Dragon Raja: I practiced Naruto ninjutsu next to Lu Mingfei.

They had now reached international waters, where gale-force winds of level 8 were blowing and two-meter-high waves were crashing against the ship, creating a spray of water mist.

For the next twelve hours, this sea area will be sealed off by the Snake Clan, and Caesar and his group will carry out their mission to enter the water.

While at the port, Caesar bought a fresh king crab and a silver-red wild red snapper.

At this moment, he was steaming crabs while a pot of fish soup was simmering next to him, holding a thick instruction manual in his hands and patiently reading it.

Yuan Zhisheng said that Caesar was very patient.

Chu Zihang was wiping the knife in his hand. He said that Caesar was very patient in some things, such as being willing to wait for a girl to marry him, but sometimes he was also very impatient.

Lu Mingfei stared at the sky listlessly, thinking that the girl wouldn't wait for him. While he was waiting like a dog, the woman he loved was probably strolling on the beach with another man.

Gu Ran, not wanting to be exposed to the sea breeze, was in the cabin, leaning against a well-lit spot, reading a comic book, detached from Caesar and the other two.

Yuan Zhisheng asked Chu Zihang, "Gu Ran seems to be keeping his distance from the three of you. Why did the principal send him to provide support on the ship?"

“He likes freedom and being unrestrained, so the principal’s tasks for him were to act freely on the battlefield as he pleased,” Chu Zihang said.

Caesar and Lu Mingfei were used to Gu Ran's behavior. In every operation over the past two years, Gu Ran's orders and missions were always support, and he was allowed to act freely without restrictions, starting from the mission on the mountaintop campus of Constantine.

After hearing this, Genjiro unconsciously frowned.

Gu Ran is like a chess piece outside the board, who could enter the game at any moment and disrupt the plans of the Snake Clan tonight.

It seems we need to have someone keep a close eye on Gu Ran and prevent him from ruining tonight's operation.

So, Genji contacted Sakura through a private channel and arranged some things in person.

Caesar then invited everyone over for a late-night snack. He had already prepared fish soup and steamed king crab.

Caesar said that Japan's seafood cooking skills were the best because Japan had very few pastures. In ancient times, only nobles could afford beef, while the lower classes could only eat seafood and could not afford beef and pork. Therefore, they used their culinary skills to cook seafood.

"It's just sashimi, what's the cooking skill involved? Just cut the meat and eat it raw, as long as you have good knife skills," Gu Ran said, sucking on a king crab leg.

Yuan Zhisheng remained unmoved. He had grown accustomed to their way of speaking over this period of time. Occasionally, they would make a few sarcastic remarks about Japan, whether it was Caesar, Gu Ran, or Lu Mingfei. Only Chu Zihang remained silent, only once saying that the Japanese strictly adhered to the rules.

Caesar, as the leader of this group of four, opened a bottle of Sauternes, a wine that pairs well with seafood.

Noble rot wine is a type of wine made from grapes infected with Botrytis cinerea, which causes significant changes in the composition of the fruit. These grapes may appear shriveled and moldy, but they are not actually completely moldy. Wine made from these grapes will have a unique flavor.

Team leader Caesar poured wine into five cups, recited a rousing poem, and drank a cup of wine to mark his departure.

After clinking glasses, everyone drank it all in one gulp.

At this moment, a crow, a retainer of Genji, came and told him that they had arrived at Sumeru.

The Sumeru Throne, also known as the 'Unsinkable Sumeru Throne', is a floating platform built by the Snake Clan. From the outside, it looks like a palace on the sea.

These floating platforms are suitable for long-term operations at sea, such as oil exploration or seabed mineral deposits. They are not suitable for moving, but because of their enormous weight, they can withstand gale-force winds of up to level 12 and even tsunamis.

All six of the Snake Clan's "Sumeru Thrones" are located here, serving as the base for this deep-sea exploration. Genji said that this is truly an unsinkable throne.

After hearing this, Gu Ran unconsciously exchanged a glance with Lu Mingfei beside her and smiled at each other.

Oh no, I've set a flag!

When he stepped onto the Sumeru pedestal, Lu Mingfei was extremely careful, afraid of being swept into the sea by the wind and waves.

They reached the top of the Sumeru pedestal and saw that each floating platform was filled with people in white combat uniforms, densely packed together, numbering nearly a thousand.

