Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei finds a Freylian

But now, Chu Zihang stands in the rain, disheveled and injured, but still alive.

Chu Zihang turned his head and looked at Lu Mingfei. His face was stained with soot, and his lips were chapped.

“I almost died,” Chu Zihang said, his voice hoarse from inhaling too much smoke and dust. “The second floor of the internet cafe was a Turkish bath. In the end, I jumped into the bath, where there was still water, which temporarily shielded me from the flames and the high temperature.”

He paused, then added, "Then he jumped out of the window and landed on the garbage heap behind him."

Lu Mingfei opened his mouth, as if to say something, but in the end he only breathed a sigh of relief. He felt a wave of exhaustion; the nerves that had been taut with tension and fear suddenly relaxed the moment he saw that Chu Zihang was still alive.

But the relaxation only lasted a few seconds.

Chu Zihang's gaze shifted to the figure still crawling in the puddles.

A man with a monkey face.

His heart was pierced by a long knife, entering from his back and exiting from his chest; under normal circumstances, he should have been dead. But he was still moving. With his only remaining hand and foot, he crawled laboriously through the puddles, like an earthworm whose body had been cut in half.

Something white fell out of his pocket—it was real underwear, the underwear he had stolen, smelled, and flaunted as a trophy. The small, pure cotton, conservative-style underwear was now soaked in blood and rain, filthy and disgusting.

This lingerie reignited Caesar's fury.

Caesar looked down at the wounds on his chest—five bloody holes, not deep, but blood was seeping from them, staining his tactical vest red. Then, he looked at the monkey-faced man, the golden light in his eyes shining again.

He raised his Desert Eagle and pointed the muzzle at the monkey-faced man's head.

He said he would kill this person, and keeping one's promise is a virtue of an emperor. What is said must be done.

But Chu Zihang reached out and pressed down on the gun barrel.

"Don't kill him yet," Chu Zihang said, his voice calm but firm. "He might be able to recover from this dragon form. Let him reveal the name of the mastermind behind it all first."

Caesar frowned: "Dragon form?"

"The drug he just took," Chu Zihang said, looking at the monkey-faced man, "is a purple liquid that can activate dragon blood. It can stimulate the potential of hybrids in a short time, bringing their bodies to a state close to that of dragons. But the price is high, usually leading to irreversible dragonification or even death."

He paused, then added, "You shouldn't have let him eat it. Killing him now will cut off the trail."

Caesar was silent for a few seconds. His finger was still on the trigger, but the pressure had eased slightly. He knew Chu Zihang was right; the real threat was the person behind the scenes. The monkey-faced man was merely a pawn, an executor.

Killing him would be easy, but then the trail would be gone.

"Can he still speak?" Caesar asked, his voice icy.

"Let's give it a try first," Chu Zihang said.

The two men approached the monkey-faced man. Caesar nudged him with his toe, causing him to flip over and lie on his back.

The monkey-faced man's face was distorted. The veins beneath his skin bulged like a black spiderweb. His eyes were a cloudy gold, the pupils unfocused. His lips trembled, as if he were trying to say something, but no sound came out.

Chapter 554 Lu Mingfei is shot

Caesar crouched down, grabbed his collar, and lifted him up slightly: "Speak. Who's behind this?"

The monkey-faced man's lips continued to tremble. A hoarse sound came from his throat, like a leaky bellows.

"Speak!" Caesar growled.

But at that moment, Lu Mingfei saw it.

Amidst the groans of the biker gang wailing in the floodwaters, one man slowly sat up. His movements were slow and stealthy; if Lu Mingfei hadn't happened to be looking in that direction, he wouldn't have noticed him at all.

The man was holding a gun. An old-fashioned revolver, a Colt Python, .357 Magnum, six-round magazine, with a long barrel. The gun was somewhat blackened by the passage of time, but it was well-maintained.

The gun was raised silently, its muzzle pointing at Caesar's back.

Lu Mingfei's heart nearly stopped beating. He opened his mouth, wanting to shout a warning. But the sound stuck in his throat, unable to come out. His mind went blank for a moment, then only one thought remained.

Caesar's entire attention was focused on the monkey-faced man. He didn't notice what was behind him, nor the assassin disguised as a wounded biker.

It's too late; there's simply not enough time to think.

Lu Mingfei lunged forward, using all his strength to pounce on Caesar.

Caesar heard the wind, heard Lu Mingfei's breathing, and had a bad feeling. He wanted to turn around, wanted to react.

But it's too slow.

Lu Mingfei crashed into him. The force of the impact caused Caesar to stagger forward and release his grip on the monkey-faced man. He heard Lu Mingfei whisper something in his ear, a short, quick sound that he didn't catch.

"boom!"

Gunshots rang out in the rainy night, and Lu Mingfei's body jolted.

Caesar felt something warm splash onto his neck as Lu Mingfei's hand slid off him.

He turned around and saw Lu Mingfei standing in the rain, his back to him, facing the assassin who had fired the shot. Lu Mingfei swayed, then slowly, very slowly, fell backward.

Caesar reached out to grab him, but his fingers only touched the hem of Lu Mingfei's clothes.

Lu Mingfei fell into the floodwater.

