Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from Sekiro

“But I don’t know where you are unless I’m holding your hand,” the man said.

"You always lack a sense of security, and strength can't give you anything."

"If you have nothing, power will only bring loneliness."

After a long silence, EVA looked at the cola in the man's hand and said, "You've changed your habits now. You used to only drink beer."

"Alcohol only numbs the senses; drinking alone is meaningless." The man's voice was hoarse. "If I hadn't drunk that night, perhaps I wouldn't have lost you and them."

“It’s been ten years, and you still haven’t moved on,” EVA said.

"EVA, tell me the Executive Department's plan, the most recent one," the man said decisively.

“I cannot reveal the Executive Department’s plans. You should go.” EVA stared into the man’s eyes.

“You will tell me, EVA. You always grant my requests,” the man said softly.

EVA met the man's gaze, remained silent for a moment, and said, "The Executive Department has dispatched four additional teams to Tibet, Xinjiang, Granlin, and Mexico. There are approximately 1,300 people worldwide exploring the Dragon Tomb. The team closest to success is Professor Mance Rundstedt's team, whose target is Norton, the King of Bronze and Fire, a noble first-generation being and one of the four monarchs. The project is named 'Kuimen,' and the execution time is tonight."

“Mans…no wonder…” The man mused, his brow furrowed.

"Lu Mingfei, an S-class freshman, is there too, right? What's he doing?" the man asked, looking up.

"He was watching 'Katekyo Hitman Reborn!' on his phone on the deck. He was engrossed in it and even made a reservation at a street food stall within five kilometers."

"As expected of him, the mission seems to be going very smoothly."

"The plan formulated by the principal should not be wrong."

"He's not without his mistakes, like ten years ago..." the man said quietly.

"It's been ten years. Although it was a Pyrrhic victory, we succeeded after all."

"But I'm the only one who came back alive." The man drank the entire can of Coke in one gulp.

“But we’ve been watching you all along.” EVA put her hand on the man’s shoulder.

Several beams of light appeared around the man, and in each beam of light stood a figure.

There's a girl in a leather jacket with short, neat red hair, a cold boy wearing sunglasses, a man in black with a solemn, monk-like face, a charming girl with long, flowing hair, plus EVA and the man—six in total.

The figures all placed their hands on the man's shoulders, smiling, like an old, faded photograph, unchanged. Although many years have passed, the sunlight is still as bright as it was on the day the photo was taken.

“EVA, they’re not here.” The man shook his head. “They’re all thousands of miles away, beneath the icy sea, locked in metal diving suits. They won’t die, but they’ll never come back…”

"We don't want to see such tragedies again." The light dimmed, leaving only EVA.

"I hope the mission goes smoothly." The man sighed. "Please activate the hibernation system for me. I have to go."

“Okay,” EVA agreed, but suddenly, a buzzing alarm sounded throughout the basement, accompanied by a red flash.

"Damn it, what's going on! Have I been discovered?!" The man quickly got up.

"No, this alarm isn't for you." EVA pressed the man down. "It's an alarm for the entire academy. You might have to stay a while longer. I can't shut down the security system until everything is over. The mission... something went wrong..."

...

Old Tang was sitting in front of his computer when he was startled by the alarm.

"Holy crap! Fire! Or maybe a grizzly bear climbed over the wall and got in!"

Since Lu Mingfei wasn't there, he stayed in his dorm room playing games on Lu Mingfei's computer with Finger.

Fingel said he was going to buy food, but he hasn't come back yet.

Ding ding ding ding~

A voice call request appeared on my QQ account, with the note: "Fen Gou".

"Hey, the alarm's going off! Where did you go?" Old Tang asked anxiously.

"Don't worry, it's just a drill. This academy used to be a secret refuge, and the alarms sound every year on this day."

"So we don't need to run away?"

"The alarm will stop soon. You can play a game by yourself first. I'll be back a little late."

As Fingel said, the alarm has stopped.

"You didn't buy anything and then realize you didn't have enough money to pay, so the shopkeeper withheld it from you?" Old Tang asked suspiciously.

"Haha~ How could that be~" Fingel assured me, "Don't worry... I just ran into a few old classmates who insisted on chatting with me. You know, I repeated my fourth year, so it's rare for me to see them after graduation. I've already bought the food, just wait for me, I'll be right back!"

"Are you really rich? I'm not kidding, but don't bring back two buckets of instant noodles later."

"Hahaha, hahaha, how could that be? You can trust me to handle things."

...

"Zero Point Breakthrough - Modified!" On the phone screen, Tsuna, engulfed in death aura flames, is fighting XANXUS for the title of Yakuza boss.

"Holy crap! Let's get him!" Lu Mingfei cheered, holding his phone up to the screen.

He was so bored that he asked Norma to help him secretly watch online anime.

"Katekyo Hitman Reborn!" tells the story of Sawada Tsunayoshi, an ordinary high school student, who one day finds himself in a suit dressed as a baby assassin named Reborn at his home. Reborn tells him that he is the tenth generation heir of the long-established Vongola family and then begins to train him as a yakuza boss.

Normally, he's just a gentle and kind high school student, but once he's hit by Reborn's Dying Will Bullet, orange flames with the Sky attribute ignite on his head, and his gentle gaze turns cold.

A typical Japanese youthful boy instantly transforms into a handsome yakuza assassin; Tsuna in his death state is incredibly cool!

Lu Mingfei punched and kicked, as if he were helping Tsuna beat up that arrogant XANXUS.

Suddenly, his ears perked up, his eyes widened, and even though the plot was at its climax, he quickly pressed the pause button, stood up straight from the bench with a serious expression.

A few seconds later, hurried footsteps came from the deck.

"Everything is normal! No abnormalities found at post number 3!" He saluted the sailors.

