Dragon Raja 5; Chapter 278: For Your Majesty (93)

Dragon Raja 5

The intense barrage of fire inside the air-raid shelter sent dust flying everywhere from the concrete structure, leaving them all covered in dust.

Lu Mingfei suddenly caught a whiff of a strong, cold perfume scent, like roses frozen in ice. It was Christina’s perfume; this girl never minded being the center of attention, including her unique. She was in a hurry to sneak into the air-raid shelter and hadn’t had time to wash off the scent, a cardinal sin for intelligence agents. Fortunately, the shelter was too large, and filled with the damp, rotten smell emanating from Black Snake, making it less noticeable. But in this office, especially after a sneeze when his sense of smell returned, it was impossible to ignore.

Bunin drew his Makarov pistol from his waist, his smiling, small-businessman-like eyes suddenly turning cold and sharp. He scanned the office, strode to the only wardrobe that could hide a living person, and pointed the gun at the wardrobe door.

Before Lu Mingfei could come up with a way to help Christina out of the predicament, Christina had already pushed open the cabinet door. She was a head taller than Bunin and coldly looked down at the fierce old man.

She didn’t even pull the dagger out of her boot, while Bunin held a loaded pistol. Yet, Bunin took a half step back, as if intimidated by Christina’s gaze.

“Christina?” Bunin’s tone was filled with shock.

“Second Lieutenant Christina, Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation!” Christina proudly raised her head, her posture as if she were coldly stating her code name just moments before being arrested by the reactionaries.

After a few seconds of standoff, Bunin suddenly put away his pistol, turned and left the office, leaving Lu Mingfei and Zero completely bewildered.

Christina walked out of the closet with a cold face, sat down in the spot where Bunin had been sitting, and downed the glass of vodka that Bunin had poured for her.

The VIPs were accommodated in an abandoned luxury apartment building in City 023. City 023 had all the amenities of a typical small town, except for the hotel, as there were no frequent travelers there.

Despite being described as a high-end apartment building, it’s just a four-story building with a concrete facade. It looks like one of those old buildings that were common in China in the mid-20th century, with a windproof U-shaped structure, an open-air playground in the middle, and a half-rotten basketball hoop standing there.

The interior of the small building had clearly been meticulously renovated, with thick wool carpets, bronze wall lamps, velvet curtains, and exquisitely carved furniture. The large bed was covered with luxurious silk sheets, making it resemble a classic European hotel. Inside and outside the walls were two completely different worlds. This was sufficient proof that similar auctions were held regularly, and that City 023 was the stronghold of these arms dealers.

There were plenty of rooms available, and Lu Mingfei and Chu Zihang were assigned separate rooms, while Ling naturally stayed in the top-floor suite. The only inconvenience was that the soundproofing of the old building was less than ideal, and footsteps and singing could always be heard in the corridor. This group of descendants of an old Soviet family had been drinking endlessly on the train, and upon arriving in city 023, they became even more unrestrained, getting drunk and singing old songs loudly with their arms linked.
Lu Mingfei sat on the sofa by the window, hiccupping from drinking, gazing at the basketball hoop under the solitary lamp on the playground. The sight made him feel inexplicably at ease, as if he had returned to his childhood home.

The residential compound was full of old buildings like that, with rusty basketball hoops downstairs, but none with such exquisite interior furnishings. Neighbors’ voices could be heard everywhere, and everyone had to bring their own washbasins and towels to the communal bathroom. He wasn’t bothered by the noise of the drunkards at all, because it was the same when he was a child. He would write his homework by the window at home, and the familiar footsteps told him his parents were coming home. Back then, he didn’t really appreciate his parents’ company, because he saw them every day when he woke up, and they would come home after work. But Lu Lincheng would often bring him some food when he came home.

Now, sitting by this unfamiliar window, listening to the sounds outside, it seemed as if those familiar footsteps would suddenly reappear, and Lu Lincheng would push open the door, carrying a bag of candy or oranges.