Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from the Elden Ring

"Thank you." The boy's voice was surprisingly gentle. "I'm waiting for a friend."

“You can book a time for the procedure on the software, or call for a service.” She didn’t know what was wrong with her, but she found the boy very attractive. She subtly glanced at the boy, who looked like a high school student, trying to find similar qualities in him to her previous boyfriends.

The boy looked up and met her gaze, and the atmosphere became awkward for a moment.

"Uh..." The waitress blushed, realizing how rude she had been, and at the same time found the answer—her eyes.

The boy wasn't handsome, but his eyes possessed a penetrating power, and beneath this assertive demeanor lay a hint of sorrow. This was why no one disturbed him; his aura was like that of a widow attending a funeral, evoking pity and a reluctance to disturb him.

“Your eyes look a little melancholy, sir… as if you’ve seen something sad,” she said.

"I am a little sad," the boy said. "My friend had to break his promise, and I have to leave too."

The boy stood up and walked against the crowd toward the exit.

"Guest!" the waiter suddenly called out to him, then made a small fist gesture in front of his chest. "Remember the beauty of the world."

"Thank you." The boy left.

About a few minutes later.

While the waitress was still marveling at the poignant campus love story she had imagined, her gaze suddenly froze. In the short time it took to clean a few tables, the boy was already sitting on the other side of the cafe, cuddling with a girl of similar age, looking like a sweet young couple.

She paused for a moment, then sighed.

There's no such thing as a heartbroken young man... He's probably just hallucinating from being too tired from work, mistaking people's wariness and distance when they see a strange aunt for politeness... She took off her uniform apron and dialed the store manager's number, "Hello, boss? I need to take a leave of absence!"

The sky grew increasingly gloomy, rain pattered against the windows in waves, and the wind whipped up mist on the ground, creating an apocalyptic scene.

In another dimension, the wind and rain were less intense, yet far more eerie. Everything was shrouded in a somber hue, utterly silent, as if reality had been transformed into a black-and-white silent film.

In this dimension, the only color is that of the knight standing in the rain.

He looked up at the sky, which was gray not only because of the dark clouds, but also because the boundary of the world had collapsed from the starry sky to the stratosphere and was becoming stable. A force that did not exist in this timeline was stirring.

This world is a sacrificial ritual or a funeral. The power of the dragon race was erased from the timeline by the supreme will, but now many people have the blood of the dragon race resurfacing.

His gaze swept across the crowd in the café, and several tourists were marked with bright red marks that belonged to the dragon bloodline. In the enhanced bloodline Jieluo's vision, he could even see those vibrant powers surging in the human veins, transforming their bodies.

……

Rome, Italy.

Since the Gattuso family's gene-editing program involving the "Black King's Vessel" was exposed, this event has been labeled an apocalyptic, unknown disaster. The vast majority of Secret Society members, those who could speak at meetings, demanded the temporary stripping of Caesar and Chen Motong's freedom and even their will; the most radical, Beowulf, even proposed cryopreservation of their bodies.

However, Lu Mingfei defied all objections and only placed the two under house arrest, leaving the location to be chosen by Caesar and Chen Motong.

Caesar chose Rome as his "resting place," and the Academy immediately purchased a three-story townhouse near its Rome branch, stationing elites from the Executive Department nearby overnight before transporting the two men there. Apart from those involved in the suppression of the Doomsday Faction, Rome essentially gathered all the remaining elite members of the Secret Society.

The Rome branch had previously been a puppet organization of the Gattuso family. The current Rome branch has undergone a purge led by Schneider to ensure that everyone is "loyal, efficient, and disciplined." In addition, there are more than three military satellites in the sky monitoring the target 24 hours a day.

However, due to Lu Mingfei's will, Caesar and Chen Motong actually lived quite well, basically enjoying a vacation-like life.

Nono pushed open the front door. The entrance hallway was dimly lit and unlit; Caesar didn't seem to be back yet. She put down her shopping bags, kicked off her shoes, and walked barefoot into the living room. She picked up a half-empty bottle of red wine from the kitchen island and poured herself a half-glass.

"You're wearing this to buy... is that potatoes?" Caesar turned on the light on the sofa.

Nono was wearing a fitted black evening gown with a suede jacket over it, looking like a girl who had just attended a ball.

“I saw on the appointment record that Campanola came at 3 p.m.,” Nono said casually.

“You really can’t hide anything from me.” Caesar was not surprised. He turned on all the lights, and the table by the window was filled with exquisite Italian dishes, as well as several hometown dishes that Nono loved in the Kassel College restaurant.

Besides the food, the table decorations were also carefully prepared. The only thing that surprised Nono was the exquisite flower arrangement. In this building full of neutral tones, dark wood decorations, gold frames and copper lamps, these flowers were like a breath of fresh air, freeing people from the oppression.

Chapter 257 Prey and Hunter

“Besides being a driver, cook, and butler, Campanola is also an outstanding florist…” Caesar shrugged. “You should have noticed that much earlier.”

