Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from the Elden Ring

The newspaper fragments on the ground contain the publication date: "January 30, 1992".

The subway slowed down and pulled into the station. With a jarring "click-clack" sound, the rusted bearings turned, and the doors opened. It was an old-fashioned train covered in rust. On its dilapidated exterior, the words "Line 1" were painted in red, matching Zhao Menghua's rambling descriptions over the phone.

Lu Mingfei stepped into the carriage carrying a cloth bag. The doors slowly closed behind him, and the train started moving.

The train was pitch black. It seemed that only the running gear of this old train had power, and the lighting in the carriages was either out of power or broken.

Many subways now use cheap and safe overhead contact lines for power supply, but Beijing Subway Line 1 uses a third rail power supply with better stability. A separate contact rail is erected next to the railway track for power supply, and there is a device called a "collector shoe" on the bogie under the car to contact and conduct electricity.

To put it bluntly, the energy supply of this massive mechanical behemoth is based on a relatively fragile system. No matter how dilapidated and old its carriages are, as long as they are still running, they cannot be a true "ghost train." Someone must be operating and maintaining it.

The rusty partitions between the old-fashioned carriages were all closed. As Lu Mingfei walked towards the front of the carriage, the rusty partitions opened automatically one by one in front of him.

……

Lu Mingfei quickly reached the driver's cab, which was empty and filled with the smell of rust and dust. The driver's seat, its yellowish-brown sponge layer exposed, lay overturned in the corner, covered in dusty cobwebs. It seemed the last "driver" here was an arthropod, and the small, furry creature with four pairs of legs had been gone for a long time.

The green-painted metal dashboard was covered in a layer of dust, and the shapes of the square indicator lights and brass toggle knobs could be vaguely seen. If someone had been driving it, they would have left traces, but there was nothing unusual about it. Lu Mingfei was the first person to step into the driver's seat in many years.

This train is truly self-driving.

The driver's cab faced the tunnel, which was pitch black and the wind howled. There were some lines parallel to the tracks on the tunnel wall, perhaps signal lines or power lines. They stretched far into the distance along with the rails and disappeared at the bends, like the veins of this eerie tunnel.

Suddenly, at the end of the tunnel, where the lines visually converge, a flash of light appeared. The light burst forth with extreme intensity, yet it seemed indistinct, as if separated from the train by some kind of curtain.

Lu Mingfei gripped the hilt of the Hound's Tooth knife and swung it lightly. The tough cloth material instantly became unusually "brittle," scattering and cracking lightly. The black fragments fell to the ground, turning into fine powdery remnants.

Static high temperature is theoretically a form of use of the Word of Power: King's Flame, but it actually belongs to the category of "power" - the power of the King of Bronze and Fire.

The flames were very close, and the train slowed down and pulled into the station in the heavy rain!

The curtain was a combination of rain and shadows, with densely packed shadows filling the tunnel and platform, surrounding two strange people: a young Chinese man in a hospital gown and a blond, blue-eyed foreigner in a Chinese-style overcoat.

"The car's here! Retreat!" the foreigner shouted to the patient in fluent Chinese, firing his two Uzi submachine guns simultaneously, the bullets all hitting the shadowy figures in vital areas.

The patient appeared reserved, wielding a gleaming longsword, yet each strike sliced ​​through the entire body of the shadowy figure, his eyes gleaming with a golden light like a gas lamp. Suddenly, with a brief, sharp "Break!", a dazzling flame erupted from the patient, blasting away a large swath of shadowy figures.

The foreigner and the patient took advantage of the gap and ran towards the open car door.

But shadowy figures kept emerging in the rain, and in an instant they occupied the roof of the car, then jumped between the two people and the car door.

Chapter 123 Three People with Exceptional Skills

The foreigner and the patient stood back to back, and the shadowy figures behind them surrounded them again.

The foreigner quickly changed the magazine of his submachine gun. "The last two magazines, damn it, ordinary bullets can't even penetrate the bones of these things... I also have a new type of bomb from the equipment department, but its kill radius is one kilometer."

"Save it for last." The patient stroked the long knife, flames leaping across its surface.

