Lu Mingfei, why are you slaying dragons if you're not involved!

Chapter 128 Youthful Spirit, Tai Chi Spear! (5.8K)

[Through diligent practice, your basketball skills have improved, gaining 3 proficiency points.]

[Warning, arrival time...]

In the last little bit of time before the end of today's basketball schedule, my basketball proficiency level jumped up again.

Lu Mingfei glanced at the proficiency panel with some delight.

Basketball LV1 - Proficiency 180/200
At this rate, it should be upgraded tomorrow!

In fact, Lu Mingfei switched from practicing basketball to playing one-on-one with Chu Zihang today partly for this reason.

He's learned all the basketball skills he could, and he knows everything he needs to know. This is similar to mastering and applying all the knowledge you can learn at any given stage; if you don't change, the frequency of gaining proficiency will plummet!
Meaningless, repetitive effort will not lead to proficiency. Everything you learn will be quantified as proficiency, and it will only be counted once. To level up, Lu Mingfei must constantly pursue and learn new things.

Therefore, if he wants to improve his basketball skills, he must switch from individual practice to "real-game" practice!
A one-on-one match against Chu Zihang would undoubtedly be the best choice. As a former starting center for the city team, Chu Zihang's basketball skills are undoubtedly top-notch. The reason he didn't win first place in the national league back then was actually because the other players held him back…

After all, the competition is a team game, and Chu Zihang can't reveal his mixed-race physique on the spot and take on five opponents at once.

As it turns out, Lu Mingfei's choice was absolutely correct, and his basketball skills, which had been stagnating, began to grow rapidly again!

"Tomorrow afternoon, I'll spend an hour on math, then upgrade my basketball skills... Perfect!"

Lu Mingfei looked forward to having dinner with Chu Zihang after he finished showering and changing.

"By the way, isn't Senior Sister Susie coming to dinner today?"

Lu Mingfei suddenly remembered the senior sister he had met yesterday who clearly harbored desires for Chu Zihang, and asked.

“I asked her, and she said she was assigned a task, which was very easy. But since it was the first day, she decided to work a little longer to make a good impression,” Chu Zihang replied.

"Oh……"

Lu Mingfei blinked, somewhat puzzled.

He subconsciously felt that a girl who had risked her life to come all the way here for Chu Zihang wouldn't work overtime for the sake of "leaving a good impression" and miss the opportunity to have dinner with Chu Zihang.

"What are we eating today?"

Chu Zihang asked.

“A roadside stall!” Lu Mingfei answered without hesitation.

The dry-aged steak we had yesterday was good, but he still preferred the braised pork intestines with lots of marinade.

One bite, and the slightly chewy outer skin is cut through, the aroma of hot braising explodes in your mouth, and the soft, tender glutinous rice melts with rich oil... It's absolutely amazing!
Most importantly, it contains enough energy and salt to compensate for what Lu Mingfei loses during exercise, and it only costs a small amount of money, making it extremely cost-effective.

Although he has money now, he still has to live frugally so as not to wrong himself, but to be practical rather than extravagant... This is Lu Mingfei's current way of thinking.

There was no other way yesterday, after all, Susie was a "guest" who came from afar, and it wouldn't be right not to treat her well, would it?

The roadside stall they frequented wasn't far from the Qingning Basketball Court. The owner easily remembered the two of them and, seeing them approach, began preparing the usual portions.

After all, it's rare to find someone this handsome, let alone two. And it's even rarer to find someone so rich that they have a personal chauffeur, drive a Mercedes S65 AMG, and still eat braised intestines at a roadside stall.

With such obvious features, it's hard not to remember them!

The two sat down familiarly and began to enjoy their meal.

In the distance, at an unnoticed alleyway corner.

A girl, "fully armed" with a mask and hat covering her entire face, peeked out.

Upon witnessing this scene, she seemed to be petrified, frozen in place, her mouth agape for a long time beneath her mask.

It wasn't until her phone vibrated in her pocket that she snapped out of her daze, quickly pulled it back in, and took it out to check.

"What's going on? Did you catch up? Don't tell me you lost them!" Nono sent a message.

Susie peeked out again... then quickly withdrew and typed back: "You have no idea what I saw!"

"Want to eat at home? Or just something ordinary?" Nono replied.

"Um...more or less, a roadside stall, I think it sells braised pork intestines..."

Susie was taken aback. "How did you know?"

"Nonsense, who would serve themselves lavish meals every day? Wouldn't they get tired of it? *rolls eyes*"

Nono quickly sent a long string of text messages.

"This shows their relationship is indeed at a level where they're not blood brothers, but closer than blood brothers! They can be casual with their own people, but when they entertain you, it's at a high-class restaurant—that's the standard for a 'guest.' Girl, you still have a long way to go..."

