Dragon Raja: Reboot

Chapter 173 Deep-Sea Eloquence (Part 1)

It only lasted a moment.

The watertight compartment was then placed in a tense standoff.

Genjiro sat there quietly, the small dagger hidden behind his waist now held horizontally in front of Caesar's neck, the Spider Cutting sword drawn an inch from its sheath, gleaming with a blue light, blocking Chu Zihang's sword.

The space here was too cramped, making it inconvenient for him and Chu Zihang to fully draw their swords, but even drawing them an inch from their sheaths was enough to kill them.

Caesar's azure eyes were icy and sharp, and the Desert Eagle was poised between Genji's brows.

At this distance, if the gun is fired, this modified Desert Eagle from the Equipment Department would be enough to make Genji's head explode like a watermelon.

All three remained completely still.

It seems that any action by any one person could cause misunderstandings and trigger a chain reaction, ultimately resulting in bloodshed inside the cabin.

What directly caused this situation was the enormous tower that stood abruptly on the seabed, and the magnificent ancient city that stretched out in the distance!

"Young Master...did you...see that...?"

The cawing of crows came through the walkie-talkie, a mixture of indescribable joy, fear, and profound shock!

Eight thousand meters below the surface of the ocean, a towering structure rises abruptly and stands silently beneath the sea. The tides of magma rise and fall not far from it, reflecting off its dark body, which appears as if it were an iron core about to melt.

From the Japanese branch members on the Sumeru pedestal to Schneider and Manstein at the academy headquarters, everyone was looking at the tower, ignoring everything that was happening inside the watertight compartment.

That tower seems to have stood here for millions of years, majestic and lonely like a god, inspiring awe in anyone who sees it.

And so the Trieste moved forward.

A majestic city, centered around a tower, emerges at the edge of the field of vision, appearing as a divine kingdom!

They crossed an underwater ridge, and the ancient city slowly unfolded like a scroll painting.

Centered around a tall tower and adjacent to a long river of lava, it has endured for millions of years without decay.

Half of the ancient city has slid into the lava river, never to return, and the other half is nothing but collapsed ruins. Yet the giant tower in the center stands stubbornly, like a gatekeeper of the old era, representing the last glory of this city.

Even from the collapsed ruins, one can still see the grandeur and splendor of this ancient city from countless years ago.

The sprawling buildings stretched out like a scroll painting, their towering, mountain-shaped roofs covered with iron-black tiles, each engraved with swirling clouds and dragons. Hundreds of meters long metal chains hung from the four corners of the buildings, with black wind chimes dangling from them. These chains undulated in the ocean currents, and thousands upon thousands of black wind chimes swayed, playing silent music.

Beauty is not enough to describe all of this; its grandeur and magnificence far surpass all that one has ever seen in a lifetime.

Upon witnessing this scene, Caesar and Genjiro almost simultaneously launched an attack.

Chu Zihang was the one who lagged behind. He hadn't expected the two to make a sudden move, but instinct made him follow closely. His holy sword was drawn an inch from its sheath, but the blade was blocked in mid-air by Genji's Spider Cut.

As for why he was helping Caesar, it's simple: Caesar was his companion on this mission.

"You guessed it?" Genji asked expressionlessly.

"I didn't guess that, but seeing the ancient city below made some things clear," Caesar said coldly. "Besides, the hint you gave earlier was too obvious."

"What's the problem?"

"The seabed is dangerous, and your status is too high for you to risk your life with us. Besides, your reason for agreeing to go underwater is absurd," Caesar said bluntly. "You knew from the beginning that this ancient city existed underwater, and you never intended for us to leave alive, did you?"

Genji was silent for a moment, then unexpectedly slowly sheathed his katana and spider-like blade.

"No matter how noble you are, can you compare to the heir of the Gattuso family?" Genji sneered. "If I really wanted to kill you, I wouldn't need to come down with you. I could easily kill you from up here."

Caesar raised an eyebrow, and his hand holding the gun slowly lowered.

He glanced at Chu Zihang out of the corner of his eye, and the latter nodded almost imperceptibly, indicating that this was indeed the case.

"You just said there might be an ancient dragon city beneath the Gates of Hell." Chu Zihang sheathed his sword, but his gaze remained fixed on Yuan Zhisheng's shoulder, unwavering. "What you really meant was that there's an ancient city beneath the deep sea, right? You're right. If you wanted to kill us, you wouldn't have needed to dive down with us, but you still came, and that's the biggest suspicious point."

