Dragon Clan: Lu Mingfei Returns from Japan

Chapter 484: Set off! Moniah!

"It's just a joke, don't take it seriously, junior brother." Zhou Li said lightly.

Lu Mingfei's mouth was frozen with a polite and polite smile, thinking, "Sister, can you please stop joking like this?" Especially your eyes, which were polite and indifferent yet compassionate, were full of doctor flavor.

However, this not-so-big joke did have some effect of bringing people closer together.

Selma smiled and said, "It turns out that Senior Sister Zhou can also joke with others. At first, she thought that you were the kind of person who never smiles."

Zhou Li smiled and said, "Of course. After all, she is just a little older than you. She is not as old-fashioned as Professor Mance." This caused Aki and Selma to cover their mouths and laugh softly.

Professor Mans was not angry when he was teased. He waved towards the bar and a waiter came over with a menu.

"Mingfei, take a look at what you want to eat. We have already ordered before you came. I heard that their local specialty menu is pretty good." Mans said to Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei took the menu from the waiter and took a quick look. The dishes in the restaurants of five-star hotels are similar, mainly French dishes, the unchanging steak, foie gras, caviar three-piece set, and some snails, scallops, tartar, beef, duck confit, etc. The local dishes on the menu are more distinctive.

After sitting on the plane for half a day, Lu Mingfei's motion sickness had not yet completely subsided and he had no appetite, so he casually ordered a recommended set meal plus a bottle of sugar-free cola, and returned the menu to the waiter.

The waiter took back the menu and held it to his chest: "Excuse me, can we serve the food now?"

Mans nodded: "Okay."

The expensive dinner was gradually served, all with sterling silver tableware. Lu Mingfei's main course included foie gras and beef stewed in red wine. Professor Guderian next to him curiously ordered a local menu with the characteristics of the foggy city, and was inhaled by the spicy roasted pigeon in a clay pot with tribute pepper leaves.

Lu Mingfei actually thought that if the danger of the dragon-slaying mission was not taken into consideration, it would be quite good to be able to study at Kassel College. After graduation, they were guaranteed a job, and the executive department specialists were well fed and well-paid when they went out on missions, and the funding was reported as high as possible, just like James Bond.

"If you really can't eat more, I can ask the waiter to order another portion for you, professor." Aki on the opposite side looked at Professor Guderian, whose eyes were tearing up from the spicy food, and reminded him in a low voice.

Professor Guderian wiped the sweat from his forehead with a napkin: "No need! It's quite enjoyable to eat! I heard that spicy is the essence of Sichuan cuisine."

Mans frowned and said, "You'd better take it easy and don't get an upset stomach. Today's dinner is a welcome dinner for you. Since you just arrived in the Fog City, you should relax for a day. Tomorrow we will officially start our mission."

"It doesn't matter, I have a sense of propriety."

Guderian said as he took a deep breath, and reached out for a glass of lemonade, then turned to look at Mance: "By the way, how are the tasks for tomorrow arranged? Aren't we supposed to go to the caves of Kuimen to survey the remains of the ancient dragon tribe? Why are you all staying in this hotel?"

Guderian's voice was not loud, but it was enough to cause an echo in the executive lounge where only classical music was playing. Lu Mingfei was stunned for a moment, realizing that the waiter waiting next to them might have heard their conversation.

As if seeing what Lu Mingfei was worried about, Zhou Li turned around and said to Lu Mingfei:
"Don't worry, we won't make such a stupid mistake. There are no outsiders here. We have reserved the entire executive lounge tonight, and the waiters are all from our Zhou family. Otherwise, how could we have been chatting about mixed-blood matters here without caring about anyone else?"

Lu Mingfei glanced around and noticed that there was only one person sitting at their table in the executive lounge with floor-to-ceiling windows. The rest of the tables were empty. There were even more waiters at the bar than guests.

"We are just staying here temporarily."

Professor Mans said, "The Zhou family is engaged in the shipping business and has an inland port here. Tomorrow's mission is arranged like this. We will first take a car to the Zhou family's port. A ship modified by the equipment department is docked there."

"A ship modified by the Equipment Department? That thing can sail into China's inland rivers?" Guderian looked surprised.

Of course, he knew what kind of arms maniacs those people in the Equipment Department were—they were a group of people who claimed to pursue art. But you must not be deceived by what they said, because the art they were talking about was definitely not painting, music, literature, film, etc.... but explosions!