“After all, he was chosen through a lot of negotiation, so I guess his bloodline wouldn’t be lower than S.” Nono sat down as well, glancing out the window. “What are they celebrating?”

"A week's stay?" Caesar said uncertainly. "Let's give them a little more work. These ingredients have all undergone rigorous inspections before being sent to the kitchen."

"Who knows how many guns loaded with Philosopher's Stones are aimed at our heads? This little bit of work is nothing," Nono said, scoffing.

“Well, I’ve noticed you haven’t been very happy these days,” Caesar said.

“You seem to be very comfortable with this kind of life; you rarely take the initiative to adapt to your environment.”

“The Gattuso family has essentially been divided up. Lu Mingfei’s ability to keep those Secret Party nobles in check is a major factor. I’m no longer the young master of the Gattuso family, so I have to learn to live a commoner’s life,” Caesar said with a smile.

“Ordinary people don’t drink globally limited edition red wine.” Nono raised an eyebrow. “How much is this bottle? $10 or $20?”

“A single bottle is priced at $17, and only 13 bottles will be produced worldwide. No matter where you are, the winery will send a senior winemaker to open it personally.” Caesar maintained his smile. “The Secret Service rarely treats a prisoner so generously. I believe that with just a phone call, the winemaker will be in front of us within fifteen minutes.”

“Lu Mingfei has a lot of influence.” Nuonuo raised her wine glass, looking at the deep red wine, which shimmered alluringly under the light, as brilliant as a ruby.

She drank the red wine under Caesar's gaze, her lips glistening like dewdrops, and Caesar could almost smell the alluring aroma of the wine and fruit.

Caesar maintained his smile, "Nono would never drink like this."

Nono's expression froze for a moment, then she smiled faintly and made no attempt to hide her feelings, "I know everything about that girl, she doesn't love you."

“Love isn’t a label that’s attached to a person. How can you say a girl doesn’t have love? Is it because no one has ever loved you, my friend?” Caesar leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands, and returned the smile.

He smiled like that from beginning to end, a mixture of disdain and sarcasm, wanting to watch the liar be embarrassed and exposed for his lies.

“It’s true.” Nono winked playfully.

Everything around him suddenly fell silent, then light and cracks appeared in everything, behind which was pure darkness, and at the same time a memory flooded into Caesar's mind.

He and Nono were indeed imprisoned in Rome, but not in such a comfortable villa. Instead, they were in a fortified bunker capable of withstanding a nuclear bomb. After all, no matter how renowned Lu Mingfei's name was, he lacked the means to exert influence over the numerous families and institutions of the Secret Party. Lu Mingfei had very few confidants, yet he possessed a negative reputation and the label of "dictator." This was one of the reasons why the Secret Party could accept the status quo; overthrowing a tyrant was always the most righteous banner—a paradoxical yet reasonable point: once Lu Mingfei expanded his private power or extended affinity and goodwill to the mixed-race society, war would immediately begin.

Caesar remembered.

His and Nuonuo's personal freedom was limited to one fixed outing per week, each of which was documented with photographs. Upon returning to their "residence," they would be interrogated, with answers limited to "yes" or "no," and the questions being trivial, such as "whether they felt relaxed." This material was to be used as evidence in the future when questioned by Lu Mingfei, to prove that they had done what Lu Mingfei claimed: "protect, not imprison, Caesar and Chen Motong."

During his last outing, a boy of about fourteen or fifteen years old somehow broke through the Secret Service's defenses and approached Caesar carrying a strangely shaped dagger.

After subduing the "little thief," Caesar quickly uncovered the mysterious man's motives for instructing the child. It turned out that someone had promised to provide treatment for the boy's seriously ill mother in exchange for the boy getting close to Caesar and then stabbing him with a dagger.

The little boy is a rare wild A-grade hybrid who also awakened his golden eyes during Caesar's interrogation.

Caesar quickly realized something was wrong; a child who hadn't undergone spiritual vision and awakened the power of words couldn't possibly have broken through the Secret Society's spies on his own.

It is clear that there is a traitor within the Secret Service, and the person behind it is likely connected to the "Holy Palace Medical Association".

He demanded that the boy take him to the mastermind in exchange for the same "treatment of the mother".

The fact that the two easily evaded the Secret Service's surveillance further proves that there was a traitor within the Secret Service.

Caesar never saw himself as a prisoner; in his eyes, he was merely a highly sought-after "bait," and a "deadly bait at that." If Lu Mingfei's operations in Siberia failed, the only remaining breakthrough would be Caesar, a crucial figure.

When he discovers clues about the person behind the scenes, he cannot give up on this lead, even if it means risking going deep into enemy territory alone.

What happened next...?

Caesar had a headache. He had to be wary of the fake Nono's movements in the dark while also dealing with the conflict between two sets of memories in his mind.

