Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei finds a Freylian

"Let's go!" he decided. "Chase them first!"

The three people rushed out of the locker room, their footsteps quickly fading into the distance.

She stood there, motionless. A few seconds later, her legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground.

Cold sweat soaked through her cheongsam, clinging stickily to her back. Her fingers trembled, and her heart pounded as if it would burst from her chest.

But she did it, she really did it.

The cabinet door was pushed open. Caesar was the first to rush out. He rushed to Zhen's side, knelt down, and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Are you OK?"

Zhen raised her head and looked at Caesar. She wanted to laugh, but tears streamed down her face first.

"I...I'm fine," she said, her voice trembling with tears.

Caesar stared at her for a few seconds, then suddenly pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.

This was not an ambiguous embrace, but a pure embrace filled with admiration and gratitude. Caesar could feel her trembling and hear her chaotic heartbeat.

“You are very brave,” Caesar whispered in her ear, “more brave than many warriors I have ever seen.”

She was stunned. Then, she buried her face in Caesar's shoulder and cried silently.

Chu Zihang and Lu Mingfei also came out of the cabinet. Chu Zihang walked to the bench, moved it back to its original position, and then checked whether the gap in the wall was exposed. Lu Mingfei walked to the pile of clutter and kicked the still unconscious monkey man.

"What should we do with this pervert?" Lu Mingfei asked.

Caesar released Zhen and stood up. He walked to the monkey man's side and looked down at the unconscious man who had wet his pants.

“Tie him up and stuff him in the cupboard,” Caesar said. “After we leave, someone will find him.”

Chu Zihang found a few old ties in the cabinet, unsure which waiter had left them behind. Together with Lu Mingfei, they tied the monkey-like man's hands and feet, gagged him, and stuffed him into an empty wardrobe, locking it from the outside.

After doing all this, the four of them regrouped in front of the gap in the wall.

The commotion outside continued, but it was gradually fading away. The biker gang seemed to have indeed found their target elsewhere and were giving chase.

"That voice just now," Chu Zihang suddenly said, "was Eva."

Caesar raised an eyebrow: "Eva?"

“She hacked into the internet cafe’s broadcast system and created a false noise to lure those people away,” Chu Zihang said. “I heard her fingers tap three times in Morse code.”

Caesar paused for a moment, then smiled: "How thoughtful."

Lu Mingfei looked at Zhen. Zhen had already wiped away her tears, but her eyes were still red. She stood next to Caesar, head down, her fingers twisting the hem of her cheongsam.

“Thank you, Miss Zhen,” Lu Mingfei said earnestly, “you saved us.”

Zhen raised her head, looked at Lu Mingfei, then at Chu Zihang, and finally at Caesar. She took a deep breath and shook her head.

“No,” she said, “you saved me. If it weren’t for you, I might already be…”

She didn't finish her sentence. But everyone understood what she meant.

Caesar reached out and patted Zhen on the shoulder: "I will keep my promise after this is over."

She looked at him, her eyes lighting up: "Take me to school?"

“I’ll take you to school,” Caesar nodded, “to the best schools, to learn whatever you want.”

She actually smiled. It was her first genuine smile of the night, warm and bright.

Chu Zihang had completed the final preparations. He disassembled all the bullets he could find and concentrated the gunpowder on a waterproof plastic sheet. Caesar stuck the half-smoked cigarette into the gunpowder and lit it with a lighter.

“Step back,” Caesar said.

The four men retreated to a safe distance. The cigarette burned slowly, and sparks gradually approached the gunpowder pile.

Ten seconds, twenty seconds, thirty seconds—

"boom!"

The explosion wasn't large, but it was enough to blast a hole in the base of the pipe. Fragments of cast iron flew everywhere, revealing a dark opening. Warm, soapy steam billowed out.

“We’ve succeeded,” Caesar said. “Now it’s our turn to play the sewer rat game.”

He was the first to crawl in. Then came Chu Zihang, and then Lu Mingfei.

Zhen stood in front of the cave entrance, hesitating for a moment. She looked back at the dilapidated dressing room, at the rusty iron cabinet, and at her reflection in the mirror, wearing a cheongsam.

