Dragon Raja 2; Chapter 13: A Birthday Cake is the Grave of Youth (2)

Dragon Raja 2

Of course, it wasn’t possible to prevent incidents entirely. Just last year, one heroic-minded student had secretly taken alchemical equipment out of the college and excavated a hidden dragon tomb in the Mexican rainforest, awakening a dragon about to “emerge from its cocoon.” He then failed to return to the college on time, and a thousand-mile pursuit ensued—from Mexico City to Istanbul to Cape Town to New York, ending with the use of an alchemical missile to shoot down a seaplane the dragon was on, which in turn accidentally destroyed a new stealth drone on a Pentagon test flight. This incident was interpreted by the U.S. stealth aircraft industry as “the enemy has mastered all detection techniques, and this shootdown was an obvious provocation,” leading them to abandon current research and fully invest in the spaceplane project for “extra-terrestrial strike capabilities.”

The student was severely punished by the School Board, but Lu Mingfei had to admit that this kind of logic was just how students at Cassell College operated—stopping at nothing to slay dragons. It was just bad luck that the plane had to pass through the trajectory of his senior’s missile at that exact moment.

“Mingfei! Don’t just sit there playing on the computer first thing in the morning! Go buy a bag of Guangdong sausages and a bunch of green onions, and stop by the property office to see if there’s a new package!” His aunt’s voice was incredibly penetrating, shaking Lu Mingfei even through the twenty-centimeter-thick load-bearing wall—it really was like a magical sound piercing his brain.

“Okay, okay, I’m on it!” Lu Mingfei quickly stood up.

His parents went abroad to work when he was very young and never returned, leaving him “deposited” at his uncle and aunt’s house. It wasn’t until he enrolled in Cassell College that he learned both his parents were alumni, tirelessly traveling the world for the mission of slaying dragons, with no time to care for him, the troublemaker.

Luckily, because of this, Lu Mingfei was treated differently at Cassell College. He was classified as an S-rank bloodline, the only S-rank student in the school, and received a scholarship worth tens of thousands of dollars. Though so far he hadn’t shown any extraordinary talent—in other words, everyone else in the college had superpowers except for him—this could also be explained by his humble and low-key personality…

After years of being bossed around in his uncle and aunt’s home, he could finally hold his head high—summer vacation was his chance to return home gloriously!

Now, he was no longer that troublesome kid. In his first semester’s practical course, he had stabbed and exploded the “King of Bronze and Fire,” one of the four Dragon Sovereigns, at the Three Gorges Dam—even if it was somewhat a result of cheating.

Compared to that, the student ID and credit card with a hundred-thousand-dollar limit seemed like nothing. He was saving the world, after all—why bother talking about something as mundane as money?

He also owned a car now, having won a Bugatti Veyron in a bet, although he crashed it the first time he drove it and still couldn’t afford to have it repaired.

And he was someone with a boss. He joined the Student Union, under the leadership of its president, Caesar Gattuso. Brother Caesar had no other virtues but these three: first, he could fight, dual-wielding modified “Desert Eagles” along with the Yanling “Kamaitachi,” even managing to severely wound Dragon King Constantine; second, he had money—Lu Mingfei had won the Bugatti from him; and third, he was generous—every year, he spent a fortune hosting a swimsuit champagne party by the pool for his birthday. Caesar hardly thought anyone was good enough for him, but he patted Lu Mingfei on the shoulder in front of all the Student Union officers and said, “The best outcome of this year’s recruitment is having Lu Mingfei join us!” He followed that by saying, “Even if he hasn’t shown any outstanding abilities for now, I absolutely won’t allow the only S-rank to fall into Chu Zihang’s Lionheart Society!”

How flattering! How could Lu Mingfei not feel proud? With a background like this and an identity like this, he was invincible!

Flying over the Bering Strait on the way back home, Lu Mingfei practiced his smile the entire time. No matter how much his uncle and aunt praised him, he had to remain composed and smile gracefully, without grinning foolishly and showing his teeth—that would be more in line with Cassell’s aristocratic style. His seatmate could only watch in shock as this kid smiled faintly, then restrained himself, then smiled faintly again, over and over, as if practicing some kind of mystical power.

But as soon as he stepped into his uncle’s house, there were no flowers to welcome him—just a pile of radish sticks on the living room table. His uncle and aunt were sweating profusely while pickling dried radishes, the scene bustling with activity.

“Mingfei, you’re back? Just in time! Go buy me half a pound of coarse salt!” Auntie said, beaming at Lu Mingfei.

“Oh, oh.” Lu Mingfei instinctively put down his luggage, took the two fifty-cent coins, and turned to go downstairs.

Only after stepping out the door did he realize—damn it! Now he was practically a semi-successful person. Why did he still have to do something like buying salt? Shouldn’t these noble hands be used only for saving the world?

After buying salt and coming back to help Auntie slice the radishes, Lu Mingfei was just about to subtly share his experiences in America over the past year when Auntie spoke first. “Mingfei, I wanted to ask you something…”

At this moment, Lu Mingfei didn’t realize that this was the precursor to the “Three Axes of Cheng Yaojin.”

“You’ve been in America for a year now, did you manage to save some scholarship money?”

The first axe fell. Lu Mingfei instantly turned to stone, feeling like his weak spot had been hit.

On paper, he was considered well-off, but the college had strict rules—scholarships were only awarded if all tests were passed, papers submitted on time, and grades were excellent. Except for one practical course, Lu Mingfei’s grades in all other subjects were dismal. Up until now, he had only received four months’ worth of scholarship, and his credit card was overdrawn by several thousand dollars… His sense of pride diminished, and he focused on cutting the radishes more diligently.

“People say American girls are very open. Did you find a girlfriend?” The second axe followed immediately.

Lu Mingfei’s head drooped instantly. This question truly hurt his feelings. How could he explain it? There was always a shadow lingering in his heart…

He couldn’t exactly admit, “I think my boss’s girlfriend, Nono, is pretty nice, and she’s kind to me, but it seems like I’m just a toad longing for a swan, still single to this day.”

“Did you see your parents?”

The ultimate finishing move.

Lu Mingfei had almost forgotten what they looked like. Throughout the whole year, he had only received two letters from his mother, Giovanni. When he filled out the “emergency contact” section for admission, he could only list his uncle and aunt. His stylish parents, his carefree parents, his busy parents, who were said to love him deeply, were still occupied with some dragon-slaying, world-saving business and had no time to come see him.

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