Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 94: Genji Heavy Industries (6)

Dragon Raja 3

‘Well, at least we managed to handle their tea ceremony move…’ Chu Zihang licked his scalded upper palate, wondering if the boiling tea had peeled off a layer of skin. While he wasn’t ready to agree with Caesar’s claim that they had “won” this round, his strong sense of pride also kept him from complaining about Caesar’s competitiveness.

‘The mission briefing from Norma has been sent to the team leader, so I believe you all understand your task—to investigate the Lenin, the icebreaker that sank in 1992. I will now provide a detailed mission briefing,’ Chisei spread out a nautical chart on the table, circling a spot in red. ‘This is a map of the Sea of Japan. The Lenin’s final distress signal came from this location, 120 nautical miles from the Japanese coastline.’”

“‘Hmm.’” Caesar nodded.

“‘Though there aren’t many routes passing through that area, it is indeed a safe zone—no reefs, no icebergs, no strong currents. For an icebreaker the size of the Lenin, the possibility of an accident in safe waters is extremely low. It was designed to conquer the world’s most dangerous seas, and even a direct hit from a torpedo wouldn’t sink it. But such a ship mysteriously sank in safe waters. This is one of the greatest mysteries in the archives of the Japan Coast Guard.’”

“‘Hmm.’” Caesar nodded.

“‘They don’t know why the Lenin sank, nor why it was traveling through the Sea of Japan. Since it didn’t enter Japanese territorial waters, there’s no investigation into the matter. There are rumors that the ship was carrying cargo related to the Dragon Clan—this information came from an alumnus who worked in Russian intelligence. However, he couldn’t find more evidence to support this conclusion. He said that the sinking of the Lenin is a taboo within the Northern Fleet and the KGB—no one wants to talk about it, and no one truly understands it. It’s as if everyone believes that getting involved with it brings bad luck, as if there’s something unclean, like ghosts, involved. The college began searching for the wreck in recent years, but progress has been slow because it’s one of the deepest areas in the world.’”

“‘Hmm.’” Caesar continued nodding.

“‘Do you want some ice cubes to suck on?’”

“‘You noticed?’ Lu Mingfei looked a little embarrassed, having endured for so long despite the fact that his discomfort had already been detected.

“‘In terms of the tea ceremony, you didn’t need to take it so seriously with Mr. Masamune. He doesn’t actually understand tea ceremonies; he’s just a half-baked Japanese.’ Chisei said calmly.

“‘Damn, I knew it! What’s a Russian doing playing tea ceremonies with us?’ Lu Mingfei was the first to lose his composure. ‘I want ice!’

“‘He just wants to make himself Japanese—practicing things like swordsmanship, tea ceremony, archery, kendo, and ikebana.’” Gen turned and gazed into the distance. “‘All people who drift without a place want somewhere they can call home.’”

Sakurai brought in a bucket of ice. Caesar and Chu Zihang also put aside their reservations and grabbed ice cubes, popping them into their mouths to finally alleviate the burning pain in their mouths.

“‘It was just hot tea—no big deal. I’ll continue; if you have any questions, feel free to ask me.’” Chisei returned to the table, pointing at the nautical chart. “‘The Lenin sank right above the Japan Trench. You may have heard of it—it, along with the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench, the Bonin Trench, and the Mariana Trench, form a connected system. It’s a deep ocean trench that stretches for thousands of kilometers and marks the boundary between the Eurasian Plate and the Pacific Plate. The Pacific Plate is subducting under the Eurasian Plate, forming extremely deep crevices at the junction. The deepest point is called the Tuscarora Deep, which is 8,513 meters deep.’”

“‘Before the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench was confirmed as the world’s deepest point, the Tuscarora Deep was considered the deepest place on Earth.’” Chu Zihang said, his speech muffled by the ice cube in his mouth.

“‘Exactly. This type of trench is also called an abyss, one of the most mysterious areas on the planet. Almost no one has been there, and to this day, most of our understanding of the abyss is based on speculation. From the analysis of the sinking site, the Lenin might be in the Tuscarora Deep. The best tool for exploring such depths is sonar—we use sound waves of a specific frequency to scan the depths. But what we found wasn’t the wreck; it was a heartbeat signal. There is a living creature down in the Tuscarora Deep—a massive creature, with a strong heartbeat that’s growing stronger.’”

Chu Zihang’s expression changed: “‘That should be a death zone for life.’”

“‘You mean there’s a dragon hidden in the abyss?’” Caesar asked.

“‘A dragon embryo. Its increasing heartbeat means it is in the process of hatching.’”

“‘The secret cargo on the Lenin was a dragon embryo?’”

“‘Yes. Back then, the Lenin stopped by an unnamed port in Northern Siberia and took on board a rare dragon embryo. That port was later destroyed by a massive fire. No one knows where the embryo was being transported to—its final destination might have been Japan, or it could have just been passing by. But obviously, it didn’t reach its destination, and the embryo fell into the depths of the trench. Over the years, it has been slowly incubating, but we failed to notice until now.’”

“‘If it’s a dragon, it could probably withstand the harsh conditions of the abyss. The abyss might be the perfect incubator and refuge for it,’” Chu Zihang said. “‘The seawater serves as its protective layer.’”

“‘Exactly,’ Chisei nodded.

Lu Mingfei shivered. Here he was in a bustling city, yet thinking about a dragon quietly incubating in the depths 120 nautical miles away. The day it surfaced, the orderly students and office workers on the streets would scatter in fear, and the entire world would tremble under its roar.

“‘Now that we know there’s a dragon hatching in the abyss,’” Caesar said, “‘why not just have an underwater nuclear explosion and flatten the abyss?’”

If those crazies from the Gear Department were present at this meeting, they would have definitely cheered for Caesar. After all, there’s a certain similarity in how people of a particular mindset see things.

“If we just throw nuclear bombs indiscriminately into the trench, it could cause a continental shelf landslide that might affect Japan, along with tsunamis and uncontrollable nuclear pollution. We can only use precise blasting to eliminate the embryo. However, relying solely on sonar makes it difficult to pinpoint the embryo’s exact location. Therefore, for this mission, we will send a manned submersible deep into the abyss to investigate. If the embryo is found, we will deliver a package bomb to it. The mission is codenamed ‘Dragon Abyss’; you will be heading into the dragon’s lair.”

“‘What the heck! Is this mission even doable? Didn’t you just say that place is a death zone?’” Lu Mingfei exclaimed in shock.

“‘Indeed, it is a death zone, and that’s why the mission is classified as ‘SS’ level,’” Chisei responded.