Then, she turned around and, without hesitation, crawled into the dark pipe that smelled of other people's bathwater.

Chapter 535 Goodbye, Lu Mingfei, Chu Zihang, Mr. Caesar (Part 1)

The pipes were dark and damp, filled with the mixed smells of soap, shampoo, and body oils. Warm wastewater flowed from the depths, making a gurgling sound. The four men struggled to crawl through the cast iron pipe, which was only two feet in diameter. Caesar led the way, Chu Zihang brought up the rear, and Lu Mingfei and Zhen were in the middle.

After crawling for about fifteen minutes, a faint light finally appeared ahead—the emergency light from the access hatch. Caesar quickened his pace and soon reached the vertical access hatch. A cast iron ladder was fixed to the hatch wall, extending upwards for seven or eight meters, topped with a circular cast iron manhole cover.

Caesar tested the ladder's sturdiness and then began to climb. Reaching the top, he pushed open the manhole cover with force; it wasn't locked, but it was very heavy. Once the cover was removed, a fresh night breeze rushed into the pipe, carrying the damp scent of earth after the rain.

Caesar peeked out. Outside was a narrow back alley, flanked by high concrete walls covered in graffiti. The alley was quiet; the faint sound of vehicles could be heard in the distance, but no one was nearby.

He climbed out of the well and then reached out to help Zhen out. Chu Zihang and Lu Mingfei followed closely behind.

The four men stood in the back alley, soaked to the bone and reeking of the sewers. But no one complained; they were lucky to have survived.

There were no stars in the night sky, and Tokyo's neon lights tinged the low-hanging clouds with a dark red. The rain had stopped, but the ground was wet, and puddles reflected the distant lights. It was about two in the morning, the quietest time of day in the city.

Caesar glanced around and quickly confirmed their location: "We're on the edge of Shinjuku, about a kilometer from the internet cafe. Eva, can you hear me?"

A faint buzzing sound came from the miniature communicator in his ear, followed by Eva's calm voice: "Signal restored. I'm planning your evacuation route. The police have surrounded the internet cafe, but most of the biker gang members have already fled. There's no official announcement regarding your whereabouts, but I don't recommend you return to any hotels."

“We need a safe place,” Chu Zihang said, “a place where we can rest, resupply, and make plans for the next step.”

“I’m searching for nearby options,” Eva said. “Please wait.”

Lu Mingfei kept watching Zhen. She stood in the shadows of the alley, hugging her shoulders, shivering slightly, not just from the cold, but also from what she had just experienced. Her cheongsam was soaked through and clung to her body, her hair disheveled and plastered to her cheeks.

"Are you alright?" Lu Mingfei walked over and asked softly.

Zhen raised his head and forced a smile: "Mr. Mingfei, I'm fine. I'm just a little cold."

Lu Mingfei took off his jacket, a men's jacket he'd found in the locker room that belonged to some waiter, and it was soaked through, but better than nothing. He handed it to Zhen: "Put this on."

She hesitated for a moment, then took the jacket and draped it over her shoulders. The jacket was too big for her, almost reaching her knees, but it did provide some warmth.

"Thank you," she said softly.

Caesar approached, his expression serious: "Miss Zhen, we need to talk."

She looked at him and nodded.

“You saw everything that happened tonight,” Caesar said. “We are not ordinary people, you should already understand that. We are not criminals either, but we are indeed being hunted by some very dangerous people and organizations.”

“I know,” Zhen said softly, “you are special people.”

“It will bring death and disaster,” Chu Zihang said coldly. He rarely spoke so directly, but at this moment he felt it was necessary to make Zhen understand the reality. “Those biker gangs are just the beginning. More dangerous people will come looking for us later. If you continue to stay with us, you will become a target.”

She fell silent. She looked down at her muddy feet; her shoes had fallen off while climbing the pipes, and now she stood barefoot on the cold ground.

Caesar continued, “We are very grateful for your help tonight. You saved us, that’s a fact. But precisely because of that, we cannot let you continue to take risks.”

He paused, seemingly choosing his words carefully: "We'll give you some money, enough for you to leave Tokyo and live in another city for a while. You can come back after things calm down. Or, if you'd like, I can arrange for you to study abroad, in a safe place."

