Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei finds a Freylian

Japan is a country prone to earthquakes, and its citizens receive disaster prevention training from a young age. They are known for their "high level of obedience" and "well-orderedness," and often demonstrate extraordinary calmness and discipline in the early stages of a disaster.

But how long can this calm and discipline last?

When they rushed to those heavy security doors with practiced speed, pulled out their ID cards and swiped them at the card readers, only to find no response; when they tried to push the doors and found them locked tightly by electronic locks, not moving an inch; when they realized that from the department head to the lowest-ranking employee, no one's access card could open these life-saving passages under "complete lockdown"...

Panic can spread like wildfire.

No one is unafraid of death. Especially in the face of a natural disaster like an earthquake, trapped in a swaying skyscraper that could be struck again at any moment, with the only escape route inexplicably blocked. Discipline crumbles quickly in the face of the instinct for survival.

Pushing, crowding, screaming, trampling... people will desperately search for any possible exit, using chairs, fire axes, or even their bodies to smash and ram sturdy doors and windows. At that point, the direct damage caused by the earthquake itself may be limited, but the secondary disasters triggered by panic, such as stampedes, crushing, and even jumping from buildings, will lead to unpredictable and devastating casualties.

“This won’t do,” Genji said firmly. “The building’s lockdown must be lifted immediately.”

"It cannot be deactivated!" Tachibana Masamune abruptly looked up, his eyes sharp and resolute even as blood streamed from his forehead. "If the intruders truly saw those murals and copied or took away the crucial information, the consequences would be far more severe than just a few deaths or injuries in this building! It could affect thousands upon thousands of people, shaking the very foundations of our family and even the entire Kanto mixed-race society! Those secrets must absolutely not be leaked! Absolutely!"

He pressed his handkerchief tightly against the wound, and the bloodstains quickly seeped into the white cotton cloth.

Tachibana Masamune took a breath and quickly added, "The matter will be resolved soon! All the security doors are locked, and the intruders will definitely not be able to escape from the floor where the mural hall is located! I have secretly opened access to a fire escape staircase leading directly to the mural hall floor through Princess Kaguya! The elite officers from the Execution Bureau stationed below the archives are rushing to the mural hall via that staircase at full speed! They will arrive and take control of the situation in five or six minutes at most!"

“Aftershocks could happen at any moment, Father,” Genjiro said, looking at Tachibana Masamune. “Five or six minutes is too long. Something could happen every second. Leave this to me. Give me five minutes. After five minutes, whether I’ve caught the intruder or solved the problem, I must lift all the blockades on the building and get everyone evacuated.”

"Chisei! You are now the acting patriarch! You are the future hope of the entire Snake Clan! At this time, it is neither necessary nor appropriate for you to personally take risks!" Tachibana Masamune said emotionally, grabbing Minamoto Chisei's arm.

“I’m just acting patriarch.” Genjiro gently but firmly pushed away Tachibana Masamune’s hand, his gaze sweeping over the square inspection hatch on the top of the carriage. “In times like these, please let the real patriarch go to a safe place first. Leave the aftermath to me. There aren’t many people in this world who can truly threaten me.”

Before he finished speaking, Yuan Zhisheng had already tiptoed and reached out, precisely using the end of the handle of his spider-cutting knife to pry open the latch on the access panel. The cover slammed down, revealing the dark elevator shaft above. He nimbly leaped up, bracing himself on the edge with both hands, and flipped his body up like a cat, landing steadily on top of the stopped elevator car.

He was surrounded by completely different sights and feelings.

This place felt like another world. The steel cables of the high-speed elevator crisscrossed, with thick steel cables hundreds of meters long leading from the unseen rooftop to the deep underground. The elevator shaft was filled with the sharp, whistling airflow generated by the high-speed elevator, with wind speeds probably exceeding level ten, making people's clothes flutter and almost unable to stand steadily.

The air turbulence is so intense that it could easily lift a slightly lighter person up and throw them against the well wall or another running steel cable.