"thump."

Water splashed up. Then, gunshots rang out again.

This time it's Caesar's Desert Eagle.

He reacted the instant Lu Mingfei fell. He didn't even turn around to confirm the assassin's identity, didn't aim, didn't hesitate. He simply acted on instinct, on anger, on the urge to destroy everything, and pulled the trigger.

The bullet tore through the rain and struck the assassin precisely in the chest.

The assassin fell backward, shooting the monkey-faced man in the head before collapsing into the puddle and remaining motionless.

But Caesar did not look at the assassin.

He just looked at Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei lay in the puddle, face up, eyes open, staring at the sky. Rain lashed his face, streaming down his cheeks, mixing with some dark red liquid that trickled from his temples.

There is a bullet hole there.

It's small, but deep.

Fresh blood gushed out, forming huge bloodstains in the puddles, like blooming red flowers. The bloodstains spread in the rainwater, becoming fainter and fainter, but the area they covered grew larger and larger.

Lu Mingfei's eyes were blank. He looked at the sky, at the artificial moon that was gradually dimming, and at the falling raindrops.

Then, he closed his eyes.

Caesar knelt down, his hand trembling as he reached out towards Lu Mingfei's face, yet dared not touch him. He didn't know what to do, what to do, or what to say.

“Lu Mingfei,” Caesar began, his voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible.

Lu Mingfei did not respond.

His chest was still rising and falling slightly, but very weakly and slowly. His face was ashen, and his lips had lost all color. Blood was still flowing from the bullet hole in his temple, though the flow had slowed.

Chu Zihang rushed over. He glanced at Lu Mingfei, then immediately knelt down to check his injuries. He gently pressed his fingers against Lu Mingfei's carotid artery, feeling for his pulse.

A few seconds later, Chu Zihang raised his head and looked at Caesar.

“He’s still alive,” Chu Zihang said softly, “but the situation is very dangerous. The bullet grazed his temple, went through his temporal bone, and may have damaged his brain. He has lost a lot of blood and needs immediate emergency treatment.”

A glimmer of hope rekindled in Caesar's eyes: "First aid? What do we do? What do we do?"

Chu Zihang quickly took out a first-aid kit from his equipment box. He tore open a sterile dressing and pressed it against Lu Mingfei's wound, trying to stop the bleeding. However, the wound was deep and the bleeding was heavy, so ordinary pressure had limited effect.

“Surgery is needed,” Chu Zihang said, cold sweat beading on his forehead. “The bullet may still be inside his skull. He must be taken to the hospital immediately for craniotomy.”

"A hospital?" Caesar jumped to his feet. "Where's the hospital? Where's the nearest one?"

“There’s a health center in Chizuru Town,” a voice said softly and tremblingly, “but the equipment might not be enough.”

Caesar and Chu Zihang turned their heads at the same time.

It's true.

She had walked over at some point and was standing not far away. She was still wearing the jacket Caesar had given her, her face was pale, her eyes were red and swollen, but her expression was resolute.

“Miss Zhen.” Caesar was taken aback.

“The public hospital isn’t far,” she said softly.

Although the biker gang had scattered, many were still wailing, crawling, and trying to escape. Moreover, the gunshots and explosions would surely attract the police and even more people.

“We can’t go to a public hospital,” Chu Zihang said calmly. “Our identities are too sensitive. If we’re exposed, it will cause even bigger trouble. And… the people behind the scenes may still be monitoring us.”

Caesar gritted his teeth. He knew Chu Zihang was right. But they couldn't just stand by and watch Lu Mingfei die here.

Just then, he saw the monkey-faced man on the ground.

The monkey-faced man was still crawling. His will to live was terrifyingly tenacious; even with his heart pierced and severe blood loss, he was still moving. His fingers groped in the puddles, as if trying to grasp something.

Caesar walked over and stepped on his hand.

“Speak,” Caesar’s voice was as cold as iron, “Where are the safe medical points? People like you must have your own doctors, your own bases. Speak!”

The monkey-faced man raised his head and looked at Caesar. His eyes were unfocused, but a strange smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Doctor," he said with difficulty, his voice hoarse like a broken bellows, "Red Guard has its own doctor. He's here."

He gave an address that wasn't far from here, only two streets away.

Caesar memorized the address. Then, he released his foot.

“Chu Zihang,” Caesar said, “you take Lu Mingfei there. I’ll say a few words to Miss Zhen, and then I’ll come find you.”

Chu Zihang nodded. He carefully picked up Lu Mingfei, moving very gently, afraid of aggravating his injuries. Lu Mingfei's body hung limply, unresponsive.

Chu Zihang carried Lu Mingfei and disappeared into the depths of the rainy night streets.

Caesar watched them leave until they were out of sight.

Then he turned around and looked around.

The streets were a scene of devastation. Burning motorcycles, wrecked vehicles, fallen bikers, and flowing blood. The flames were still burning, but much smaller now. The rain was still falling, but less intense.

It's almost dawn.

Chapter 555 Miss, Genji will take good care of you.

Caesar took a deep breath and began to act.

He first checked the killer and confirmed he was dead. Then he checked the monkey-faced man; he still had a faint breath, but was not far from death.