Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei finds a Freylian

Only when the footsteps completely disappeared did Lu Mingfei dare to let out a soft breath, the lollipop stick in his mouth deformed from his biting.

"Twenty 'fully armed guards,' could they all be 'king cobra' enthusiasts?" he asked, his voice muffled by a candy in his mouth.

“When we came last time, the number of guards was only half of what it is now, and their equipment and vigilance were not as high.” Chu Zihang glanced at Caesar, his brows furrowing slightly. “The Snake Clan has significantly strengthened the defenses of the Genji Heavy Industries underground.”

Caesar slowly shook his head, his face grim: "With this level of security density and personnel quality, there is almost no chance of winning by force. Even if Chu Zihang and I can take out three to five, or even six targets in an instant, the other side has twenty people, twenty guns, and we don't know the proportion of mixed-race individuals or their Word of Power. This is completely different from dealing with biker gangs on the street; this is a regular, organized defensive force."

"Frilian and I are both combatants," Lu Mingfei muttered to himself, patting Beretta on his lower back to bolster his courage.

“Frilian is fine, but you’re out of the question,” Caesar bluntly punctured his self-comforting words.

All four fell silent. The target was within reach; the entrance to Genji Heavy Industries' inner district was likely in the direction from which the welding sounds were coming, but their path was blocked by an iron defense line composed of twenty elite underworld figures.

This feeling is like a brave adventurer who has just left the starting village, carrying a wooden sword, and excitedly embarking on an adventure, only to find, after taking a few steps, that twenty demon lords riding nightmare warhorses, their bodies radiating hellfire, are neatly blocking the only road, giving you a ferocious smile.

The brave warrior charged forward fearlessly, only to be met with the game message: "You have died. Do you want to load the save file?" The save point was still in the village.

Forcing our way in would be suicide, but retreating would be unacceptable.

Lu Mingfei licked his dry lips and cautiously suggested, "Well, if all else fails, how about we go back to the store? We ordered so much champagne, and most of it hasn't been touched. We can go back, drink some champagne, have some late-night snacks, and think things through. Maybe there's another way to sneak in?"

This suggestion sounds cowardly, but in this desperate situation, it's very pragmatic. After all, you can only contribute if you're alive; if you're dead, you can only watch black and white television.

Chapter 646 Infiltrating the Snake-Headed Eight Families (Part 1)

The road ahead was firmly blocked by twenty fully armed guards; a forced breakthrough would be tantamount to suicide. Retreating now, however, was unacceptable, as the prey slipped through their fingers. A suffocating silence, a sense of being caught between a rock and a hard place, filled the pipes.

“No, there might still be a chance,” Chu Zihang broke the silence.

Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing. Ahead lay a vast expanse of water, like the main channel of an underground river. The once gently flowing surface of the water suddenly split open silently. A cigar-shaped, sleek black shadow burst forth from the water, like a ghost awakening, leaving a gradually spreading white trail on the surface as it glided towards the dock.

"A miniature submarine from the Snake Clan!" Lu Mingfei exclaimed in a low voice.

He immediately recalled that Origin Chisei had casually mentioned that the Hebi-Hachi family would use Tokyo's vast and secretive sewer system to transport goods that were inconvenient to use through normal channels.

Cargo ships would load contraband onto these small, unmanned or crew-operated submarines at international seas or remote docks. The submarines, like ghosts, would then silently navigate the extensive network of tunnels to reach the secret shipyards beneath Genji Heavy Industries. This route was covert and secure, virtually impossible to monitor by conventional means. This was the underground network cultivated by the Snake Clan over many years, one of their lifelines.

"Get closer, move quietly, and don't make a sound." A sharp glint flashed in Caesar's eyes. He crouched low, like a cheetah poised to pounce, and moved along the shadowy edge of the pipe towards the submarine's course. Each step was precise, landing precisely on the joints of the concrete structure to avoid stepping on any loose pebbles or metal fragments.

Chu Zihang and Frilian followed closely behind. Frilian moved with a light step, blending into the shadows and silence more skillfully than Caesar and Chu Zihang, both of whom had undergone rigorous training. Lu Mingfei quickly held his breath, tiptoed to keep up, his heart pounding wildly in his chest.