These people are divided into four groups: Wind, Fire, Mountain, and Forest. The Wind group is responsible for patrolling and security in the sky, the Fire group is responsible for patrolling the sea, the Forest group is responsible for defense on the perimeter, and the Mountain group is led by Genjiro, whose job is to provide support for the deep-sea submersible.

Caesar, Lu Mingfei, and Chu Zihang's mission is to travel to the ocean trench in a deep-sea submersible.

"Please focus on operating the submersible. We will take care of the rest." Yuan Zhisheng paused, then looked at Gu Ran and said, "I hope that Gu Ran will also follow my instructions and not act on her own."

"Don't worry, I won't interfere with the underwater mission." Gu Ran smiled, then looked at Lu Mingfei and the other two, "You can go into the sea with peace of mind!"

"Hey, hey, hey, can you please not use the word 'going into the sea'? Although we did go into the sea, it always reminds me of other strange things!" Lu Mingfei protested to Gu Ran.

"You're wearing yellow glasses, so everything looks yellow to you," Gu Ran said with a smile.

Yuan Zhisheng was surprised that these people still showed no tension until the very last moment and could even joke around. It seems they truly deserve to be the ace of the headquarters; their mental fortitude is excellent.

He told everyone that the Trieste still needed to undergo final checks and warm-up, and that everyone had thirty minutes to move around freely.

Caesar's four-man squad was then free to do as they pleased.

Yuan Zhisheng winked at the crow behind him, and the crow nodded and silently followed behind Gu Ran.

Then, Genji took out his phone and contacted Professor Schneider at headquarters, waiting for orders from him.

Professor Schneider said in a hoarse voice that he would wait until he finished his cigarette.

……

During their free time, Caesar and the other two went back to their cabins to change into their diving suits. When Lu Mingfei put on the suit, he didn't expect that he would have to wear it a second time. He also thought of Nono, who fought with him underwater in the Three Gorges.

"Lu Mingfei, Lu Mingfei, you absolutely mustn't take advantage of the chaos to fire a shot at Boss Caesar," Lu Mingfei said to himself.

Gu Ran then returned to the cabin and changed into a black combat suit. He tucked the Dragon Slayer Sword into his waistband and hid the catfish tail inside his clothes.

He noticed that Genjiro's retainer, Crow, was watching him, but he didn't care. He simply faced the window and closed his eyes to rest.

This operation was nominally being remotely controlled by the Kassel College headquarters, so at this point, Professor Manstein probably already had the Gattuso family's black card at the college library, wanting to stop Professor Schneider's operation.

The reason is simple: among those who went to sea was Caesar Gattuso, who was Gattuso's successor.

Professor Schneider, of course, did not stop there, but instead told Manstein about the Greenland incident eleven years earlier.

Eleven years ago, a dinosaur embryo with the same heartbeat frequency as the one found in the Greenland Sea was discovered in Northern Europe. Professor Schneider led his students on a mission to investigate.

Because of inadequate equipment and the rush, Professor Schneider originally intended to wait for support. However, the board of directors couldn't wait and forcibly ordered them to dive, resulting in the sacrifice of many people. Professor Schneider also had half his face disfigured, his respiratory tract damaged, and his blood contaminated by the dragon's words of power.

Professor Schneider is only thirty-seven years old, but he looks like an old man in his twilight years.

The Greenland incident was later silenced by the Secret Service, leaving Professor Schneider with nowhere to vent his anger. He couldn't take it out on the Board of Trustees, as that would affect internal unity.

Therefore, he could only vent all his hatred on the dragons, becoming, like Angers, an avenger seeking revenge against the dragons.

The Gattuso family is calling off the mission now simply because they fear losing their heir. They may not care about the lives of others, but they cannot care about Caesar's.

This is what it means to be strict with others and lenient with yourself.

Capitalists and politicians are so hypocritical.

After Professor Schneider and Professor Manstein finished their conversation, Manstein also sided with Schneider and used Gattuso's black card to help Professor Schneider complete the task.

……

Thirty minutes later, everyone arrived at the dock, waiting for the Trieste to undergo final inspections.

Lu Mingfei sat cross-legged to one side, while Chu Zihang sharpened a knife next to him.

Chapter 385 Trust Between People

Gu Ran held the Dragon Slayer Sword to his chest, leaned against the railing, and stood silently beside Lu Mingfei and Chu Zihang, exuding a more chilling aura.