Zhen looked up at Caesar. Her eyes shone brightly in the dim light: "You're leaving, aren't you?"

Caesar nodded. "We must go. But not together. You must stay."

“But,” Zhen’s voice trembled slightly, “those people saw me. In the locker room, the guy with the revolver, he saw my face.”

Lu Mingfei's heart tightened. This was exactly what he had been worried about.

Caesar frowned: "You mean, that biker gang?"

“Yes,” Zhen nodded, “He stared at my face for a long time. And that monkey man, he saw me too. Even though he’s locked in the closet now, someone will eventually find him.”

Chu Zihang walked over: "That monkey guy is terrified. Even if he says something afterward, it's unlikely to be credible. Besides, he doesn't know your name. As for the guy with the revolver..."

He looked at Caesar: "Do you think he'll remember the real thing?"

Caesar pondered for a few seconds: "Possibly. That boy looks like a minor leader in a biker gang, and he's got some brains. He might suspect that we're really involved."

“Then she really can’t stay here,” Lu Mingfei blurted out. “Those people will come looking for her!”

Zhen looked at Lu Mingfei, a hint of emotion flashing in her eyes, but it quickly dimmed again: "But where can I go? My grandma is still waiting for me at home. If I disappear, she will worry."

This is a real problem. She's not alone; she has family, a life, and everything she can't easily give up.

Eva's voice came through the communicator: "I've located several safe houses. The closest one is about 500 meters away; it's an abandoned warehouse with basic living facilities. But it can only be used for a short period, no more than 24 hours."

“That’s enough,” Caesar said. “We need a place to rest, organize our intelligence, and make plans. Miss Zhen, you’ll come with us there too. We’ll settle you in first, and then we’ll decide what to do next.”

After a moment's hesitation, I nodded.

Guided by Eva, the four walked through several quiet alleys and arrived at an abandoned warehouse. The warehouse was located on the edge of an industrial area, surrounded by similar buildings, most of which were empty. The iron gate was rusty, the lock was broken, and Caesar easily pushed it open.

The warehouse was empty, containing only some discarded wooden crates and plastic sheeting. But in one corner was a small room, seemingly a former office, which surprisingly contained a worn-out sofa, a table, and a few chairs. Most surprisingly, there was a tap in the room that still produced water, albeit a very weak flow and cold water.

“It’s safe for now,” Caesar said, checking the doors and windows. “We can rest here for a few hours. We must leave before dawn.”

Chapter 536 Goodbye, Lu Mingfei, Chu Zihang, and Mr. Caesar (Part 2)

Lu Mingfei plopped down on the sofa and let out a long sigh. Tonight's experience was too intense; only now did he realize that his whole body ached, and every muscle was protesting.

Chu Zihang then began to inspect the weapons they had brought—two Beretta rifles, three short-barreled shotguns, and several boxes of ammunition. He neatly placed the weapons on the table and began to count the ammunition.

Caesar walked up to Zhen: "You need to treat your wound."

I was stunned for a moment before I noticed the abrasions on my arms and legs, cuts I'd made while climbing the pipes. The wounds weren't deep, but they were oozing blood.

“I’ll help you,” Lu Mingfei said, getting up from the sofa and rummaging through the warehouse for a while before finding a relatively clean cloth. He wet the cloth with the tap, walked back, and handed it to Zhen. “Clean it up first to prevent infection.”

Zhen took the damp cloth and said softly, "Thank you."

She carefully wiped the wound, her movements very gentle, but her brows still furrowed slightly from the pain. Lu Mingfei watched her, and that feeling of unease rose within him again.

“Boss,” Lu Mingfei walked to Caesar’s side and lowered his voice, “I still don’t think it’s a good idea. What if that biker gang member who saw Miss Zhen really remembered what she looked like?”

Caesar, inspecting Beretta's breechblock without looking up, said, "I understand your concerns. But we have no better option right now. Taking Zhen with us will only put her in greater danger. We're not dealing with ordinary gangs, but—"

He stopped, not continuing. But Lu Mingfei understood what he meant.