The boy took him home, to a dilapidated apartment with only one room, no more than ten square meters, which combined the functions of a living room, kitchen, and bedroom. To use the toilet, one had to go to a free public toilet several kilometers away.

Clearly, the person in charge wouldn't stay here waiting for Caesar; he would have to find the clues himself.

The boy's mother was seriously ill in bed, and the room reeked of a mixture of foul odors and the smell of medicine. After Caesar promised the emaciated woman that he would arrange for a doctor to treat her, the woman, with the boy's help, sat up and recounted what had happened that day.

The boy's mother's condition was not actually serious. She just lacked timely and continuous medication intervention, and coupled with overwork, her body broke down, and she kept coughing after sitting up.

Just as Caesar gestured for him to help find the medicine, a sharp pain came from behind him the instant he turned around.

The boy held a new dagger in his hand. The dagger was completely black, with golden wood grain shimmering inside. It was the kind of alchemical artifact that would be locked by the Executive Department if a picture of it were leaked online.

The boy's eyes were vacant. He released the dagger, slowly backed away, and stumbled into his mother's arms.

The woman no longer looked sick; a strange smile graced her face as her bony hand brushed against the boy's dry hair and gaunt cheek. "My dear child, my dear child, I will give you eternal love."

Caesar immediately drew his dagger, which seemed to have been injected with something into him and had lost its luster when he pulled it out.

"That's not your mother! Run!"

He endured the pain and tried his best to save the boy, but a wave of dizziness washed over him, and he fell heavily to the ground.

The woman tilted her head, looked at Caesar whose cheek was pressed to the ground, and said with a sigh, "Humans, if you give them a glimmer of hope in a desperate situation, they will cling to it and believe it is destiny. This is the individual's fortune, but the tragedy of the group."

Chapter 258 The Truman Show

Lu Mingfei finally owned a computer entirely of his own, equipped with a top-of-the-line graphics card and processor, and a high refresh rate monitor. The machine was almost silent when powered on, and a GIF of Mikuru Asahina in a dancing maid outfit lit up on the secondary screen inside the case.

Qiao Weini and Lu Lincheng brought Lu Mingfei so many surprises that he became numb to such small details. His parents, who were far away, not only did not forget that the two of them had a son, but they also knew a lot about his sexual preferences.

However, as Lu Mingfei leaned back in his chair, enjoying the warmth from the heating function, he felt a sense of melancholy.

He now had his own large bedroom, with a view of a lush artificial lake outside the window, but he wasn't as happy as he had imagined. It was as if the joy of the night Giovanni and Lu Lincheng returned had been completely consumed. He didn't consider himself a sentimental person, but he had a strange feeling that made him uneasy.

It was another rainy day. The view outside the window was shrouded in mist, but the person inside was munching on fried dough sticks, with no mood for composing poetry or writing prose.

Trust your own feelings.

A calm voice rang out, and Lu Mingfei froze in his eating of the fried dough stick. He then jumped up, looked around, and suddenly ran to the window, leaning over the sill to look down until half his face was pressed against the glass.

He went back to the bedroom and opened the bedroom door.

The house was empty. Lu Lincheng had gone to the company before dawn after receiving a phone call, while Qiao Weini had gone out to buy groceries and hadn't returned. On this rainy day, the large house was filled with gloomy shadows and a cold wind. Suddenly, Lu Mingfei felt a chilly wind whistling against his shoulders and back.

"Don't be afraid, Lu Mingfei."

Another sentence suddenly appeared out of nowhere, so clear it seemed to be right next to Lu Mingfei's ear.

"Who are you? Where are you? What do you want?" After asking these three questions, Lu Mingfei was a little out of breath. He touched his forehead and muttered softly, "Am I dreaming?"

"Why do you feel like you're dreaming?" the voice asked again.

"What exactly do you want? Come out!" Lu Mingfei finally became somewhat angry, he was almost roaring.

Just then, the door clicked open, and Giovanni walked in carrying shopping bags, looking puzzled. "Who are you talking to? Did your friend come over?"

That one sentence alone dispelled the gloom in the house, and Lu Mingfei also snapped out of his inexplicable anger and realized what had just happened.

“Mom…” Lu Mingfei said in a low voice. He slowly walked up to Qiao Weini, his face contorted with grief, “I think I’m hallucinating.”

Qiao Weini threw down the shopping bag, cupped Lu Mingfei's head in her hands, first solemnly pried open Lu Mingfei's eyelids to look at his pupils, then roughly rubbed Lu Mingfei's face, "I think you've been playing on the computer too much. Go back and tell your dad that he built this computer, let him fix it!"

Lu Mingfei had no choice but to reluctantly pick up the shopping bags and escape to the kitchen to wash the vegetables.

Right where Lu Mingfei stood, a pitch-black shadow stood there for a long time, its gray color surging around him. Every now and then, shadows would condense and rush out, crashing into him and being torn to dust by the invisible domain.