Chapter 103: Three Choices

The reasons why Lu Mingfei had descended into being a pathetic "simp" were both complex and simple: a person who had cast himself into darkness saw a hand extended by someone who seemed gentle and mistook her for the light.

The reason Liu Tian could no longer bear to watch was that he had discovered the woman Lu Mingfei idolized, a woman named Chen Wenwen, was actually gaslighting and exploiting him. She was not only using him for errands but also, whether intentionally or not, using him to elevate her own social standing. Ever since Lu Mingfei had crossed paths with Chen Wenwen, the speed at which he spiraled into self-deprecation and self-loathing had accelerated linearly. By now, he had become a sycophant who would happily do anything at a single glance from her, completely abandoning his meager shred of dignity.

In the terminology of Liu Tian’s original world, this Chen Wenwen—a girl of some literary fame at Shilan High School—was a textbook "green tea bitch," the kind who perhaps hadn't even realized her own nature yet. Ordinarily, such a situation—a willing simp matched with a manipulative girl—would have nothing to do with Liu Tian. However, because of a reminder Lu Mingfei had once given him, Liu Tian felt he owed him a favor and considered them somewhat acquainted. He was unwilling to watch him sink deeper into the mire—though, in truth, the real reason was that he had grown tired of this cliché "8:00 AM drama" and wanted to see something new, like the return of a war god.

"Er, Brother Tian, you're speaking too loudly," Lu Mingfei said, instinctively tugging at Liu Tian’s clothes and glancing around in a panic. "If you do this, won't I be exposed?"

"Eh? What... what’s going on?"

"I anticipated your thoughts; I used a little trick to seal off the sound in our immediate vicinity," Liu Tian said calmly. "Or would you prefer I just kick everyone else out so we can talk?"

"No, no, no!" Before Lu Mingfei could even fret over how Liu Tian managed such a feat, he hurriedly stopped him—he knew that if this big brother said he could do it, he would. What impressed Lu Mingfei most was the fate of the city’s long-standing blight: the slums had been razed and replaced with high-rises after a single word from this man. At the time, countless people speculated about who had the power and wealth to flatten every building in those disaster-prone, fire-ravaged slums within a month and rebuild them in under two years. They excitedly guessed how much profit the investors must have reaped. Only a handful of people knew the truth: it had started as a casual response to Chu Zihang reporting that he had finished pacifying the area.

But Lu Mingfei, who happened to be playing World of Warcraft on a voice chat at the time, had etched that truth into his mind. Ever since then, he truly realized how precious the favor Liu Tian had casually promised him really was. When a big shot spoke, countless people below would scramble to interpret it; that was even more true for a favor promised personally. For a year after that, Lu Mingfei had walked with his head held high, looking at everyone around him with the mysterious superiority of someone with powerful backing. He even felt a strange sense of confidence when talking to his aunt—until he finally knelt before Chen Wenwen’s white lace skirt.

Over the past year, Liu Tian had actually been curious—curious about when those who knew Lu Mingfei’s secrets, those who were always watching him from the shadows, would make their move. As it turned out, seeing Lu Mingfei become increasingly timid and pathetic under the pressure of his aunt and Chen Wenwen, no one had intervened. Could it be that the current version of Lu Mingfei was the one they actually preferred? Indeed, a dog that would follow obediently if given a sliver of light was much easier to manage than a person capable of independent thought.

And Lu Mingfei had become that dog—in his own words, if Chen Wenwen were to put a dog collar on him now, he would happily follow her wherever she went. But Chen Wenwen would never fall for Lu Mingfei—how could a normal person choose a dog as a boyfriend, let alone a "green tea" literary girl like her? People like that only cling to visible powerhouses, such as Liu Tian or that guy named Zhao Menghua.

