vncnus Chapter 63 The Dragon
Chapter 63 The Dragon
The subway train began to slow down unusually, as if it were about to come to a stop in the dark and endless tunnel.
"What happened?"
Old Tang and Winston exchanged a glance, neither of them quite understanding what had happened.
After all, according to the rules of the maze, they should be waiting patiently for the next stop to get off.
Zsla!
Suddenly, a teeth-grinding tearing sound came from the front of the car, as if some terrifying being had ripped the car apart with sharp claws.
Even the dealers inside the carriage were startled; their nine pairs of eyes stared intently in the direction from which the sound came, and a rare look of seriousness appeared on their nine ugly faces.
Could it be that there are some strange and unusual things inside this labyrinth built with alchemy?
Old Tang felt completely numb. If he had known beforehand that this mission would turn out like this, he would have preferred to stay home and play StarCraft for months.
But it's too late to think about these things now.
Old Tang raised his ever-present high-powered flashlight to protect himself, swallowed hard, and his throat bobbed.
Zsla!
That tooth-grinding sound was getting closer and closer.
The next instant, the subway car was easily torn open from the outside like paper, and a strange, multi-legged creature shrouded in black armor appeared at the opening.
One of its tentacles moved, and something crashed into the carriage.
Old Tang stared intently, his pupils contracting. Nine heads, membranous wings, sharp claws.
That thing looked exactly like the croupier, except it was much larger and more primitive.
If the dealer is a puppet transformed by alchemy, then the other party is a true, primordial creation of nature.
Regardless, those were monstrous creatures that ordinary people would find difficult to deal with. Compared to the final bosses in adventure games, they were definitely not something that his newbie character, who hadn't even left the beginner's village, could handle.
Old Tang and Winston exchanged a glance and decided to hold back, after all, the other side was killing a monster, not a human.
They moved back several steps in perfect unison, leaving the space inside the carriage for the dealer and the black-armored monster.
Seeing his fellow creatures being thrown down like dead dogs, the dealer showed no anger whatsoever. Instead, he picked up the playing cards and walked over to the black-armored monster that had just landed.
"The more skilled someone is, the more modest they should be in their speech."
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am the Gambling Saint. It's a pleasure to meet you all today, and thank you for your presence."
Old Tang blinked as he watched the croupier make a sound that didn't match his size.
He recognized the source of those words.
For a time, he was passionate about exploring Eastern culture, and thus became very familiar with various classic Hong Kong films, even memorizing many of their lines.
These lines are from "God of Gamblers," but what used to be hilarious now soundes rather sinister and terrifying coming from a nine-headed monster in this time and place.
Old Tang could tell that the dealer was explaining the rules to the newcomers to the maze. However, the fact that the dealer remained unmoved after seeing his fellow clansmen treated this way showed that he was indeed a puppet who only knew how to follow rigid rules.
But since the black-armored monster that suddenly appeared was capable of dealing with the Kamaitachi Queen, it was probably not a pushover that would obediently submit.
This is an opportunity.
Thinking of this, Old Tang gave Winston a wink, and the latter immediately understood.
The two moved a few more inches closer to the car door without leaving a trace. All that was left was to observe and wait. As long as the two sides were engaged in a fierce battle, they could take advantage of the chaos to escape successfully.
The dealer was still chattering away in his voice, explaining the maze and the rules of the game, when suddenly his voice stopped abruptly.
A flash of black light appeared, and half of the croupier's nine heads were removed. One of the heads rolled to Old Tang's feet, its extremely human-like face still showing a hint of bewilderment and astonishment.
"Where did this punk come from?!"
The four remaining dealers opened their mouths simultaneously and roared. Clearly, this uninvited guest had violated the rules of the maze, and as the maze's gatekeeper, it had switched to battle mode.
The membrane wings hidden beneath the black robe unfurled and hovered in mid-air, their bluish-gray claws gleaming with a cold light.
It leaped up like a large bird, then swooped down towards the black-armored monster on the ground.
As for the black-armored monster, it had retracted its many legs.
Lu Mingfei blinked as the croupier lunged at him.
Why are there so many bedbugs along the way? It's so annoying!
And this one actually survived being slapped.