Caesar and Chu Zihang were exhausted after fighting their way from that strange subway station. If it weren't for Chu Zihang's strange dragon transformation ability and the high-risk Word Spirit Lord Flame, number 89 in the Word Spirit Sequence List, they would have been surrounded and killed by the shadowy figures long ago.

More and more dark figures leaped from the roof of the vehicle, the one at the very front only three or four meters away from Caesar. Submachine guns couldn't stop them. The mercury-core blunt gold armor-piercing rounds in Caesar's Desert Eagle might be effective, but that was his last resort. After running out of armor-piercing rounds and Philosopher's Stone ammunition, only that one deadly bomb would be available.

These weapons were intended for dragon slaying, but the dragon slayers carrying weapon cases were nearly out of ammunition by the guards at the gates of the ancient dragon's lair.

The shadowy figures possessed astonishing jumping ability; the first few leaped high into the air, revealing sharp bone claws protruding from beneath their tattered black clothing.

Caesar raised his submachine gun and fired. The spent cartridges ejected from the chamber formed a continuous line, and the barrage rained down on the shadowy figures. These brass bullets could only repel the shadowy figures. The moment the magazine was empty, he released the submachine gun, letting it fall naturally, and then drew his Desert Eagle from his waist.

His eyes were fixed on the shadowy figures, and he raised his gun to fire, but stopped.

A bright arc swept through the shadows, and blazing flames erupted from the bodies of each shadow. Their bodies twisted in the flames, cracks spreading across them in an instant, and flames spewed out from the cracks, pushing the fragments in all directions.

Chu Zihang had used similar tactics before, but they were mostly used against one person. Now, the person wielding the knife through the shadows cleared out the entire group of shadows with a single strike.

Caesar, carrying his suitcase, turned around and fired two shots to clear out the black shadows that pounced on Chu Zihang from the left and right. The mercury core blunt gold armor-piercing bullets exploded on the foreheads of the shadows, directly severing half of their heads.

Chu Zihang chanted dragon script, and the pitch-black domain broke open, flames erupted, and once again pushed away the group of shadows.

The two practically leaped into the carriage. After the doors closed, the train started moving. Looking out the window, the shadowy figures didn't chase after them. They stood along the edge of the platform, their scattered golden eyes like phosphorescent flames, as if seeing them off.

A third person stood in the carriage, holding an astonishingly long curved sword with flames flowing across its blade.

Chu Zihang and Caesar were both stunned. The face of the knife-wielder was crystal clear in the flames—it was Lu Mingfei. Before this, they had both believed that Lu Mingfei's Word of Power was Moment, but the ability he was now displaying was somewhat similar to Chu Zihang's Monarch Flame.

The three of them looked at each other in bewilderment inside the subway car.

"It seems the Board of Trustees' accusations against you two aren't entirely unfounded." Caesar pulled out a cigar, lit it with a lighter modified by the lunatics in the Equipment Department, and the flame leaped half a meter high, brushing against his hair, but his expression remained completely calm. Just minutes ago, he had been chased half a street by a group of A-rank Death Servants; a mere flame was no longer worth his time.

“I used ‘Blood Burst’,” Chu Zihang said calmly after a moment, “a secret method of enhancing bloodline passed down by the Lionheart Society.”

Caesar was taken aback. "No wonder that old president was so proud. Is this a club with an even longer history than Kassel College?"

The Lionheart Society is the oldest fraternity at Kassel College, and the position of its leader is something Caesar has long coveted. It was only because the previous Lionheart leader disliked Caesar's arrogance that he joined the student council. Under Caesar's leadership, the student council finally became a force to be reckoned with, able to rival the Lionheart Society, Kassel College's most traditional fraternity.

In retrospect, the student council is still inferior to the Lionheart Society in terms of historical heritage.

"Blood Burst is a forbidden technique; I reproduced it from incomplete records," Chu Zihang said.

Caesar exhaled a puff of blue smoke and looked at Lu Mingfei. "I accepted the Board of Directors' SS-level mission, which requires me to kill the Dragon King before you." He smoked a cigar and removed the magazine from the Desert Eagle with both hands. "There are two bullets with Philosopher's Stones as warheads in here, and there is also a brand-new 'Refined Sulfur Bomb' in the box on my back."

Lu Mingfei extinguished the flames on the hound's long teeth and remained silent for the time being.

