Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 114: Greenland’s Shadow (8)

Dragon Raja 3

“And yet finance still told you?”

“My guess is that my pervert of a father’s request actually went like this: ‘Tell my dear son the Vice Principal paid, but emphasize that he didn’t want him to know.’”

“I see.”

“He also invited me to be a swimming class examiner with him. He enjoyed being the examiner because the girls all wore bikinis. Imagine your father sitting behind you, radiating an old man’s hormones, excitedly pointing out things like, ‘Look at that one, full bust, great hips—son, go for girls like that, they’re the top tier!’”

“I thought fathers usually want their sons to find gentle, kind women,” Schneider said.

“But my perverted old man said, ‘A thousand pounds of affection can’t compare to four ounces in front,’” Manstein said. “His attempts to make up for the past were just too ridiculous—how could they ever make up for what I suffered? I was once put in a children’s mental hospital because of my erratic behavior, and that’s where I met Gudrian. No one came to visit me—my mother was seriously ill. Since no one visited us, the nurses treated Gudrian and me poorly. If Gudrian took extra food, they would kick and hit us. I once vowed never to forgive the man who abandoned my mother and me. If I ever had the chance to meet him, I’d kick him in the crotch like a ruthless Muay Thai champion.”

“Hmm.” Schneider said.

“But one night, my perverted old man wrote me a long letter,” Manstein said. “In it, he said, ‘Son, I know nothing I do now can make up for the trauma I caused you, but please allow me to explain one last time why I left you and your mother. The truth is, I never loved your mother. Back then, I was just fooling around with women, and you were an accidental pregnancy…’”

“Was that meant to fill your rage meter?” Schneider was taken aback.

“He went on to describe how terrible he was back then, listing all the women he hooked up with and detailing his heartless behavior towards them. He even mentioned watching one of those women jump off a tower for him, her blood splattering everywhere, and feeling nothing. He wrote, ‘But you know what? Deep down, I always had this fear—that I wasn’t really human.’” Manstein paused. “He said, ‘Walking among people, I felt like a wolf among sheep. My superior bloodline allowed me to easily dominate anyone, and no rules could restrain me. This planet is full of little sheep, and I was the only wolf. I could eat sheep as I pleased, do whatever I wanted. I didn’t love women, because in my eyes, no matter how charming or alluring they were, they were just sheep I was enjoying.’

“But when he found out he had a son, he suddenly became cautious. He said he cared about my moods, carefully observed me, humbled himself for me. He even said that he finally understood that no matter how strong a father was, to make his son happy, he’d get down on all fours and pretend to be a horse, making clop-clop sounds with his mouth. At the end of the letter, he said, ‘For the first time in my life, I feel bound—not by some rule, but by my son. Somehow, I’ve ended up like a normal human being with a family, even if it’s just a bald son at home. And suddenly, all my fear vanished, and I feel full of joy.’”

“Bound but feeling joy?” After a long pause, Schneider spoke.

“After the Greenland incident, you didn’t take on students for many years, yet you still became Chu Zihang’s advisor,” Manstein said. “Was it just because of his excellent bloodline?”

“No, it was because he was so stubborn,” Schneider recalled Chu Zihang’s golden eyes, cold in the rain. “I couldn’t refuse.”

“How stubborn was he?”

“He was one of the rare hybrids who found the college himself, instead of the college finding him. I decided to personally interview him in Chicago, but I was still skeptical about him, so I arranged to meet him under a railway bridge—a quiet place. If he showed any suspicious behavior, I could subdue or even kill him without anyone knowing. I had a Beretta pistol under my coat. It was raining heavily then, and I saw the boy standing under a traffic light, holding his only piece of luggage. We stared at each other across the street. He knew exactly who I was, but he didn’t come closer. We were like two lone wolves encountering each other, refusing to sniff each other out, instead maintaining a safe distance to observe. The traffic light changed three times, and we didn’t exchange a word. His eyes were stubborn and lonely. I could tell he wanted to come over because I was the person he had been looking for, but as long as I didn’t show any sign of invitation, he wouldn’t take a single step.”

Schneider sighed softly. “Eventually, I waved at him. I was forced to make a gesture because his gaze left me no way out. At that moment, I felt I had no choice—I had to either kill him or invite him.”

“So, were you inviting a sword or a boy?” Manstein asked.

Schneider was silent for a long time. “What nonsense. Could I really see a person as a lifeless weapon? Sometimes, I wish he could have grown up as an ordinary person… but we met on the battlefield. All I could teach him was how to wield a weapon.”

“You aren’t capable of being completely ruthless. You cleared out the central control room and sat here smoking because you were uneasy,” Manstein said. “You’re hesitating; you’re worried about the safety of the dive team. If so, why are you still rushing the dive? Schneider, tell me the truth. You should know I’d rather believe you than the School Board. You may be a madman, but the School Board’s power games are even more twisted.”

“Prince. It’s Prince.” After a long silence, Schneider spoke in a low voice.

“Prince?”

“After the Greenland incident, the person with the ID ‘Prince’ disappeared completely from the internet. No one has seen him—he’s only known as an excellent hunter. The college suspected that the bronze fragments and coordinates he sent us were bait, that he released those photos to lure us to the Greenland Sea to find that embryo. Until recently, the ‘Prince’ ID resurfaced online. He posted some photos of KGB secret documents related to the Lenin. The KGB believed that someone had once built a research institute in northern Siberia to study unknown creatures and supernatural powers. Just before the collapse of the Soviet Union, this research institute was suddenly blown up. And right before its destruction, the Lenin happened to be conducting research in nearby waters. It was highly likely that the Lenin took something important from the institute. After that, this ship from the Northern Fleet fled all the way to Japan.” Schneider said, “That’s why we started paying attention to that sunken ship.”

“If this is another bait, why are you still biting?”

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