A sharp buzzing sound suddenly rang out in the pipes. Immediately afterwards, a flurry of footsteps and short whistles came from the direction of the dock. The guards were alerted and quickly assembled at the dock entrance from their posts.

The submarine had already slid into the dock area. A huge robotic arm reached down from above and steadily lifted the submarine out of the water. Another, more sophisticated robotic arm then reached into the submarine's cramped compartment and carefully lifted out a metal canister that required two people to encircle it.

Caesar and Chu Zihang narrowed their eyes simultaneously. Based on their experience and knowledge, they couldn't immediately determine what was inside the jar. But one thing was certain: this secret transport route, considered a golden passage by the Snake Clan, could not possibly be used for smuggling oil or ordinary goods.

All the guards' attention was drawn to the mysterious metal canister, and they quickly gathered around it, forming a perimeter. At the same time, on the side of the dock, on the wall connecting to the main pipeline, a heavy metal door slid open with a hiss.

A middle-aged man in a white coat and glasses, looking tense, hurried out of the door. Ignoring the armed guards around him, he walked straight through the crowd to the metal can. Holding an alcohol sprayer, he began to carefully and quickly spray disinfectant on the surface of the metal can.

This cargo was so important that the researchers dared not let the guards touch it first.

In his haste, the man in the white coat forgot to close the heavy, airtight door behind him. The door was ajar, leaving a gap about ten centimeters wide through which the bright light from the corridor inside shone.

This door is one of the entrances to the core area of ​​Genji Heavy Industries!

“Opportunity!” Caesar exclaimed.

“The guards’ attention is all on the metal tanks and the researchers; no one’s paying attention to that door or the maintenance passageway here,” Chu Zihang said rapidly. “We’ll go up the yellow maintenance spiral staircase here and go straight to that airtight door. We need to be quick, but not run. Keep your steps light; the echoes here are too strong!”

Just as Lu Mingfei was about to say something like, "Should we observe further?" or "Just in case there's a trap?", Chu Zihang's figure had already darted out like an arrow, heading straight for the yellow spiral staircase. Once he made a judgment, his actions were swift and decisive, rarely wasting time on discussions.

Without hesitation, Caesar followed immediately. This tall, muscular Italian nobleman displayed astonishing lightness and agility, his footsteps barely making a sound on the steps.

Lu Mingfei had no choice but to grit his teeth and follow their example, tiptoeing along. He felt like a child just learning to walk, each step cautious, afraid of making the slightest sound. Frillie, like his shadow, always kept a half-step distance away, neither too close to disturb him nor too far to offer timely assistance when necessary.

The maintenance access road was located several meters overhead. To reach the airtight door, they had to climb a spiral staircase and then walk along a narrow, suspended passageway above filters and piping. The metal-framed passageway was only wide enough for one person to pass through, with no railings on either side, and below lay bottomless sewage. The metal plates were rusty and thinned in some places, making a slight creaking sound when stepped on.

Although the distance was short, only a few dozen meters, every step was exposed in the open space of the pipes. If any of the guards in the dock below inadvertently looked up or turned around in this direction, even just for a glance, it would be enough to spot these four uninvited guests on the iron frame.

What awaited them was a desperate gunfight, with no cover and outnumbered opponents. At this height and position, they couldn't even find cover.

Caesar and Chu Zihang moved with incredible speed, like two black lightning bolts, quickly climbing the spiral staircase and stepping onto the iron frame passage. In a few flashes, they were already close to the half-open airtight door, and it looked like they were just a few steps away from slipping inside.

Lu Mingfei fell behind, and seeing the distance widening, he grew anxious and wanted to speed up as well. He took a deep breath, spotted a slightly wider foothold ahead, and leaped forward with all his might—

"Bang!"

Chu Zihang's reminder was correct! Lu Mingfei's jump was not well controlled, and the vibration from his feet was transmitted to the old iron frame. The nuts that were already a bit loose were shaken off and slid out of the gaps in the iron frame. They rolled down the iron frame with a "clinking" sound and finally "thud" and hit the pipe wall a few meters below.