Caesar was having a friendly chat with the testing technicians. He really enjoyed the feeling of teamwork and winning honors together, which is why he was a leader wherever he went.

Genjiro looked at the four of them, showing no tension about what was to come. Caesar was not nervous because he was arrogant; he believed he had a 'wedding blessing' aura and thought that all misfortune would stay away from him at this moment.

Chu Zihang's composure stems from his abnormal self-control. Even in the face of life and death, he remains calm and expressionless. The saying by Su Xun, the father of Su Shi in the Song Dynasty, "He remains unmoved even if Mount Tai collapses before him, and his eyes do not blink even if a deer runs past on his left," refers to a person like Chu Zihang.

As for Lu Mingfei, he's like he has a split personality now. One Lu Mingfei is lively and rambling, spouting nonsense and making sarcastic remarks, while the other Lu Mingfei has lifeless eyes, is isolated from the world, and doesn't care about anything.

Gu Ran was the most normal yet the most deeply hidden among them, and Yuan Zhisheng couldn't see through him.

He could talk nonsense with Lu Mingfei, discuss food with Caesar, and sit quietly with Chu Zihang. He seemed to be able to blend into all kinds of environments, like a ninja. Until the very last moment, no one knew what his purpose was.

He seemed to be able to see through everything, so he was indifferent to what was happening, or perhaps he was already certain of it.

At this moment, Gu Ran suddenly patted Lu Mingfei's messy hair: "Go and call Caesar over, the four of us need to have a little meeting."

Lu Mingfei was taken aback: "Something big has happened?"

Lu Mingfei understood the importance of holding large meetings for small matters and small meetings for important ones.

Gu Ran nodded.

So Lu Mingfei readily went to run the errand.

Chu Zihang stopped wiping the knife, looked up at Gu Ran, and realized that this was the first time he had seen him with such a serious expression.

"What's wrong?" Caesar asked as he returned with Lu Mingfei.

Gu Ran, with his back to the four, led them to a distance, lowered his voice, and said bluntly, "I don't trust those little devils. Once you go into the water, your lives will be entirely in Genji's hands. There are so many people on the shore; I can't single-handedly rescue you from the deep sea. Besides, Princess Kaguya is a system that can exist independently of Norma, meaning Princess Kaguya can completely bypass Norma and take over this mission..."

“I don’t think that tortoise is a bad person,” Caesar said. “I still trust him.”

"The mission is directly commanded by headquarters, so it shouldn't be fake," Chu Zihang said.

“I don’t doubt the mission itself, I just feel… the Japanese branch has other motives for this mission,” Gu Ran said.

“Suspecting your teammates before the mission even begins is not a good habit,” Caesar shook his head. “You’re too suspicious.”

Chu Zihang and Lu Mingfei remained silent, but they sided with Caesar because Genjiro's performance showed he was quite responsible.

Gu Ran knew that such words were just empty talk, so he shook his head and said, "In short, if we get separated and can't contact each other, we'll meet at the safe house in the Operation Manual. Don't tell the Japanese branch the location of the safe house."

After saying that, Gu Ran suddenly turned around because Yuan Zhisheng was walking over: "The mission is about to begin. What are you talking about?"

"Where should we celebrate after we finish discussing it?" Gu Ran casually told a little lie.

Caesar and Chu Zihang glanced at Yuan Zhisheng but said nothing.

At that moment, Professor Schneider's voice came through their earpieces: "The mission is about to begin. The following information is confidential from the Japanese branch. I need to tell you four some important points about the mission..."

Schneider only had one instruction for them: if they saw a 'door' underwater, they should immediately return to port and retreat under any circumstances.

The Greenland attack was caused by people seeing a door, which led to hallucinations and ultimately resulted in the near-total annihilation of the entire army.

"Received!" the four answered in unison.

"But how can there be a door in the Abyss?" Caesar asked.

"Don't ask too many questions. Just remember, if you see a door, or anything like a door, retreat immediately," Schneider said seriously.

"Yes," the group answered again.

"The next task will be mainly directed by Yuan Zhisheng on the shore. You can trust his judgment, except for the exception I just mentioned." Professor Schneider continued to instruct, "Gu Ran, you will still act opportunistically on the platform. This is the principal's instruction to you. You are not bound by the task, as long as you do not violate any principles."

"I know," Gu Ran said calmly.

"Okay, good luck to you all," Professor Schneider said to everyone.