Chapter 23: Norton

“Lu Mingfei, Bai Ci, evacuate now!
Evacuate!
Twenty seconds left!”
Norma’s voice blared through the earpiece.

Lu Mingfei frantically squeezed his finger, trying to draw a drop of blood for the living spirit’s mouth.
Nothing came out.
His wrist was clamped, and his hand, soaked too long in water, was pale as a corpse’s.
Bai Ci gritted her teeth, took out her diving knife, and sliced her own finger.
Blood surged to her fingertip, bubbles erupting from her suit.
She pressed her finger hard against the living spirit’s mouth.
Blood flowed in.
Its eyes snapped open, and it gulped the blood greedily.

Oxygen pressure was dropping fast.
High-pressure gases dissolved in her blood began escaping.
It needed more blood than she’d expected.
Both were S-ranks, yet Lu Mingfei had barely reacted when bitten, while she felt dizzy.
She looked at him, grabbed his hand, and rushed out, growling through clenched teeth, “Hemostatic bandage…”

Lu Mingfei hurriedly pulled a bandage from the dive pack and handed it to her.

Bai Ci wrapped it tightly to seal her suit.
At 80 meters, gas embolism could kill instantly—only a perfect seal would keep them alive.

Was it worth risking so much?
It was like they couldn’t both survive.
Through her dive mask, Bai Ci’s face was ghostly pale, far from okay.

Your self-sacrifice is cool, but I can’t survive down here alone…

“Hurry, we’ve got enough oxygen for both of us,” Bai Ci said to the dazed Lu Mingfei, swimming forward.

“G-got it.”
Lu Mingfei scrambled to follow.

Moments later, something floated in the water, dozens of meters away.

A diving bell.

They swam toward it, not too fast—oxygen was still sufficient.
But Lu Mingfei felt a vague unease, like something was about to happen.

It had been too smooth.
No obstacles, almost effortless.
The easier it felt, the more nervous he got.

They approached the heavy diving bell.
Bai Ci pushed Lu Mingfei forward.
The hatch was open, warm and inviting, like a home waiting for their return.

Lu Mingfei entered, bracing against the wall and waving Bai Ci in.

She swam steadily, not rushing.
But just as she neared the wall, she snapped her head up.
A massive force erupted from her, slamming the hatch shut.

The diving bell’s oxygen system kicked in, draining water.
Lu Mingfei jumped, waving frantically, confused.

Through the glass, he saw it—a giant dragon before Bai Ci…

It must’ve been tailing them, waiting for their guard to drop.

Bai Ci stared at the creature, vastly larger than her, her teeth chattering for no reason.

Even underwater, its searing aura was suffocating—not just heat, but something thicker, like fire itself.

She instinctively swam back, every cell in her body resisting.
This was absurd.
She’d been at the college barely six months.
Her first month, she faced Constantine, the Bronze and Fire King.
One-on-one, she’d have died, reduced to ashes.

Now, before her stood Norton—stronger than Constantine.

If she survived, she’d demand extra scholarship money from the principal.

But it was too late to retreat.
The dragon lunged, baring ferocious fangs, snapping at her.

She probably wouldn’t survive…

How long could she hold it off?

Her golden pupils blazed like the sun.
Her skin transformed rapidly—bone spikes and scales pierced her smooth skin, sprouting wildly.
Black bone protrusions emerged.
Her hands warped, nails growing into claw-like blades.
If anyone saw her now, she’d spend her life on a South Pacific island.

Suffocation gripped her.
Her head felt oxygen-starved.
Her tattered suit held against the pressure thanks to her dragonized body, but oxygen was still an issue.

When a hybrid’s dragon blood exceeds 50%, they evolve toward pure dragons, often falling into Deadpool before fully transforming.

But Bai Ci wasn’t falling—just using Bloodrage.

In six months, she’d learned a lot about it.
She didn’t know her blood concentration now, but she was strong.

