Dragon Clan: Lu Mingfei Doesn’t Want to Become a Night City Legend

Chapter 86: Angers: Kill All the Corporate Dogs
"what----"

"Ah~~~~"

"------"

Half past six in the evening.

Kassel, baths.

In order to accommodate the various ethnic groups and literary customs within the college, Kassel's buildings are open to the public and have an overall unified British style. However, there are Japanese dojos in the classrooms, 60% of the food in the cafeteria is Chinese, and a Mandarin cultural corner program is held.

As for the dormitories, there are double rooms with bunk beds and private bathrooms.

But even so, it provides a quiet and beautiful Japanese Zen environment for those in need.

Pushing open a series of wooden sliding doors, I could smell the delicate fragrance. Through the white Japanese paper, soft light, like a hazy moonlight, fell on them, adding a touch of tranquility.

Inside the bathhouse, the smooth stone floor exudes a warm luster, and the ceiling is made of crisscrossing wooden beams, which is simple and elegant. Several simple Japanese paper lanterns are hung on the beams. The warm yellow light shines through the paper surface of the lanterns, creating a warm and soft halo, shrouding the entire space in a lazy and comfortable atmosphere.

At this moment, it happened to be dinner time, and almost no one visited this pure land.

Except for the three people in front of me.

Most of his long golden hair was submerged in the water, floating slightly. The man leaned back with his elbows against the shore to stabilize his body, his spine bent backward, his head tilted back, his mouth open, and his face covered by a towel.

The black-haired, cold-faced gigolo stood straight even while taking a bath, looking straight ahead. He covered his head with a towel soaked in hot water, wetting a few strands of black hair that hung in front of his eyes, giving him a bit of the beauty of Oreki Houtarou.

And the last one.
The white towel just covered something between the boy's legs. He floated in the middle of the bathtub in a backstroke posture. The early moon reflected itself in the center of the bathtub, coinciding with the position of the towel.

The three people have their own unique ways of enjoying the bath, and it is not difficult to tell their identities.

The blond burly man took the lead and tried hard to squeeze out a little sound from his throat.

"I never thought I'd be taking a shower with you guys."

"Boss, I don't have any either."

"What a surprise! I thought you, Lu Mingfei, were the type to come to the bathhouse and try to spy on the women there."

"Hey, boss, you don't know my personality well enough. My personality is to go with the flow. If you ask me to peek into the women's bathhouse, I won't do it. But if the wall separating men and women collapses, I will definitely turn around and take a look."

Can you really tell who's talking without even mentioning their names? — Chu Zihang looked expressionlessly at Lu Mingfei, who floated in the direction of the hot water, not at all metallic, and Caesar, who tilted his head back and kept making uncle-like noises, not at all elegant.

Lu Mingfei stared blankly at the ceiling and murmured, "I'm so tired, so tired that I don't even want to move a finger. Why not just wash my underwear here too to save water?"

"Hey, this is not the Ganges!" Caesar tore off the towel covering his face, his expression hurried and serious.

"do not worry."

Chu Zihang still kept his arms crossed and spoke steadily.

"This is a Gintama meme."

"You really spoke a lot of ACG knowledge without any expression. What's wrong, Chu Zihang? Are you a hidden otaku?"

"I watched a little bit of it with my mom, and then I heard that Lu Mingfei liked it, so I watched a little bit too."

"I watched it too, but Norma only showed me the hentai."

Chu Zihang said seriously without showing any emotion, "Congratulations."

"That's terrible! I was trying to show that I'm kind and don't mind having some vulgar hobbies in common, but now it's all gone to waste." The Italian gentleman understood the problem and turned to Lu Mingfei and said, "Or maybe we can use some anime memes to draw comparisons."

"The moon is so round tonight, everyone." Lu Mingfei replied immediately.

"Calm down, it's nothing, because I know that even the anime you watch are all pure love stories, which makes me sure that you are a gentle person at heart."

"By the way, did you know that the Japanese words for bathhouse (銭湯) and battle (戦う) are pronounced similarly?"

Chu Zihang and Caesar immediately looked miserable.

Caesar: "Don't mention the word 'battle' right now. It makes me feel a bit nauseous."

Chu Zihang: "If you vomit now, then this bathhouse will indeed be closer to the Ganges."

Immediately, the three of them sighed together.

The three of them stopped reading Manzai and started thinking about their own problems.

In fact, they themselves also vaguely felt the problem.

It’s cooperation.

