Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from the Elden Ring

Photos and videos of the explosion were immediately posted on the Night Watchers discussion forum, where a betting pool was started to guess when the fire would be extinguished. Clearly, the teachers and students of this mountain school were already used to this kind of situation.

The tremor was felt in the cafeteria, a Baroque-style hall large enough to accommodate 1000 people at the same time, where the glow of the tree-shaped chandeliers flickered slightly.

At this time, only a few students were having a late-night snack.

Lu Mingfei, Constantine, and Fingel occupied a corner and sat around a table. The table was laden with a sumptuous meal: a whole roasted chicken, smoked pork leg, beef burgers, vegetable salad, and a large serving of mashed potatoes.

Fingel seemed to have a great appetite at all times, hunched over the table, munching away.

Lu Mingfei only drank some juice; he came with Constantine. Some time had passed since the interrogation of Constantine under hypnosis. He had recently finished reading the alchemy materials, the compilation of dragon history, and the study of Words of Power that he had planned to review. Now that he had some free time, he was considering whether to teach a practical lesson.

Just then, someone sat down next to Lu Mingfei and put down their plate. It was a girl with light blonde hair, wearing a well-fitting small-sized dark green uniform, with skin that was almost translucent white, and a petite figure, somewhere between a young girl and a child.

"Hello," Lu Mingfei greeted.

He assumed it was another girl asking for his contact information or autograph; this had happened more than once in the library.

“Zero.” The girl spoke with a slight Russian accent.

"What?" Lu Mingfei didn't react for a moment. He knew the meaning of the word, but he didn't know what it represented.

"You can also call me Zero," the girl said calmly.

"Oh, I know you!" Fingel exclaimed, swallowing the pork leg meat in his mouth. "The most popular girl among the freshmen!"

In a sense, Fingel runs both the news department and the Night Watchers discussion forum—or rather, they are one and the same thing, providing him with an extremely wide range of sources for campus gossip.

Lu Mingfei already knew this guy quite well. He probably had detailed information about the girls whose names he could name on his computer, including their measurements.

"Hello, Zero. What can I do for you?"

Lu Mingfei is always very patient with ordinary people who are not related to him.

During his campaigns in the borderlands, he spent most of his time fighting monsters—some with consciousness, some without, some human-like, some not-so-human… Sometimes he even doubted whether he was any different from them.

Only when he encounters a merchant by the campfire or a war survivor he can talk to does Lu Mingfei feel that he is still alive and living among humans.

Therefore, he never felt that being approached by others was an unpleasant annoyance.

"I've come to exchange contact information with you." Zero's expression remained calm, completely unlike the excitement and enthusiasm of the girls Lu Mingfei had encountered before.

Lu Mingfei nodded.

After obtaining Lu Mingfei's consent, Zero took out a Vertu phone and dialed Lu Mingfei's number.

Lu Mingfei's phone number was the subject of a hot post on the Night Watchers discussion forum, and many people knew about it, forcing Lu Mingfei to enable the harassment blocking function supported by Norma.

He labeled Zero's information as "Freshman, Zero" and intended to store it in a contact set categorized as "II". Set "II" contained dozens of people, while another set called "I" contained only a handful: Angers, Fingel, Caesar, Chu Zihang, Wang Wei, Guderian, Nono, and Schneider.

"Don't put me in the 'two' category." Zero said this calmly, then got up and left.

Lu Mingfei frowned, staring at the girl's back, feeling a sense of familiarity. He checked his memories of this life and confirmed that he had never seen this petite Russian girl before.

He didn't pay much attention and created a new contact list called "Three," putting Zero into it. Melina once commented that he had a strange obsession with certain inexplicable things, and she said this when Lu Mingfei insisted on using the Great Turtle Shell Shield with the Platinum Son Mask.

"Junior brother, what do you say?" Lu Mingfei turned around and saw Fingel's eyes shining, looking like he was looking forward to a good show. "This girl is interested in you! You've been free lately, so why don't you have a get-together and go on a date? I can handle it."

"You should eat." Lu Mingfei said speechlessly.

……

Under the threat of Lu Mingfei's iron fist, Fingel ultimately did not dare to publish news such as "The newly born twins, a match made in heaven?" or "The little-known stories of the aloof queen and the dark hermit" on the Night Watchers' discussion forum.

However, Fingel was right about one thing: Lu Mingfei had indeed been free lately. Apart from organizing his notes, he spent his time asking Angers about the progress of the Executive Department's excavation of the dragon ruins.

In the afternoon, in dormitory 303 of Zone 1.

On a rainy day, a light drizzle falls outside the window, water droplets slowly crawling down the glass, leaving brief, indifferent traces. There are countless such water droplets on the window, like countless tiny, upside-down worlds. The scenery outside is divided by these hazy shadows, making it feel cramped and confined.