Despite the earthquake, the elevator system did not completely stop. Some elevators, driven by automatic programs, still attempted to run or reset. The cars shuttled up and down at high speed in adjacent or nearby shafts, creating a more intense wind and metallic scraping sound, like steel behemoths swimming in a dark abyss.

Logically, elevators should be avoided during an earthquake; this is common disaster preparedness knowledge that every Japanese person should know. However, at this moment, panic began to erode people's rationality. When they discovered that emergency exits were impassable, many instinctively chose the elevator, attempting to reach other floors to find a way out.

But they will soon discover that this is also a dead end. The elevator doors on all floors are also locked in a completely enclosed manner.

Without hesitation, Genjiro bent down and pulled Tachibana Masamune up as well. The two stood on the narrow top of the elevator car, their feet on cold metal plates, surrounded by howling darkness and a dangerous torrent of steel. Genjiro, supporting Tachibana Masamune, carefully moved towards the angle iron beams connecting the two sides of the elevator shaft.

The crossbeams were only about thirty centimeters wide, with bottomless shafts in front and behind, carrying high-speed elevators. They had to keep their bodies upright, like walking a tightrope, pressed tightly against the steel pillars behind them, to avoid blocking the path of any elevator car that might suddenly start moving. Being grazed or hit by one of those multi-ton steel monsters moving at several meters per second would mean certain death, even for the best of the hybrids.

“I never imagined that the elevator shaft would be such a magical and dangerous place.” Tachibana Masamune leaned wearily against the cold, dusty steel pillar, panting as he spoke. His face was pale from blood loss and constant mental tension. “It felt like standing on the lane change lane in the middle of a highway, watching the cars rushing past me.”

He had barely slept for two days straight. Ever since he learned that the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department had applied for a special search warrant from the Prime Minister's Office in preparation for a raid on Genji Heavy Industries, he had been busy, directing, and anxious, like a most meticulous old housekeeper, arranging the transfer of files, the clearing of traces, and the allocation of personnel in every detail.

That's just his personality; he's always busy and never feels comfortable leaving things to others.

Genji silently took off his long black overcoat, shook off the dust, and gently draped it over Tachibana Masamune's shoulder. "Can you still bear it? How's your wound?"

"It's just a minor scrape on my forehead, nothing serious," Tachibana Masamune waved his hand, took the trench coat, and wrapped it tighter around himself, feeling a bit chilly. He looked at Genjiro and sighed softly.

"However, I am really old. At times like this, I can't help at all, and I'll only become a burden to you, Zhisheng."

Yuan Zhisheng was observing the direction of the steel cable above and the operating pattern of the nearby elevators, searching for the best path to take. Upon hearing this, he turned his head.

"Don't say that. During the years when you were at your physical and mental peak, wasn't I always your biggest burden and trouble? Five minutes. Whether I come back or not, the lockdown must be lifted in five minutes."

Having said that, he didn't look at Tachibana Masamune's reaction anymore, his gaze returning to the thick main steel cables connecting the VIP elevator car not far above his head. He took a deep breath, adjusted his grip on the Spider Cutter, tensed his leg muscles, and unleashed astonishing power, his entire body leaping into the air as if it were equipped with springs.

In mid-air, he grabbed one of the slightly swaying, cold steel cables, using the momentum to swing his body. With his other hand, he wielded the ancient divine sword, Spider Cutter. The blade flashed in the dim light, accompanied by a piercing whistling sound, and slashed fiercely at the alloy fastener connecting the steel cable to the top of the carriage.

Sparks flew! The cable carried Genji upwards, soaring into the boundless darkness.

Chapter 662 The Doorbreaker

Junyan's explosion was like detonating a small air-fuel bomb in this confined space. The orange-red fireball expanded and contracted, and the scorching airflow and violent shockwave slammed into the heavy metal security door, producing a dull, bell-like roar.

Amidst the scattered smoke and heat, the stainless steel door was instantly heated to a dark red, emitting astonishing heat, yet it remained completely still, without even showing any obvious dents or distortions.