The continuous strange noises were unusually jarring in the pipes that were normally filled only with the sound of flowing water, machinery, and distant human voices.

On the dock, all the guards turned their heads at the same time, looking in the direction of the sound! Some of them reacted quickly and drew their pistols from their waists with a "whoosh," the red laser sights on the muzzles lighting up. The scarlet beams, like the forked tongues of venomous snakes, swept wildly in the dimly lit pipe space, searching for suspicious targets.

Someone switched on a powerful flashlight, the bright beam piercing the darkness and beginning to carefully examine the maintenance passage and metal frame. The beam swept over rusty pipes, dripping valves, and moss-covered walls, gradually moving towards Lu Mingfei and his group's location.

Lu Mingfei was terrified, frozen on the metal frame, his back soaked with cold sweat. His sweaty hands gripped the Beretta pistol handle tightly at his waist. His shooting grades were good, but that was at the shooting range! In the indoor shooting range at Kassel College, he could even score close to a perfect score.

But he had never learned how to charge through a hail of bullets, let alone how to withstand bullets with his own flesh and blood! If Lu Mingfei were hit by a King Cobra large-caliber revolver, even just once, he would probably die on the spot and become part of the sewer! The thought almost made him vomit.

Ahead, Caesar and Chu Zihang had already swiftly disappeared behind the half-open airtight door the instant the strange noise occurred, their reaction astonishingly fast. Their training and instincts enabled them to make the most correct choice in the face of crisis—to first enter a relatively safe area, and then try to rescue their companion.

Below, the guards' search was still focused on the maintenance passage and the metal frame. Their flashlight beams swept back and forth, but they hadn't yet seen Lu Mingfei, who was pressed against the shadow of the pipe wall, too terrified to move, or Frilian, who was half a step behind him, hidden in the shadows. But the beams were gradually moving downwards, and it looked like they were about to sweep over the area where they were hiding.

"There it is!" a sharp-eyed guard shouted, pointing his gun and flashlight at the water below.

Several beams of powerful flashlights immediately converged, illuminating a patch of water. A long, slender, streamlined gray-black shadow was seen moving silently and swiftly near the bank below Lu Mingfei. Its initial target seemed to be the shore, perhaps mistaking Lu Mingfei for a tempting prey. Startled by the sudden flashes and roar, the shadow abruptly swung its tail, changed direction, and shot like an arrow into the darker waters deeper into the pipe. A ripple quickly disappeared from the surface.

"Fire!" someone shouted.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

A deafening barrage of gunfire erupted instantly within the pipes, like a dense explosion of popping beans. These guards, chosen to protect the core entrance to Genji Heavy Industries, were indeed ruthless and experienced outlaws from the heart of the underworld. They didn't care what the shadowy figure was, nor did they have any concept of capturing it alive or issuing a warning first; their stance was one of utter ferocity: "Whoever it is, I'll riddle it with bullets first."

Large-caliber bullets whistled into the water, sending up plumes of water. The muzzle flashes flickered in the dim light, illuminating the guards' menacing faces. Bullets struck the water with muffled thuds, while those hitting the concrete walls sent up fragments and sparks. The entire pipe space instantly transformed into a battlefield; the echo amplified the gunfire, making eardrums ache.

A strong, powerful arm shot out from the shadows behind the airtight door above, grabbed Lu Mingfei by the back of his collar as he trembled on the metal frame, and pulled him up.

It was Caesar, who had returned! With his tall stature and long arms, he swiftly and cleanly lifted Lu Mingfei from the iron frame and dragged him into the airtight door. Lu Mingfei felt like a rag doll, pulled into the safe zone by an irresistible force.

Almost simultaneously, Frillie also nimbly leaped and slid into the doorway. Chu Zihang exerted force from the inside, slowly pushing the heavy airtight door shut until the gap was completely closed, isolating most of the chilling, frenzied gunfire and the shouts of the guards outside.

The four men leaned against the wall. Lu Mingfei was drenched in sweat, his face pale, and his legs weak. Just a moment ago, he had truly felt the chilling touch of death. If that dark figure hadn't happened to draw the fire, he would already be a corpse floating in the sewage.

