Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 258: Divine Hall of Murals (12)

Dragon Raja 3

His laugh was somewhat helpless. He hadn’t expected to be caught by such a detail. After every week’s business at Takamagahara, the hosts would receive bonuses. With his share, Caesar would have a servant buy him Macallan whiskey and Cohiba cigars. He never skimped on his pleasures.

“So, are you going to surrender, or do I have to knock you out? I can’t guarantee your safety if we fight,” Chisei said, advancing slowly.

“You’ve never guaranteed our safety. Just last week, I had to swim out of the Japan Trench. You were supposed to be our backup, but you left the three of us at the bottom, 8,000 meters deep. And now that we’ve seen those murals, you’re planning to bury us in concrete pillars and sink us in the sea, right?” Caesar pulled out a second Desert Eagle, aiming both guns at Chisei. “I don’t care if you’re a Royal or whatever other monster—when someone makes a mistake, they have to pay. My family motto says that if anyone can make mistakes without being punished, who would still believe in God? Hallelujah!”

“Yes, I’ve made many mistakes. I always thought I’d be punished for them one day… but unfortunately, I must continue making mistakes,” Chisei said, enunciating each word. “Convictions and stances—we can’t convince each other. There’s only one way left.”

The negotiation collapsed within a few sentences. The foundation of trust had long since been lost, and neither would believe the other.

Chisei flipped his wrist, and the sharp light from Kumogiri shifted constantly. He approached slowly, narrowing the distance between them. Once he breached the safe zone, he would accelerate, and the outcome would be decided in an instant.

Lu Mingfei staggered out of the elevator.

His recent experience could be described as a stroke of luck amid misfortune. The elevator had plummeted with no resistance, as if it were taking him straight to hell, but then, suddenly, the malfunctioning brakes kicked back in, and the elevator began to slow down with a piercing screech. Lu Mingfei had just experienced a momentary sensation of flying like a bird, followed by the crushing force of gravity. He had been slammed onto a file cabinet as if he were a pancake plastered to a hot griddle. In the moment the elevator stopped, he felt an urge to praise some creator or deity for pulling him back at the last second. But having no religious faith, and being foul-mouthed and irreverent on a daily basis, he figured neither God nor Buddha would bother saving him.

He grabbed an iron rod from the file cabinet and slowly pried open the elevator door. The elevator had stopped perfectly on the 14th floor, its floor level with the building’s. This was the call center he had visited before, devoid of the murderous Execution Bureau officers, and instead filled with young, cute female operators. It was a paradise of colored contacts, ribbons, uniforms, and high heels. That’s why Lu Mingfei had suggested invading this floor first, so the Yamata no Orochi could experience the feeling of having their lovely girls taken by surprise. But now everything was in chaos—panicked girls were running everywhere, discarded high heels littered the floor, and some fierce women were swinging fire axes, smashing at the doors to the emergency exits. Damn! This wasn’t paradise; it was a madhouse full of crazy women!

Lu Mingfei finally remembered that the earthquake hadn’t ended, and the floor exits appeared to be locked.

A man in a yellow uniform appeared magically in front of him. “Ricardo M. Lu?”

Lu Mingfei instinctively responded before realizing what had just happened. Damn it! He was still in Genji Heavy Industries! Being called by his real name here meant that he’d been recognized, hadn’t it? He reached behind him to draw his gun, but the gun got caught in his belt, and after two failed attempts to pull it out, he managed only to loosen his belt, nearly causing his pants to fall down.

“Your package,” the man said, shoving a small box into his hands and offering him a pen. “Please sign here.”

Only then did Lu Mingfei realize the man’s uniform had “DHL” written on it. This guy was… a courier!

Lu Mingfei looked bewildered, double-checking the name on the package—“Ricardo M. Lu”—and the address, which was indeed Genji Heavy Industries, 14th floor. But he wasn’t even an employee here! He had ended up on this floor by accident after the elevator malfunctioned.

“How did you know I was here?” Lu Mingfei stared at the courier, his hand still on the gun at his waist, gripping the handle.

“Ah, the sender called and specifically instructed me, saying you’d be here at the elevator on the 14th floor to pick up the package. At first, I thought it was a joke. Normally, I deliver packages to the front desks on each floor, but delivering it right to the elevator door felt like some kind of rendezvous,” the DHL guy said earnestly.

“You’re delivering packages at a time like this?” Lu Mingfei still found it hard to believe.

“I’d like to find a place to hide too, but the emergency exits are locked, so I figured it’s safer to wait for rescue.” The courier displayed the typical obedient, order-following demeanor of a model Japanese citizen. “But you’re the calm one here. Coming to pick up your package in the midst of all this—if everyone were as composed as you, things wouldn’t be such a mess.”

Since he was being praised so highly, Lu Mingfei felt too embarrassed to show his true state of panic. He composed himself and signed for the package.

The courier checked the signature. “Alright, no problem. My job is done. I’ll go find a safe spot to hide now. Thank you for choosing DHL, where we help you conquer distances and chase global opportunities.”

The courier even recited an advertising slogan before bowing deeply. Lu Mingfei returned the bow, and then the peculiar courier disappeared. The girls continued rushing back and forth in a frenzy, their full or slender figures bumping into Lu Mingfei, leaving him dizzy.

“Damn it, Lu Mingze, you sure know how to play!” Lu Mingfei muttered as he found an empty seat in the deserted call center. He picked up a half-eaten chocolate bar that some girl had abandoned on the desk and took a bite. Then, he reached into a pen holder, pulled out a pair of scissors, and started tearing open the package with gritted teeth.

Even though the College had lost contact with them, someone had casually written out a delivery order, sending a package to an unbelievable place at an unbelievable time, and yet it had arrived right in his hands. This kind of thing shouldn’t happen in the real world. But perhaps demons could… they were omnipotent, like gods.

Inside the package was a black iPhone.

Every time Apple released a new phone, Lu Mingfei would receive an anonymous package containing the latest model. It was a gift from Lu Mingze. From the very first iPhone, Lu Mingze always ensured that the trendiest device was delivered right to Lu Mingfei. If Lu Mingfei accidentally broke or lost the phone, within a few days, a new one would arrive—complete with the same contacts and wallpaper as the lost one. The last iPhone had been ruined when Lu Mingfei brought it aboard the Trieste, where it had been water-damaged beyond repair. Yet Lu Mingze’s policy of repair, replacement, and upgrade seemed to still apply in Japan.

The startup screen was the familiar four-leaf clover, and there was only one unread WeChat message. The sender’s number didn’t appear. The message contained a photo—an old-fashioned, sea-blue train traveling along a mighty river, with distant clouds hanging over snow-capped mountains. Lu Mingfei had never been there, but he recognized the train as the VistaDome, the river as the Urubamba River, and the mountain as the Andes, all located in far-off South America. The luxurious scenic train ran from the small town of Cusco to Machu Picchu. Lu Mingze had mentioned before that this was his vacation plan. The photo was clearly taken by Lu Mingze from inside the train, and in the reflection of the window, a glimpse of the little devil could be seen, sitting on the lap of a stunning beauty with fiery red hair, a sea-blue knee-length skirt, and long, gorgeous legs in black stockings—she was undoubtedly a supermodel-level beauty… To be precise, Lu Mingze was sitting on her lap because he wasn’t as tall as she was.