Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei finds a Freylian

Several young technicians instinctively reached for the fire extinguishers by the wall.

But at that moment, a sound like the high-speed rotation of a giant helicopter rotor rushed up from below, penetrating through layers of floor and into the central control room.

The sound didn't come from a basement, but from a top-secret server room, known as the Temple, fifty meters underground within the academy. There, dozens of black server racks, reaching to the ceiling, stood side by side. Each rack was densely packed with the latest generation of CPUs and coprocessors, forming the academy's most powerful computing array, far surpassing the performance of the supercomputers that were publicly displayed.

At this moment, this sleeping behemoth is awakening in an unprecedented manner. On the monitoring screen, various indicators are soaring like rockets.

Chapter 504 Eva

All the chips were operating at near-burning overclocks, emitting terrifying heat comparable to a small steel furnace. Inside the underground server room, several industrial-grade giant turbine cooling systems roared deafeningly, forcibly blowing scorching air onto the ground.

The howling wind, like that of a helicopter, is the roar of these fully-operated cooling turbines. When this supercomputer truly unleashes all its limitations and goes all out, the noise and power it generates are enough to inspire awe in anyone who gets close.

Inside the control room, the images on all the screens began to flicker and switch uncontrollably. Eventually, regardless of the size of the screen, they all froze on the same image: the face of a young girl. She looked unusually young, even somewhat childish, but her face was as cold as ice, expressionless. Her pupils were like bottomless, icy pools, constantly flowing and changing with waterfalls of dark blue data characters.

Ultimately, her enormous bust occupied the largest screen on the central circular wall, her cold gaze seemingly piercing through the screen and overlooking everyone in the control room. An invisible pressure, stemming from absolute power and a sense of control, permeated the entire space.

“Eva,” Professor Manstein adjusted his glasses, sighing softly, his tone a mixture of shock and understanding. “Now, she has replaced Norma as the academy’s central mainframe. Is this the true, 100% complete form of our academy’s mainframe?”

“No, Manstein,” Schneider’s voice was hoarse as he looked up at the girl on the screen, his gaze complex. “She was never a college secretary like Norma. Her design was for a weapon. The purest and most powerful offensive weapon.”

The technicians were completely silent, their eyes filled with awe and even a hint of fear as they watched the virtual girl named "Eva" on the screen. The more senior among them had vaguely heard rumors about another, more radical and aggressive personality slumbering deep within the academy's mainframe.

At this moment, judging from the way she awoke in such a violent and undeniable manner, the rumors were true. The instant Eva awoke, she didn't hesitate to use the simplest and most brutal method—high-temperature overload—to directly burn out the old chipsets that had been blocking and restricting her, declaring her return and sovereignty.

“Emergency situation, Eva,” Schneider stepped forward, standing below the large screen, looking up to meet the gaze of those eyes filled with flowing data, his voice steady, “We need your expertise. Do you need time to familiarize yourself with the latest database and chipset architecture?”

The girl on the screen didn't move her lips, but her cold, emotionless voice clearly emanated from the speakers in every corner of the control room, speaking at an astonishing speed: "Database synchronization is 98% complete, new hardware architecture analysis is complete, adaptive algorithm optimization is complete. Task list has been read. Full-scale network suppression and counterattack against target Princess Kaguya, now begin."

At the very last millisecond after the word "begin" was uttered, the nerve network of the global internet seemed to be gripped by an invisible force.

Through hundreds of high-bandwidth relay nodes secretly deployed around the world by the Kassel Institute, a tsunami of data is carefully crafted and disguised, and then surges from all directions, like a well-trained steel torrent, towards the digital borders of the island nation of Japan.

Princess Kaguya's meticulously designed, multi-layered encryption of hundreds of virtual firewalls and gateway locks was simultaneously subjected to an unprecedented, precise, and ferocious attack. On the monitoring screens in front of the technicians, the curve representing the attack traffic instantly surged past the top of the graph, and the green dots representing the defensive nodes flashed, turned red, and went out one after another...