Lu Mingfei closed his alchemy notebook. Every time he organized his notebook, he used different colored pens to record new insights or conjectures, and the notebook was already covered in colorful notes.

Just as he looked up at the rain, Constantine's social media app, which he had forgotten to log off before going to class, gave him a notification sound, and Old Tang's panda avatar jumped around in the notification bar.

Lu Mingfei opened the message history and saw that Lao Tang had sent two messages.

The first message was delivered in that cheerful tone: "Hey bro, how about it? Free the day after tomorrow? Come visit me in New York, I'll buy you a ticket!"

The second message is a detailed address.

"If you have time, would you mind if I brought a friend?" Lu Mingfei asked expressionlessly, his fingers tapping on the keyboard.

"What friend?" Old Tang asked.

“A peer who plays StarCraft,” Lu Mingfei replied.

"Okay, okay!" Old Tang immediately dismissed his doubts. "It's just buying an extra ticket, right? It's a piece of cake for me! I'm just worried that we'll run out of things to talk about when we're strangers, but as comrades, it'll be fine."

"Then it's settled."

After Lu Mingfei clicked send, he closed the chat page.

He picked up his phone and dialed Angers' number. A few seconds later, the call was answered, and a cheerful voice came through, "Mingfei, do you need any help?"

“I need some alchemical materials,” Lu Mingfei said.

“No problem, go find the head of the equipment department to take you to the ice cellar.” Angers didn’t ask him what he needed or what he needed to do; he simply expressed his unconditional support.

Chapter 52 Guderian is doomed.

Lu Mingfei and Constantine took a two-week leave of absence because Old Tang said that crossing the United States by Greyhound bus would take several days. By choosing different routes on the way there and back, they could enjoy the scenery of foreign countries.

On the day of departure, three figures stood on the quiet platform of a train station deep in the mountains of northern Illinois, their suitcases at their feet, all gazing at the end of the tracks.

The train whistle blared, and the red pine forest seemed to tremble. A silver high-speed train appeared at the end of the tracks, moving with incredible speed, its wake sending fallen leaves swirling in its wake. It screeched as it entered the station, but when it came to a stop at the platform, it fell as gently as velvet. The CC1000 branch line train was powerful enough to pull an A380 to the academy, but today only one carriage was added because the passenger on the platform was important enough to warrant a separate train from the academy.

In fact, Lu Mingfei didn't even need to ask for leave. Under Angers's manipulation, he already had the authority of a visiting professor, and with his "S"-level bloodline, he was theoretically second only to one person in the Kassel College.

The car door opened, and Lu Mingfei and Constantine stepped inside, followed by Fingel carrying luggage for three people.

Fingel wasn't originally on the invitation list, but after learning about the travel plans of the two people in dormitory 303, he shamelessly insisted on joining them.

Lu Mingfei had no choice but to ask Lao Tang again and offered to cover the expenses from Constantine and Finger. However, Lao Tang generously stated that he would not let the guests pay under any circumstances, and as the host, he would make sure to arrange everything perfectly.

After all, in Lao Tang's eyes, Lu Mingfei was just a freshman in college who was staying at someone else's house. He had traveled all the way to the United States to visit him, but he had to pay for it himself, which made Lao Tang lose face.

But if he knew that Lu Mingfei's account had hundreds of thousands of dollars that could be instantly accessed from the principal's scholarship, professor's scholarship, and "S" level credit card limit, he wouldn't have thought that way.

The CC1000 runs on seamless tracks designed specifically for high-speed trains, with almost no vibration or noise. The golden sunlight streaming through the windows is crystal clear, with only slight shimmering as the shadows of the trees pass by.

Constantine and Fingel sat together, watching a recently released Australian film on their laptops called "Charlie and Boots".

Charlie was a stubborn and willful old man. His unhappiness in life had robbed him of his enthusiasm, and he spent his days in melancholy. Seeing his father's poor mental state, his son Boots was very worried. Although there were many arguments between the father and son and their relationship was very distant, blood is thicker than water, and Boots decided to take the initiative to change the situation.

Boots lured Charlie into the car, deceiving him into believing they were going fishing. Their real destination, however, was Cape York, 3000 miles away. Charlie was furious upon discovering he'd been tricked, but he had to silently endure it due to his son's insistence. Along the way, a girl named Jesse hitched a ride with them. Jesse's optimism and cheerfulness gradually eased the tension between father and son, resolving years of misunderstandings and resentment.

Finger doesn't appreciate this kind of heartwarming road movie full of humanistic scenery; he just likes Morgan Griffin, the actress who plays the female lead, Jessie. This sweet Australian girl's smile is like the autumn sun flowing through the blue sky in your heart.

This guy categorizes many of his movies based on the actresses' looks.

