Dragon Raja 4; Chapter 62: The Funeral of a Fifteen Year Old Boy (4)

Dragon Raja 4

He began to suspect that this Bablu was some kind of imposter, who had appeared out of nowhere. Even though Lu Mingfei had been busy with work, there was no way he would have no memory of such a thing.

Bablu, now both frustrated and confused, pulled out his phone and showed Lu Mingfei a photo. The picture was taken at the Lionheart headquarters, showing a handsome stranger handing over the crimson flag with the lion emblem to Bablu. 

It was clearly the ceremony for the handover between the old and new presidents. Lu Mingfei was baffled and started looking around for someone to back him up. Fortunately, Isabel and the other ministers were coming downstairs at that moment. Lu Mingfei quickly regained his composure as the host, gesturing for them to come over. Pointing to Bablu, he asked, “Could someone explain to Mr. Bablu who the Lionheart president is and who Chu Zihang is?”

The Minister of Sailing looked puzzled. “Bablu is the Lionheart president. Chu Zihang? Who’s that?”

“Chairman Lu just said something that’s really blowing my mind. He claimed that I’m an imposter and that the previous Lionheart president was someone named Chu Zihang,” Bablu said angrily.

The ministers were stunned. Isabel came over quickly, seemingly grabbing Lu Mingfei’s wrist, but in reality, she was checking his pulse.

Lu Mingfei’s heart was racing, and he was sweating. He felt inexplicably uneasy, even though he was in his own territory.

“Ricardo, you should get a medical checkup immediately,” Isabel said. “You’re not in good shape, but don’t worry, I’ll call a doctor right away.”

“Ridiculous! Christmas has just passed, and April Fool’s Day is far off. Are you all playing a prank on me?” Lu Mingfei looked around at everyone.

“Ricardo, I can’t say for sure if there’s someone in the college named Chu Zihang, but the current Lionheart president is Bablu, and the previous president was Abdullah Abbas,” said the Astronomy Minister. “Everyone knows this. Abbas is still here as a graduate student—you can go ask him yourself.”

“This is absurd! You don’t know Chu Zihang? ‘The Ever-Burning Eye Magician’ Chu Zihang! Haven’t you read Dragon Slayer in Japan?” Lu Mingfei frantically reached for his phone.

He was starting to lose control, desperately needing some sort of proof. That’s when he thought of Dragon Slayer in Japan, a book filled with Chu Zihang’s name. As absurd as the novel was, the story had some basis in reality. He searched for “Chu Zihang” in the text, but the result came back immediately: “Search for ‘Chu Zihang’ completed in 0.0003 seconds, found 0 results.”

Lu Mingfei couldn’t believe it. He manually searched for scenes involving Chu Zihang, but after a few moments, he looked up, his face blank.

He distinctly remembered Finger writing about how Chu Zihang and Caesar had rented a beat-up Toyota to chase after him and Erii. They had gotten into an argument, both refusing to speak, with Tamaki Koji’s song playing on the radio. But now, in the current version, Chu Zihang had disappeared—it was only Caesar driving alone through the storm. Finger had also written about Chu Zihang and Caesar fighting side by side against the Death Servitor in the Genji Heavy Industries building, but now it was Finger and Caesar fighting together, calling each other brothers.

Thinking back to today’s update, Lu Mingfei suddenly realized something: no wonder Finger’s blade was engulfed in King’s Blaze Flames—originally, that was Chu Zihang’s exclusive skill. The story had changed! The Fiery Dragon Slayer and Chu Zihang had been merged into one! Chu Zihang had vanished, or perhaps… he had never existed at all!

He quickly searched through his email. Had Chu Zihang’s emails disappeared too? Not only were there no emails—there was no contact named “Chu Zihang” in his list.

Lu Mingfei held his head, thinking, What’s happening to me? Have I crossed into another world? Am I dreaming?

He bit down hard on his tongue. The pain was real! Damn it! It wasn’t a dream! But if it wasn’t a dream, how had his senior brother vanished?

“Chairman Lu, you really need medical help!” Bablu realized that Lu Mingfei wasn’t trying to provoke him earlier and hurriedly moved forward to support him.

The ministers and Isabel exchanged subtle glances, and Lu Mingfei picked up on the meaning behind them. He knew this wasn’t a time to act tough. He had always been flexible, the kind of person who would back down when pushed. He knew when to show weakness, so he quickly held his head. “Damn it! My head hurts! What’s happening to me? My mind is a mess.”