They regard explosions as the art they pursue throughout their lives! They are keen on producing and modifying various violent weapons. The pistols modified by them can exert the power comparable to the Benelli M4 shotgun! They are one of the people that Guderian least wants to deal with.

"Of course not normally." Mans shook his head: "But the Zhou family helped the academy register the ship as a scientific research vessel."

Guderian nodded and looked at Zhou Li, who smiled back.

As an ancient mixed-race family in China, the Zhou family is said to have been passed down in China for a thousand years... It is said that in the old days, the Zhou family was a noble family... The Zhou family's power in the local area should not be underestimated. It must not be difficult for the Zhou family to register a scientific research ship.

"Therefore, when we carry out the mission tomorrow, our public identity will be that of WWF volunteers, specializing in the research and protection of endangered wild animals. The Yangtze River dolphin is our key research topic. Don't worry, both the ship and our identity are endorsed by the World Wildlife Fund. Please be sure to remember our identity."

……

The sky was blue and the river was calm. If Lu Mingfei had brought a fishing rod with him, he would have been able to catch a lot of big fish on such a sunny and calm day, or at least not come up empty-handed.

But Lu Mingfei was not in the mood to fish, and his expression was rather bitter. Because -

——The ship disguised as a research vessel mentioned by Guderian turned out to be the "Moniah", a ship that had witnessed tragedy and was very ominous in Lu Mingfei's heart.

Lu Mingfei was in a sad and confused mood. In his memory, the "Moniah" was disguised as a tugboat to operate on the Yangtze River. Why did it appear as a scientific research vessel this time?
Could it be that the Zhou family helped in this mission? And for various reasons, the academy and the Zhou family stopped cooperating later? So the "Moniah" lost its status as a scientific research vessel?
But ignoring these minor issues, the entire ship, the Moniach, is still quite impressive.

This warship disguised as a tugboat or research vessel is designed by the same Skipsteknisk AS ST367 as the Swedish research vessel Svea. It is 69.5 meters long, 15.8 meters wide, with a draft of 5.4 meters, and can carry 15 crew members and 13 scientists, a total of 28 people.

Four Wartsila 4DF main engines modified by the Equipment Department and an 20-cylinder Wartsila 8 diesel engine provide the "Moniah" with sufficient water power.

As the crew lowered the gangway, Lu Mingfei, wearing a life jacket with the "WWF" logo, followed everyone on board. Standing on the deck, they had a panoramic view of the vast river.

Ye Sheng was directing the crew to prepare to raise the anchor and set sail. Mans turned around and looked at Jiude Aki.

"Aki."

"exist!"

When Professor Mans called his name, Aki immediately answered with understanding, then turned around and took off the backpack he had been carrying on his back, took out a stack of documents from the backpack, and distributed them to everyone on the deck one by one with a smile.

"This is for you, Junior Brother. Please keep it well."

Aki nodded and smiled at Lu Mingfei. The wind on the river blew her neat Japanese bangs and shoulder-length hair into a messy and stunning look.

"Thank you, senior sister."

Lu Mingfei took the certificate from Yaji and took a look at it. The black and white panda logo of "WWF" in the transparent plastic card shell was quite conspicuous. Its full name is World Wide Fund For Nature.

Below the logo is Lu Mingfei's personal information, including name, age, nationality and time of joining the club. "Does the photo make me look fatter?" Guderian next to him looked at the photo on the ID, scratched his head and muttered.

"The certificates are all genuine. They were registered by the college in your name. Please keep them safe." Mans said, "Kassel College also has close cooperation with WWF. Every year, we donate a sum of money to the environmental protection fund of WWF."

Lu Mingfei thought to himself that he understood. It was like the academy was paying for their reputation, right?
However, Lu Mingfei could understand the reason for doing so. Dragon relics were scattered all over the world, some might be on very high mountains, and some might be under water. Many things could not be done in the name of personal activities.

At this time, having the endorsement of a well-known international third-party organization will make the action process much more convenient.

“It’s a pretty handsome photo.”

The sudden voice beside him almost startled Lu Mingfei. He turned around and saw Yaji looking at him with her hands behind her back, commenting on the photo on his ID.

Lu Mingfei accepted Aki's evaluation of him without hesitation.

"Hmm...about 70% of my original appearance, right?"

"? I didn't expect that you, junior brother, are so narcissistic?" Aki blinked and said with some surprise.

"Are you okay? People who know me say that I'm very honest and always tell the truth." Lu Mingfei said, "Senior Sister Yaji, where is your ID?"

