Dragon Raja 2; Chapter 75: Dragons’ Feast (3)

Dragon Raja 2

He flipped through the catalog. China had really developed; everything was listed in Chinese—Qing Dynasty Qianlong-era Doucai floral motif tripod plate… Song Dynasty blue and white glaze carved “Prince Qin Breaking the Formation” tall-necked vase… Nanyang Dushan jade Vairocana Buddha statue with a large jade bowl… Each name sounded elegant, with astonishing prices listed below.

“The items in the catalog aren’t what we’re interested in.” Anjou waved his cigar. “This is a ‘targeted auction.’ A targeted auction is where items, by law, can only circulate within a specific group of people, and the auction is therefore only open to specific customers. Often, such auctions feature items of unclear origin, things even large auction houses don’t dare make public—only inviting trusted clients. Seven years ago, Sotheby’s tried to auction six ceramic figurines from the tomb of Empress Dou from the Western Han Dynasty, stolen artifacts, and it caused quite a stir. After that, some interesting items were no longer advertised and could only be seen by attending the event in person.”

“So… we’re actually going to bid?” Lu Mingfei let out a sigh of relief. Seeing Anjou waving his cigar, he had been expecting the old man to pull a fully loaded Colt revolver from the glove compartment and say, “This job is all on us today!”

“Of course,” Anjou paused, puzzled. “Going to an auction means we naturally have to bid.”

“Good, good, you continue, Principal.” Lu Mingfei nodded like a pecking chicken.

“Targeted auctions are where the college finds treasures. Sometimes we find obscure items. For example, we once bought an undated brass lamp for less than 400,000 dollars. Do you know what it was?” Anjou gestured with his hands, “It’s an alcohol lamp, like the kind chemists used in the century before last.”

“I’ve seen those. In high school, only teachers were allowed to use them. It’s like a little flame thrower.”

“Exactly. Now imagine turning the lamp sideways to use it…”

“That… makes it a flamethrower!” Lu Mingfei realized.

“Exactly! It wasn’t an alcohol lamp at all, but a weapon—a work of 19th-century alchemy. They usually call such things ‘Dragon’s Breath,’ fueled not by alcohol but by refined mercury-based nitroglycerin.”

“Nitroglycerin… isn’t that explosive?”

“Exactly, it’s explosive. It can shoot a 20-meter-long cone of fire, with explosive effects and releasing large amounts of mercury vapor. It’s a powerful weapon against the dragon race,” Anjou nodded. “That’s why it’s a good place to find treasures.”

“So why am I going?” Lu Mingfei asked.

“You will play the role of a new buyer. There’s something we hope you can buy for us.” Anjou handed over an earpiece. “It’s simple, just follow my instructions. But remember, at the auction, you and I do not know each other.”

“I don’t think I’m suited for this… I don’t know anything about auctions…” Lu Mingfei hesitated.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t know. The college will provide all sorts of learning opportunities,” Anjou took a deep puff of his cigar and fell silent for a few seconds. “You are the college’s only current S-rank hybrid. You must learn many things while the Sentinels and I can still maintain the college… There’s not much time left.”

“Not much time…?” Lu Mingfei detected a sense of melancholy in Anjou’s words.

“At my age, how long do you think I can live?” Anjou shrugged. “I was one of the first members of the Lionheart Society. Of course, if you lived through the entire 20th century, you’d also be indifferent to the idea of death, like me.”

“And yet you… still smoke so heavily…” Lu Mingfei stammered. He had never thought that a formidable figure like the Principal could die. To any student at Cassell College, the Principal and the Sentinels were the foundation of the college. An old man who had lived for a hundred and thirty years and could still leap like a tiger with a knife to take down a dragon king—that was practically a monster! And weren’t monsters supposed to live for thousands of years? Listening to such a figure talk about death in all seriousness was both absurd and a bit sad.

“The benefits of dragon genes are that most of us will never get cancer. Many fatal diseases stay far from us. If I am to die one day, it will be because all my parts have worn out… or because my head got blown off by a dragon king’s Yanling.” The old man nonchalantly flicked his cigar butt out of the sunroof, held the steering wheel with one hand, and suddenly floored the gas pedal.

The sleek, dangerous shark roared forward, disregarding the changing traffic light, plunging into the stream of cars, forcing several vehicles to brake urgently, blocking the entire intersection.

“Hey hey hey hey!” Lu Mingfei hadn’t even had time to put on his seatbelt, holding onto the handle for dear life. The “acceleration thrill” praised by car magazines was pure torment right now, like a massive force pressing him against the seat.

These Cassell College maniacs! No wonder they say the rotten apple doesn’t fall far from the tree! Compared to this, Chu Zihang only reversing at 60 kilometers per hour made him seem like a law-abiding driver!

Anjou contentedly downed his glass of ice wine and kept accelerating. Clearly, this old man was used to driving fast.

Ice wine? Hey, wait, that’s not right. Ice wine should not be in this setting! The speedometer was hitting 120 kilometers per hour, and the old man was driving with a wine glass in hand? This was way too extreme! Lu Mingfei’s head was buzzing.

“Principal… drunk driving, in China…” Lu Mingfei swallowed hard. “Your driver’s license would be revoked!”

“It’s the same in America,” Anjou shrugged. “But do you think they’d renew a license for a 130-year-old man? When I learned to drive, there was no such thing as a license. That was 1899… yes, 1899, and the automobile was only invented in 1885. No Ford, no GM, no traffic rules!”

“Principal, you… have been driving without a license for over a hundred years?” Lu Mingfei felt his heart leap to his throat. In the instant they narrowly avoided a collision, he thought for sure they’d crash; the gap was razor-thin, like two samurais crossing swords. “Principal, I’m young—I want to keep living!”

“That’s right,” Anjou smiled, “you’re still young. But remember what I just told you? I don’t know how much time I have left…”

“Hey, come on! Can you not keep speeding while switching topics?!”

“I’m not changing topics. What I mean is… as an old man on his way out who likes to drive fast, what do I have left to fear?” Anjou shifted into the “Super Sport” mode, making the car let out a cheer that could make teenage girls’ hormones surge.

The Maserati stopped at a speed bump by the roadside.

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