svetikya Chapter 19 Nono's Intervention
Chapter 19 Nono's Intervention
"I'm going to find him," Nono suddenly said.
Caesar was stunned: "What?"
"I'm going to find Lu Mingfei," Nuonuo repeated firmly. "Not the future him, but the present him. The Lu Mingfei who's still in his final year of high school in China, completely unaware of everything."
"Why?" Caesar asked. "The light screen shows the future, but the future can be changed. If you go to him now, things might change..."
"Then I'll change," Nono interrupted him. "I don't care about the future, I don't care about fate. I only know that I can't let that boy wait alone anymore. I can't let him experience that kind of...despair of thinking I'm dead again."
She looked at Caesar, and in those eyes that always held a sly smile, something Caesar had never seen before was burning.
"Caesar, it's over," Nono said. "It's not because you're bad, but because... it seems like someone has already taken up residence in my heart. Someone I haven't even truly known, yet I'm already willing to die for him, and he's willing to die for me."
Caesar's face turned pale. He wanted to say something, but looking into Nono's eyes, he knew it would be useless to say anything.
The red-haired priestess, who was always as free as the wind and unrestrained, finally found someone who could make her stop.
Even if that person is still just a loser right now.
"I understand," Caesar finally said, his voice a little hoarse. "I wish you... happiness."
Nono nodded, then turned and walked toward Principal Angers.
"Headmaster," she said, standing before Angers and looking up at him, "I need to ask for leave to go to China."
Angers looked at her, a complex light flickering in his silver eyes: "For Lu Mingfei?"
"Yes."
"Do you know what this means?" Angers asked. "If you intervene now, you might change the future shown on the screen. You might make some things happen sooner, or you might prevent some things from happening at all."
"I know," Nono said, "but I have to go. I can't... watch him alone any longer."
Angers remained silent for a long time. He looked at the light screen, at the fallen boy, at the boy with gentle eyes who was holding the "dead" Nono.
"Go," Angers finally said. "Bring him back. Kassel needs him, and you need him too."
"Thank you, Principal." Nono bowed deeply, then turned and walked towards the parking lot without hesitation.
She was going to find that red Ferrari; she was going to fly to China; she was going to find that loser.
just now.
At the other end of the square, Chu Zihang stood quietly, his golden eyes fixed on Lu Mingfei's final face on the screen.
He recalled a few months earlier, in that small town in China, the boy who, when surrounded by thugs, simply lowered his head and remained silent.
So it wasn't cowardice after all.
That was the silence before the volcanic eruption.
"Lu Mingfei..." Chu Zihang murmured the name, "We'll see each other again soon."
At this moment, new subtitles appeared on the screen:
[Winner of the One-Day Freedom Challenge: Lu Mingfei]
[Title Awarded: Kassel's Most Courageous Freshman]
[Next Scene: Awakening and the 3E Exam]
The applause rang out again, deafening.
For that bravest freshman.
For that girl, he'd be willing to stand against the whole world.
The legend has begun.
Beyond the Golden Screen: The Real World
Nono opened the car door, and the red Ferrari's engine let out a deep roar, like a wild beast awakening. Rainwater streamed down the car, reflecting the lights of Kassel College at night, and also reflecting her resolute face.
Her hands rested on the steering wheel, her fingertips turning slightly white from the pressure. Her mind was filled with images from the screen—Lu Mingfei holding her "dead" body, whispering, "I don't like girls without warmth"; Lu Mingfei carrying a Barrett through a hail of bullets; Lu Mingfei's calm and relieved expression as he held the gun to his chin in the sunset.
Every image is like a brand, imprinted deep within her soul.
"Wait for me," she whispered to the air, as if the boy, still a senior in high school in China, could hear her. "This time, it's my turn to come find you."
The key was inserted into the ignition switch, and just as she was about to turn it—
The image on the golden screen suddenly changed.
Nono froze, instinctively looking up at the sky. The Ferrari's headlights illuminated the falling raindrops and the new scene on the screen of light.
