Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei finds a Freylian

Looking at the enthusiastic invitations on the screen, Lu Mingfei hesitated for a moment before finally typing his reply:

"Okay, team up with me."

Chapter 139 Seeing the Big Picture from Small Details

Chu Zihang sat at his desk by the window, his laptop screen lit up, displaying not games or social media apps, but densely packed data tables and waveforms.

These are earthquake monitoring data from BJ and the surrounding area over the past fifty years, which he obtained from various public and internal academic channels.

My finger occasionally slides across the touchpad, magnifying the waveform at specific points in time, hoping to find patterns or connections to possible dragon activity.

On the notebook next to him were several pages of neatly written analysis points and questions.

Fingel was slumped in the sofa next to her like a lump of mud, holding a bag of potato chips in his hand, the crunching sound particularly clear in the quiet room.

He showed no interest in the earthquake data; his eyes darted around and eventually landed on the closed bedroom door across the way.

Lu Mingfei and Frilian went back to their respective rooms; one was being carried by a pro player in the game, while the other was probably meditating or reading.

"Tsk," Fingel mumbled, breaking the silence as he chewed on a potato chip, "Hey Zihang, stop staring at those winding lines, they're making me dizzy. When an earthquake comes, just run. What's the use of analyzing when it will come? You should analyze something more practical."

Chu Zihang didn't even look up. "An earthquake might be a sign that the king of the earth and mountains is awakening or active. Early prediction can reduce casualties and help find possible entrances to the Nibelungen."

"Alright, alright, you're the boss, you're right." Fingel pouted, his eyes darting around, and he put on a gossipy expression. He leaned closer and lowered his voice, "How about we analyze another more pressing and interesting topic?"

Chu Zihang paused his typing, realizing that Fingel wouldn't let him work quietly so easily, so he asked calmly, "What topic?"

"Of course, it's about the major developments concerning our dear S-class little brother and Miss Elf!" Fingel exclaimed, his eyebrows dancing with excitement, nearly spraying potato chip crumbs onto Chu Zihang's notebook. "Haven't you noticed? These past few days, they've been inseparable, eating their way through Beijing! One day they're eating braised pork, the next they're munching on Peking duck. Even that icy beauty, Miss Frilian, is willing to wander around with that silly boy Lu Mingfei! What does that mean? Hmm?"

Chu Zihang frowned slightly, genuinely pondering the question.

He reflected on his observations over the past few days and then answered seriously, "This shows that Commissioner Frillian is interested in the local food culture, and Lu Mingfei is quite familiar with the situation, making him a suitable guide. During the mission, it is essential for team members to maintain good communication and cooperation."

Fingel: "..."

He slapped his forehead hard, making a "smack" sound, with an expression that said, "You're hopeless."

"A partnership? A guide? Junior Brother Zihang! My dear junior brother! You have a face that makes all the girls in the school scream and a cool and aloof temperament, how come your sense of romance is even slower than Lu Mingfei's?"

Fingel was heartbroken. "This is clearly a date! A date! Although it seems like Lu Mingfei was unilaterally tempted by the food, the fact that Miss Frilian didn't refuse is the biggest signal! Think about it, why didn't she ask me to be her guide? Why didn't she ask you? Why Lu Mingfei of all people?"

Chu Zihang was silent for a few seconds, digesting this idea, and then humbly asked, "Why?"

He genuinely didn't quite understand these complex interpersonal interactions.

When Fingel saw that Chu Zihang had actually gotten the hang of it, he immediately perked up, sat up straight, and adopted the posture of an emotional master.

"You don't understand! Based on my years of observation and theoretical research, women, especially the seemingly unfathomable type like Miss Frilline, often feel a maternal instinct? Or a protective instinct? Or perhaps they just find him interesting? Lu Mingfei perfectly fits these traits!"

He counted on his fingers, "Look, he's a coward, he's unlucky, he's a gamer, but he can occasionally have a burst of energy at crucial moments. This kind of contrast is very attractive to a certain group of people! Who is Miss Frillian? What kind of storms hasn't she seen? Maybe she's tired of those arrogant guys and finds Lu Mingfei, this pure and unpretentious silly boy, quite refreshing?"

Chu Zihang frowned more and more as he listened. He felt that Fingel's logic was full of loopholes, but he couldn't find any basis to refute it.

