Chapter 126: The Final Battle (Part 2)

「Sakura? 」

Hui Liyi stepped down from the hovering tour bus, her face lighting up at the sight of Lao Lu.

Her lips parted slightly, revealing a bright, sunlit smile; her eyes flickered, yet she sensed something both familiar and strange about this man.

「Is this the future Sakura? 」

Lao Lu looked bewildered—he had no idea why Hui Liyi appeared here.

「Maybe she got lucky in the lottery? 」 Su Lin said. 「But to find you in such a huge city? That's too absurd. I wonder how she did it. 」

「Sakura? 」 Hui Liyi softly called out.

「What do we do now? 」 Su Lin prodded Lao Lu.

Lao Lu shook his head and walked toward Hui Liyi. 「What else can we do? Change numbers. 」

No sooner had he spoken than his entire demeanor shifted—the confident aura of long-standing superiority faded into plainness, and he quickened his pace toward Hui Liyi.

Lu Mingfei's face beamed with joy as he eagerly approached the red-haired girl, and amid the puzzled stares of passersby, he tightly embraced her.

「Tsk tsk. 」 Su Lin watched Lu Mingfei hug Hui Liyi and teased, 「Held back for so long, now you've got guts—daring to hug a girl. 」

「She looks a bit like Chen Motong, 」 Yemengjade glanced at the girl and remarked.

「What are we doing now? Being a third wheel? 」 Lao Tang asked.

「Let's go, 」 Su Lin said—he could always watch the livestream anyway.

Su Lin led the group down the street as aimless wanderers, heading toward the Virtual Reality Experience Center. The two dragons were seriously addicted to the internet, and he was much the same—today's surge in players made the big online game far more interesting.

Not far away, beneath a holographic advertisement, someone waved at them from the intersection.

「Damn. 」

Su Lin was puzzled—how had Miss Kelaien gotten in here too?

「You've got guts, 」 Su Lin eyed Miss Kelaien suspiciously. 「What are you up to? Planning a surprise attack? 」

Even if he launched a surprise now, they were prepared—no fear at all.

「Only I came, 」 Miss Kelaien smiled subtly—he had infiltrated using the Faceless Man's ability.

He found a medium-sized man, traded with him, and acquired this tourist credential.

He pointed his thumb toward the Virtual Reality Experience Center behind him. 「The queue's too long—I came to you to use a privilege. 」

After all, as observers from a god's-eye view, they weren't as tense as the locals—though this wasn't just a game, since their ultimate gains were at stake, the opposing high-ups were, in a sense, on their side.

「Aren't you afraid I'll leave you here? 」

「I trust you, bro. 」

What stood here was merely a puppet; his historical projection was in a restaurant two kilometers away, beside the teleportation gate, while his true body hid within a historical fissure beside the gate—he had prepared in advance, ready to flee at once using a paper doll if anything went wrong.

「Can't help it—I really wanted to try your advertised game, 」 Miss Kelaien surveyed the sea of people at the VR center. 「Even Her Majesty the Empress needs company, doesn't she? 」

「By the way, did your backend manipulate the lottery for her? 」 Miss Kelaien asked curiously.

「Didn't she draw it herself? 」 Su Lin looked confused.

Miss Kelaien paused, then understood—it was far more likely than winning the lottery.

His peripheral vision caught a youthful, beautiful girl beside Chu Zihang; his eyes brightened, and he cheerfully extended his right hand toward Yemengjade. 「You must be Xia Mi—hello, have you eaten lunch yet? 」

「Where did everyone go? 」 Lu Mingfei turned around and found Su Lin and the others gone—only tourists passed nearby, glancing curiously at the clingy couple.

「Sakura, take me out to play? 」 Hui Liyi whispered. Her bloodline had now stabilized enough that speaking wouldn't cause massive destruction.

「Come on, I'll take you for a walk. 」

He suddenly felt the illusion of showing his long-lost girlfriend around his vast empire.

Though the empire had nothing to do with him, it didn't stop his heart from swelling slightly.

This high-tech city also excelled in greenery—lush streets occasionally featured gardener robots trimming flowers and leaves.

Not far away stood a zero-gravity park, where gravity was only one-quarter of the outside world; upon entering, visitors could move with effortless lightness.

Lu Mingfei walked hand in hand with Hui Liyi along the street, showing her these novel sights—though of course, Hui Liyi loved games and anime most.

When they emerged from the mall laden with purchases, specialized drones delivered the goods directly to the addresses they'd entered.

Lu Mingfei hadn't expected he'd enjoy a free shopping spree at the mall.