"Cough!" Caesar, braving the scorching heat and suffocating dust that bounced back, rushed to the safety door, quickly ran his fingers across the door panel, and tentatively pushed it.

"Damn it!" he cursed under his breath, his voice filled with disbelief. The door was far more sturdy than he had ever imagined; Jun Yan's direct impact had only left a charred mark and a few molten spots on it.

"Impossible!" Chu Zihang followed, his breathing slightly rapid from releasing his power of words, his hair disheveled by the heat. He tapped the security door with his finger; the sound was unusually deep and solid, with almost no echo from the internal cavity.

"It's not a multi-layered composite structure; it's a single-piece cast high-carbon steel or special alloy steel component! The thickness is probably over twenty centimeters! And judging from the sound, the surrounding walls are also densely reinforced with I-beams or channel steel! This is no ordinary security door; it's at the level of a bank vault or a high-level explosion-proof facility!"

Caesar's face turned extremely ugly, and he slapped his forehead hard, making a crisp sound.

“We should have known! No wonder this floor has no windows, and the only decent entrance is this damn door! This isn’t an ordinary gallery or archive; it’s a disguised private vault of the Snake Clan, used to store the most sensitive secrets! And now,” he gritted his teeth, looking around at the billowing smoke and dim emergency lights, “we’re like two stupid rats locked in a safe!”

Chu Zihang did not refute, and his gaze once again fell on the immovable giant gate.

"Your Monarch Flame should be more powerful than this. Could you increase its output again? Or," Caesar paused, considering a more radical idea, "try concentrating the high temperature to melt the door lock area or the door itself?"

Chu Zihang glanced at Caesar and shook his head. "Releasing the Monarch Flame without restraint in such a confined and relatively small space is taboo. The aftershocks of the explosion just now have already made us feel very uncomfortable. If the power is increased further, the shockwaves and high-temperature air waves will bounce and overlap repeatedly on the walls, and we will be the first to be scorched or injured."

He took a deep breath, recalling something. "As for what you said about concentrated high-temperature melting, the essence of the Lord's Flame is to trigger violent explosions and combustion. I can control the power and range of the explosion, but it is difficult to concentrate such violent flame energy precisely and statically at one point for continuous high-temperature melting. That requires another level of control."

He paused, his gaze fixed on the void, piercing through time and space. "That belongs to the domain of the 'King of Bronze and Fire's' power. Pure, ultimate, and unrestrained control over temperature; flames are no longer merely a destructive rage, but a tool that can sculpt all things."

Caesar fell silent. He recalled the archives of the ice cellar beneath Kassel College, and the fragmented report known only to a select few about the night the twin dragon kings awoke. The description mentioned that the resurrected dragon king had walked slowly, and wherever he went, hard stone, metal, and even the air itself silently melted into a molten liquid, leaving behind a burning yet eerily calm path.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, no blinding brilliance, only absolute temperature and absolute control. Like a top martial arts master slowly wielding an indestructible sword, everything in its path is severed, yet even the sound of the wind is barely audible. That is the supreme form of the power of fire.

Hearing even the proud Chu Zihang admit the shortcomings of a high-level Word of Power like "Junyan" in certain situations, Caesar felt little satisfaction at the comparison; instead, a deeper sense of unease arose. But soon, an even stronger sense of resentment surged within him. They had painstakingly infiltrated, witnessed the tragedy, and photographed the mural that might contain earth-shattering secrets. Before they could even send out the intelligence or conduct in-depth analysis, they themselves were trapped and killed in this steel cage, like fish in a barrel.

"We can't just sit here and wait to die!" A ruthless glint flashed in Caesar's eyes. He abruptly turned, no longer looking at the hopeless security door, but instead focusing his gaze on the freight elevator. "Compared to this damned vault door, perhaps that elevator door is the weakest link!"