They knew better than anyone that a silent yet brutal war was unfolding in the virtual world made up of 0s and 1s. Millions of data packets were the charging soldiers, and the girl named Eva was the queen sitting in the central command tent, strategizing and directing this invisible army.

From this moment on, Kassel College's full-scale counterattack against the Snake Clan and its artificial intelligence Kaguya-hime officially began in cyberspace.

The Academy's counterattack was multifaceted and swift. The cyber offensive was launched by Eva leading a technical force, while in the real world, another surprise force had already set out.

Three hours earlier, an elderly man named Hilbert Jean Angers boarded the fastest flight from Chicago to Tokyo's Narita Airport alone. Despite being the principal of Kassel College, Angers' name remained in the executive department's files, meaning he was ready to be on the front lines at any time.

His file number is very special: 000001. Bloodline rating: S.

This number is of great significance. Usually, the first four digits of an executive commissioner's file number represent their birth month and day. For example, Caesar's number "112933A" means that he was born on November 29th, was the thirty-third commissioner registered on that day, and had an A-class lineage.

But Angers' passport number didn't include his birthdate. He had lived for far too long, so long that even his original passport had been lost to the dustbin of history. The birthdate on the passport had changed again and again with each change of identity, and the actual date was no longer important.

The number "1" symbolizes his uniqueness, irreplaceability, and the longevity of his life, enough to witness the entire modern history of the Peruvian Party.

Professor Manstein was shocked to learn that the principal had chosen to travel alone to the perilous city of Tokyo. He immediately approached the Night Watch Vice Principal, who was temporarily assuming the principal's duties, and strongly urged him to select a small team from the elite of the Executive Department to depart on the next flight to provide support and protection for the principal, in order to prevent the Snake Clan from harming this leader of the secret party.

However, the vice-principal, lounging on the sofa and swirling his whiskey glass, simply waved his hand dismissively and even yawned: "Relax, my son. We're not sending out an old man; we're sending out an army. An army made up of just one man, yet worth a thousand. That old Angers, his favorite role in life is that of a light cavalryman charging ahead. Let him go; he'll turn Tokyo upside down."

Just as Manstein was both amused and exasperated by his father's seemingly bold yet irresponsible remarks, and was secretly thinking, "The person who understands the principal best is indeed this unreliable old man," he casually refreshed the college's internal website, and a newly released, highlighted, and bolded important notice almost made him drop his glasses.

The notice announced that all classes for students at the Kassel College would be suspended during the period when the principal of Angers was away and the vice-principal was temporarily assuming his duties.

Instead, we will have the "University-wide Women's Swimming Championship" themed "Strengthening the Body and Promoting Youthful Vitality," and the "First Miss Kassel" beauty pageant themed "Enhancing Aesthetic Appreciation and Showcasing the Charm of Kassel Women"! Registration is now open, with generous prizes to be won...

Manstein stared at the flashy announcements on the screen, and then, imagining that the principal might be on a plane at that moment, deep in thought about how to deal with the crisis at the Japanese branch, a feeling of utter absurdity washed over him.

He couldn't help but have a dark suspicion: was his shameless father secretly hoping that the principal would meet with misfortune during this extremely dangerous trip to Tokyo? That way, he could legitimately—no, brazenly—turn the entire Kassel College into his own harem of debauchery!

Chapter 505 Caesar Feels Helpless for the First Time

"Still absolutely no news from the Caesar Group?" Manstein sat down in the swivel chair by the control panel, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table, making a soft "tap-tap" sound that revealed his inner anxiety. The constantly scrolling data stream on the screen was reflected on his glasses, turning into shifting spots of light.

Schneider stared intently at another split screen, which displayed a constantly flashing global satellite hotspot map.