"You want to see?"

"Not really."

"Call me sister and I'll show you."

"Hello sister."

Obviously, Lu Mingfei spoke without any hesitation, which made Yaji stunned... It seemed that this S-level junior brother was far from being as harmless and easy to control as he looked.

Now that the words have been spoken, it is too late to take them back. Fortunately, showing the photos to the junior brother is not a shameful thing, so it doesn't matter if he takes a look.

Aki sighed helplessly: "Okay, okay, since your sister is calling you so sweetly, then let me take a look at her."

As Aki said this, she turned the tag on her chest over and held it in her hand, holding it in front of Lu Mingfei. The ID showed that Aki was 19 years old this year, and the photo showed that Aki was even younger. Her sweet face had a bit of the childishness of a Japanese high school student.

It’s strange to say, Shude Aki and Shude Mai are obviously sisters, and both of them are the kind of beauties that can be found at a glance in the crowd, but their facial features don’t have much in common.

But when you know that Shude Aki and Shude Mai are sisters, you will sigh in your heart, "Oh, so they are sisters, that's not surprising."

Perhaps it was the stubborn and serious aura in the corners of Shude Aki's eyes and eyebrows that was exactly the same as the sharp temperament brewing in Shude Mai's eyes and eyebrows?
"This is a photo taken when I just graduated from high school. Don't I look a little younger now..." Aki sounded a little disappointed.

"No, it's pretty nice."

"You're so sweet. No wonder you've coaxed that little girl from the Valentine family into going around in circles. By the way, how far have you and that little girl progressed? Senior sister, let me share some gossip..."

At this time, Professor Mans, who was wearing sunglasses, suddenly coughed heavily, attracting everyone's attention. Lu Mingfei and Yaji turned around together.

Professor Mans stood in front of everyone and said:
"Let me repeat the plan for this mission."

"'Eye of Kuimen' is one of the underground river caves that have been discovered in Kuimen. On the surface, it is just a small cave under the river, and underneath is the carbonate rock strata of the Lower Permian. Because it is a field dive, it is only spread in the small circle of cave divers. There is no official exploration data about the situation inside the cave. The college has used sonar to detect the depth of 'Eye of Kuimen', which may exceed 300m."

"Our research vessel has applied for a three-week research period. Therefore, the preliminary duration of this expedition is set at about two weeks."

"In the first week, our mission goal is to survey the specific structure of the cave interior of the 'Eye of Kuimen'."

Professor Mans said, looking at Ye Sheng next to him:
"Ye Sheng, your word spirit is 'snake', which gives you a unique advantage in the task of surveying the terrain. Water can conduct electricity, and the range of your word spirit will be multiplied underwater. Your performance is crucial to the success of the mission. Selma's word spirit 'difference' will help you in your surveying work. Selma will be your diving partner in this mission."

"I understand." Ye Sheng said quietly.

Professor Mans nodded, then looked at Lu Mingfei and Jiude Aki:

"Lu Mingfei, you lack experience in underwater operations. In the first week, what you need to do is to adapt to the underwater operating environment as much as possible. Yaji, you have the most diving experience in the team, so Lu Mingfei will be assigned to your team. The two of you will be diving partners for this mission."

"It may be difficult to train Lu Mingfei into a senior diver in such a short time, but we must train him to the point where he can carry out this underwater mission as required."

Lu Mingfei thought to himself, I actually have experience in carrying out underwater missions... although not many times, but I have visited the Bronze City under the Three Gorges.

But he still answered with Shude Aki: "Yes, professor."

"What about me?" Professor Guderian raised his hand: "I have extensive diving experience."

Professor Mans looked at his gray-haired, slightly plump colleague under his sunglasses, then reached out and patted Guderian on the shoulder without saying a word.

"Old folks like us shouldn't get involved with the youngsters. You and I, along with Miss Zhou, should wait for news in the captain's room."

Professor Mans ignored Guderian's protest and continued:

"The first week's task is to work with Ye Sheng to draw an underwater structural diagram of the 'Eye of Kuimen'. After obtaining the structural diagram, the second week's task is to conduct a detailed investigation inside the cave and find the location of the mysterious door in the photo."

"The third week is used as insurance time in case of insufficient time due to unexpected circumstances. We will try to control the duration of this mission within two weeks. Do you understand?"

They answered in unison: "I understand!"

Mance looked around at the people in front of him and nodded.

"Then...Moniah, let's go!"

……

(End of this chapter)