43: Lu Mingfei: Senior brother, your woman has become your mother.

Lu Mingfei opened "Dragon Clan" with trembling hands.

In an instant, it wasn't words, but fragments of the long river of fate captured and imprinted by the Wushi Great Emperor with supreme power. Like the most realistic VR movie, it began playing directly in the depths of his Divine Soul.

He saw that lonely boy standing on the roof of a red Ferrari in the heavy rain, raising his middle finger to the sky; he saw that girl, Nono, who exhausted her Speech Spirit to save him underwater and eventually turned into a cocoon; he saw the King of Bronze and Fire, who lonely guarded the "Key" in the Bronze City under the Three Gorges Reservoir... scene after scene, frame after frame, like the sharpest knives, stabbing deep into his heart.

However, when the scene shifted to that land where cherry blossoms bloomed, when that girl appeared—wearing a miko outfit, "chatting" with him using a small notebook on the top floor of Genji Heavy Industries, and regarding him as her whole world—Lu Mingfei's breathing completely stopped.

Erii Uesugi.

He saw them playing fighting games in a love hotel, saw her clumsily mimicking Ultraman's poses on the streets of Akihabara, and saw her saying "sakura" to him in every language of the world on a big screen.

Then, he saw that apocalypse sweeping through Tokyo.

He saw that girl, who exhausted the last bit of her life to protect him, using her final strength to say to him over the phone—"Sakur and Sakura, the person I love most."

"Boom—!!!"

Lu Mingfei's mind went blank. He suddenly fell from his chair, his whole body cold as if he had fallen into a bottomless abyss. His heart felt as if it were being squeezed tightly by an invisible giant hand, the pain making it impossible to breathe.

Why... why did it have to be like this?

Why couldn't he do anything? Why could he only watch helplessly as she died before his eyes? Why was he, a so-called "S" class, ultimately a good-for-nothing waste?!

"No... don't..." he muttered to himself, tears streaming uncontrollably from his eyes.

The images continued. He saw the story of Zero, the girl who sacrificed herself to protect him on the Siberian ice plains, the girl who should have had a bright future but was ruthlessly toyed with by fate.

One tragedy after another, one instance of helplessness after another.

"Enough... enough! Stop playing it!" Lu Mingfei clutched his head and let out a roar of agony.

[Lu Mingfei]: "I'm not playing anymore... I'm not playing anymore! What dragon slaying, what savior! Get lost, all of you! I'm just a waste! I can't save anyone! @Little Devil, come out! Lu Mingze! Didn't you say you could grant all my wishes?! Come then! You be the protagonist! I'll give you my life! Just give them all back to me!!"

He completely broke down, sending out nearly frenzied messages in the Chat Group.

Meanwhile, the others in the group had also finished watching that trajectory of fate titled "Dragon Clan."

The entire Chat Group fell into an eerie, oppressive silence.

After a long time.

[Xiao Yan]: "...What the hell is this writing?! So frustrating! It's so damn frustrating! @Lu Mingfei, brother, if this were my story, I would have burned that guy named Odin along with his crappy World Tree into ashes long ago! What bullshit fate? My life is my own, not heaven's to decide!"

Xiao Yan's anger almost burst through the screen. What he hated most in his life was this kind of helpless fate; Lu Mingfei's story hit every single one of his triggers.

[Luo Feng]: "Analysis complete. Lu Mingfei's Bloodline potential is extremely high, even surpassing the 'Immortal' level of my Universe. But his own Heart-Nature and strength are severely mismatched, leading to the tragedy. Moreover, the story is full of irreparable regrets and logical gaps... it's very distressing to watch."

Luo Feng analyzed it from a rational perspective, but his words also revealed extreme discomfort with such a plot.

[Ye Fan]: "Erii... sigh... she really is a good girl. @Lu Mingfei, pull yourself together! You have us now, you have the Group Master, there's still time for everything! Don't let the tragedy repeat!"

Ye Fan's tone was full of sympathy and encouragement. He thought of many of his old friends and could better empathize with the pain of loss.