“Mr. Lu Mingfei! Professor Mans has summoned you! Please come with me!” the sailor said.

"Summon me?" A question mark appeared above Lu Mingfei's head.

In the front cabin, a frantic technician was frantically typing on his keyboard.

The screen displayed a three-dimensional simulation image with rulers marking the boundaries. Everyone looked serious and gritted their teeth. This was the information Ye Sheng had transmitted through the "snake"—a simulated map of the Bronze City.

"Ye Sheng's communication is still intact, but using Word of Power will continuously deplete his stamina. He can't hold on for long, and we don't know when we will lose contact with him!"

"Quickly analyze the information he sent!" Professor Mans' face turned ashen, his right fist clenched tightly.

“This isn’t a city at all; it’s a massive machine made of bronze! Once activated, the bronze components begin to move, blocking off the original roads and creating new ones! It’s like a Rubik’s Cube, a Rubik’s Cube with tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of layers. Even with Norma’s help, we can’t decipher it in a short time!”

"The photos taken by Ye Sheng and his team are very likely maps! That's the only place we can start!"

"But it's too complex. Deciphering these dragon texts is a task that would take years!"

“I have already informed the principal, and he has summoned all the professors and high-bloodline students. Since we cannot decipher it, let’s use spiritual vision! Let’s use the most primitive method to understand the dragon’s intentions!” Professor Mans lowered the brim of his military cap, obscuring the light in his eyes.

He looked like a cold, hard sheet of iron, or a pistol that could explode at any moment.

“Professor Mans, I heard you were looking for me?” Lu Mingfei squeezed into the crowd, his eyes darting around.

The technicians' foreheads were covered in sweat, and they licked their lips from time to time. They were highly focused. Had something urgent happened?

“Selma, go and explain the situation to our S-rank.” Mans turned and glanced at Lu Mingfei, his golden eyes particularly conspicuous in the night. “Hopefully, your S-rank is the real deal.”

“Look at these photos.” Selma handed a tablet to Lu Mingfei. “Ye Sheng and Jiu Deya have triggered the mechanism and are trapped. We can only hope that someone with a high purity of bloodline can trigger spiritual vision and find a way out for them.”

"They're trapped!" Lu Mingfei exclaimed in surprise.

Kassel College, Library Control Room.

"There are 13 students, all with an 'A' grade, and a team of 27 professors. Everyone is here," Professor Manstein said to Professor Schneider.

"Start immediately!" Schneider walked to the front of the hundreds-inch screen and glanced at everyone.

"Everyone, I need your help!"

He explained to these people the difficulties faced by the executive members and showed them photos.

"That's how it is. Our executive team members are currently trapped in a dragon ruin. The traps have been triggered. Although there is still enough oxygen, we will lose contact with them in at most half an hour. It's like a super earthquake has occurred there, and they could die at any moment."

"Do you want us to resonate with 'Dragon's Mark'?" Caesar asked, looking at the photo in his notebook.

"Yes, please do it as soon as possible. If we lose contact, it will be meaningless even if we decipher the dragon script."

Qi Lan, Nuonuo, Chu Zihang... everyone was staring intently at their notebooks, the ancient and intricate patterns blending together, dazzling the eyes.

Norma offered help to everyone, yet everyone's brows furrowed in frustration. Caesar crossed his arms, Chu Zihang tapped lightly on the mahogany table, and Nono brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

Silence reigned; no one spoke.

...

"The key!" Ye Sheng transmitted the message to the computer again.

"Yes! The key!" Mans suddenly shouted and hurriedly ran out.

Lu Mingfei was still squatting in the corner, his face turned towards the screen. He couldn't see anything special about the patterns. Are dragons really this artistic? Using drawings to represent words? Are you out of your mind?!

All he knew was that Ye Sheng and Jiu Deya were in danger. If he didn't do something, he might have to cancel his reservation with the food stall owner. He hadn't even had a bite of his favorite barbecue since returning to China, and he didn't want to do that.

He put the tablet down and looked out at the deep water.

The wedge was strapped to his back, and the Maklov pistol was also tucked into his waistband. With them, he dared to venture anywhere in the world.

Mans hurriedly handed over the keys. "Honey, look at these photos. Do you see anything?"

Key opened his eyes, stretched out his chubby little hand, and swiped it on the screen, but he looked blank, tilting his head to look at Mans, while still sucking on his pacifier.

"Um, Professor, I want to ask..." Lu Mingfei approached, but before he could finish speaking, Key's pacifier suddenly fell to the ground. As if it had seen something terrifying, it frantically waved its fingers at Lu Mingfei, and crystal tears fell. Key let out a "waaaah" and burst into tears.

“This…” Mans stared blankly at Lu Mingfei.

“Professor Mans!” Lu Mingfei raised his voice, silencing the baby’s cries, “I want to ask! Where is that Bronze City located! I request permission to go into the water for a rescue!”

He glared at the baby, who then instinctively covered his mouth with his hand, trying hard not to cry out, though tears and fear welled up in his eyes as if they were about to spill out.

"Go into the water to rescue? You?" Mans looked down at the unusually behaving Key, then met Lu Mingfei's determined gaze, and an unbelievable thought popped into his mind.

The deepest instincts of the key's bloodline compel him to flee from some terrifying being.

Mans suddenly felt that Lu Mingfei's deep black pupils were like bottomless black holes, about to suck him in and crush him.

Inside the Bronze City, inside the giant metal egg.

A huge, withered, black creature fell into the pool, splashing the water high into the air. The water nourished the creature's body, and its scales, which resembled rotten wood, slowly regained their luster. Its shriveled skeleton gradually swelled up, and the clear water began to turn yellow and smelly, becoming murky and murky.