Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei's War Journey

Late at night, outside a Chicago alley, a group of men and women dressed in black trench coats surrounded the entrance to the alley.

Like ghosts blending into the night, they appeared highly professional, armed with a full range of weapons, from submachine guns to precision rifles and pistols suitable for urban warfare. Their firepower was so formidable that it even surpassed the standard equipment of the Chicago Police Department.

Each of them wore an exquisite silver badge on their chest, engraved with the pattern of a half-decayed World Tree.

"Is the target inside?" A man in a black trench coat walked over.

He wore a pure black oxygen mask, and the oxygen tube was connected to an oxygen cylinder on a small cart next to him. His voice was very hoarse, like a broken bellows.

"Reporting to Professor Schneider, the target has been identified as a Class B mixed-race individual. He has been imitating the Zodiac Killer from the 1970s, not only sending details of his murders to the police via letters to provoke them, but also leaving behind coded letters that can reveal his identity."

"After killing the seventh person, Norma suspected that he was a hybrid. Norma deciphered the letter left behind by the perpetrator in ten minutes and identified him," an executive officer reported.

"What is the opponent's Word of Power?" Schneider continued to ask.

"Each time he commits a crime, he completely peels off the skin of his target. Based on our speculation, his Word of Power may be the Mask of Serial Number 15. If he hadn't personally sent the letter that unlocked his identity to the police station, it wouldn't have been so easy for us to find him. Moreover, according to Norma's intelligence, he has actually been one of our wanted targets all along," the executive officer continued.

Upon hearing the commissioner's report, the effect of the Word of Power: Painted Skin immediately came to Schneider's mind.

Word of Power: Painted Skin, Serial Number 15. Its effect is that after killing the target and peeling off their complete skin, the user can wear the skin, which completely simulates the target's appearance, body shape, and even voice. However, the skin worn will rot over time.

This incantation was once the preferred method for training hybrid spies during wartime.

"I understand. How's the cleanup going?" Schneider's tone remained calm, revealing no emotion.

"We've already hypnotized the surrounding crowd, and Norma has taken over the nearby security cameras. But Professor Schneider, are you sure you want to send a freshman who just enrolled to deal with the target inside? According to our intelligence, that hybrid was previously a highly skilled surgeon with an excellent understanding of human anatomy, and he also studied ancient swordsmanship in Japan." The agent asked hesitantly.

Just now, a first-year student named Chu Zihang, carrying a long, narrow object tightly wrapped in black cloth, entered that dimly lit alley alone at Professor Schneider's instruction.

Although the target's Word of Power wasn't offensive, it was still a B-grade hybrid. B-grade hybrids have much stronger physical attributes than ordinary people, even stronger than world champions at sports meets. Coupled with the cold weapon skills learned through the system, its level of danger was by no means low.

These elite specialists from the execution department were just watching from outside, letting a freshman who had only recently enrolled go in to deal with a ruthless and dangerous target—it was simply…

"I believe him." Schneider's voice came through the mask, still completely unwavering.

He believed in the young man named Chu Zihang. Chu Zihang was one of the few people in the history of Kassel College who had personally come to Kassel College. He would never forget the surprise he felt when he learned that a half-blood had come to Kassel College.

Later, he decided to personally come to Chicago to interview the young man. He set up the interview under a railway bridge, a place where few people would go. He also concealed a handgun in his pocket so that he could kill the young man immediately if he did something wrong.

It was pouring rain that day. When he arrived at the agreed location, he saw a big boy standing in the rain with his luggage.

When he saw the big boy's eyes, he seemed to see a wolf cub with nowhere to go. He had the loneliness of being all alone, the arrogance that could not be violated, and an almost obsessive stubbornness.

Ultimately, Schneider chose to accept the wolf cub into the pack and make it his mentor. This was the only student he took in after the Greenland Sea incident in 2001, and also his last.

He was the director of the executive branch, but he was old and the Greenland incident had taken a toll on his health. The pack needed a new alpha, and he saw that potential in this young wolf.

However, before becoming the wolf king, one must undergo the most rigorous training and battles.

Chu Zihang moved silently through the alley, wearing a black combat suit that allowed for easy movement, with a samurai sword wrapped in black cloth on his back.

The alley was very dark, with only a faint moonlight illuminating the area ahead.

