When Lu Mingfei reopened his eyes, the white ceiling came into view.
After a few seconds of confusion, his brain rebooted, and he quickly recognized that he was lying in a hospital room.
"Awake?"
At that moment, a voice came from the bed next door.
Lu Mingfei was about to sit up but felt his entire body aching, as if a hundred people had taken turns beating him. He couldn't help but gasp.
"You're badly injured. 80% of your muscles are torn, 60% of your bones are fractured. Even the doctors say it's a miracle you're alive," the person in the next bed continued.
"Just lie down and rest. You won't be able to move on your own for at least three to five days."
"Huh? Then how do I use the bathroom?!"
As expected, Lu Mingfei's first thought was of some inappropriate scene from a certain country's adult media.
"There's a catheter," came the reply.
The person in the next bed couldn't have guessed what kind of thoughts were going through his mind.
"Oh," Lu Mingfei said, feeling a little disappointed. He turned his head to look at the person in the next bed, then hesitated. "Senior Brother Chu, you..."
Lying in the bed next to him was someone completely wrapped in bandages, looking almost like a freshly unearthed mummy. His limbs were even fixed in place, clearly in worse shape than Lu Mingfei.
"What happened after I lost consciousness?"
Chu Zihang, bound up like a mummy, could barely move his eyes, and he glanced over at Lu Mingfei, asking.
"I'm sorry... I failed."
Memories flooded back, and Lu Mingfei's expression fell. "I defeated 'Odin,' but he was suddenly rescued by someone who appeared out of nowhere. I... was powerless."
"You didn't fail, you did great." Chu Zihang said seriously, "You stopped Pompeii's plot, prevented the summoning ritual, and saved me, Chen Motong, and Xia Mi."
"But... Lu Mingze is dead."
Lu Mingfei muttered softly, only loud enough for himself to hear.
"What?"
Chu Zihang didn't catch it clearly and asked, thinking he'd just murmured something.
"No, it's nothing."
Lu Mingfei quickly adjusted his emotions, shaking his head. "I think Pompeii won't give up so easily. He'll try to conduct the summoning ritual again."
"As for this, the principal has already reported it to the board of directors." Chu Zihang paused before continuing.
"With Caesar's testimony and other pieces of evidence, soon the entire Hybrid secret faction will come together to track Pompeii down. He has nowhere to hide now."
"What about Nono and Xia Mi?"
Lu Mingfei asked.
Chu Zihang, unusually, went silent.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing his silence, Lu Mingfei began to worry. He hurriedly asked, "Brother, what happened to Nono and Xia Mi? Are they okay?"
"Don't worry, they're fine."
Chu Zihang hesitated for a moment, then added, "Did you already know about Xia Mi?"
"Uh…"
Lu Mingfei froze, unsure of what to say.
"It seems you already knew." Chu Zihang sighed, his voice full of an indescribable melancholy, as if speaking to himself.
"Actually, I wasn't completely unconscious back then. I vaguely heard Odin's words... Xia Mi, she's actually the Dragon King."
"Brother, actually…" Lu Mingfei wanted to comfort him, but the words got stuck in his throat, unsure of how to speak.
"I understand what you mean."
Chu Zihang lowered his gaze, his tone emotionless as he said, "The principal will discuss this matter with the board of directors."
At this moment, deep underground at Cassell Academy, inside several tightly sealed cells.
Since Xia Mi's identity was exposed, under Schneider's strict orders, she was transferred to a safer location.
Specifically, a prison specially built for her.
It had enough space to accommodate a normal person, with all daily necessities provided.
However, it was covered with surveillance equipment, sealed by massive alloy gates weighing dozens of tons, and even had high-voltage currents, alchemical mercury spray traps, and other devices designed to restrain dragons.
Xia Mi herself was shackled with alchemical manacles on all four limbs, limiting her range of motion. Each manacle was equipped with monitoring devices.
If any signs of an escape attempt were detected, an explosive device would be triggered, capable of crushing the limbs of a Dragon King.
Had it not been for the principal's opinion, Schneider had even considered using alchemical instruments to directly pierce Xia Mi's clavicle, severing her limbs' tendons, and then submerging her in mercury to ensure safety.
Xia Mi's clothes were clean and neat, her simple ponytail standing upright as she sat cross-legged in the prison.
The heavy gates were opened one by one, and footsteps grew closer.
She opened her eyes and looked toward the approaching figure.
"I didn't expect our second meeting would be under such circumstances."
The elderly man stared at Xia Mi in the cell and said calmly.
It seemed that since her identity had been exposed, she no longer needed to pretend.
Even though she was in prison, she still sat like a ruler, her eyes filled with authority.
She gazed at the man in a suit standing outside the electrified bars and asked indifferently, "Have you decided how to deal with me?"
The elderly man, his silver hair neatly combed back and dressed in a sharp suit, was none other than the principal of Cassell Academy, the greatest dragon slayer in history, Hilbert Ron Hilbert.
"Pretty much. The board of directors' opinions are quite unified."
Ang reached for a cigar, lighting it and holding it to his lips, then calmly said, "Xia Mi, King of the Earth and Mountains, Jormungandr, you will be sentenced to death."
This result was clearly something Xia Mi had anticipated.
There was no surprise, no fear of death. From start to finish, she remained calm, as if nothing mattered at all.
She was the Dragon King, one of the four great monarchs, the enemy of humanity.
The seeds of their conflict had been planted thousands of years ago, and it was impossible to change.
Only when one side was completely destroyed would the war end.
"Oh, when?"
Xia Mi thought for a moment and still asked, curious about when it would end.
"Probably in a few days."
Hilbert flicked the ash off his cigar and answered, his voice calm.
Xia Mi lowered her eyelids, sinking into a long silence.
"Don't you have anything you want to say?"
Hilbert exhaled a smoke ring and said casually, "I can pass on a message for you, like... to Chu Zihang?"
Chu Zihang. The name dropped into Xia Mi's heart like a stone into a lake, sending ripples through her thoughts.
Her gaze struggled for a moment, as memories of the most beautiful times seemed to surface, but in the end, she sighed softly and shook her head. "No, don't tell him anything. It's fine like this."
"Do you think the Dragon Clan and humans can coexist peacefully?"
Suddenly, Hilbert looked at her meaningfully and asked an absurd question.
"I don't know."
Xia Mi, confused, lowered her head, staring at her hands as if talking to herself.
"Actually, I never intended to hurt anyone. Even when I joined the academy, I only wanted to steal the Norton Dragonbone Cross. I just want to live... Does that make me an enemy of humanity?"
"No, it doesn't."
********
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