Dragon Clan: I am Lu Mingfei, the Intelligence Strategist, the God of Concepts!

Chapter 156 The Lucky Hunter, truly lives up to his name!

Inside a villa in Shinjuku Ward.

"It's been two days, and we still haven't found any clues."

A young Indian man with a tanned forehead so dark it seemed to reflect light sat at a computer desk.

Stretching wearily, I sighed helplessly.

"All traces of this person came to an abrupt halt the moment the bounty was posted..."

"No, I can't find any trace of him in Japan at all. It's as if an invisible hand has erased all traces of his existence."

Three laptops were on the table, their screens displaying rapidly scrolling green numbers and various images, some of which were faces and others of locations. Each image lingered on the screen for less than 0.1 seconds, constantly being compared with targets in the database and then being eliminated.

Ranked 48th in the world's hunter rankings, the 'Lizard King' comes from New Delhi.

Few people know that this young Indian man, skilled in jujitsu, close combat, and wildlife, is also a top hacker. Upon arriving in Tokyo, he prepared to modify his computer in advance. In this rented villa, which is mostly used for parties, he spent an hour perfectly hacking into the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's system and gained access to read and store the cameras in the streets and alleys.

The goal, of course, was to find the 'prey' worth 50 billion yen, which was a huge sum of money, roughly 3500 million US dollars. There were quite a few people on the team, but even if they split it equally, it would still amount to about four or five million US dollars.

This is incredibly tempting. At market rates, the reward for murdering a general in a war-torn country in the Middle East is only four or five million, while also risking being bombed by various heavy weapons and drones.

That also requires cooperation, and it also requires searching for targets in a vast, boundless area. Moreover, because the area is so underdeveloped, the camera coverage is practically zero, making the search ten times more difficult.

Japan is a peaceful country, and official data shows that there are more than 3 million surveillance cameras nationwide. In a megacity like Tokyo, the surveillance coverage rate in the public areas of the 23 wards exceeds 70%.

With such abundant resources, find a shameless, seemingly cowardly boy, and then kill him.

This should have been a vacation-style mission.

The team consisted of renowned figures from all over the world.

Besides him, the 'Lizard King' from New Delhi, there's the 'Ice Maiden' from Paris, the 'Knight-errant' from Dublin, the 'Thomplin' from Oslo, and the remaining three from the United States: the 'Nightshade Lady' from Manhattan, the 'Sand Sculpture' from Texas, and the 'Ronald' from Brooklyn.

The top six are all ranked in the top 50 of the world's hunter rankings and are also outstanding among hybrids. Each of them has their own area of ​​expertise. Although the sixth-ranked 'Ronald' seems to lack strength, he has excellent luck. People in the underworld prefer to call him 'Lucky Guy'.

Of course, in the eyes of top hunters like 'Lizard King' or 'Sand Sculpture' who have worked with Ronald Tang on missions, this guy is definitely a master... a master who hides his true abilities, and even more so, a master who pretends to be confused.

People in this line of work always understand one thing: never underestimate anyone, or you'll die. No one can be lucky forever. If someone is always lucky, it means they have the ability to maintain that luck.

So, with the unanimous recommendation of 'Lizard King' and 'Sand Sculpture', Ronald filled the seventh spot on the team.

Although even now...

The Lizard King glanced discreetly at another computer desk in the room.

The lucky guy, wearing a white T-shirt with a local-style anime girl illustration, beach shorts, and sandals, had a shiny face from not leaving the house for days, covered in colorful glitter... He was probably doing some kind of hacking activity like him.

Instead... they were playing video games?
"Is this even reliable? Is this how you blatantly slack off?"

A faint '#' appeared on the Lizard King's jet-black forehead.

All six outstanding hunters have their own connections and intelligence networks in Japan and even Tokyo, or possess unique abilities to locate people and find clues.

After the plane landed at Narita Airport, the temporarily formed team rented the large villa for a short period of time. After discussing the details of the mission, they carried out their work in their own ways and returned regularly to share and exchange progress.

He and Ronald, however, remained holed up in the villa, using computer-based methods to search for targets.

Of course, the latter did go out once.

His destination might be Akihabara, the so-called holy land of otaku, and then he returned wearing this T-shirt that might be called 'itasha', with a character printed on it who seems to be... Asahiryu? The Lizard King didn't quite understand this. He preferred to deal with cute wild animals rather than these virtual beauties that didn't exist in the world.