"How did he do that?" Susie couldn't help but type the question.

The "he" he was referring to was Lu Mingfei. Susie had never imagined that anyone could be so close to the president she admired... and treat him in such an unusual way!
It's fortunate that Lu Mingfei isn't a girl, otherwise Susie would feel like she's already lost her boyfriend.

"How would I know if I didn't see the person with my own eyes?"

Nono replied, "I'll tell you when I get there."

"what about now?"

"Now? Just go home obediently!"

After typing this line, Nono closed her laptop.

There are ways, of course—if it were her, she would simply walk over openly and ask for a seat to freeload a meal. She is "Little Witch" Nono, and she does whatever she wants.

But she understands her best friend. Susie isn't her; she wouldn't do something like, "So what if I lied? What are you going to do about it?" Simply put, she's shy... But if you're shy and don't dare to take action, how can you pursue someone? This principle applies to both men and women!

Unless the "value" is high enough that there's no need to chase it!
Susie is still very pretty, and her stats are decent, but they're clearly not enough for this kind of "high-level" game...

Since it's impossible to do, there's no need to reveal the method. That girl is already feeling anxious, so there's no need to add to her worries. Let's wait until I arrive, assess the situation, and then offer some advice.

Nono was becoming increasingly curious about this S-rank Lu Mingfei. She had met Chu Zihang, but it wouldn't be easy to break through Chu Zihang's icy exterior, especially since he was a man.

"Ah... I shouldn't have gone all the way here in the first place..."

Thinking of this, she pursed her lips. Because she didn't want to go home, she traveled to Europe alone, but unexpectedly encountered a nationwide strike and demonstration in France, which might extend her time back home.

Just then, her phone rang. Nuonuo was startled. She was traveling alone and didn't want to be disturbed by anyone, so she always kept her phone on silent, not even on vibrate. Where did this call come from?
She picked it up and saw that the caller ID showed "Norma".

That solves the problem. Norma is the world's top supercomputer AI, and Nono's phone is in silent mode via electronic settings. In an emergency, Norma can easily hack into and rewrite that setting.

"I think it's time for me to switch to an Apple. Norma, you can't really hack the physical mute button, can you?"

Nono answered the phone and said with dissatisfaction.

"Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice, and the world's most powerful hacker can't remotely hack into a computer that's offline."

It wasn't Norma speaking on the other end of the phone; it was a familiar middle-aged man's voice.

"professor?"

Nono raised an eyebrow, her mind racing. Professor Mans Rundstedt was her tutor at the Kassel College, but what could be so urgent that he needed to contact her directly through Norma?
"I'm sorry to interrupt your travel plans, Nono, but the vacation is over... There's an urgent task that requires you to return to school."

Professor Mans' gentle voice came through. He was in charge of teaching the first level of Motorized Mechanical Design at Kassel College. He was an exam fanatic and always took attendance in every class, but he was quite gentle in daily communication.

"What urgent task requires a first-year student like me to complete?"

Nono pouted, then she acted like a little girl again, "And I'm about to go back to China..."

"Did the strikes and demonstrations in France delay your trip?"

Professor Mans said, "The mission is located in China, and whether you choose to carry it out or not, the school can take you back along the way."

“Professor, don’t tell me I need to contact ‘over there’.” Nono’s tone suddenly turned extremely cold.

"No, I promise."

Professor Mans was clearly aware of Nono's relationship with her family.

To describe it as "irreconcilable enmity" would be an understatement. If a meteorite were to fall from the sky and wipe out the entire "family" without any survivors, Nono would immediately offer an extremely lavish sacrifice to thank the heavens for their mercy.

"There are just too few people who meet the requirements of the mission, and your 'profile' ability is special..."

"Okay, how do I get there?"

Nono has reverted to her "little witch" state.

A tremendous sound came from outside, drowning out the clamor of the striking and demonstrating crowds in the street. Nono glanced outside and saw the enormous object flying low and rapidly approaching.

"No way?"

Even the "little witch" was shocked, "NH90 TTH transport helicopter? Aren't you afraid the protesters will misunderstand?"

"In this urgent situation, we must act expediently; there's no time to worry about anything else," Professor Mans said.

"I'm getting a little curious about what the mission is...can I give you a little hint?" Nono quickly packed her things.

"The security level is 'top secret,' and I don't know the details of the mission."

Professor Mans slowly brought up a seemingly unrelated matter, "You know Professor von Schneider, right?"

"know."

Nono's mind flashed with an image—a man whose face was covered by a black mask, whose neck was covered with dark red sores, whose breathing was deep and sticky, and whose voice sounded like a knife tip scraping across a rusty steel plate.