Yuan Zhisheng did not answer.

He silently turned his head and looked out the porthole.

The ancient city below is magnificent yet desolate, while the rock formations beside it look as if they have been cleaved open by a giant weapon, leaving scars that stretch for thousands of miles, with lava-like blood flowing through them.

Muffled explosions continued to come from below, the lava river resembling a giant sword being quenched in seawater.

This is the sound of seawater vaporizing. In the ultra-high pressure polar abyss, the boiling point of seawater exceeds 500 degrees Celsius.

When magma comes into contact with seawater, the seawater vaporizes, and the muffled thunderous sound is a steam explosion caused by the vaporization of seawater.

Caesar frowned, put away his gun, and lost interest in a guy who offered no resistance.

His vision of the future was very limited; he couldn't even see what lay beneath the sea.

But the only thing that is certain is that he, Chu Zihang, and Lu Mingfei faced a life-or-death crisis underwater. The Japanese branch deceived and betrayed them, leaving them stranded in the deep sea.

And the one who caused all of this was none other than Genji, who should have been standing on the Sumeru pedestal as the person in charge!

Of course, reality and the future have already shifted.

What excited Caesar the most, and also what made him most wary, was that Genjiro and the others went down together.

If everything that happened in the dream was true, then why did Genjiro, who was supposed to betray them, dive down with them?

It couldn't possibly be due to pressure from headquarters, could it?

Based on what he had seen, the Japanese branch's unilateral severing of ties with Norma and blocking Professor Schneider was already a betrayal. They were prepared to betray the Academy and had no reason to be pressured by headquarters to let a young family head take such a risk.

Damn it, the future he saw was too incomplete, and the perspective was primarily his own.

If we could see all the futures from God's perspective...

Caesar shook his head, banishing the unrealistic idea from his mind.

"Let's revisit some topics," Caesar paused, then added, "I cut off communications earlier, so we have five minutes for this luxurious deep-sea conversation."

"Let's find something in common among the three of us first." He pointed to Chu Zihang and said, "This guy's name is Chu Zihang. He only has his biological mother left at home, and his biological father has been missing for many years."

"I also have a stepfather," Chu Zihang corrected expressionlessly.

Undeniably, his stepfather couldn't find a single fault with him.

"Oh, I forgot, you and your stepfather seemed to have a good relationship? You even left your will to him before you died. Of course, that's not important now." Caesar shrugged, then pointed at Genjiro, "You, Genjiro, are an orphan, orphaned and raised with your younger brother. After your brother died, as the last member of the Genji family, you feel like that tortoise named 'George'."

"And I, Caesar Gattuso," he said, pointing to himself with a nonchalant expression, "also lost my parents at a young age, so we can certainly form a team of orphans."

This time, Chu Zihang was no longer expressionless, his face dark and full of murderous intent. He said in a stiff tone, "My mother is doing very well. Besides, you are not an orphan. You also have a playboy father."

"My biological father?" Caesar shrugged. "I've long considered him dead."

Genji asked warily, "Has the Gattuso family's intelligence network already infiltrated the Snake-Headed Eight Families?"

It's not just internal; some of the things Caesar just mentioned are only known to his closest confidants. He's not one to confide in others; there are things he can only say on special occasions to special people.

At that moment, Genjiro had no idea who had betrayed the family and told Caesar these secrets about him.

If that traitor even revealed these private details, then the information about the burial site...

"You already knew about the Divine Burial Site before you came down here?" Genji suddenly exclaimed, then his eyes widened in anger. "Who told you this?"

In a fit of rage, Genji gripped the hilt of the Spider Quarter's sword once more, his furious expression suggesting he was about to devour someone.

Only his closest people could know these things, and these were the people he would never allow to betray him.

"It's you." Caesar showed no fear, and without even drawing his gun, he took off his diving suit and threw it on the ground as if no one else was there.

"What... are you saying?" Genji's roar faltered, as if his rhythm had been disrupted by a madman.

"I'm saying all of this was told to me by you," Caesar said casually, pointing to his ear. "The Kamaitachi can bring any sound to my ears, perhaps even thoughts?"

Genjiro's face darkened, and he said in a stiff tone, "Are you kidding me? When did Kamaitachi develop the ability to read minds?"

"Who knows?" Caesar replied dismissively, then looked at the two of them with surprise. "Aren't you two hot?"