Caesar and Lu Mingfei, Lu Mingfei and Chu Zihang, these two cooperation modes both exist and are valid, and there are relevant battles to support them.

But the three of them looked a little weird together, which reflected the incompatibility of Caesar and Chu Zihang's tactical styles.

And what about Lu Mingfei?
To put it nicely, it is a panacea; to put it bluntly, it is called weak subjective initiative.

After all, the reason he joined the mercenaries was that David recruited him as a "jack of all trades", and Lu Mingfei himself was quite resistant to becoming a "leader".

He is the type who will make careful plans when traveling alone, but if he is with a group of people, he will just put his hands in his pockets and wait for instructions.

The problem has been found, but the solution has not yet been found.

The bathhouse remained silent, with no one breaking the silence. The three men, unwilling to talk, froze in their places until the wooden door to the entrance rang again.

"Yeah, they're all here."

The three of them turned their gaze towards the door, only to see a burly black shadow standing there.

[Boom, boom, boom]

Ange walked towards the three people, and Lu Mingfei suddenly felt that he might have accidentally walked into some strange video clip. The heavy music was interspersed with the humming of bass and the vibration of drums, and the nodes were stuck in Ange's every step, making the old man look like a marching tiger, his muscles bulging, and powerful power flowing on the surface of his body.

Caesar and Chu Zihang both subconsciously swam in one direction, but at a certain moment they froze in place - they realized that their subconscious behavior of gathering together was as docile and ridiculous as the weak animals on the African grasslands when facing their natural enemies.

Ange would not want his students to become lambs to be slaughtered. They must stay where they are, raise their heads and bare their fangs at the hunters. Even the slightest hesitation would expose a fatal flaw.

So Lu Mingfei looked at the two people who were inexplicably holding their heads high and chests puffed out in the pool, and followed their example, giving Ange an unstandard military salute.

"Hello principal!"

"Well, hello, classmates, you have worked hard. No, don't be nervous, I just came to take a bath."

Ange walked to the edge of the pool, half-knelt down, tested the water temperature with his hand, and slowly entered the pool.

The water ripples slowly spread out along with the old man's movements. The ripples hit the skin with almost no extra touch, but the sensitive nerves of the hybrid made Lu Mingfei feel that the person who went into the water was not his own principal, but a prehistoric giant crocodile, and was swimming towards his lower body.

"Brother, now I know how it feels when Gin-san sees Pitbululu while taking a bath."

Chu Zihang nodded slightly.

Caesar smacked his lips and said angrily, "You guys! That's enough! We're in front of the principal. If you start talking about anime memes without permission, won't you seem to be isolating the old man?"

Say something I can understand!

"Actually, I watch Gintama too."

"What!!" Caesar screamed, his ice-blue pupils trembling slightly, he couldn't believe it.

How could he imagine that in this small bathroom, among the four outstanding talents of Kassel, he was the only one who didn't know the secret!

I'm the one being excluded!

Ange rubbed his shoulders with his hands. The muscles of his forearms, faintly visible under the mist, were as hard and strong as a bulldozer. Combined with his body like a Greek statue, every movement seemed to burst out with oppressive pressure - if you ignore what he said.

"To understand Lu Mingfei's preferences, I've done some research. When I'm on a business trip and don't have internet access, I'll also watch cached anime." Angé said cheerfully, "I also watch One Piece."

Although we are watching all the hot favorites, it is hard not to feel a little pity when seeing Angers trying so hard to connect with the young people of the new era.

"By the way, I shouldn't be as hideous as that green creature, right?"

"No, no, no, the principal is still as charming and handsome as ever." Lu Mingfei flattered Chu Zihang skillfully, and Caesar was still worried that he couldn't keep up with the topic a little further away.

"Hahaha, anyway, relax. Outside of combat, we're just teacher and student. I don't want you to look at me and run away when you see me on the street after graduation."

"Don't be so specific. Doesn't this remind me of my elementary, junior high and high school homeroom teachers?" Lu Mingfei said, covering his chest.

Perhaps because of his grades, the relationship between Lu Mingfei and his class teacher was always a little tense. Whether Lu Mingfei passed the test or not was closely linked to the teacher's expression, which kept jumping between angel and devil.

"But since the principal is so gentle, then we can relax the intensity of our training."

These days, Lu Mingfei has been cooperating with Caesar and Chu Zihang in diving training and waiting for an opportunity to challenge Angers. He is almost exhausted.

"That won't work."

Ange relaxed his body, leaning his back, which looked like a ghost, against the edge of the pool, his eyes and eyebrows gentle as he spoke.