His plan was to enter the Nibelungen alone, but one unexpected event after another occurred. Chen Wenwen was the first, and Chu Zihang and Caesar were the second. Now the three of them have clearly become a dragon-slaying team. Caesar and Chu Zihang have both revealed their secrets to their teammates before going into battle.

When he selected the two names on Angers' helicopter, he never expected them to follow him all the way to the Dragon King's doorstep. He had to admit that while their fighting prowess wasn't as great as Angers' or Fingel's, each of them possessed unique skills.

“You can understand it as my bloodline being very high,” Lu Mingfei said calmly, “even higher than the critical bloodline limit. Angers rated me as S-level because the highest bloodline evaluation system in the Secret Party is his own S-level.”

"Higher than the critical blood limit, isn't that Deadpool?" Caesar frowned in thought.

“Deadpool is a mindless walking corpse. If he exceeds the critical blood limit but remains conscious, then he is… a true super hybrid,” Chu Zihang said slowly.

Caesar was stunned into silence. He had suffered a crushing defeat in the duel during the Day of Freedom, but he had never regarded Lu Mingfei as an insurmountable figure. He regarded Lu Mingfei as his teacher, just as he regarded Angers as his teacher—the legendary S-class dragon slayer.

Caesar was very confident that he would definitely be the best in the world, so he would one day challenge Angers and Luminf.

But now he suddenly learned that there were super hybrids in the world who exceeded the critical bloodline limit, like suddenly hearing that there were even more handsome and dashing young noblemen than him. He had always firmly believed in his excellence; perhaps only Chu Zihang could rival his brilliance. But if there really were super hybrids in this world! Damn it! In that case, wouldn't the young master of the Gattuso family become a commoner below the critical bloodline limit?

How could something as absurd as a super hybrid possibly exist in this world? Compared to that, he's more inclined to believe that Super Saiyans exist!

But Lu Mingfei's behavior and the unease of his own old relatives suggested that this was very likely true. Their accusation that Lu Mingfei was a dangerous hybrid was simply because he was from Angers, so they were trying every means to suppress him. Caesar knew best what kind of beasts the Gattuso family were.

"Chu Zihang, tell me the method for 'Blood Burst'." Caesar took a deep breath, and the embers of his cigar suddenly blazed brightly.

"Blood Burst is dangerous. It activates the dragon bloodline in a short time, and the side effect is that it may break through the 'critical blood limit,' which is why it is called a forbidden technique," Chu Zihang said in a low voice. "Moreover, the Blood Burst skill cannot be turned off manually."

"It's better than dying at the gate of some dragon king's palace like that," Caesar said. "As long as you don't mind sharing the 'Blood Burst' technique."

“Okay, it’s actually a mental skill. Whether you can master it depends on your talent.” Chu Zihang nodded.

"Although I can't compare to some super hybrids, I'm still confident as your opponent," Caesar said calmly, tossing away his burnt-out cigar.

Chapter 124 Rules and the Trapped

The subway train actually passed through the station; the platform was brightly lit, and passengers were waiting. But the train sped past without slowing down, and the passengers remained calm, as if they hadn't even seen it. The train briefly passed the platform before entering the dark subway tunnel again; besides the three of them, there was no one else in the carriage.

"No signal."

"I don't have a signal either." As they approached the platform lights, Chu Zihang and Caesar took out their phones. According to the information from the trapped specialist, there was a signal on this strange subway, although only for a dozen seconds when passing through a station.

"We're too late. Someone changed the rules here." Chu Zihang put away his phone. They had already tried three stations and were basically certain that making phone calls to contact the outside world was not working.

“They didn’t encounter those Deadpools either.” Caesar shook his head. “Gao Mi and Wan Boqian are not combat-type Word Spirits. If they encountered those Deadpools, their chances of survival would be slim. But according to their intelligence, apart from getting lost before getting on the subway, they encountered almost no danger… Clearly, the difficulty of this game has been increased after we entered the fray.”

"If the King of Earth and Mountains is aware of our presence, why doesn't he just take action? With his power, it would be easy for him to overturn the subway." Chu Zihang looked at the tunnel ahead of the subway. The dark and deep tunnel seemed endless. Even a small displacement of the tracks could cause catastrophic consequences.