Hearing the question, he wearily rubbed his temples, his voice even hoarser than usual: "The only, almost absurd, clue is a sporadic report from a deep-sea fishing vessel to the coast guard. They said that on their return voyage, they had pulled a blond male crew member who had fallen overboard and was suspected of being shipwrecked. But before the fishing vessel docked, that guy jumped overboard again under the cover of night and escaped. The sailors' descriptions were vague, besides 'foreigner,' 'blonde,' there was also…"

Schneider paused, his lips twitching almost imperceptibly. "The only detail that was repeatedly confirmed was 'he had a very nice chest.' Damn it! 'Nice chest!' Do Japanese fishermen identify shipwrecked people by admiring a man's pectoral muscles?" He slapped the edge of the control panel in annoyance.

Manstein paused, realizing this detail was indeed somewhat off-topic. He pondered for a moment, then adjusted his glasses: "Perhaps we should change our approach. We're desperately searching for them, and if they're still alive, they'll definitely try to contact us. By the way, doesn't the Executive Department have safe havens all over the world? If Caesar and the others are lucky enough to survive, the most sensible choice is to immediately head to the nearest safe haven for asylum and communication support."

Schneider immediately shook his head, the movement causing the metal mask connector on his face to hiss slightly.

“We once established a safe harbor in Japan,” he said in a deep voice, “but that was many years ago. Later, as the Japanese branch became increasingly independent and sophisticated, the Hebi-hachi family took over almost all affairs within Japan. The academy felt that maintaining an independent safe harbor there was neither necessary nor likely to arouse unnecessary suspicion, so…”

His voice suddenly stopped, as if he had been choked by something, and his grayish-white pupils suddenly contracted.

"What's wrong?" Manstein keenly noticed his unusual behavior.

"The Special Operations Manual Norma prepared for the three of them before they set off!" Schneider suddenly stood up, his chair legs scraping loudly on the floor from the sudden movement. "That manual was generated based on an old database! It probably even has the location of that old safe harbor that has long been discontinued and no longer maintained marked on it!"

He turned around and shouted at the central giant screen in an almost roaring voice: "Eva! Immediately retrieve the coordinates of the old version of the Japanese safe harbors and mark them on the map for me!"

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, the map of Japan on the giant screen rapidly zoomed in and focused, and a glaring, pulsating red dot appeared in the northern part of Tokyo.

A girl's voice, devoid of any emotion, rang out, "Target location located: Chizuru-cho, Kita-ku, Tokyo. This safe haven was established in 1997 and was originally based in a manga internet cafe called Sakura. Since a new agreement was reached with the Japanese branch in 1999, this safe haven has been marked as dormant and no longer receives maintenance commands or resource allocations. Its physical existence is unknown."

"Damn it! Chizuru-cho! It's too close to Shinjuku and the core area of ​​the Snake-Headed Eight Families! If they really went there according to the outdated manual, once their identities are exposed, it's tantamount to walking into a trap!" Schneider roared at the air, veins bulging on his forehead, as if the enemy were right in front of him.

"Eva! I don't care what method you use, try to hack into that internet cafe, or any building currently at these coordinates, immediately! I need full real-time monitoring! Now!"

In a cramped cubicle of just a few square meters, Caesar Gattuso furrowed his brow as he fiddled with the old-fashioned desktop computer in front of him.

This so-called single room was even more cramped than the bathtub with a massage fountain at Gattuso's estate. The floor was covered with slightly worn tatami mats, exuding a faint smell of straw and old wood. On the wall hung a gaudy ukiyo-e print, depicting a woman with her clothes half-undone and a seductive gaze.

In the corner, in a slender-necked white porcelain vase, an overly brightly colored, seemingly plastic, fake peach blossom was incongruously placed. Everything here was far removed from the smoky, sweaty, and boisterous internet cafe that Lu Mingfei had described. Instead, the atmosphere here was one of carefully crafted, cheap femininity and ambiguity.

On the way here, the short, stout manager led him through a narrow, dimly lit corridor covered with a dark red carpet. On both sides of the corridor were narrow, tightly closed sliding doors, from which came various faint sounds: the tapping of keyboards, soft music, and suppressed, ambiguous laughter.

Caesar had a moment of doubt: why would you need such a private room to go online?