During the first semester of tenth grade, Chen Wenwen had seemed to want to pull Liu Tian into her literature club to establish her condescending dominance within a small circle, but she had retreated the moment she received a glance from Chu Zihang and Xia Mi. Now, Chen Wenwen’s target was likely that guy—Zhao Menghua, a rich kid who loved to show off his wealth. Shilan High School wasn't particularly small, but among the boys, aside from Liu Tian, the next in line was Zhao Menghua—after all, his surname was Zhao.

"Ti-Tian-ge, how did you do that? Are you a legendary cultivator?" Lu Mingfei looked left and right, and upon realizing that no one had truly heard their conversation, he asked, his heart surging with excitement. Could it be that Liu Tian was a legendary esper, a Flame Haze warrior, a contractor, a cultivator, or a wielder of some dark scripture? And now, had I, Lu Mingfei, passed his test and was about to open the door to the supernatural?

"It is merely a technique to control the wind and create a vacuum," Liu Tian yawned. "Hardly worth mentioning. But a cultivator? Well, I suppose that counts—a Magnetic Field cultivator is indeed a type of cultivator."

"Come to think of it, I’ve never hidden my uniqueness. I’ve used tricks like this countless times; how come you’ve only just noticed?"

"Th-thigh!" Seeing Liu Tian admit he was a real-world cultivator, Lu Mingfei wanted to kneel and embrace his thigh, but he immediately realized something and his face turned pale. "Wait, wait, Brother Tian, what did you just tell me? What are you?"

"A Magnetic Field cultivator," Liu Tian said with a smile. "Like those in *Sea Tiger*, the kind where the more paranoid you are, the stronger you become, and the stronger you are, the more paranoid you get—the kind where seeing one means there’s a whole nest of them spreading elsewhere."

"How does that sound like cockroaches?"

"Eh? Uh? Er..." Lu Mingfei’s speech became stuttered. "Um, Brother Tian, you’re joking, right? This world doesn't have 'Current Driving' or 'Magnetic Field Rotation' lunatics spreading everywhere. I think this world is quite peaceful..." If one were to rank worlds by how hostile they were to human survival, the *Sea Tiger* world—where one had to sacrifice ninety percent of the population to start a war and massacres happened whenever someone was in a bad mood—would surely be on the list. Lu Mingfei would rather this world be a purely human one than step into a terrifying society where everyone was equal, and the lunatics were even more equal. That was ten, no, ninety times worse than a normal, realistic society!

"About that—*Sea Tiger I* didn't have lunatics everywhere either," Liu Tian yawned. "This world doesn't seem very suitable for Magnetic Field Rotation. Based on my research, what can awaken naturally are just animal-based abilities, one level below my source of power, and they aren't even that strong. The number of awakened individuals is quite small, and without those widespread internal and external martial arts, they’ve been controlled by those half-breeds of dragons and humans."

"But sooner or later, they won’t be able to control it. After all, my Current Driving has already reached 1,000,000 volts; I could step into the Magnetic Field Rotation realm at any moment. When that happens, this world will surely change drastically."

"Brother Tian, you're joking, right? What Magnetic Field Rotation, what dragon-human hybrids... what kind of world has so many messy elements?" Even though he knew Liu Tian was not a man who liked to joke, Lu Mingfei clung to a sliver of hope, wishing Liu Tian would grin and tell him—*Yes, I was actually joking; I bribed the people around us so they would pretend not to hear our conversation.*

"Do you want me to show you my battle aura?" Liu Tian shattered his fantasy without mercy. "Or should I blow up this classroom building with one punch to prove it?" As he spoke, Liu Tian pinched a piece of paper from the textbook in front of him; a flash of electricity visible only to Lu Mingfei flickered, and it instantly turned to ash.

Seeing Liu Tian’s expression, which was not joking at all, combined with the electricity as evidence, Lu Mingfei felt true despair—*Damn it, don't scare me!* Lu Mingfei was stunned, as if struck by lightning, unable to speak for a long time, only shaking his head dully: "No, impossible, it makes no sense. We can't be in a *Sea Tiger* world or something, don't, don't do this."