「Feel the power of authority and influence now? 」

「It's still a bit unnatural not to be honest. 」

「Hehe. 」

Hui Liyi held an ice cream, licked it a few times, then brought it to Lu Mingfei's face.

「Want some? 」

Lu Mingfei's face flushed crimson. He stared at the melting chocolate sphere, swallowed hard. Hui Liyi held her hand out, waiting for him to act.

He looked at Hui Liyi—this girl was so close, her soft, smooth red hair exuding shampoo's fragrance; beneath long lashes, her rose-dark eyes gazed at him quietly, without a trace of shyness—as if this were perfectly normal.

「Doesn't Sakura want some? 」 she asked, puzzled.

「Why didn't I meet this CG during my first love?! 」

「Who taught her this?! So good! Damn it! 」

「If you keep zoning out, I'll take control of your body and lick it myself! 」

Lao Lu's voice echoed in Lu Mingfei's mind; he hastily bit off a chunk of the chocolate ice cream. Though coldness reached his tongue, his blood surged uncontrollably in opposition to the chill—he even had the illusion that the ice cream felt warm in his mouth.

A middle-aged couple passed by, covering their mouths, eyes smiling as they glanced at the two.

Lu Mingfei hastily swallowed the ice cream, yet felt a pang of regret—it had gone down too fast.

「Hui Liyi, you—」

She linked arms with him, pried open his palm, and clasped his hand tightly, fingers interlocked.

「I heard from Ah La… I heard couples do this. Did I do it right? 」 Hui Liyi felt uneasy inside, gazing at Lu Mingfei, seeking his approval.

"I really don't want to admit you're my past — my brain actually overloaded?!!"

"Snap out of it! I don't know who taught her, but that person is an absolute genius!"

"Hurry, hurry, unlock the next CG screen!"

Lu Mingfei felt as if he had drifted through the entire day in a daze. He looked up at the night sky, where starlight twinkled. His palms were slightly sweaty, but Hui Liyi didn't show the slightest bit of distaste and still held his hand tightly. His heart hadn't rested for a moment, still pounding at high speed.

The male hormones that had found no use for over twenty years of his past life today seemed to have finally found a stage suited for them, eager and impatient to perform one after another all the dramas rehearsed for so many years down in the wings. The actors on stage were performing tirelessly without pause.

A square-shaped robot painted blue walked toward the two of them and scanned their faces.

"Great Supreme One, greetings."

"May I ask whether this tourist should be granted temporary residence clearance?"

It was already 9:00 PM. The robots on Dawn Island were scanning for lingering tourists and urging them to leave as soon as possible. If they hadn't departed by 10 o'clock, a hybrid law enforcement squad would be dispatched to forcibly 'invite' these people to leave.

After this robot detected Lu Mingfei's presence, it analyzed the current situation and posed the question.

Seeing that Lu Mingfei hadn't spoken, the robot automatically transmitted the situation to the hybrids responsible for maintaining order to make a decision. Since it involved the highest-clearance individual, the AI level and clearance it was equipped with were insufficient to handle the current situation on its own.

The hybrid Augustus and two other personnel on duty were playing mahjong with a second-generation dragon who had exposed himself and defected from human society, when an electronic pen beside them vibrated and projected a few words into the air.

"Lingering personnel detected? Isn't that something the enforcement squad should handle? Gong, wait a moment." He picked up the electronic pen and said: "Just expel them directly, that's all there is to it."

"Dispatch the expulsion mission?"

"Of course."

"Enforcement squad dispatched."

The image was projected, and he glanced at it in passing.

"Stop right now!!!" His eyes were split with rage. He stared at the projected image and Horned Sihoued: "Refuse! Mission canceled!!!"

"Get the enforcement squad away from that area!!!"

The tile he held in his other hand was crushed. The second-generation dragon opposite glanced at the tiles in his own hand that hadn't been completed yet, smiled, shuffled all the tiles, and took out a fresh set of mahjong.

'She should go home now.' Old Lu's consciousness reminded him: 'It's time I took over this body again.'

'Just a little longer.'

This feeling is truly addictive.

Lu Mingfei felt the warmth transmitted from his palm, thought about today's date with Hui Liyi, and—oh no.

'I think I'm turning into a love-brained fool.'

Truly intoxicating. He suddenly didn't want to keep worrying about this world's future, only wanting to make this moment eternal, quietly staying together with the girl beside him.

'That's exactly why I said you weren't that devoted.' Old Lu said: "Many days ago, you didn't even like this girl. In your head you were thinking about Nono every single day."