The topic was steered in a different direction again.

Chu Zihang and Yuan Zhisheng were both taken aback, only then realizing the high temperature inside the cabin.

"The external water temperature is 224 degrees Celsius." Chu Zihang turned to look at the instrument panel. He said in a deep voice, "Although there is an external insulation layer, if we continue to get closer to the magma surface, I'm afraid we won't be able to hold out."

"Calm down, just think of it as taking a sauna." Caesar flexed his pectoral muscles, sweat dripping down his clenched muscles.

Chu Zihang silently turned around.

After three seconds of silence, Genji released his grip on the Spider Cutter.

How could he take a madman seriously?

The two undressed quickly, and within seconds, the scene inside the watertight compartment became incredibly erotic.

Three diving suits lay on the ground, and three shirtless men wearing only underwear sat back to back, drenched in sweat, their hair soaked, their buttocks seemingly so hot they were stuck to the seats—it was practically a dry sauna in a bathhouse.

Even so, Chu Zihang and Yuan Zhisheng were still wearing their belts, with the Spider Cutter, the Kodachi, and the Holy Sword tied to them.

This was a mistake. Few people have reached the bottom of the Abyss, and the Equipment Department had no information to check. They mistakenly believed that the bottom of the Abyss was a low-temperature environment, so the combat suits still had a warming function. However, continuing to wear the combat suits at this point would inevitably lead to fainting from the heat.

"If Lu Mingfei were here, he'd definitely ask if he could take off his underwear," Caesar mused, then turned and asked, "Anyone want to take their underwear off together?"

"Have you been assimilated by Lu Mingfei? I don't remember you being that close to him," Chu Zihang said irritably.

"No, it's just a way of mourning." Caesar shrugged.

Strictly speaking, he and Lu Mingfei were not very familiar with each other, but Lu Mingfei's actions last semester earned his high approval, but that was not the main reason.

The main reason is that in the dream they were companions who had gone through life and death together.

Although this guy "escaped" this time, Caesar didn't mind mourning Lu Mingfei, who only lived in his dreams, in this way. He was his deceased comrade-in-arms.

"Go ahead, we're all men, no one will laugh at you." Genjiro had a cold smile on his lips. "Besides, you have three minutes left out of your five."

"Laughing at me?" Caesar raised an eyebrow. "I'm afraid you'll feel inferior. According to research, the average length of a Japanese person is only 10cm."

Silence fell over the cabin.

Chu Zihang's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything.

Genjiro discovered that he had no idea what Caesar's limits would be.

Indeed, the only thing that can predict a neurosis is another neurosis.

"There are only two and a half minutes left." Caesar glanced at the time and said calmly, "Yuan-kun, do you really think you're that giant tortoise?"

Yuan Zhisheng didn't turn around. He stared quietly at the porthole in front of him, knowing that the lunatic was finally preparing to unleash his ultimate move.

"I don't know where you got this information, but isn't the last Pinta Island giant tortoise and the last descendant of the Minamoto family a perfect match? Everyone thinks they should strive for the survival of their race, but they just want to live their own lives."

"You mean your own life? Do you mean selling sunscreen on a nudist beach? Maybe I could bring my fiancée to your business."

"...Where did you get this information from?" Genji took a deep breath.

"Don't worry about such trivial matters," Caesar said lazily. "You say you're a tortoise who wants to live your own life, so why don't you take a plane to France tonight? Maybe you'll meet your true love on the plane and go to a nudist beach to sell sunscreen together."

Yuan Zhisheng slowly said:

"Listen, I don't know where you got this information, but let me tell you, the underworld isn't what you imagine—a place where people wield life and death power, enjoy glamorous women, casually hand out wads of cash to reward their subordinates, and eliminate anyone they don't like!"

"Most of the people living at the bottom of the underworld are the weak who cannot enter mainstream society. Many of the thugs who go to shops with knives to demand protection money are children from single-parent families, children who have been expelled from school, or children who cannot afford to go to college. And many of the women who flaunt their charms in nightclubs are single mothers, and some have experienced domestic violence from their fathers for many years, or have even been raped by their stepfathers. In their eyes, their bodies are not anything precious. They do not think about what will happen when they get old and can no longer seduce men. They only live in the present, and they can only live in the present. This is the society in the shadows."

"Where there is light, there is shadow; this is an unavoidable reality, and no one can change this ironclad rule!"

(End of this chapter)