In short, Ronald then sat in front of the computer and focused on his game. For two days, he barely moved except to eat, sleep and go to the toilet. When giving team reports, he seemed to be honest and just mumbled "uh-huh" and didn't know anything when asked.

Damn it!

Even though no one has made any progress, at least everyone is trying!
Are your connections on gaming platforms?
However, the Lizard King didn't say anything.

Because he felt that the mission was probably not going to be completed, rather than revealing Ronald's true colors and making himself and the two recommenders, Sandy, look like idiots, it would be better to let Ronald remain mysterious. This would only show that Lu Mingfei was really capable, rather than that they were foolish enough to bring in a scoundrel to share the money!
Soon, it was evening.

The five hunters who had gone out returned, their expressions as somber and grim as ever.

No results were found.

Ronald's oily face, which had been reflecting colorful patterns, instantly became clean, leaving only blue sky and white clouds... He probably switched back to the desktop using Win+D.

The lizard king felt a chill run down his spine.

He stood up and met the ice maiden with her plain white makeup.

This beautiful young woman is the leader of the team. She comes from the romantic city of France and has always paid attention to her image management, but at this moment, her cold and proud face is filled with exhaustion.

After a brief exchange, as usual, everyone came up empty-handed.

Lu Mingfei seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Hundreds and thousands of hunters were like headless flies in various major cities across Japan.

"So we have no way of knowing whether Lu Mingfei is in Tokyo, Osaka, or Hokkaido, is that what you mean?" The pretty girl sighed.

"We can't even be sure if he's still in Japan. In three days, if he takes a plane, he can reach any corner of the earth. If he chooses to take a rocket, he might already be on the moon." The Lizard King shrugged.

Knowing it was a joke,

The others also made no attempt to hide their pessimistic attitude.

The aloof and beautiful young woman looked melancholy. Having finally arrived in Japan, she should have been enjoying the pleasures of shopping in the bustling streets of Ginza or Shibuya, instead of constantly meeting with local gangsters hiding in the gutter, spending a fortune on intelligence but getting nothing in return. Even this villa was something she had paid to rent...

It's not that she has absolutely no patience.

But the Lizard King was right; three days was more than enough time for the target to have gone far. When all means failed to capture even a trace of this person, it meant that the enemy was more cunning and troublesome than ever before, and their methods of concealment were terrifying.

Is there still a chance to complete this task?
How about we split the room fee among ourselves?

I treated it as a tourist trip to Japan.

"Cough cough!"

Old Tang, who had been muddling through, seemed to have noticed a fatal flaw and suddenly spoke up, "Friends, I don't think it's necessary to put all our eggs in one basket."

"What are your plans?" The aloof and beautiful girl frowned, her expression rather unfriendly.

There was no need for the Lizard King to expose her; she had already seen through it all along. This guy had been slacking off in the team, as if he really thought of himself as a mascot. Why should we be working ourselves to the bone outside while you're comfortably sleeping in an air-conditioned room?

She was planning to split the money with this guy, and then she'd have to post a critique of him on the Hunter website later.

Really are!
Is anyone capable of being ranked among the top 100 hunters?

"I have a new task here, but it can't be completed by one person, so I plan to share it with everyone so we can do it together." Old Tang seemed not to notice the other person's gaze, his smile remaining honest and simple.

"What mission?"

The idiot from Texas rolled his eyes like a cowboy.

“Ronald, my brother, you need to understand why we’re here. Only a 50 billion yen deal would warrant our teamwork. But I’ve been keeping an eye on the Hunter website these past few days. The people here are too poor; there’s no other worthwhile mission. It’s all just small fry…”

“Three billion yen,” Old Tang casually tossed out a number.

"..." The silly words were instantly swallowed back.

"Um!?"

In an instant, everyone else in the room was also drawn to this number.

What is this 3 billion yen?

"Is a 30 billion yen task just a small fry?" Old Tang repeated.

"This……"

Everyone froze, a thought flashing through their minds.

Although it's 40% less than the original target, it still amounts to over 20 million US dollars. If completed, each person could receive 3 million US dollars...

Even the usually reserved Ice Maiden and Lady Nightshade slightly widened their eyes.

It's true that hunters make money quickly, but top hunters often have considerable expenses, whether it's purchasing weapons and equipment or maintaining connections worldwide. If women are also keen on luxury goods or plan to use money to make money, or engage in some investment or entrepreneurship, they can easily fall into a debt crisis.