He charged at the freight elevator door again, his hands digging into the crack as before, his muscles bulging, roaring as he strained. However, this time, no matter how hard he tried, even with veins bulging on his forehead, the heavy bronze door remained as if welded shut, completely unmoving!

Finally, even the metal trim around the door frame groaned and deformed slightly under his terrifying brute force, but the door itself remained tightly shut.

“Damn it! Maruyama Construction lives up to its reputation!” Caesar gasped as he released his grip. “They designed a vault without leaving any obvious weaknesses! The elevator doors can be opened manually under normal conditions, but once the system locks or closes, they become as solid as the walls themselves! Now we’re facing a solid metal barrier!”

He slammed his fist hard on the cold bronze door, making a dull thud. "It's like I've walked into a specially designed prison!"

However, at the very moment his fist made contact with the door—

"boom!!!"

A deafening roar, far heavier than Caesar's hammer blow and resembling the impact of a heavy battering ram, suddenly came from the other side of the elevator door! Immediately afterwards, metal tore apart!

Caesar was startled, and with lightning speed withdrew his fist and leaped backward.

At the center of the solid bronze door, which weighed several hundred kilograms, a spiderweb-like network of cracks bulged outwards from the spot where he punched! The cracks expanded rapidly, emitting a series of fine, dense cracking sounds. The entire door was shaking violently, and a deafening roar, like a giant bell being struck repeatedly, echoed endlessly in the enclosed space, making one's eardrums ache!

Caesar immediately understood. Although the door was thick and sturdy, it was made of ancient cannon bronze. This material was extremely hard, but lacked toughness. Like certain special stones, once the instantaneous impact exceeded its limit, it would crack and shatter from the point of impact, just like glass or brittle rock!

That terrifying blow, enough to bring the bronze cannon door to the brink of collapse, did not originate from his angry fist. Someone on the other side of the door slammed it with incredible force! And the location of that blow perfectly coincided with the spot where he had punched it from the inside!

"Back off!" Caesar only had time to growl out a warning before he himself retreated with astonishing speed.

But it was still too late!

"Boom—Crack!"

A fist, carrying immense and irresistible force, smashed through the already cracked bronze door! Broken pieces of bronze flew inward, but the fist, with undiminished momentum, shot straight at Caesar's wide-open chest like a cannonball!

Chapter 663 I Believe in Super Hybrids!

On the brink of life and death, Caesar's pupils constricted sharply. It was too late to draw his sword; the only thing he could do was to swiftly raise the "Dictator" hunting knife he had been holding, its broad blade like a small shield, pressing it tightly against his heart!

"Thump—!!!"

A dull, heart-stopping thud!

Caesar felt an irresistible force slam into the broad back of Dick's blade, then through the blade, it struck his chest squarely! In an instant, he clearly heard the chilling creaking of his sternum and ribs, as if they were about to shatter completely! The impact caused his vision to go black, and his heart felt as if it had been gripped and squeezed tightly by an invisible giant hand, stopping abruptly! His blood rushed backward, a sweet taste filled his throat, and the metallic taste of blood permeated the air.

If he hadn't been in a state of heightened physical prowess due to his bloodlust, if his extraordinary weapon, Dick Tudor, hadn't absorbed some of the impact, and if he hadn't reacted so quickly to protect his vitals with the blade... that powerful punch that seemed to strike from a distance would have shattered his sternum and caused his heart to explode, killing him instantly!

"Caesar!" Chu Zihang's low shout rang in his ears. He had already rushed forward, not to attack, but to grab Caesar from the side as he staggered backward, almost unable to stand, using his own body as a cushion and support to help Caesar absorb the terrible residual force. Even so, the two were still pushed backward several meters by the violent force of the punch, their shoes scraping against the ground with a screeching sound.

"Cough, cough!" Caesar coughed violently, each cough causing excruciating pain in his chest. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, his face pale from the pain and lack of oxygen.

"I believe you 100% now, Chu Zihang!" he gasped. "Okay, 'super hybrids' are really something, just like 'super Saiyans'! And they might be even more absurd than in the comics!"

