Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from Sekiro

Are A-laws and Celestial Being still at war?

"Has Naruto become the Hokage?"

The questions she asked were both childish and funny, but difficult to answer. Lu Mingfei was driven crazy by the questions and often had to search in the encyclopedia on his browser to try to explain things to her in a way that the "expert" could understand.

After talking for a while, she replied, "I understand. So Sakura doesn't know what Devil Fruits taste like, right?"

“It’s not that I don’t know, no one in the whole world knows what a Devil Fruit tastes like, because those things don’t exist at all, and no one has ever eaten one. Everything in One Piece is fiction.” Lu Mingfei typed helplessly.

"Are rubber people all fake?" Erii sent a crying emoji.

Lu Mingfei wanted to say yes, but it seemed somewhat cruel, as if he were erasing someone's dream.

"Is the story in Uncharted 2 also fake?" Erii asked before Lu Mingfei could answer.

“It’s fake too…” Lu Mingfei organized his thoughts and slowly typed: “But what we experienced wasn’t fake. We accompanied Rubber Man Luffy, from the very beginning with a wooden barrel to the Going Merry, watching him slowly gain companions from being all alone. Those emotions were real.”

“I don’t really understand; no one has ever explained these things to me.”

Didn't your parents tell you?

"I don't have a mom and dad, but I have an older brother and a matriarch."

Are they your relatives?

"Yes."

Why didn't they tell you this?

"Because they are busy, they have to go to work."

"Didn't you go to school? School teachers teach these things too."

“I have never been to school. I stay in my room every day. Except for when I am checked or when my brother takes me out to eat, I cannot go out.”

Lu Mingfei was stunned.

Staying in the room every day? Eating and getting checked?

He had seen on the news that there was a disease called "congenital immunodeficiency syndrome". People with this disease can only live in sterile rooms because they have no immunity and will die if they come into contact with bacteria. From the day they are born, they need to live in a sterile bubble.

Lu Mingfei roughly understood why Erii was completely unaware of the outside world, why she didn't go to school, and why her account was always idle whenever he logged on.

Her world was so small; a TV and a game console were all she needed. Over the years, the only things that accompanied her through her life were those cold Blu-ray discs, the characters in anime, and her so-called "brother" and "patriarch."

Chapter 126 Prelude

Lu Mingfei remembered seeing the Bubble Boy on the news, who only lived to be 12 years old; that happened in the 70s.

The boy's name was David. He was diagnosed with a severe immune system defect at birth and was immediately sent to a specially made bubble room after being born.

He had an older brother who also suffered from the disease and died in July.

His parents knew about the risks during the pregnancy, but their Catholic faith did not allow them to have an abortion. The probability of a newborn having this disease is only about one in 50,000 to one in 100,000, but in this family it was 50% because both of his parents carried the gene for the disease on their chromosomes.

This is a genetic disease with almost no reliable cure. Even in modern times, few fetuses with the disease live past the age of two.

David broke this record and lived to be 12 years old, but he lost hope day by day in the closed bubble.

He was aware of the outside world, knew how wonderful the scenery was, and knew that many people were concerned about his illness. Sometimes his parents would bring him newspapers. He lived a very free life before the age of four, but after the age of four, he gradually became depressed and sad, not only because he couldn't get out of the bubble, but also because of the strange looks from outsiders.

When David was 12, doctors told his family that there might be hope for a cure because David had a healthy older sister. If his sister's bone marrow were transplanted into David's body, his immune system might be reactivated, and he could gain the same right as a normal person to walk in a park full of sunshine and breeze.

The surgery was successful and everything appeared normal, so David left the bubble room. However, four months later, he was diagnosed with lymphoma and died soon after.

"Master Erii's" situation should be quite different, but her condition does not seem to be as serious as David's. She can still go out to eat occasionally, and staff members can enter her room to help her.

It's probably some kind of rare disease that requires strict monitoring, which is why frequent checkups are necessary to prevent any unexpected situations.

What were David's feelings during those last four months?

They should be happy.

But after enjoying a life of freedom, would he still be willing to return to the "bubble"?

Lu Mingfei tried to put himself into that environment. He thought he would never go back to that narrow, transparent "bubble". Even if it cost him his life, he wanted to run freely in the park all day with a kite string, go to the cinema to eat popcorn and watch a movie, hug his parents properly before he died, say goodbye to his relatives and friends properly, and then die with dignity and without regrets, instead of staring blankly at the outside world every day in an empty bubble room.

If you have never seen the light, you will never know that you are in darkness.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this that Erii's "brother" and "patriarch" did not tell her the common sense that normal people should have, but instead let her immerse herself in her own little world, forever carefree like a child, so that she would have fewer friends and less sadness when she left.

