Chapter 24: Caesar and Chu Zihang

After experiencing it for himself, he had to admit that the excitement Guderian and the others felt was not entirely unreasonable.

The intensity of "Time Zero" was truly terrifying. Even though he was currently inhabiting the body of a frail, skinny teenager, once he activated the Spirit, a dozen fully armed personnel—who were clearly elites at a glance—could not even manage to pull their triggers.

Not only was the energy consumption minimal, but this single Spirit alone already made him stronger than he had been after his first "Initiation," when he had mastered various spells.

Lu Mingfei didn't bother lingering with these kids playing live-action CS. After casually disposing of the dozen people blocking the doorway, he bypassed the center of the battlefield. He hadn't come out to show off or to win some live-action CS championship; his face was swollen quite badly, and he wanted to find a school doctor to apply some medicine.

More importantly, the current situation wasn't suitable for attracting attention. With half his face swollen like a pig's head, if someone were to dub him something like the "Pig-Headed Assassin," how would he ever show his face again?

Cassell College was located in a remote area, and its investors were wealthy, so the campus was shockingly vast. Lu Mingfei wandered around the perimeter, staying far away from the sound of gunfire, but he couldn't find the so-called infirmary.

However, he did find the cafeteria.

The cafeteria at Cassell was decorated in a Baroque style, with a main hall large enough to accommodate a thousand people for dining. The cuisine was primarily Western, and the chefs looked like they took their jobs very seriously, so he assumed the food wouldn't be bad.

Lu Mingfei used cash to buy a fresh-squeezed orange juice, a large bucket of freshly fried chicken, and a jumbo beef burger, carrying them away in a bag.

Physical resilience is linked to the strength of one's willpower. Lu Mingfei’s current body was scrawny, inferior even to the average person, and he was in dire need of a massive intake of calories.

Just as he stepped out of the cafeteria, a blinding white light suddenly lit up on the spire of a distant church. Lu Mingfei quickened his pace, only to find that the white light was tracking him, dazzling his eyes.

He couldn't help but look up toward the source of the light. Just then, a large-caliber sniper round tore through the air, drilling straight into the brick floor right in front of him, followed by an explosion of red mist.

He hadn't sensed it coming.

In that dark, cold, foreign world, Lu Mingfei had clawed his way up from being a low-level evil... wait, no, a low-level mage. Having experienced countless battles, large and small, he had naturally honed his perception to guard against sneak attacks.

Usually, if anyone harbored malice toward him, the moment their gaze swept over him, he would sense it. Attempting a sneak attack on him was as difficult as ascending to heaven. The only time he had been hit was when a police inspector in his previous life had ambushed him with a gun from the shadows. If Lu Mingfei hadn't already completed three "Initiations" by then, making his body thoroughly superhuman, he might have been forced to start a "revival match" prematurely.

Based on his later interrogations, Lu Mingfei understood that the strength and weakness of his perception were one and the same: "malice."

While he was extremely sensitive to malice, if the person targeting him felt no malice at all, it was very difficult for him to detect the threat in advance. The police inspector back then had possessed a family-secret technique similar to the "Mindless Shot." And this time...

This time, the attacker must have simply lacked any malice.

The distant church must have been the Red Team’s command post, and the blinding white light that had been following him was likely the reflection from a sniper scope. So, was some sniper from the Red Team’s headquarters just joking with him?

He was in a hurry to eat; who the hell had time to joke with you?

Lu Mingfei retreated two steps to avoid the red mist, which contained a potent anesthetic. He set his "happy meal" on the ground and tapped the ritual jar at his waist. An invisible figure appeared behind him, and the rhythmic, melodic sound of Dragon Language echoed.

Time began to accelerate.

The red mist, which had been diffusing upward, froze, and the white light that had been stinging his eyes became as stagnant and motionless as an insect trapped in amber.

Within his field of vision, Lu Mingfei vanished, only to reappear in the center of the parking lot a great distance away.

The gunfire had become sparse, and the smoke of battle was beginning to clear.

Lu Mingfei’s summoned spirit needed a few seconds to recover before it could unleash Time Zero again. Just then, a deep, powerful, yet cold and rigid voice came through the public address system:

"Caesar, how many of your men are still alive?"

"Chu Zihang, not bad," the other voice responded, coming through the same system with a cold, mocking smile. "We have fourteen left on our side. Can you handle the next wave?"

"I only have one girl left on my side, but it’s a pity—she’s the sniper who’s been giving you such a headache. As long as she has the parking lot locked down, you won't be able to get through."

The two sides, which had originally been evenly matched, saw the scales of victory tilt heavily toward Caesar’s Red Team due to the chain reaction caused by Lu Mingfei’s unintended interference.

Lu Mingfei had heard the name "Chu Zihang." He was a senior at Shilan High School—rich, handsome, popular, and perpetually expressionless. He hadn't had much contact with him, and although he’d heard plenty of gossip, he didn't really know much about the senior's personality.

As for the name "Caesar," it was a name Lu Mingfei knew all too well. It was the poor guy who Nono had said was being cheated on. Rumor had it he was a wealthy landowner and quite rich.

Their conversation continued.

Caesar naturally knew that something unexpected had happened to Chu Zihang’s Black Team, but he didn't consider it an unfair victory. In his view, dealing effectively and correctly with unexpected situations during a mission was exactly what a leader should do.

"Just try it. Our sniper is still alive, too. Is your 'Murasame' ready?"

"Yes, I’d like to win that Bugatti Veyron of yours as well."

"See you in the parking lot."

"Very well."

The doors of the church and the small building opened simultaneously, and heavy combat boots took their first steps at almost the exact same time.

A group of people in deep red combat uniforms stood on one side of the parking lot. The leader took off his mask, revealing flowing, golden hair that shimmered like sunlight, framing a face like a Greek sculpture. His eyes were a rare, icy blue, and he played with his hunting knife, tossing it into the air.

Only one person emerged from the direction of the small building. He, too, removed his mask, revealing refined, sharp features. His unruly black hair pointed in every direction, as fierce as a sword.

Simultaneously, they spotted the frail, scrawny young man standing in the center of the parking lot.

Caesar frowned, unable to understand why, at the climax of this game, there were still random civilians in the middle of the battlefield.

Compared to the rigid, conservative, and strictly disciplined Lionheart Society, the members of the Student Union were a bit more free and easy-going.

Just as he was about to say something, a Student Union member behind him didn't bother waiting and raised his submachine gun.