Outside the door, the arm that had pierced the bronze door slowly and resolutely withdrew. Then—

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Boom—!"

A more ferocious and intense barrage followed. The arm, like a tireless, indestructible pile driver, pounded again and again against the already shattered bronze door! Each punch was powerful and heavy, carrying the will to crush everything. Under such pure and violent relentless assault, the hardened bronze emitted a mournful cry on the verge of utter collapse; cracks spread wildly, and large chunks of debris began to flake off.

Even the most elite hybrids, theoretically, could never match the strength of a true dragon in terms of muscle and bone. But the being outside was using the most primitive and brutal methods, its human flesh and blood to relentlessly bombard the heavy metal door, which was capable of withstanding ordinary explosions!

Caesar and Chu Zihang exchanged a quick glance. No words were needed; years of competition and cooperation had forged a tacit understanding. Almost the instant their eyes met, they made their decision simultaneously—

"Ta," "Ta."

With two soft clicks, their only source of light, the high-intensity flashlight, was simultaneously extinguished.

The last glimmer of light vanished, and the mural hall was completely swallowed by deep darkness. Only the faint emergency light from the elevator shaft seeping through the broken elevator door, along with the occasional flickering blue sparks, outlined a widening, irregular gap in light, and a blurry yet oppressive silhouette beyond it.

Like cheetahs gliding into the shadows, the two silently dodged to the sides, disappearing into the impenetrable darkness deep within the mural hall. Leaning against the cold walls painted with ancient secrets, they held their breath, minimizing their presence.

"Boom—crash!"

Finally, with a deafening roar and the clatter of metal fragments cascading to the ground, the heavy bronze security door completely collapsed! A large hole, big enough for a person to easily pass through, appeared in the wall.

Yuan Zhisheng stood outside the hole, his figure cast into the elevator shaft by the occasional bright sparks of electricity that rose from the shaft, casting a long, swaying shadow amidst the scattered bronze fragments and dust.

He slowly rotated his right wrist, the one that had just smashed through the door, the movement unhurried. With this slight movement, his entire body emitted a series of fine, clear, popping sounds, like popping beans.

One minute has already passed out of the five-minute time limit.

The powerful blow delivered through the door had indeed injured the enemy inside; he clearly felt the sensation of shattering a hard object and striking flesh. However, the opponent didn't scream or groan; even their noticeable panting quickly disappeared. This indicated that the opponent's bloodline was extremely pure, and their physique was incredibly strong, far surpassing ordinary hybrids, at least no less formidable than Sakurai Akira, who had been troublesome after transforming into a dragon.

At this moment, all he could see were flickering sparks of electricity, debris scattered on the ground, and the boundless darkness in the distance. There was no suspicious movement, nor did any of the expected surprise attack or firing occur the instant he broke down the door and exposed himself.

It seems that my incredibly violent entrance has left a deep enough first impression on my opponent. My opponent is clever; they chose to lie in wait, lurking in this absolute darkness where nothing can be seen, like the most patient venomous snake, waiting for the perfect moment to strike and kill me.

Yuan Zhisheng's face remained expressionless, showing neither smugness nor impatience. He tilted his head slightly, as if listening to the subtle sounds in the darkness, or perhaps assessing the surroundings.

The next second, he moved.

But it wasn't the cautious exploration into the darkness that everyone expected, nor was it a fierce charge.

His body seemed to lose its weight, and he lightly leaped upwards from the spot, not forward into the mural hall, but backwards, landing precisely back on the thick angle steel beam in the elevator shaft!

In this way, he completely disappeared from the visible range of the mural hall. In the elevator shaft, the cable that occasionally emitted blinding sparks and crackled due to the damage to the high-voltage line became the only stable light source at this moment, lying across the air in front of Genji. His figure was precisely blocked and cut off by this strip of light, no longer casting a clear shadow into the mural hall.

The lurking figure in the darkness has lost its last means of determining its position and movements by observing its shadow.