Chapter 38: A Cheap Life

Cold sweat poured down Lu Mingfei as if it were free of charge; in just a short while, the white shirt beneath his dark green school uniform was already soaked through.

Having roughly deduced the chain of events, Lu Mingfei felt completely numb. He was a man of little consequence—was he truly worth such focused attention from the great "Faceless and Formless God"?

The introduction had been bypassed, and he had failed to notice that an uninvited guest had slipped into the gathering. Until the event was unexpectedly interrupted, he had sensed nothing amiss, even believing his state of mind today was exceptionally sharp.

This uninvited guest had used unknown means to make the Longevity Society’s gathering more susceptible to being observed. If things had proceeded at their original pace, the projection of the "Celestial Venerable Zhonghuang Taiyi" might have actually descended.

Unprepared, Lu Mingfei currently lacked the capacity to channel the projection of such a magnificent deity.

If it had happened, he would have unknowingly exhausted all his mana and life force in a fit of fanatical fervor. Even if he had managed to survive the summoning process, he would have faced severe punishment for failing to prepare a sacrifice worthy of the deity.

But thinking about it, what did it matter? Could he really outmaneuver Nyarlathotep by harboring fear and plotting with caution?

Don't make him laugh.

Fear was entirely useless; it would only cause his already precarious sanity to plummet even faster.

It wasn't as if he hadn't failed before. It would simply be a matter of preparing more thoroughly next time. Even if his luck ran out and he truly died at the hands of that "Celestial Lord Zhonghuang Taiyi," it would still be far more comfortable than dying at the hands of Nyarlathotep.

Professor Schneider, located in the main control room, interrupted Lu Mingfei’s chaotic thoughts with a raspy voice.

"Begin now."

Dragging his oxygen tank cart to the wall, he scanned the crowd. The grim face, half-hidden by a black mask, caused the previously noisy control room to fall silent instantly.

"Everyone, we need your help, right now. At this very moment, two members of the Operations Department are trapped in a Dragon ruins. We just retrieved important data from there, but a mechanism was triggered, and the path is blocked. Their oxygen is depleting by the second; we must find a way out for them immediately."

Professor Schneider’s voice was low and rapid; it seemed every second truly counted.

Professor Schneider clapped his hands, and the teak bookshelves on the upper wall slid apart, revealing a massive hundred-inch screen.

A giant three-dimensional simulation appeared on the screen, complete with a scale bar at the corner. Everyone gasped—it was a miniature city cast entirely in bronze!

"The palace of Norton, the King of Bronze and Fire, an ancient ruin. Some of you carry his bloodline. Here is a picture of the Dragon text data photographed by Operations member Aki Yakushima. Based on our speculation, we believe this is an inscription regarding the construction of this Bronze City. I want you to focus your minds and read it," Professor Schneider said.

"You expect one of us to resonate with it and trigger a 'Spirit Vision'?" Caesar asked.

"Yes. We might have originally spent ten years deciphering it, but their oxygen will not last another twenty minutes! Please, hurry!"

Aki Yakushima... and the other one must be Ye Sheng? Were they about to die?

Lu Mingfei rubbed his chin. He still had some impression of that gentle girl and that generous boy.

Back then, he had seen that they were shrouded in the aura of death, so he had bestowed upon them a "Fairy Dust Soul-Returning Talisman" to settle the karmic debt of borrowing money. Now, it had come to pass.

As the saying goes, if it doesn't concern you, let it be.

Lu Mingfei had already settled his karma with the two of them; naturally, he would not intervene now to save them from their fated death. Yet, everyone around him was taking laptops out of their bags—even Qilan and Zero, who had participated in the gathering just moments ago—which made the empty-handed Lu Mingfei look rather out of place.

"Verification passed... Verification passed... Verification passed..."

NOMA's voice echoed through the control room. Students and professors logged into their operating interfaces, and a giant cyan dome, stitched together from various photos, appeared on the big screen.

Nono, not far away, kept stealing glances at Lu Mingfei.

In her eyes, Lu Mingfei, who possessed unfathomable mysterious powers, was the person most likely to decipher the Dragon text and save her two close friends. Yet, Lu Mingfei was currently idling and looking around. She quickly reminded him:

"Lu Mingfei! Swipe your card! There's a spare computer!"

"Huh? Card? My student ID? Let me look for it first..."

Lu Mingfei fumbled slowly through the various pockets of his clothes. His unhurried manner made Nono’s blood boil.

She strode over with her long legs, snatched the black student ID from his chest pocket, swiped it through the card slot in one fluid motion, and then, without leaving a trace, gave his inner thigh a fierce pinch.

Lu Mingfei jumped in shock:

"Ow, ow! Damn it! You pinched too close to the middle!"

Nono knew she had missed the mark. Her face flushed red, and after glancing around guiltily, she fled. Before running off, she urged:

"Take it seriously!"

Lu Mingfei let it go in one ear and out the other. He watched as the desktop unfolded, revealing a tablet computer. The screen lit up, displaying a tutorial page.

A 3D image of a cute, surreal beautiful girl appeared, dressed in a white, sleepwear-like gauze dress. Her long hair flowed as she bowed lightly to Lu Mingfei.

"S-rank freshman Lu Mingfei, I am EVA. It is my pleasure to serve you. Please configure your system," the girl’s voice came through his earphones.

"Wow, what a pretty girl."

Lu Mingfei poked the screen with his finger. EVA actually performed an evasive maneuver, making a pouty expression as she said:

"You shouldn't treat a lady like that! According to the records, you haven't taken any computer courses. I will configure it for you according to standard settings. All reading, moving, and storing can be done with a simple click."

The windows flashed rapidly, and then the interface for StarCraft appeared on the screen.

The bumpkin Lu Mingfei could indeed only use this interface, but with his shattered soul, he found it nearly impossible to resonate with the Dragon text. Even if he truly entered a Spirit Vision and saw that boy, he wouldn't make a deal just to save others.

Time ticked away second by second. Everyone stared at the image, meditating and sketching on paper; the sound of pencils rustling against the pages filled the room.

Caesar and Chu Zihang stared at the big screen with terrifyingly grim expressions. Qilan held his forehead with both hands, Nono sat with her arms crossed and brows tightly furrowed, while the petite girl sat like a statue, motionless.

The faculty members argued intensely in hushed tones. Their bloodlines were not as strong as these high-ranking students, so they could not expect a "Spirit Vision," but they had spent decades studying Dragon text. They were hoping to pool their knowledge to create a miracle within these twenty minutes.

"Please do not attempt unauthorized operations!"

Bored, Lu Mingfei had tried to see if he could launch a game of StarCraft directly through the page on the screen, only to be warned by EVA.

As he turned the page back to the Dragon text that resembled a giant bronze tree, the scene before Lu Mingfei suddenly changed.

Damp moisture was the first to invade his senses, followed by the sounds of a torrential downpour, howling winds, and raging waves.

"Brother, are you really not planning to intervene?"