He casually waved his arm, and another streak of black light flashed through the air. The croupier's body was suddenly torn in two in mid-air, and dark brown blood gushed out from the broken pieces.
The maze gatekeeper is dead!
After easily dealing with the annoying bedbugs, Lu Mingfei finally had the leisure to scan the carriage.
Aside from him and the croupier who had just been dismembered, the other two dumbfounded fellows must have been the unlucky ones who had mistakenly wandered into the Nibelungen.
One of them seemed to be a mixed-race person I met on the plane, but they were all insignificant people.
After confirming that he hadn't missed any important information, Lu Mingfei didn't hesitate to transform his lower body into multiple legs again using black fluid. He then leaped up and disappeared from the carriage, leaving only stunned Old Tang and Winston behind.
"What was that thing just now?!" Winston, still reeling from the shock, asked in a trembling voice, his face filled with lingering fear.
After all, the black-armored monster was able to easily deal with the dealer, so dealing with these two was just a matter of course.
Old Tang shook his head. He had only just joined the card game and knew far less than Winston, let alone this black-armored monster.
"Wait!" Winston suddenly exclaimed, as if struck by a sudden realization. "Now that the gatekeeper is dead, does that mean we can leave?"
He looked at the car door, which had just been opened due to the impact, with an excited expression.
But his words only earned him a shake of his head from Old Tang.
"You can leave now."
Winston, who had only run a few steps, turned around in confusion. He didn't understand what was wrong with Old Tang, since Old Tang had been more eager to get out than anyone else just now.
But no matter what he said or asked, Old Tang remained unmoved.
With no other option, Winston had to run out of the carriage himself.
After all, the most urgent task now is to inform the main force outside that there is a Nibelungen here.
As for Old Tang... when there are more people, we can naturally take this unlucky guy who accidentally wandered in out.
Old Tang watched Winston's departing figure until he disappeared from sight before turning his gaze away.
He didn't know why he was doing this, or where he got the courage to decide to stay.
He touched the blood from the croupier that had accidentally splattered on the corner of his mouth, and felt an inexplicable hunger pang in his stomach.
……
Lu Mingfei trudged through the mud.
As he ventured deeper, the tunnel became increasingly dilapidated, with some sections completely submerged in water. In the real world, this entire route would likely have been closed to traffic long ago, and those responsible would have been held accountable.
However, in this bizarre world, anything is possible, and the floodwater does not affect the operation of the train.
This situation both conforms to and does not conform to the laws of physics.
The road to the center of the maze, which is the end, is long. Walking alone in the dark, it's easy to have wild thoughts, but unfortunately, Lu Mingfei's heart is now as clear as water, calm and undisturbed.
He emptied his mind, and all his senses were engaged in experiencing the world's every move.
This ability to create space, which seemed to be possessed only by pure-blooded dragons of a certain level, greatly intrigued him.
If he could also open up a demiplane or blessed land dependent on the main world, the so-called Nibelungen, wouldn't that be wonderful?
At that time, any of his ingenious ideas and experiments on techniques could be carried out in Nibelungen.
But isn't building your own Nibelungen too slow? It's much more convenient to use a ready-made one.
Upon realizing this, Lu Mingfei's mind stirred.
Although he has only been in contact with the real world for less than a year, the number of Nibelungen he has entered far exceeds that of most hybrids, and there are few hybrids in the world who can compare with him.
From the elevated highway on a rainy night to the Three Gorges Bronze City, and now to the Beijing subway, he has entered three different Nibelungens.
Having missed the first two, so this time...
Lu Mingfei suddenly stopped in his tracks, because he sensed that the tunnel had broken off here, and what stood in front of him was a huge pile of coal.
A few points of light flashed from the coal pile. With a thought, Lu Mingfei used his black tentacles to catch the nearest light in front of him.
That was a firefly.
But how could fireflies appear in the subway? This can only be due to the influence of the Nibelungs.
Lu Mingfei's eyes swept over the specks of light, finally settling on the top of the coal pile.
He leaped up several times and reached the top.
A vast underground space slowly unfolded before him. This place was probably a maintenance depot, where several subway lines converged and crisscrossed.
He leaped down and walked along the lines, like a small insect that had accidentally wandered into a spider's web.
