Chapter 16: Contracts and Historical Nodes

After understanding Chen Motong’s hardships and her request, Lu Mingfei sighed and said, “I thought you’d be like those heroic women who just force people not to spread the matter and that would be the end of it.”

Nono crossed her legs and sneered coldly, “You’ve got it all wrong—thinking you can just enjoy yourself with me and then walk away?”

Lu Mingfei was drawn to the elegant curve of Nono’s crossed legs and her fair, delicate feet. He shifted slightly closer, tentatively reaching out his hand and asked, “Actually, after yesterday’s intense battle, I wasn’t quite myself and didn’t fully appreciate things. Maybe—”

Nono gave him a half-smile, scanning him with a sly glance before raising her slender, tender palm. “Heh, go ahead then.”

Lu Mingfei awkwardly chuckled, “Hey, never mind.”

“Sit over there! You’re making me uncomfortable!”

“...”

In summary, it wasn’t complicated. Though Nono appeared quirky and free-spirited, she was actually born into a rigid, almost fanatical family and had lived like a bird in a cage. Her father had arranged a marriage alliance with an old-fashioned Italian noble family, the Gattuso clan.

She could temporarily overlook Lu Mingfei’s ingratitude, but wanted him to help her break free from her family’s constraints.

Naturally, Lu Mingfei agreed. The conditions she set were incredibly lenient—hardly a burden for him. It felt almost like Nono had made them up to soothe herself.

But Nono was no fool who liked to deceive herself.

She had witnessed Lu Mingfei’s formidable power stirring up storms just last night. Based on her profiling of him these past few days, she had chosen the approach most likely to gain his consent.

After all, she neither understood nor could restrain Lu Mingfei; seeking his help through a wish-like pact was her only option.

Lu Mingfei admired Chen Motong’s reliable style, steady temperament, and exceptional talent—a born teammate. Lending her a hand was no trouble.

What was some family or nobility compared to alien friends?

It wasn’t that Lu Mingfei blindly worshipped foreign things or thought aliens were inherently superior; the gap was simply immense.

While Earthlings were still playing in the mud, weaker alien species could traverse galaxies and colonize star systems. The strong ones had become memetic beings traveling through timelines, let alone those transcending infinite dimensions, born noble and magnificent.

And Earthlings were still stuck with arranged marriages? What else but a relic?

---

After discussing the “conditions,” silence fell over the room. Lu Mingfei sat on the bed, deep in thought, saying nothing.

Nono uncrossed her legs and retied the belt of her bathrobe, accentuating her slender waistline.

“I have to go now. It’s late… if I stay, they’ll get suspicious.”

“Oh.”

“Oh, don’t just say ‘oh’! Don’t you have some spell to lower your presence? You expect me to walk back in just a bathrobe?!”

Having witnessed Lu Mingfei’s hidden talents, Nono knew if she hadn’t known he was there beforehand, she might have just ignored him.

Lu Mingfei couldn’t help but laugh, “Hey, thinking about it, that’s pretty thrilling.”

Though he said that, he obediently recited an obscure incantation and cast a mundane invisibility spell on Nono.

She looked left and right, incredulous. “That’s it?”

“Yep. You could streak down the street now and no one would notice.”

The mundane invisibility spell’s magical aura was imperceptible to the naked eye, making it impossible to self-check its success.

Many veterans had been caught out by this spell, mistakenly thinking it worked—and ended up embarrassed running around naked.

Nono frowned beautifully. “Your expression tells me you’re enjoying this. You don’t really want to see me humiliated, do you? My family’s elders are no pushovers like me. If they find out… it’ll be dangerous.”

Lu Mingfei waved his hand. “It worked, but you have to avoid initiating contact. If someone notices you, the spell won’t work on that person.”

Nono said no more. She gathered the clothes she’d left behind yesterday, packed them up, and took them with her.

After the beauty left, a faint lingering fragrance remained in the room. Lu Mingfei found no reason to stay, so after Nono left, he cast a spell and departed as well.

Such a vast secret realm city was not a place to linger. Better to slip away quickly.

When the boy had made that deal with him, he played a word game—offering “the power to escape your predicament” rather than “the power to break through the secret realm.” That choice of words was suspicious.

---

The person Lu Mingfei had killed was very likely a fake. After all, the decadent middle-aged man trapped in his battle arena didn’t resemble a chief god from Norse mythology.

At least the Norse gods should look foreign, right?

Before leaving the secret realm, Lu Mingfei retrieved his phone. Though it had been slammed hard and soaked underwater for a while, it surprisingly still worked. He called Professor Goodrian.

“Professor Goodrian, it’s me, Lu Mingfei.”

Goodrian’s voice sounded a bit tense. “Mingfei, I’m in Beijing, about to board the plane. Have you made up your mind?”

“Yes, I agree.”

Lu Mingfei felt a bit like a bride accepting a proposal.

A calm female voice then spoke on the phone.

“Verification complete. Options unlocked. Lu Mingfei, born February 14, 1992, male, ID A.D.0013, rank ‘S,’ listed on Kassel Academy’s roster. Database access granted, account activated, course schedule generated. I am Norma, secretary of Kassel Academy. It is a pleasure to serve you. Your plane ticket, passport, and visa will be delivered within three weeks. Welcome, Lu Mingfei.”

Three weeks? Oh boy.

Lu Mingfei’s brow twitched, thinking about having to stay near someone he barely knew and was already at odds with for three weeks. It was unsettling.

Goodrian’s voice came again. “Mingfei, voiceprint signature complete. Norma will handle the rest. Just wait for the email. Are you with Nono? Stay put; I’ll send a vehicle to pick you up. A few documents still require your signature.”

“Uh, she’s not here. Should I send a location?”

“No need. I have your hotel info. Just stay nearby.”

Not my buddy, but why do Kassel Academy people all like to spring surprises like this?

A loud roar cut through the clear sky. Lu Mingfei looked up and saw a helicopter approaching low.

Kassel Academy sure knew how to make an entrance. Those who won the resurrection contest probably wouldn’t fear helicopters anymore.

For some reason, Lu Mingfei sensed the arrival of a pivotal moment rushing through the torrent of history.

Perhaps it was time to prepare for his first divination upon returning home.