Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from Sekiro

The researchers were in high spirits, and everyone focused intently on Lu Mingfei's condition.

With the last second of the tenth minute, the pressure test ended, and the tracks stopped.

Lu Mingfei exhaled a breath of stale air, stepped out of the testing device, looked well, was slightly sweaty, and was a little out of breath.

Chapter 140 Gold Miners

"Lu Mingfei, do you need a rest?" Professor Mans spoke through the headset.

“No need, Professor.” Lu Mingfei adjusted his breathing, gradually calming down.

To be honest, he didn't really understand the difference between 12 meters per second and 14 meters per second; they seemed about the same. He also couldn't drive, so his understanding of speed was vague. In terms of numbers, it was just two meters more.

Moreover, during his day at Freedom, he witnessed the explosive speed of Chu Zihang and Caesar, which was very fast. Based on this, he could see that the physique of hybrids was quite strong, much stronger than that of ordinary people. Therefore, he no longer held back. At his aunt's house, he had to be careful to control his strength at all times, but here he simply let loose. Pretending to be weak all the time was too tiring.

The stress test was like a slow jog, gradually activating the joints and muscles.

Putting everything else aside, he's put in a lot of hard work when it comes to running.

When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy camps, we harass; when the enemy tires, we attack; when the enemy retreats, we pursue.

He kept the 16-character mantra of guerrilla warfare firmly in mind: if you can't win, retreat tactically; if you have a grappling hook, everyone will be left eating his dust.

However, with modern airplanes and cars, no matter how fast you can run, you can't outrun machines.

He remembered that Professor Mans had just said that the maximum speed of a tracked train could reach 300 kilometers per hour, and high-speed rail was also within that speed range. Since a maximum speed of 300 kilometers per hour was designed, there must be a demand for it.

He felt that his performance was only average, far from what he had achieved in the 300km race.

What he didn't know was that the testing device was originally designed to detect the speed at which hybrids used incantations.

For example, the Word of Power: Setsuna can multiply one's speed. The speed of an nth-order Setsuna is 2 to the power of n times the normal speed, a first-order Setsuna is 2 times, a second-order Setsuna is 4 times, and the highest record that humans have ever used so far is the ninth-order Setsuna, which is 512 times.

If the initial velocity is 10 meters per second, the speed of the Ninth Stage Moment is 5120 meters per second. The entire marathon is about 42 kilometers long. For the user of the Ninth Stage Moment, it can cross the finish line in 10 seconds. The race has just begun, and he is already drinking tea at the finish line.

Of course, this is in theory. No one has ever been able to use a high-level instant for more than one second continuously, and it also takes some time to accelerate from zero speed to an initial speed of 10 meters per second.

Even the physique of a hybrid cannot withstand such high speeds; after all, they are mortal beings. The speed of sound is 340 meters per second. According to documents and Principal Angers' recollections, Viscount Charlotte, who could use the eighth-order instantaneous technique, could only barely reach the speed of sound in the realm of Word of Power.

Lu Mingfei can run at a steady pace of 14 meters per second for 10 minutes without feeling tired, purely based on his physical abilities. Even in the history of mixed-race individuals, this physique would rank among the top, meaning he is comparable to figures like Qin Shi Huang.

“Continue with the load test; the tracks will keep accelerating until you can’t keep up and get thrown off,” Mans said. “The airbags will catch you; run at full speed.”

“Okay.” Lu Mingfei stepped back onto the tracks.

“Start accelerating,” Mans said.

The engine roared, the tracks started turning, and Lu Mingfei followed the rhythm.

It was easy at first, but a few seconds later, the speed of the tracks increased rapidly. Lu Mingfei felt that it was at least twice the pressure test speed, but fortunately, it was within his tolerance range.

However, the ceiling of this thing is too low, which restricts its movement. If it were in an open space where it could jump, its speed could double.

About 10 seconds later, Lu Mingfei finally couldn't keep up with the speed of the tracks and was thrown behind. The black airbags inflated instantly, filling the entire space. It was like falling into soft cotton, and he was lifted into the air.

A few seconds later, the engine stopped, the airbags contracted, and he was lowered out.

"The highest burst speed was 36 meters per second, approximately 129.6 kilometers per hour..." The researcher swallowed hard. "That's fast enough to catch up with a moving subway train; the second-place finisher was a full 6 meters slower..."

"If you were running normally, you'd need to descend another ten meters, making the lower range 14 meters and the upper range 30 meters... To achieve this without using any special abilities is truly amazing..."

The researchers started discussing it animatedly.

Mans remained expressionless, his eyes fixed on Lu Mingfei on the screen.

