Chapter 100: Her Mission Was...

Is there really? This answer perfectly matched the speculation in Chen Motong’s profile. Lu Mingfei gave him the impression of a boy who had just entered the phase of falling in love, his entire spirit renewed and vibrant.

Otherwise, it was hard to imagine why a boy who usually didn’t care about his appearance suddenly started paying attention to his image, buying clothes and styling himself, conducting himself with more dignity.

To Chen Motong, it was clear: he was in love. But the object of his affection was neither Chen Wenwen nor Su Xiaoqiang. Although Su Xiaoqiang seemed like a reasonable guess, too many details disproved any liking towards her.

This guy wasn’t the type to maintain polite distance after falling in love.

But if not them, then who else?

He hadn’t interacted with any girls, so there were no more answers within Cassell Academy. Even if the profile’s conclusions felt off, there was no alternative.

It couldn’t be that Lu Mingfei liked Xia Mi, could it?

According to the profile’s conclusion, Lu Mingfei had most likely recently awakened his power and found love. Taking those two as premises made everything suddenly make perfect sense.

“Well, actually, I’m not trying to convince you. I just mean that even without a word spirit, you can be very powerful. Like a Watcher, his word spirit is useless; it makes no difference whether he has it or not,” Lu Mingfei continued to reassure.

Why was I assigned this task?!

Chen Motong roared inwardly, mentally greeting all the ancestors of the school’s board members with fiery passion, fearing they might jump from their graves to fight her if they heard her thoughts.

“Enough!” she snapped.

“Besides you, are there any other A-class hybrids without word spirits?” Lu Mingfei asked again.

Some scholars believed Lu Mingfei had awakened a previously unrecorded word spirit similar in effect to the Mirror Eye, holding great research value.

If they could confirm that, it wouldn’t be just Chen Motong sent here.

“Six.”

Lu Mingfei reached into his pocket and casually formed a shell of a cursed eye. Using such alchemy was simple for him; the difficulty lay in the internal alchemical patterns, not the shape.

Chen Motong’s face showed confusion.

She fell into a brief silence, her expression darkening. Slowly, she exhaled reluctantly: “No.”

Taking a deep breath again, she lowered the gun and looked up at the sky. Suddenly, she felt an urge to leave immediately, but her mission was not yet complete; she needed to confirm his identity.

Returning to the point, Chen Motong, having reviewed Lu Mingfei’s dossier, could roughly guess his intention: he wanted to see his word spirit, then copy and master it to become part of his own combat power.

But lacking key information—deleted and protected by EVA—Lu Mingfei being the Dragon King was only speculation, and an unreliable one at that. That was why Chen Motong was sent alone.

From my profile’s result, he didn’t know I would appear here. There was a certain probability that the information was true, but not 100%. If the data caused trouble for the academy’s logistics department, that was their problem, not mine.

“Hah~”

Judging by his reaction, he wasn’t surprised I showed up, but he wasn’t certain when Cassell Academy would start monitoring him. Perhaps he already suspected the academy’s surveillance but not the timing.

Of course, after she pulled the trigger, the one who might die could well be herself—this was the conscious answer.

There was politeness, but just enough to make her words sound slightly better. Her gaze remained cold, as if ready to freeze someone into an ice sculpture. If Lu Mingfei dared any rash move, she would immediately strike back.

“Word spirit?”

“This is an academy mission,” Chen Motong sighed inwardly, gripping her gun tightly.

Her profile hadn’t revealed any link between Lu Mingfei and dragons. In personality and behavior, he was more human than dragon.

Hmph, the idea’s not bad.

She didn’t lower her gun because she trusted Lu Mingfei wasn’t a threat. On the contrary, she felt holding a gun was useless. If he wanted to attack, firearms wouldn’t matter much. Better to keep it ready for a surprise.

“What’s your word spirit?”

“Tell me.”

Feign some innocence, respond with sharp words—he’d feel better inside.

“Ahem.”

“But if the distance is too far, wouldn’t using a scope be better? If it’s too close, the opponent hides right in front of me. I can probably guess their position anyway, so it feels like it’s useless,” Lu Mingfei continued awkwardly.

Why suspected?

Because bloodline marks differ from word spirits. They don’t require awakening later; they’re innate. But Lu Mingfei only suddenly grew stronger after awakening, unlike typical Mirror Eye bearers with bloodline marks.

“Oh.”

“Kamaitachi can pinpoint the enemy’s position more accurately in battle, better than just aiming with the eye. I don’t know why you think Kamaitachi is useless,” Chen Motong retorted.

Her investigation focused on one core question: who did Lu Mingfei like?

A tough one!

Rumor had it that S-class hybrids were mentally unstable; the last one in the academy had even shot himself. Lu Mingfei possibly suffered from delusions.

Moreover, if you consider Lu Mingfei’s words in the profile, the person he liked existed only in his heart and dreams, invisible to others and not of this world. The profile’s result suddenly seemed reasonable.

And it was very reasonable!

From the profile’s perspective, if Lu Mingfei had delusions, everything he experienced could be logically explained without contradictions.

If so, she could just report to the higher-ups and clock out.

“Chen Motong, why do you care if I like someone? I know I’m handsome and attractive, but this is our first meeting. No need to be so eager. Besides, I already like someone,” Lu Mingfei said sincerely.

Chen Motong shot him a glare sharp enough to kill.

Because of the inconsistencies, one board member suspected Lu Mingfei was a Dragon King disguised as a human. This inconsistency was his identity’s flaw, prompting the proposal for Chen Motong to observe and gather evidence to confirm if Lu Mingfei was truly a dragon.

And when he spoke, he didn’t seem to lie. Maybe this was the truth.

But only that much.

