Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei finds a Freylian

The researchers in the laboratory held their breath. The head of the equipment department, Akadullah, pressed the start button, and a laser beam shot towards the seam of the bone vial.

"Zi"

A screeching sound rang out, and the bottle slowly cracked.

"My God!" someone exclaimed.

Inside the ossuary were two side-by-side chambers. One was broken and empty, like a torn cocoon. In the other intact chamber, a naked boy was curled up.

He looked no more than twelve or thirteen years old, with faint dark gold veins visible beneath his pale skin, and his eyelashes trembling slightly under the laser light.

“Twins.” Professor Mance’s voice trembled. “The Bronze and Fire Lords are two?”

In the morning, Lu Mingfei and Frilian strolled around leisurely.

The campus was unusually quiet on the weekend. He chatted with Frillie about how much alcohol Vice Principal Flamel could drink in a day, and then he heard a familiar voice.

"Mom, I'm fine. Really, the classes are interesting, and my classmates are friendly."

Chu Zihang stood at the corner of the corridor, holding up his phone, his face displaying a gentle expression that Lu Mingfei had never seen before.

That killer who was like a demon in the cold weapon combat class is now reporting on his school life to his mother.

"The food in the cafeteria is plentiful, and I eat a lot at every meal. I haven't lost weight, really, um, I'll remember to wear more clothes next week."

Chu Zihang's voice grew lower and lower until it was almost a whisper.

Lu Mingfei and Frilian tried to sneak away, but Chu Zihang called out to them, "Wait a minute."

"Haha, good morning, senior brother," Lu Mingfei said awkwardly as he turned around.

Chu Zihang hung up the phone, his ever-present icy expression returning. "You heard that."

Lu Mingfei swallowed hard, trying to come up with an excuse, saying that he and Frilian were just passing by by chance and definitely didn't want to hear any gossip.

"Gurgle," my stomach rumbled uncooperatively.

Chu Zihang checked the time: "Let's go have breakfast together."

Twenty minutes later, Lu Mingfei wolfed down the third basket of xiaolongbao, while Frilian drank a cup of soy milk.

"Senior brother, what were you talking about with Auntie just now?" Lu Mingfei asked, his mouth full of food, his words muffled.

“A necessary lie,” Chu Zihang put down his cup. “She doesn’t need to know the truth about Kassel.”

Lu Mingfei thought of his parents, who were far away, and probably didn't even know where he went to school.

A strange feeling welled up inside him, and he said almost unconsciously, "How about we invite everyone to have hot pot together? Let's do it tonight."

Chu Zihang's chopsticks stopped in mid-air, a hint of surprise flashing in his golden eyes.

"I mean, since it's the weekend, let's have hot pot together," Lu Mingfei said, his voice trailing off as he realized how stupid his suggestion was.

“Lu Mingfei’s suggestion is good,” Frilian said, looking like she was seconding him.

“Okay,” Chu Zihang nodded. “I’ll go contact the person. You and Frilian go buy the ingredients.”

In the afternoon, Lu Mingfei and Frilian stood at the entrance to Chicago's Chinatown.

Lu Mingfei pushed the shopping cart, with Frilian walking beside him.

"Young man, come and see today's vegetables!" A Chinese auntie wearing a floral apron greeted him warmly, carrying two bunches of bright green vegetables. "They're freshly picked, so crisp and fresh!"

Lu Mingfei leaned closer to take a look: "Auntie, how much are these vegetables?"

"Two dollars a stick, buy two and it's three dollars!" the auntie said with a smile, her gaze lingering on Frillie for a moment. "Oh my, is this your girlfriend? She's really pretty!"

Lu Mingfei's ears burned: "No, no."

Frillie reached out and took the greens, sniffing them gently: "Very fresh."

The auntie smiled so broadly her eyes narrowed into slits: "Little girl, you know your stuff!"

She picked up a few more ears of tender corn from the stall and stuffed them into the bag, saying, "These are for you. Young people should eat more to grow strong."

Lu Mingfei quickly thanked her and reached for his wallet, but the aunt waved her hand, saying, "Hey, young man, what are you doing?"

Walking through the street adorned with red lanterns, they arrived at a hot pot ingredient shop. Lu Mingfei introduced the various ingredients with great familiarity, while Frilian, like a curious student, asked questions from time to time.

"what is this?"

"Beef tripe is an essential ingredient for hot pot."

"what about this?"

"Duck blood, uh, you might not be able to accept that."

What is this red square?

"Fermented tofu is incredibly delicious with rice."

At the food stall, Lu Mingfei tried to bargain: "Uncle, I'm a student, can you give me a discount?"

The wrinkled old shop owner laughed heartily and replied in heavily accented Mandarin, "Young man, you look kind, I'll give you a discount!"

The old man deftly cut off a small piece of cooked pork belly and handed it to him: "Try it, the taste of home."

The marbled slices of meat melted on his tongue, and Lu Mingfei felt a lump in his throat.

This tastes exactly the same as the one made back home.

