Dragon Raja 2; Chapter 39: Reward (9)

Dragon Raja 2

“Is the radish cut?” Auntie fumbled for the keys.

“Y-yes… it’s all cut,” Lu Mingfei mumbled. He had mentioned to Chu Zihang that he still needed to go home to cut radishes, steam sausages, and chop scallions, but had mostly emphasized the toilet seat. He wasn’t sure if Master Chu had paid attention to the other details.

The door opened… the entire house was covered in radish slices, neatly arranged, each exactly one centimeter thick, skillfully cut, just like a Japanese chef preparing sashimi, garnished with green scallions. The dining table, coffee table, fridge—every flat surface in the living room was covered with radishes and scallions. All the lights were on, illuminating the radishes, making them sparkle. Auntie, who was usually frugal with electricity, never allowed more than one light on in a room.

From the kitchen came the rhythmic sound of a knife at work, giving the impression of dozens of knives moving in unison, as if there were a chef’s training class practicing knife skills inside.

The deafening noise of a power drill came from the bathroom, shattering tiles and cracking cement, making the entire wall tremble.

The whole family was stunned. Lu Mingze, who was sweet-talking a junior classmate via text, was startled, dropping his phone, with the battery flying out.

A burly figure emerged from the kitchen, standing at 190 cm tall, with 50 cm wide shoulders, weighing well over 200 pounds. His gaze behind his sunglasses was sharp like lightning. The large man scanned the room with authority, holding a bucket full of radish slices in his left hand and an M9 military knife in his right—a genuine lethal weapon with dual blood grooves on the grey titanium blade, currently adorned with a few stray scallions.

“Robbery!” Auntie was breathless in front of this imposing figure and almost fainted.

“There’s money in the desk drawer, take it yourselves!” Uncle raised his hands high.

Another brute appeared at the kitchen door, wearing only a tank top, revealing his bulging muscles. He wore a black military cap and wielded a U.S. Army-issued Ontario cavalry knife.

“Special Agent Lu?” The man removed his cap, revealing a bald head tattooed with a grimacing skull.

Lu Mingfei didn’t respond. He only wanted to cover his face and deny knowing this guy—but he really did know him… They were once members of SEAL Team 6, ruthless men skilled in throat-cutting, now retired and working as staff at the college.

Cassell College—Maintenance Department!

The muscular guy with the power drill walked out of the bathroom, leaving clear boot prints on Auntie’s meticulously polished wooden floor. He walked up to Lu Mingfei, removed a large cigar from his mouth, and on his solidly angular face appeared a smile that said, “I’m a real man.” He extended his hand, “Hello, Special Agent Lu! As arranged by your deputy, Chu Zihang, the toilet seat has been installed. Please check it out!” He gestured toward the bathroom. “Guaranteed quality! We’re very professional in maintenance work!”

“They truly are… ‘professional people’.” Lu Mingfei held his forehead.

When it comes to gang leaders, you can count on them! They sent top-tier people, with “professional” written all over their faces! Only… what kind of professionals were these? Professionals in killing, perhaps? Professionals at snapping terrorists’ spines with a single lift? Professionals in charging through a hail of bullets with two machine guns in their hands? This was China—how did the Maintenance Department, a bunch of thugs, even show up here?

“Taking annual leave during the summer, came to China for a vacation. We originally planned to visit Putuo Mountain to pray to Guanyin tomorrow, but we rushed over as soon as we got the call.” The leader of the group seemed to have read Lu Mingfei’s mind.

“Aren’t you going to give it a try? We bought a premium teak toilet seat.” The man seemed puzzled by Lu Mingfei’s complex expression.

“I’ll pass…” Lu Mingfei weakly waved his hand.

“We also steamed sausages and chopped radishes and scallions,” the man added.

“But you didn’t have to… slaughter all the radishes, did you? And the scallions… why chop so much? Are you making chili paste?” Lu Mingfei asked.

The man looked surprised. “The mission didn’t say anything about chili paste. Honestly, cooking isn’t really in our skillset. This is our first time being assigned to this kind of task, so we’re not entirely familiar. If there’s anything we didn’t do well, please point it out. During our reconnaissance… I mean, when we came in, we saw large bags of radishes and bundles of scallions on the balcony. We assumed it was time-consuming work needing multiple people, so we activated the Maintenance Department. Everything else went fine, except the knives were not very handy. Fortunately, we each carry our own.” The man thought to add more credit, “We also cleaned the drains while we were at it.”

“Lu Mingfei, this is your doing! Are you unhappy with my orders? Are you showing off? You brought a bunch of people to mess things up? You win! Your family has always walked all over me! Go ahead and bully me then! I don’t have your mother’s manners and patience, and Mingze doesn’t have your style and support—no American professor backing him up… I’ve wasted my time raising you!” Auntie finally understood, and her voice rose like a shrill sonic boom, splitting the air.

“I… I didn’t mean to…” Lu Mingfei murmured like a mosquito.

The startled neighbors poked their heads in through the door, trembling as they took in the room full of thug-like men, who they heard were “friends” of that adopted child of the Lu family.

