Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei finds a Freylian

They were facing the Demon Clan, the Snake-Headed Eight Families, and the undercurrents of the entire mixed-race society of Japan. For an ordinary person to get involved in a conflict of this magnitude would be tantamount to a moth flying into a flame.

“We can send Zhen to a safe place,” Lu Mingfei said, “like an embassy? Or to a friend’s place?”

“We have contacts in Osaka,” Chu Zihang suddenly spoke up, “people from Genjiro. But I’m not sure if it’s safe to contact them now. There might be traitors within the Snake Clan.”

Caesar shook his head: "It's not safe to contact anyone now. We must assume that all known contact points have been exposed."

Zhen had already treated her wounds. She walked over, looked at the three men's serious expressions, and said softly, "You don't need to worry about me. I... I can take care of myself."

Lu Mingfei turned to look at her: "Miss Zhen, this is not the time to be stubborn. Those people really might—"

“I know,” Zhen interrupted him, her voice soft but firm, “I know they are dangerous. But I also know that if I’m with you, I’ll be a burden. You have important things to do and can’t be distracted by me.”

Caesar looked at her, a complex expression flashing in his eyes: "Are you sure?"

Zhen nodded. "I'm sure. I'll find a place to hide and wait until things calm down. I have friends I can rely on. You...you go do what you need to do."

Silence fell over the room. The only sound was the dripping of the faucet, drip-drop, drip-drop, like a countdown.

Chu Zihang suddenly said, "There is another option."

Everyone looked at him.

“We can create a false impression,” Chu Zihang said, his thinking always calm and direct, “to make the people chasing us believe that she is really dead, or that she has left Tokyo. That way they won’t look for her anymore.”

"How do you manufacture it?" Lu Mingfei asked.

“Fire,” Chu Zihang said, “We can burn down her real house, leaving some traces so the police will think she disappeared in the fire. That way, even if the biker gang wants to find her, they won’t know where to start.”

Lu Mingfei's eyes widened: "Burn down her house? What about her grandmother?"

"Of course, we need to move Grandma away before the fire breaks out," Chu Zihang said. "This requires a meticulous plan, but it's feasible."

Upon hearing this, Zhen's face turned pale: "No, you can't burn down my house. That's where my grandmother and I lived our whole lives, and it holds so many memories... Besides, my grandmother isn't in good health and can't be frightened."

Caesar shook his head: "This plan is too extreme and too risky. The fire will attract the police and fire department, which will only expose our location."

Chu Zihang fell silent. He had merely offered a proposal; whether or not it was Caesar's decision.

Time ticked by. The sky outside the window began to lighten, dawn was approaching.

Eva's voice rang out again: "I just intercepted some police communications. The on-site investigation of the internet cafe has been completed, and several injured people have been found, but no dead. Most of the members of the biker gang have fled, and the police are hunting them down. The description of the three of you has been reported, but no nationwide arrest warrant has been issued yet. It's possible that the Snake Clan is suppressing the information."

"What about Miss Zhen?" Caesar asked.

“There is no record of her,” Eva said. “The police don’t seem to have noticed her existence. This could be because the biker gangs didn’t mention her, or the Hebihachi family deliberately erased the relevant information.”

This was good news, but Caesar's face showed no sign of relief. He knew all too well the rules of the game; a calm surface didn't mean there weren't undercurrents surging beneath.

“We have to make a decision,” Caesar said, glancing at his watch. “It’s almost dawn, and it will be more dangerous to act during the day.”

He walked over to Shin, took out his wallet from his pocket, pulled out all the cash—about 200,000 yen, plus some US dollars and euros—and handed the money to Shin.

“Take this money, find a safe place to stay, and don’t go home,” Caesar said. “I’ll contact you after we’ve taken care of things. Remember, don’t contact anyone, don’t use your phone, and don’t go back to places you’re familiar with.”

Looking at the money, he didn't take it: "It's too much, I can't accept it."

“Take it,” Caesar said, pressing the money into her hand. “It’s for your safety. If you need more, I can—”

“No, that’s enough,” Zhen gripped the money tightly, her fingers trembling slightly. “I’ll take care of myself. You all, you must be careful too.”

