Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from the Elden Ring

In Norma's location, Caesar is in a hotel, and his Words of Power are suited for eavesdropping, perhaps he has discovered something.

Chapter 109 Progress and the Auction

Chu Zihang's model seemed to be malfunctioning. Every few dozen calculations, a unique and ideal solution would appear, sometimes in a factory, sometimes in a train station, and the furthest away was a construction site in the suburbs. He personally went to investigate the suspicious points each time, and Lu Mingfei would team up with him when he had time, but they always returned empty-handed.

Norma repeatedly checked the model and concluded that the error was within the normal range, and that the appearance of these spurious solutions was a coincidence caused by interference from invalid data.

According to Fingel, it's also possible that the Dragon King was teasing Chu Zihang.

“According to the latest intelligence from the academy, the Dragon King is very likely to be humanoid after hatching. In order to fully awaken, he must transform into a dragon’s body.” Even though he knew that Fingel was just joking, Chu Zihang still answered seriously. His mind had been full of ideas and conjectures these past two days. Sometimes it seemed like he was talking to someone else, but he was actually talking to himself.

"The principle of the dragon's secondary incubation is still unclear. During this period, its primary task is to lie in wait and it is unlikely to actively interfere with our actions. Doing so would only backfire and expose our weaknesses." Chu Zihang started a new round of calculations. He kept trying to create new mathematical models to analyze the seismic data, but he couldn't find a way to filter out the noise.

This requires a sophisticated equation, which he knows exists but cannot deduce.

“Junior brother, I think you’re the only one in this group who’s really serious about finding that dragon.” Fingel lay comfortably on the sofa, looking at Chu Zihang’s hard work with admiration. “Caesar said he’d found a clue, but he’s just wandering around outside every day. Lu Mingfei is the same; he’s started paying attention to some auctions lately. I heard the academy even opened a bank account for him with a whopping $1000 million in it.”

“That was a ‘targeted auction,’ which refers to an auction of items that are legally restricted to circulation within a certain range. Therefore, only clients with specific identities are invited. This one wasn’t on the auction schedule; it was specially arranged for the Dragon King incident, and the guests were only mixed-race individuals,” Chu Zihang said calmly. “At this auction, Lu Mingfei will be able to come into contact with most of the mixed-race representatives who have come to Beijing.”

“Damn, I knew he wouldn’t have time to go shopping,” Fingel muttered. “So he was planning to take everything.”

……

The intelligence that the board of directors spent more than 200 million US dollars to buy turned out to be an old book, a handwritten copy on rough-edged paper. It looked quite old, with brittle, yellowed pages and the four characters "Tianbian Dichao" written in ink on the cover.

Caesar had read the ancient book many times, and he had been staying at a hotel in the West District for the past few days.

The "Phoenix" on the Hunter website is indeed an old man, but he is German. He just grew up in China and speaks with a Henan accent. He runs an antique shop called "Fenglongtang" in an alley on Liulichang Street.

The board of directors hadn't made a mistake in choosing this person; the antique shop owner did indeed know some things. The ancient book he gave Caesar was the original notes of a Feng Shui master from the Ming Dynasty, which, in addition to recording the Wanggongchang explosion, also contained some knowledge about Feng Shui.

The Wanggongchang Explosion, also known as the Tianqi Explosion, was a mysterious explosion that occurred in the sixth year of the Tianqi reign of the Ming Dynasty. According to records, at 9:00 AM on May 30, 1626, a bizarre explosion occurred near the Wanggongchang gunpowder depot in the southwest corner of Beijing. The blast radius was approximately 750 meters, covering an area of ​​2.23 square kilometers, and caused over 20,000 deaths and injuries. It is considered one of the three great natural mysteries of the world, along with the Mohenjo-daro incident in ancient India over 3600 years ago and the Tunguska event in Siberia, Russia on June 30, 1908.

According to the academy's records, the "Tunguska Explosion" was confirmed to have been caused by the Word of Power Rhine, hence the event is also known as the "Rhine Burning" within the Kassel Academy.

The list of Word Powers published in 1972 recorded a total of 118 Word Powers. Word Powers after the 88th were unstable, those from the 89th to the 100th were rated as "dangerous", those from the 101st to the 112th were rated as "high risk", and those after the 113th were rated as "top secret".

The Word of Power Rhine has a serial number of 112 and is the most dangerous Word of Power that a hybrid can known to possess.

The Wanggongchang explosion and the Death Mound incident were also presumed to be caused by some kind of high-risk incantation, but because of the passage of time, they could not be traced back. Now Caesar seems to have found a clue that connects everything: if the King of Earth and Mountains is hidden beneath this city, then he does indeed possess such power.

These days, Caesar has been using the ancient book and the old map from the Ming Dynasty to confirm the site of the Wanggongchang explosion. Now, directly above that place is a wedding building.