“However,” Chu Zihang questioned, “according to the psychological profile report of Specialist Frillian provided by Norma, she is calm, rational, and makes decisions based on logic rather than emotion. Isn’t this seemingly interesting judgment too subjective?”

"Oh my junior brother!" Fingel said with an expression that said, "You've never been in love, so you don't understand." "Psychological profiling is work! Work is work, and life is life! Even the most rational person has a sentimental side! Did you see her eyes light up when she ate almond tofu? That means she has preferences too! If there are preferences, there's a breakthrough! That kid Lu Mingfei may not be good at anything else, but he does have a knack for accidentally stumbling upon people's preferences!"

The more he talked, the more he felt that his analysis made sense, and he slapped his thigh hard.

"That's right! That's it! I bet there's something going on between them! Maybe after this mission, we can get married! I'll be the best man, and you... uh, you can be the bodyguard."

Chu Zihang fell into deep thought.

He recalled the scene when Lu Mingfei and Frilian returned together. Lu Mingfei did seem to talk a little more than usual, and although Frilian still had no expression, she did not show any impatience.

Could there be some truth to what Fingel said?

He even started to wonder if, if this were truly a possible development, he, as a teammate and senior, should offer some support?

For example, ensuring the safety of their meeting place? Or eliminating potential threats in advance?

Seeing Chu Zihang's serious expression as he began to think about how to support a possible romance within the team, Fingel, who was trying so hard not to laugh, quickly added fuel to the fire.

"So, junior brother, our focus right now shouldn't be all about earthquakes and the Dragon King. We also need to care about our teammates' physical and mental well-being and personal happiness! For example, next time they go out, we can secretly protect them and observe their progress! I'll be in charge of remote monitoring and intelligence analysis, and you can be in charge of close-range security and obstacle removal, how about that?"

Chu Zihang looked up and examined Fingel very seriously, then nodded solemnly. "Okay. If it's beneficial to the overall efficiency of the mission and the stability of the team."

Fingel was surprised that Chu Zihang actually believed it and even seriously wanted to include it in the plan.

He could almost see Chu Zihang, dressed in a black trench coat, lurking like a shadow dozens of meters behind Lu Mingfei and Frilian, using a sniper scope to observe whether they were sharing food.

The scene was too beautiful for him to bear.

"Ahem, okay! Very good! It's settled then!" Fingel suppressed the urge to burst out laughing, patted Chu Zihang on the shoulder with an expression that said, "The organization really approves of you." "Now, let's continue, uh, analyzing the earthquake data! To create a safe and earthquake-free environment for our teammates' happy date!"

Chu Zihang accepted this explanation and turned his attention back to the earthquake waveform on the computer screen.

Fingel slumped back onto the sofa, chewing on potato chips with gusto, feeling incredibly pleased with himself. He thought he was truly clever, managing to fool his junior brother, the "Emperor Killer," into a state of utter disbelief.

He'd already started brainstorming titles for his next forum post: "Shocking! Cold-faced but warm-hearted Chu Zihang, a silent guardian protecting his teammate's relationship!"

This is going to be incredibly popular!

Chapter 140 The Clown

BJ, after swallowing up the daytime clamor, did not truly sleep. For a special being, the night is the time for real activity.

A group of five people of mixed race from Eastern Europe patrolled a somewhat old street near the East Third Ring Road.

They belong to a hybrid family renowned for their digging and exploration skills, and are adept at using sonic and geospatial incantations.

The leader was a middle-aged man named Igor, who was holding a modified device that resembled a Geiger counter and was constantly making a faint ticking sound.

“The signal is fluctuating slightly, right around here,” Igor said, staring at the curve on the instrument screen. “It’s very subtle, as if it’s being deliberately covered up by something, but it can’t escape the detection of ‘Ground Listening’.”

The "earth hearing" he spoke of was his spiritual power, capable of sensing extremely subtle ground vibrations and residual energy.

"Boss, could this be the entrance to the lair of the King of Earth and Mountains?" a young team member asked excitedly, gripping a modified entrenching tool tightly in his hand, its blade gleaming coldly.

“Uncertain. But we can’t overlook anything unusual,” Igor said cautiously. “Vasily, Anna, you two check the alley to the left. Peter, you come with me. Sergei, stay put and maintain communication.”

The team members quickly dispersed, their movements efficient and demonstrating their experience.

