Chapter 51 The Cunning Xenogeneic

Right after Lu Mingfei sent Akagi Yude flying, he was immediately met with a sharp ninety-degree turn. NoNo looked back in vain, only to be met by mountain slopes covered in lush greenery.

Unable to conceal her disappointment, she asked:

"Didn't you say she could still be saved?"

Lu Mingfei rested one hand on the car window while steering with the other, nodding matter-of-factly:

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I have to save her, right?"

Though Akagi Yude had been transformed into a ghoul by the Immortal Sand Soul-Returning Talisman—which would make her appearance somewhat grotesque—she still retained a complete soul and the capacity for independent thought. If she lived in seclusion, she could actually lead a relatively normal life, and with further study of transmutation spells, she would be virtually indistinguishable from an ordinary human.

However, since she chose to meddle in affairs where she had no business, she could hardly blame Lu Mingfei for crushing her directly like a bug.

Every second was precious right now; how could he possibly afford to waste any?

NoNo read the indifference and madness in Lu Mingfei's eyes, pressed her lips together, and shifted her gaze back to the surrounding environment without another word.

Lu Mingfei drew a pistol from his coat—one he had just collected from the maintenance department—and handed it to NoNo:

"Don't use profiling from this point on. No matter who you see ahead, just shoot on sight."

"Freya bullets?"

"Live ammunition, of course. If Freya bullets worked, I suppose I'd be looking at a completely intact Brother Caesar right now. You don't need to carry any psychological burden either, seeing as they're already dead."

NoNo said nothing more. She took the pistol, expertly field-stripped it, and reloaded it to ensure it wouldn't jam at a critical moment.

***

At the end of the winding mountain road stood a blocking stone stele. The Bugatti Veyron could send the relatively slight frame of Akagi Yude flying, but it certainly couldn't budge this stubborn block deeply embedded in the earth. Lu Mingfei was forced to bring the car to a halt.

The Bugatti Veyron Iai-Slash made a regretful exit.

The headlights of the Bugatti failed to pierce the shroud of light rain and mist. The temperature at the summit was somewhat chilly, accompanied by gusts of damp and cold mountain wind.

The howling of the wind, the low roar of the engine, the breathing of the two... and it seemed, it seemed there were also other rustling sounds...

Perhaps because NoNo shared a preference for driving convertible sports cars in the rain, she had refused to close the Bugatti Veyron's roof, leaving the two of them exposed to the downpour all the way up the mountain.

Whether due to the cold and the rain, NoNo's naturally rosy complexion had turned pale, and her smooth, vibrant red hair clung to her soft cheeks.

Always somewhat tomboyish, her body trembled uncontrollably: "Should we turn on the high beams?"

Lu Mingfei nodded:

"Turn them on."

Being a rainy night, the summit was almost completely devoid of light sources. This might well be the casting environment his enemy required, so disrupting it a bit wouldn't hurt.

Even if it failed to serve as a disruption, his feeble human night vision could hardly match that of most anomalous entities. He had to create an environment favorable to himself, even if it meant startling the snake in the grass.

The dazzling beams of light stabbed into the fog like a sword, illuminating the rainclouds above and bathing the entire mountain peak in light.

The terrain at the summit was flat and devoid of trees, overgrown with grass instead. A spring welled up from beneath the rocks, forming a small mountain pool. The overflowing water cascaded down the mountain, creating a snowy-white waterfall, with the faint sound of rushing water drifting up from below.

Nobody.

How could there be nobody?!

The hairs on Lu Mingfei's arms stood violently on end as demonic thoughts swarmed his mind.

His enemy was an anomalous entity endowed with high intelligence. What if they had used a feint to lure him up the mountain, only to perform their ritual elsewhere...

Where would it be? The school? A round trip would take another half-hour; would there still be time?

What were they trying to summon? The mythological entity from the third vision? That intense mental pollution—without doubt, it was a Great Old One!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Cold sweat poured from Lu Mingfei's body. At that moment, NoNo, standing beside him, suddenly fired several shots in rapid succession.

The thunderous roar of the pistol shattered the silence of the environment.

Heroine NoNo possessed no Verbal Commands, but her physical strength was solidly that of an "A-grade" half-breed. Abandoning her previous pitiful appearance in an instant, she grabbed Lu Mingfei by the back of his collar like a helpless chick and retreated rapidly by a few steps.

"Snap out of it, Lu Mingfei! It's invisibility! They used invisibility!"

The world through the eyes of NoNo the profiler was entirely different from that of Lu Mingfei, whose sanity was still relatively intact.

In Lu Mingfei's eyes, the place was desolate and tranquil, the environment serene;

Yet in NoNo's perception, the obstructed sound of the wind, the slightly distorted mist, and the strange, extraneous noises that should never have been there—all of these stood out with microscopic clarity to the red-haired sorceress.

Almost instantly, relying on her perceptual acuity that surpassed human limits, she shattered the "psychological invisibility"!

Lu Mingfei gave a violent shudder, instantly slapping the "Soldier-Horse Altar" at his waist to activate Time Zero.

The flow of time slowed down in his vision.

He quickly pulled out the small flask of medicinal wine from his pocket, pressed his nose against the opening, and took a deep inhalation.

A massive surge of coolness rushed straight to his brain. The overwhelmingly pungent odor brought tears to Lu Mingfei's eyes. He widened his bloodshot eyes and once again observed the environment illuminated by the high beams.

It had changed; it had truly changed.

The previously empty platform now featured two massive, frenzied, irregular, and dazzling black magic arrays. They were not human creations—they could not possibly be human creations.

One of the arrays had been severely defaced with broad strokes of red pigment, while in front of the intact array stood several tall, gaunt figures in silence.

Most of them bore young and handsome faces, and Lu Mingfei recognized the one at the lead.

Ye Sheng.

Like an insect trapped in unsolidified amber, he was still struggling slowly within the sluggish passage of time.

That son of a bitch, they'd finally caught him.

This group of cunning alien entities had employed techniques akin to mental induction and psychological invisibility, hoping to lure him down the mountain to complete the evil god's summoning ritual. If not for the sharp-eyed NoNo and Caesar lying in the small pool, they almost would have succeeded.

Yes, simply by observing the chaotic scene, Lu Mingfei could deduce:

For reasons unknown, Caesar had successfully tracked them and arrived at this location. Through keen perception and an iron will, he had resisted the mental influence of these alien entities, using red Freya bullets to disrupt the first array that was on the verge of completion. Otherwise, the evil god they were summoning at this moment would probably have already graced Kassel College with its holy presence.

Within the slowed-down time, the leading Ye Sheng wore a fawning smile. His lips parted slightly as if to utter some plea for mercy, but the sound was stretched out far too long by Time Zero for Lu Mingfei to hear clearly.

And he had no interest in listening.

Lu Mingfei drew a piece of yellow paper inscribed with bizarre incantations, formed a strange hand seal with his other hand, and chanted urgently:

"Clouds fly in rapid motion, let realms and fire converge.
Dark thunder dragons channel rain, nourishing all things and people.
What is the heart's autumn, compliant rain brooks no thought.
What is played above and absent, the emperor dwells in days of yore.
Disasters upon moon and star provinces, strike down and sever ghosts.
A hundred monsters choose the flood of things, spirits hasten to save fading beauty.
Immortal fire obeys this present decree, Thunder Lord heed the urgent call!"

The yellow paper burst into spontaneous combustion without fire.

"By decree!"

Light illuminated the eight directions, and the voice of the heavens crashed down in thunder!