In the middle of the alley, a very beautiful blonde woman was helping a man who looked completely drunk lean against the wall.

The ground was littered with empty bottles, and the air was thick with the smell of alcohol.

"Excuse me, could you please come and help me? My husband is drunk, and I'm not strong enough." The blonde woman looked at Chu Zihang as he approached and immediately put on a pitiful expression, pleading.

"Okay." Chu Zihang nodded calmly and walked steadily toward the woman.

"Thank you," the blonde woman said immediately with delight, just as Chu Zihang entered a certain range in front of her.

"Clang!"

A crisp, short metallic clang suddenly rang out.

The blonde woman's face immediately darkened. The scalpel she had been holding in her sleeve and thrust forward was blocked by a samurai sword.

"How did you notice something was wrong with me?" the blonde woman asked coldly.

"No matter how strong the smell of alcohol is, it can't mask the smell of blood, and the... stench of decay emanating from you." Chu Zihang's tone was devoid of any smugness, as calm as if stating a fact, while he pressed the knife in his hand down forcefully.

"Is that so..." A fierce glint flashed in the blonde woman's eyes, and with lightning speed, she threw another gleaming scalpel.

Chu Zihang reacted extremely quickly, swiftly sheathing his knife to parry the attack. The thrown scalpel was deflected and embedded in the wall beside him.

Taking advantage of the moment, the blonde woman suddenly leaped backward, creating distance between herself and Chu Zihang.

The drunkard she had been supporting collapsed to the ground like a lump of mud, with a gleaming scalpel stuck in his back, blood still seeping from the wound.

"Isn't my cipher pretty good? I used a more complex cipher than the Zodiac Killer. It took me a lot of effort. I read almost every cipher design book in the world just to design this cipher, and then spent five years brainstorming it. I thought this cipher would never be cracked, but I didn't expect it to be discovered so quickly. You guys are much better than those useless cops in Chicago."

The blonde woman sighed, never expecting her password to be cracked so quickly. But it didn't matter; she would design an even more complex one next time.

"Norma deciphered your letter in ten minutes, and then spent two hours collecting all the information about you since your birth."

"Isaac Lawson, male, born in California, 35 years old this year, graduated from Harvard Medical School, majoring in surgery. During his graduate studies, he killed his advisor and all the senior students in his research lab, and then fled to various countries under different identities." Chu Zihang told him all the information he had seen before.

The blonde woman's face immediately froze, followed by uncontrollable rage. Not only was the code he had painstakingly devised over five years cracked in ten minutes, but Chu Zihang had also uttered that name.

"Don't you dare say that name!" the blonde woman, or rather Isaac, roared, then angrily charged at Chu Zihang, repeatedly pulling scalpels from her skin and throwing them at him.

Chu Zihang raised his unsheathed katana and began to parry, knocking the scalpels down one by one.

However, Isaac had already rushed in front of him, leaped into the air, and slashed down at Chu Zihang with a scalpel in each hand.

"I'll make you pay for what you just said!"

Chu Zihang stood still, his eyes calm and undisturbed. Just as Isaac leaped into the air, he slightly turned his body, and his long sword drew a cold arc.

The crisp sound of metal clashing echoed through the alley.

The two scalpels in Isaac's hands snapped in two with a sharp, clean cut. Just as Chu Zihang was about to press his advantage, the blonde woman's body suddenly began to deform.

It felt as if countless rats were scurrying beneath her skin, and her entire body's skin was expanding and twisting at a visible speed, like a rapidly inflating balloon. Her originally delicate features shifted and became hideous and terrifying.

Then it exploded with a bang, and Chu Zihang was stunned, clearly not expecting such a situation.

He hadn't been at Kassel College for long, and although he had undergone a lot of practical training, it was all routine combat. He was still stunned when faced with such an unbelievable situation.

The woman's bursting skin flew everywhere, instantly obscuring most of Chu Zihang's vision. Amidst this tattered skin, a sharp samurai sword pierced out.

Chu Zihang immediately snapped back to his senses and dodged to the side. Although his reaction was extremely fast, the gleaming silver samurai sword still narrowly grazed his shoulder. The sharp tip easily sliced ​​through the fabric of his black combat uniform, leaving a cut about an inch long on his shoulder, from which blood immediately seeped out.

