Dragon Clan: I am Lu Mingfei, the Intelligence Strategist, the God of Concepts!

Chapter 62 The White Emperor of the Nibelungs and Open Sesame

Chapter 62 The White Emperor of the Nibelungs and Open Sesame (25)

"Nine o'clock, it seems just right."

The head of the Chen family glanced at the wall clock, gently brushed the raindrops off his sleeve, and looked at the girl at one end of the long table with a kind smile, his voice as gentle as a loving father.

"Mo Tong, did you take good care of my guests?"

"My name is Nono."

Nono put on the same fake smile, but her voice was icy.

"Alright, alright, Nuonuo." The Chen family head's smile remained, though his expression seemed somewhat helpless, and he immediately conceded.

It was as if he had long been accustomed to the timid yet prickly attitude.

Indeed, this is true; every time I meet Nuonuo, a similar scene unfolds.

It's roughly a classic conflict between a father who feels guilty for making a mistake because he was too busy with work to realize the importance of family, and his daughter who is outstanding, beautiful, rebellious, and unwilling to forgive him.

What's even more classic is that the father believed the two would reconcile sooner or later—so the head of the Chen family never held Nuonuo's offenses against him.

After exchanging greetings with everyone, the head of the Chen family went straight to the main seat, a position that was rightfully reserved for him.

"Let's get ready to serve the food," he said with a smile. "We've kept our guests waiting for quite a while."

"Let's eat first, and we can talk about it after we finish eating."

"Yes." Chen Moxuan nodded and immediately went to make the arrangements.

And this moment.

Lu Mingfei slowly turned his gaze away from the panel and the face of the Chen family head.

[Name: Chen Xiuwen], [Age: 43/44], [Combat Strength: 56], [Special Status: Deep Hypnosis, Dragon Blood Contamination, Half-Dead Servant Transformation], [Tag: Outstanding Experimental Subject of the Second Generation Shadow Warrior Project...]

Well done! Absolutely excellent acting!
Gentle and friendly, but at certain times they will also firmly grasp their own power and authority, and even put on a show of filial piety that is both pleasing to the eye!

Without a doubt, this man, whose real name is Chen Xiuwen, brought the identity of the 'Chen family head' to life.

Even Nono, who is naturally skilled at profiling and understanding people's hearts, did not notice the slightest flaw.

But it's a pity.

His identity has already been discovered by Lu Mingfei.

This is not the real head of the Chen family, but a 'shadow warrior' disguised as the head of the Chen family!
The concept of "shadow warrior" originated in Japan's Sengoku period, referring to a double who closely resembles the lord and plays the role of the ruler in order to stabilize the political situation.

The most representative case occurred after Takeda Shingen's death in 1573. His retainers selected thieves to act as decoys, which deterred Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu's forces for three years, thus maintaining the Takeda clan's rule.

His identity was exposed when he fell off his horse.

Taking advantage of the situation, Shingen's son Katsuyori seized power from the family and rashly launched an attack against them, disobeying Shingen's dying wishes. As a result, he was defeated by Oda Nobunaga's three-stage musket fire and the tactic of using horse palisades, and his entire army was wiped out. The Takeda family declined from then on.

Many games set in Japan's Sengoku period draw inspiration from or reference this historical period.

Unlike the kagemusha of Japan's Sengoku period.

The way this 'second-generation Shadow Warrior Project Outstanding Experiment Subject' impersonated the Chen family head was not through 'acting,' but through 'hypnosis.'

Someone used some means to put him into a state of 'deep hypnosis', making him believe from the depths of his consciousness that he is the head of the Chen family himself.

Therefore, his every move would be exactly the same as the real head of the Chen family, including his inner thoughts.

"The head of the Chen family... is indeed cautious."

This person's combat strength is mediocre and nothing to worry about.

Lu Mingfei pondered the other two [Special Status] items on the panel.

Dragon blood contaminated, half-dead...

The former is easy to understand, but what does the latter mean? Deadpool is Deadpool, but what about Half-Deadpool...?

He tried to use his wisdom and think deeply.

Logically speaking, the concept of a stand-in should emphasize simplicity; there's no need to add anything too complicated.

unless,

This is a necessary part of the Shadow Warrior Project...?
It seems the Chen family has really mastered the art of Deadpool; they truly deserve to be called bioengineers.

But in short, these are all minor things, or even good things.

after all.

Being associated with Deadpool should grant me experience points, right?

……

Not far away, nestled among the mountains and forests by the lake,
The torrential rain continued to fall, and all around was a vast expanse of water vapor and mist, like a wall.

Even trees a meter away are barely visible.