Lu Mingfei's unease grew stronger. He walked to the window and looked out through the dirty glass. People were starting to move on the street; they were early risers going to work. A new day had begun, but for some, the nightmare of the night was far from over.

“Miss Zhen,” Lu Mingfei turned around, “are you really sure? Alone?”

Zhen looked at him and gave a forced smile: "Yes, I'm sure. You saved me, I can't be a burden to you anymore."

“You’re not a burden,” Lu Mingfei said earnestly, “you saved our lives. In the locker room, if it weren’t for you—”

“That’s what I should do,” Zhen interrupted him. “You’re all involved in this because of me. If I hadn’t been working at the internet cafe, you wouldn’t have come here and wouldn’t have encountered all this.”

Her logic was a bit convoluted, but Lu Mingfei understood it. She was really trying to take the blame upon herself.

“It’s not your fault,” Chu Zihang suddenly said. “We’re being hunted down because of our own identities. Even without you, we would have faced other dangers.”

This was Chu Zihang's style of comfort—direct and objective. Her expression genuinely relaxed a bit.

Caesar began packing. He hid some unnecessary weapons in a concealed spot in the warehouse, taking only two Beretta rifles and a small amount of ammunition. Chu Zihang made the same choice. Lu Mingfei, on the other hand, stuffed the remaining food, a few compressed biscuits, and a bottle of water into Zhen's hands.

“Remember to eat,” Lu Mingfei said. “Don’t go hungry.”

Zhen took the food, nodded, and tears welled up in her eyes again.

Chapter 537 Goodbye, Lu Mingfei, Chu Zihang, and Mr. Caesar (Part 2)

The final farewell has arrived.

Four people stood at the warehouse door, the morning light filtering through the cracks and casting a golden line on the ground.

“Let’s part ways here,” Caesar said. “Miss Zhen, you go east; there’s a subway station there where you can take a train out of this area. We’ll go west; that’s where we find what we need.”

Zhen nodded. She looked at Caesar, then at Chu Zihang, and finally at Lu Mingfei.

"Thank you," she said, her voice choked with emotion, "thank you for protecting me."

“We should thank you,” Caesar said. “Take care.”

She bowed deeply, then turned and walked towards the street to the east. Her figure appeared thin and lonely in the morning light, draped in an oversized jacket, barefoot—Lu Mingfei then remembered that she had been barefoot the whole time.

"Wait!" Lu Mingfei ran back to the warehouse and found a pair of old sneakers in a corner. He didn't know which worker had left them behind; they looked worn, but at least they were intact. He picked up the shoes and caught up with Zhen.

"Put these on," Lu Mingfei said, handing her the shoes. "There might be broken glass on the ground."

Looking at those dirty shoes and then at Lu Mingfei, tears finally streamed down her face.

"Thank you," she said softly, taking the shoes and kneeling down to put them on. The shoes were a little big, but better than nothing.

Lu Mingfei stood in front of her, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "If you encounter danger, if you need help, you can call this number."

He pulled a pen from his pocket—a cheap ballpoint pen he'd grabbed from an internet cafe. He took her hand and wrote a string of numbers on her palm.

“This is a temporary number I’m using in Japan,” Lu Mingfei said. “Only I know it. If you really run into trouble, call this number. I will, we will come.”

Zhen looked at the number in her palm and nodded. She clenched her hand into a fist, as if she wanted to remember that number forever.

"Let's go quickly," Caesar said from a short distance away, "it's dawn."

Zhen glanced at Lu Mingfei one last time, then turned and jogged away, disappearing around the street corner.

Lu Mingfei stood there, watching the direction where her figure disappeared. The unease in his heart entwined around him like vines, tightening more and more.

"Let's go," Chu Zihang patted his shoulder, "We must get to the next location before dawn."

Lu Mingfei turned around and followed Caesar and Chu Zihang in the opposite direction. The three of them walked briskly in the morning light, avoiding the main streets and taking the alleys instead.

After walking for about ten minutes, Lu Mingfei finally couldn't help but speak up: "Boss, I still feel like something's not right."