'Even after you knew the future, you silently stuffed the photo collection of Nono that Lu Mingze gave you into a suitcase and brought it to Japan.'

'At that time you wanted to change the future. Toward this girl you had guilt, you had gratitude, you had sympathy — but you didn't have love.'

Old Lu's words pulled Lu Mingfei back to his senses a little from the current atmosphere.

'What are you trying to say?' Lu Mingfei asked in his consciousness.

'What I want to say is, love is like Schrödinger's cat — it always carries uncertainty. Of course, love also has two sides: inclusiveness and selfishness.'

'But in this regard, humans — or rather, most living beings — practice double standards. So do you. So do I.'

'You just treated Hui Liyi as a girl from the very start, not like I did, treating her as a humanoid weapon from the start. So naturally you went and discovered her goodness, her strengths. When she leaned on you, you felt needed. When she fell in love with you, you lit the firewood in your own heart to respond to her. Slowly, the shadow of Nono in your heart turned into Hui Liyi's shape.'

'I am the future you. What kind of person you are — wouldn't I know it clearly?' Old Lu's tone carried mockery.

'You're trying to get me to run a harem again?'

'They're all good girls — it'd be a pity to let any of them go.' Old Lu said: "Didn't I show you that worldline? Everyone was willing to be with me. We lived together in one big house. As long as you follow the steps I laid out for the strategy, it'll happen naturally."

'All that love should be mine — and it's all yours too.'

'I'm a double-standard person, and so are you. Most importantly, the promises I made — you have to fulfill them.'

'Hui Liyi will accept it. Trust me. Although her possessiveness is strong, she's not a yandere.'

'Enough! Shut up!'

Lu Mingfei cut off the guy in his head. Wants to brainwash me again? Heh, dream on.

"Hui Liyi, you should go home." Lu Mingfei looked at the few people walking over from that side.

"Isn't sakura coming back with me?" Hui Liyi's voice was kept very low, melodious and clear, the reluctance spilling out from her words: "I have a dad now. Big brother really is my big brother. And I have another big brother too. I want to introduce them to you."

She tightened her grip on Lu Mingfei's hand a little, her expression somewhat puzzled: "Is it that the future sakura doesn't want to be with Hui Liyi anymore? Did the future Hui Liyi do something wrong?"

Lu Mingfei felt something in his heart about to shatter. He raised his hand and gently brushed Hui Liyi's cheek. "I want to be with Hui Liyi forever, but precisely because I want to be with Hui Liyi forever, I chose of my own will to stay here."

"Wait for me a little longer, Hui Liyi." As Lu Mingfei spoke, something in his bearing shifted slightly.

Su Lin and the others stopped in their tracks, no longer approaching, leaving the two of them a little space.

Su Lin thought he was seeing things. He rubbed his eyes. He had just seemed to see a double image appear on Lu Mingfei's body? He looked toward Miss Kelaien, exchanged a glance with him, and confirmed it wasn't an illusion.

Old Lu?

"Very soon, no one in this world will covet you anymore, and the destiny entwined around me will be severed." He gazed gently at Hui Liyi and said: "At that time, we can be together forever."

"Whether dragons or hybrids, by then, none of them will pose a threat anymore."

Hui Liyi looked into Lu Mingfei's eyes. She seemed to see another person within them. "Is it sakura or Lu Mingfei?"

"What?"

"At that time, the one who's with me — is it sakura or Lu Mingfei?"

He knew what Hui Liyi cared about, so he threw out the fixed formula he had used before: "Lu Mingfei belongs to everyone, but I am the sakura who forever belongs to you."

He knew that Hui Liyi would agree with this way of putting it.

Hui Liyi let go of his hand, took a serious look at him, and said softly: "I'm going back now."

Old Lu nodded, used his clearance to summon a teleportation gate, and watched Hui Liyi leave.

'Was it an illusion...'

"I feel like something's different somewhere?"

He stroked his chin, thinking.

Miss Kelaien over there, seeing this, nodded at Su Lin and faded into the air.

Old Lu smoothed his hair with his right hand and said to Su Lin, "Tomorrow's protagonist is you. I'm counting on you."

"Don't worry." Su Lin said with a smile, "This kind of large-scale online game, I'm pretty good at it."

The alchemical matrix of Dawn Island began to operate, and the phantom image of the divine kingdom emerged, overlapping with this city the size of half of Tokyo.

I did say the Dragon Clan arc would end this week, there's no way I'd just skip over it without finishing it, qaq. It's almost over, and new members are coming too.