NABC Chapter 36-Awakening
Chapter 36-Awakening
It didn't open slowly, but vanished instantly—as if it had never existed. The scene behind the door was revealed, and Lu Mingfei was stunned.
It wasn't a room, it wasn't a palace, it was... a world.
A vast, seemingly endless space, its floor, walls, and ceiling all gleaming with a dark golden luster. There was no water; the air was dry and scorching, thick with the smells of sulfur and metal. In the distance, countless enormous gears turned slowly, emitting a dull rumble. Further still, a river of lava flowed, its crimson light staining the entire space blood-red.
Inside the Bronze City.
A gold-refining kingdom that exists completely independently of the outside world and has been at the bottom of the river for thousands of years.
Lu Mingfei swam inside.
The moment he entered, the "door" behind him reappeared, sealing the entrance. The water flow was blocked, and he fell onto the bronze floor, coughing violently and spitting out several mouthfuls of river water tinged with blood.
The oxygen mask alarm was still ringing, but it didn't matter anymore. There was air here, hot and pungent, but breathable.
He took off his oxygen mask and took a deep breath.
The smell of sulfur filled his nostrils, making him cough again. But at least, he was still alive.
The walkie-talkie was crackling with static; the signal was completely blocked.
"Principal? Senior Ye Sheng? Can you hear me?" Lu Mingfei tried calling out.
no respond.
He completely lost contact with the outside world.
Now, he's truly alone.
Standing in the palace of the King of Bronze and Fire, at the heart of this alchemical kingdom that has slumbered for millennia.
Lu Mingfei stood up and looked around.
The space was unimaginably vast, at least the size of ten football fields. The floor was covered with intricate alchemical matrices, each node inlaid with a luminous gem—not for decoration, but as a source of energy. The walls were covered with continuous murals depicting the wars of the dragons, the changing of the throne, and the rise and fall of civilizations.
At the very center of the space was a huge, pyramid-shaped altar.
At the top of the altar, there are two objects.
On the left was a bronze jar, about half a meter tall, its surface engraved with flame patterns, and its mouth sealed with some kind of black metal. Even from this distance, Lu Mingfei could feel the chilling pressure emanating from the jar.
The urn containing the bones of the King of Bronze and Fire.
On the right is a set of weapons.
Seven weapons, varying in size and shape, but all cold weapons—knife, sword, spear, halberd, axe, hammer, and sickle. They were placed on a black stone platform, their surfaces a dark gold color with flowing blood-red patterns, as if they were breathing with life.
The Seven Deadly Sins.
A magical weapon crafted by Norton himself, capable of slaying the Dragon King.
Lu Mingfei's heart began to pound violently.
He succeeded. He found the target.
Now all you need to do is walk over, pick up the bone vial and the seven deadly sins, and then find your way out...
Brother, watch out!
Lu Mingze's warning echoed in his mind.
Lu Mingfei instinctively lunged forward.
The next second, the spot where he had just stood was swept by a blazing flame. The bronze floor instantly melted, leaving a charred crater, and molten copper flowed out like blood.
Lu Mingfei looked up and saw it.
That was a dragon.
But it wasn't the winged lizard from Western mythology that he saw in his 3E exam drawing. Instead, it was a creature closer to the "dragon" of Chinese legend—a slender body, dark golden scales, four sharp claws, antlers, a horse's face, and a fish's tail. It had no wings, but hovered in the air, its body exceeding twenty meters in length, and every scale gleamed with a metallic sheen.
Its eyes are the most striking feature.
Those were burning, golden eyes, with vertical pupils reflecting flames and madness.
Dragon Attendant Samson.
Norton, the King of Bronze and Fire, has been the most loyal guardian of this bronze city for thousands of years, sleeping there and protecting his master's remains and weapons.
At this moment, it awoke.
Because of the arrival of the intruders.
"roar--!"
A dragon's roar reverberated throughout the entire space. It wasn't just a sound, but some kind of mental shock, directly bombarding Lu Mingfei's consciousness. He felt as if his brain had been struck by a hammer, his vision went black, and he almost fainted.
Samson opened his mouth, and a second flame shot out.