$300 million is not a small sum for them.

This can at least alleviate the vacuum period.

Seeing the stunned expressions on these people's faces,

Old Tang couldn't help but feel smug. Sure enough, the same amount of money, when exchanged for a different currency unit, sounded completely different when read aloud.

Thinking of this,

Old Tang straightened his back even more, his drooping eyebrows twitched, and he deliberately said, "You don't like it? Fine, it is indeed a small task. It seems I can only find someone else. There will always be someone willing to do it."

"Wait, wait, Ronald, no... where did you find this mission?" The Lizard King was genuinely surprised.

Besides the Hunter website, the global killer organization's bounty list, and the local underworld network under the Snake Clan, he has been monitoring and paying attention to them.

You can't put all your eggs in one basket... The Lizard King certainly understood this principle. If he could find other high-value tasks, he could do them too. What difference does it make who he works for?

But just like the information the sand sculpture had received, any missions in Japan that were even remotely worthwhile had already been snapped up. There were simply too many wolves and not enough meat. The remaining missions were all trivial matters. Were they really going to have these top 100 hunters team up to look for cats and dogs?

Moreover, even when it comes to finding cats and dogs, the easy ones have already been snapped up by the lower- and middle-level hunters. It seems that their top hunter alliance may really only have one option: to disband on the spot and go on a trip... Anyway, the Lizard King has no confidence to continue to fight a person who is suspected of not existing.

"Of course I have my own channels!" Old Tang chuckled.

Seeing that eerie smile, and recalling his actions over the past two days, the Lizard King suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.

Masaka! Could it be...?

really,

"A friend in the game recommended it," Old Tang immediately revealed the answer.

The lizard king nearly fainted upon hearing this.

"?"

A dark line appeared visibly on the fair forehead of the aloof and beautiful girl as she suppressed her anger and said, "You're not talking about the quests in the game, are you? Ronald, is this the time for jokes?"

"Hey! Beautiful lady, don't have any stereotypes!" Old Tang immediately complained.

"What's wrong with games? Do you think I'm neglecting my duties? The bosses in the game are the real bosses! It's hard work to support them! If I hadn't worked hard in the game, where would I get such valuable quests for you to do!"

Old Tang, though not entirely in the right, was still very confident, and his main argument was that he was very eloquent.

"And once the mission is officially released, we'll definitely use the Hunter Platform!"

The doubts from the crowd immediately subsided considerably; if they were willing to use the platform, then there wouldn't be too much of a problem.

"What specific project?" Ms. Ye Sha asked cautiously.

"Let's steal something from a building," Old Tang said immediately.

"30 billion yen for stealing something?" The aloof and beautiful young woman remained skeptical. "Isn't this just picking up money off the street?"

Before she could speak, she suddenly choked for a long time.

I've heard that since Ronald's debut, it seems like he's either picking up money or on his way to picking up money.

Is this the power of the Lucky Hunter?
However, Old Tang shook his head: "It's not about finding money. This is a very important matter. The boss only trusts me, so I can't reveal too much. Anyway, that building is different from what you're imagining. Let's look at the mission details..."

He tossed out a notebook with a partial structural diagram of a building, its pages marked with crooked English letters indicating various danger zones and potential defensive forces.

The aloof and beautiful young woman paused slightly, then looked at it more and more familiar, and immediately realized: "Could this be Genji Heavy Industries?"

"Yes, Genji Heavy Industries." Old Tang said with a shy smile.

The aloof and beautiful girl's face darkened even more.

As a full-time hunter who also had connections with several organizations in Europe, she naturally knew what Genji Heavy Industries was.

The other hunters also realized what was happening, their expressions a mix of emotions. As top-tier hunters, they naturally understood the significance of the relationship.

Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. This is the stronghold of the mixed-race people in Japan; they're going to steal things from here...

Seeing this, Old Tang's smile vanished. He immediately took the initiative, snorting in dissatisfaction, "Fine, if you don't want to do it, there are plenty of others who will!"

"...No! Do it!"

"Hehe, it's just Genji Heavy Industries, not like we're going in to kill everyone, just stealing something, right?" The knight couldn't resist the temptation of $300 million.

Looking around, the others could only nod awkwardly.

"That's pretty much it."