……

Preparations for the auction began as soon as news of the Dragon King's awakening spread. The organizers had an extremely keen sense of smell; while others were still wondering whether the information about the Dragon King was true or false and whether they could get a share of the pie, these businessmen had already predicted the grand gathering of hybrids.

Simply having a mixed-race gathering does not necessarily mean business opportunities. These targeted auctions are designed to invite capable mixed-race individuals to participate, and do not rely on the visitor traffic of the venue.

But BJ's situation this time was too special. A sudden major event, almost all the major clients (families or organizations) were present, and the guests were a mixed bag, testing each other. Under such circumstances, the nature of the auction became complicated. It was not only a place for trading goods, but also a gladiatorial arena or even a meeting hall for maintaining order.

When Lu Mingfei received the invitation, Angers called him.

"Mingfei, did you receive the envelope?"

Lu Mingfei did receive an envelope containing not only an invitation to the auction but also a bank account number for Kassel College.

“The targeted auction is where the college finds its treasures, and often some obscure items,” Angers explained to him. “Usually I represent the Kassel College, but this time there’s an emergency, so you will attend in my place.”

“I checked the auction start time; it’s enough time for you to fly over from the United States,” Lu Mingfei said, flipping through the beautifully crafted invitation.

“Oh, I’m not at the academy,” Angers said without any hesitation. “I’m in Paris for a cocktail party. My auction duties are supposed to be five months after my annual spring trip.”

“We’re slaying dragons in Beijing, so you should at least be in charge of headquarters,” Lu Mingfei said calmly.

“I trust you. You are the best young group at Kassel College.” Angers paused for a moment. “And this is also a great stage to let the world of mixed races get to know the young S-class students of Kassel College.”

“Okay, which exhibits do I need to bid on?” Lu Mingfei said helplessly. “Since this is a targeted auction, the academy has already done its research, right?”

“This time is special… there’s no specific target,” Angers said. “Just buy whatever you want, consider it a birthday present for you. The account uses the credit line from Kassel College, which is theoretically enough to buy any collection.”

Chapter 110

In the hotel room, Percy was pale. He had just taken his medication, and the golden eyes hidden under his hair were fading, but the color was still dark gold, which looked extremely alluring in contrast to his other ice-blue eye.

"Caesar has accepted the intelligence and weaponry from the Board of Directors and is currently investigating at the former site of Wanggongchang," he reported to the person on the other end of the phone.

“Very good.” Frost paused for a moment. “How are the three executors?”

“Norma can’t find their identities. They’re clean and have never had any contact with Kassel College,” Pazi said calmly. “They launched the attack in complete electronic silence in order to shield themselves from Norma.”

"When did Fujiwara lose contact with you?" Frost asked.

“An hour before the incident, he turned off the locator and then disconnected from the communication channel without any warning.” Percy’s tone was tinged with doubt. “The explosives in their bodies were triggered without my authorization. Someone has hacked into our security system.”

“I will have the people at the research institute investigate this matter.” Frost sighed. “First, let’s get all the monitors evacuated from Lu Mingfei and the people on the mission list. Now, we should focus all our efforts on assisting Caesar in completing his dragon-slaying mission.”

“Okay, I’ll arrange it.” Percy suppressed the tremor in his voice.

"Has it gotten worse again?" Frost asked in a low voice.

“I’m feeling better after taking the medication,” Percy said, “but the effects are waning.”

“The institute said they have a potent pain reliever; let’s try the new drug next time we come back.” Frost’s voice was much gentler.

"Thank you."

Percy hung up the phone, drew back the curtains, and saw a building in the distance with a huge vertical sign that read "Xidan Wedding Building" hanging on its front.

……

Lu Mingfei had just put down his phone when it rang again, the screen displaying "Chief Assistant".

After he arrived in Beijing, he actually had three sources of intelligence: Kassel College, the three-person team, and Su Enxi's secretariat. Among them, the intelligence about the abnormal earthquake data was discovered by Su Enxi.

Lu Mingfei answered the phone.

“Boss, we have an item up for auction at the auction you’re going to participate in. You’re using an account guaranteed by Kassel College, so remember to drive up the price,” Su Enxi said.

"What items are being auctioned?" Lu Mingfei asked, puzzled.

“A set of alchemical weapons, recently salvaged from Bronze City, was almost snatched away by Kassel College,” Su Enxi replied. “It was originally intended to be sent directly to you.”

"Why not just send it over?"

"Boss, you and Norton almost breached Bronze City, and the subsequent earthquakes even buried the entrance," Su Enxi complained. "We only managed to enter Bronze City after finding its ventilation system deep inside the mountain, avoiding Kassel College. It cost us nearly ten million..."

"Okay, I'll make sure you get your money's worth," Lu Mingfei said immediately, sealing his fate.

"Any new information about the Dragon King? Chu Zihang has been studying that earthquake data for several days, but there's been no progress." He inquired about what he was truly concerned about.

“Yes, there is,” Su Enxi said. “The equipment the boss ordered for the mission has arrived… It’s a subway circuit control system. He never tells us the plans in advance, but everything in his script is always useful.”