Chapter 647 Infiltrating the Snake-Headed Eight Families (Part 2)

Chu Zihang and Caesar didn't relax immediately. They cautiously approached the observation window on the door and looked outside. The heavy, airtight door was fitted with a double-layered bulletproof glass, through which they could see the situation of the pipes outside.

Large patches of shocking dark red floated on the water's surface, like rice paper stained with diluted blood ink. A great white shark, four or five meters long, with a grayish-white back and a snow-white belly, slowly rose from the bottom. Its massive body was riddled with gruesome bullet holes, and blood gushed out, staining the surrounding waters red. Its dorsal fin lay limply to one side, its mouth slightly open, revealing serrated teeth, and its empty eyes reflected the light of the distant dock; it was lifeless.

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing shock and confusion in each other's eyes. It wasn't entirely impossible, in theory, for a shark to appear in the Iron Dome's main tunnels connected to the sea, but why would such a large and ferocious predator leave open water and risk entering this relatively narrow and intricate network of underground tunnels? What attracted it?

"Let's go. They've misjudged us; they mistook us for the shark causing the commotion," Chu Zihang said, turning his gaze away.

Caesar patted Lu Mingfei on the shoulder, who was still shaken, signaling him not to look back at the horrific scene outside and not to delve into the shark issue for the time being.

Great white sharks sometimes do approach the shore in search of prey, even briefly stranding themselves. That unfortunate shark just now likely mistook Lu Mingfei, who was near the water, for a delicious seal pup or some other prey. However, it's best not to tell Lu Mingfei about this, otherwise he might be too frightened to walk.

"Damn, damn, damn, my luck is so damn good, so damn good. I escaped danger and turned misfortune into good fortune." After getting on the internal elevator leading to the depths of the inner district, Lu Mingfei was still patting his chest and muttering incoherently, both fearful and relieved.

He leaned against the cold elevator wall, his legs still trembling slightly. For a moment, he almost thought he was going to die.

“Without a doubt, keep up the good luck.” Caesar patted his other shoulder hard, a relieved smile spreading across his face. “We’re counting on your incredible luck to survive now.”

He and Chu Zihang exchanged a quick glance, both understanding just how dangerous the situation had been.

The elevator ascended smoothly and stopped at an unknown floor. The doors opened to reveal a low, narrow corridor without any windows. The walls were painted a depressing rust-red, with Japanese route directions and numbers painted in white.

In stark contrast to the damp, musty smell of the pipes outside, the light in the passageway was a cool white, evenly illuminating every corner and leaving no shadows to hide in.

This is the inner district of Genji Heavy Industries, a secluded and mysterious area completely different from the bustling city outside.

This is the inner sanctum of Genji Heavy Industries, a secluded and mysterious realm completely different from the bustling city outside. Here, there are no ornate decorations, no expansive views, only functional, militaristic, and minimalist designs. Every inch of space is fully utilized, and every door is heavy and sturdy.

Caesar held the Desert Eagle in both hands, the muzzle slightly lowered but ready to be raised at any moment. His azure eyes sharply scanned the passageway, his attention focused on any potential danger. His ears twitched slightly, catching the faintest sounds in the air—the low hum of the ventilation system, the faint hum of distant machinery, and their own suppressed breathing and footsteps.

Lu Mingfei was protected in the middle, his hand tightly gripping the Beretta, his palms sweaty. He tried to imitate Caesar and Chu Zihang's posture, lowering his center of gravity and constantly scanning left and right, though he himself wasn't sure what he should be looking at. He tried to breathe as quietly as possible, afraid that making too much noise would give away his position.

Frillie walked quietly to Lu Mingfei's side and slightly behind.

They moved forward in silence, passing one recessed LED light after another that emitted white light, stretching and shortening their shadows and casting ever-changing patterns on the rust-red walls. The passage seemed endless, filled only with the same color, the same light, and the same silence.

This monotonous repetition begins to create a subtle sense of psychological oppression, as if they are not walking in reality, but wandering in an endless maze.

Lu Mingfei even had a bizarre illusion that at the end he would find an enormous humanoid final battle weapon, just like the final boss in the mecha games he had played.