"Where the hell did I come from? This is the worst place ever!"

Old Tang was cursing under his breath, his hair disheveled as if he had just participated in the Water Splashing Festival. A minute earlier, he had passed by a tree that had bent over under the weight of the rain and was soaked to the bone.

He had sensed something was wrong a long time ago.

Because he had heard it more than once, faint roars echoing from the mist behind him, like countless monsters crawling out of the lake.

'Beep—'

The phone screen in my pocket suddenly lit up.

He hurriedly wiped himself haphazardly on his water-soaked clothes and took it out.

"Send failed, not in service area".

Seeing the message on the screen, Old Tang immediately became furious.

"I just saw a cell tower, and you're telling me it's not in service?"

He tried his best to hit the target repeatedly, but still couldn't change the fact that the signal was 0.

"Sigh." Old Tang sighed, "I guess they've all arrived by now."

The text message was short, just one sentence: If there's a problem, don't come.

Actually, Lu Mingfei misunderstood; he wasn't really lost this time.

In the evening, the taxi driver had already dropped him off at No. 1 Huyuan Road, in front of the Aspasia restaurant.

However, the gate was tightly closed at the time.

He figured he had nothing better to do, so he might as well take a stroll around the area and check if there were any suitable sniping spots. He wouldn't go far anyway, and as long as the three-story mansion was within his sight, that should be fine, right?
But the unpredictable weather in the coastal area ultimately taught young Tang a lesson.

As the torrential rain poured down, a thick mist rose from the small river outside the tree-lined road.

Gradually, the wind engulfed the Western-style building. When I came to my senses and tried to check Gaode Maps, I found that my cell phone signal had disappeared.

Trying to rely on past impressions to go back, that's why they went further and further astray!

"What the hell!"

Old Tang cursed and swore, as if he could already see the faces of some people, and this would only deepen the stereotypes!
"It's not seeing a ghost, it's being trapped in a maze."

Just then, a faint voice came from behind him.

"Holy crap! A ghost!" Old Tang was so scared that he kicked out, but the man dodged it with the agility of a monkey.

One hit missed.

Old Tang breathed a sigh of relief; if it could hide, then it meant it wasn't a ghost.

It's a good thing that someone who can talk has come to the underworld.

Turning around, I saw a handsome young man with a melancholy expression standing behind me.

He was dressed in a neat suit, with a bow tie around his neck, and carrying a huge musical instrument case. He was soaked to the bone, just like the artist himself, looking like a down-on-his-luck artist whose talents had not been recognized.

“Brother, don’t be so nervous, I’m a human being,” he said.

"Alright, alright, you're human. Are you also going to Aspasia restaurant?" Old Tang asked. "Are you... an artist?"

It's not that you can't say that about doing art.

Zhou Minhao thought for a moment and nodded, "Pretty much."

"But we can't get in there now; we're too late."

"What do you mean?" Old Tang asked, puzzled.

Zhou Minhao explained, "See this rain and fog? This was created artificially. I didn't expect the Chen family to go to such lengths this time, actually using water as a medium to seal off the restaurant with a spell." "A spell?"

"It means the same thing as 'Word Power,' you should understand what 'Word Power' means, right?"

Zhou Minhao sized up the man in front of him with thick eyebrows who was clearly not an ordinary person.

"Oh, you should have said so earlier."

Old Tang certainly understood the concept of "word power".

All hybrids have this thing, but he hasn't fully awakened it yet.

"Hey!" Old Tang's eyes finally lit up a bit. "So getting lost wasn't my problem!"

"Well, more or less. Anyway, the barrier is like a maze, everyone gets lost."

Zhou Minhao said carefully, "But the key thing now is that they not only brought out this thing, but it seems they also released something extraordinary."

"very dangerous?"

“People will die,” Zhou Minhao said.

"Is there any way to break it open?" Old Tang asked hurriedly, his heart tightening.

Zhou Minhao sighed: "I've tried many methods, but none of them have worked. This barrier is of a very high standard; it might even be considered a miniature Nibelungen."

"Nibelungen?" Old Tang frowned; it was yet another new term.

"hiss……"

Seeing his appearance, Zhou Minhao couldn't help but look a little suspicious.

I saw this guy walking around alone in this place from afar just now, and I thought he was very strong, but why doesn't he know this or that? Oh well... I guess he's just lucky.

After thinking for a moment, he explained seriously, "You can think of it as the highest level of barrier, equivalent to an independently created space, a realm that you and I cannot imagine."

"Damn it! No wonder my phone had no signal!"

Seeing Old Tang's look of sudden realization, Zhou Minhao's lips twitched involuntarily, and then he sighed.

