Dragon Raja; Chapter 37: Golden Eyes (12)

Dragon Raja

Sunlight slanted in through the porthole, illuminating a person sitting in shadow, who hung up the phone and leaned back in the chair, letting out a silent breath. Outside the porthole was a view of the river, as the ship sailed between two mountains.

“Caesar and Chu Zihang stirred up trouble at the college again?” asked a middle-aged man sitting across the table. “The repair costs for ‘Day of Liberty’ are increasing each year. Perhaps we should rein it in a bit. These genius students enjoy their carefree lifestyle, but they’re supposed to be disciplined soldiers.”

“I intentionally gave them some leeway. Ten years ago, Cassell College was a mysterious military fortress. But, Mans, you remember the setback ten years ago, don’t you?”

The middle-aged man nodded, taking a sip of the tea on the table. “No one could forget.”

“A well-trained army, completely wiped out. I had to rethink our educational approach. Perhaps, in the war against dragons, what we need isn’t an army, but geniuses,” the principal switched to English. “Somebody.”

“Somebody?” the middle-aged man asked.

“The One! A once-in-a-lifetime genius, a leader, a dragon-slayer even the Dragon Kings would fear—just one would be enough! Just like my friend Manecke Cassell!” the principal said softly. “To cultivate a genius, they need a free environment.”

“Maybe. Caesar and Chu Zihang are both unprecedented geniuses, but Lu Mingfei… you’ve classified him as S-Rank.” The middle-aged man frowned. “I deliberately delayed the CC1000 to extend the observation period on him, but…”

“He’s too ordinary, right?” the principal smiled.

“He doesn’t seem exceptional in any way.”

“You may be surprised, but I don’t know Lu Mingfei well either, nor do I know what he can do. But there’s a reason for his S-Rank, which I can’t tell you yet,” the principal said. “He could be the genius we’re hoping for, or he could be a complete failure.”

“The reason I rated him S-Rank is…” The principal’s voice suddenly became playful, as if enjoying a joke. “I had no idea what his specialty was, so I randomly classified him as S-Rank!”

“Putting a failure between the forces of Caesar and Chu Zihang—he’ll get crushed.”

The principal scratched his graying hair. “It’s too early to call him a failure.” He stood up, looking out the porthole. It was the flood season, and the white flowers were blooming on the dark green grass of the river islets.

“We’re passing over Kui Gate right now. Before the Three Gorges Dam, the mountains on either side were like gate pillars,” the principal said softly. “The ancient Chinese talked about the ‘Kui Dragon,’ referring to a one-legged ancient dragon. Could Kui Gate signify that they once saw a dragon swimming in these waters? When does Project Kui Gate start?”

“In a week.” The middle-aged man said, “Ye Sheng and Aki are both prepared. They’re my best people, and with the modified Maniakh, I’m confident.”

“If our guess is correct, don’t wake it. The King of Bronze and Fire, the noble First Generation—no one can fathom his power,” the principal said. “Return safely.”

Late at night, Lu Mingfei sat cross-legged on the bunk bed, staring out the window.

He had been assigned to Dorm Area 1, Room 303, a double room. His roommate was Finger. When Lu Mingfei had slouched into the dorm, Finger was snoring on the upper bunk; the gunshots from earlier hadn’t disturbed him at all.

“You okay?” Finger poked his head down from the upper bunk.

“You have no idea what happened today.” Lu Mingfei sighed.

“I do. Your heroic deeds are being sung across campus. You made the campus news website, and the headline is pretty eye-catching.” Finger brought down his laptop to show Lu Mingfei.

“Who Wears the Crown of ‘Day of Liberty’? Who Blasted Caesar and then Chu Zihang?” Below was a large photo of Lu Mingfei, with his student ID number, dorm number, age, and hometown—all his information. The last detail kindly noted: “Single!”

“This looks like a dating ad…” Lu Mingfei said.

“It’s a wanted poster!” Finger replied. “It seems you still don’t understand what you did.”

“I didn’t do anything. I was just a little agitated, bullets were flying around—wouldn’t you want to defend yourself a bit?” Lu Mingfei protested.

“Self-defense is one thing, but blasting Caesar and Chu Zihang, who only had melee weapons, with two shots—that’s self-defense? Also, you need to understand—you are this year’s ‘Day of Liberty’ winner. You’ve just completed your enrollment, officially becoming a student here, so you’re qualified to participate. As a third party, you survived until the end on the battlefield. You won!”

“Is there a cash prize?”

“It’s much better than a cash prize. First, you’ll have a year’s access to the ‘Norton Pavilion’! Second, you’ll qualify directly for the finals of this year’s ‘Star of Cassell’ competition. Lastly,” Finger said admiringly, “the first girl you pursue at this college can’t refuse you and must maintain a relationship with you for at least three months.”

“I have a bad feeling about this…” Lu Mingfei said cautiously.

“Now do you understand why you’re the public enemy of every guy in this school?” Finger said. “Move the mouse over your photo.”

A bright red ‘X’ suddenly popped up where the mouse pointed, clearly labeled, “Take a good look! It’s this bastard! Who’s going to kill him?”

Lu Mingfei was completely stunned.

A knock came at the door, and Lu Mingfei jumped like a startled rabbit.

“Relax, relax, no one’s going to break in for revenge. They’ll at least give me, Finger, some respect.” Finger jumped down to open the door.

Professor Guderian entered, his face beaming with joy. The first thing he did was pat Lu Mingfei on the shoulder forcefully. “Hey, kid, I’m proud of you! Your name spread throughout the campus in a single day.”

“If you blew up the Pentagon, your name would spread across America in a day too…”

“Is there something you need, professor?” Finger asked.

Professor Guderian handed Lu Mingfei an envelope. “I came to bring you your student ID. With this card, you can enjoy S-Rank privileges throughout the entire campus. Also, tomorrow is the 3E exam. Are you ready?”

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