Dragon Raja 4; Chapter 70: The Requisitioned Bride (6)

Dragon Raja 4

“What happened to Lu Mingfei? Have you heard anything?”

“I heard he took down a certain piggy in Brazil last week, got a little hurt, and spent a few days in the hospital. Want me to pass on some well wishes?”

“I’m not talking about trivial stuff like that. I heard he’s in some kind of trouble, and people are looking for him everywhere, even reaching out to me here.”

“Haven’t heard a thing. I’ll ask around later, alright? Not a good time to chat right now.”

“What could be so important? Hurry up and find out for me. I’m literally floating in the middle of the ocean right now!”

“I’ll tell you later. Let me finish what I’m dealing with first.” Susie hung up the phone.

At that moment, in the suburbs of Kyiv, Ukraine, a club was brightly lit and packed with people. Wealthy men from around the world smoked cigars, sipped vodka, and clutched their numbered paddles, their eyes shamelessly roaming over the half-naked bodies of the girls on stage. This was a special kind of auction, known as “The Meat Market.”

In a country famous for its beautiful women but plagued by political and economic crises, unemployment was rampant, and protests and violence were commonplace. Many couldn’t even afford heating oil in winter, leading to a rise in human trafficking. Criminal gangs collected young girls and held secret auctions like this one, where the girls, dressed in bikinis and high heels, were sold to the highest bidder. It was not unlike the female slave trade of the Middle Ages. When humanity reaches its worst, even the vilest traditions can resurface.

Halfway through the auction, something unexpected happened. A tall, black-haired girl had just stepped onto the stage and started making a phone call.

Moments earlier, she had appeared timid, her slender body not overly seductive, though her narrow waist and long legs had left a deep impression on some of the wealthy guests, who were prepared to bid on her. But after taking out her phone, she seemed impatient and even motioned for the audience to quiet down. It was utterly baffling. First, slaves weren’t supposed to have phones, and second, this girl was speaking fluent Chinese. Lastly, her tone didn’t suggest she was calling for help; it sounded like she was chatting with a friend.

In such a dire situation, when you’re being auctioned off like a piece of meat, if you had a chance to make a phone call, would you use it to gossip with a friend?

After Susie hung up, she completely ignored the approaching bodyguards and coldly scanned the audience. “Gentlemen, you are all under arrest.”

After a brief silence, the room erupted into laughter. This girl, appealing as she was, thought she could arrest them, yet there didn’t seem to be any room in her swimsuit for a weapon.

“Beautiful lady, how many people did you bring to arrest us?” a large, overweight man chuckled.

“Just me,” Susie said calmly, “save your time, come at me all at once.”

She turned around, tore down the curtain behind her, discarded a strip of fabric from around her waist, and kicked off her high heels, taking just one step forward. That single step felt as though she were standing on the edge of an abyss!

A few minutes later, Susie gently withdrew her foot from the face of a bodyguard. She hadn’t even kicked the poor man, nor did she need to—he had fainted from fear, and his over-300-pound body had smashed a hole in the stage. The wealthy men in the audience no longer laughed. They barely dared to breathe as they watched this black-haired, black-eyed girl walk calmly toward the host’s position. Blood splattered her pale legs, but it was clear she had controlled herself—the guards littering the ground were still alive, groaning in pain.

Susie grabbed the microphone. “Gentlemen, your actions are intolerable by both local law and common decency. The police are on their way here as we speak. Don’t think about running—each of you has already been photographed by satellite, and the images are online. Even if you pay off the police, they won’t be able to cover for you. If anyone has questions, feel free to ask. If not, I’ll be taking my leave.” Susie glanced at one person in the audience. “As for the organizer of this auction, I know who you are. I came here specifically for you. You’ve abused your hybrid abilities in criminal activities, which is why you’ve caught our attention. I’ll head backstage to change into something more appropriate. You, on the other hand, should wait for me in your car. You’ll drive me to the airport, and we’ll discuss your situation on the way.”