[Ancestor Dragon]: "Hmph! To have the power to slay gods but lack the heart of an emperor! Such a powerful Bloodline controlled by a cowardly Soul is simply a waste of a heavenly gift! Lu Mingfei, if you're still a man, stand up for me! Crush those so-called 'Dragon Kings' one by one! Smooth over those regrets one by one! Otherwise, you are unworthy of being a master!"

Qin Shi Huang's speech was full of imperial dominance and the anger of seeing someone fail to live up to expectations. In his view, Lu Mingfei's behavior was simply an insult to the status of "protagonist."

[Little Martial Uncle of Longhu Mountain]: "The big shots are all right... but this story is just too tragic... I feel like sending razor blades to the author..."

[Dont Laugh, My Lord]: "Yeah, this dungeon's plot design is no good. Tormenting the protagonist isn't done like this. Bad review."

Even the usually cynical Ye Xiu and Zhang Chulan expressed strong dissatisfaction with the story.

After being "educated" by everyone, Lu Mingfei's emotions stabilized slightly, but his heart was still full of confusion and pain.

[Lu Mingfei]: "Thank you, everyone... but... I still don't understand. Why does the later... the later story seem completely different? Erii... she... she seems to be... alive again? And Zero too... what exactly is going on?"

He saw the follow-up to the fragments of fate; it was a completely different story direction, and everything seemed so chaotic and contradictory.

This question also confused the other group members.

Just then, the calm and majestic voice of the Wushi Great Emperor rang out in the group.

[Group Master Wushi Great Emperor]: "Because the one holding the pen could no longer continue writing."

A single sentence, earth-shattering!

[Xiao Yan]: "The one holding the pen? Group Master, you mean..."

[Group Master Wushi Great Emperor]: "You can understand it this way: the original trajectory of each of your worlds originated from the conception of an 'author.' And the 'author' of Lu Mingfei's world, after depicting that future full of tragedy, was met with too much resentment from readers, and because he himself could no longer continue writing such a tragedy, he... restarted."

[Group Master Wushi Great Emperor]: "He forcibly cut off the original long river of fate and started anew, attempting to depict a different story. This caused massive chaos and contradictions in the space-time Laws of Lu Mingfei's world. You can treat that completely different follow-up as a parallel world."

These words were like a creator god revealing the ultimate mystery of the world, leaving all group members in deep shock.

So... their fates were truly "stories"?

And the Group Master was an existence standing outside the "story," looking down upon everything!

[Lu Mingfei]: "Pa... parallel world? Then... then what... what kind of ending will my current world head toward?"

[Group Master Wushi Great Emperor]: "Since you joined the Chat Group, your fate has already jumped out of its original trajectory. What the future holds depends on you. However, judging by the space-time fluctuations, what you are about to face is the 'Tokyo' where Erii still exists."

"Boom!"

Lu Mingfei felt as if he had been struck by a bolt of happy lightning. He scrambled up from the ground, tear stains still on his face, but a light never seen before erupted in his eyes.

There's still time!

There's still time for everything!

Erii is still there! She's still waiting for him!

[Lu Mingfei]: "I understand! Group Master! I understand! I won't be decadent anymore! I will definitely save her! I will definitely change everything!"

A raging fire ignited in his heart.

[Group Master Wushi Great Emperor]: "Very well. You, Chu Zihang, and Caesar are about to head to Tokyo. Remember, knowledge is power. The 'plot' you know now is your greatest weapon."

[Lu Mingfei]: "Yes! I understand! Right... Chu Zihang... his mom..."

Lu Mingfei thought of that equally tragic man. He wanted to tell him that the "Little Dragon Girl" he had been searching for, that beautiful woman, had not only not died but had also become his mother.

[Group Master Wushi Great Emperor]: "This matter requires caution. The time has not yet come; revealing it forcibly will only be counterproductive. Wait until you have enough power to deal with it."

[Lu Mingfei]: "Yes! I understand!"

Lu Mingfei nodded heavily. He wiped away his tears, his gaze becoming incomparably firm.