Lu Mingfei knew she was referring to Lu Mingze, the guy who called himself the devil. He hadn't appeared for a long time, but he still influenced the course of events.

“I will keep an eye on this information,” Lu Mingfei said.

“There’s one more thing,” Su Enxi suddenly said. “A special organization has sent people to Beijing.”

"What organization?" Lu Mingfei frowned.

What Su Enxi took seriously and specifically told her must sound extraordinary.

“The Regulators,” Su Enxi said slowly, “a mysterious organization. We know very little about them. All we know for now is that the envoy is called Zhuge Mingjue.”

“Okay, I’ll have Norma keep an eye on this person.” Lu Mingfei looked at the message he received from Su Enxi on his phone, which showed how the name was written.

……

At night, the sound of snoring could be heard coming from Fingel's room.

Chu Zihang lay in bed, closed his eyes, and did his daily pre-sleep exercises. About ten minutes later, he opened his eyes. His bedroom door was closed, and light from the conference room streamed in. Norma was still working at night, but the screen should have been in sleep mode.

He quietly got up, picked up the village rain lamp from beside his bed, and silently walked into the meeting room.

The night was as dark as ink, and the conference room was silent except for the hum of the laptop cooling fans. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city lights twinkled, and a hazy moon hung high in the sky, its soft light streaming through the windows onto the floor. The screen, which should have been off, was lit up, displaying a calculation result.

Chu Zihang moved the mouse to review the previous calculation process. Norma had annotated each step of the calculation, and he quickly found the problem.

This result is due to the anomaly in the earthquake data occurring in the middle of the night.

He immediately went back to his bedroom, dressed, grabbed the executive department's briefcase, and left the hotel with Murasame on his back. Meanwhile, Norma, following his instructions, sent a voice call to Lu Mingfei.

The location was in the East Suburbs Wetland Park, where public transportation was scarce late at night. Chu Zihang finally managed to hail a taxi, and the driver repeatedly confirmed the destination with a look of utter disbelief.

Chu Zihang took out his phone on the street and searched for information about that park.

The East Suburbs Wetland Park is located at the junction of Tongzhou, Shunyi and Chaoyang districts, with a planned area of ​​89,000 mu (approximately 5,667 hectares). It also has a 7.7-kilometer-long cycling greenway.

Compared to the places Chu Zihang had investigated before, this place was indeed easier to hide things in.

Upon arriving at his destination, Chu Zihang discovered that all the park lights were off, making it appear extremely eerie and terrifying.

The taxi driver gave the young man, who had come to the park in the middle of the night, one last curious look before speeding away. Chu Zihang stood alone in the cold wind, carrying a black briefcase, and walked into the dark woods. It was said that when the park was completed, there would be more than 50 trees, and the afforestation area would reach 1.39 mu.

……

At the same time, a train arriving at BJ station opened its doors, and a crowd of people poured out, a diverse array of characters in sight. But one young man particularly caught the eye; he had his hair piled up in a round bun, wore a blue robe, and round-toed cloth shoes, looking like a Taoist priest straight out of a TV drama.

The young Taoist priest carried a dark blue cloth bag with a Tai Chi symbol printed on it. Above the bag were four characters: “Dao Fa Zi Ran” (The Way Follows Nature), and below were four characters: “Chinese Taoism”.

He looked up to the east and muttered to himself, "I have a bad feeling about this..."

Chapter 111 The Hunt

Upon entering the park, the light suddenly became much dimmer.

The asphalt road winds between lakes and forests. In winter, the trees are bare, and the roots of each tree are painted white. The whitewash is mainly composed of lime milk and contains a small amount of alkaline or neutral pesticides to prevent insects and reduce the temperature difference between day and night that the trees can withstand.

But when Chu Zihang looked around, he saw countless white shadows standing in the darkness.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. A new text message came in: "Commissioner Chu Zihang, please hold your ground and await reinforcements. The branch commissioner and Commissioner Lu Mingfei are on their way to the target location."

Chu Zihang silently put his phone away and looked back in the direction he had come from.

Before I knew it, the other side of the asphalt road had been swallowed up by darkness. The city lights and sounds had completely disappeared, as if a thick fog was rising from behind, isolating everything.

The humidity was indeed increasing; mist rose from the distant lake, and the shadows among the trees distorted. Chu Zihang put down his briefcase, took out the dagger and gun inside, and placed them in the strap slot under his executive department trench coat. Finally, he drew out the Divine Sword Murasame, its blade gleaming as clear as water.

He smelled a familiar scent, the scent of a cold storm, but it was unique; he had only smelled it once before, on that elevated road shrouded in a curtain of water!

Thunderstorms are a localized, strong convective weather phenomenon that occurs in summer. But right now, it seems that a dense cumulus cloud is rapidly transforming into a cumulonimbus cloud overhead, spreading out in all directions, and a strong wind is picking up.