"Continue with the strength tests," he ordered, waving his hand.

The speed was set to 30 meters per second. Lu Mingfei needed to run at full speed for 5 minutes until he exhausted all his energy, and then undergo a 5-minute stress test.

Few people can reach the finish line in an intensity test. The test itself is designed to break people down. Imagine asking an average college student to sprint a kilometer and then, without resting, to do it again. That's the purpose of an intensity test: to test your strength to the limit.

The specialists who were able to participate in the test were very determined, and most of them could make it through the first five minutes, but in the second half, they would call a halt or be left behind because they couldn't keep up with the pace.

Lu Mingfei started running again, his speed increasing rapidly. He could no longer maintain the leisurely stroll he had before; his muscles felt sore, his breathing became rapid, sweat secreted from his pores, and his body felt like an overloaded machine, constantly heating up.

After enduring the first five minutes, his speed finally slowed down. By then, he was exhausted, and he felt a slight pain in his calf muscles. However, he continued running at his own pace until the very end without stopping.

"He was one of the first people to complete the intensity test?" Mans suddenly asked.

“According to the data Norma retrieved, he was the third,” the researcher said; “but neither of the first two could walk out of the lab standing up.”

As the researchers gazed at Lu Mingfei emerging from the instrument, a sense of awe arose within them; perhaps, a new era was about to dawn.

Mans took off his headphones and stepped into the glass enclosure.

"Do you need me to help you?" Mans asked.

"No need, Professor, let's go out first." Lu Mingfei's breathing calmed down considerably, and he moved slowly, dragging his tired body.

Physical strength is not his forte. After all, he uses the convenient grappling hook to swing around when traveling, and his combat is mostly assassination and parrying, which does not consume too much physical strength. Continuous high-intensity exercise is much more tiring than combat with intervals in between.

Just like the heart, although it needs to beat continuously throughout a person's life, its activity is rhythmic. Each beat is followed by a short rest. When it contracts, it consumes a lot of energy, and when it relaxes, it rests, thus maintaining its vitality.

However, although Lu Mingfei's physical strength was average, his ability to adjust and recover was very strong. When he came out of the glass chamber, it was obvious that his complexion had improved a lot.

"Is there anything else I can do, Professor?" Lu Mingfei asked.

"The test data has been collected, and the physical fitness test is now complete," Mans said.

"What about additional testing?" Lu Mingfei was still thinking about the grappling hook.

"Wait a moment." Mans walked to the side and took out a thing that looked like diving goggles from a metal cabinet, complete with two levers.

He then snatched a researcher's laptop and typed on the keyboard for a long time.

"These are VR glasses. VR is short for Virtual Reality, which is one of our research areas." Mans put the glasses on Lu Mingfei.

"Isn't it supposed to be tested with a hook?"

“This test will be fine; it’ll be easier.” Mans pressed the switch. “Have you ever played Gold Miner?”

“I’ve played it, Professor. You know Gold Miner too.” Lu Mingfei’s eyes lit up. A bunch of 3D-style floating gold mines were floating in the air, and 10 little pigs were walking around in the sky, obstructing people’s view. It really looked like a 3D version of Gold Miner.

“I learned a little bit about it when I went to China on a mission.” Mans handed two levers to Lu Mingfei. “Use this to control the grappling hook, aim it at these gold mines, press the top switch, and the hook will shoot out. I just adjusted the trajectory speed and the movement speed of the gold mines. Although it is still different from the real thing, it can already test your level.”

"Professor, do you play Zuma?" Two claws appeared in Lu Mingfei's field of vision. He couldn't see his own body, which was quite a novel feeling.

"You mean that frog that spits out balls? It's not bad for killing time. If you can collect all the gold ore within a minute, you pass." Mans typed Enter on his laptop. At the same time, the object in Lu Mingfei's field of vision was projected onto the glass dome, and a score appeared in the upper right corner, showing as 0.

“No problem!” Lu Mingfei was eager to try.

He's an expert at gold mining; he's always right.

“You can catch them when I say ‘start’.” Mans went back to the laptop, typed on the keyboard, and changed the value of “stone_speed” to 2000. Before the change, the value was 0.

Not only that, he also changed a variable called "trouble_pig" from 10 to 100!

In an instant, 90 moving piglets appeared out of thin air.

The strength test failed to reveal Lu Mingfei's limits; he wanted to see Lu Mingfei's limits!

"Start." As he pressed Enter, the gold mine began to move rapidly.

Lu Mingfei was completely unaware that Mans had tampered with things behind the scenes. He simply launched his grappling hook step by step, grabbing the gold mines floating in the sky one by one and turning them into points.