Their family has spent years exploring various dragon ruins and has an instinctive sense of danger.

However, all their experience and preparation were aimed at underground, ancient threats, not at hunters lurking in the shadows with mocking intent.

Vasily and Anna turned into the dimly lit alleyway, which was piled with clutter, and a faint whistling sound drifted over.

The melody was strange, cheerful yet with a hint of eeriness, like the opening music of a circus, standing out starkly in the quiet night.

The two immediately stopped and looked around warily, back to back.

The alley was deserted, except for a few stray cats that were startled and darted away from the trash cans.

"Who's there?" Anna whispered. Her Word of Power was "Snake," which could sense vital signs, but at this moment, all her "Snake" was returning were the wild cats and the faint heat sources of her companions in the distance.

The whistling stopped.

Immediately afterwards, a figure slowly emerged from the shadows at the end of the alley.

The figure was short, even somewhat slender, and wore a plastic clown mask with a wide, bright red grin, which looked particularly eerie in the dim light.

He/She is dressed in a large, brightly colored clown costume, hopping and skipping comically, while tossing several colorful balls in his/her hand.

"Good evening, friends~", a high-pitched and distorted voice, altered by a voice changer, came from under the clown mask. "Are you lost? Do you need Uncle Clown to take you to a fun place?"

Vasily and Anna felt a chill run down their spines. A weirdo wearing a clown mask? In a BJ alley late at night? This was too eerie.

"Who are you?" Vasily gripped his entrenching tool and asked sharply.

He tried to sense the other person's lineage, but it was like hitting a fog; he couldn't detect anything.

Either the other person is an ordinary person, or their lineage is far superior to his or they possess special hidden skills.

"Me? I'm just a clown who brings laughter~", the masked man chuckled, his voice grating. "But you all seem a little unhappy? Are you looking for something? I know a place where there are lots and lots of what you're looking for~"

Anna's "snake" still couldn't lock onto the target, which made her extremely uneasy. "Boss, we've got a situation here. There's someone wearing a clown mask."

She whispered into the communicator, but only a hissing sound came through.

The signal is being interfered with.

"Stop talking nonsense!" Vasily sensed danger and decided to strike first, charging forward and swinging his entrenching tool toward the clown's head with a whoosh.

This strike was extremely fast and powerful enough to split bricks and stones.

However, the Joker simply shifted his body slightly, dodging the powerful blow with an almost dance-like grace.

The entrenching tool slammed into the ground, sending up a few sparks.

"Oh dear, that's fierce!" the clown exaggeratedly patted his chest. "Don't you like playing games? Then, let's go somewhere else?"

The clown snapped his fingers.

In an instant, Vasily and Anna felt the scenery around them distort and spin.

The walls of the alley seemed to come alive, wriggling and deforming, and the ground beneath our feet became as soft as a swamp.

They smelled a nauseating cotton candy odor.

"Word of power! It's an illusion-type Word of power!" Anna exclaimed. She tried to concentrate to fight the illusion, but the mental impact was incredibly strong. Her "snake" was instantly disrupted, sending back a chaotic mess of information.

The moment they were trapped by the illusion, the clown approached them like a ghost.

Anna only saw a flash of vibrant colors, then a slight stinging pain shot through her neck, as if she had been stung by an insect. A strong numbing sensation quickly spread throughout her body, and her vision went black as she collapsed to the ground.

Vasily roared and swung his entrenching tool wildly, but in his distorted vision, all he saw were clown-like grinning faces and flying colorful balls, unable to hit anything.

Then, he was struck hard on the back of the neck with incredible force, instantly shattering his consciousness.

The clown looked at the two people lying on the ground, tilted his head, and the corners of his mouth under the mask seemed to widen even further.

He/She easily dragged the two unconscious mixed-race individuals to an inconspicuous, rusty iron gate deep in the alley.

The door lock had long been broken. He/She pulled the door open, and behind it was a dark staircase leading downwards, exuding a musty and rusty smell.

This is the entrance to a long-abandoned underground air-raid shelter, connected to a deeper underground network.

Similar things were happening simultaneously in different corners of Beijing.

Another group of lone mercenaries from North America, using advanced energy detectors, tracked down a source of energy fluctuations suspected to be from the dragon race, eventually locating it in an abandoned textile factory warehouse.

The warehouse was empty and deserted, with only some dilapidated machines and clutter scattered on the floor.