Lu Mingfei, how can you slay a dragon if you don't play the villain?

For ordinary people accustomed to the information deluge of modern society.

The nickname "Black King" carries a strong sense of adolescent angst and magical color, and is more like a wildly popular meme in a niche circle, or the beginning of a carefully planned viral marketing campaign.

In the subway, on bus stops, and in front of the cash registers at convenience stores.

People looked down at the glaring text that suddenly flooded their phones and topped the trending lists on major platforms.

Most of their faces showed confusion, curiosity, and even a hint of morbid smirk.

"Celestial Immortal Lu Mingfei? Is that the 'immortal' who made headlines in Tokyo? The reincarnation of the Black King? What does this mean?!"

"It's just a gimmick. That's how marketing works these days."

"Which hacker group is so powerful that they can hack all the websites and then send out just this one sentence?"

"Isn't that Lu Mingfei an immortal? And what is this Black King?"

"Who cares? I'll screenshot it and post it on Twitter/Instagram first!"

Doubts, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, have rippled across the globe.

But more often than not, it's just detached, noisy discussions, a prelude to another brief nationwide frenzy in the era of information overload on the internet.

The real storm has yet to reach the world of ordinary people.

Genji Heavy Industries Building, top floor room.

The frozen air was broken by Su Enxi's heavy words, and then fell into an even deeper silence.

Only the hum of the server fans and the frantically scrolling, relentlessly intercepted and deleted data streams on the screen testify to the clamor of the outside world.

"What trouble?" Mai Shude's voice was like a taut bowstring, cold and direct.

She lowered her arms, leaned forward, and looked like a female leopard that had sensed a deadly threat, her sharp gaze piercing Su Enxi.

Su Enxi took a deep breath and typed a few commands on the keyboard, switching one of the screens to the world's largest news aggregation platforms and social media trending lists.

The glaring red title, like a burning brand, filled the screen:

[Mingfei, the Celestial Immortal, is the reincarnation of the Black King!] (Explosion!)

[The Black King Descends? The True Identity of the Tokyo "Immortal" Revealed!] (Hot!)

[Global networks hacked, mysterious declaration goes viral!] (Breaking News!)

“This is it.” Su Enxi’s voice carried a hint of weariness and disbelief. “Just now, this sentence, like a virus, no, like a tsunami, flooded all public and mainstream online platforms around the world.”

"The speed of deletion is far slower than the speed of its spread and regeneration. The other party... doesn't care about costs or exposure at all. Their only goal is to let everyone in the world who has internet access see this message!"

Zero's icy blue eyes swept over the glaring headlines, and it seemed as if tiny ice crystals were condensing deep within his pupils.

She looked out the window at the gray Tokyo twilight, as if trying to pierce through the concrete jungle and see the brewing storm vortex.

“Black King…” Liu Miaomiao repeated softly, the color draining from her beautiful face as she looked at Ling and Su Xiaoqiang with deep unease.

She came from an ordinary background and didn't know much about the secrets of the dragon race, but the atmosphere and the heavy feeling carried by the word "king" made her instinctively feel fear.

Su Xiaoqiang clenched her fists, her usually spoiled face now showing unprecedented seriousness and worry.

She doesn't understand the concepts of Black King and White King, but she understands the weight of "going against the world"!

She suddenly looked at Zero: "Sister Zero, what is the Black King?"

Zero's gaze shifted from the window to Su Xiaoqiang's face, his voice cool and calm, yet carrying immense force:

"The beginning and end of the history of the dragon race, the progenitor of all dragons, the supreme being destined to destroy the world, hybrids and dragons... eternal nemesis."

A few simple words were like ice water poured over their heads, instantly chilling Liu Miaomiao and Su Xiaoqiang to the bone.

The supreme being who will destroy the world? The eternal nemesis? Lu Mingfei... is He reincarnation?

"Impossible!" Erii's mental chant suddenly rang in everyone's minds, carrying an almost wounded stubbornness.

Her pure eyes looked at Zero, and she shook her head vigorously, 'Lu Mingfei…no! He is Lu Mingfei!'

She couldn't understand those complicated titles and fates. All she knew was that the person who held her hand, took her to see fireworks, and made her happy was Lu Mingfei, not some "Black King".

Zero looked into Erii's resolute and stubborn eyes, his gaze softening almost imperceptibly, and he nodded gently.

“I know. He is Lu Mingfei.”

This statement was both a reassurance to Erii and a confirmation of his own beliefs.

“But others won’t think that way!” Mai Shude’s voice was tinged with anxious coldness as she pointed out the most crucial point: “This message is precisely targeted at ordinary people around the world, and it’s a blatant announcement to the entire hybrid world! This is an open conspiracy!”

"A calculated scheme?" Su Xiaoqiang asked, puzzled.

“Yes, it’s an open conspiracy!” Su Enxi interjected, tapping her fingers on the table as she spoke rapidly. “Whether ordinary people believe it or not, as long as this statement spreads, it will be enough to stir up a huge wave.”

"And for the world of hybrids... this is a 'hunt order' that is destined to never be extinguished! A coordinate pointing to the oldest and most terrifying enemy!"

She brought up another screen, which displayed abnormal information streams from several encrypted communication channels:

"Look! The activity level of the secret channels of several ancient European families has instantly soared by 300%, and the encryption level has been raised to the highest level!"