Lu Mingfei looked surprised but quickly composed himself and said seriously, “Sorry, I don’t need that kind of special service; I already have someone I like. Cough, cough, cough, don’t get me wrong—I’m not saying it because you’re ugly. You’re a very beautiful girl.”

Want to see someone else’s word spirit effect?

What a joke!

Under normal circumstances, Chen Motong could almost finish her shift now. But the voice in her earpiece urged her to continue investigating, to find the profile’s inconsistencies and either confirm Lu Mingfei was human or that he was a dragon—no gaps allowed to avoid unknown risks.

Chen Motong had looked at Lu Mingfei’s files and knew his word spirit was suspected to be Mirror Eye—a rare bloodline mark that could copy others’ word spirits.

“Hmm, think whatever you want,” Chen Motong sighed, rubbing her forehead helplessly, her gun still firmly in hand.

“But—”

Was this what he gave to Xia Mi?

It felt like it, yet somehow didn’t. Her arrival was perfectly timed, leaving no chance for him to prepare a fake. Perhaps it was genuine, or maybe an already prepared counterfeit. If the latter, it meant he had long anticipated her appearance.

“Sorry, I don’t have a word spirit,” Chen Motong shrugged slightly, appearing resigned but with a teasing undertone, as if saying, “This is me—what can you do?”

“During military training, I could hit bullseye every time without a word spirit. I feel like Kamaitachi really isn’t that useful,” Lu Mingfei said, throwing up his hands and tilting his head.

Now she was absolutely certain: Lu Mingfei’s power was terrifying.

“Phew, I’m just a worker for the academy. Just understand a bit. So, bring me another of those things you gave Xia Mi and company, and tell me who you like. I’ll leave immediately after, won’t disturb you, okay?” Chen Motong exhaled deeply.

“Oh, my apologies.”

After a brief silence, Chen Motong suddenly realized a problem: Lu Mingfei’s cognition seemed somewhat different from ordinary hybrids.

“A-class hybrids don’t necessarily all have word spirits.”

“Aren’t you an A-class hybrid?”

“All right, all right, I won’t say more.”

Lu Mingfei’s power was hybrid, but he might also be the Dragon King. There was endless debate within Cassell Academy. The principal believed he was human, a hybrid; a certain board member suspected he might be a Dragon King, after all, his chat records existed.

She didn’t want to reason with Lu Mingfei; he didn’t deserve to hear it.

“Chen Motong, may I ask you a question?”

“Hm?”

“Huh? Cassell Academy even has special tutoring services? I thought only Brother Ni had those!” Lu Mingfei chuckled, then continued, “It’s normal for hybrids to ask each other about word spirits, right? I haven’t started school yet, so I’m curious what others’ word spirits are and how they work. That’s why I’m asking.”

So be it!

“Thanks for cooperating. I’ll leave now. Sorry for disturbing your daily life. Hope it wasn’t too troublesome,” Chen Motong apologized and quickly holstered her gun, though she kept one hand hidden.

She casually caught the cursed eye shell, gazing at the translucent purple gem in her hand, admiring its beauty, especially the lightning pattern—truly a finishing touch.

Regarding Kamaitachi’s use, she could only say that the less skilled the user, the more useful it was. If the shooter was already highly skilled, Kamaitachi’s boost was minor. Its main use was gathering intelligence, expanding vision, or predicting enemy moves by wind sound.

Some scholars believed Lu Mingfei hadn’t awakened his bloodline mark due to individual difference, or that not everyone could awaken it directly. Bloodline mark bearers were rare and usually innate awakeners, so the academy assumed bloodline marks were always innate.

She lowered her gun, her gaze sharp.

Lu Mingfei’s expression softened with sympathy.

But these were minor issues. Word spirits and bloodline marks had no essential difference; both activated dragon script, differing only between innate and acquired.

Chen Motong felt uneasy, puffed out her chest, and spoke stubbornly.

As the one holding the profile, Chen Motong was precisely the person to determine if Lu Mingfei was dragon or human. Her profile said human, but there were inconsistencies—she couldn’t find the person Lu Mingfei liked, didn’t know who he loved.

Chen Motong angrily interrupted, her chest rising and falling rapidly in fury. She felt the urge to pull the trigger and kill Lu Mingfei right then.

Of course, he knew she wasn’t the type to be a special tutor girl. This was retaliatory strike.

He took out the purple cursed eye shell and tossed it to Chen Motong. “The person I like only exists in my heart, my dreams, my world. Ordinary people can’t see her. You won’t find her. Give up,” Lu Mingfei said weakly.

“Fine.”

She wasn’t a particularly polite person, but Lu Mingfei’s oppressive aura forced her to act courteous.

Feeling he had struck a nerve, Lu Mingfei felt a twinge of guilt and smiled again. “In that case, the academy’s laws don’t seem to apply to you much. That’s a good thing—your advantage.”

“I’m just curious,” he coughed twice and continued, “Though you don’t have a word spirit, some people’s are useless too. Like Caesar—he’s an A-class hybrid, but his word spirit is just Kamaitachi. I’m too lazy to copy it; it’s too weak.”

“Kamaitachi isn’t as bad as you say. Improving hearing makes shooting more accurate,” Chen Motong frowned slightly, defending Caesar, who was her boyfriend. Hearing him criticized this way made her feel a little guilty.

Although Chen Motong was beautiful, she was sent by Cassell Academy to monitor him, gun always pointed at him. Lu Mingfei felt a hint of pity but bore no resentment.

Understandable, since he was an S-class hybrid not reliant on acquired ratings. The academy’s laws affected him less. After learning about the laws, Lu Mingfei naturally thought his word spirit was just for bullying weaker opponents.

But most ordinary hybrids—

They were all weak!

(The End of This Chapter)