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

Chapter 152 Hilbert Jean Angers (6.3K)

It was a rather peculiar feeling.

It's as if some "organ" that has never been used but has always existed has been activated and appeared in the body, and then the brain is stunned: "Hey, you, when did you arrive? I don't remember having anyone like you in the organization?"

But the other person didn't say anything, just silently went to their work station and started doing completely new tasks. They blended in effortlessly and perfectly, as if they were always meant to be there. My brain kept checking their work ID, and their immune system was racing, but they couldn't find the corresponding entity.

Well, there's nothing we can do about it. Everything's compliant, so let's just treat it as normal!
Since it's normal, the "products" from the other party's work can't be ignored. The brain took a shortcut in this matter; it accepted the products without categorizing them. Of course, it's also possible it didn't know how to allocate them, but having no other options, it simply reported them as is.

This is roughly the process by which that wonderful feeling was born.

What we see, hear, and touch... is all ordinary.

But a completely new and unusual feeling arose within them. This feeling was directed at something that had always existed but had not been noticed before, something that was everywhere you looked, whispered in your ears, and warmly touched in your hands!
Liu Miaomiao turned her gaze in a daze. The world seemed to have changed in her eyes, as if countless "existences" had appeared, but they were not visible to the naked eye.

They also noticed Liu Miaomiao's presence and responded with friendly and curious glances.

"What's happening here?"

She murmured blankly, then subconsciously went to the desk, picked up a small round mirror, and examined herself.

There was no extra "third eye" on his forehead; his eyes remained the same well-behaved ones, seemingly unchanged.

But those things do exist.

Am I... hallucinating?

Just as she was wondering, she caught a glimpse of Lu Mingfei waving at her from the window across the way.

In an instant, the girl completely forgot about that strange feeling.

"Good night~"

Lu Mingfei greeted him silently, and he seemed very happy.

See you during the day!

After waiting so long, all she got were those five silent words and gestures through the window, but Liu Miaomiao was content. She happily gave the same reply, forgetting the extremely strange thing that had just happened.

It wasn't until she was lying in bed, snuggled into the warm blankets, and the lights were off that the girl remembered again.

But that wonderful feeling has disappeared, and the world has returned to normal.

"Just say it's a hallucination?"

She muttered to herself.

A strange weariness suddenly washed over her, and her eyelids felt as if they were made of lead, drooping heavily. She yawned and fell into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile, in the room across the window, Lu Mingfei gave one last glance at the proficiency panel.

[Physics LV1 - Proficiency 150/200]

"At this rate, it should be done by tomorrow, right? No, it's already past midnight, it's today..."

"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this should be the last time I go to bed at midnight for a long time to come. Should we do something to commemorate it?"

Thoughts kept popping into Lu Mingfei's mind.

[Warning, electric shock countdown...]

"What's so memorable about something so sad?"

Lu Mingfei skillfully used [Vitality Micro-Management] to put himself on the "Extremely Exhausted" list. Of course, this time, he didn't forget to add a timer.

Once is enough for an electric shock alarm clock to wake you up!
"go to bed!"

Sleepiness surged up like a rising tide, engulfing him.

……

at the same time.

January 10, 2009, 10:00 AM.

Kassel College, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, USA.

The winter wind tore at the cotton-like snowflakes, trying to get them to cling to the bare oak branches beside the path, but failed. Most of them fell to the ground, becoming part of the snow that was thick enough to swallow a person's calves.

In this kind of weather, a tall, burly young man, as big as a bear, was trudging through the snow. The snow, which would make ordinary people stumble and fall, posed no obstacle to him; he walked with ease as if on flat ground.

He wore a snow hat and a dark blue waterproof jacket, zipped up only to his chest, revealing a dark green plaid shirt underneath. His lower body was clad in baggy, trouser-length pants, the cuffs tucked into high-top work boots stained with mud and snow.

Wearing only this much in this weather is obviously not normal, but in this place nicknamed "the gathering place of lunatics," there are no normal people either.

He walked along the path completely swallowed by snow, past an old Byzantine-style building, and not far away found an inconspicuous two-story building that looked as simple as a garage.

He knocked on the garage door.

"Please come in." A deep, gentle voice came from inside, like that of a true European gentleman, but speaking fluent Chinese.

So the young man pushed the door open and entered, a fawning smile already on his face before the door even opened, and shouted loudly with great force.

"Headmaster, your loyal henchman Fingel reports!"

No one would have guessed that this unassuming two-story building, which looks like a garage, is the principal's office of Kassel College.