“After all, he is the king of another species. We have dragon blood in our veins but are human. We can’t use common sense to guess the Dragon King’s thoughts.” Caesar didn’t care much. He filled the magazine of his Desert Eagle and then tucked the hunting knife Dick into his belt. “Anyway, it feels good to be valued. The Dragon King knows his stuff.”

"Hey, here you go."

Chu Zihang reached out and caught what Caesar threw to him. It was a modified Desert Eagle, a signature item that made the student council president very memorable. According to Caesar, he would pass on these two guns to the new president when he stepped down.

“When we meet the Dragon King, we won’t be the main attackers, but we can deliver the fatal blow,” Caesar explained. “Nobody has ever seen what the Dragon King looks like. If I fall before I fire that bullet, you will be the backup shooter.”

He emphasized the word "backup" a little.

Chu Zihang didn't say anything and silently strapped the gun to his body.

During the battle against Deadpool, the weapons in the weapon case were almost used up. Of the more than forty items of various sizes, more than thirty were thrown out by Caesar as grenades.

He and Chu Zihang shared the last bullets, and finally took out the alchemical bomb separately and tied it to his back.

He ignored Lu Mingfei.

Like Chu Zihang, Lu Mingfei didn't carry any weapons, but the alchemical longsword looked a level above Dick Tudor and Murasame. Caesar had witnessed his abilities up close, and letting him carry a gun would be a waste of firepower.

"The train is slowing down." Chu Zihang's expression changed slightly. "There are no lights on the platform ahead."

"Gentlemen, prepare for battle." Caesar rose, pulled back the slide of his Desert Eagle, and heard a crisp click.

The train slowly came to a stop, and the train doors creaked open in the darkness, but there was no dragon attack or horde of Deadpools as expected.

A few unsteady footsteps entered the carriage, and then the doors closed again.

……

Chen Wenwen was immediately gripped by extreme terror. After regaining her senses, she quickly grabbed the limp figure, which turned out to be Zhao Menghua.

Zhao Menghua was so thin that her bones were separated from her hands by only a thin layer of skin. Just by touch, Chen Wenwen felt as if she were touching a dehydrated, dried corpse.

"What...what happened to him?" She looked helplessly at the two people beside her. The train was running without lights, but she could vaguely see figures, a man and a woman.

“He’s fine, he’s not injured and he won’t die. The rules are different here than outside. Even without food and water, you won’t age or die, you’ll just become more and more withered… You can think of this subway system as a maze, and people who enter this maze will never be able to find their way out on their own.” Gao Mi looked at the two people embracing in front of her and sighed, “The rules here are like Texas Hold’em. You can leave if you win the last chips from the dealer. The dealer is the gatekeeper of the maze. People who lose all their chips have to leave and come back next time.”

Chen Wenwen's face turned pale. "I didn't bring that much money. Can I... withdraw money here?"

"The stakes aren't money. As you ride this subway forward, your stakes increase. As you endure the torment of loneliness, your stakes increase. As you grieve and despair, your stakes increase. But you can never die..."

“Your gamble is your loneliness,” Wan Boqian said softly.

At this moment, Zhao Menghua pressed Chen Wenwen's hand down and then slowly pushed her away, saying, "Wenwen, don't do this... your chips will decrease."

Chen Wenwen silently stepped back, slowly shivering. She felt her fear had been washed away, as the overwhelming aura of despair emanating from the three people in front of her made it hard to breathe.

"I see." The carriage door slowly opened. A ball of fire flew in; it was a fire stick, standard equipment at Kassel College, used for lighting in the dark, one of which was enough to illuminate a huge space like the opera house.

The four people in the carriage couldn't help but cover their eyes, as the sudden bright light stung their eyes and made them tear up.

A moment later, they could see the three oddly dressed men: one wearing a large black trench coat and holding an exaggerated curved knife; one wearing a hospital gown and holding a Japanese sword; and a blond, blue-eyed foreigner wearing a blue Chinese-style robe and holding a large-caliber pistol.

Gao Mi immediately recognized the trench coat from the Executive Department and squinted as she said, "Kassel College, Class of 04, Department of Alchemy and Mechanical Engineering, Gao Mi, now an Executive Department specialist."

"Class of 05, Department of Mechanics, Wan Boqian." The girl next to him also announced her name.