Chu Zihang took a half step back, holding his knife defensively, his gaze piercing through the falling skin flakes as he looked ahead.

Where the blonde woman had been standing, now stood a completely different figure: a burly man with an extremely robust build, his muscles clearly defined and glistening with a dark sheen!

He was completely naked, his strong physique like a classical sculpture, but when you look up and see his face, you'll gasp in shock.

That face was a horrific sight, as if it had been thoroughly splashed with concentrated sulfuric acid. Large areas of the skin had melted and stuck together, and the facial features were almost distorted and fused together, leaving only the vague outlines of the eyes and mouth, like a demon crawling out of hell.

"If it weren't for those damned guys! I would be the top surgical expert in the United States right now!" Isaac roared, trembling with emotion.

He completed all the courses at Harvard Medical School in just two years with a full scholarship and became a graduate student. However, one of his graduate advisors was a racist who was extremely prejudiced against Black people.

Not only was his advisor a racist, but his fellow students were too. However, Isaac didn't care about that; he just wanted to focus on his research.

But to his surprise, his supervisor plagiarized his paper and published it in The Lancet. When he went to confront his supervisor, he was met with ridicule and sarcasm. His fellow students also bullied him, disliked him, and thought that a black guy was not worthy of publishing in The Lancet.

Later, Isaac held back. He rewrote the paper and published it in The Lancet, which attracted attention both at home and abroad. However, after seeing the paper, his senior classmates were all shocked. They couldn't believe that a black man could achieve more than them.

In one experiment, they deliberately splashed a corrosive reagent on his face.

He was disfigured.

Isaac could no longer bear it. He killed his mentor and all his fellow students, but he also knew that his life was over. For the first time, he used his Word of Power, put on his mentor's skin, and left the United States.

He studied Kendo in Japan and traveled to various countries around the world seeking a beautiful appearance to compensate for his shortcomings, but in the end he returned to the United States.

Because it was these white people who made him this way, he originally just wanted to live his life peacefully, and he wanted to take revenge on these white people.

So he began to imitate the Zodiac Killer in committing crimes, sending details of his crimes to newspapers and police stations, wanting to keep these white people living in fear forever.

Killing a white person gave him a thrill, but he didn't expect to be discovered after only a few crimes.

"You're quite good-looking... Don't worry, I'll peel your skin off bit by bit, and then use your identity to continue killing."

Isaac charged at Chu Zihang, brandishing his katana. It was a fine sword he had acquired while studying kendo in Japan, and he had always kept it hidden inside a human skin to prevent such a situation from occurring.

Chu Zihang's shoulder wound burned with pain, but his hand holding the knife remained steady. Faced with Isaac's fierce attack, he chose to retreat.

One step, two steps...

Isaac's blade relentlessly pursued, each strike powerful and heavy, accompanied by a shrill whistling sound as it tore through the air. This hybrid's strength far surpassed that of ordinary people. Even though his Word of Power was not a combat-oriented skill, the physical attributes granted by his B-rank bloodline were enough to make him a formidable opponent, not to mention his superb swordsmanship.

The samurai sword in his hand transformed into streaks of silver lightning, constantly slashing, hacking, stabbing, and sweeping, forcing Chu Zihang to dodge repeatedly.

"What's wrong? All you can do is hide?" Isaac grinned maliciously, his blade gleaming brilliantly in the moonlight.

Chu Zihang did not answer, and his expression did not change at all. Only his golden eyes, which shone in the darkness, showed his extreme focus.

He was observing, calculating, searching for the rhythm of the opponent's frenzied attacks and that fleeting opening. His eyes were like those of a lone wolf patiently tracking its prey in a snowy night.

On the seventh step, Chu Zihang suddenly stopped.

Isaac's knife was slashing from the upper right to the lower left, an angle from which it was difficult to change tactics immediately.

Right now.

Chu Zihang suddenly raised his longsword, not to meet it head-on, but to skillfully glide along Isaac's blade. The friction of the metal sparked a string of sparks, illuminating Chu Zihang's expressionless face.

Isaac felt a clever force deflect his knife to the side, leaving the center wide open. Startled, he hurriedly retreated, but it was too late.

Chu Zihang's knife tip shot out like a venomous snake, aimed directly at Isaac's throat.

"It's over." Chu Zihang's voice remained calm.

