Chapter Fifty: Ascending the Mountain and the Bugatti Veyron’s Swift Strike

Rain clouds filled the sky, and the layers of coniferous forests in the valley undulated in the wind like black waves. Lu Mingfei had both hands on the steering wheel, casually manipulating the aggressive sports car.

As the wielder of "Time Zero," even the most top-tier sports car was merely a clumsy, oversized toy in his hands.

"Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring..."

Lu Mingfei's phone kept ringing incessantly. Nono, whose concentration had to be razor-sharp to search for clues, finally asked past the limit of her patience:

"Hey, can't you either turn off your phone or answer that call? It won't stop ringing!"

Lu Mingfei raised his elbow a bit, exposing the pocket of his jacket:

"Take it out and turn it off. I can't play with a phone while driving."

Nono didn't stand on ceremony either. She reached out, pulled the N96 out of Lu Mingfei's pocket, and glanced at it:

"Unknown caller. Should I answer?"

Lu Mingfei didn't care much:

"As you like. I just received one from Professor Guderian earlier, probably urging me back to deal with the intruders."

Nono pressed the hang-up button and asked:

"Intruders? The ones who blew up the campus?"

The intruders had used high-powered explosives to blast open the gates of Cassell College. Just as Nono and Lu Mingfei were leaving the campus, they had seen the main gate blown far away.

Lu Mingfei remained expressionless, but the veins on his hands gripping the steering wheel bulged:

"Probably. If there's still spare time after we resolve Ye Sheng's issue later, I'll make them regret ever appearing in this world."

The Great Old One he communicated with tonight was surprisingly friendly—so friendly it didn't feel like a Great Old One at all. The last time Lu Mingfei encountered a deity this friendly was...

Well, it was Nyarlathotep.

In a mad cosmos, a brief veneer of order often conceals greater malice and disorder. This realization dissipated a fraction of the anger burning deep in Lu Mingfei's heart, though a faint shadow still hung over his face.

"Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring..."

The number calling Lu Mingfei started up again with unyielding persistence. In the end, Nono pressed the answer button, hit the speakerphone option, and held the phone close to Lu Mingfei's mouth.

A strange, robust male voice came through the earpiece:

"Is this student Lu Mingfei?"

Lu Mingfei turned a deaf ear, showing no intention of acknowledging the call.

Instead, Nono, who was holding the N96, shook her arm slightly, her expression shifting somewhat. She pulled the phone away, covered her mouth with her hand, and whispered:

"Lu Mingfei, this voice—this voice is my professor, Drachenschloss..."

Lu Mingfei grew interested:

"Oh? The one who just came back from the Three Gorges? Come on, let me say a few words to him."

"His temper has always been rather bad. Didn't you take his class? Be careful not to tick him off."

Nono advised in a lowered voice.

The voice on the phone continued to press:

"Hello? Hello? Student Lu Mingfei, can you hear me?"

Lu Mingfei cleared his throat:

"I am Lu Mingfei. What is it?"

The person on the other end cut straight to the point:

"The college is under dragon attack! Where have you and Caesar run off to? The Valhalla needs reinforcements right now. Get over here immediately!"

"Isn't Norma there? Don't you know my location?"

The voice on the other side paused for a moment, then grew anxious, urging him in a commanding tone:

"Norma has malfunctioned tonight for unknown reasons! 'S'-class freshman Lu Mingfei! Hurry to Valhalla! Repeat! Hurry to Valhalla!"

Lu Mingfei stroked his chin, glanced sideways at Nono, who was signaling frantically at him with her eyes, and did not reply.

"Turn around immediately! Fall back and defend Valhalla!"

"Turn around immediately! Fall back and defend Valhalla!!"

"Turn around immediately! Fall back and defend Valhalla!!!"

"..."

The robust male voice of Drachenschloss on the phone shifted from steady and powerful at first to increasingly anxious, and eventually even escalated into hysterical shrieking.

Circling up the mountain road, Lu Mingfei turned the steering wheel with increasing frequency. The shrieking of a grown man echoing through the mountains was truly grating on the ears.

"Hang up."

Even a fool could tell how wrong the situation was by now, let alone the perceptive red-haired witch?

Nono hung up the phone, hesitated for a moment, and then sighed as she asked:

"Are Ye Sheng, Aki, and the professors still salvageable?"

Born with the ability to see through the ways of the world, she had always acted eccentric and unpredictable, leaving her with very few genuine friends.

Lu Mingfei smacked his lips:

"Tsk tsk, they're probably dead for sure. The only one who might still be lingering on is probably Fujiwara Aki.

Still, set your mind at ease. It's not necessarily them who are dead—who's to say it won't be us?"

Nono was stunned:

"Are you serious?"

Lu Mingfei spread his hands like a helpless little bear and didn't answer.

The characteristic of mythological magic was its low threshold and powerful effect. Even an inexperienced novice following the instructions step-by-step could potentially summon a world-destroying evil god.

Therefore, in battles between mages wielding mythological magic, spell types, casting environments, and spell preparation times were all of paramount importance.

Although Lu Mingfei had more abundant casting experience, after all, he hadn't completed multiple "Taoist register conferments" like in his past life; he was still just a mortal of flesh and blood.

Adding to that, nearly three hours had passed since Ye Sheng began his operation. If Lu Mingfei had been given all that time, he could have summoned a Great Old One by now.

The atmosphere grew somewhat silent. Holding Lu Mingfei's phone, Nono occasionally sneaked glances at his text messages while keeping watch on the surroundings.

Just as the Bugatti Veyron sped along, her peripheral vision suddenly caught a blurry black mark on the road surface ahead.

"Stop!" Nono said urgently, "Back up a bit."

Lu Mingfei applied the brakes and shifted into reverse. A distorted, black skid mark came into view for both of them.

Nono's eyes turned hollow as she entered "Profiling":

"The skid mark came from a motorcycle—a small motorcycle, Caesar's Harley.

Someone appeared in the middle of the mountain road, forcing Caesar to brake hard and leaving behind this skid mark."

Afterwards, Nono looked around in all directions and exited the profiling state. The two of them continued their ascent toward the summit.

Under the wash of the heavy rain, not many traces suitable for profiling were left behind, but at least it confirmed that they were not far from Fujiwara Aki's location.

Tracking Fujiwara Aki's position instead of Ye Sheng's was a truly helpless choice.

The information regarding Ye Sheng's location provided by the emerald-green freak turned out to be a close-up photo of a Great Old One. Not only did it contain no usable information, but it also carried intense mental contamination that had almost reduced Lu Mingfei to a vegetative state.

As they got closer and closer to the summit, a faint mist gradually began to appear on the road, and visibility grew worse and worse.

In the mist in the distance, a thin, somewhat hunchbacked figure seemed to faintly materialize.

As the distance between them closed, that slender figure gradually became recognizable.

Dark green school uniform, long black pinned-back hair, pale complexion, gentle facial features...

Nono gave an urgent warning:

"Lu Mingfei! Be careful! There's someone ahead! It's Aki!"

The voice seemed to awaken Aki, who was standing hazily in the mist. She slowly raised her head.

"No worries, watch me."

Lu Mingfei shifted gears and pressed the accelerator all the way to the floor. The silver sports car emitted a low roar like a beast, transforming into a streak of light as it charged forward, slamming straight into Fujiwara Aki's frail body.

Fujiwara Aki flew high into the air like a pitiful ragdoll while Lu Mingfei executed a sharp, graceful U-turn and sped away toward the peak.

With all kinds of martial arts at play, this could truly be called: Bugatti Veyron Iaido Slash!