Lu Mingfei placed his suitcase to one side of the room and walked towards the exquisitely decorated living room of the suite. The double doors faced east, offering a view of lush trees. In the night, the xenon lights of the Moniyahe on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River flickered in the rain.
After having dinner with Liu Heguang and discussing Liu Heguang's motives with Zero, he lay down on the living room sofa with a weary heart, too lazy to even turn over, like a dead salted fish.
The Principal was probably still chatting with those old fogeys Liu Heguang mentioned. The saying that the older people get, the more they nag, really holds true.
He finished talking with Liu Heguang in about an hour, but the Principal's dinner, which started much earlier than his, still hadn't ended.
"I wonder where the Family's money comes from. Everyone who works here is practically a recluse in the mountains. Could this huge courtyard have been built by them?" Lu Mingfei recalled the path he had walked and couldn't help but sigh, thinking how rich all the hybrids were.
This courtyard was at least 200 square meters, and the dining courtyard alone was estimated to be 90 square meters, not to mention the living room and bedrooms that could accommodate 5 to 6 people. Each bedroom had a double bed with a lazy sofa, and there was enough space on the desk for two LCD screens.
"One generation plants trees for the next to enjoy the shade. The wealth of hybrid organizations has always been accumulated over generations." Zero placed a soft cushion from the suitcase on the sofa and sat beside Lu Mingfei.
"Zero, you know so much about Family matters. I always thought you were a randomly generated genius girl." Lu Mingfei, lying on the sofa, remembered something and placed the wooden token on the table in front of him. There was already brewed tea on the table, steaming with mist.
"Does your Family also have positions like guest elders?"
"Large Families need some smart, capable outsiders who can also take the blame. Blood is thicker than water is the most important thing for a large Family to maintain." Zero said, "This saying is even more applicable within Chinese Families."
"So, we're all scapegoats?" Lu Mingfei asked.
"Except for us."
"But didn't you just say?"
"An S-rank is backed by the Secret Party. There's only one way you could be a scapegoat: to become the reason for the Family to declare war on the Secret Party." Zero said indifferently.
"Sigh, I wonder when the Principal will be back." Lu Mingfei said, resting his head on a pillow.
"He's back." Zero said.
Speak of the devil and he shall appear.
No sooner had Lu Mingfei's words fallen than an old man with a rose tucked into his cuff entered the courtyard. He wore a custom suit and shiny leather shoes. The only flaw was a small, scabbed wound on the handsome old man's face.
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"My dear students, it sounds like you've missed me very much."
"Rather than missing you, Principal, we actually wanted you to help with dive training." Lu Mingfei removed the pillow and recounted the afternoon's events to Angers.
"Mingfei, you truly surprise me. Has your mastery of the ribbon reached such a level?" Angers stared at Lu Mingfei. "I've already arranged the diving matters. Ye Sheng and Shuhtome Yaji will arrive at the Moniyahe in a few days to take over the Kui Men Plan again."
"Brother Ye Sheng again?" Lu Mingfei felt embarrassed. "Is the Execution Department really so short on personnel?"
"Professor Schneider said that currently, the only ones left with the highest level in the Execution Department are the two of them. Although there's a suspicion of violating Execution Department discipline, the Execution Department has decided to reshuffle you four. Ye Sheng will form a team with Zero upon his arrival." Angers said.
Zero nodded, "I can accept that."
"But Senior Sister Yaji and I haven't trained together at all! We haven't even spoken more than a few words!" Lu Mingfei objected.
"No, Mingfei, you must trust their skill and your potential. Besides, it's only for surveying the gate of the Bronze City. Entering the Bronze City will still be you and Zero as a team. At that time, bloodline priority will be far higher than diving skill." Angers picked up the wooden token on the table and examined it.
"Liu Heguang actually gave you this too? This can mobilize a five-person team within the Family!"
"That powerful?" Lu Mingfei was pleasantly surprised, thinking of the B-rank reward mentioned in the middle-upper draw.
If viewed according to the middle-lower draw, Zero's presence after entering the Family would definitely not be as strong as after single-handedly killing a ghoul. After all, that prank was only aimed at him, and Liu Heguang would still have taken out the wooden token to appease him, but there would have been no share for Zero.
It was his initiative to go to Qutang Gorge that gave Zero an opportunity to perform, which piqued Liu Heguang's interest, leading him to prepare two wooden tokens.
A B-rank reward provided one more wooden token than a C-rank reward, so in reality, he could now mobilize ten people within the Family?
Lu Mingfei glanced at Zero, hoping Zero would be willing to let him use that wooden token.
"It seems you and Liu Heguang had a good chat, but my conversation with the Family elders wasn't as pleasant." Angers smiled.
Lu Mingfei then noticed the wound on Angers' face, a slight injury, but it had indeed hurt Angers, indicating that the person who fought Angers was definitely a formidable old fellow.
"Was the fight intense?" he asked tentatively.
"No, it was over in an instant." Angers picked up the teapot and poured hot tea into a zisha cup. "You have to talk about physics before you can talk about reason. For years, they've been hoping for my strength to decline, but thankfully, I've always disappointed their expectations."
"The original plan was for each diving team to bring out one item from the Bronze City, whatever it was, and the Family had to agree. Now it seems we need to change our strategy. The Family must agree to every item brought out by each person. Six items become four; they get the advantage, so they won't refuse."
"They won't escalate?" Lu Mingfei asked. He often encountered vendors who raised prices when he bought groceries. What was 7 mao a jin last time would be 1 yuan this time.
"If your strength is sufficient, they won't dare to escalate; at most, it'll just be a bit of haggling." Angers turned on the large LCD TV. "Mingfei, in the worldview of hybrids and even dragons, most things are based on strength."
Lu Mingfei nodded, digested the information for a moment, then replied, "I understand. When will Senior Brother Ye Sheng and the others arrive? How much time do Zero and I have left?"
Angers showed a relieved smile, "No need to rush. Training starts tomorrow. I'm confident I can train you two into the most tacit underwater partners. Zero has a very good foundation, and Mingfei, you also have great potential."
"What's the approximate level?" Lu Mingfei made a gesture with his hand, "If Zero and I are currently at one, and Senior Brother Ye Sheng and Senior Sister Shuhtome Yaji are at ten."
"Reaching level 7 or higher is not a problem. I'm very confident in educating students."
"That high?" Lu Mingfei was surprised.
"Professor Guderian said you're a student full of Inspiration, so I also have a lot of Inspiration for your training plan." Angers chuckled, "Mingfei, you have to believe in your own potential."
My potential...
Lu Mingfei thought, my potential is probably all reflected in gaming.
He rubbed his nose and silently turned to look at the sky outside, watching the ink clouds gradually roll in from the east, engulfing the crescent moon. A drop of water fell on the bluestone bricks in front of the door.