“S-class students are always very popular,” Fingel said with a mischievous smile, pulling the notebook from Lu Mingfei’s hand. “Do you want me to help you control the popularity? I’m very skilled at this kind of thing. How about ordering a portion of Apricot Blossom Cake?”
Lu Mingfei took a deep breath to calm himself, forcing himself not to dwell on such matters. With the Seek Path Society in mind, he knew it was best not to get involved personally.
But he also hoped that Fingel’s behind-the-scenes administrator black hand could play a role. A club like the Seek Path Society seemed very sinister no matter how he thought about it, and it was best not to let it flourish.
Fingel licked the chili powder on his fingers. “Your recent video of using Rune: Emperor to suppress an A-class student is also very popular. How about a portion of Steamed Pork with Preserved Vegetables to help you suppress the popularity of that video too?”
“Is it really okay to eat Apricot Blossom Cake and Steamed Pork with Preserved Vegetables together?” Lu Mingfei found it hard to imagine that scene, and Fingel had just finished a bucket of Family-sized fried chicken.
“It is a bit strange,” Fingel pondered, resting his chin on his hand. “Then let’s add another portion of Spicy Soup. I have excellent inside information here, guaranteed authentic. If it’s not authentic, I won’t eat.”
“Senior Brother, your taste is too eclectic,” Lu Mingfei said faintly.
Fingel scratched his head and showed his phone screen. “Are their tastes very different? I recently climbed over the wall to a forum and posted a help request. I’m ordering according to the floor number.”
Looking at Fingel’s title— “Shocking! A Foreigner Comes to China and Can’t Find Any Delicious Food!”
Lu Mingfei was momentarily speechless. He hadn't expected his Senior Brother’s Chinese proficiency to reach such a level. He felt that after a few more days on the forum, his Senior Brother would master the usage of words like “awesome.”
Perhaps he might even learn some Chinese swear words.
“It’s not entirely unacceptable,” Lu Mingfei hesitated. He had heard of most of the things Fingel ordered, but hadn't actually tasted them. To be honest, he was a bit tempted too.
“……”
“Yes, District 1, Room 303, two servings.”
Hanging up the phone, Lu Mingfei put down his phone and turned to Fingel. “Senior Brother, you’re eating and getting information at the same time.”
“Good news! Ye Sheng and Shuhtome Yaji are going to be released. They didn’t suffer too much,” Fingel said. “Originally, it was a month of confinement, but recently there’s been some trouble, and the only ones in the Execution Department who can handle this trouble are the Ye Sheng duo, so they were released early to atone for their sins by rendering meritorious service.”
“The Execution Department is short-staffed?”
“It’s that the Ye Sheng duo is too strong, and also…” Fingel leaned closer to Lu Mingfei and whispered, “It’s said that Ye Sheng’s Family gave the Principal something, and the Principal took the opportunity to put pressure on the Board of Directors, which gave them this chance.”
Lu Mingfei immediately realized that something extraordinary had appeared. “Senior Brother Ye’s Family?”
“Professor Guderian should have instructed you on this matter… But who made me your direct Senior Brother? When the semester started, the Professor emphasized to you that most Family inheritances have already died out, right?” Fingel reopened his notebook and clicked on Kassel College’s school history.
“Yes, the Professor said that apart from the East Asia region, most dragon-slaying Families have already perished,” Lu Mingfei recalled carefully, realizing that the Professor seemed to have specifically pointed out the East Asia region.
“That’s right, the Kassel surname was once a dragon-slaying Family. The previous leader of the Secret Party was led by Kassel,” Fingel clicked on a line of text with his mouse. “Our college name is also to commemorate that leader of the Kassel Family.”
“Menek Kassel,” Lu Mingfei softly read out the name.
“Getting back to the topic, the Kassel Family has now disappeared. In fact, many mixed-blood Families have disappeared in recent decades. It’s actually quite remarkable that the Gattuso Family has been able to hold on until now,” Fingel paused. “But there’s something even more remarkable.”
【When writing this, I hope readers remember our domain name 101k an.com】
“What?”
“Chinese Family.”
Fingel spoke four words. “Our college was established to preserve inheritance after the Family’s demise, but the ‘Family’ still continues to this day, with its flame never extinguished for five thousand years. And Junior Brother, the reason we were able to trick you into Kassel is because the ‘Family’ has a certain exclusivity.”
“You mean, I was picked up by you guys as a loophole?” Lu Mingfei tried to digest the information.
“That’s completely wrong! Junior Brother, even if you don’t trust my judgment, you have to trust the Principal’s judgment. You are the S-class student personally designated by the Principal!” Fingel said. “Don’t belittle yourself, Junior Brother, being designated S-class by the Principal! Maybe the Principal secretly observed you for several years to trick you into the college.”
“But this also indirectly shows that our old Lu Family isn’t some major dragon-slaying Family,” Lu Mingfei sighed and said.
“That’s right, and it seems no one from your Lu Family ancestors has ever been an Emperor,” Fingel took a big gulp of cola, mumbling, “True Dragon Son of Heaven, isn’t that what your Emperors called themselves?”
“Aren’t you in the Disciplinary Committee? You can check the roster. Do you see any students with the surnames Liu or Li?”
“Liu Han, Li Tang…” Lu Mingfei pondered along with Fingel’s words.
“Exactly! That’s it. Aren’t you going to China for a mission soon? It’s not a bad idea to take these two days to study it carefully,” Fingel said. “When I was young, I also had contact with the ‘Family.’ My Chinese wasn’t good back then, and I suffered a lot.”
“Young?” Lu Mingfei blinked.
“That’s when I was still an A-class student, a superior person,” Fingel said with some melancholy. “That year, the combat practical class was at a Dragon Race ruin, and I met someone from the ‘Family.’ I remember his surname was Liu. He was always smiling, with very small eyes. We got along very well back then. Now that I think about it, if I had known we could become sworn brothers, I definitely would have recognized him as an elder brother. The people in the ‘Family’ have very strong bonds.”
“They’re very close, aren’t they?” Lu Mingfei corrected.
“It’s almost the same meaning. Anyway, if I had become sworn brothers back then, Senior Brother, I definitely wouldn’t have fallen to my current state.”
Lu Mingfei looked at Fingel with disdain. After mixing in Kassel for almost a month, he already understood the difficulty of graduating from the college. In a sense, staying back for four years was much harder than graduating and getting a job.
“What kind of look is that?!” Fingel was indignant. “The Execution Department doesn’t provide food and lodging, and they send you to high-risk areas for no reason! I hadn’t even spent all my money back then, how could I bear to die?!”
“You had money?” Lu Mingfei stabbed Fingel with a questioning tone.
“Anyway, the Family is an organization similar to the college. The difference is that the former is more cohesive and more selfless; in the latter, everyone considers themselves, everyone is a bit selfish,” Fingel said, wincing in pain, and quickly stopped the topic.
Lu Mingfei nodded. He would soon return to China for a mission, and it would be unavoidable to deal with the “Family.” Senior Brother Ye was a very good entry point.
He glanced at the gift box still lying in the corner of the dormitory, not yet fully exploded, and decided to pick a gift to visit Senior Brother Ye tomorrow.
Tonight, he still had his basic Rune practice.