Old Tang smiled with satisfaction and immediately turned to a new page.

It was filled with handwritten detailed plans.

It includes the target's hiding place, the seven people's movement routes and coordination plans, and the possible reactions of the defenders, all clearly listed, making it a foolproof tutorial.

The mechanical design possesses a certain agility, giving a sense of thoroughness that is both logical and convincing, much like how you can defeat a boss in a game. As long as you follow the steps systematically, you're guaranteed to earn gold coins.

Huh? It's really a money-picking mission?

"and many more……"

Thompson raised an eyebrow slightly.

Even someone as known for his strategic planning as him couldn't find fault with a plan of this caliber. If he were to create a plan of this caliber, he would need to scout the location for at least five days in advance and then study it repeatedly on a sand table for five days before he could come up with a solution.

It can only be said that he is a lucky hunter. There are no easy people on the list. He is so meticulous!

However, after some deduction, while the reasoning seemed reasonable, Thompson realized another crucial point.

"According to the plan, these guards' reactions are not right. Could there be someone else cooperating?"

"Ahem, you don't need to ask that. Just know that there must be a reason for this arrangement."

Old Tang smiled without saying a word, gently shaking the notebook in his hand, looking like Zhuge Liang with his feather fan and silk turban. "If I hadn't seen how hard everyone has worked these past few days, I wouldn't have shared such an important task."

"hiss--"

Thompson seemed to understand something.

He understood the unspoken meaning in Old Tang's words.
It seems that someone is planning a large-scale operation targeting the Snake Clan.

Could Ronald have connections with the local resistance? Indeed, profiting from war is the fastest way to make money, a highly lucrative venture, and there might even be follow-up missions!
This is the ultimate level of mercenary skill!

What's the point of doing wanted missions? It's a waste of time and effort!

None of you here are fools; with a little prompting, you all realized what might happen next.

His gaze suddenly became even more intense.

"I didn't say anything," Old Tang said with a reserved smile.

see,

The crowd's suspicions grew stronger, and when they looked at Old Tang again, they subconsciously sensed that he was the leader.

The original team leader, the aloof and beautiful young woman, had no complaints whatsoever. These days, whoever has the information and the resources should be the boss!

Old Tang was overjoyed, but he forced a smile to his lips.

He pressed his hand down firmly, indicating that no further words were needed.

His eyes involuntarily drifted to the closed chat window, and he clicked his tongue in surprise.

Damn it, which rich woman has 'Mingming' hooked up with this time?
Why is he still a strategist?

What are they trying to do by chattering away? They're throwing around billions of yen right off the bat.

……

Similar scenes have also occurred in the streets and alleys of major cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto.

Various hunter teams, large and small, received individual missions from a mysterious employer.

In recent years, while running the foundation, Chip Girl has also been deeply involved in hunter websites and has privately obtained the contact information of many hunters.

She maintained contact with all sorts of people, from mixed-race individuals who knew the inside story to ordinary people who only had a vague understanding.

The vast majority of hunters were just casual mobs planted by her, easily discarded at any time. In their eyes, she was just a rich, easy-going boss with few employees.

Therefore, most hunters readily accept seemingly 'simple' private missions.

After all, the information provided by the boss was so comprehensive, and the proposed solutions were so valuable that there was nothing wrong with them.

It feels like as long as you go there for a stroll, the money will automatically be deposited into your account.

Tonight, these hunters who have been searching for 'Lu Mingfei' in other places will arrive in Tokyo by various means of transportation.

Make money, don't be embarrassed.

Inside the Park Hyatt Hotel

Lu Mingfei has stayed at home for three whole days without leaving the house.

Eating, drinking, and relieving oneself all happen in the suite.

During the day, Mai goes on a shopping spree at the mall, Chip Girl works endlessly in the living room, and Zero stays in the bedroom waiting for him.

Tonight, everyone put aside their work to do the final review and preparation.

That's pretty much the situation.

Chip Girl, wearing black-rimmed glasses, was lounging comfortably on the sofa, constantly writing and drawing on her tablet.

Now Lu Mingfei has come to a profound understanding of just how terrifying the power of this seemingly ordinary housekeeper truly is.

With hunters from all walks of life arriving in the past few days, Tokyo and even the whole of Japan have been thrown into chaos.

No matter how much the outside world disturbed him, no one could find his trace, as if he had become a ghost in this world.

