Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from Sekiro

Taking PS3 game discs with him would incur high customs duties. Although he managed to get several through customs, he couldn't bear to leave them in Japan, so he reluctantly paid the fees to check them onto the plane.

At 1 p.m. on September 25, he arrived at New York Airport as scheduled.

"Hey, Lao Tang, I've gotten off the plane!" He made a video call to Lao Tang.

Old Tang had already told him yesterday that he would come pick him up in his Greyhound car.

"Coming, coming, I see you!" A travel-worn man was waving from afar.

Lu Mingfei walked over with his luggage, looking around: "Where's your Greyhound?"

“Over there,” he said, pointing to a bus.

"You drove here in a bus? That's awesome!" Lu Mingfei gave a thumbs up.

A bus driver's license is not easy to obtain.

"No, I rode it here." Old Tang grinned slyly. "Come and enjoy America's poor man's Greyhound paradise with me!"

He helped Lu Mingfei put his luggage into the carriage and then led Lu Mingfei onto the train.

It turns out this guy didn't have the money to buy a car at all; he couldn't even afford the gas. The so-called Greyhound was just one of those cheap buses.

There were many Black people on the bus, which seemed unsafe, so Old Tang led him to the back seat of the last row. Not long after, the bus started moving.

They drove along the U.S. interstate highway, singing awful songs.

The car was noisy, and some people were singing along with them. A bunch of strangers were gathered together, chatting and bragging, and no one knew where they were going.

The Black friends were very funny, and before long, Lu Mingfei became one of them.

Although his English wasn't good, he had a lot of fun with Lao Tang translating for him.

When they see a nice place, they get off the bus to look around, buy local hot dogs, and squat in the exhaust fumes to eat them, waiting for the next Greyhound bus to take them to even farther places.

Wandering the world, unrestrained, that's freedom. Most of the Greyhound passengers are poor people in America. Some of them have lost their purpose and wander around with the buses. When they run out of money, they become homeless people on the streets.

The two lay on a bench in the service area, bragging about things that seemed to have no end, and talking about the hot girls they never met.

It was late at night, and Old Tang kept his promise and took Lu Mingfei out for steak.

A run-down, old-fashioned street steakhouse was very cheap; the meal for two cost less than $15, which was an incredibly low price.

Although Lu Mingfei had money in his pocket, he felt it was only right for his employer to treat him to a meal when he came to his employer's place. It would be inappropriate for him to take the initiative instead.

Good brothers head to the internet cafe together, where they battle, party, and burn with passion amidst the loudest screams.

They didn't return to Old Tang's rented apartment in Brooklyn until early morning.

The room was small and damp; it was undoubtedly a place where only the poor would live.

A boxy computer sat on the table, and besides that, there was only a simple bed and a window that blocked out the sun.

Lu Mingfei didn't mind at all. Back in Ashina, they used the sky as their blanket and the ground as their bed.

There was always the sound of trains rushing overhead, very loud, but the two brothers were tired and soon lay on the bed, snoring loudly.

They slept for a whole day before getting up, their hair a mess and smelling of smoke from the internet cafe; they looked extremely unkempt.

The two looked at each other and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Brother, I haven't had this much fun in ages," Old Tang said, leaning against the wall. "It was so satisfying! Drinking and eating meat is only truly enjoyable when you have someone to go with!"

"Old Tang, this is a gift for you." Lu Mingfei took out a bag of sakura mochi from his suitcase. "It's imported from Japan, sweet but not cloying."

"How could I possibly accept this? You're coming to visit your brother and bringing gifts." Old Tang said this, but his hand seemed to grab the bag of cakes without any politeness.

His income wasn't high, and once he got broadband internet, he rarely went to internet cafes. After partying with Lu Mingfei all day, his wallet was empty.

But what does it matter?

That's what good brothers are like. When they get together, they always find a place to party, let loose, curse together, whistle together, and then fall asleep on their pillows after they're exhausted.

This is what men call romance, something women rarely understand.

Even if he didn't have enough money to pay the rent, he would still take Lu Mingfei to buy two hot dogs.

Greyhounds and hot dogs, that's the only thing he can guarantee.

Chapter Twenty-Eight Fingel

Lu Mingfei didn't bother Lao Tang for too long. He could tell that Lao Tang was living in dire straits, and staying there would only add to Lao Tang's burden.

He booked a room nearby, and that evening, he and Lao Tang went to an internet cafe.

Finally, the first day of school arrived. He arrived at the Chicago train station alone and, with Norma's help, prepared to take the CC1000 express train to Kassel College.

"CC1000 express train? Never heard of it... Maybe it's some kind of branch line train? But the number you mentioned isn't quite right... The new train timetable contains all the information about the train number, go back and check... The ticket seems genuine, but I really don't know there's such a train." These were the answers given by different staff members on duty.

This express train is not listed in the train timetable.

"How could that be?" Lu Mingfei was completely bewildered.

