Dragon Raja 4; Chapter 79: Dragon Song in Ultramarine Hall (4)

Dragon Raja 4

The lightning vanished, and the shadow disappeared, as though he had never been there at all.

EVA highlighted a bright green mark on the tunnel wall behind the Maserati, zooming in. The group saw a silver card embedded halfway into the tunnel wall, with thick blood slowly dripping from its edge.

“That’s the murder weapon?” Saint George whispered. “Anjou’s folding knife, as I understand, is powerful enough to kill even a Dragon King. And the attacker didn’t even use a proper weapon?”

“Yes, the weapon used was Lu Mingfei’s student ID card,” EVA replied.

“Anjou’s Yanling is Time Zero. He must have already activated it by then, yet the attacker’s speed was still comparable!” Cadmus said.

“He saw through Anjou’s manipulation of time!”

“Let the principal rest now,” Lady Laurent said. “The Valhalla meeting room is ready. Today is our first meeting of the Supreme Council.”

In the Valhalla meeting room, the elders and School Board members sat on tall-backed chairs, with a few professors present as observers. The representatives of the old families had finally returned to the conference table, though the situation made it impossible to show any relief.

The vice principal was the exception. In front of him was a roasted chicken and a glass of beer—perfect for lunchtime, as he clearly didn’t want to let the meeting interfere with his meal.

EVA had just shown two unsettling videos: one of Lu Mingfei, suddenly opening his eyes while under hypnosis, suppressing Toyama Masashi, his face filled with fury, like a king descending from his throne to administer justice; the other was footage from the corridor leading to the ice vault, where the black shadow stood, his defiant and upright figure glaring at the council members. His golden eyes burned like twin lanterns, and two rows of white teeth gleamed.

Though the ice vault was filled with cameras, this was the only image the intruder had left—a blurry silhouette with an indistinct face. He had swiped Lu Mingfei’s S-Rank student ID card, so the security system didn’t trigger an alarm. When one of the cameras turned toward him, he looked up, and the camera’s chip immediately overloaded, crashing the entire security system. No one knew how he had taken the dragon skeleton. The Abyssal Void’s reservoir contained 1,200 tons of mercury, which submerged the dragon skeleton. For the Dragon Kings, mercury was a bone-corroding poison.

“We need Lu Mingfei’s full records, the most complete version,” Beowulf said.

EVA immediately projected an image of Lu Mingfei above the meeting table, alongside a series of data:

Lu Mingfei (Alias or former name: Ricardo M. Lu)

Student ID: A1071721S / Execution Bureau File Number: 071721S / Code Name: Patient Zero

Age: 23 / Height: 178 cm / Weight: 68 kg / Hair Color: Black / Eye Color: Dark Brown

Major: Dragon Genealogy / Mentor: Guderian (Professor Emeritus)

Bloodline Level: S / Yanling: None / Type: Combat Core / Danger Level: Unassessed

Proficiency in ranged weapons: 73% / Proficiency in melee weapons: 65% / Driving skill rating: 47%

Officer Missions Completed: 47 / Battlefield Survival Rate Deviation: 2650%

Standard Weapon Configuration: Modified Desert Eagle *2 / Alchemy Blades *2

…

…

Lu Mingfei himself had never seen this report, which summarized his combat abilities and mental strength through hundreds of parameters. His family relations, classmates, friends, bank transactions, and even trivial habits were all recorded by EVA. This was the “big data profile” he had once mentioned to Porquinho, where every person leaves traces every moment, and the internet quietly collects this data to paint a vivid portrait of them.

“His parameters aren’t as impressive as expected. Is this the rising star you nurtured using the dragon bones?” Cadmus remarked.

“The abilities displayed so far only rank as A-level, though it’s undeniable that his growth rate is astonishing, and his combat will is exceptionally strong,” EVA replied.

“Can someone explain what ‘Battlefield Survival Rate Deviation’ is? And why is Lu Mingfei’s so extreme?” Saint George inquired.

“Execution Bureau members are constantly in danger during missions. If I estimate a 50% survival rate for an officer in a mission and they return safely, then the survival deviation for that mission is 50%. This suggests that their actual abilities are higher than estimated, and I will reassess their survival rate for the next mission. After multiple missions, these deviations are weighted by mission difficulty to calculate the average,” EVA explained.