There was nothing unusual on the subway line, but Lu Mingfei's attention was drawn to a platform that seemed to have been built specifically for equipment maintenance.
He climbed onto the platform, but in front of him was a rough, uncarved mountain wall.
There's no road left?
Lu Mingfei suddenly took half a step back, then suddenly stopped.
Suddenly, two yellow lanterns lit up on the stone wall.
Do not!
That wasn't a yellow lantern at all, but a pair of huge, vertical golden pupils!
The platform, which was connected to the mountain wall, suddenly began to shake violently, and gravel mixed with soil fell down in a rustling sound.
But Lu Mingfei remained standing firm and unmoved in the face of such a dangerous situation.
Finally, the owner of those golden vertical pupils revealed his true form.
Both the East and the West have long had various legends about dragons, which have images that are very different from ordinary monsters, with huge bodies and great power.
But these are all just legends. How many people have actually seen a dragon? Even among hybrids, the number of people who have actually seen a dragon in its true form is very small.
The so-called dragon is like the elephant in the story of the blind men and the elephant; it has a different appearance in everyone's mind.
However, at that very moment, Lu Mingfei truly saw a dragon, a legendary dragon.
It was a colossal creature far beyond the imagination of ordinary people; no known vocabulary in the world could describe its majesty and beauty.
It is like the most perfect creation meticulously sculpted by the Creator, with its ferocious dragon head exuding majesty.
A huge black membrane unfolded from behind it, momentarily blocking out the lights on the platform.
It stared down at Lu Mingfei with its pair of golden vertical pupils as big as cartwheels. If an ordinary person were here, they would probably be terrified by now.
Roar!
A roar erupted from its mouth, causing the rubble on the stone wall to fall again.
But Lu Mingfei remained motionless. The falling pebbles were crushed into dust by the black tentacles before they could even get close to him.
"You've won," the dragon said, opening its mouth.
Upon hearing this, even Lu Mingfei, who was already prepared for a fierce battle, couldn't help but frown.
What exactly did the other person mean by saying that? Did they expect him to kowtow and become their subordinate?
But he hadn't even made a move yet. The Eight-Nine Arcane Arts only gave Lu Mingfei a boost in strength, not a suppression of his aura. Moreover, he didn't believe that with his current strength, the other party would kowtow and kneel before he even made a move.
There must be some mistake here.
Lu Mingfei remained silent and did not answer.
"You win."
Seemingly unsure if the dragon had heard him, it repeated itself. Despite its still imposing presence, for some reason, Lu Mingfei felt as if he had missed something.
"What are we going to play?" the dragon suddenly asked.
Lu Mingfei, who was still racking his brains trying to figure out what the giant dragon in front of him was up to, frowned deeply after hearing this.
He didn't care whether releasing the black fluid rashly would make the dragon think it was a declaration of war; for him, figuring out the dragon's true condition was the most important thing right now.
The black fluid spread outwards from his feet in all directions, and more and more data and information were gathered into Lu Mingfei's brain through the perception of the tentacles, and then sorted out.
Finally, he noticed the slight anomaly that he hadn't caught before.
The dragon's front half was indeed made of flesh and blood, but its back half was integrated with the stone wall behind it.
To be more precise, perhaps only its front half is alive; as for its rear half…
It might just be a stone statue, a masterpiece sculpted by the world's most skilled craftsmen.
When the dragon saw that Lu Mingfei did not reply for a long time, a rare look of hesitation flashed across its ferocious dragon face.
Finally, as if it had made up its mind, it stretched out its front paw and pushed something in front of Lu Mingfei: "You eat it."
Lu Mingfei looked down and saw a bag of potato chips.
To be honest, this thing was very out of place here, and when the giant dragon in front of him saw that Lu Mingfei still didn't pay attention to it, it actually obediently moved its head to the side and started watching TV.
The TV was showing a classic Hong Kong movie from the last century, but the TV was clearly a second-hand item that had been found somewhere. Half of it was covered in static, making the picture blurry and only vague figures could be seen.
"I need to have my license checked!"
As Lu Mingfei listened to the tearing and ripping sounds coming from the television, he remained silent for a moment before finally raising the black longsword he had just formed.