now, she was sure that someone had shared those painful things with her, and she was finally able to get rid of the burden and temporarily be a carefree girl.

She especially liked to lie in the middle of the lake, far away from the world on the shore. Whenever she got to such a place, she would let her true nature show, not only saying outrageous things, but also making more outrageous movements.

But all of this comes down to the fact that she really found someone who could help her shoulder the burden.

She would often whisper a thank you to Lu Mingfei with genuine sincerity after her pride and smugness had temporarily faded. She was so fast that he couldn't hear her clearly. When he pressed her for an answer, the girl, who was always shy about this question, would immediately turn her face away, shake her head, and say it was nothing.

Before even meeting her, and even at the very first moment of seeing her, Lu Mingfei was filled with a bloodthirsty impulse. He understood, just as the little devil Lu Mingze had said, that getting too deeply involved with this woman was not a good choice...

However, Lu Mingfei himself was also a child who lacked love, and he was too easy to lick his wounds with people similar to himself. He actually felt very warm when he was with her.

But this made Lu Mingfei doubt himself. He couldn't understand why the "emperor" in history, and the one she and Lao Tang talked about, ended up being abandoned by everyone. He wondered... could he really be that bad?

Although he could sense some "insider information" from the two dragons' statements, they remained tight-lipped about what had actually happened.

Lu Mingfei couldn't find out or remember anything, so he could only often stare blankly at it.

"Why aren't you saying a word? Are you still thinking about the game?" the girl asked, poking his cheek. She had probably crossed a certain line now, always touching him inappropriately.

"I'm waiting for you to cry." Lu Mingfei came back to his senses and said calmly, "I'm going to cry first even if you don't. Do you know how expensive it is to rent a boat? Angers' budget is almost gone. If this continues, we'll have to spend our own money."

The girl was clearly pleased that he had categorized the vault as "ours," but she was also someone who didn't like to spend money recklessly, so she started to haggle and plot with him on how to get more funds out of Angers.

In the end, however, she had to reluctantly give up this hobby. It wasn't that she didn't have the money at all; it was just that she couldn't bear to spend money on entertainment. There were too many other things that required money, and since she couldn't cut back on necessities, she could only cut back on personal hobbies.

After enjoying the tranquility of the lake one last time, she slowly rowed the boat back, much like Daiyu burying flowers. Driven by her kind nature, she decided to let Ling Xiaomei also have a turn and set sail one last time.

……

Zero doesn't really care about such things. It's not just that she has no expression on her face; her heart is usually not that active either. She cherishes every beautiful thing she can hold onto, but she's not jealous of what others have.

However, she couldn't help feeling happy to be able to board the same small boat and drift together on the calm lake.

She recalled many years ago when Zero told her what he wanted to do when they got to China: he said he would plant lots of flowers and take her to a park with a reflection of the White Pagoda, surrounded by green trees and red walls. Years later, she learned that it was a song called "Let Us Row Our Boats," and that park was in the capital, in the north, while he had clearly said he would take her to the south, which was not even in the same place.

She instinctively wanted to pout and curse this little liar, but she realized he was no longer by her side, and she found it difficult to recreate the pouting and complaining look she had in her teenage years.

Zero cursed fate more than once, but fate was clearly not a stingy fellow, and many years later, such a promise was fulfilled in a way that was not easy to predict.

“I guess we’re thinking the same thing,” Lu Mingfei suddenly said.

When he was with Zero, he always felt that he would be calmer and his personality would be slightly different. Compared to Lu Mingfei, he was more like the boy locked in a straitjacket.

"Hmm." Zero nodded. "I was thinking about Beihai Park."

"Don't be angry, I didn't break my promise on purpose, there was nothing I could do," Lu Mingfei said with a fawning smile. "Besides, I've never been to Beihai Park before, so please forgive me, we can go later."

"Mm." Zero nodded again.

She was very happy now, and she could empathize with Xia Mi's desire to drag Lu Mingfei boating.

However, the thought of that girl gave her a headache, though not because of anything romantic.

In the past two days, or rather, during this period of time, she had heard enough sensational stories about "Xia Mi" and "Old Tang"... Ling sincerely felt that it was not good for her Lu Mingfei to associate with these people, as it would easily lead to trouble and make him more susceptible to being implicated.

But the bigger problem is that she might now have to play the role of a double agent.

Mai Jiude and Su Enxi are no pushovers either. They are excellent employees working for the boss and probably wouldn't be willing to side with Lu Mingfei at a crucial moment, especially when facing a dragon king.