A glint of madness flashed in Isaac's eyes. Instead of retreating, he advanced, slightly turning his body and letting Chu Zihang's knife tip pierce his shoulder, while simultaneously sweeping his own knife horizontally towards Chu Zihang's waist.

Trading injury for life!

Chu Zihang's pupils contracted slightly; he hadn't expected the other party to be so fearless.

At the critical moment, Chu Zihang exerted force from his waist and abdomen, leaning backward. The tip of the katana grazed his abdomen, leaving a bloody mark.

The two separated again, each bearing injuries.

Blood gushed from Isaac's shoulder, yet he laughed maniacally, "Interesting! Absolutely hilarious! I'll get your skin!"

Chu Zihang glanced down at the wound on his abdomen. Fortunately, it wasn't deep, but it would definitely affect his performance in the upcoming battle.

His combat experience was still lacking compared to that of a true desperado; if he didn't use his Word of Power, he would ultimately lose.

"Your swordsmanship is quite good. I've never seen you learn it before," Isaac continued, intrigued by Chu Zihang's peculiar sword techniques.

"Youth Palace," Chu Zihang said, still with his usual expressionless face.

"Youth Palace?" Isaac was a little stunned. He searched his memory but had never heard of any famous kendo school in Japan called Youth Palace... Could it be some kind of hidden school?

Just as he was momentarily distracted by this unbelievable answer, he heard Chu Zihang ahead begin to chant in a deep, ancient dragon script with a special rhythm.

The voice seemed to possess some kind of magic, and the surrounding air seemed to begin to distort slightly. The temperature rose at a speed that could be felt with the naked eye, and a scorching and dangerous aura began to emanate from Chu Zihang!

It was an offensive fire-type Word of Power. Isaac's alarm bells went off instantly. A strong sense of crisis made his hair stand on end. He had witnessed the terrifying power of some hybrid Words of Power and knew that he must not let it be fully released.

Just as Isaac's muscles tensed, preparing to pounce on the chanting at all costs or seek cover,

A man's panting voice came from outside the alley.

"That's fine."

With just three words, Chu Zihang's chanting of the dragon script abruptly stopped, and the rising temperature around him quickly dropped. He nodded slightly to indicate that he understood.

He was fully aware of the disastrous consequences and unmanageable mess that would result from releasing that high-risk incantation in the alleys of downtown Chicago when he was not in complete control of the situation.

Isaac was horrified to discover that he had been completely surrounded. At both ends of the alley, figures dressed in matching black trench coats stood, pointing various types of guns at him.

"So this is the Executive Bureau's style? If you can't beat them, you gang up on them?" Isaac scoffed, clearly having heard something similar after years of working outside the bureaucracy.

Professor Schneider walked slowly from the alley entrance, his oxygen mask hissing softly: "We never care about the honor of lone heroes like you. Lay down your weapons, Isaac Lawson."

Isaac gripped his katana tightly, his disfigured face contorted in pain: "Trying to capture me? Not so easy!"

After saying that, he rushed straight toward Schneider.

"Fire!" Schneider gave the order decisively, and gunfire erupted. These guns were all loaded with Frigg bullets, so there was no fear of accidental injuries.

But when the gunfire stopped, they did not see the anesthetized Isaac.

The target... has vanished!

The spot where Isaac had been standing was now empty, with only his blood-stained katana clattering to the ground.

There was no sign of him being shot and falling to the ground, no trace of him trying to break through the encirclement; he simply vanished into thin air right before everyone's eyes!

"Where's the target?!"

"What's going on?!"

"How could he possibly dodge it?!"

The commissioners were in an uproar, searching every corner of the alley in disbelief.

Even Schneider was getting restless; this was completely beyond his expectations and comprehension.

"Norma! Analyze it immediately! How did the target disappear?" Schneider growled into the communicator.

After a moment of silence, Norma, the super artificial intelligence of Kassel College, spoke through the headphones in Schneider's ears with her calm and even voice.

"I'm sorry, Professor Schneider, according to the data transmitted from the scene, no trace of the target using any known incantations, technological equipment, or physical means to escape was detected. The target completely disappeared at the same moment the gun was fired, as if he was directly erased from this space."

Norma paused for a fraction of a second before continuing, "However, I recorded the exact time the target disappeared as 23:00:00 on September 13, 2008."