Isabel hurriedly helped him sit down on the sofa and called a server to bring him a glass of warm water. Only then did everyone begin to relax. This was more like it. Their Ricardo had just suffered a little accident during the operation in Brazil, and now he was dealing with some post-concussion symptoms. It was likely just short-term memory loss or confusing some familiar people with Abdullah Abbas. With the college’s medical capabilities, he would recover in no time.

Chairman Lu’s reaction had shocked them. He looked so panicked, like a little rabbit being chased by a wild beast. They had never seen the chairman like this before.

In Lu Mingfei’s mind, he had already shown weakness, so the group should have dispersed quickly, leaving him alone to quietly gather his thoughts and figure out what had gone wrong. But instead of leaving, they all sprang into action. Some were calling the school doctor, asking for someone to come immediately. Isabel stayed by his side, gently stroking his hand, while Bablu, along with a few others, was using their phones to search for “Chu Zihang.” Lu Mingfei had described him in such detail that they, too, were a bit doubtful. After all, there were hidden students and secret agents within the college.

“No one by that name in the Execution Bureau.”

“No results in the student archives either.”

“Search the entire list of students since the founding of the college, including dropouts and transfers. There’s a separate database for expelled students—go through that too,” Bablu directed.

Eventually, they came to a consensus. Bablu sighed and shook his head. “If Chairman Lu really knew someone named Chu Zihang in this college, then that person must have been a ghost.”

Suddenly, Lu Mingfei pulled his hand from Isabel’s grasp, stormed forward, and grabbed Bablu’s left arm, performing a takedown move—Tiger Grabbing Technique: Coiling the Tiger!

Amidst the gasps of the others, Lu Mingfei swung Bablu around and slammed him onto the dining table. “Who are you calling a ghost? Say that again!”

“Chairman… that’s… that’s the Lionheart president!” The Astronomy Minister was stunned.

“He’s no damn president! In my world, the only Lionheart president is Chu Zihang!” Chairman Lu fiercely extended his middle finger. “And no, I’m not cursing the Lionheart president—I’m cursing this imposter!”

Lu Mingfei had no intention of playing games with Bablu anymore. He couldn’t accept a world without Chu Zihang—there was no room for negotiation. Chu Zihang was not just his senior, but also his friend and the accomplice who had promised to help him crash a wedding. In a world without Chu Zihang, his youth felt incomplete—he had no support, no idol.

Yet amidst his anger, he also felt an overwhelming panic, sensing a strange hostility from the world around him. Isabel and the ministers didn’t dare speak, and the candles on the dining table had all been knocked over. In the darkness, the Student Union chairman stood hunched, his muscles tense, and his face twisted into a menacing expression. He no longer looked like a rabbit, but rather like a bear whose honey had been stolen, ready to fight anyone who dared challenge him.

Later that night, Lu Mingfei sat wearily by the fountain in the center of the campus. Next to him sat the college’s psychology instructor, Masashi Toyama.

Over the past few hours, Lu Mingfei had tried every possible way to prove Chu Zihang’s existence. But EVA’s server didn’t contain Chu Zihang’s name, and there was no record of the username “Murasame” in the Night Watcher’s forum. He racked his brain, remembering Chu Zihang’s student ID number, only to find that the number belonged to Abdullah Abbas. He even checked the Execution Bureau’s records about the Beijing incident, but the report read, “At the moment when Jörmungandr and Fenrir were about to merge into Hela, former Lionheart president Abdullah heroically sacrificed himself…” At that point, Lu Mingfei was so enraged that he nearly spat blood. He wanted to punch someone.

So now, in the world’s current narrative, Little Dragon Girl was entangled in a tragic romance with a burly Arab man? That was too much—he couldn’t even imagine it.

He went to see Schneider, but Schneider also claimed that he had never taught a student named Chu Zihang. His only graduate student was Abdullah Abbas. Chu Zihang had vanished without a trace. Someone had taken over his dorm, his student ID, and even the major events in his life had been stolen and replaced.

The news that the Student Union chairman might be suffering from an acute schizophrenic episode had already spread across the Night Watcher’s forum. After all, he had beaten up the Lionheart president—such a big story was impossible to suppress, even for the Student Union.

Some people suggested that Lu Mingfei go talk to Masashi Toyama, but Lu Mingfei had no interest in setting foot in the psychology office. He and Toyama were old acquaintances by now, and Lu Mingfei knew all his tricks. Toyama’s specialty was brainwashing, and his catchphrase was, “Let’s have an honest, mask-free conversation.” Lu Mingfei often teased him, saying that if he used that line on girls, it would sound pretty creepy.