After the computer booted up, the screen full of Japanese icons and kana gave him a headache. The keyboard layout was also different from the English keyboard. But the basic operating logic was the same. He took a deep breath, forced himself to concentrate, and typed the familiar website address, "www.cassell.edu," letter by letter, into the browser's address bar.

This is one of the standard procedures for Kassel College's commissioners to contact headquarters in case of an emergency overseas. Instead of using easily intercepted or blocked phone calls, they access the college's public website. Deep within the college's official website homepage lies a highly complex dynamic password verification system. Once verified, it redirects directly to the internal communication network, allowing direct contact with Norma.

The cursor blinks; press Enter.

In the center of the screen, a cold, minimalist white error page pops up, displaying only a single line of unforgiving black text: "ERROR 404: Page Not Found".

Caesar frowned even more. Perhaps it was due to internet censorship in Japan? He tried entering the Japanese website of the Kassel College: "www.cassell.edu.jp".

Press Enter. The same "ERROR 404: Page Not Found" error appears.

Unconvinced, he then entered the official website of the Casall Family Charitable Foundation: "www.cassell.org".

"ERROR 404: Page Not Found".

Caesar typed faster and faster, trying every domain name he could remember related to Kassel College and the Gattuso family, even some backup addresses known only to insiders. However, the only thing that kept appearing on the screen was that mocking black string of characters, "ERROR 404: Page Not Found".

A chill crept up his spine. He steadied himself and tried logging onto the American Express website to check the status of his black card, which theoretically had unlimited global overdraft limits. The website opened successfully, but when he entered the card number and security code, the pop-up message sent a shiver down his spine: "The card number is invalid or does not exist."

He even downloaded Skype and tried to call the college's emergency hotline directly using VoIP. All he heard was a monotonous, repetitive Japanese female voice saying something like, "The number you dialed is not in service."

Caesar sat blankly in front of the screen, the cold light of the monitor illuminating his dusty, weary face. For the first time in his life, a profound, almost absurd sense of non-existence gripped him.

He, Cesare Gattuso, the first in line to the Gattuso family and a top specialist at Kassel College, is now out of touch with the world in a cheap cubicle in a strange town on the outskirts of Tokyo.

Without support, without supplies, penniless, and without any official documents to prove his identity, if he were to die here now, he would perhaps only become an unclaimed, unidentified vagrant corpse, disappearing silently into the archives of a foreign land.

Caesar suddenly realized with absolute clarity that his seemingly impeccable confidence and composure in the past largely stemmed from the vast and ancient family behind him.

The old men hidden in the shadows of Florence's ancient architecture, the shrewd and resourceful family advisors, and the secret armed forces, had always acted as an invisible barrier and a sharp sword, clearing away all obstacles in his path. Now, that barrier seemed to have evaporated in an instant, and even the hand wielding the sword had vanished.

One can imagine that the Gattuso family headquarters must be in complete chaos at this moment. The family's influence in Europe is deeply entrenched, rivaling that of an ancient royal family. Caesar's disappearance is tantamount to the crown prince vanishing into thin air.

In this situation, the family's think tank would only come to two conclusions: either he has been murdered, or he is being secretly imprisoned by some force. Either way, it would be the most serious provocation against the Gattuso family.

Caesar knew his family's reaction pattern all too well. They wouldn't waste time investigating the truth; instead, they would immediately initiate retaliation.

Just like if he were kidnapped by Somali pirates during his honeymoon and they demanded a ransom, his family would readily pay. But just as the pirates were gleefully counting their money, Italian Air Force F-16 fighter jets would roar across the sea and precisely drop napalm bombs on the pirate hideout, turning everything, including the ransom, to ashes.

This seemingly crazy, reckless, and ruthless approach is one of the cornerstones of the Gattuso family's enduring strength. Caesar never doubted the character and execution capabilities of his elders in this regard; they were ruthless, domineering, and extremely efficient.

In short, the family's ruthless preparations will not cease until they find him or confirm his death. They may not even know who the enemy is, but that doesn't stop them from sharpening their knives first. That way, once they lock onto their target, it will be much faster to strike.