Kinmuuchi·Future World
[Time: The morning following the first day of freedom]
Location: Kassel College, Dormitory Area 1, Room 303
Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the blinds, cutting streaks of light into the dim room. Dust particles floated slowly within the beams of light, like tangible particles of time.
Lu Mingfei opened his eyes.
His head throbbed as if it were splitting open, a dull pain throbbed at the back of his head, and there was a metallic, bloody taste in his mouth. It took him a few seconds to realize where he was lying—not in that stuffy little room in China, not on an airplane, and not in a hospital bed.
Instead, it was an unfamiliar and somewhat messy dormitory.
The room was small, about twenty square meters, with two iron-framed beds placed against the wall and two desks side by side in the middle. The walls were covered with various posters—anatomical diagrams of firearms, genealogical charts of dragons, and several posters of scantily clad women. The desks were piled with books, instant noodle boxes, empty cola cans, and three old-fashioned computers that were running.
The air was filled with a complex mix of smells: instant noodles, sweat, and computer case exhaust.
Lu Mingfei propped himself up and sat up, realizing he was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday, except he had a dark blue pajama top with the Kassel school emblem on it. The pajama top was a bit too big, with the sleeves sticking out a bit.
"Oh, you're awake?"
A familiar voice came from the corner of the room.
Lu Mingfei turned his head to look. Fingel was sitting at the desk by the window, his back to him, his hands flying across the keyboard. The scrolling code on the screen reflected on his greasy face, gleaming with a faint blue light. He was wearing his ever-present tattered T-shirt and jeans, his flip-flops tapping idly on the floor.
"Senior brother?" Lu Mingfei's voice was terribly hoarse. "Where is this?"
"Our dorm, Zone 1, Room 303," Fingel said without turning his head. "After you passed out yesterday, the Execution Department carried all of you 'fallen' back to the dorms. I felt sorry for you, so I took you in—I couldn't let you sleep in the hallway, could I?"
Lu Mingfei rubbed his temples, and his memories began to flow back little by little.
One day of freedom. Gunshots. Nono falls. He holds her, feeling the whole world lose its color. Then he picks up his gun, crosses the battlefield, takes down Caesar and Chu Zihang, and finally…
He raised his hand and touched his chin.
There was no wound, only a lingering dull ache. Frigga's bullet, a tranquilizer dart, wouldn't really kill. He knew that; he'd always known.
But at that moment, he truly felt that if Nuonuo was gone, there was no point in living.
The feeling was so intense it was terrifying.
"Senior Sister Nuonuo..." Lu Mingfei asked instinctively, "Is she alright?"
"What could possibly happen? Frigga's been sleeping for a few hours, she'll wake up soon." Fingel finally turned around, a familiar, smug grin on his face. "But you, junior, you've got it!"
He grabbed a tablet from the table and tossed it to Lu Mingfei: "Look for yourself, the campus forum homepage is full of your news."
Lu Mingfei took the tablet. The screen was lit, displaying the Kassel College forum interface, which was concise and efficient. At that moment, the top few posts all had his name in their titles:
[Breaking News] S-level freshman Lu Mingfei ignores the "precepts" and uses the power of words, instantly killing Su Qian at the seventh level!
[Video] Two shots take down Caesar and Chu Zihang! The biggest dark horse of the day is born in Freedom!
[Analysis] In-depth analysis of Lu Mingfei's bloodline: Is he really S-rank? Or even higher?
[Gossip] Senior Sister Nuonuo's Little Follower? Unveiling the Mysterious Relationship Between Lu Mingfei and Chen Motong
Lu Mingfei clicked on the first post. Inside was a video that was clearly filmed secretly. The video quality was a bit blurry, but it clearly showed him jumping from the second floor, carrying a Barrett rifle in one hand, walking to the center of the parking lot, and shooting Caesar and Chu Zihang twice. The video was shot from a very tricky angle, capturing his terrifyingly calm face as he fired the shots.