Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from the Elden Ring

As a beam of light focused on Chen Wenwen, the people Zhao Menghua had arranged immediately started to cheer. Surrounded by a group of people, she came to Zhao Menghua.

“I like...yours too.” Chen Wenwen’s voice ignited everyone’s emotions.

Everyone crowded around, cheering for the newly formed couple. Their successful graduation confession, the center of attention, will remain a topic of conversation for everyone, even years later at class reunions.

Amidst laughter and chatter, Chen Wenwen blushed to the roots of her neck, clutching Zhao Menghua's hand. Zhao Menghua, meanwhile, looked at Lu Mingfei with a smug smile.

Lu Mingfei met his gaze and immediately realized what he meant.

It turns out that everyone already knew about the boy's love for the girl, and today they came specifically to see the loser they had a crush on for three years.

This is really troublesome.

Shall we get up and leave now?

Suddenly, Su Xiaoqiang burst into tears, covered her face, and ran towards the door.

Lu Mingfei watched Su Xiaoqiang's figure reach the door, and suddenly noticed that Nuonuo was standing in the corner by the door, staring at him.

At this moment, some people in the crowd noticed Zhao Menghua's provocative gaze, so the noise quieted down, and more subtle glances were cast toward Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei suddenly became the new focus of the screening room.

"In that case, let's vent our anger a little." Lu Mingfei stood up, walked slowly along the aisle to the front of the stage, stepped up, and the crowd made way for him.

He approached Zhao Menghua and met his gaze.

Chen Wenwen, who was next to Zhao Menghua, tried to speak, but Zhao Menghua pulled her forcefully to the side behind him.

Zhao Menghua was used to being in the limelight, and this tense situation only fueled his competitive spirit. However, he still felt uncertain about Lu Mingfei's deep brown eyes, which then turned into anger.

He's just someone with connections; does he really think he's all that?

“The road…” he began to speak first.

Lu Mingfei interrupted him with a powerful punch, which contorted Zhao Menghua's face, sending him staggering backward and crashing to the ground along with Chen Wenwen. Under the spotlight, everyone could see every detail clearly, even the saliva splattering from Zhao Menghua's mouth.

No one had time to stop him; Lu Mingfei's punch was too fast and too sudden.

As Lu Mingfei walked along, he pondered his actions. Fighting these defenseless young people would be bullying and could easily result in death. However, threatening words were not his forte.

He could only control his strength and throw a punch with the force of an average 18-year-old.

The scene was silent for a second, then immediately filled with panic and noise.

Some of the girls screamed, while others rushed to help up Chen Wenwen, who had fallen, and Zhao Menghua, who was unconscious. The boys, on the other hand, shouted and yelled, some even grabbing and pulling at Lu Mingfei, clamoring to get justice for Zhao Menghua. In the distance, Su Xiaoqiang, who had turned back at the door, had tears on her face and looked completely dazed. Nuonuo beside her had an expression that said, "Huh? He only punched her once? He didn't kill them all."

Lu Mingfei finally got annoyed by the pushing and shoving. He looked around and saw that all the boys who had been excited were now pale-faced, lowered their heads, and stepped back to make way.

He briefly activated his golden eyes, and now all he wanted was to leave.

As they reached the door, Nuonuo shrugged and explained to him, "That Zhao Menghua is deliberately trying to mess with you today. I came here in case you cause a death."

"I don't see you came up to stop me." Lu Mingfei straightened his disheveled clothes and walked side by side with Nuonuo toward the entrance of Wanda Cinema.

"I'm afraid you'll take me down with you. It's my duty to control the situation, but whether I can control it or not is not up to me." Nono shrugged. "Besides, that guy is really asking for a beating."

A dark blue Porsche Panamera was parked in front of the door. Nono pressed the key lightly, and the headlights came on.

Lu Mingfei sat in the passenger seat, while Nuonuo opened the driver's side door. The electronic instrument panel lit up one by one, and the steering wheel slowly sank. Neither of them spoke.

There was a lone figure outside Wanda Cinema, Su Xiaoqiang, hailing a taxi.

Lu Mingfei rolled down the car window and waved to her. Su Xiaoqiang jogged over, glanced at Nuonuo in the driver's seat, and then whispered to Lu Mingfei, "Thank you."

Lu Mingfei looked at the girl with red eyes. She wiped away her tears, but she still looked haggard.

"You're welcome." He didn't explain anything.

There was nothing more to say between them. After exchanging pleasantries and saying goodbye, Nuonuo stepped on the gas, and the dark blue sports car roared softly as it merged into the traffic on the asphalt road.

The route to the Regent Hotel includes an elevated section. Since it wasn't rush hour, traffic was light, so Nuonuo gradually accelerated, overtaking other vehicles one by one.

