Dragon Raja: Reboot

Chapter 83 Picnic Plan (Two Chapters Combined, 5k)

Xia Mi stood outside the window of the lecture hall, leaning against the window and gazing at the town outside.

Outside the window was a vast meadow, undulating gently, with red brick villas of varying heights scattered across it. The villas had European-style pointed roofs, and the distance between each villa was quite wide, with fences separating them.

Various bouquets bloom in vibrant colors within the fenced area, making this small town resemble a paradise.

Chu Zihang stood on the podium, looking at the watch on his wrist, and occasionally glanced up at Xia Mi's position.

Today was a bright and sunny day. Sunlight spread across the clouds and fell on Xia Mi's profile. The sunlight shone on the walnut desk and cast shadows through the window, giving the whole classroom a faint blush.

The tiered classroom was already full of students, and it was unexpectedly quiet. Everyone looked up at Chu Zihang on the podium.

As a member of a mixed-race family, I had already inquired about some information before coming here. For example, the academy was originally divided into two major factions: the Lionheart Society, which has a long history, and the student council, which has risen in recent years.

When faced with a choice between the two factions, most of these people leaned towards the Lionheart.

Nothing more than a long-standing tradition.

These young people from mixed-race families have an innate appreciation for noble bloodlines and ancient traditions.

They value lineage more than ordinary people because they benefit from it.

One of the reasons they were sitting here was because the new ace of Kassel College had displayed unparalleled bloodline oppression.

But the problem is...

According to the information channels, the S-level proctor who was supposed to be the proctor for this 3E exam was late!

Fortunately, there was another senior figure on stage, who was said to be a Super A-level, Chu Zihang, the president of the Lionheart Society.

This is yet another legendary figure in the industry.

Compared to the student council, these people are more inclined to join the Lionheart Club. However, the S-rank student happens to be a member of the student council, and according to predictions, he will basically take over as the student council president in a year. This is because next year will be the end of the current student council president's internship, and the next president can only be the only S-rank student in the school, unless the current president establishes a hereditary system.

This left everyone present somewhat conflicted.

"Time's up." A cool voice came from the stage.

Chu Zihang raised his gaze from his wristwatch and swept it across the crowd below the stage. His ever-burning golden eyes sent a chill down everyone's spine, forcing them to look away.

In the dragon clan's ancient texts, the eternally shining golden eyes are exclusive to those of princely bloodlines.

The legend is indeed true!

Chu Zihang didn't wear colored contact lenses today. Professor Romanti said that today's candidates are all young people from various mixed-race families, and everyone is proud of their bloodline. She hopes that the two commissioners can teach everyone what "humility and politeness" means, so that they can better integrate into the college family.

Since his junior colleague left early, this job naturally fell to him.

"Everyone is here. Now, let me announce the exam rules," Chu Zihang said calmly. "Cheating is absolutely forbidden. Violators will be disqualified from everything. The learning atmosphere at Kassel College is very relaxed, but the discipline is the strictest. Do not try to copy other people's answers, because everyone's answers will be different."

"The exam will officially begin in 3 minutes. Now turn off your phones and place them on the corner of your desk along with your student ID."

When he finished speaking, his thoughtful partner Xia Mi began to distribute a blank test paper the size of an A4 sheet of paper and a sharpened pencil to each student.

The students took out their phones from their pockets, turned them off, placed them on the corner of the table, and then stared silently at the blank exam papers.

Most of those present came from mixed-race families, so they weren't surprised by this peculiar exam that didn't even have questions. They were just disappointed that they hadn't gotten to see the legendary S-rank.

As Xia Mi and Chu Zihang walked out of the classroom, the classroom door slammed shut behind them.

"Hmm, that's it? How boring."

Xia Mi stretched lazily, resting her left hand on her right wrist, and tiptoed, revealing her graceful and slender figure. She pulled up her T-shirt, revealing a section of her snow-white waist.

It was all a fleeting moment, and coincidentally, Chu Zihang turned his head to look at Xia Mi, taking in the entire fleeting moment.

He quickly turned his head to look at the end of the corridor, feeling an awkward atmosphere in the air. Fortunately, a familiar figure appeared at the end of the corridor at that moment.

