Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 143: The Sea of Hidden Dragons (10)

Dragon Raja 3

Lu Mingfei felt the submersible vibrating, as if tons of ink were pouring onto its shell, spreading out like black clouds enveloping the Trieste.

The Corpse Guardians, severed at the waist, let out howls inaudible to ordinary ears. They swam frantically around the Trieste, searching for new opportunities to attack. Mai did not pursue; she merely stood on the top of the submersible, on her tiptoes, repeatedly shaking off the black blood from her dual blades, her long hair dancing like flowing clouds.

“The more Corpse Guardians we have, the better, but that big one waking up would be troublesome,” Lu Mingze said. “That’s a pureblood dragon with a noble lineage. Its bones were made into Corpse Guardians using alchemy, forming the foundation of the city. You guys have really stirred up a massive problem; you shouldn’t have come here. Throughout history, countless people have wanted to come here to seize something, but no one dared to because this is a forbidden place that the living are not allowed to enter. So ultimately, they set a huge trap, throwing you all in here. Opening the gates of taboo always requires blood sacrifices.”

“Who’s behind this, harming us?” Lu Mingfei’s eyes widened. The task had been assigned by Anjou, but Lu Mingfei didn’t believe that Anjou sent them to their deaths. Although he was an old neurotic, he was still an old neurotic with principles.

“This intelligence will cost you a quarter of your life,” Lu Mingze chuckled.

“Get lost!”

“Let’s be serious. Do you want to trade? You’re in a desperate situation. With Chu Zihang, you won’t reach the nuclear power chamber. But just say the word, and I’ll kill all the Corpse Guardians here! I’ll make that noble guy find his teeth all over the ground! In two hours, you’ll be enjoying Michelin-starred Japanese cuisine and top-shelf sake at the Tokyo Peninsula Hotel, with your head resting on a geisha’s long white legs!” Lu Mingze pounded his chest.

Lu Mingfei stared into Lu Mingze’s eyes, instinctively retreating until he bumped into the control panel.

He didn’t want to. There was always a shadow in his heart; every time he traded with Lu Mingze, that shadow grew larger, threatening to swallow him whole. Deep down, it felt like someone was constantly shouting at him to stop! Stop! Stop! No more trading! If he kept trading like this, he would lose something more important than life! But thinking about it was truly ridiculous; he was so poor he only had credit left, and yet there were things more important than life? But he just wouldn’t accept it. He felt scared, even more than he felt fear toward the Corpse Guardians and the Vipers.

He and Lu Mingze locked eyes, the air seemed to freeze, quiet to the point of discomfort.

“Don’t look at me like that; it makes me a bit embarrassed. I almost feel like I’m the bad guy.” In the end, Lu Mingze relented, forcing a smile. “I’m really not a bad person; I’m a devil. Devils tempt clients to trade souls. If I spent all my time fundraising for hope projects or providing disaster relief in Africa, would I still be a devil? I’d be poked in the spine by other devils. You know me; my prices are fair and I’m capable. Just give the word, and I could sink Japan in an instant, charging you only a quarter of your soul.”

“I don’t want to sink Japan,” Lu Mingfei said wearily as he sat in the chair. “I just want to…”

He fell silent, not even knowing what he had wanted from childhood to now. He had already sold half of his life to Lu Mingze; he could have exchanged it for enough money to buy a country or at least cleared his credit card debt, but he was still broke today. He had used his life to save the world, but the problem was he didn’t really want to save the world. Saving the world had nothing to do with someone like him; he only had small, selfish desires, like wanting to see the legendary Akihabara, wanting to see beautiful girls in short skirts and black stockings, wanting to sneak into an AV shop and experience the feeling of being surrounded by breasts and thighs… Most of all, he wanted Nono to like him.

“I was just saying. Brother, you’re a good person; you wouldn’t want to sink Japan. A sunken Japan would just be an underwater ruin, which isn’t fun at all. An above-water Japan is much more interesting. The night sky in Shinjuku will always be illuminated by neon lights, monkeys will bathe in the hot springs of Hokkaido, and on the streets of Akihabara, there will be girls in maid outfits and black stockings. When cherry blossoms fall, if you ride the Shinkansen, the petals will drift along the long mountain paths, and the train will rush through them…” Lu Mingze’s eyes sparkled, seemingly filled with anticipation for those beautiful things. “That’s the living Japan. Brother, you love living things; you wouldn’t casually let me sink it.”

“Of course, what’s good about dead things?” Lu Mingfei replied.

“But people aren’t truly dead when they stop breathing. Some say a person dies three times: the first time is when they stop breathing, at which point biologically, they are dead; the second time is at their burial, when people attend their funeral and reminisce about their lives, at which point they die socially and lose their place in society; the third time is when the last person who remembers them forgets them, and that’s when they truly die,” Lu Mingze said softly.

“What are you trying to say?” Lu Mingfei’s heart trembled.

“Brother, have you ever thought about who would remember you if you died here? At your funeral, Chu Zihang’s mother would cry until she fainted, the Gattuso family would go all out against Anjou, and what about you? Do you expect your uncles and aunts to mourn for you? Or your chubby cousin? Damn it!” Lu Mingze sneered. “Every time I think of him sharing a name with me, I want to erase him completely from this world.”

Lu Mingfei believed he could do it. The little devil, when unhappy, was both charming and sinister, slowly sharpening his teeth, capable of doing anything at that moment.

“Oh, and what about Nono? Would she cry for you? No, her tears are flowing on Caesar’s tombstone. Remember the line from our middle school textbook? ‘Some people live, yet they are already dead; some people die, yet they live on.’” Lu Mingze spoke softly. “This is true. Caesar will live on in Nono’s heart. But you? You will soon be forgotten. In the end, your name will only remain on the martyr’s roster of the Secret Party. On your memorial day, those hot girls will throw a big party, drinking and dancing with handsome guys, not considering it a day worth mourning.”

Lu Mingfei felt a quiet pain in his heart.

“So someone like you has to keep living. Because only by living can you take revenge on this world that ignores you,” Lu Mingze leaned close to Lu Mingfei’s ear. “One day, you’ll make this world remember you. Better to be hated and remembered than to be forgotten without a trace; it sounds like some famous quote.”

“I don’t want to take revenge on anyone! Go play elsewhere!” Lu Mingfei shouted.

“Sigh! With my theatrical training, if I were to preach to a monk, I would have made him give up his vows long ago. But with all the sincerity I’ve poured into talking to you, all you say is ‘go play elsewhere, devil’,” Lu Mingze sighed. “It’s really frustrating. Let’s go outside for some fresh air.”

Series Navigation

<< Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 142: The Sea of Hidden Dragons (9)Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 144: The Sea of Hidden Dragons (11) >>