Vol2 Chapter 24: Dragon Transformation

That afternoon, in the hotel room, Bai Ci stared at a post on the school forum titled “Two S-Ranks Getting Cozy in Public, Seemingly Unable to Contain Their Thirst”. A bad feeling crept up.

She clicked.

Author: Unknown.

The post opened with a photo—Bai Ci’s lips near Lu Mingfei’s ear, captured from an odd angle. The sneaky photographer was a pro, snapping a suggestive shot and pairing it with a sensational headline.

“Fingel von Frins shot this,” Zero said calmly. “Intuition.”

It could be him. Bai Ci recalled another post: “S-Rank Switches Affections? Lu Mingfei’s Late-Night Tryst with Russian Lolita!”

Curiosity had led her to check what scandalous thing Lu Mingfei did to her adorable roommate. Turns out, he’d singed Zero’s hair with a flamethrower, then treated her to dinner alone.

She’d sighed in relief.

All good (in every sense).

Fingel was Cassell’s designated hype master—there was no buzz he couldn’t stir, no mess he couldn’t whitewash.

“Want me to break one of his legs for you?” Zero offered.

“No need. I don’t care about this stuff.”

“Mm.” Zero nodded. “Dinner?”

“Let’s go.”

The hotel restaurant was crowded. They found a secluded spot and sat.

Zero wiped the chair with an alcohol wipe, placed a small cushion on it, then sat.

While eating, a commotion drew their attention. Xia Mi and Fingel were hugging unabashedly, lamenting they hadn’t met sooner. It was a school-hosted banquet—free food. With Lu Mingfei, they swept through the table like a storm. Zero couldn’t sit still. At this rate, they’d devour everything!

She darted back and forth, and soon Bai Ci saw their table piled with food.

“Where’s Senior Chu?” Lu Mingfei asked Xia Mi, gnawing on a chicken leg.

“Over there.” Xia Mi, chewing steak, pointed behind. Chu Zihang was sipping water. “His cavity’s acting up. Toothache.”

“Whoa, rare for a guy like him to have such a small issue,” Fingel said, surprised. “But I kinda like it. Even the icy, stoic President Chu gets bothered by stuff.”

“Me too,” Xia Mi grinned, her mouth running wild. “Guys like Chu, looking all aloof like untouchable immortals, just make you want to ruin them—see them fall, blush, or lose that composed face, whatever it takes!”

“Damn, Junior Sister, you’ve got some sadistic vibes,” Lu Mingfei marveled.

“Don’t you? Those two senior sisters over there, always so cold and unapproachable, like fairy sisters. Don’t you want to see them blush?” Xia Mi’s grin turned wicked. “Heh heh heh!”

She crossed her arms, cackling like a villain.

“You’re right… I mean…” Lu Mingfei spat out a chicken bone, leaning in with a matching grin. “I’d kill to see that! I dream about it! I want it so bad!”

Xia Mi recoiled, feigning fear. “Senior, chill! You’re scaring me!”

“Junior, tone it down,” Fingel patted Lu Mingfei’s back. “I get it—cool, pure beauties blushing is hot, but you’re too excited. Junior Sister’s acting; you’re spilling your heart.”

“Damn it, weren’t you the one who got me thinking about it?” Lu Mingfei fumed.

Pfft!

“Senior, you look hilarious!” Xia Mi burst out laughing, and Lu Mingfei joined her.

“Stop laughing, Brother.”

A soft sigh came. Lu Mingfei froze, then kicked at the person beside him—not laughing Xia Mi, but Lu Mingze. Dressed casually, he sauntered in, holding a peach-sauce-drizzled shaved ice, a plastic spoon in his mouth, sighing dramatically.

“Damn it! Can you book a better time next time? I don’t want a devil salesman crashing my chat with Junior Sister!”

“Relax, Brother. Check behind you.”

Lu Mingfei turned, unable to read Bai Ci’s expression, but she looked ready to charge.

“What’re they up to?” he muttered, scratching his head.

“Her instincts are sharper than yours. Seems she can sense danger coming,” Lu Mingze said, hopping over to smear peach sauce on Bai Ci’s face, drawing three whisker-like lines like a cat.

“Danger? The only danger here is you,” Lu Mingfei said, grabbing a drink from the table.

“Chicago’s in the Midwest, not a high-risk earthquake zone. Most seismic activity is in the south, around the New Madrid or Wabash Valley seismic zones. Chicago’s far enough that quakes are rare,” Lu Mingze said.

“So? You saying there’s an earthquake coming? Didn’t you just say it’s unlikely?”

“In the past decade, within 300 kilometers of Chicago, there’s been an average of zero quakes above magnitude 4, with only one recorded in ten years. So, basically, no quakes.”

“That’s good, right?”

“Washington University’s Professor Douglas Wiens says Chicago’s quake risk is low,” Lu Mingze said, finishing his ice cream and clutching his forehead from brain freeze. “But not zero, Brother.”

He pointed upward.

Lu Mingfei followed his finger. Web-like cracks spread across the ceiling, ready to rain tons of concrete and steel on the crowd below.