Chu Zihang composed himself and forced a calm expression, saying, "Junior Brother has arrived."

Xia Mi's eyes widened as she peeked out from behind him and saw a lazy man walking slowly towards her, his hands in his pockets and his head tilted to look into the distance.

"This commissioner, you're actually slacking off!"

Xia Mi strongly condemned Commissioner Lu's unreliable work attitude and his lone wolf behavior of sneaking out to play without taking her along.

Lu Mingfei pulled his hands out of his pocket, raised them high, and admitted his mistake with extreme sincerity: "I was wrong, I was really wrong, I'll never do it again!"

"I'd love to have a next time!"

"No, junior sister, you must have misheard!"

"Hmph! I took your place, working diligently, cautiously, and without complaint..."

"Seriously? Junior sister, you've got me completely stumped?" Lu Mingfei asked, puzzled. "It's just handing out exam papers, how did it escalate into something like 'working tirelessly'?"

Xia Mi grinned and said, "I sent them to everyone one by one under everyone's gaze. For someone with social anxiety like me, that was absolute torture!"

Lu Mingfei said seriously, "Social anxiety? Junior sister, you must see a doctor for mental illness as soon as possible. I recommend the academy's specially appointed psychological counselor, Masafumi Tomiyama! Don't delay. I usually talk to him whenever I have free time. After all, the last S-rank was stuck in a philosophical dilemma and ended up committing suicide by shooting himself!"

Xia Mi tiptoed and patted Lu Mingfei's head, saying with relief, "Senior brother, I'm not worried about you at all in this regard."

"Huh? That's true, I have absolutely no interest in philosophy."

"No, what I mean is that your IQ isn't high enough to get you into philosophical contemplation."

"Junior sister, is it that your senior brother can no longer lift the sword?"

"Hehehe!" Xia Mi stuck out her tongue, then shrank back behind Chu Zihang and poked her head out to make a face at him.

Seeing that the lively and mischievous Lu Baobao and Xia Baobao had finished playing, Chu Zihang calmly handed over a letter of responsibility and a pen.

"Sign here, and this mission is complete."

"Oh, oh!" Lu Mingfei readily accepted it and quickly signed the three characters in a flamboyant style.

Finally, he exclaimed, "Professor Schneider is so kind! Please give me a few more simple tasks like this!"

Chu Zihang frowned and said, "Professor Schneider sent you here to carry out this mission more to test your abilities, but the fact that I was also sent along proves that this mission is not as simple as you think. The execution department has always been short-staffed. If it was just about proctoring the 3E exam, there was no need to send me and you together."

"Senior brother, do you mean the main course is yet to come?" Lu Mingfei asked in surprise.

Chu Zihang's expression hardened slightly as he said, "If I'm not mistaken, proctoring the exam is just a pretext; retrieving the books is the core of this mission."

"Senior brother, have you made any progress?"

"I asked Professor Romanti privately, and her attitude was a bit strange. She didn't tell me directly, but rather mentioned in a roundabout way that someone would be picking me up tomorrow."

"Will you come pick me up?"

"right."

Are you sure there's no "them"?

Chu Zihang was taken aback, his gaze sharpening slightly as he said, "I'm sure!"

Was it because that sentence was only said to himself at the time, or because Professor Romanti made a slip of the tongue, or... was it really just him?

He couldn't help but recall Professor Schneider's last words.

"...When you retrieve the book, I hope you can showcase yourself as much as possible, especially by being ruthless and unscrupulous..."

What kind of books should we choose that depict ruthlessness and unscrupulousness?

"Hey, the exam's started, why is everyone so calm? That can't be right!" The carefree junior had already forgotten about the previous question and was peeking through the window at the exam inside.

Chu Zihang casually remarked, "They're all from mixed-race families. They underwent bloodline testing during their childhood, so this isn't the first time they've heard dragon runes."

Lu Mingfei turned his head and asked, "Senior brother, what was the spiritual vision you saw when you first heard the dragon script incantation?"

