NABC Chapter 39 No Way Out
Chapter 39 No Way Out
Nono didn't say anything, got up and left, closing the door behind her.
Only the father and son remained in the ward.
Lu Lincheng pulled up a chair, sat down, placed his suitcase on his lap, and opened it.
Inside was a cylindrical glass container filled with a pale blue liquid. Within the liquid, a palm-sized fragment of bone, gleaming with a faint blue light, was slowly rotating.
The urn containing the bones of Leviathan, the king of the sea and water.
"What is this?" Lu Mingfei asked.
"Your new pet," Lu Lincheng said, his tone as calm as if he were commenting on the weather, "Leviathan, the king of the ocean and water. I spent ten years finding it deep within the Siberian ice sheet."
Lu Mingfei was stunned.
pet?
Dragon King?
"Dad, you..."
"Let me finish," Lu Lincheng interrupted him. "I know this is crazy. I know I shouldn't give you something like this. But Mingfei, this world has gone mad."
His eyes turned cold:
"The Academy is already aware of your experience in Bronze City. You used the Word of Power Rhine, triggering an explosion equivalent to 50,000 tons of TNT. This power will frighten many, and it will also make many... want to possess you."
Lu Mingfei's heart sank.
"The Gattuso family is already putting pressure on you, demanding you be locked up in a special containment facility for 'protective confinement.' The other board members are also watching. If I hadn't arrived in time, with this—" He tapped the bone vial, "they might have already succeeded."
"Why?" Lu Mingfei asked. "Why do you want to protect me? You used to be..."
"I made mistakes before." Lu Lincheng lowered his head, his voice filled with pain. "I thought hiding you away and letting you live like an ordinary person was protecting you. I thought that by staying away from the world of dragons, you would be safe. But I was wrong."
He looked up at Lu Mingfei:
"Odin is hunting us. Jovini's death is related to Odin. Your bloodline has also been locked onto by Odin. You can't escape, Mingfei. You are destined to face all of this."
He grasped Lu Mingfei's hand:
"So this time, Daddy won't run away. Daddy will stand by your side and protect you. Anyone who dares to harm you, I'll destroy them. Even if the whole world turns against you—"
His eyes burned with a mad light:
"Then I'll destroy the whole world."
Lu Mingfei stared blankly at him, at this unfamiliar, crazy, yet incredibly real father.
He didn't know what to say.
All he knew was that from this day forward, everything would be different.
Outside the ward, in the corridor.
Nono leaned against the wall, her arms crossed, listening to the faint conversation coming from the ward.
Her expression was complicated.
Lu Lincheng's madness, Lu Mingfei's calm, the secret of the bone flask, Odin's pursuit...
Too much information, too many mysteries.
But one thing is certain—
Lu Mingfei can never go back to a normal life.
He has already stepped into this cruel and real world, ignited the flame in his blood, and... there is no way back.
"Nono."
A voice came from behind.
Nono turned around and saw Caesar.
He was wearing a hospital gown, his arm was bandaged, and his face was somewhat pale, but his eyes remained sharp. He walked up to Nuonuo, stopped, and looked at her.
"You've been here for three days," Caesar said.
"Mm." Nono nodded.
Why?
Nono was silent for a few seconds, then laughed: "Then why did you go to the Three Gorges? Why risk your life to see a freshman you didn't even know?"
Caesar also fell silent.
After a long silence, he said, "I saw it."
"What do you see?"
"The moment I saw him use the Rhine," Caesar said softly, "I saw that... determination to win at all costs. I saw that... madness that would make him fight the whole world for what he cared about."
He looked at Nono:
"Now I understand why you care about him. Because he's the same kind of person as you. You're both crazy."
Nono smiled, a bright and cheerful smile: "Thank you for the compliment."
Caesar smiled too, but his smile was tinged with bitterness: "Let's break up, Nono."
Nono was stunned.
“It’s not because you’re bad, nor because of Lu Mingfei,” Caesar said, “but because… I’m tired. I’m tired of the shackles that come with the Gattuso name, tired of everything the family has arranged for me, tired of… playing the role of a perfect heir.”
He looked out the window, at the sunlit Kassel College:
"I want to be myself. Even if only for a while."
Nono looked at him for a long time, then nodded: "Okay."
There was no pleading, no arguing, no tears.
Just like their beginning, it was calm and rational, like a transaction had been completed.
Caesar turned and left, took a few steps, then stopped without looking back.
"Tell him I don't dislike him. On the contrary... I'm a little envious of him."
After saying that, he left.
Nono stood there, watching Caesar's departing figure, without moving for a long time.
Then, she turned around, pushed open the door to the ward, and went inside.
Lu Lincheng had already left. Only Lu Mingfei remained in the ward, leaning against the headboard, gazing out the window with a lost look in his eyes.
Nono walked to the bedside and sat down.
"Caesar is gone," she said.
Lu Mingfei turned his head: "Where to?"
"It's not about where we're going, it's about breaking up," Nono said calmly. "I broke up with him."
Lu Mingfei was stunned.
His heart skipped a beat, and a complex mix of emotions welled up inside him—surprise, elation, guilt, and... unease.
"Because of me?" he asked.
"Not entirely," Nono said. "It was mainly because of him. He was tired and wanted to break free from the constraints of his family. I was just... the trigger."
She paused, looking at Lu Mingfei:
"But it was because of you that I saw some things more clearly."
Lu Mingfei looked at her, at her deep black eyes, at the undisguised, complex emotions within them.
"What did you see clearly?" he asked.
"I've come to understand myself," Nuonuo said. "I've realized what I care about, what I want, and what I'm willing to do anything for... without hesitation."
She reached out and took Lu Mingfei's hand.
Her hands were cold, but she was holding them tightly.
"Ricardo," she said, her voice soft but clear, "from this day forward, you are not alone. I will be with you, protect you, and face everything with you—Odin, the Dragon King, the Board of Governors, the Gattuso family, everything."
She smiled, a smile as gentle as the spring sunshine:
"So, don't even think about dying alone anymore. If you're going to die, you'll have to take me with you."
Lu Mingfei stared blankly at her, at the red-haired girl, at the burning flame in her eyes, and at the gentle smile on her lips.
Then, he smiled too.
It was a very faint, almost invisible smile.
But there is light in his eyes.
"Okay," he said. "Together."
Outside the window, the sun is shining brightly.