"Thank you, uncle."

Frillie gently touched Lu Mingfei: "Are you alright?"

"It's nothing," Lu Mingfei rubbed his eyes, "I just got chili pepper in my eyes."

----

"That's how it is. The uncles and aunties at the market insisted on giving us vegetables," Lu Mingfei explained to Chu Zihang's mother, Su Xiaoyan. "The uncles and aunties in Chinatown are all very enthusiastic. Uncle Chen, who sells meat, even specially cut some marbled beef for us."

Chu Zihang silently moved his phone further away because Caesar began reciting "The Divine Comedy" in Italian, and Fingel attempted to play "Ode to Joy" using a beer bottle.

"You all have such a good relationship," Su Xiaoyan said with relief. "Zihang, remember to send Mom the photos of the school."

After hanging up the phone, Chu Zihang noticed an extra piece of beef in his bowl, which Nuonuo had placed there.

"President Chu, eating beef will make you grow taller," the red-haired shrine maiden said with a grin.

Chu Zihang ate the meat without changing his expression: "I'm 175cm, that's enough for me."

In the laboratory, Angers stared at the fully opened bone flask.

In the two chambers, one was empty, and in the other, a boy was curled up.

"Notify all executive officers," Angers issued the order, "that a dragon king may be lurking in human society."

He glanced at the live feeds on the monitor screen showing various parts of the campus, pausing for a second on one of the feeds—Norton Hall.

Lu Mingfei clumsily sliced ​​potatoes, with Frilian helping him. Chu Zihang and Caesar worked together to operate the induction cooker. Nono and Susie argued about the dipping sauce recipe, while Finger secretly ate three slices of beef.

Angers smiled, then quickly regained his composure and gripped the folding knife in his hand.

Chapter 29 Constantine (Part 2)

In the New York underground, a bar without a sign is hidden at the end of an abandoned subway tunnel.

Old Tang pushed open the rusty iron gate. The bar was filled with smoke, and a few customers were drinking silently, no one looking up at him.

"This way, Mr. Ronald Don."

In a corner booth, an Asian woman in a black leather jacket waved to him. Two glasses of liquor sat before her: a single malt whiskey and a tequila.

"Just call me Lao Tang," he said, sitting down opposite the woman and downing his whiskey in one gulp.

The alcohol burned his throat, making him temporarily forget the phone call from the orphanage director yesterday: the boiler and heating pipes were broken, the children were freezing, and the repairs would cost at least $20,000.

“Five million dollars, after tax,” Su Enxi said, pushing a prepayment check forward. “Kassel College, Ice Cellar, Bronze Jar.”

Old Tang stared at the string of zeros on the check, and the image of the orphanage children's faces, red from the cold, flashed before his eyes: "What kind of jar is worth so much?"

“An urn,” Su Enxi said, sipping her tequila. “For you, it’s just a trip.”

Old Tang whistled. Kassel College—who in this line of work hasn't heard of it? They say even a fly that flies in will be swept away three times.

"Why me?" Old Tang asked, swirling his empty glass. "There are a dozen guys in New York who are better than me."

Su Enxi laughed: "But they don't have your 'talent'."

She tapped her temple. "You have top-notch spatial awareness, dynamic vision, and luck. We've checked your records: seventy-three high-risk missions, zero failures."

Old Tang remained noncommittal. He did indeed possess strange abilities; no matter how complex a building was, he could perfectly recreate it in his mind with just a glance; and no matter how sophisticated a security system was, he could always find loopholes.

This ability is innate, as natural as breathing.

Old Tang stared at the string of zeros on the check, and the image of little Lisa's face, red from the cold, flashed before his eyes. The child was only six years old, abandoned by her parents at the orphanage gate because of congenital heart disease.

"Deal," he said, grabbing the check and stuffing it into his pocket. "But I have one condition: innocent people cannot be harmed."

"rest assured."

An hour later, Old Tang squatted on a tree outside the Kassel College.

"Can you hear me?" came an unfamiliar female voice through the earpiece. "I am Mai Shude. I will be in charge of your actions from now on."

Old Tang tapped the microphone twice to confirm.

"Very good. Now look ahead, there's a blind spot in the wall over there that's being monitored."

Old Tang counted his heartbeats, and on the thirteenth beat, he darted out like a cat.

The rain masked his footsteps as he pressed himself against the corner of the wall, and the surveillance camera slowly turned away.

"Perfect. Next up is the laser net. On my command—jump!"

Old Tang leaped into the air, twisting his body to avoid three invisible laser beams.

Upon landing, he rolled forward and silently slid into the ventilation shaft.

"Damn, you're even more agile than I thought," Mai muttered. "Turn left, there's an access panel at the end of the ventilation duct."

Old Tang crawled through the narrow pipe and stopped: "Wait, there's a pressure sensor ahead."

"It was added at the last minute," he said, carefully stepping over the trap. "These people are really cautious."

Twenty minutes later, Old Tang pried open the door to the third basement level of Kassel, his back soaked with sweat.