This is the first time Norma's arrangements have gone wrong.

He wanted to call Professor Guderian, but suddenly he heard begging nearby.

"One dollar, just one dollar..." is the same as the Chinese beggar's "Please have mercy, sir, please have mercy..."

He turned his head and saw a tall and burly young man standing beside him. His face, buried under a thick beard, was quite rugged, and his eyes were full of longing. However, his clothes were very dirty; his dark green plaid shirt and cropped trousers looked like they hadn't been washed in a long time.

"Here you go." Lu Mingfei tossed a coin.

"Chinese?" The other person understood Lu Mingfei's Chinese and immediately switched to fluent Chinese.

"Thank you, kind Chinese people." The young man's eyes were filled with tears. "I've been begging here for half a day, and you're the only one who's willing to give me money to buy a Coke."

"What, you want money to buy Coke?" Lu Mingfei frowned.

“I’m really not a beggar, Fingel von Frings.” The young man pulled a dictionary-like textbook from his satchel.

Lu Mingfei then took a serious look at the man.

Don't look at it, look at it!

The imposing physique concealed an extraordinary aura; this was a powerful individual.

Is America really full of hidden talents?

He thought of that hot girl who raced cars with a steel knife. Come to think of it, that girl also speaks fluent Chinese. Could it be... that they're from the same family?

Lu Mingfei suspected he had stumbled into a den of thieves. One moment there was a violent woman with unpredictable moods, the next a professor with a vacant mind, and now a burly beggar.

Are all the students at Kassel College like this?

Is it too late for him to apply for withdrawal from school now?

......

At Burger King, the two sat on a bench. Fingel wolfed down his burger and drank Coke, muttering, "Junior Lu Mingfei, you are my second parents. I will never forget your kindness."

"He can really eat." Lu Mingfei's lips twitched slightly. This guy's appetite is equivalent to that of three strong men who came back from the construction site hungry. He's a real money-devouring machine.

"When is that car coming?" Lu Mingfei asked.

"I don't know," Fingel muttered, his mouth stuffed full. "Those of lower class have to wait for the bus. Don't worry, the bus will come eventually."

"Class? What class?"

"It's something like aristocratic status. Students of higher classes have privileges, such as priority in getting cars."

"Does that mean our social class is very low?"

"It's pretty much like being a medieval serf."

"What!" Lu Mingfei exclaimed, "Are you sure you're not mistaken? My parents are alumni of the academy, and the principal even personally instructed Professor Guderian to send his regards to me."

“Professor Guderian? Then that’s it.” Fingel wiped his mouth. “He is my mentor.”

"Excuse me for asking, senior, what year are you in?" Lu Mingfei looked at the unshaven Fingel and felt a headache coming on.

Professor Guderian looks quite imposing and acts so grandly, so how come his students are such awful?

Speaking of which, his advisor hasn't been assigned yet. Could it be Professor Guderian...? No way!

Lu Mingfei suddenly wanted to run away.

“Eighth grade,” Fingel replied to Lu Mingfei’s question.

"Isn't Kassel College a four-year institution?"

“It’s four years, but I repeated four years.” Fingel said with a proud look, as if it were something extraordinary.

"..." Lu Mingfei and Fingel stared at each other.

"Waiter! Check please!" Lu Mingfei threw down a banknote, turned around, and walked out.

"Wait, junior brother! Don't leave me behind!" Fingel, still holding his half-eaten hamburger, quickly followed after him.

In the end, Lu Mingfei couldn't get rid of this eccentric and silly senior brother.

"Don't worry, junior brother, just wait a little longer, and you'll eventually catch a bus," Fingel earnestly advised. "Don't rush off. All the female students in the academy are gorgeous; you'll have plenty to feast your eyes on."

"Her words just sound unreliable coming from you," Lu Mingfei sighed.

This shameless senior brother clearly sees him as a meal ticket. According to him, the train that isn't on the timetable could come anytime, anywhere from tonight to two or three days later.

The only way to get to Kassel College is by that train; otherwise, you have to take a helicopter.

Lu Mingfei suddenly missed his prosthetic arm. With the grappling hook, he could sneak over to the academy like Spider-Man, instead of waiting in the train station waiting room for a train that might not arrive for who knows when.

He had been sitting in the waiting room with Fingel all morning, and he was getting impatient.

"Dululululu~"

"Hello, is this Professor Guderian?" Lu Mingfei answered the phone.

"It's me!" the professor exclaimed excitedly. "Lu Mingfei, is there anything I can help you with?"

“Professor, I have arrived at the Chicago train station as Norma arranged, but I can’t find any information about train CC1000 anywhere.”

"What! When did you arrive?! There must be a problem with the dispatch! Wait a minute, I'll contact the train conductor right away. Don't worry, the train will definitely come to pick you up as soon as possible!"

The phone hangs up.

Fingel was dumbfounded; he had heard the conversation clearly.