The principal had warned her: S-ranks were close to the critical bloodline.
Reckless Bloodrage could turn her into a Deadpool.

Whatever.
A flaming Dragon King was in front of her.
If she didn’t fight, she’d die.

She was half-dragonized but felt clearer-headed than when she first used Bloodrage.

Lu Mingfei watched, his mouth twitching, wild thoughts racing.
Was Bai Ci some kind of dragon girl?
She didn’t look human anymore.
But a childhood friend who’s a dragon girl… maybe that was kinda cool?

She turned, looked at him, and smiled faintly.

Smiled?

His friend, who rarely smiled, smiled at him?

Hey, don’t make it feel like a final farewell!
That smile was like a tragic side character’s, staying behind, accepting death with serene resolve.

For no reason, Lu Mingfei panicked.

Bubbles poured from Bai Ci’s mouth, as if draining her lungs’ oxygen.

Yanling: Pure Land!

What’s it like to be in a vacuum?

Bai Ci had wondered before, but this was her first time feeling it.

Blood trickled from her eyes, nose, and ears.
Her throat burned like it was smoking.
Breathing was labored, vision blurred, her heart felt like it would burst.
Every kind of pain intertwined in her body.

In short, it felt like dying.

Books said that if your body could endure a vacuum, you could defend against anything and still attack.

She didn’t expect this to kill the beast, but it’d hurt it, right?

Not that she could think about it…

Suffocating wasn’t fun.
She’d never dive again.

“She’ll die soon,” Lu Mingze said.
“No oxygen, losing consciousness.
Water fills her heart, lungs, veins.
Lack of blood and oxygen stops her heart, then her life ends.
You’ll be alone in that diving bell, facing a Dragon King.
A noble first-generation, spawned directly by Black King Nidhogg, with pure blood and unmatched power, fused with Dragon Attendant Samson.”
He shrugged.
“You’re dead any moment.”

“Can you not* lecture me when I’m busy as hell?”
Lu Mingfei lay on the deck, panting.
“I’m swamped!
Even if I’m your summoned beast, respect my rights!
Don’t drag me into a dream when I’m bleeding out, okay?”

“It’s useful.
You’ll know how she dies—and you.”

Lu Mingze watched him with interest.
“Your great principal isn’t here to save you like he did Ye Sheng.
You’ll die alone.”

“None of your business!
I’m busy!
Send me back!”

“Relax, time doesn’t stop here, but it moves slower outside.
You’ll get back in time to save your friend—if you’ve got the skill.”

“But I’m a loser…”

Lu Mingfei felt a pang of sorrow.
The girl he liked was about to die, and he could only watch, helpless.

“She could’ve run and left you,” Lu Mingze sighed, almost regretful.
“With her ability to hurt Norton, escaping to the surface wouldn’t be hard.
But she stayed… to save my dumb brother…”

“You trying to rile me up?”

“Not at all, brother.
I just feel it’s a pity.”
Lu Mingze met his eyes.
“Don’t you feel angry?”

“Of course I’m angry!”
Lu Mingfei’s voice rose.
“Sometimes I feel like the biggest idiot.
For years, I’ve felt pointless.
Whether I live or die only matters to me—it hurts, but that’s it.
But there’s always been someone with me, hanging out, eating, gaming, joking.
She’d save me a portion, even when I felt stepped on, too insignificant to stand.
I’d just squat there, unmoving.
But then the door opens, light pours in, and this beautiful girl slaps the guy, fixes my clothes, pulls me out, and drives off in a Ferrari, making me look so damn cool in front of everyone…”
Lu Mingfei sat up, clenching his fists.
“That feeling… so cool… you get it?
So cool!
I’ve never felt that cool!
Now she’s about to die—how could I not be angry?”

“But you’re powerless.
Weaker than her.
Anger’s useless.”

Lu Mingze said.

“Enough!
No power, I’ll still save her!
Wake me up—I’m in a hurry!”

“I can help, but it’ll cost you.”