However, once the office door is opened, the interior reveals a completely different scene—the entire room is essentially a bookshelf, with the first and second floors connected, and a huge skylight in the central atrium. The skylight is covered with autumn leaves and winter snow.

The walls are covered with oil paintings and bookshelves that reach the ceiling. The staircases and platforms attached to the bookshelves are of varying heights, which are both artistic and convenient for people to climb up and down in this huge bookstore.

Principal Hilbert Jean Angers was not sitting behind the large desk on the ground. He was standing on a platform near the skylight, with his back to the entrance, seemingly browsing the spines of the books on the shelves, preparing to choose a book he liked.

He stood tall and straight as ever, wearing a perfectly tailored black suit with his vest buttoned up meticulously. His silver-white hair was combed into neat rows, and he held a white porcelain saucer and teacup in his hand, from which wisps of steam rose slowly, mingling with the aroma of black tea.

"The term 'henchman' refers to the lackeys and henchmen of thugs and bullies. I consider myself quite diligent and successful in my work of teaching and educating people..."

The principal turned around, then paused, "What are you doing?"

"Of course, it's to take your latest personal photos!"

Fingel showed no intention of restraining himself after being caught red-handed. He pulled out a camera from somewhere and started snapping photos incessantly. His eyes, shining like candlelight, were fixed on his handsome face, which was still framed by a thick beard, as if he were a paparazzi who had found the perfect news story.

"I'm a huge fan of yours! I want to get these photos printed, framed, and passed down as family heirlooms! Could you please sign them for me? Just one, no need for too many!"

“An autographed photo is no problem... but you wouldn’t auction off a family heirloom, would you?” The principal’s silver-grey eyes stared straight at him.

"I wonder if you've ever heard the classic story in ancient China about families that fell on hard times and had to sell their assets in an attempt to make a comeback..." Fingel said with a dry laugh after his true intentions were exposed.

“I am pleased with your Chinese proficiency, but selling off your assets may be a gambler’s last gamble.”

The principal dismissed the matter lightly, saying, "Come in, and close the door."

"Oh, air conditioning costs are indeed quite high. I didn't expect you, Principal, to be so frugal, contributing your modest efforts to environmental protection despite your high position. I'll write a column for you when I get back..."

Fingel went to great lengths to flatter him, then casually closed the office door behind him.

The instant the door closed.

"Finger von Frings".

Angers' voice was deep and steady. At this moment, his demeanor changed; he was no longer the gentleman in the suit. Time had left deep marks on his face, but now those lines seemed like the glint of swords, and his silver-gray eyes shone with light, making him look like a young lion.

It is no longer the principal, but Angers himself.

Anyone facing this pressure would likely take it seriously, but Fingel was different. He sighed softly, scratched his frizzy, ramen-noodle-like hair, and said with a deep sadness, "Am I finally going to be forced to quit?"

“…No, I asked you to come here so I can ask you to do something for me.” Angers stared intently into his eyes.

“As a paparazzi, all I’m good at is tracking, monitoring, and making up gossip. If you’re asking me to take some kind of nude bathing photos of the British princess, I’m somewhat confident I can handle it. But if it involves risking my life… let’s not do it.” Fingel’s face stiffened.

"The door is already closed."

Angers looked at him and said slowly, "You should know the significance of the principal's office. Norma's surveillance is almost everywhere, but this is the only place where it's not in the light of day, absolutely safe."

"The darkest place is under the lamp..."

Fingel lowered his eyes and sighed again. The sigh was long and slow, as if he were expelling something that had been lingering in his body for who knows how long. His burly body even seemed to shrink a little as a result.

But when he inhaled again, something long dormant but never forgotten ignited within him, restoring his robust physique.

When Fingel looked up again, he no longer looked like that颓废废的废的废的废的废的废的废的废的废的废的废的废的废的废的废的废的非 ...

"So you don't need to hide your true self, right? But there are probably not many people in this school who still remember me. Principal, from which nook and cranny did you remember me?"

"In fact, if I hadn't seen your name on the list of the task force for this trip to China submitted by Professor Schneider, I wouldn't have known that you were still at the school... You're a student from the class of 2001."

Angers stepped down from the platform and gestured for Finger to come to the desk, where there were white bone china cups and shimmering tea, and next to them, a small bone china dish of scones sprinkled with rose syrup.

"Help me with my work, and I will help you with your plans."

What should have been a cozy afternoon tea atmosphere quickly turned into a somber one as these words were spoken, as if the temperature in the entire office had dropped.

“Not bad…it seems your mask hasn’t become impossible to remove despite being worn for so long. Professor Schneider was right about you.” Angers nodded in satisfaction.