"...The first time I experienced clairvoyance was six years ago. I saw some images that had no real meaning. At first, they were just lines, and then the lines came to life. Countless images flashed by one after another, like watching a swarm of snakes dance in the darkness of antiquity, strange and desolate."

Chu Zihang was silent for a moment before speaking.

Lu Mingfei turned to Xia Mi: "Junior Sister, what about you?"

"Me? My first spiritual vision was during the 3E exam in the preparatory class. I saw some unpleasant things," Xia Mi said softly.

She had turned her back to the two of them at some point, resting her hands on the corridor railing, her chin gently tapping the back of her hands, her clear, bright eyes reflecting the distant blue sky.

"Few people feel happy and joyful when they first hear the Dragon Rune, because that's when we first encounter the true nature of the world," Chu Zihang comforted him.

He had heard others talk about their unpleasant experiences with clairvoyance.

Generally speaking, not many people like to talk about these things, but there are always exceptions.

In addition, he was also responsible for proctoring the 3E exam at the main campus of the college. He witnessed the chaotic scene in the classroom, where it seemed as if demons were dancing wildly and everyone was in a daze, seeing things that shouldn't exist.

Among these people, those who ended up with joy can be counted on one hand; the vast majority ended up in tears, their bodies radiating an aura of sorrow.

"Junior sister, you're also an A-level, right? How many dragon script spells did you write during the exam?" Lu Mingfei suddenly remembered the scene of cheating in his freshman year.

With the help of his "friendly" roommate Fingel, he successfully passed the 3E exam and received the principal's scholarship after assisting with the Bronze City mission.

He only wrote 8 dragon runes at the time, which should theoretically have resulted in a downgrade to A-level. However, whether it was due to bonus points from the Bronze City mission or some kind of behind-the-scenes manipulation, he managed to retain his S-level title.

The reason he couldn't resonate with Longwen at the time was that he hadn't truly accepted "himself" back then.

The deal Lu Mingze made with him wasn't about exchanging his life, but about acknowledging and accepting his complete self.

He had been subconsciously denying himself in the past, which caused his awakening, which should have occurred hundreds of years ago, to be delayed until this era.

In a sense, he has rejected Lu Mingze for hundreds of years.

"Eight or nine, I guess?" Xia Mi asked, seemingly unsure.

"And you?" Chu Zihang looked at Lu Mingfei and said in a low voice, "I remember you didn't react much to the [Emperor]."

"My first experience with psychic vision was during the 3E exam," Lu Mingfei said, leaning against the wall with a slight smile. "I saw my younger brother."

The Emperor's ability is to awaken the awe of the Dragon Emperor that is eternally present in the genes of the Dragon Clan, allowing them to travel through time and recall the past when the Dragon Clan ruled the world.

But in that long-lost era, this power of words was originally created by him.

After succeeding to the throne, Nidhogg overturned the old rules and replaced his "power" with his own, but the former was not yet worthy of his awe.

The night before, when he confronted Li Wuyue, he planned to use the "first edition emperor" to scare her away.

"Your younger brother?" Chu Zihang was taken aback, then said, "I remember your younger brother also went to Shilan Middle School? His name is Lu Mingze?"

At that time, the whole school knew that Lu Mingfei's parents were always traveling around the world and never came back to see him because he had a reliable younger brother.

Xia Mi's ears twitched slightly, and she turned her head curiously, asking, "Senior Brother Lu, you're not an only child, are you?"

"The one my senior brother is talking about isn't my biological brother, he's my uncle's child. I used to live with my uncle," Lu Mingfei shrugged.

He neither directly admitted whether he was an only child nor followed up on his senior's line of conversation.

There were some things that weren't ready to be said yet, and he didn't want to deceive his senior brother. Fortunately, one of his senior brother's greatest strengths was that he rarely pried into things.

My senior is very sensitive. Once he realizes that he has touched a taboo, he will change the subject. This is probably because he is a person who has been hurt and does not want to see others get hurt as well.

"Do you...hate your younger brother?" Chu Zihang hesitated for a moment, but still chose to ask.

He was very curious about how his junior brother, who was suspected to be from the dragon clan, viewed his "family" in this life.