Five minutes later, Susie climbed into a stretched Cadillac parked outside the club. She had changed into ivory-white cashmere turtleneck sweater, a bright blue down jacket, form-fitting pants, and fuzzy winter boots, with fluffy white earmuffs on her head. She looked like a college student who hadn’t even graduated yet.

“Miss Officer, I deeply repent for everything I’ve done…” The driver turned his head, hands clasped together, his chubby face full of pitiful pleading.

“You should be thankful that it’s not the Russian branch handling this mission,” Susie said as she took off her earmuffs and put on her Bluetooth headset. “Drive.”

The call connected immediately, and the person on the other end spoke in a gentle tone, “I see from the system that you’ve completed the mission in Kyiv. Did everything go smoothly?”

The car started moving. Susie glanced back at the club through the window, seeing that the wealthy patrons were now sitting obediently, like schoolchildren waiting to turn in their homework.

“Did something happen to Lu Mingfei?” Susie asked. “His status still looks normal in the system, but your clearance level is higher than mine. You’d know before I did if something went wrong.”

The person on the other end hesitated briefly. “Are you asking me to violate the college’s confidentiality protocols and tell you something you’re not supposed to know?”

“Exactly. Do I ever beat around the bush with you?”

“The college suspects that he stole the dragon skeleton and tried to kill the principal. They also think he might be awakening as a Dragon King.”

“The principal’s dead?” Susie exclaimed in shock.

“He’s in critical condition. The doctors aren’t sure if he’ll survive.”

“Has Lu Mingfei gone insane? The principal treated him like his own son!”

“According to Toyama’s testimony, he may have actually lost his mind.”

Susie ended the call and leaned against the window, thinking for a moment before trying to call Nono, only to receive a message that Nono had already turned off her phone.

When Nono returned to her room, the lights in the convent had all been turned off. The stars hung low over the ocean, and the room was bright enough without needing any additional light.

She had planned to wait for Susie’s call. With her stamina, treading water for two hours in the sea wasn’t much of an issue, but suddenly, the sea had become rough, forcing her to put away her phone and focus on fighting the waves.

Though the waves weren’t dangerous enough to threaten her life, she had no choice but to watch as she was pushed farther and farther away from Malta, and her phone lost signal.

She’d have to try again tomorrow night. Taking a carton of orange juice from the fridge, she grabbed the book she had been reading the previous night and sat down on the sofa.

As she opened the book, she froze. The book was Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, a title that was as quirky as it was profound. Nono only read a few pages each day, marking her place with a metal bookmark. Now, however, the bookmark had been moved forward by several pages. In the Golden Iris Convent, the doors were never locked, and it was common for one person to walk into another’s room for a chat, but those refined ladies were unlikely to take an interest in such an obscure book.

Nono turned off the bedside lamp and ran her hand across her leg, pulling out an eagle-beak-shaped diving knife. She had brought it with her while swimming to fend off sharks, and she hadn’t yet taken it off. In theory, there wasn’t anyone on this island who could pose a threat to her, but she couldn’t help but be on guard against this intruder. For someone to not only break in but also take the time to read her book and move the bookmark was a display of incredible composure.

She moved silently, like a tiger prowling its territory. The moon was now hidden by clouds, plunging the room into near-total darkness, which was an advantage for Nono, as hybrids typically had some degree of night vision.

The novice nun’s room was sparsely furnished, leaving few places for someone to hide. Nono methodically checked each corner before finally focusing her attention on the bronze bathtub in the corner of the bedroom. It was the heaviest piece of furniture in the room, draped with a sheer curtain. The tub was deep enough to conceal a full-grown man.

Slowly, she used her knife to lift the curtain, and there, hidden inside the bathtub, was indeed a person! His face was covered by another of her books, A Short History of Ukrainian Tractors, and a half-eaten bag of chips (purchased by Nono on a previous swim to Malta) sat beside him. Startled, Nono couldn’t tell whether this intruder was highly skilled or just bold beyond belief. Flipping the knife into a reverse grip, she aimed the handle at the intruder’s stomach and struck hard.

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