"How did Professor Schneider know that?" Fingel stared straight at Angers.

"He's guessing, and I agree with his guess. But don't worry, apart from Professor Schneider and me, no one else should know."

Angers gestured for Finger to drink some tea.

“Professor Schneider, you and I share some similarities. People with similar traits can naturally guess each other’s general thoughts. Most of the Secret Society families are not human, but they are quite useful as tools for slaying dragons. Therefore, they are useful to me now, but after that, you can do as you please.”

"I understand."

Fingel didn't drink the tea. "You also want me to be your tool."

Ang nodded: "For this operation, I need you to approach someone and observe him."

"That sounds like my job as a paparazzi."

Fingel's eyes flickered. "Who?"

"Lu Mingfei." "That S-class freshman who hasn't even enrolled yet?"

Fingel raised an eyebrow, but only for a moment did he recall, "I only learned about this person through Ye Shengfa's posts on the Night Watchers Forum (Kassel College's internal campus forum)..."

"You also 'incidentally' collected some biographical information about him and sold it on the Night Watchers forum for one hundred dollars a copy."

He nodded and added, "I also browse forums."

"As a journalist without a fixed salary, of course I have to find a way to supplement my meager income from my impoverished life..."

Fingel scratched his head, and to prevent Angers from suddenly saying, "This is illegal income and needs to be confiscated," he quickly changed the subject.

"Since he's so worthy of your attention, could it be... that he's also one of your tools?"

"Do I look like an old man who likes to use people as tools?" Angers didn't rush to answer, but asked back with some curiosity.

“It doesn’t look like it.”

Fingel laughed. “But to return the favor, similar people can naturally guess each other’s general thoughts. I am a madman who only wants revenge against the Secret Society and the Dragon Clan… so are you. We are both willing to go to any lengths when it comes to matters of this kind.”

He said this with a smile, but the smile was devoid of any warmth, like the extreme ice in an endless abyss.

"……good."

Angers nodded slowly. "He is my tool, and also my most important one."

“What has changed?” Fingel asked bluntly.

Angers didn't answer, but instead pulled a file folder from under the table and handed it to him. The folder was sealed with wax and had the letters SS printed on it.

"The biographical information about Lu Mingfei that you released is incomplete, but with your abilities, you should be able to see the whole thing. So, what's your assessment?"

When Fingel opened the file bag, Angers asked.

"To be honest, he's an incredibly unlucky kid. Neither his personality nor his abilities seem to fit the S-class description, so I only glanced at him once and then stopped paying attention."

Fingel paused, "But since you, Principal, have rated him as the most important tool, he must be quite powerful after awakening his bloodline, right?"

“This is his activity data for the last ten days.” Angers gestured for him to proceed.

So Fingel flipped through them one by one.

The details of the document were almost identical to those that Ye Sheng had brought. He flipped through it extremely quickly, almost reading ten lines at a glance, and finally slumped silently in his chair, letting out a long, drawn-out sigh.

"Damn it, I regret it..."

"Ok?"

Angers was taken aback. He had guessed all of Fingel's reactions, but he hadn't expected this one.

Why regret it?

"Even though I'm a paparazzi, I shouldn't look down on people!"

Fingel shook his head.

"You're not a journalist, you wouldn't understand... I could have completely tracked and reported on his changes over the past ten days. All I had to do was post them one by one on the Night Watchers forum and set up a paid viewing option. I could have made a fortune!"

"Not now?" Angers asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Of course not. News, news! What is news? It's all about being 'new'! These are all things that have already happened. If I were to turn them into a TV series and present them as daily news reports, wouldn't that be deceiving the buyers?"

Fingel then spoke with righteous indignation.

"We paparazzi can make things up, but there has to be a reason. We absolutely can't fabricate fake news! So now I can only do this one-off deal... What a loss, this is a huge loss!"

"My intuition tells me you don't have that much integrity."

“Okay, I admit it’s because other students from Kassel College were involved in this operation, and they also had information channels. It would cost a lot of money to bribe them, and there was no guarantee of safety. So it was better to just sell the whole set.”

Faced with Angers's "keen eye for talent," Finger had no choice but to confess honestly.

"However... while this data is quite extreme, as someone you value so highly... if their bloodline awakens, it should be acceptable, right?"

"That's the crux of the problem."

Angers took a sip of tea, recalling a deal he made with that being many years ago—a grand plan he had been secretly working on for years, one that could destroy the dragon race.

But now the plan has changed. The core of the plan has slipped out of control, and this change shouldn't have happened!
The changes in Lu Mingfei himself, and the demands made by Zhang Shanfeng... what information did he possess that he didn't know?