For Zero, if she had to choose between the boss and Lu Mingfei, it would be a no-brainer. She would naturally choose the boy she had sworn to go to the ends of the earth with, and even the contract she had signed with the devil wouldn't sway her. But her two accomplices wouldn't think that way; they would definitely make the exact opposite choice.

The boss is a ruthless and shrewd character; no one knows how far-sighted his plans are, or what the limits of his abilities are...

Zero had thought about the identities of the boss and Lu Mingfei, but most of her thoughts were just shallow guesses. Sometimes she felt that they were two sides of the same coin, like the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Holy Father. If the boss's determination was to kill all the Dragon Kings, then one day, both Xia Mi and Lao Tang would be pushed into a dangerous situation, and at that time, Lu Mingfei would definitely be in danger...

Therefore, Zero felt that she must remain hidden and strive to be a good spy for the boy she had kept in her heart for decades.

But as she was thinking that, she suddenly felt the ship rocking, as if it had been hit by something.

"Beautiful lady, and handsome gentleman, would you mind joining us on this excursion?" A teasing female voice drifted over.

Zero looked up and saw the face of Mai Shude, which she had just been thinking about.

Chapter 187 Zero's Wild Friends

"Wow, it's Zero's wild friend!" Lu Mingfei exclaimed.

"What do you mean by 'wild friend'? It sounds like Pokémon." Su Enxi protested, hiding behind Mai Shude and wearing a wide-brimmed sun hat.

"Why are you here?" Zero asked.

“We’re tourists. We heard there are a lot of people boating here, so we came to check it out,” said Mai Shude. “Why do you sound like you’re not welcoming us?”

"You bumped into our boat, we'll take your deposit." Zero stretched out his hand, looking like he was demanding a debt.

"No problem! Money's no object!" Jiu De Mai turned around, put her arm around Su Enxi, who clearly didn't exercise much, and swayed her back and forth, making her wide-brimmed sun hat sway precariously.

"I need 500,000." Zero asked, his mouth agape.

"Five hundred thousand?" Su Enxi, who looked like a bookkeeper, gaped open, her mouth twice the size of a lion's jaw. She almost jumped off the boat. "Are you extorting me? Five hundred thousand is enough to buy this entire lake!"

"It has to be at least 50,000, or I'll have to sell myself to pay it back." Zero had heard about the financial problems his family was facing a couple of days ago, so he was determined to extort money from them today.

"Fifty thousand it is!" Jiu De Mai made the decision.

"Okay, $50,000. Please transfer it directly to Lu Mingfei's card. Thank you, goodbye."

Ling turned her gaze and saw Lu Mingfei giving her a thumbs-up in praise. Satisfied, she then left without lingering.

Mai Shude was so anxious that she grabbed the gunwale and said, "Don't rush, say something. You're making us feel like suckers, aren't you?" Su Enxi nodded frantically and said, "Yes, yes, it's not easy for me to earn money."

"What's the matter?"

Zero instantly became alert. Long ago, these two guys had carried out many missions to monitor and observe Lu Mingfei, but they were never allowed to make direct contact. This was a strict order from their boss. He was worried that Lu Mingfei's miserable appearance would be altered by someone, and Zero himself had no chance to get close.

These two guys are suddenly appearing out of nowhere; it must be related to the boss, or maybe it's even a mission...

"Can't we even have a casual chat? We have to see what kind of extraordinary man is this who's captivating our girl's heart, right?" Mai Shude grinned mischievously.

She planned to chat for a bit first.

Ling paused for a moment, then turned her gaze back to Lu Mingfei. She felt a little smug that such words could be brought up in front of him.

Lu Mingfei didn't object, seemingly acknowledging the parts that could easily lead to wild speculation. Ling couldn't help but feel happy about this, and consequently, she became less hostile towards these two suddenly appearing accomplices. She leaned slightly to the side, making room for the conversation.

Although Lu Mingfei sometimes joked about her age, they both knew it was just a joke. The girl's body and soul were stuck in that year. Sometimes she was so innocent that she was almost cute. She couldn't even speak her mind like an adult, which made her more likely to secretly rejoice at such tricks.

"So, what does the newly promoted executive of the Ghost Clan, Ms. Dragon Girl, have to say?" Lu Mingfei asked with a mischievous grin.

Mai Shude's previously composed expression suddenly turned awkward. She coughed repeatedly and it took her a while to recover.

"It's just an alias. My name is Mai, Mai Shude." She forced a bright smile and raised her arm as if to shake hands with Lu Mingfei from afar.

“I’m Su Enxi.” Another girl waved lazily; she looked like the kind of girl who would stay at home all day and never interact with anyone.

In fact, Lu Mingfei already knew their names from Zero, but he felt he should pretend that he was learning their names for the first time.

"Hello." Lu Mingfei waved.