Professor von Schneider, Head of the Executive Department at Kassel College. Kassel College is full of lunatics, and the Executive Department is the most insane of them all—a near-global institution of violence. As the head managing this group of "lunatics," Professor Schneider is synonymous with "cold-blooded" and "calm."

"He's going crazy with worry."

Professor Mans hung up the phone.

on the street.

The frigid air was filled with angry shouts as a nationwide strike and demonstration completely clogged the "arteries" of this romantic city.

But at this moment, the completely different violent sound, like the roar of a cold, metallic behemoth, drowned out all the noise.

It was an NH90 TTH transport helicopter flying at low altitude, so low that anyone looking up could clearly see its sharply defined dark green paint.

The threat naturally spread with the wind and waves created by the rotor blades, and slogans such as "SARKOZY DMISSION!" and "BAS LE GOUVERNEMENT!" were blown everywhere.

"How is this going!"

The SWAT captain in charge of maintaining order roared through every walkie-talkie, "Where the hell did that helicopter come from? It's only escalating the situation! Order it to—"

Before the words were even finished, the NH90 TTH hovered steadily on the side of the street, its rotors continuing to roar deafeningly. Then, under the watchful eyes of countless people, the side door of the cabin slid open, and a fifteen-meter-long rope ladder descended, precisely landing next to a window of a hotel on the side of the street!
The window opened, and a tall, bright girl with dark red hair stood on the windowsill carrying a red suitcase.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, she stepped forward, reached out, and with the natural ease of accepting a gentleman's invitation, hung herself on the rope ladder.

He was even carrying the red suitcase in his other hand!

NH90 TTH rapidly ascended and took off, the rope ladder being retrieved by an electric winch and manual pulling. The stunningly beautiful girl floated away before the eyes of everyone. Her dark red hair danced wildly in the air, and for a moment, everyone was frozen in place, their gazes fixed on her rising figure.

Just as the rope ladder was about to disappear into the shadows of the cabin, the girl threw her suitcase into the cabin, freed her hand, and waved it down, as if as a sincere farewell gift to them.

……

The last ray of twilight slipped through the clouds and mist, crossed the mountain shoulders, and passed through the gaps between the tall buildings before finally disappearing into Lu Mingfei's eyes.

It wasn't even 7 p.m. yet, and he and Chu Zihang had already arrived at the gym. It was the same floor where they trained last time, except that all the windows had been replaced.

"Student Lu Mingfei."

Lu Mingfei suddenly snapped out of his daze, focusing intently on Zhang Shanfeng, whose smile appeared "kind and amiable," his vigilance heightened.

"Teacher Zhang, what's going on?"

"Hey, why are you looking at me so warily?"

Zhang Shanfeng chuckled. "Chu Zihang has already told you about Ye Sheng's combat training with you tonight, right? Don't worry, this is training, not real combat, so there won't be any serious consequences."

"I understand what you're saying, but the problem is that what you have is really not convincing!"

Lu Mingfei pointed shakily at the long spear that Zhang Shanfeng, wearing gloves, was holding—a spear that was not something a normal human could use under normal circumstances.

"Don't tell me this Overlord Spear is a teaching aid for later... If this thing hits me, I'm afraid I won't even have time to get bruises all over; I'll be covered in bruises here and there!"

“Teaching aids? No, these are weapons, for you to use.”

Zhang Shanfeng handed the gun directly to Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei instinctively took it, and its substantial weight made his hand feel heavy. Fortunately, thanks to the [Stamina Boost], he was no longer the weakling he used to be, and he was able to lift it normally.

The Overlord Spear emitted a pleasurable groan, quickly transforming into the length and thickness he desired.

"Forehead……"

Lu Mingfei's heart tightened, and he spoke subconsciously.

"This...it might be due to thermal expansion and contraction..."

"I did graduate from Peking University back then..."

Zhang Shanfeng's lips twitched. "This is normal, there's no need to be nervous."

"Is this normal...?" Lu Mingfei asked, somewhat doubtful, as he tried to hand the gun back to him.

"I mean, for someone like you with such high-quality mixed-race blood, it's perfectly normal!"

Zhang Shanfeng's face darkened, and he chose to change the subject and talk about serious business, "This gun is yours."

"what?"

Lu Mingfei stood there stunned for a moment, then reacted with a string of witty remarks.

"Teacher Zhang, you can't joke like that! This is an antique from before Christ. It's a blessing to even touch it. You're saying you want to give it to me?"
What if someone accidentally bumps or scrapes themselves...? Isn't this just a free 1000-round Gatling gun salute? A teacher shouldn't be sending students to prison!

This string of thoughtless, offensive remarks successfully stunned Zhang Shanfeng, who had not yet developed the ability to "adapt to offensive language."