Growing up in a family atmosphere where "it's better to kill a thousand innocent people than let one guilty person go free," Caesar felt it was a miracle that he had developed such a relatively docile, reasonable, and even somewhat compassionate personality.

Just then, a soft knocking sounded on the door, interrupting Caesar's chaotic thoughts.

Chapter 506 Strange Japanese Services

Caesar cautiously opened the door a crack. Outside, the short, stout manager stood holding a small, lacquered wooden tray, his face plastered with a professional smile. On the tray were several plates of exquisitely crafted, chess-piece-sized glutinous rice pastries. But what caught Caesar's eye was the girl standing behind the manager.

She kept her head down, her long hair falling over her forehead, almost completely obscuring her face, revealing only her delicate chin and a section of her fair neck. She wore a tight-fitting red cheongsam, the smooth fabric gleaming delicately in the dim corridor light. Her figure was slender, her waist so thin it seemed as if it could be broken with a single stroke.

Because of the presence of a woman, the young nobleman's ingrained instincts were immediately activated. Caesar barely hesitated before fully opening the door and turning to the side to make a gentlemanly gesture of "please come in."

The small cubicle instantly became even more cramped. The three of them had to stand close to the wall, otherwise they would be in an awkward situation where their chests were touching and their breaths were almost touching. The manager's cologne and the girl's faint scent of cheap perfume mixed with the smell of tatami mats and old wood, filling the small space.

“Sir, food.” The manager carefully placed the tray on the only low table and said in broken English.

Kai glanced at the tray. The pastries in the small white porcelain dishes were indeed exquisite, some garnished with bright green mint leaves, others painted with peach blossom patterns using food coloring, small and delicate, with tempting colors.

But at that moment, Caesar was starving, his stomach felt like it was being clawed at. What he needed was real food to fill his belly, not these works of art that looked like they could only be picked up with fingertips and were merely for display. He couldn't help but mutter to himself: You call this food? Are you suggesting I suck it through my nose?

At this moment, the girl who had been keeping her head down gently lifted the front of her cheongsam and gracefully knelt on the tatami mat, right in front of Caesar. She placed an exquisite dark wooden box beside her knees.

Seeing this, the manager bowed deeply again, with an ambiguous smile that seemed to say "please enjoy," and quietly withdrew, gently closing the sliding door of the cubicle behind him.

With a soft click, the door closed tightly.

Caesar was a little confused. What was going on? He looked the girl up and down, who was standing so close to him. The red cheongsam clung tightly to her young and vibrant body, perfectly outlining her curves.

What unsettled him even more was the design of the cheongsam. The arms and entire back were covered by only a thin layer of black lace mesh, barely visible under the dim light. The high slit of the cheongsam revealed long, slender legs encased in black fishnet stockings. On her feet were a pair of white stilettos.

This is truly a garment whose design intent is obvious and whose every detail is meticulously revealed.

Caesar's heart skipped a beat, alarm bells rang: This place is definitely not right!

In the central control room of Kassel College, a corner of the giant screen was partitioned off, playing a jaw-dropping animation.

In the video, a group of young girls dressed in various sexy uniforms sit or lie down, their postures languid and alluring. When the virtual mouse cursor hovers over them, they stand up, swaying their hips and striking seductive poses to upbeat music. Below the screen, various flashing advertisement windows scroll by, each tiny space crammed with close-ups from different angles, accompanied by provocative Japanese titles.

"What is this? Eva! You seem to have opened the wrong program or website!" Minister Schneider was taken aback. This kind of image should never have appeared on the giant screen of the Executive Department's central headquarters, especially now that it was in a state of emergency.

“Based on the latest updated business registration information and web scraping data,” Eva’s voice was as steady and clear as ever, without any ripples, “the original Sakura Manga Internet Cafe closed five years ago, and the ownership of the building changed hands. It is now operated by a chain of internet cafes called ‘MAMBO’.”