Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 481: Sakura’s Wrath (3)

Dragon Raja 3

“Have you ever wondered… how someone like me could own a building in Tokyo’s most expensive area?” Whale showed a childlike expression. This bear-like man wearing such an expression startled Lu Mingfei, making him think he was slipping into a delirious state.

“This building originally belonged to a client. When she passed away, she left a will, saying that no matter what, the building must be rented to me, and at a cheap price… as long as I’m alive. When I read the will, I couldn’t even remember who the client was. There was a letter included in the will, too, saying that back in the day, I told her I wanted to build my own empire in Shinjuku’s host world and share my love with every woman in need… She wrote, ‘Ah, Whale, now you have your first stronghold. Open the best host club in Shinjuku in this building, so that every wandering woman has a place to go at night.’” Whale’s voice gradually weakened, his pupils slowly dilating. “But I still couldn’t remember who she was. Back then, I said similar things to many women. When I first started, I was dirt poor… always saying grand things to clients so they’d spend more to support me… But I never expected one of them to take it seriously… How could I not repay her by building the best host club, even though I couldn’t remember who she was? She’s watching over me from heaven. When I met her, she must have been so lonely… looking for a place to go in the middle of the night, and she ended up finding me.”

Lu Mingfei blankly held the big bear of a man, listening to his final ramblings. These were probably thoughts that had been bottled up inside Whale for a long, long time, now being spilled out in his dying moments. This was his path, his life, the only thing he could leave behind in this world.

“Sakura, I think highly of you. Even a poppy has love, but it’s just too extreme.” Whale mumbled indistinctly.

“Sakura, let me tell you a truth. When a woman loves a man, the cost is often much higher than when a man loves a woman…”

“Sometimes that cost is a lifetime…” His breathing began to intermittently stop.

His words echoed in Lu Mingfei’s mind, rumbling like thunder. So, this is what women are like? You think they’re mysterious, but they’re actually very simple. If she likes you, she’ll believe even your lies.

No wonder Erii believed all the nonsense he said—because she liked him. Her intelligence wasn’t that high to begin with, and after liking him, it dropped even further. But how could Erii possibly like him? When did it happen? What did he say or do wrong to make her like him?

He remembered! He finally remembered! At that moment when the Death Servitor was dragging him to the bottom, he had already vaguely realized it! At that moment, Nono’s figure and Erii’s figure had gradually overlapped in his eyes. In the pitch-black deep sea, he had swum desperately toward her and tightly embraced her warm body. He thought he was hugging Nono, but in reality, he was holding Erii.

That was when it started. No wonder Erii was distant from everyone but had no hostility toward him and didn’t hesitate to run away from home with him… because the first time they met, he had tightly embraced her.

Erii didn’t like him because he was rich or had a fancy car to take her to high-end restaurants—she didn’t lack any of that. She had simply misunderstood… she thought that Lu Mingfei’s affection and embrace were meant for her.

At 700 meters deep underwater, in isolation from the world, that foolish young man swam toward her with a face as if he was about to cry, fearlessly heading toward her blade.

Her hand dropped down, and she was embraced with happiness and bewilderment. In that moment, something called “love” swept over her like a tidal wave, filling her mind. She felt liked, as if she were the most precious treasure in the world.

“Women… in the end, they’re just foolish creatures… so you must love them.” The final words were surprisingly clear. Whale slowly slipped out of Lu Mingfei’s arms, and for the first time, his ever-present sunglasses fell into the water, revealing a face as handsome as a naval captain’s.

So, in his youth, this man was indeed very handsome.

“Manager… Manager! Manager!” Lu Mingfei shook the gradually cooling man with all his strength.

Whale could no longer respond. He had finished everything he had to say. His entire life of ikebana, all his grand, obscure rhetoric, boiled down to the fact that he thought the woman who had once loved him was foolish, and he regretted not realizing how much she had loved him sooner. By the time he knew, it was too late to repay her.

So, he had to create the best host club in the world and be the number one host.

“Enough with the shouting. Overly emotional men are not attractive to women.” Mai turned her head and said coldly, “If there’s something you haven’t done yet, go do it. If you’re afraid, then get out of the way!”

