Chapter 110: Time to Work, Norton! (5,000 words)

“Sorry.”

Lu Mingfei lowered his head slightly and whispered an apology in his heart.

He clenched his fists instinctively. His eyes began to flicker, his heartbeat quickened against his will, and his heart seemed to rise into his throat.

Furina did not answer at once. She merely buried her face in the cushion, hugged it tighter, and listened to the sound of raindrops falling.

It was raining outside the Nibelungen as well. The steady patter drowned out the footsteps, work, and conversations of the Cassell College Executive Department members, as if the entire world had been reduced to the sound of rain.

How agonizing. How endless.

Silence was a lethal blade, while guilt was a weakness left exposed. Together, they allowed Lu Mingfei to truly experience worry and bewilderment, just as Furina had while waiting for him to speak.

Norton was immensely powerful. He possessed the strongest alchemy in existence, but precisely because he was so powerful, he was even more wary of those cheating hybrid descendants.

Norton, dressed in a staff uniform, suddenly sneezed. He rubbed his nose and muttered in confusion, “Is someone talking about me?”

As Norton watched the Cassell student answer with an exasperated smile after a brief silence, an unexpected sense of relief welled up within him—a feeling he should never have possessed.

“Er, I don’t know either. But I just feel as though I ought to do something.” Focalors wore a thoughtful, troubled expression, still unable to think of any way to help them.

That fellow was practically inhuman!

A human being had suppressed two Dragon Kings at the peak of their juvenile forms, then trapped them inside Bronze City. Constantine had even suggested that Norton eat him; if he did, Norton would certainly be able to break through every prison and shackle.

He used to pay before going straight inside.

Two hours later—

“Two bottles of champagne.”

Norton gritted his teeth. In his fury, he forcibly disguised himself as an ordinary, timid, frightened man.

Just as Lu Mingfei had guessed, Norton had lost his temper over the matter of pride. He had then transferred the only million he possessed to Chu Zihang and gone to work at Kentucky Fried Chicken to save money, all for the sake of buying a plane ticket to China.

“Vice Principal, that fellow Lu Mingfei… might really have a severe case of delusion,” Caesar said.

“It’s almost eight. Our shift is about to end.”

“I have a bold idea.”

Lu Mingze nodded decisively. Like someone coaxing a child, he stroked Focalors’s head and said with a coaxing smile, “Think about it. Lu Mingfei and Furina can communicate, can’t they? To some extent, they can even see one another’s existence. Their emotions are extremely complicated right now. There’s a little longing hidden beneath their hesitation.”

In any case, spending eleven billion on Gungnir would still be a tremendous bargain. The fragment of the Flame Spear could simply be treated as a gift. The most important thing now was not to break the heart of the future S-rank student. A few meaningless extra digits were completely irrelevant.

Compared with this…

Norton’s side might already have—

Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Even—

And that led to him being condemned by others!

Constantine was Norton’s weak point. He would do anything for his younger brother. Even if it meant hiding in Kentucky Fried Chicken and working as a server for ordinary people in the guise of a Dragon King, he would patiently do it.

Norton turned around and glared fiercely at him. His tyrannical pressure swept over the man, and the thought of turning the shop owner into a “specimen” and hanging him outside the door rose in his mind, only to be suppressed moments later.

“Hahaha! Hahahaha!”

“Old Tang, we have customers!”

He had used time reversal eight times, severed causality four times, and performed elemental transmutation thirty-five times. The number of times he had employed his other alchemical abilities was beyond counting!

Although he was the sovereign who symbolized wrath, that did not mean he lacked reason. His younger brother was still alive and living well in China. If he exposed his identity as a Dragon King here, his brother on the other side might well be implicated. To prevent that, he would endure for a short while.

He paused, then continued, “Whenever you encounter something unreasonable, I suggest that everyone simply ignore it. Some things are better left understood in our hearts. At least on the surface, Lu Mingfei is still a normal person, and most people haven’t noticed anything strange. We only need to make sure nobody else finds out.”

Although Norton’s heart was savage and violent, there was always one light capable of overcoming instinct.

Love.

“Lu Mingfei may not be a Dragon King, but he is still a top-tier S-rank hybrid. He even managed to retreat intact from Odin’s Nibelungen. However weak he may be, he can’t be weak enough to dismiss. If that fellow goes berserk and falls into madness…”

But this was only the beginning.