"But the people inside Aspasia probably haven't realized how serious the problem is yet!"

He took out his phone and pointed to the signal box that kept showing 'Searching'.
And several text messages that couldn't be sent.

"The message can't get through, and we can't get involved. We can only wait until things are over before reporting to Nuwa. The Chen family does indeed have a lot of problems."

“Before that, I suggest you stay with me, otherwise it will be dangerous.”

He patted the Broken Dragon Platform behind him.

This ancient sword has an extraordinary origin. If he hadn't been carrying it, he probably would have been found by the Dead Servants hiding in the mist long ago.

"Oh, you're from the Zhou family."

Upon hearing this, Lao Tang realized that he had also been present at the Regent Hotel that day to plot the conspiracy.

"Yes," Zhou Minhao admitted.

“But that won’t do…” Old Tang’s eyebrows furrowed together.
His expression was both comical and serious.

He had noticed something was wrong with this place a long time ago. Although it was impossible to notify them now, his brother was inside, and he had to find a way to save him!
Putting everything else aside, as long as he gets there, Deadpool's problem can at least be solved.

But the prerequisite is to break through this fog first!

Damn it... This has never happened before!
"Isn't your Zhou family supposed to have a deep-rooted heritage? Doesn't it seem like you have absolutely no way to deal with this kind of situation?"

"Yes, but as I said, it didn't work." Zhou Minhao said innocently.

"Could it be that you're not a good person?" Old Tang asked hesitantly.

"...?"

Zhou Minhao choked for a while, then said in a muffled voice, "The specifications of this barrier are very high, what does it have to do with whether I am capable or not."

"If you don't believe me, I'll teach you a couple of tricks. You'll be honest once you try it yourself."

As he spoke, Zhou Minhao made a hand gesture, "This is called 'Open Sesame,' you can try it yourself."

"Come on! Let's give it a try!"

Old Tang immediately rolled up his sleeves.

Now that things have come to this, according to Zhou Minhao's wishes, they can only wait for things inside to happen naturally, while they remain outside and protect themselves.

Of course he couldn't possibly agree to that!
Abandoning his brothers and slinking away alone is not Ronald Don's style!
He imitated Zhou Minhao by bending his fingers and making a strange gesture.

In that instant, a mysterious feeling seemed to rise in his heart, but it vanished in an instant.

hiss--

"Feel the effort you're putting in, imagine there's a surge of heat within you," Zhou Minhao reminded him.

"it is good!"

Old Tang was serious and earnest.

Imagine it in your mind as Zhou Minhao instructed.

...no movement.

The Zhou family's method of stimulating the dragon's blood with 'qi' is not as simple as it sounds. Originally, Zhou Minhao was just saying it casually to make Old Tang back down.

A few minutes later,

Still no movement.

"Heat...heat...I'm freezing to death, where's the heat coming from!"

A sense of anxiety rose in Old Tang's heart.

No! We need heat! We have to get out of here first!

Only then can I help...

Old Tang continued to try according to Zhou Minhao's instructions, but under the overwhelming flow of water, he could not feel the so-called 'heat' at all!
This is the first month of the lunar calendar, in winter.

To be able to avoid catching a cold or fever and freezing to death after being soaked in such heavy rain demonstrates excellent physical fitness.

but……

"Brother..." A voice seemed to suddenly ring in his mind.

This is a child's voice.

A sense of unease permeated the low mood, as if it came from the deepest recesses of a nightmare.

It was a scene I had dreamt of countless times, and forgotten countless times: a great city, fire everywhere, the city crying out in the raging flames, charred human figures running through the fire, thousands upon thousands of arrows falling from the sky, and a huge plaque burning and flipping as it fell, bearing the words 'White Emperor'.

next moment.

He suddenly felt a surge of heat, as if a joint in his body had been opened. An unprecedentedly violent current of energy rose from the soles of his feet and spread throughout his limbs and bones. Suddenly, a deep golden light shone in his eyes, and within the crimson gold, it seemed as if a flame powerful enough to destroy the world was hidden.

This was an overwhelming anger.

And regret.

Absolutely must not happen again...

"Open Sesame?"

He murmured.

As the last word fell,

boom--

The mist, almost solidified into liquid, shook violently, as if it had been thrown into a lake by a giant rock!

The ripples spread rapidly, and the water and mist seemed to have a sense of self, beginning to disperse on their own!
In a moment.

A passageway that stood out from its surroundings was formed.

Dry, open, and completely exposed, as if it had been baked by fire.

It kept out the raging moisture from all directions, and the outline of the Aspasia restaurant in the distance was faintly visible in the rain.