"What would happen if I had used superhuman strength to kill Zhao Menghua?" Lu Mingfei asked.

“I’ll be the first to run, and then the execution department will take over. Luckily, the two best young people in the execution department are in this city right now, so you can’t escape justice.” Nono said nonchalantly.

“You are indeed not an ordinary school. Are you referring to Ye Sheng and Jiu Deyaji as outstanding young people?” Lu Mingfei looked at Nuonuo.

“That’s right, they and I are both A-level.” Nono’s face showed no pride. She changed the subject, “If you regret it, you still have a chance. As long as you give up voluntarily, the academy will send someone to brainwash you and erase your memory. Then you can go and date that girl named Su Xiaoqiang. Her family is quite rich.”

"Sounds good," Lu Mingfei commented, "but it's not suitable for me."

"What suits you, Chen Wenwen?"

"You were just worried I'd kill someone, so why do you think I'd date those two girls?" Lu Mingfei asked, frowning. He felt that Nuonuo's words were constantly mentioning his high school girlfriends. It was the same on the day of the interview; she was like a riddle-maker, talking about regrets and opportunities.

"Tsk," Nono clicked her tongue, "Junior brother, you're really no fun."

The two remained silent for a long time until they were almost at the hotel when Nono spoke again, "I don't know what happened to you, whether it was an awakening or something, but according to our records, you went from a useless nobody to a cold-blooded elite overnight. In the academy's view, this is extremely dangerous, but for some reason, everyone overlooked this point this time." She slowed down her sports car and drove towards a parking space near the hotel. "Dragon blood can corrupt hybrids, turning them into dragons as brutal and bloodthirsty as dragons, basically like a completely different person, just like you."

"So you've been testing me all along?" Lu Mingfei digested the information she had just revealed.

"I have no interest in that. I was just helping someone out and a little curious." Nono parked the car and quickly raised her hands to indicate that she was innocent.

Lu Mingfei opened the car door, suddenly turned to look at Nuonuo, his face serious, "Thank you for telling me all this, senior sister. But I can assure you, I am Lu Mingfei, and nothing will change that. If one day, something truly tries to corrupt me into something other than myself... I will end it and me before that happens."

After saying that, Lu Mingfei left without looking back and headed towards the hotel.

Nono stared blankly at his back for a long time before finally uttering a sentence.

"Damn, another immature teenager..."

Chapter 10 Farewell (Part 2)

Shortly after dark, Lu Mingfei's uncle and aunt arrived at the Regent Hotel.

After discussing it, the two felt that if Lu Mingfei was not a figment of their imagination about the recruitment team, then it was most likely a pyramid scheme or a cult that brainwashed people, so they did not dare to bring Lu Mingze along.

With trepidation, the couple followed the waiter to the VIP bar, and their feeling that "bad people are rich" finally dissipated.

The host was already seated at the head of the table: a burly, white-haired elderly man, dressed in a refined manner. To his left sat a man and a woman in elegant dark green uniforms, while to his right sat Lu Mingfei and a beautiful red-haired girl. All five men, exuding an air of sophistication, turned their gazes to the couple. For a moment, the reprimands the aunt had prepared vanished from her lips.

Lu Mingfei stood up first and introduced his uncle and aunt to those around him. Then he introduced Professor Guderian and three senior students, Ye Sheng, Jiu Deya Ji, and Nuonuo, to his uncle and aunt.

After a few pleasantries, the guests of honor took their seats, and one exquisite dish after another was served on silver cutlery. Ye Sheng then showed Lu Mingfei's uncle and aunt the copies of his official university degree certificate and a photo album of the campus buildings. The atmosphere at the table quickly became lively. The uncle and aunt dispelled their last remaining doubts and, in their conversation with Professor Guderian, intentionally or unintentionally revealed that the Lu family had another promising son in his second year of high school, whose grades were even better than Lu Mingfei's.

This trend continued until Guderian pulled out photos and letters from Lu Mingfei's parents.

Lu Mingfei had read that letter the first time he met Guderian, and he was both amused and touched by the last sentence of the letter, "Mingfei, Mom and Dad love you," which Guderian personally relayed.

The photos and letters, along with the fact that Lu Mingfei's parents were honorary alumni of Kassel College, explained why Kassel College accepted a student with poor grades.

All doubts were resolved, and the banquet concluded successfully thanks to the hotel chef's superb skills. After returning home, Lu Mingfei began packing his luggage.

Norma booked Lu Mingfei a flight for the following evening.

The next evening, at the airport terminal.

Uncle, Aunt, Lu Mingfei, and Lu Mingze each carried large and small bags of luggage, queuing to check them in. Their two large suitcases, backpacks, and woven bags were extremely conspicuous among all the waiting passengers.