“Sigh…” Lu Mingfei sighed deeply.

He couldn't judge whether the actions of his "elder brother" and "patriarch" were correct; as an outsider, he had no right to comment on other people's family affairs.

Moreover, the "master" seems to be living a very good life. For example, last night when she added someone on QQ, she only needed to say one sentence to have someone specifically help her solve her problems.

Treatment for rare diseases is very expensive because there are few patients, so they cannot occupy too many medical resources, and there are not enough cases and experiences for doctors to review.

Just like clearing the highest difficulty level of a game dungeon, without understanding the boss mechanics, the probability of successfully clearing it on the first try is infinitely close to 0. If there is a probability of clearing it, it only exists in theory.

But life isn't a game. In a game, if you get wiped out by a boss, you can start over. But in real life, if you fail to heal, you can't expect someone to revive you and give you another chance, right?

Lu Mingfei could understand the actions of the "master's" family.

As netizens, all we can do is chat with the "master" and play games with him.

So Lu Mingfei stopped explaining things to Erii and instead opened his chat history with Chen Wenwen, found some jokes and memes he had found online in the past, and sent them to her to make her happy.

Erii's attention was quickly diverted.

“Haha, Sakura is really funny.” Erii sent a panda smiley face emoji.

It's 1:30 AM US time, another day of staying up late.

The same emojis and jokes only elicited a polite "haha" and "I'm going to take a shower" from Chen Wenwen, but Erii was particularly fond of these novel jokes and emojis from the Chinese internet. Whenever Lu Mingfei posted a sentence, the cherry blossom tree avatar would shake several times in a row.

Lu Mingfei sent another emoji. Erii has a strong learning ability; she has also learned to use emojis.

She saved the emojis Lu Mingfei sent her and would send a few back every now and then.

Lu Mingfei had a lot of unfinished material, all in his chat with Chen Wenwen. Those chat logs seemed to have no end in sight. They chatted for almost an hour, but all they managed to do was forward the jokes and emojis from May.

And it wasn't just this one; there were many more in the chat logs between "Sunset" and "Snake," but the roles were reversed, with all the jokes and emojis being sent by "Snake" to "Sunset."

"Sunset" only posts "Haha," "So funny," and "You're so interesting" at appropriate times.

Back in high school, Lu Mingfei would save unfamiliar emojis and jokes from the game "Snake" to his phone's photo album, and then find an opportunity to forward them to Chen Wenwen to find topics to talk about.

My cousin is really in a terrible situation. Not only was he emotionally deceived, but he also had to be used as a tool by someone named Lu.

Chatting with Erii made Lu Mingfei feel as if he had returned to a few years ago, calming his restless heart and making him sleepy.

Sufficient sleep is a basic requirement for maintaining normal bodily functions; only with sufficient sleep can a person be full of energy.

The aftereffects of consecutive all-nighters kick in; after relaxing, the accumulated fatigue and weariness seep out from the limbs.

He opened his mouth and yawned, his vision blurring as tears welled up from his tear ducts.

It can only be said that emotions are contagious. Erii's behavior and words, though childish, reveal the purest joy, which is also transmitted through the screen.

He has been under a lot of psychological pressure these past few days. Although psychological pressure is invisible, it can have a real and destructive impact on people.

People can sense the presence of stressors and will immediately prepare themselves to "fight" or "escape" as a form of self-protection.

For example, it releases stored sugar and fat to ensure energy supply, and increases heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure to provide the body with more nutrients.

This self-protective state is called stress resistance, which enables people to better cope with difficulties. However, stress resistance consumes a lot of energy. If it is maintained continuously, not only will the mind suffer great pain, but energy will also be exhausted.

Lu Mingfei's insomnia these past few days was actually due to his self-protection mechanism being activated. Because of "Old Tang's" death, he was under tremendous psychological pressure, and his body was unconsciously in a state of readiness, with his muscles and nerves tense and his five senses heightened.

Now, the source of pressure has finally found a way to release some of its pressure.

Just like using the Shadow Clone Technique for cultivation, the moment the clone disappears, all the accumulated fatigue will surge back to the main body. When Lu Mingfei's "pressure resistance state" is released, fatigue will overwhelm his body like a tide.

His eyelids started to droop, so he was urged to go and rest.

Most people would probably fall asleep immediately, but this was still within his tolerance level.

If necessary, he can stand up and fight, since the enemy won't wait for you to rest before attacking.

But this is a university dormitory, there's no smell of gunpowder or blood, only a warm bed and soft pillows.