He tried to contact that being after so long, but failed.

Breach of contract, or something else?
Angers was unsure, but given the circumstances, he needed to gather intelligence. The key was clearly Lu Mingfei. As the leader of the Secret Service, he couldn't do it himself, so he chose Fingel, who was extremely adept at concealment.

Originally, this conversation was supposed to take place shortly before Lu Ming's informal enrollment. But given the current situation, it's necessary to adapt to the circumstances.

Actually, Angers lied to Fingel in one way. He always remembered Fingel and always knew what Fingel was going to do... As the principal, how could he not remember the disastrous failure in Greenland caused by the intervention of the board of directors?

However, he didn't have the power he has now back then. Or rather, it was the disastrous defeat caused by the school board's intervention that made them eager to put forward someone who could stabilize the situation, thus allowing Angers to seize power.

“That’s the problem… Don’t tell me he hasn’t awakened his bloodline yet!” Fingel was shocked and incredulous.

"I don't know what happened to him, but it's probably not as simple as bloodline awakening..."

Angers said slowly, "That's exactly why I need you to get close to him. I need you to keep a close eye on Lu Mingfei. You are both his protector and his monitor. You must report to me any unusual movements he makes."

"It sounds like a male nanny hired by the parents."

Fingel commented, "It's like an undercover agent doing espionage. Principal, you know what happens when you're caught doing espionage, right? Those things don't enjoy the same treatment as prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention!"

“Don’t worry, you and I will communicate directly. Even among undercover agents, you’d be among the top tier,” Angers replied.

“Should I be proud of this?” Fingel asked.

"Of course, your job is very important, more important than you can imagine."

Ang nodded and asked, "So, do you accept?"

"If I still dare not accept all this, am I going to suffer from physical amnesia?"

Fingel smiled wryly, picked up his teacup, took a sip, stood up, removed his hat, and bowed deeply, as if a medieval knight were swearing allegiance to his king.

"Go, the task force is only missing you. Don't keep them waiting too long."

The principal stood up.

At this moment, he was no longer Angers, but the gentle and gentlemanly principal.

"Due to the heavy snow, planes cannot take off. Even if you set off immediately, it will take you more than a day to arrive."

……

[Warning, it's time to get up...]

The warning sounded as the "extreme fatigue" status of the [Vitality Micro-Management] timer disappeared.

This time, Lu Mingfei was finally spared the horrific process of "being awake in his sleep and enduring the electric shock."

He opened his eyes with remarkable ease and leaped to his feet. He dared not, in any further deliberate attempt to delay the warning time.

I deliberately stalled a few times before, and now this has been cut off five times, half of it! If this continues... wouldn't the next time the plan is upgraded, it will be reduced even further?

Without a doubt, Lu Mingfei knew that the current schedule was not the final version.

Because this thing is based on improving your own physical fitness, and there is only one goal—to achieve the most efficient training effect until you become the "strongest and most awesome man"!
Since things have come to this, let's just do our best.

Of course, it's impossible for him to stay obedient forever. Lu Mingfei is like an ox that needs to be whipped to move... He'll be obedient for a while after being whipped, but after a while, when the whip stops falling, who knows what will happen.

Should we say "Good morning" now, or "Good morning" at dawn?

After washing up and tidying up his belongings, Lu Mingfei saw Ling, who was already waiting for him, and casually asked her a question.

“It should be ‘It’s so good to see you,’” Zero said casually.

Lu Mingfei: "???"

No, referee, she fouled! I haven't even made a move yet! How come she used her ultimate move as a basic attack again?
"No harassing the landlord first thing in the morning!" Lu Mingfei stomped downstairs.

"Does that mean other times are fine?" Zero followed up, asking very seriously.

[Warning, it's time for your planned [run]...]

"No other time either!" Lu Mingfei fled in panic.

[Warning, electric shock countdown...]

Footsteps merged into the road, but the countdown to the electric shocks had not yet stopped.

This was exactly what Lu Mingfei had expected. He quickly began to multitask, mentally reviewing the knowledge he had learned the day before.

The electric shock warning then disappeared.

This is extremely difficult, especially since running requires reaching the aerobic limit to count! And the brain can only think with a limited amount of oxygen.

Lu Mingfei realized almost instantly that the ease he had felt in the previous two days was gone, replaced by the familiar struggle and torment.

"Long time no see..."

He thought to himself, letting himself continue through that inhuman torment.

I miss it so much!

Zero didn't disturb him; she simply stayed quietly by his side, never leaving his side.

The two of them ran step by step into the distance.

Day 11 has begun!

(End of this chapter)