Piglets couldn't stop him at all. He was very talented in shooting games, and he could score 100 points out of 100 during his high school military training.

Mans stayed in front of the laptop, constantly modifying the "stone_speed" parameter as Lu Mingfei progressed: 2100, 2200... When it came to the last 5, he would increase the movement speed of the gold mine by 500 for each one Lu Mingfei caught.

Lu Mingfei thought this was the normal process of the game, but he forgot that the gold mine in Gold Miner was not supposed to move. But that would be too easy. Lu Mingfei preferred games with high difficulty and challenges. He once played StarCraft with Lao Tang using a red dot on his laptop in pursuit of excitement.

Fifty seconds later, only a group of piglets were left running around in the sky. All the gold mines had turned into points, and he even had the leisure to grab a few pigs with his paws.

The researchers stared at the screen in disbelief.

“You’ve passed.” Mans took off his VR glasses. “Your application has been approved. Starting next week, I will be creating the requirements engineering document for you. The project will take about 1-2 months. After completion, there will be 3 tests to ensure there are no problems before you can officially use it.”

"Understood!" Lu Mingfei nodded. "Then can I leave now?"

“Okay.” Mans glanced at his watch. “Go and call Guderian to pick you up, or I can take you up.”

"I'll call Professor Guderian." Lu Mingfei took out his phone and dialed a number. A minute later, Professor Guderian rushed in through the door and led Lu Mingfei away.

After the door closed, Mans put on the VR glasses himself. "Willie, go reset the data and revert the save file and data to one minute ago."

"Yes." A thin researcher wearing glasses came to the laptop and operated it. The fast-moving gold mine reappeared on the screen, and the number of pigs became ten.

Mans started grabbing the floating gold ore, and five minutes later, he finally grabbed all the gold ore without missing a single shot.

He was one of the top snipers in the academy, but his grades were on a completely different level from Lu Mingfei's.

Other researchers also tried, but many couldn't even find a single gold mine.

At this point, the parameter of "stone_speed" was only 2000, which was more than twice as low as "5300" when Lu Mingfei captured the last gold mine.

This new generation "S-class" is not only physically gifted, but also undoubtedly the best in terms of nerve reaction and timing.

Mans looked at the scratched old Karlwieden lighter in his hand, a hint of tenderness flashing in his weathered eyes, and murmured, "Is this the one and only 'the one'..."

...

Lu Mingfei and Professor Guderian entered the elevator, and after a moment of feeling suspended in mid-air, they arrived at the "-12" floor.

The corridor has the same futuristic style as the "-8" floor.

"How many floors are there in the underground of Kassel?" Lu Ming couldn't help but ask. It was his first time in the underground. The tallest teaching building was only 10 floors, but this place was 12 floors below ground. Moreover, it was decorated with these alloy panels. It was hard to imagine how much money it cost and how it was built.

“There are fifty floors in total,” Professor Guderian said proudly. “This place was originally a naturally formed, enormous cavern. It took hundreds of years of investment and construction to build it to this size. There are only five underground bases like this in the world. Even if it is completely isolated from the outside world, it can operate autonomously for five hundred years.”

"Is it really that sci-fi? Does that mean there are also giant Gundam robots and EAV Unit-01? The students at Kassel College are actually all pilot candidates, right?" Lu Mingfei complained.

"How could such a thing exist? If it did, why would we need to slay dragons? Humans would just go and conquer the stars and the sea." Professor Guderian swiped his card to open the door and led Lu Mingfei into a room. Compared to the equipment department's laboratory, this room was not large. More than 10 computers were distributed on one side, some yellowed ancient scrolls and pottery shards were placed on a white desk, and instruments such as tweezers, brushes, and microscopes were on display.

There were only two or three people sitting on benches, looking at the ancient pottery shards with magnifying glasses, but Lu Mingfei didn't expect to see a familiar figure there.

"Everyone, please stop what you're doing." Professor Guderian clapped his hands. "This is my student, Lu Mingfei. I think you all know him, so I won't go into details. Starting today, he will join our research team and begin with some basic work."

“It’s getting late today, and many people have gone to eat, so not everyone is here,” Professor Guderian said. “Zero, you are all freshmen, so please take good care of Lu Mingfei.”

“Yes, Professor.” Zero nodded, jumped off the stool, and looked at her petite body in a strange way, as if she were cosplaying some kind of odd role.

Chapter 141 Yesterday

“This is Zero, one of my students. His bloodline is one level lower than yours; he’s ‘A-level.’ I don’t know if you two know him,” Professor Guderian introduced.