Lu Mingfei yawned again. He said goodbye to Erii on QQ and said goodnight. Erii also obediently replied goodnight and did not pester Lu Mingfei to continue telling jokes.

With his phone screen off, Lu Mingfei wrapped himself tightly in the blanket, his breathing gradually becoming steady, and he fell asleep like a child.

...

On Friday, as night fell, soft white light shone through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows of the Norton Building. This Baroque building, which is over a hundred years old, has walls and a nave that are wider than those of ordinary buildings. Solid gold lion head statues adorn the weathered marble walls, giving it a profound sense of history.

The stained glass windows on the second floor are decorated with artworks. Unlike the serious, subtle and balanced Renaissance period, the Baroque style emphasizes the expression of emotion and embodies luxury and grandeur.

Norton Hall has existed since the founding of the school. As the base of the first Lionheart Society of Kassel College, the principal of Angers personally oversaw the architectural style. Although it has undergone many renovations and repairs, it is not much different from its original appearance. Only the decorations have increased. They were donated by alumni at all levels. To prevent wear and tear, most of them were placed in the exhibition room on the second floor. Today, many of the exhibits have been taken out.

Vibrant oil paintings hang on the walls of the inner hall, and fresh bouquets are placed in antique vases on both sides of the red carpet at the entrance. String lights and streamers are stretched from the roof into the flower bushes, and the branches of the trees beside the flower bushes are covered with dazzling colored lights, which shimmer like the Milky Way in the night, like a curtain made of stars.

“Evening classes end at 8:40 PM. 500 drones are on standby, and the photographers and lighting technicians are ready. We have purchased the right to use the projection screen for 10 minutes. Norma will be responsible for the broadcast. At that time, the images will be visible on the large screens in the sports field, Yixin Garden, the aquarium, the gymnasium, the office building square, and the parking lot. The drones will fly in the air according to the pre-set program. The trucks from 'Green Forest' fireworks company are parked in the valley behind the mountain. When the time comes, the fireworks will be lit.” A man wearing black-rimmed glasses and a student council uniform reported to Caesar and Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei was wearing a dark blue suit with a red bow tie around his neck. His hair was sprayed with hair gel, and he exuded a faint scent of sea salt perfume. He looked clean, sharp, and dashing, with the demeanor of a male model, completely different from his usual appearance.

It has to be said that clothes make the man, and if he were to walk into his aunt's house in this outfit, she might politely ask him if he had come to the wrong house. If he did, she might even go to the door to open it for him and smile as she saw him off.

Of course, there is another possibility, just like when an elder sees a younger person with dyed hair and pierced ears, he might pick up a thin stick and start spanking Lu Mingfei, saying that he only learns bad things and doesn't learn good ones, and that he dresses up like a human but is blinded by evil.

This haute couture suit was prepared by Caesar, and the styling was done two hours in advance. There were dedicated costume designers and stylists to create this outfit for him.

He came with Ye Sheng. Now that Ye Sheng has gone to accompany the female lead to the ball, he, as one of the "organizers" of this ball, is waiting for guests in the hall.

He was now in a closed room on the second floor, sitting on either side of Caesar on a sofa.

Caesar, dressed in a pure black tuxedo, remained calm as he nodded and exchanged greetings with his subordinates, resembling a general commanding the entire operation.

Lu Mingfei looked at his phone again and again, unable to get a word in edgewise. After all, the plan had nothing to do with him. He hadn't been here since Ye Sheng and Caesar made their agreement. He wanted to come in yesterday, but a certain gentle and kind female protagonist intercepted him halfway and he couldn't make it.

This was the first time he had heard the specific plan, which was much more extravagant than he had imagined. He thought it would be a ball for a hundred people, inviting Ye Sheng and Jiu Deyaji's good friends to dance, and then inviting some extras to slack off. He didn't expect that drones and fireworks would be prepared, and Norma would be bribed to help write a program for Norma to perform drone calculations and arrangements.

It's so romantic to think about! The whole school can see Ye Sheng proposing to Jiu Deya. If he were Jiu Deya, he would definitely be moved to tears, give her a kiss on the spot, and promise to be together forever.

However, this set must have cost quite a bit, and I'm not sure how much it will cost.

You need to hire a band, prepare a buffet, and also have fireworks and drones, it must cost at least... at least 10 yuan.

Lu Mingfei scratched his head, trying to do the math with his limited imagination.

"Lu Mingfei, don't forget our agreement. I'll be waiting for you at the gymnasium tomorrow at 2 PM." Caesar gestured for his secretary to leave, then turned to look at Lu Mingfei, who was staring blankly at the Pikachu icon on his phone's screen.