Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 72: Ace Combination (5)

Dragon Raja 3

Chisei took another deep breath, suppressing his inner anger, and handed a document to Caesar. “Please, the team leader’s signature.”

The document was entirely in Japanese. Caesar glanced at it but couldn’t understand anything. He didn’t know Japanese, and the only person in their group who knew some was Lu Mingfei, who often relied on his “100 Useful Phrases for Traveling in Japan” book.

“Is this… the hotel check-in form? Do you need my credit card?” Caesar asked.

“This isn’t for your hotel booking. It’s your remains disposal plan,” Chisei said expressionlessly. “This mission has a very high risk factor. If you die during the mission, your bodies will be airlifted back to your respective hometowns.”

He stared into Caesar’s eyes, trying to see any hint of fear. He wanted to remind these boys, who didn’t know how high the heavens were, that this wasn’t a vacation—it was an “SS” level mission. If anything went wrong during the mission, they’d end up as corpses silently sent back to their homes!

“Oh, that’s considerate. I don’t want my funeral to be held in Japan,” Caesar said, signing his name elegantly. “You know my nationality, right? Send me back to Portofino.”

“I can sign for him,” Lu Mingfei said, pointing at Chu Zihang. “We’re both Chinese, from the same place, even went to the same high school. Sending us together will save you money.”

Chisei put away the document, looking defeated.

“Japan Division is better than I expected,” Caesar commented, “At least your work is thorough.”

Chisei wasn’t sure how to react—should he accept this praise with a smile or slap Caesar and say, “Don’t use that condescending ‘leader inspecting the countryside’ attitude when talking to me!”

“Try that Cohiba I gave you. It’s a genuine Cuban cigar. If you like it, I have a whole box in my suitcase,” Caesar said, patting Chisei on the shoulder again. This golden-haired, heavily perfumed Italian man had made physical contact with Chisei for the second time within five minutes of landing. Even though Chisei wanted nothing more than to punch Caesar in his supposedly charming face, faced with that dazzlingly ridiculous smile, he had no reason to get angry.

“Well then, in the coming days, please take care of us,” Chisei said.

“Oh, by the way, do you guys still have mixed-gender public baths here in Japan?” A drowsy Lu Mingfei suddenly popped his head out of the car again, asking.

Maybe he should have let Yasha and Crow come to pick them up after all. Pouring cement around these three and planting them in the salt marsh wasn’t something impossible to do, right? Chisei thought silently.

“Attention, occupants of the black Hummer! We are the Kanagawa Prefectural Police. You are suspected of violent crimes. Stop immediately and submit to inspection! Drop your weapons now!” The amplified voice swept across the salt marsh like a storm. In the distance, the highway was lit up with flashing police lights. The wailing of sirens filled the air, deafening. At some point, the once quiet highway had become packed with police cars, with heavily armed officers taking cover behind car doors and aiming their guns. The lights from the highway formed a tightly woven web of illumination, surrounding Chisei and his group from all directions.

“What’s going on?” Lu Mingfei was shocked. “We just landed, didn’t even go through customs, and now the police are on us?”

“This isn’t Narita Airport—there’s no customs here,” Chisei replied. “Look around you.”

Lu Mingfei glanced around and nearly jumped out of his seat in fright. “What is this place? A graveyard?”

This desolate airstrip was built on a coastal salt flat, with no control tower or runway lights. The runway was compacted with cinders, and in the surrounding darkness, he could make out the faint outlines of abandoned planes.

“It is a graveyard—a plane graveyard,” Chisei explained. “This used to be a forward base for the kamikaze squadrons. They would take off from here, piloting Zero fighters loaded with explosives, looking for a chance to crash into American aircraft carriers. To ensure they could reach the American fleet, they built the airfield as close to the coast as possible. It was abandoned afterward, and the discarded planes were left here to be corroded by the sea breeze.”

“So we snuck in?” Chu Zihang opened his eyes.

“The College wants this mission to remain completely confidential. You can’t leave any records at customs. There’s no problem being a stowaway for a while—the Japan Division will ensure your safety.”

“Ensure our safety? We just got off the plane, and there are hundreds of guns pointed at us!” Lu Mingfei said. “Is this how they catch stowaways? Do they need this many people with so many guns?”

“No, this is obviously not about catching stowaways,” Caesar said, taking a pair of binoculars from his backpack for a closer look. “They have Remington 700 sniper rifles—the highest firepower available to Japanese police. Catching stowaways shouldn’t require this kind of firepower unless the stowaway boat was an armed landing craft.”

“People in the car, listen! You have ten seconds to get out! Or we’ll open fire!” The voice over the loudspeaker grew sterner.

“I’m telling you, a wise man knows when to back down—why are we still hesitating? They’re pointing a hundred guns at us! We better do what they say!” Lu Mingfei raised his hands. “Officer, don’t shoot, I’m a good citizen! I have nothing to do with these rebels!”

“They’re not here for you—they’re here for us,” Chisei frowned. “Sakura, did Yasha and Crow take my car out recently?”

“They left at 2 a.m. last night and came back at 4 a.m., after smashing up a strip club in Yokohama owned by some Russians. Those Russians were trafficking dozens of women from Russia each month, officially as laborers, but in reality, forcing them into prostitution and using their earnings to pay off smuggling debts. Those who didn’t comply were abused or even killed. Local clubs complained to the family, but the Russians refused to cooperate. The family decided to teach them a lesson, and Yasha’s friends took the mission—Yasha and Crow just went along to help,” Sakura explained. “Yasha’s style, as you know, often crosses the line, and on impulse, he ended up setting the place on fire.”

The way she said it so casually made it sound as if Yasha and Crow hadn’t burned down a nightclub but just a cardboard box. Lu Mingfei couldn’t help feeling a little alarmed—this gentle and beautiful girl was talking about strange things, as if many people in the Japan Division were very sentimental, ready to lend a hand to friends, burning down a nightclub just on a whim; and there was some family that had close connections to places dealing in the flesh trade, and when the nightclub ran into a tough Russian rival, they actually came to the family to complain.

“Just like that?” Chisei asked expressionlessly.

“Hey, that’s not ‘just like that’! This story has enough drama to make a yakuza movie! Just the names ‘Crow’ and ‘Yasha’ are catchy enough! Imagine them passionately embracing their beloved Russian girl in the flames of the burning nightclub, with some intense rock music and rolling end credits!” Lu Mingfei thought.

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