"North American hunter websites are experiencing a surge of abnormal traffic with anonymous searches for 'Black King,' 'Lu Mingfei,' and 'Sheqi Bajia'!"

"The Gattuso family and the Chen family... although they were almost wiped out by the boss, this message is like adding fuel to the fire of their remaining sparks!"

"And those ambitious schemers lurking in the shadows, coveting the Dragon King's power, those cowards who fear the Black King's return... they will soon swarm here drawn by the scent of blood!"

"Japan...is about to become the eye of the storm!"

"They... will all come after Lu Mingfei?" Liu Miaomiao's voice trembled.

“No,” Zero’s voice was as cold as iron, resolute and decisive, “they’ve come to deal with all of us.”

Her gaze swept over every girl in the room: Erii, Su Xiaoqiang, Liu Miaomiao, Mai Shude, and Su Enxi, before finally settling on herself.

“He is the reincarnation of the Black King, and we are the people around him.” This identity is now the biggest target.

"The enemy simply wants to use our relationship with Lu Mingfei to pin him down at Genji Heavy Industries and make him their target," Zero said coldly.

Mai Shude suddenly straightened up, her hand already on the hilt of the sword at her waist, her cold and beautiful face revealing a murderous intent:

"Then let them come! It'll be a good opportunity to stretch their muscles!" She looked at Zero, "What's the arrangement? Should we just hold this position?"

Chapter 172 Awakening

Zero's gaze was calm and still as he looked out the window at the deepening night. He slowly spoke, making his decision:

"Enxi, continue to monitor global information, especially energy anomalies and large-scale organizational movements."

"Contact the Snake Clan and have them tighten their defenses, using the Genji Heavy Industries as the core to build multiple lines of defense and activate all heavy firepower points and barriers."

"At the same time, we should try to block all non-our signal sources around the building to avoid being precisely located."

“Mai,” she turned to the menacing, long-haired, black-haired older woman, “you are in full charge of the building’s interior and close-quarters defenses. Eliminate all suspicious targets and prioritize their safety.”

Mai Shude's eyes sharpened, and she nodded heavily: "Understood! Leave it to me!"

“Eri, Xiaoqiang, Miaomiao,” Zero’s voice was soft but firm, “From now on, the three of you must remain within our sight and are not allowed to leave.”

"Eri, if you feel scared or anything seems wrong, tell me immediately, understand?"

Erii nodded vigorously.

Su Xiaoqiang and Liu Miaomiao suppressed their panic, held each other's hands tightly, and nodded.

“As for me,” Zero Ice’s deep blue eyes seemed to hold the presence of a frigid glacier, “I will stay until he returns and guard the highest point of this building.”

Her gaze seemed to pierce through the ceiling, looking up at the cold night sky. "Any entity attempting to launch an attack from the air or from a distance will be the first ice line that must be crossed."

The order was given clearly, and the tense atmosphere in the room instantly froze.

Everyone found their place, like intricate gears meshing and turning.

Su Xiaoqiang looked at Ling's cold and determined profile, watching her methodically arrange everything.

That calming power, which seemed to hold up the entire sky, calmed her panicked heart a little.

She couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Sister Ling... when will Lu Mingfei be back?"

Zero didn't turn around; her gaze remained fixed on the Tokyo nightscape outside the window, illuminated by neon lights yet fraught with danger. Her cool voice carried an undeniable conviction:

"soon."

"No one can get past us until he comes back."

The moment she finished speaking...

Woo! ! !

The piercing, ear-piercing air raid sirens that seemed to tear through the night sky suddenly rang out in every corner of Tokyo!

Like a series of startled steel behemoths, they let out desperate and panicked roars!

Almost simultaneously, on the screen in front of Su Enxi, a red pop-up window representing an emergency order from the Ministry of Defense flashed wildly with a piercing buzzing sound!

The screen displayed only a single, cold line of text, conveying an apocalyptic sense of panic:

[A nationwide state of emergency has been declared! Multiple unidentified, extremely high-energy entities have been detected... rapidly approaching the Japanese mainland! All prefectures are to immediately activate their wartime contingency plans! Repeat! Immediately activate wartime contingency plans!]

Immediately afterwards, the Genji Heavy Industries radar network covering the Tokyo metropolitan area emitted a blinding red light!

On the screen, a dense array of light spots, like locusts, were hurtling towards the sea from all directions at extremely low altitudes, their target clearly locked onto Genji Heavy Industries!

"Missiles! First saturation strike! More than a hundred!" Su Enxi's voice was hoarse and cracking. "A mixed formation of hypersonic and tactical ballistic missiles!"

The piercing air raid siren, like the mournful howl of a dying beast, tore through the Tokyo night sky.

On the screen, the dots representing hundreds of missiles, like deadly swarms of bees, were hurtling toward Genji Heavy Industries!

"Are these people crazy? They're using missiles to bombard the ground!" Su Enxi's voice was hoarse and filled with disbelief and anger. "We have to hurry..."

Before she could utter the word "escape," her voice abruptly stopped.

Because Erii stood up.

The red-haired girl, who had been quietly sitting by the window, straightened her back at this moment, her pure eyes shining with a resolute light that was completely different from the red alarm light.

She strode forward and walked towards the door without hesitation.

"Eri!" Zero's cool voice rang out, tinged with a barely perceptible urgency, "What are you going to do?"

Erii stopped and turned around.