Humans have never truly understood dragons; even the knowledge taught in academies is merely gleaned from ancient texts.

Dragons are beings superior to humans; they possess superhuman physical abilities and intelligence, and they also have emotions.

If he can get some information from his junior brother, he might be able to gain a deeper understanding of the dragon race.

"Dislike? Not really." Lu Mingfei leaned his head against the wall. "That guy was quite cute when he was little, but unfortunately, he developed a face full of acne during puberty. We've slept in the same room since we were kids, so our relationship wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either."

Chu Zihang seemed to be deep in thought.

He could sense from the words that his junior brother had feelings for his family.

He suddenly remembered something else: his junior brother had lived with humans since he was a child, and he, like Norton, had only recently awakened.

Moreover, he does have parents, who are said to be honorary alumni of the school. So the dragon's reincarnation ritual is not only about cocooning, but also about "reincarnation".

"Senior brother, have you read Harry Potter?" Lu Mingfei asked.

I watched it in 02.

"I read it in 01. I borrowed it from a bookstore and had to pay a ten-yuan deposit. Back then, I was really envious of Harry Potter, thinking that one day an owl would come and knock on my window. I was worried that the distance between Chinese and English was too great and that Mr. Owl might get lost. But now I don't think so anymore. I think I'm much happier than Harry Potter."

Why do you say that?

"Harry Potter had such a tragic life. He lost both his parents, was raised by his uncle from a young age, slept in the downstairs storage room, was bullied every day, and then had to save the world."

Lu Mingfei shrugged and said,

"Even if my aunt scolds me, she still makes me sleep in the same room as her son, eat the same food, and go to the same school. When I was a freshman, she packed several large suitcases for me, even bringing a pressure cooker. It was as if she wanted to carry my whole family on her back. I wholeheartedly agree with the saying that happiness is relative."

Chu Zihang remained silent for a moment and said, "But Harry Potter's fate changed after he entered the school. He met Hermione, the smartest person in the school, and Ron, the comedic relief. Headmaster Dumbledore was also on his side at first."

Lu Mingfei grabbed his shoulders and said seriously, "Senior brother, don't underestimate yourself! I think you're smarter than Hermione! We don't need the comedy spotlight, right? I can handle it myself, saving you a salary. If all else fails, we can drag Finn along to make up the numbers; he still owes me money! Besides, Headmaster Angers isn't much worse than Dumbledore. If you have any objections, then I'll have to swallow my pride and expose you to the Headmaster!"

Chu Zihang said somewhat awkwardly, "Um... Principal Angers is indeed no worse than Principal Dumbledore."

"That's right!" Lu Mingfei was very pleased to see his senior brother "grow up." "The principal is so old, yet he can still maintain such style. He's simply outshining his peers! He's a role model for us all. We should strive to live like him!"

Chu Zihang didn't know how to continue.

He never imagined he could live to be over a hundred years old like the principal and still walk so briskly.

"Junior sister, are you hungry?" Lu Mingfei asked Xia Mi.

"Mmm! I'm hungry!" Xia Mi turned around and clenched her fist seriously. The wind blew her hair, and a lock of hair on her forehead was blown tightly against her forehead.

Lu Mingfei grinned and said, "Then let's go for a picnic and barbecue! When I came back, I saw a nice spot near town with a wide view and beautiful scenery!"

"Okay, okay!"

By the time Chu Zihang came to his senses, the plan for the afternoon picnic had been approved with two votes in favor and one abstention.

"Let's go, senior brother! I've never had a picnic before!" Xia Mi hugged his arm, blinking her big eyes.

Before Chu Zihang could react, his other arm was grabbed by his junior brother, who strutted confidently and boldly, "Let's go, let's have a picnic!"

Chu Zihang finally couldn't take it anymore. His temples bulged with veins, and he hissed impatiently:

"You two should be more mindful of the occasion! We're proctoring an exam right now!"

Lu Mingfei was taken aback; he had forgotten about that!

The release has been delayed by another week (I got another recommendation on the web version, so it's unlikely to be delayed this time since it's impossible to get promoted again). To be honest, I've been writing that release announcement for two weeks now...

(End of this chapter)