The men immediately became vigilant, raising the power drill as if it were a fully loaded Desert Eagle.

“No, no!” Lu Mingfei quickly pulled back the hulking men. These guys in the Maintenance Department weren’t great with Chinese and couldn’t understand the neighbors’ murmuring. They only sensed the situation was spiraling out of control, so they stood shoulder to shoulder, their eyes cold, shielding Lu Mingfei.

In any operation, the special agent is the top authority and must be protected first.

“You just look down on Mingze! You can’t stand me ordering you around! Think you’re something special, bringing people to stir things up? I admit defeat! Your family has always overshadowed mine! Bully me all you want! I don’t have your mom’s education and temper; Mingze can’t compare to you—no style, no backing from American professors… I’ve wasted my years raising you!” Auntie couldn’t care less about losing face in front of the neighbors, her hair a mess as she raged.

Lu Mingfei bowed his head, staring at the floor. He felt surrounded by eyes that couldn’t understand him. The maintenance workers didn’t know what they had done wrong, but they seemed to understand his intent. They stood behind him, heads bowed, silently enduring Auntie’s scolding alongside him.

Lu Mingfei felt a sense of disorientation but also sudden clarity. He realized… he and Auntie never lived in the same world! In Auntie’s imagined world, he was ruthless and cunning, looking down on Lu Mingze. He had the support of an American professor, carried himself with dignity, had presence… It turned out he was always high above them. Maybe he’d been too submissive before, and he should have just continued being meek—never lifted his head. Keeping his head down, silently moving along the edges—that was the life of Lu Mingfei.

He suddenly remembered—it was his birthday today! For the first time in his life, someone had wished him happy birthday, and someone even offered to sing him an out-of-tune birthday song.

Lu Mingfei suddenly burst into laughter—completely out of place, but he couldn’t control it.

Aunt and Uncle both looked up at him, furious, and grabbed Lu Mingze’s hand, dragging him into the inner room. The door was slammed shut, and through the door, Lu Mingfei heard a shout, “Get out!”

Lu Mingfei hung his head, silent for a long while, before patting the maintenance leader’s shoulder, “Wait for me a moment.”

He went back to his bedroom and packed his luggage. Lastly, he placed the multifunctional plug, which he’d bought for forty yuan, on top of the old IBM laptop they had once shared—where he had wasted many hours.

Lu Mingfei walked through the living room, followed by the large maintenance crew. On the floor were groceries Auntie had bought, Lu Mingze’s luggage for his trip abroad, and a cake. He had never in his life eaten a birthday cake of his own. Though it was summer and cake didn’t really seem appetizing, he still wanted a cake with his name on it—just to have, even if only to throw it around.

“Special Agent Lu, did we make a mistake?” one of the maintenance guys asked.

“No, you didn’t,” Lu Mingfei replied. “I know you’re skilled in fixing toilets—you’re top-notch.”

Right or wrong didn’t matter. No matter what he did, he wouldn’t be liked by this family. It was just like being with a girl—if she didn’t love you, everything you did was wrong.

Because there is no love, everything is wrong.

In front of the building was a high-end black BMW. The uniformed driver, wearing white gloves, respectfully opened the door for him. “The reservation at Aspasia is set for seven tonight—a table for two for you and Miss Chen Wenwen.”

Lu Mingfei was stunned. “But aren’t we supposed to go on a mission tonight? What dinner? I don’t know anything about it.”

“As per your deputy Chu Zihang’s arrangement, you will handle the most critical part of tonight’s mission—dining with Miss Chen Wenwen at Aspasia,” the leader from the Maintenance Department explained. “He will lead the support operation.”

“What support operation?” Lu Mingfei asked.

The leader smiled, “Probably leading a team to break into Rende Building and retrieve the stolen documents.”

“Oh, so taking me along is too cumbersome, right?” Lu Mingfei understood.

He looked up at the window that used to belong to him. It was still lit, shining alone. Suddenly, he realized why he was so submissive in front of Auntie—because this three-bedroom apartment in an ordinary neighborhood felt like home to him. He was different from the others at Cassell College; he didn’t want to be alone. He wasn’t part of the grand and painful sentiment called “Blood Sorrow.” He just wanted to have a home like any ordinary person.

But he should have realized long ago that Cassell College wasn’t a place for ordinary people. As Nono had said, Cassell College was another path in life. Once you stepped onto this path, the door to your previous life would be closed, leaving you only the way forward—you could never return to the human world.

Now that you hold a sword in your hand, be ready for battle.

With the golden crest branded on your collar and armed with the immense credit limit of a black card, as Special Agent Lu, you will command those formidable men, ride in this luxurious car, and dine with your past crush at the most extravagant restaurant.

What you have to give up… is just that little bit of softness in your heart, making it hard as iron from now on.

The black BMW slid silently into the night. Lu Mingfei sat in the back, his back straight.

Series Navigation

<< Dragon Raja 2; Chapter 38: Reward (8)Dragon Raja 2; Chapter 40: Sword Devil with Flaming Rage (1) >>