Caesar didn't turn his head: "I know what you're worried about. But we have no choice now. Taking her with us would only increase her chances of dying."

“But those people have already seen her face,” Lu Mingfei said. “What if they really go looking for her…”

“Then there’s nothing we can do,” Caesar said coldly. “Lu Mingfei, you must understand one thing now: in this game, we can’t protect everyone. Sometimes, we have to make cruel choices.”

Lu Mingfei fell silent. He knew Caesar was right, but knowing and accepting were two different things.

Chu Zihang suddenly said, "I put a tracking device in the monkey-faced man's pocket."

Caesar and Lu Mingfei both looked at him.

"What tracker?" Caesar frowned.

“A miniature GPS tracker, part of the academy’s equipment,” Chu Zihang pulled a small monitor from his pocket. A red dot was flashing on the screen. “I put it in while I was tying him up. The red dot is still near the internet cafe, which means he hasn’t been rescued yet, or he hasn’t moved after being rescued.”

"Why are you tracking him?" Lu Mingfei asked.

“Because he was one of the witnesses,” Chu Zihang said. “If we want to ensure real safety, it’s best to know where this witness is. If he has disappeared or died, then no one can be sure.”

Caesar stared at the monitor for a few seconds, then nodded. "Well done. But we don't have time to deal with that monkey man right now. Let's get to a safe place first."

The three continued onward. Lu Mingfei's unease hadn't lessened, but at least there was a glimmer of hope—if the monkey man didn't speak, the real danger would be less.

They walked through a residential area and came to a small park. The park was deserted, and the benches were covered in dew. Caesar found a secluded corner behind some bushes deep in the park, and the three of them sat down to rest.

“Eva, report our location and plan our next route,” Caesar said into the communicator.

"You are currently at Nishi-Shinjuku Park. The nearest available safe house is three kilometers away, but I do not recommend that you go there now. The Hebi-hachi family may already be setting up surveillance in that area."

"So what do we do now?" Lu Mingfei asked.

“Wait,” Eva said, “wait for support, or wait for an opportunity. The Academy is aware of your situation and is trying to find a solution.”

Lu Mingfei leaned against the tree trunk and closed his eyes. Exhaustion washed over him like a tide, but he couldn't sleep. His real face kept replaying in his mind—her image of her standing in the dressing room in her cheongsam, the way her eyes shone when she looked at Caesar, and her lonely figure as she turned and left.

And then there was the biker gang member with the revolver. His eyes, sharp as knives, lingered on Zhen's face for a long time.

Lu Mingfei suddenly opened his eyes.

“Boss,” he said, “are you sure those guys won’t target Miss Zhen?”

Caesar, who was inspecting Beretta's magazines, looked up when he heard this: "You're still thinking about this?"

“I don’t understand,” Lu Mingfei sat up straight. “If those biker gangs were really only targeting us, why was that boy looking at Miss Zhen like that? He could have completely ignored her.”

Chu Zihang suddenly spoke up: "He's confirming."

Caesar and Lu Mingfei both looked at him.

"Confirm what?" Lu Mingfei asked.

“To confirm whether Zhen was related to us,” Chu Zihang said, “In that situation, it was already suspicious for a waitress to appear alone in the changing room. He was staring at Zhen’s face to remember her features so that he could investigate later.”

Lu Mingfei's heart sank: "So he really remembered it."

“Very likely,” Chu Zihang said, “but he might not act immediately. The biker gang’s main goal right now is to find us and take revenge. They probably won’t be distracted by looking for a waitress until they achieve that goal.”

"And what happens after we achieve our goal?" Lu Mingfei asked.

Chu Zihang fell silent.

Caesar sighed. "Lu Mingfei, we can't go back now. Going back to find Zhen will only draw the pursuers to her. What we can do now is to solve our own problems as soon as possible and end this chase. Only then can Zhen be truly safe."

Lu Mingfei understood the道理 (principles/reasoning), but he just couldn't get over it.

He looked at the gradually brightening eastern sky, the direction from which he had truly left.

“She’ll be alright,” Lu Mingfei said, as if talking to himself, or perhaps praying. “She’s so smart, so brave… she’ll be alright.”