Neither the hunters, each displaying their unique abilities, nor the Snake Clan, who possessed Kaguya's 'remains,' could find the boy who should have been at the center of the vortex.

It's all thanks to the potato chip girl.

At the Genji Heavy Industries building, more than ten kilometers away, Genji Chisei and Tachibana Masamune, who have been working around the clock on the front lines, are getting increasingly anxious.

"When these people get over tomorrow, we'll find that the plans of the various teams have long been linked together, turning into a disorganized fray attacking an army group head-on." Lu Mingfei couldn't bear to look at it.

"People die for money, birds die for food. They probably can't be unaware that when profits exceed 50%, some people will dare to take risks. And these people are not just lone wolves. No one will be afraid of these vulture-like guys who can bring profits; on the contrary, they will flock to them," the potato chip girl said casually.

“Even the Snake Clan, these fearless people dare to go up and take a bite.”

"Tsk."

Lu Mingfei sighed.

I have gained a deeper understanding of the terror of capitalists.

Indeed, those hunters ignored even the orthodox warnings. How could the mere Snake Clan Eight Families possibly stop their thirst for wealth?

Her grasp of human nature is so profound... no wonder she was able to amass such a fortune.

Lu Mingfei glanced cautiously at the few small car-like objects on the makeshift sand table, and his lips twitched involuntarily. Chip Girl had also arranged for a group of people to secretly ambush the area near Genji Heavy Industries in tanker trucks.

When the explosion goes off, followed by a barrage of smoke grenades and hand grenades, everyone at Genji Heavy Industries will go crazy.

Even if the intruders inside aren't enemies, they'll become enemies.

The key points were reiterated.

"By the way, you two shouldn't stay out too late tonight. We're going to infiltrate Genji Heavy Industries tomorrow," the potato chip girl suddenly said.

"Uh... okay." Lu Mingfei gave an awkward smile.

He's had nothing to do these past few days, so he's been playing video games all night long...

Occasionally, I would accept game invitations from 'Eri's PSN,' which was both educational and entertaining, and I would take turns battling with Zero.

That guy was really persistent.

I can see him online every time I log in, and it seems like he learned from the lesson of 'leaving the computer early and then having his invitation rejected' last time.

Later on, neither Lu Mingfei nor this guy called for a stop. They really worked hard.

Let's all take a day off today.

Return to the room.

"I have something to do tomorrow, so I won't play today."

Lu Mingfei logged into the PSN platform and sent a message to his only friend.

……

Genji Heavy Industries, ξ layer.

Erii Uesugi stared at the screen, looking at 'SakurA1000' who had just logged on, sent her a message, and then immediately logged off.

His gaze seemed to sharpen for a moment, then returned to its utterly indifferent state.

next second...

'Crack,' something broke.

She tilted her head and looked at the black game controller that had split in two. It was a new controller, and the hard plastic shell that she held in her hand was twisted and cracked beyond recognition, as if it had been crushed by hydraulic shears.

Erii ignored the handle and instead fell into deeper thought.

My friend... needs something...

Should I ask my brother to get someone to help 'SakurA1000' resolve this? That way, he can continue playing games with me.

She's always wanted a best friend like those in anime, someone who could be by her side all the time. Her brother is always busy, under a lot of work pressure, and lately he's been getting busier and busier.

Are "friends" on a gaming platform the same as good friends?

Erii tilted her head, her gaze aimlessly fixed on the screen in front of her.

These days, while playing games with 'SakurA1000', she has always kept her brother's instructions.

Don't reveal your real-life situation to people online.

But the other party didn't do what her brother said—why did they deliberately try to find out about her?

Instead, he always remained silent, simply playing games with her and exchanging tips on the game. She could feel his presence as a living person, but she never crossed his guard.

That's really great.

A feeling of trust and warmth inexplicably rose within her.

Really, all she needs is company.

So, my good friend, do you need to help him?
Erii hesitated.

In her mind, her brother was omnipotent. Doctors and nurses all said so. Her brother was like the sun in the sky, able to shine his light on anyone.

And my brother is a very good person.

A good person will naturally help another good person.

Let him help 'SakurA1000'.

Erii subconsciously raised her hand, wanting to shake the wind chimes by the wall.

however.

After a long silence, she lowered her hand.

Erii did not take any action.
She took a new controller from under the table, held it gently, and stared blankly at the screen.

(End of this chapter)