An earthquake comparable to the Samsara Dance within a limited area. An abyssal-level oceanic calamity. Absolute power that could not be dispelled even by a Dragon King. Everything—everything—made Norton and Constantine feel genuine pain and despair.

Could the Vice Principal fail to see through Lu Mingfei’s little scheme? When he had called out ten billion, there was a very good chance he had deliberately tried to bleed Cassell College dry and vent his frustration, since his previous bid had been too low.

Inhale… exhale… take a deep breath…

How dare you make the Dragon King of Wrath work overtime. You truly deserve to die!

“Hiss.”

But very soon, he realized that he had been wrong.

And wrong in the most outrageous way!

That man named Liu Xiu was absurd beyond belief. This was not a question of whether he was strong or not. He was simply unreasonable—so unreasonable that even a Dragon King could not understand it!

Yet Norton gave up. His unwillingness to eat Constantine and return to solitude was one reason. Another was that he suspected that even after becoming the complete King of Bronze and Fire, he still would not be able to defeat Liu Xiu.

Those unpleasant experiences from the past had also affected Norton after his resurrection. If something happened to his brother, Norton would still erupt in fury and attack. But if nothing had happened, then enduring a little longer was not impossible.

I can’t go see my brother anymore!

He bit his lip lightly, closed his eyes, and raised his head, allowing the rain from the heavens to strike his refined face, as though it might help him regain a little clarity.

Old Tang was Norton without his awakened memories, Norton in his natural state. Without those memories, he truly would have possessed that sort of personality. It had been his past memories and experiences that turned him into the furious sovereign—not something Norton had been born as.

“Like this?”

“Hey, you, the new guy. Work overtime.”

Lu Mingfei rather wanted to see Furina, but he did not dare. He was in a battle-worn state, his clothes torn and ragged, his body stained with blood. At a glance, he looked like anything but someone who could reassure another person. He did not want to make Furina worry any further.

“Where are you taking me?”

“She is the person I most hope to become, and the form I desire most. But now, there is no longer any connection between us. Even if I were to die now, she would not be affected too greatly.”

“You can link your mind to Furina’s, and I can link mine to Lu Mingfei’s. Together, using the fastest and most stable method, we can show them each other’s forms from the other world. We’ll let them see one another. Heh heh heh—I refuse to believe they’ll still be able to remain silent after that.” Lu Mingze spoke with smug satisfaction.

At first, Norton had been thoroughly disdainful. He was the furious sovereign among the Four Sovereigns, and had lived for an exceedingly long time. He had even prepared a cocoon for his resurrection. With the strength of a Dragon King at the peak of its juvenile form, he had not cared in the slightest about the attacks of mortals.

“Achoo!”

I worked at Kentucky Fried Chicken for so long just to find my brother in China. I, the great King of Bronze and Fire, the great Dragon King of Wrath, Norton, was actually deceived by someone. All the wages I had saved for so long—

They’re gone! Every last bit of them is gone!

The Vice Principal’s gaze gradually became complicated. In the end, he sighed and continued, “I’m afraid that even my enhanced restriction might not be able to suppress his Word Spirit completely. He might even descend into Dragon Madness because of it.”

“You two… really are alike.” Although Focalors was already tempted, she remained reserved on the surface, as if she were protecting something that did not exist—perhaps some quality a god ought to possess?

“This is good.”

“The weapon fragment Lu Mingfei produced afterward doesn’t seem to belong to any particularly powerful weapon. It looks more like a fragment of an ordinary fantasy weapon. Surely it isn’t worth ten billion dollars?” Fingal could not help asking curiously.

“…I’ll pay.”

“It isn’t. But after Gungnir was taken by Cassell College for the absurdly low price of one hundred million dollars, Lu Mingfei certainly won’t be inclined to cooperate. We can spend ten billion to comfort him. Besides, another ten billion is still a huge profit for us.” The Vice Principal laughed without a trace of concern.

“Then give me some, will you?” Lu Mingze asked with a careless smile after his hand closed on empty air.

“What are you planning to do?”

In that instant, Norton suddenly understood what humans felt when facing a Dragon King.

It was exactly the feeling he had when facing Liu Xiu.

Focalors turned her head and looked at the two people standing in the rain. Unable to hold back, she said, “Um… are we really just going to stand here and watch without doing anything?”