Surprisingly, they encountered no additional access control, scanning devices, or patrol personnel along their way. The security measures in the inner area were ridiculously lax on the outside. Occasionally, heavy, airtight doors appeared on either side of the passageway, but they were all tightly closed, with no markings, only simple numbers. Some doors had electronic locks and card readers, but most appeared to be just mechanical locks.

Perhaps the Snake Clan was extremely confident, believing their outer defenses were strong enough to keep any intruders out. Or perhaps this passage itself was a test, and only those who had passed through layers of external checkpoints were qualified to reach this point. Those who could reach this point were either VIPs or the dead.

They made it through the long corridor without incident, but at the end there was no super weapon or secret laboratory as they had expected, just an ordinary-looking passenger elevator with many buttons.

"Boss, which floor should we go to?" Lu Mingfei looked at the densely packed floor buttons on the elevator panel, from the ground floor to the 50s, and a bunch of buttons marked with letters or special symbols to represent the parking garage floor, equipment floor, and special function mezzanine, and felt dizzy.

This elevator, located in the inner district, has an astonishingly high level of access, allowing it to reach most floors of this skyscraper.

This is practically a malicious joke by the game designers.

The hero team, by sheer luck, narrowly escaped the twenty elite monsters at the entrance. Just as they were feeling relieved, over fifty forks in the road suddenly appeared before them, and the system even "thoughtfully" prompted: "Hero, you can choose to skip levels! Should we start from level one? Level two? Level three?... Or, go straight to the final boss?"

And the worst part is that no matter which path you choose, your experience points don't increase, you can't change your equipment, and you don't even know where the save point is! Lu Mingfei wailed in his heart: This is practically a hellish difficulty version of "If You're a Man, Go Down 100 Floors"!

"Oh, I haven't thought about this carefully." Caesar stared at the complicated button panel, frowning slightly, a rare occurrence for him. It was a bit tricky.

Lu Mingfei thought to himself: I knew it! I knew it! This kind of action team leader, who is completely adventurous and has virtually no planning ability, is really unreliable! He felt like he had followed two peerless masters into a dragon's den, only to find that the masters had rushed in without even looking at the map, and now he was standing at the entrance of the maze, wondering which way to go.

It's understandable that Caesar didn't have a detailed plan. He originally only intended to scout out the underwater route, reach the area beneath Genji's heavy industry, and assess the situation before making any moves. If it weren't for the submarine carrying the mysterious metal canisters appearing at that exact moment, they would probably already be on their way back to Takamagahara drinking champagne.

Who could have imagined that the opportunity would come so suddenly and that they would enter the inner district so smoothly? This level of good luck was almost like fate was playing a joke on them.

"Senior brother, do you have a structural diagram of the building's interior? Even just a partial one?" Lu Mingfei asked Chu Zihang, clinging to his last glimmer of hope.

In his memory, Chu Zihang was always the most well-prepared person, like a sophisticated machine that would gather all possible information and formulate multiple contingency plans before taking action.

Chu Zihang slowly shook his head: "Do you think a building's internal structure diagram of this level would appear on the public internet? Even if it did, it would definitely be a processed version that doesn't include information about the inner districts and core areas. The map we need will never be leaked."

“That’s right. With a dungeon this difficult, most people who tried to get in before probably got wiped out. How could there be any detailed guides online?” Lu Mingfei scratched his head, feeling completely overwhelmed.

He recalled his gaming experiences. The most difficult dungeons and raids often required initial exploration teams to wipe dozens or even hundreds of times before they could figure out even a little bit of the pattern. And now, they were that exploration team that didn't even know what the boss looked like, and the kind that couldn't be resurrected.

During their previous visit, they walked through some of the inner district's passageways as VIPs. At that time, a well-dressed, smiling secretary in black stockings and high heels guided them throughout, and pressed the elevator button in advance. Lu Mingfei was so busy marveling at how "high-class and grand the underworld headquarters" was that he never thought to memorize the route and floor plan.

"When there's no clear objective, why not strike at the heart of the enemy?" Caesar's thinking was always so simple and direct, brimming with his unique confidence. "The most important place is definitely at the top! Let's go up and take a look!"