"This is an alchemical weapon used by the King of Earth and Mountains. It would probably be difficult to damage even in a battle at the level of the first generation of Dragon Kings."

Chu Zihang, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, keenly sensing the problem.

"But teacher, the pure-blooded dragons who awakened in Xiang Yu's tomb are still nowhere to be found. Are you going to give the Overlord Spear to Lu Mingfei now?"

Ye Sheng glanced at Chu Zihang and thought to himself that this was clearly an attempt to protect him!
"Yes and no. To be precise, not now, but after his tutoring session ends."

Zhang Shanfeng readily admitted this and repeated what he had previously told Ye Sheng about "the defenses cannot last, we must try to lure the snake out of its hole," before speaking to Lu Mingfei.

"Because currently only you can command the living spirit within the Overlord Spear and control its transformation. Therefore, only you are suitable to carry it around in public, thereby luring the opponent to reveal a weakness."

But you are a minor who hasn't received any formal training or development, so this task shouldn't be assigned to you. Therefore, not accepting it won't have any negative impact; I can think of other solutions.

"If I don't accept... then you won't give me the gun?" Lu Mingfei asked.

"I'll still give it to you, but only after things are resolved. Since you're probably the only one in the country who can use it, if I don't give it to you, it'll just sit in the warehouse collecting dust, which would be a waste."

Zhang Shanfeng suddenly changed the subject, "Have you seen 'Assembly'?"

"I've seen it, I've seen it." Lu Mingfei nodded repeatedly.

"That movie was embellished for artistic purposes. In fact, in our history, there has never been a case of issuing a death mission through deception. If that had actually happened, that regimental commander should have been executed immediately."

Zhang Shanfeng looked at Lu Mingfei sincerely, "So I'm telling you straight up, there's really no need to worry about the consequences of not accepting. Of course, if you do accept, there will definitely be benefits because you're risking your life."

"Suddenly, I feel the atmosphere is a bit heavy..."

Lu Mingfei scratched his head.

“One second I was still a minor high school student, and the next second you, teacher, suddenly told me that ‘the future of this city rests on your shoulders’... I did fantasize about saving the world, but I never expected the opportunity to come so quickly.”

The matter is simple; there are only two choices. If you don't accept, you can still get the Overlord Spear later without bearing any responsibility or danger.

Lu Mingfei believed that Zhang Shanfeng, given his identity, would not deceive him.

Nine days ago, he would have hesitated and then decisively refused.

Being a "bait" is life-threatening! Even though someone is definitely protecting you in secret, you're still entrusting your life to someone else. How can you feel at ease?

But now his heart is at peace, with only occasional ripples, the ripples being an impulse called "eager to try"!

He knew his true strength.

The pure-blooded dragon in Xiang Yu's tomb was clearly not as strong as Zhang Shanfeng, otherwise it wouldn't have needed to run away. Lu Mingfei was even confident that, using all his abilities, he could at least severely injure Zhang Shanfeng with a single blow, and if necessary, he could at least stall for time.

That's his confidence—something he holds in his own hands, something he can use whenever he wants, something no one can take away from him!

Two days ago, Uncle Chen's words seemed to echo in my ears again—

Once you have confidence, you become a different person. Things you used to only dare to think about but not do, you naturally dare to do now.

Because I know what I'm doing, and I know I can handle it.

Zhang Shanfeng suddenly laughed. He saw a sharp edge in Lu Mingfei's eyes, the kind of sharpness that comes from honing a sword.

This is exactly how a young person should be when they are full of vigor and ambition!

Without this aura, even the most talented person might not be of great use in the future. But now he saw it in Lu Mingfei, albeit only in its initial stages.

The answer was obvious, but he still asked aloud, "So, what's your choice?"

"I'm a member of the group, after all."

Lu Mingfei raised an eyebrow and uttered a slightly melodramatic remark.

"Such a weighty responsibility, who else but me!"

As he spoke, he brandished his Overlord Spear, feeling his mind flow freely and smoothly. For a moment, he truly seemed to feel the overwhelming grandeur of Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu…

Ptooey! Ptooey! That's bad luck!
Let's go with Zhao Yun. Of all the spearmen in the world, Zhao Yun has a fortune of eight-tenths, while the others are missing two-tenths!
"Hahaha, good!"

Zhang Shanfeng laughed heartily twice and patted Lu Mingfei's shoulder heavily with his one arm.

"Come, I'll teach you the Tai Chi Spear! Once you've learned it, you can try it on Ye Sheng!"

Ye Sheng was speechless, thinking to himself, "Teacher Zhang, you're treating me like a tool, using me wherever you can."

Who did I offend?

(End of this chapter)