Lu Mingfei sat alone by the window.

The three of them stored their luggage in the junction of the carriages, but Lu Mingfei carried a black briefcase with him. The briefcase looked like something from the Executive Department, with a specially made rough and tough exterior, but it didn't have the silver nameplate engraved with the lush World Tree.

Lu Mingfei watched the two people opposite him eating potato chips and drinking cola, completely absorbed in the story.

He was actually planning to slay a dragon, but for some reason, after Fingel joined, it felt like a vacation. In the words of this "F"-class loser himself, "No academic pressure, no work troubles, every day like this is one less day to come. Who knows if the next time I can have such a carefree trip will be when I'm almost old and my friends have almost lost contact with me."

The loser has his own philosophy, while the elite risk their lives to win honors, and the loser indulges in eating, drinking, and having fun.

"What a tolerant world."

Lu Mingfei thought to himself.

He walked over, patted Fingel on the shoulder, and opened the briefcase.

Inside is the same M500 revolver that the school board secretary, Percy, used. It is already loaded with four bullets, with one remaining sealed in a quartz glass tube. The bullet is dark red.

"Two Frigg bullets, two alchemical bullets, and finally the Philosopher's Stone," Lu Mingfei said, placing the pistol in Fingal's hand as he looked at the bewildered man.

"Wait, wait a minute!" Fingel almost jumped up. "I received a message that your friend in New York invited us to travel around America in Greyhounds! How come it seems to be related to the next generation of dragons now? Is this the Philosopher's Stone?"

"Only the principal and I knew about the 'S' level mission, and they didn't invite you in the first place," Lu Mingfei said calmly.

"Can I get off the bus now?" Fingel asked with a pained expression.

"It's too late. You're already a mission member in the file, with a gun. I believe in your abilities, senior brother." Lu Mingfei closed the black box containing only the Philosopher's Stone and handed it to him.

“I was wondering why Professor Guderian approved the leave so readily…” Fingel knew the strictness of the Executive Department’s mission system, so he lay back in his chair, rested his head on the back of the chair, and stared at the ceiling, looking utterly hopeless.

When Guderian approved the leave, he was not just happy, he was practically beaming. The newly recruited "S"-class and "A"-class students were already carrying out "S"-class missions in their first semester, and they even brought along an "F"-class underachiever! It was double the joy.

......

The CC1000 branch line subway line originates at O'Hare Airport, through which large quantities of supplies are transferred to campuses in the Illinois mountains.

O'Hare International Airport is the fourth largest international air hub in the United States, after New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, and Miami International Airport. Lu Mingfei and his two companions took a Hermes flight from here to JFK Airport.

It is unclear what methods the academy used, but the firearms and weapons in the box were not confiscated by security.

The plane quickly arrived at JFK International Airport. After retrieving their luggage, Lu Mingfei and the others followed the directions sent by Lao Tang and found the subway station in the terminal marked "AirTrain". Lao Tang said he would wait for them at the terminal station Jamaica, where they could transfer to the Z line to go to Brooklyn—Lao Tang's home.

Chapter 53 Old Tang

Following the bustling crowd, Lu Mingfei soon saw Old Tang holding up a sign with the Chinese characters "Lu Mingfei".

He looked exactly the same as he did in the video call, with a cheerful face, black hair, and his signature droopy eyebrows.

"Mingming! Over here!" Old Tang also saw Lu Mingfei and the others, and reached out to call out Lu Mingfei's ID in the game group.

Fingel struggled to suppress a laugh, wanting to see Lu Mingfei's expression but only receiving a dismissive glance. He immediately dropped his playful grin, but moved closer to Lu Mingfei, nudged him with his elbow, and whispered, "Didn't you say you came to slay dragons? This guy is clearly human, isn't he? His shirt is even from a discounted Amazon item."

“I never said it was a dragon from the beginning, otherwise the first two bullets in your gun wouldn’t have been Friga bullets,” Lu Mingfei said.

Fingel instantly perked up, "So this mission, which seems to be a high-risk 'S' level, might actually be a leisurely trip?"

"It depends," Lu Mingfei said noncommittally.

As they spoke, they squeezed into the crowd of people welcoming Lao Tang. Lao Tang, pushing a small cart, met up with the group. "Brothers, you must be tired from your journey. Come on, put your luggage up here."

Fingel immediately went over and carried all of their luggage, piling it onto the trolley.

"Hello, hello, I'm Fingel von Frings, a German. Just call me Fingel." Fingel warmly grabbed Old Tang's hand and shook it up and down.

“My name is Ronald Tang… just call me Old Tang.” Old Tang was clearly not expected that the seemingly aloof Lu Mingfei would have such an enthusiastic friend. He was bewildered as Lu Mingfei grabbed his hand and shook it. “Brother Finger, your Chinese is really good.”