The Vice Principal had a broad perspective. Since Lu Mingfei felt unhappy because of the money, they would simply give him money and let him feel as though he had gotten the better end of the deal.

Norton glanced at the time on his phone and silently recalled what that fellow had told him: meet at the café next door at eight-thirty in the evening to discuss something important.

He hated Cassell College with all his heart. He also hated the fellow who had tricked him into coming here.

A sense of dread rose in the Kentucky Fried Chicken owner’s heart. Norton’s gaze was terrifying, as though he intended to kill the man on the spot. The owner shrank back and muttered aggrievedly, “It’s not as though I’m refusing to pay you overtime. Do you really have to glare at me like that? I heard foreigners volunteer for overtime.”

Lu Mingze opened his eyes in confusion and looked at the current image on the screen.

Such a desperate, cost-free resistance had even damaged the foundation for Norton’s subsequent use of alchemy. Yet despite that, under Liu Xiu’s absolute cheat-like suppression, Norton still could not defeat him. He could not even injure Liu Xiu in the slightest.

Before this, someone had secretly informed Norton through extremely indirect means that Cassell College was already watching him, and that the college was monitoring his chat records. If he continued to act as flamboyantly as before, he might seriously affect his brother’s life.

“…Why don’t you drink milk instead?” Lu Mingze’s expression shifted slightly before he spoke with an awkward smile.

The Cassell students surveyed their surroundings, watching for enemies who might appear at any moment. They approached Norton and said, “We’re from Cassell College, Mr. Ronald. Please come with us.”

The enormous screen was divided into two halves. One showed Lu Mingfei from Lu Mingze’s perception of the Dragon world; the other showed Furina from Focalors’s perception of Teyvat. One person on the screen had lowered his head while the other looked upward. The nearly synchronized sound of rain made the atmosphere even more delicate.

Focalors stuffed a few more chips into her mouth, then pointed at the large screen with fingers dusted in crumbs.

Lu Mingze took the small chip from her and put it into his mouth.

Once, he had known an old acquaintance. With his dashing center part, he had led a great army toward their palace.

Some things could be understood without any exchange at all.

That fellow really is the King of Bronze and Fire, Norton?

Why does something feel wrong?

Rainwater streamed down his cheeks. Lu Mingfei gradually realized that his gentle voice might not be quite as gentle as it sounded on the surface.

Furina—the person who was willing to keep watching him forever. Perhaps she understood better than anyone what he was truly doing.

Norton sat alone at a table. The person who had promised to come with him had not shown up, and his heart slowly cooled. Perhaps he was about to lose the wages he had earned over the past several days.

He gazed from afar at the lavishly decorated café and suddenly felt that his pockets were pitifully empty. If the other party did not pay, then Norton might lose all the wages he had earned during those days.

One had to understand that Norton at the time had been a Dragon King at the peak of the juvenile form, comparable to Odin, and even more skilled than Odin at wielding all manner of alchemy. Yet in the face of Liu Xiu, he had still been powerless to resist.

But I can’t erupt, either. If I do, my brother might come under suspicion.

“Take me somewhere safe.”

“Is… this really all right?”

Delusion. This is definitely delusion!

“Shouldn’t we perhaps consider making Lu Mingfei recognize reality and understand his current situation?” someone suddenly asked.

Who knew whether there were humans with cheats of their own?

“One?”

Liu Xiu merely had to walk over, and flaming meteors would automatically rain from the heavens. Every meteor possessed a terrifying force comparable to that of an intercontinental missile. Not only did they carry the destructive power of nuclear weapons, but their accuracy was practically absolute. Even Norton, the greatest alchemist of them all, felt his scalp go numb at the sight.

Norton ignored them. He simply continued working until the end of his shift, then took his wages to the café.

“Don’t take any!”

They really have reached the same wavelength.

Only the two of them could have managed it, right?

Lu Mingze and Focalors exchanged a glance. Although neither said a word, both saw the excitement and exhilaration in the other’s eyes and understood the meaning conveyed by that gaze.

“Hm?”

“You look down on my tolerance for alcohol? Back then, I could drink Water of Life like ordinary water. You have no idea how amazing my alcohol tolerance is. Hurry up, hurry up! Bring out the liquor!”