The Death Servitor horde began to cautiously advance to this floor. Their hunger for flesh and blood and thirst for carnage had overtaken their fear. After all, though the woman standing on the stairs exuded a terrifying aura, her slender figure made the beasts think she wasn’t as dangerous as she appeared.

Mai stood still, unyielding. She couldn’t move either—the extermination had to be completed at the stairs; otherwise, she couldn’t ensure the Death Servitors wouldn’t break into the cellar.

Lu Mingfei used all his strength to lift Whale and placed him on a nearby sofa. It was a luxurious blue leather sofa with golden embroidery, exuding Baroque opulence—perfect for Takamagahara’s manager. Even in death, the King of Hosts should sit on such a throne. Though he was dead, it always seemed like he could stand up at any moment and unleash his signature move—that smile that would shake the hearts of women everywhere. Lu Mingfei retrieved the sunglasses and gently placed them back on Whale’s face, then slowly backed away.

He turned and ran toward the end of the hallway, stumbling and staggering, moving awkwardly but fiercely, like an enraged porcupine.

“Hey!” Mai snapped.

Lu Mingfei stopped and turned to look at the woman he had only met once before. He really couldn’t stand her. First, she had to kiss him every time they met, and now, in this life-threatening situation, with kilometers to go, he had no time to waste talking to her.

Mai threw a car key at him from a distance. “The car’s parked two streets over, in the parking lot behind that ramen shop. Hope it hasn’t been flooded yet. It’s a limited edition, only 99 in the world, so be careful. You’ve already wrecked one of my cars.”

Lu Mingfei looked at the key in his hand, with a golden bull logo on it—it was a Lamborghini. At Chateau Joel Robuchon, when he and Erii were cornered, another Lamborghini key had been handed to him.

So, it turns out a top-tier beauty like this was saving him. It turns out that in this world, he had more than just the boss and his senior brother behind him. It wasn’t just Chime and Whale who believed in him. He really was a loser, but in this world, he had teammates!

He didn’t just have teammates—he had an army.

“You bastard! Bastard! Bastard! How dare you kill the only God in this world! Do you even know that you’ve destroyed the path of human evolution? You worthless, dog-bred mongrel! You insignificant ant! You lowly… human!” Herzog was beating Chime furiously, slapping his face, kicking his stomach with the sharp tips of his shoes, even clawing at his art-like face with his nails.

Just a few minutes ago, he was still a learned scientist, an elegant aristocrat, but now he had turned into a hysterical madman, shrieking like a scorned harpy, as if he wanted to tear Chime into pieces.

He had spent almost his entire life in the desolate Arctic Circle, just to study the great creatures known as dragons. He had spent more than thirty years executing Bondarev’s plan, painstakingly hiding his desires, all to inherit the White Empress’ legacy. Now, he was so close to success, on the verge of becoming a unique and great existence in the world, only to have everything ruined by Chime’s reckless actions.

He couldn’t believe it—he didn’t want to believe it. He was as enraged as a hyena deprived of its prey. If he had fur, every hair on his body would have stood on end.

Exhausted from the beating, Herzog leaned on his knees, panting heavily. After all, he was old, and his body was deteriorating. His seemingly vibrant appearance was only due to the adrenaline rush from his plan nearing success.

He was indeed a hybrid, but his bloodline wasn’t particularly special. He hadn’t used the ancient dragon’s blood on himself, and all his so-called “resurrections” were done with body doubles or other cunning methods. He had never conducted dragon blood experiments on himself—the success rate was too low. A man who cherished his life would never take that risk. His life was precious, as he was at the top of the food chain. He needed to live long enough to consume everyone, turning each person’s value into his nourishment.

Those skilled in cunning and deceit often value their lives the most because, in their eyes, others are merely pawns, while they are the players. The one playing the game is always more valuable than the pieces. When the board is drenched in blood, the player remains calm and composed.

But this time, a mad pawn had betrayed the player, flipping what should have been a winning game.

Chime, holding Chisei, was writhing on the ground in pain, but suddenly, he started laughing. The excruciating pain in his heart and the agony in his body were enough to tear him apart, but he couldn’t help it—he laughed, his hoarse laughter echoing in the room, making it seem as though Ruri had taken over his body again.