"As for dragons, I happen to have a photo. It’s a pity this world doesn't have the Eastern kind, only the Western variety. Look, it looks like this." Liu Tian took out his phone and pulled up a picture of a half-human-sized juvenile dragon with wings and scales. It was a brownish-green color, but in the photo, it was covered in scars, clutching its head with both claws and shivering in a corner, possessing none of the majesty of a dragon. "This little guy was one we managed to catch with great difficulty. I keep it in the basement of my house. If you have the chance, I’ll take you to see it. It’s quite interesting and fun."

"O-okay." Lu Mingfei was completely indifferent now; whatever a dragon was, in front of a *Sea Tiger* powerhouse, it was just a little creature that could be insulted at will.

"Brother Tian, why are you telling me all this now?" Under stress, Lu Mingfei’s stream of nonsense flowed uncontrollably. "Could it be that you calculated I have Magnetic Field talent using some *Emperor's Scripture*? But I don't even have an animal ability yet. Could I be a late bloomer?"

"But Brother Tian, you mentioned darkness—are you going to pass on the *Dharma Sutra* to me? What about those two idiots, Eclipse and Moon-Missing?"

"I know, with your personality, Brother Tian, you wouldn't tolerate those two bastards staying alive. They’ve probably already been turned into sofas, haven't they?"

"Still thinking about the *Dharma Sutra*? I think if you keep going like this, you won't need the *Dharma Sutra* to practice the Dark Path." Liu Tian said, "But I have no other motive. I’m just tired of watching your 8:00 PM soap opera of a loser’s comeback."

"I owe you a favor, so I’ll give you three choices." Liu Tian held up three fingers: "First, you possess the bloodline of a dragon; I can find a way to help you awaken it. From what I can feel, once awakened, you will at least have physical prowess equal to Current Driving, plus the ability of hybrids to control the elements, allowing you to use special powers. With your bloodline, once fully awakened, you will be, at worst, a city-level threat. In terms of pure destructive power, even 100,000-horse-power Magnetic Field Rotation might not match you. It is a step into the heavens."

"Second, I can teach you a supreme martial art that, if practiced deeply enough, allows even an ordinary person to awaken Current Driving, and eventually Magnetic Field Rotation. I guarantee you’ll learn it, though I can't control how far you progress. At the very least, I can guarantee you will fully surpass so-called world champions and reach the threshold of Current Driving."

"Third, I can offer you a chance to be my guest consultant, making you a field agent for the Kingdom. You will receive all the benefits of a full-time employee and can leave at any time. However, if you want anything, you must earn it through missions. I can give you a twenty percent discount. While it’s not as immediate as the first two, it’s better for the long run."

"Um, can I think about it?" The information was too much; Lu Mingfei couldn't make a decision.

"As you wish." Liu Tian stood up and walked toward the door. "I was just bored of your cliché drama; I don’t want to watch it anymore."

"You don't have to choose now; you can keep the offer open. But let me remind you: you have been under constant surveillance this entire time. Your meals, clothing, and emotional state are all being watched." Liu Tian turned his head, revealing a very malicious smile. "A human personality is actually something formed by the bombardment of countless pieces of information; it is the sum total of everything a person has experienced since birth. If someone knows everything about you, carefully curates what you see and what you don't, then your thoughts and everything you are might be under their control."

"There are few chances to escape the cage, and few chances to soar like this. In this world, those without power are like pigs or dogs, left to be controlled by others. This opportunity won't last forever, my dear classmate Lu Mingfei. Think about it carefully."

Liu Tian walked out the door, but Lu Mingfei could no longer hear anything. His mind was filled with a single thought—*Your entire life has been under observation; everything you are might be someone else’s elaborate construction.*

*Ha, what is this?*

*Is this the damn Truman Show?*

Lu Mingfei suddenly felt his strength drain away. A cold sensation spread from his heart to his extremities, and he collapsed onto his desk, unable to move at all.