Lu Mingfei scrambled to avoid the flames. They grazed his back, instantly charring his wetsuit and sending a searing pain through his skin. But he ignored it all, scrambling to his feet and running towards the altar.
We must obtain the bone vial and the seven deadly sins.
That was the mission objective, and also... his only hope of survival.
Samson clearly saw through his intentions. The massive dragon tail swept across, whistling through the air. Lu Mingfei slid in, narrowly escaping beneath the dragon's tail, but the force of the gust of wind sent him tumbling several times on the ground.
He got up and kept running.
There are still 100 meters to the altar.
Eighty meters.
Fifty meters.
Samson breathed fire again, this time in a fan shape that covered a large area. Lu Mingfei had nowhere to hide and could only fall forward. Flames swept over his head, singeing a section of his hair.
Thirty meters.
Twenty meters.
Samson finally lost his patience. Instead of attacking from a distance, it swooped down, its claws outstretched like five enormous scythes, aiming for Lu Mingfei.
Lu Mingfei drew the folding knife that Angers had given him.
The blade sprang out, a dark red light flowing through the scorching air. He didn't parry—that was impossible, the power of the dragon claw was enough to tear steel apart—but instead rolled to the side, simultaneously swinging the blade.
The blade sliced through Samson's claws.
There was no sound of metal clashing, only the muffled thud of something being torn apart. Samson let out a painful roar as a deep wound appeared on his claw, from which dark golden blood gushed out.
However, Lu Mingfei was also hit by the claw wind and flew out, crashing heavily into a bronze pillar.
"puff--"
He coughed up blood and felt that at least two of his ribs were broken.
Samson was wounded, but also enraged. He no longer held back; his scales stood on end, and the surrounding temperature rose sharply. The smell of sulfur in the air became intense and pungent, the bronze on the ground began to soften, and the lava rivers boiled and churned.
It's getting serious.
Lu Mingfei struggled to get up, his hand holding the folding knife trembling.
We can't beat them.
We can't beat them at all.
Strength, speed, defense, experience—he was completely outmatched. He could only wound Samson because his folding knife was an alchemical weapon, effective against dragons. But if Samson didn't give him a chance to get close, he couldn't even touch him.
Not to mention obtaining the bone vial and the Seven Deadly Sins.
"Brother," Lu Mingze's voice rang out, "Want to make a deal?"
Lu Mingfei was stunned.
transaction.
A quarter of your life, in exchange for one wish fulfilled.
"What can I get in return now?" he asked himself.
"Power," Lu Mingze said, "enough power for you to defeat this little dragon. Or... enough power for you to escape."
Lu Mingfei looked at the altar.
The urn and the seven deadly sins were right there, within reach.
He looked at Samson.
The dragon was gathering its strength; its next attack would be fatal.
He recalled Angers' words: "This is your trial, and this is your destiny."
He recalled Nono's reply on the forum: "Lu Mingfei, don't go! SS-level missions are too dangerous!"
He remembered his mother's words in his dream: "Live well, even if you're just an ordinary person."
Alive.
He wanted to live.
But not living as an ordinary person.
Instead, live as someone who can protect those they want to protect, accomplish what they want to accomplish, and no longer disappoint those who are important to them.
"I..." Lu Mingfei opened his mouth, his voice hoarse.
Just then, his vision began to blur.
It wasn't the blurriness caused by injury, but some kind of hallucination.
He saw a woman.
Wearing a white dress, she stood in the rain, turned back and smiled at him: "Mingfei, live well."
Joe Winnie.
His mother.
Then he saw another person.
With long red hair and black eyes, he sat on the lectern, swinging his long legs, and called out, "Hello, Rabbit."
Nono.
Two women, one in a dream, one in reality; one dead, one alive; one gave him life, the other gave him light.
They were all looking at him.
Her eyes were gentle and full of expectation.
"Mom..." Lu Mingfei murmured to himself, "Nono..."
Samson's attack has arrived.
This time it wasn't flames or claws, but a pure energy surge—a torrent of energy from a high-level dragon incantation, powerful enough to shatter steel and melt rock.
Lu Mingfei had nowhere to hide.
He didn't want to hide anymore.
Just as the torrent of energy was about to engulf him, he made a decision.
It's not a transaction.
Rather... it is awakening.