“So, it’s basically luck? But can luck be this outrageous?” Saint George asked again.

“He has participated in the Three Gorges operation, the Beijing operation, and the Tokyo operation, all involving Dragon King-level targets. Theoretical calculations placed his survival rate near zero, yet he survived every time. That’s why his battlefield survival rate deviation is so high. The only others who come close are Caesar Gattuso at 2130%, and Abdullah Abbas at 1560%.”

“I’ve said this before, stop jumping to conclusions about killing him. That kid is our lucky star. Ever since he joined the college, we’ve had one success after another,” chimed in the Vice Principal, Flamel. “Besides, he has no reason to attack Anjou. Anjou treated him almost like a son. The only reason he’s so accomplished now is because Anjou nurtured him. And come on, even if Lu Mingfei wanted to strike, why would he use his student ID card? That’s like scribbling rebellious poems on a wall!”

“It makes sense. His identity was given to him by Anjou, so by killing Anjou, he’s symbolically returning the student ID, which represents his connection to the college,” Cadmus commented. “It’s like a knight breaking the sword given to him by his best friend before a duel. It’s a show of knightly spirit.”

“You don’t understand anything, so stop talking,” the Vice Principal retorted.

“Are you implying that the Cadmus family doesn’t understand knightly spirit?” Cadmus’ white eyebrows shot up.

“I’m saying you don’t understand Lu Mingfei. That student ID is also a credit card with a $100,000 limit. If Lu Mingfei wanted to break it, he would have spent all the money first.”

“We don’t have time for this trivial argument,” Beowulf interrupted. “Every second we waste, the Dragon Kings are moving swiftly!”

The atmosphere around the table instantly turned serious as everyone focused on Beowulf.

Even among the notoriously tough old families, the Beowulf family were the most relentless dragon slayers. It was said that every Beowulf heir was fed highly toxic dragon blood at birth, and only those who survived the poison were deemed worthy by the family. This earned them the nickname “Dragon Blood Devourers.” The current Beowulf heir, pale and imposing, sat like a limestone tombstone, his aged hands clasped together, with fine white scales covering his skin.

“Whether by birth or behavior, Lu Mingfei is an anomaly,” Beowulf said slowly. “He’s not a wild breed. Allegedly, his parents are Cassell College alumni, but the only information we have are the names Lu Lancheng and Giovanni.”

As Beowulf pointed out, Lu Mingfei’s family section included clickable links for his uncle and aunt, but Lu Lancheng and Giovanni’s names were grayed out.

“A cat is a good cat if it catches mice. Who cares about its parents?” the Vice Principal remarked.

“But what if the ‘cat’ you’re driving is a dragon?” Beowulf said ominously. “You may be sending a Dragon King to hunt his own kind.”

Everyone was shaken by this statement. It was a terrifying yet plausible theory. In the Secret Party’s thousand-year history, they had never obtained a dragon skeleton Cross until the battle at the Three Gorges, which almost boiled the river. Since then, the college had enjoyed unprecedented success in dragon slaying, with good fortune beginning the year Lu Mingfei enrolled. Anjou’s strange decision to send a team of rookies to the Three Gorges, coupled with his favoritism toward Lu Mingfei, suddenly seemed suspicious… akin to Southeast Asian shamans raising evil spirits to devour other spirits.

But looking at the projection of Lu Mingfei in his oversized shorts and T-shirt, wearing giant headphones, his lethargic eyes half-closed—could this really be the demeanor of a Dragon King?

“In my experience, the Secret Party has always been action-oriented. Since when did it become fun to play Sherlock Holmes, guessing from a file? Is that entertaining?” a strange voice interrupted from above.

“Who’s speaking?” Beowulf scowled, scanning the room.

“Forgot my voice, Beowulf? We were once brothers playing cards together, weren’t we?”

“Why are you here?” Beowulf asked in surprise. “Where’s Frost?”

“Why can’t I be here? Frost is just the acting family head. I’m the real deal!”

A glowing blue beam descended onto an empty chair. Seated within the light was a man wearing only white swim trunks, with well-defined chest and abs, set against a backdrop of blue sky and fluttering flags.

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