Dragon Raja; Chapter 134: The Seven Deadly Sins (2)

Dragon Raja

There was less than a meter of space left, the confined area gave a suffocating feeling, as if lying in a coffin looking at the lid above. Lu Mingfei shivered, his vision darkened, and the diving knife slipped from his hand.

“Hurry up! Get the knife!” Nono kicked him.

“At a time like this, still so aggressive? Kicking me?” Lu Mingfei thought. “We’re about to die.”

He lunged to pick up the knife and glanced at Nono, then froze. She was using her head and hands in a triangle to brace the descending bronze wall. She could only kick him because her hands were occupied—if she moved them, her neck might be crushed. This girl was really crazy. How much longer could she hold on like this? Under such a massive hydraulic press, human bones were nothing, they’d snap like twigs.

“Hurry, don’t think about anything, just give a drop of blood,” Nono’s voice was calm.

Did it have to be this dramatic? Acting like a big sister, as if by holding on she could save them both. Lu Mingfei squeezed his finger with all his strength, his mind spinning rapidly, as if he could hear Nono’s bones cracking under the pressure.

He remembered an old cartoon he watched, She-Ra, Princess of Power, where the heroine was a fierce woman who would transform by shouting “Give me strength!” She’d don a short skirt, ride a winged white horse, and with seemingly fragile arms, gain immense power—she could lift a mountain if needed.

But Nono wasn’t She-Ra; she didn’t even have a Yanling power. The little witch was running on fumes.

“Screw it!” Lu Mingfei suddenly felt a rush of adrenaline-fueled courage.

In simple terms, it was a rush of hot-blooded madness—a reckless abandon. It was back again.

No one really understood him, right? No one cared about his thoughts, right? Everyone thought he was weak, right? But he could lose it too, when it came down to it!

He ripped off the tourniquet binding his wrist. That damn band, just like the ones the nurse ties on you when donating blood, cut off the blood flow, locking in the life-saving oxygen in the water.

Blood rushed through his veins to his fingertips. Bubbles burst out from his diving suit, and icy water poured into Lu Mingfei’s mouth.

Lu Mingfei slammed his hand onto the living bronze’s face, as if he was slapping it.

The oxygen pressure was rapidly dropping. Dissolved gases in his blood began to escape. His head felt like it was about to explode, his vision darkened, and he waved his hands, trying to grab anything that made him feel safe. Amidst the bubbles, he felt someone holding onto him.

Lu Mingfei’s screams echoed through the front cabin of the Maniach. Manstein’s body shuddered, and he opened his eyes.

“Rescue… oxygen leak…” The last voice was Nono’s, coming from Manstein’s mouth.

He used his last bit of strength and passed out.

“Oxygen leak?” Caesar was stunned, looking at the river where they had docked earlier, about two kilometers away.

“Prepare the diving bell!” he turned and shouted.

“Lu Mingfei, book the venue for tomorrow’s club activity.”

“Lu Mingfei, you’re dragging down the whole class average! Are you some kind of anchor?”

“Brother, no worries. I’ll help you with the girls, don’t you worry!”

“Xi Yang, you’re the best. Even if your family doesn’t like you, and the classmates at school don’t either, I believe you’re smart and beautiful. You can do it!”

Noises surrounded him, sometimes distant, sometimes near, like he was dreaming. Someone was slapping him, telling him to wake up, but he was too tired, and didn’t want to. Suddenly, a stream of air forced itself into his mouth, strong and aggressive, making him take deep breaths. After a few deep breaths, the confusion in his mind began to clear, and the darkness in front of him began to fade. He saw a familiar face—the owner of that face was grabbing his diving suit collar, slapping him, although the resistance of the water stopped her from putting her full strength into it.

Seeing Lu Mingfei slowly open his eyes, Nono’s eyes showed a look of relief.

She didn’t say anything, she couldn’t—her respirator was in Lu Mingfei’s mouth.

Lu Mingfei wanted to take a few more breaths of pure oxygen, but Nono grabbed the respirator away from him and covered his mouth. Nono connected the respirator back to her diving mask, taking a few deep breaths.

“Can you hear me?” Nono asked, “The walkie-talkie got wet, but it should still work.”

Lu Mingfei nodded, waves of dizziness washing over him. Although the few gulps of oxygen had helped him regain consciousness, his diving suit was no longer sealed. At a depth of 80 meters, gas embolism could take his life at any moment; his whole body felt as though a giant python was squeezing him to death.

“We’re beneath the Bronze City; we need to swim a bit before we can surface. You have to hold on!” Nono said.

Lu Mingfei thought: No oxygen—how am I supposed to hold on? Are you kidding me?

“Take my diving suit,” Nono reached up to touch her head, “Don’t be afraid.”

Lu Mingfei’s eyes widened. They only had one set of functioning diving equipment left. Whoever had the suit would survive. Wasn’t this being too righteous? But he couldn’t hold on any longer. He neither shook nor nodded his head, just desperately trying to breathe in more oxygen.

“I’ve been trained longer than you. I can hold my breath longer.” Nono grabbed his shoulders, looked into his eyes through their double masks, “I told you I’d look out for you. Recruiting a junior always has its costs.”

“We’ll make it out,” Nono said at last.

She took a few deep breaths, closed the respirator valve, and unzipped her diving suit.

It was the most thrilling scene Lu Mingfei had ever seen in his life. If he weren’t on the verge of passing out, he would have wanted to slow it down or replay it a few times. Nono’s skin was smooth like ivory under the headlamp, her body, slender and flexible like a mackerel, slipped out of the diving suit. She was only wearing a red bikini, her dark red hair spreading out in the water.

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