Vol2 Chapter 31: Security

King Solomon stood on the high platform, striking his gavel, its solemn sound cutting through the noise.

He turned to Lu Mingfei.

“Lu Mingfei, I must warn you—your contemptuous remarks risk labeling you a dangerous element. We have the authority to deem you a hazardous hybrid as well.”

Lu Mingfei laughed again. How to describe that smile? Silent, just standing there, grinning.

Everyone saw it, as if he hadn’t heard King Solomon’s threat—or maybe it was just meaningless noise to him.

Six months ago, when the revived Constantine rampaged through the College, Bai Ci stopped him. Without her, Cassell would’ve been torn apart, countless injured. When the hotel collapsed, she blocked the debris. If not for stopping the Bronze and Fire King, if not for saving everyone, she’d still be an ordinary S-rank, not dragonized, not standing here being interrogated.

But she did it—did what no one else dared, becoming a hero time and again.

Yet now, even a fool like Andrew could stand in judgment, accusing her as if she were a criminal.

A hero treated as a sinner, facing imprisonment… Was this world broken?

“Order! Lu Mingfei, return to your seat,” King Solomon said, striking the gavel. “You have a clean record. If you persist, you’ll face a serious infraction, possibly losing your S-rank status!”

“Lose it? Fine.” Lu Mingfei waved dismissively. “I don’t look like an S-rank anyway. Dropping it would be a relief—free and easy.”

“I just want to know—why is Bai Ci being accused like a criminal?”

“Because her bloodline is dangerous!” Andrew shouted hoarsely.

“Dangerous to whom? You? Cassell?” Lu Mingfei rolled his eyes. “Show me the danger.”

Click.

Bai Ci opened the gate of her enclosure and stepped out. Truthfully, she hated that spot.

Lu Mingfei had spoken up for her, but she was the hearing’s focus. She couldn’t just stand there like a puppet.

If she cowered like a dog, who’d defend her? Seeing her weakness, even those wanting to help would lack conviction.

She stepped in front of Lu Mingfei, taking a deep breath.

“To everyone at this hearing, I’m sorry for the trouble,” she said, slowly scanning the room. “The Principal called me a hero. I’ve never seen myself as one. I just did what I wanted. My bloodline has never gone out of control, so I won’t accept any form of imprisonment or restriction on my freedom.”

“Can you guarantee it won’t go out of control?”

“I can.” Bai Ci locked eyes with King Solomon, her golden pupils blazing.

Before he could respond, the hall’s doors creaked open.

“Quite lively here.”

Angers strode in, a radiant smile on his face, a Cohiba cigar in his mouth, his leather shoes clacking on the floor. Chisei Gen followed, his expression stern, eyes deep and unreadable, as if hiding endless secrets. His sharp nose and thin lips gave him a cold, imposing air.

He glanced at Bai Ci and froze.

I’ve seen this sister before.

She was the one who found Erii when she ran off to play… What a strange coincidence.

Angers walked through the aisle under everyone’s gaze, stopping beside Lu Mingfei and Bai Ci.

“Mingfei, you’re brave.” He patted Lu Mingfei’s shoulder, cigar still in his mouth, clearly not taking the investigation team seriously. “When you stood up for her, you became a hero too.”

Cough, cough. Lu Mingfei inhaled premium secondhand smoke.

“Bai Ci, you’ve been through enough. Our hero shouldn’t face this treatment.”

He patted her shoulder, and she too got a whiff of fine cigar smoke.

Parsi eyed Angers’ sudden entrance. “Principal Angers, am I to understand you’re shielding a student with a dangerous bloodline?”

“Who says she’s dangerous? Bai Ci’s perfectly safe,” Angers said with a smile, glancing at Chisei.

Chisei nodded, inserting a USB drive into a nearby laptop. A file opened, displaying his bloodline profile and a kinship test.

The room froze, then erupted.

A hybrid with over 50% blood concentration?

And Bai Ci’s brother?

“Let me introduce Chisei Gen, Cassell Class of 2003, Executive Director of the Japan Branch. He’s safe too,” Angers said. “Their unique bloodlines have a reason, which I’ll explain in detail after the hearing.”

He clicked the mouse a few times.

The file vanished, replaced by a photo of a baby girl alone in an orphanage crib. The infant grew into a toddling child. A plain-looking couple appeared, the woman pushing a walker, teaching the child to walk, the man clapping ahead, beaming.

Bai Ci fell silent… Her adoptive parents.

The toddler became a child, then a girl with a hint of innocence, accompanied by two people who didn’t resemble her. They ate together, took her to school, lifted her high, her face alight with joy…

But at some point, the man and woman vanished. The child was suddenly alone, appearing solitary in later photos.

One rainy evening, a teenage girl stood under a street eave, water splashing her soaked clothes, her eyes fixed on an internet café ahead. Late at night, she slumped in a café chair, head on her hand, drifting to sleep.

The photos shifted—she and Lu Mingfei gaming, a faint smile on her lips. Lu Mingfei chasing Chen Wenwen, her gaze forlorn as he left. She set her headphones aside, sitting alone in the rundown café, eyes closed, feigning sleep as countless people passed, none connected to her…

Then, a video from Chen Motong—Bai Ci tapping her phone, Lu Mingfei’s photo on the screen.

Bai Ci covered her face, unwilling to look.

The photos were masterfully composed, dripping with melancholy, portraying her as an unloved, abandoned child, her eyes screaming, “The world’s forsaken me.” They vividly captured her lonely life—but couldn’t they delete the one of her sulking over Lu Mingfei?

It made it look like she’d had a crush on him…

“There are more photos, but I won’t show them all. Just know Bai Ci’s bloodline safety is proven,” Angers said.

“Dragon blood erodes a hybrid’s sanity. ‘Blood Grief’ is the prime example. With dragon blood, awakened or not, the overwhelming loneliness can crush you.” He shrugged. “With Bai Ci’s concentration, if she were dangerous, she’d have gone berserk long ago. She wouldn’t have lasted this long.”

Angers shut off the projector, setting the tone.

“Bai Ci’s bloodline is fine. This hearing can end.”

If looks could kill, Lu Mingfei felt Chisei’s glare would’ve ended him several times over.

Bro, why’re you staring like that?

Put your hands away, okay? Don’t draw your blade and chop me!

You think I’m stealing your sister?

Come on, I didn’t steal your homegrown cabbage! Your sister’s been out there for nineteen years—she’s barely yours, more like a wild cabbage sprouted from your dad’s seed. Why do you care?

I’ve never even been to Japan! If she was your family’s cabbage, I wouldn’t have had a chance to steal her anyway.