“Holy shit! Help!”

“Alright! A quarter of your life, and it’s handled! Don’t expect a freebie this time. Developing you as a client ain’t easy. You shop, I pay. You slay dragons, I’m your errand boy. I’m one step from serving tea!” Lu Mingze grinned, his words sharp but his smile clear and warm, like sunlight.

In slow-motion time, the ground trembled faintly. Tons of stone descended slowly. Lu Mingfei’s phone buzzed. The Executive Department signaled retreat—the tremor was no small shake. Debris fell with apocalyptic grace.

“I…” Lu Mingfei looked at the restaurant’s crowd.

Bai Ci, Xia Mi, Fingel, Chu Zihang, Zero, Caesar, Nono, Susie…

They were all here.

He gritted his teeth. Screw it, I’m going all in! My life’s worth nothing—I’ve never done anything grand. Today, I’ll make waves. Cassell will remember Emperor Lu Mingfei!

“Wise choice, Brother.”

Lu Mingze smiled, arms open as if to hug him, but froze.

The girl had raised her head, faint white scales on her cheeks, golden pupils blazing like they’d light up the night.

“Whoa, Brother, our cute kitten’s turning into a tiger.”

Lu Mingze’s lips curved. “This’ll be fun. Let her handle it.”

“Wait, what? What about the deal?!”

Lu Mingfei was stunned. Lu Mingze vanished, erased like a pencil mark.

This is bullshit! Those stones weigh tons! Even Sun Wukong’s staff was only a few thousand pounds. This’ll crush us into mush! I don’t want to die here!

The ground shook violently. Everyone realized—earthquake!

Before they could react, the ceiling collapsed. Thousands of glass shards and stones rained down. No one in the hall could escape.

Then Lu Mingfei saw Bai Ci climb onto a table, smiling at him, peach-sauce whiskers still on her face, oddly comical.

What are you doing?! Why so heroic? If you were the Hulk, maybe you could punch this concrete away—that’d be cool! But you’re not! You’re just a bar-hopping, gaming, anime-watching, novel-reading, dark-circle-sporting otaku!

Her skin turned pure white, dense scales piercing through, blood dripping as they grew. The Pure Land domain expanded rapidly, shielding everything.

She controlled it perfectly, enveloping everyone, repelling the stones.

Countless bone spikes and scales erupted from her skin. White protrusions sprouted, her hands morphing, nails elongating into claw-like blades. A pair of white wings unfurled behind her—near half-dragonized.

Lu Mingfei stared at Bai Ci on the table, like a white dragoness from a fantasy tale…

So beautiful…

Everyone gaped, the noisy restaurant silent.

Cassell students recalled their lessons: when a hybrid’s dragon blood exceeds 50%, they evolve toward dragonkind, falling into Deadpool status before becoming pure dragons.

“She’s falling,” someone whispered.

“Can S-ranks fall?” another murmured. “First time seeing a white Deadpool.”

White wings, sharp horns, radiant golden pupils…

Cassell’s training was clear: face a Deadpool, don’t hesitate—shoot.

Someone raised a gun at Bai Ci, but no one fired.

Would a Deadpool care about their lives?

“What are you doing?! Run!” someone shouted, snapping everyone back.

As the crowd cleared, Monarch Flame roared, followed by Eye of the Wind King.

Lu Mingfei watched the dazzling flames consume the rubble, steel, and concrete…

She collapsed, caught by Fingel, who handed her to Lu Mingfei.

For once, that deadbeat showed some loyalty, not bolting first, catching the spiky Bai Ci, bloodied by her thorns.

Lu Mingfei looked at her face, peach sauce still on her cheeks, mixed with white scales…

She stirred, opened her eyes, saw him, then closed them. Her scales and spikes receded, her skin soft again, her breathing steady and calm.

Asleep…

Lu Mingfei wiped the peach sauce off her face with his finger, tasting it.

A little sweet…

He draped his jacket over her—her clothes were tattered, full of holes.

—

Cassell College.

Deep in the night, a light glowed in the clock tower’s attic.

The Night Watchman scratched his head, reading the report, then looked at Angers. “She’s in the infirmary now, right?”

“Yeah, I checked on her,” Angers said.

“It’s a miracle she’s still human.” The Night Watchman tossed the report on the table. “In Chicago, she was all scales and horns, yet she reverted. Blood concentration’s at least 50%—nearly pure dragon blood. That’s beyond normal hybrid limits. The board thinks her blood’s dangerous. Bringing in a risky bloodline is gross negligence—enough to fire you.”

“Normal. I’ve seen higher concentrations,” Angers said.

“Those were Deadpools,” the Night Watchman shook his head. “Besides Chu Zihang, you’ve got a new problem.”

“Good news is, they’re not targeting Chu Zihang anymore.” Angers shrugged, sipping his wine, gazing at the rain-washed Valhalla statue. “Bad news—it’s worse. The board’s idiots will hound Bai Ci. They can’t fight dragons—you know it, I know it, they don’t. They don’t grasp how brutal war is, yet they’re cocky, thinking they’ll rule the world once dragons are gone. The war’s just beginning.”