Focalors shielded her chips with one hand while grabbing Lu Mingze’s clothes with the other and shaking him vigorously.

As it happened, the same was true on the other side.

“And then, the stories of these two will enter their next stage. How wonderful.” Lu Mingze closed his eyes, his face filled with intoxication.

Lu Mingze looked at the two people on the screen and smiled. As he spoke, he casually glanced at Focalors. After confirming that she was watching the screen intently, he quietly extended his wicked hand toward the chips.

“They both want to see the other, but neither wants the other to see their current appearance. That makes their present state very easy to exploit. We only need to be a little discreet. They’ll think they have simply tuned into each other’s wavelength and happened to see each other at the same instant. They’ll understand what is in each other’s hearts.”

“What a beautiful scene. You could even make matching profile pictures out of this.”

Lu Mingze: ()

On the other side, the sudden change in Lu Mingfei’s expression was noticed by the Cassell personnel. Watching the change on the screen, they all revealed expressions of bewilderment. They could not understand why Lu Mingfei had suddenly become like this.

Could he really be insane?

Norton suddenly began to laugh. As he laughed, tears streamed down his face. At that moment, he disguised himself as an ordinary person—bitter like an ordinary person, suffering like an ordinary person.

“Hm?”

The two people from different worlds remained silent. They listened to the rain and savored their complicated emotions, as though drinking deep, aged liquor together.

Focalors laughed excitedly.

There was no one in the direction Lu Mingfei was looking, yet he seemed to see his most precious beloved standing there. The concern and tenderness in his eyes were far too vivid for him to be looking at empty air. His lips trembled slightly, as though he were whispering words that only the two of them could hear.

He had lived for so many years and been resurrected so many times, yet he had never experienced such suffocating frustration.

Furina wanted to see Lu Mingfei as well, but she did not dare. She had only just finished crying, and her eyes were slightly swollen and red. If Lu Mingfei saw her like this, he would be consumed by pain and self-reproach.

Norton answered with a sound, then continued working like an ordinary Kentucky Fried Chicken employee.

I have to hide my identity for Constantine. I can’t reveal myself here. Stay calm. Stay calm!

All at once, a strange new feeling began to ripple through Norton’s heart, something he had never experienced before.

Anger—but anger tinged with grievance and unwillingness. He almost wanted to roar hysterically. That money had taken him so long to save, all so he could buy a plane ticket to China.

The Dreamlike Cinema

Built within a dream, the vast cinema was empty despite its ornate and elegant design. Only two small figures sat huddled together: one holding a tub of popcorn, the other embracing a bag of chips. They ate with crisp, snapping sounds.

The possibility that Lu Mingfei suffered from delusion had been proposed by Chen Motong. From the perspective of psychological profiling, his behavior was deeply unreasonable and could not be reconciled with his experiences in reality. He seemed almost to be communicating with someone only he could see.

Lu Mingfei and Furina both looked startled, as though awakening from a dream. At the same moment, they moved. One lowered his raised head, while the other lifted her face from the cushion. They stared directly at each other across the other world, strange light flickering in their eyes.

“What’s the problem?”

Rather than saying that Norton had devoured Old Tang, it would be more accurate to say that Old Tang had awakened Norton’s memories, gained a deeper and clearer understanding of himself, and become his true self.

Focalors hesitated for a moment, but finally took out a single chip. Shielding the rest with her hand and body, she held that one chip out before Lu Mingze.

“Got it.”

The Kentucky Fried Chicken owner spoke with arrogant assurance.

“Hm?”

Although she had been watching the film with great concentration, Focalors was even more loyal to her chips. The slightest disturbance would draw her immediate attention. Even Lu Mingze was not allowed to take the food from her hands.

Suddenly, a team of Cassell College Executive Department members rushed into the café. When they saw Norton sitting alone at a table, faint tear tracks visible on his face, they could not help looking stunned.

A chorus of agreement rose from the monitoring room. Fingal, seated toward the back, could not resist asking, “Er, Vice Principal, sir, I have a question.”

“What about the money for the coffee?”

Focalors reacted at lightning speed. She hugged the chips and spun around as quickly as possible, her solemn, serious expression making it seem as though she were protecting her very life.

Suddenly, Norton felt that leaving with the Cassell people might not be so bad after all.

At least—

The money I earned from working is safe.

End of Chapter