After checking in his luggage, Lu Mingfei, carrying a small laptop bag containing an eye mask, a small pillow, snacks, and drinks, stopped at the security checkpoint with his uncle and his family of three.

"This school is really something, they don't even have a summer vacation. It's only been a few months, and they're already making the students go to school." The uncle sighed as he said goodbye.

"My situation is special; I'm a special admission student, so the start of the semester is earlier than usual," Lu Mingfei explained, making up a reason. His plane ticket was bought by Norma, who claimed to be the college secretary, and she also set the date. The reason, based on the information Nono had given about the dangerous "hybrids," wasn't hard to guess.

Allowing an "S"-class individual who has awakened on their own and is not under the control of the academy to roam freely in the outside world would surely be unsettling under the rules of this world.

“Then, I’ll be going,” Lu Mingfei said.

He suddenly took two steps back, his expression serious, and bowed to his uncle and aunt. "Uncle, Aunt, thank you for taking care of Lu Mingfei over the past six years. Goodbye."

Uncle smiled and patted Lu Mingfei on the shoulder, "You've finally grown up. Come on, study hard when you get to America."

Lu Mingfei nodded, slung his bag over his shoulder, and followed the crowd, blending into the security check line.

And so, with a detached and distant feeling, Lu Mingfei bid farewell to everything he had once longed for as a young man.

The uncle just smiled with satisfaction, while Lu Mingze was a little impatient. The aunt was not used to Lu Mingfei's sudden politeness and maturity, so she remained silent.

They did not know that the King of Elden's solemn farewell meant that they would almost certainly never see each other again.

......

At Chicago train station, Lu Mingfei followed the flow of people and squeezed into the waiting hall, which was decorated in a church-like style.

According to the itinerary provided by Norma, his United Airlines flight landed at Chicago International Airport, and then he took a train from Chicago Central Station to Kassel College.

With his current strength, Lu Mingfei carried the numerous pieces of luggage his aunt had prepared with ease. His aunt had fully demonstrated the thoughtfulness and meticulousness of a professional housewife when it came to the luggage, even considering that the food at the American school might not suit his taste, so she packed a pressure cooker for him, ensuring he could survive even if he only ate rice.

He took the ticket and first checked the train timetable for train number CC1000, but found that the train was not listed. He felt something was wrong, so he asked the staff on duty at the station one by one, and the result was that no one knew about this train, but the ticket was indeed genuine.

This is very likely not a scheduled train. The only option now is to wait for the train to depart at an unknown time or for Kassel College to pick them up. In China, most universities have students go to the nearest train or subway station to welcome new students, demonstrating the school's friendliness and attention to them, and also preventing these naive high school graduates from being scammed by unscrupulous taxi drivers who appear at various stations every year during the start of the academic year.

Unable to find a seat, Lu Mingfei had no choice but to sit against the corner of the wall on a large woven bag, which contained a twelve-hole cotton quilt and now served as a sofa.

People come and go, and as soon as a train arrives, a group of people separates from the crowd to queue up to enter the station.

After waiting for a long time, there was still no announcement of train CC1000, but a faint, pitiful voice gradually approached, "One dollar, just one dollar..."

Chapter 11 The Train

Lu Mingfei looked at the tall, burly beggar, who was wearing a plaid shirt and baggy trousers, with a scraggly beard and a fawning expression. He smiled at every passerby and repeated his begging words.

The young man suddenly noticed Lu Mingfei looking at him, and his eyes lit up. "Grandpa, could you give me some money for a meal? I'm not a beggar, I just lost my wallet. I'm a college student." He switched to fluent Chinese.

Lu Mingfei followed his movements and saw him take out a thick textbook from his bag.

“Finger von Frings, a university student.” The young man pointed to the cover of the book in his hand.

Lu Mingfei was familiar with the way the book title was written, a mix of English and Latin; such things appeared in the written agreements of Kassel College.

He smiled and took out a ten-dollar bill and a two-dollar bill, handing them to Fingel. "I trust you. I'm also a college student, studying in China. Could you buy me a sandwich and Coke combo? Thank you."

A meal costs six dollars. Fingel immediately understood what the young man meant and eagerly accepted it, saying, "Yes, ma'am, I'll be at your service right away."

He quickly returned with two set meals, sat on the half of the woven bag that Lu Mingfei had given up, and ate sandwiches and drank cola in large gulps.

"Brother, which university are you from? I'll come find you sometime and take you on a Greyhound tour of Chicago!" After finishing his meal, Fingel started calling Lu Mingfei his brother.

Lu Mingfei was taken aback. Not long ago, someone in the game channel had said something similar. I think his name was Lao Tang. He had repeatedly invited Lu Mingfei to play games, but Lu Mingfei had refused. When pressed, Lu Mingfei told him that he was preparing to study in the United States, and that person made the same promise.

Do Americans really like traveling by Greyhound...?