It was 6 AM in Chicago.
Lu Mingfei and Chu Zihang were on their usual morning run in the gym. The 10-kilometer requirement suddenly became 20 kilometers, putting no small amount of pressure on Lu Mingfei. He closely followed Chu Zihang's pace, maintaining his breathing rhythm, running at an average speed he couldn't have reached a month ago.
500 meters per minute was more than enough to break a world record at the Olympics, but in the mixed-blood society, it was still far from the speed of an A-rank, let alone an S-rank.
One could only say he still needed to work harder.
The girls running behind them decreased with each lap. Most of the defeated girls were on the outermost track, wiping sweat and admiring the heroic figures of Lu Mingfei and Chu Zihang running side by side. The Seek Path Society and the Student Union rarely had a unified goal at such times.
Moreover, these two seemed to not have girlfriends yet, so the girls couldn't help but harbor thoughts of hitting the jackpot.
"When are we departing?" When only two laps remained, Chu Zihang slowed down, giving Lu Mingfei time to catch his breath.
"I'll go to the library to check some more information this morning, and then we'll depart this afternoon," Lu Mingfei said.
"Is your partner decided?" Chu Zihang asked.
"Decided. Anyway, Senior Sister Chen Motong is Senior Brother Caesar's girlfriend, so we still need to avoid suspicion," Lu Mingfei said.
Chu Zihang nodded, having found his answer. He had followed the posts about the study room a few days ago and the one about Zero breaking into the male dorm last night. Such a choice was reasonable.
"How's the research on the notes going?"
"I might need to test the ideas in my head with practice. If it's as I imagine, it should work out," Lu Mingfei said.
"Good."
Chu Zihang nodded, and the two walked slowly out of the gym side by side.
The two parted ways after the cafeteria. Chu Zihang was starting his intensive training with his underwater partner today, guided by Professor Mans, with Ye Sheng and Shuhtome Yaji as assistant instructors. The technical aspect was definitely trustworthy.
Lu Mingfei headed straight for the library. His S-rank authority even allowed him to access academic materials that only professors could read. He needed to find dream interpretation books and fortune-telling books in those materials to put on a show for the Headmaster.
Compared to keywords like tarot cards, he actually hoped to see keywords like Duke of Zhou.
After all, good or bad fortune was a Chinese concept, and most foreign secret techniques would likely not be effective.
In short, first find the books. If he couldn't finish reading them, he could package them as electronic documents and have Noma send them to his phone. Since the Headmaster's plan was to depart in the afternoon, it was best not to disrupt the plan to avoid unexpected incidents.
It was almost 11 AM after he finished organizing the materials at hand. Lu Mingfei was about to immerse himself in study for a while when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He opened it to find a message from Zero:
"The train is ready, says the Headmaster. Where are you?"
Lu Mingfei slapped his forehead, forgetting that he was supposed to go to Chicago International Airport, not board a plane at school.
"Sorry, I was busy in the library and forgot about it. I'm heading back right away."
"Okay." The reply was still monotonous, showing no emotion.
Lu Mingfei took a deep breath, asked Noma to send the electronic versions of these materials to his email, and then rushed back to the dorm without stopping.
When he returned to the dorm, Fingel was still sound asleep, one arm hanging out of the bunk bed, sleeping as if dead.
Lu Mingfei didn't have much luggage: a set of casual clothes he wore, a suit for the graduation party, and some miscellaneous daily necessities, all fitting into the backpack he brought when he arrived.
Most of the items given by the Student Union were luxury goods, with little practical use, but...
Lu Mingfei's heart stirred. This time, he was visiting a Family, and it seemed inappropriate not to bring some gifts.
But in that case, his backpack wouldn't be enough.
At a loss, he suddenly saw Chu Zihang's notebook resting on a large suitcase, with a napkin pressed on the notebook, scrawled with "Borrowed by Junior Brother Lu Mingfei."
Damn it, there was even ketchup on this napkin, clearly left over from Fingel's Family bucket meal.
But Senior Brother was still quite thoughtful.
So Lu Mingfei put his things into the suitcase, quietly pulled the suitcase out of the dorm, and gently closed the door.
As soon as he walked out of the dorm building, he saw Zero quietly standing beside a pink suitcase, silently watching the dorm building's exit.
"Sorry for making you wait so long." Lu Mingfei showed an apologetic smile and quickly walked over to Zero's side. He was much taller than Zero, so when he stood beside her, he almost blocked all the sunlight, making her platinum blonde hair look less beautiful.
"It's fine," Zero said, being very sparing with her words.
Lu Mingfei suddenly felt that Zero was still a bit angry. How could she not be angry? Ditching someone for so long, even Fingel would have an opinion, though Fingel could be appeased with a late-night snack. He really didn't know how to soothe Zero's emotions.
This girl, who seemed to be at negative two hundred degrees Celsius, showed no emotion in her every word and action.
"The mission time isn't tight. The Family members have already made arrangements. We have two weeks to familiarize ourselves with the underwater environment of the mission location. The Headmaster said we'd even have time to sightsee nearby."
Lu Mingfei thought for a moment and said, "In short, what I mean is, I'm very happy to be your mission partner this time, Zero."
"Thank you," Zero said, "I'm also very happy to cooperate with an S-rank."
"Just call me by my name. S-rank sounds strange and distant," Lu Mingfei said.
"Okay, S-rank."
"Sigh..." Lu Mingfei sighed helplessly. When watching anime, he always treated 'Sanwu' (emotionless) as a cute attribute, but he didn't expect it to be so difficult to deal with in reality.
The two walked in silence to the school gate.
In front of the half-open iron gate, a black Maserati, sold at the same dealership as Ferrari, was parked. Its long hood had a sharp curve, like a shark leaping out of the water. Privacy glass blocked the view inside.
Lu Mingfei and Zero stopped in front of the car and saw the window slowly roll down, revealing a black custom suit, hair so slicked back it could be used as a mirror, and a custom silk handkerchief.
Who the driver was was already self-evident.
To have the Headmaster drive for him, Lu Mingfei was truly overwhelmed with trepidation. Before he could greet him, the car door opened, and Zero bent down and sat in the back seat.
The girl sitting quietly in the back seat looked much like a princess. Bright sunlight shone on her platinum blonde hair, shimmering with layers of phosphorescence, incredibly beautiful.
Lu Mingfei almost couldn't tear his eyes away. With the thought of 'do not look at what is improper,' he turned to greet the Headmaster.
"Headmaster."
"Hello, Mingfei. I thought I'd have to wait a bit longer for you. I just received Noma's message that you borrowed a large number of books from the library."
"I rushed over as soon as I got the message." Lu Mingfei ducked into the passenger seat.
Angers glanced at the girl in the back, his eyes seeming to ask, 'Your relationship seems a bit distant?'
Lu Mingfei could only smile, his meaning very clear: 'I will definitely handle it well.'
Angers shrugged. As for dealing with girls, he didn't mind teaching Lu Mingfei, but since Mingfei was so confident, he wouldn't interfere.