"Hello." Zero waved, as if to emphasize her stance.

However, Mai Shude probably didn't notice this. She smiled and then adjusted the boat, slowly moving it to a position parallel to Lu Mingfei.

“No matter what, I did help you out back then, right?” Mai said. “When you saw me again, you didn’t even thank me. I feel a little disappointed.”

She feigned innocence and bitterness, her voice sweet and coquettish, as if deliberately trying to be charming. Yet, she exuded a dangerous aura; only an extremely naive young boy would believe she was truly such a delicate girl.

“You haven’t thanked me yet. Don’t you think you originally couldn’t have escaped from Genjiro’s clutches?” Lu Mingfei’s tone sounded even more somber, disappointed, and aggrieved. “Do you know that after you ran away, Genjiro almost dislocated my arms and legs? You’re so disloyal. I clearly helped you, but you didn’t even look back.”

"Nonsense, you two were clearly chatting."

"Oh, so you were still peeking after you left." Lu Mingfei feigned surprise. "Why? Was it because you were concerned?"

He didn't seem like the kind of boy who would panic if a girl used a sweet, coquettish tone. In fact, he took the lead and teased the long-legged girl.

"I was just asked to do this because I was worried you might die there." Mai Shude suddenly realized that her previous understanding of the situation needed to be completely rewritten. This guy was actually quite troublesome and couldn't be easily dealt with by just a few casual words.

And she also had a strange, familiar feeling...

"So it was Zero who asked you to?" Lu Mingfei said, his gaze shifting to the girl in front of him.

"It wasn't me," Zero immediately denied casually.

"Who is that?" Lu Mingfei asked Zero, but with a hidden meaning.

"I don't know." Zero continued to shake his head.

People who have a tacit understanding don't need to discuss things much beforehand; a casual glance is enough for them to know what the other wants to do.

Zero hadn't spoken much about the "boss," but she never hid anything when Lu Mingfei asked. So Lu Mingfei naturally knew about the mysterious boss and that these two ladies were no ordinary people. Therefore, he also wanted to know just how mysterious this boss was.

Zero would naturally choose to stand on Lu Mingfei's side.

He looked at Mai Shude, "So who exactly is that?"

Mai Shude was momentarily speechless. Of course, she could never say "boss," that was absolutely forbidden. But now she had no other answer to give; the only person she could shift the blame to had already "betrayed" her.

"Okay, alright." She swallowed hard, struggling to organize her thoughts for the next sentence, "Actually, it was my own choice to go. After all, I'm Zero's friend, right? I couldn't just stand by and watch you get into danger... right?"

In general, it's best not to explain in this situation. Once you're on the defensive, the more you explain, the more problems will arise, regardless of whether you're a ninja who can scale walls or a math master with a sharp mind.

Lu Mingfei nodded, but then had another question, "But Zero didn't know I was in trouble at the time. How did you know all this?"

Mai Shude's smile became even more forced; she truly regretted bringing it up out of sheer boredom!

"Is it because you've been spying on me?" Lu Mingfei revealed a faint, almost mischievous smile. "Or is it for some other reason?"

Chapter 188 A friend of a friend is a friend

Over the years, Mai Shude has repeatedly carried out surveillance missions on Lu Mingfei in order to ensure that he does not deviate from the growth path predicted by his boss.

Generally speaking, people who care about a boy's growth experience in this way are mostly hoping that their son will become a dragon and grow up strong.

But the boss's hopes were completely opposite. After receiving Mai's report that "he's a complete waste of space, so bad that you'd rather burn him than burn him," the boss smiled with satisfaction and nodded in approval. Mai couldn't help but secretly suspect that the boss might actually dislike the boy who looked exactly like him.

In the following period, she continued to observe the target regularly, and the result was always the same. For the boy named "Lu Mingfei", the world was full of malice. Few boys treated him as a friend, but only as someone to fill in the numbers. As for the girls, they were completely disgusted. Although one or two girls would get a little closer to him, they were not gentle at all.

The girl in the white dress could make him do whatever he wanted with just a flick of her finger, so in Mai's mind, he was an extremely easy boy to manipulate, no more than a three- or five-year-old child. She could probably make him panic with just a slightly gentler tone.

But perhaps something happened. From the moment she saw him when she met Zero, she felt that all her previous tasks had been in vain. She seemed to know nothing about this boy. He was not a good-for-nothing at all; he was a towering tree.

Even now, she herself is easily held in his hands.

What reason... He asked what reason, what reason could there be? If it can't be "the boss's task", then there's only one reason for him to be secretly watching over him and then rushing out at the critical moment.

"Why?" Lu Mingfei asked calmly.