"This is my strict guidance, but it also contains tenderness, enthusiasm, kindness and warmth."

"Why have I never felt the gentleness, warmth, and kindness?"

"We've only known each other for a short time. Even though I'm an old man, I'm still shy and a little embarrassed to show my tenderness."

"Then all that's left is strict instruction!?!"

Lu Mingfei's fierce complaints made Angé laugh out loud, while Caesar and Chu Zihang felt inexplicably uncomfortable, as if their manzai teammates had been snatched away by someone else.

"Principal, has the time for the Kuimen Project been set?"

"Yeah, not far away."

The principal sank more of his body into the water and spoke vaguely.

"We don't have a deep understanding of the ancient bronze city we discovered yet. For your safety, we've decided to conduct as many explorations as possible before officially dispatching personnel. Oh, speaking of which."

Ange opened his half-closed eyes and added, "This is a very dangerous dragon-slaying mission. Although coming to Kassel means you are willing to take this risk, I still have to say that this is unfair."

"Defending the world is supposed to be the job of an old man like me. My inability to completely wipe out the dragon race in my time was my incompetence, which is why I let young people like you step onto the battlefield. For this, I'm very sorry."

Using gestures to stop Caesar and Chu Zihang from saying anything in rebuttal, Angers stared at Lu Mingfei with his old but clear eyes.

"But since we are about to embark on the battlefield, from that moment on, our identities will no longer be teacher and student, but comrades."

"On the battlefield, the attitude towards comrades can be both warm and cold. They can entrust their lives to each other, but when one side dies, I will not hesitate for a moment, I will only continue to move forward. I will only fire my gun for you at the dawn of the war's end, under a sky filled with death and gunpowder."

"This is a serious mission involving life and death that leaves no room for slackness."

"I ask again, are you ready?"

There was a brief silence.

But Chu Zihang never looked away.

Lu Mingfei surprisingly didn't say anything bad at this time.

Caesar, on the other hand, suddenly frowned, as if he wanted to say something.

".As for my family," Caesar said coldly, "I have no problem, but my family must be putting pressure on you, the principal. Is that okay?"

"Of course there are problems. The Gattuso family is a leader in alchemical weapon research, and we need their support for our dragon-slaying mission." Ange waved his hand. "They've been bugging me all week, saying they don't want their precious heir to die on the dragon battlefield."

"I--"

"But, in the end, they will still be persuaded by me."

Ange calmed down Caesar, who was a little excited.

"In the final analysis, it's not that they don't want you to participate in the dragon-slaying mission, but they're afraid that you won't be able to complete it."

"The Gattuso family values ​​you, so they want you to show actual achievements that are enough to become Gattuso's heir, so that it will be easier for the Gattuso family to gradually swallow up other clans in the future." At this time, the mist separating the three people and Ange had dissipated, and several people could see the strange black lines on Ange's arm when he raised his hand.

Those were tattoos. On the left wrist was a tiger's head, and on the right wrist was a yaksha's ghost face. They were tattooed with indigo and dyed with cinnabar, and looked ferocious and gorgeous.

No one would have thought that an old gentleman who graduated from Cambridge would have tattoos of the highest-ranking tiger and yaksha in the Japanese underworld. The three of them couldn't help but think of Angers' "legendary story".

Have you heard the story of 'Principal's Trip'?
Legend has it that in 1946, the kind-hearted Principal Angers came to the defeated Japan on behalf of the US military, and went to the home of the local underworld to ask for a place to stay.

Although he was tired from the journey, he was treated with great care and hospitality.

But, late one night.

The Japanese underworld, who had been disguising themselves, eventually fell out, and hundreds of members formed a violent group and broke into Angers' residence.

The wails shook the sky.

Amidst this tragedy, only one person remained standing. That was Angers.

The reason was that Ange had not slept late that night. Knowing that his enemy was no match for him, he happily stood up, holding a wooden sword in each hand, and beat all the attackers that night so hard that they fled in panic.

He was alone, holding a knife in both hands and facing a group of robbers. He stabbed the opponent again and again, and then stabbed again. A, then W, then scraped the outer circle! Then switched to the screen and wiped it! !

Yes.

The posture of slashing the enemy to pieces, the posture of standing firm even if slashed with hundreds or thousands of swords, even the cruel gangsters could not help but utter words of praise before dying.

After that, records were left behind that "the principal loved Japanese culture and was good at double-sword techniques. He could often take on ten enemies and kill them in seconds... He loved drinking Japanese sake and would often have the izakaya prepare the strongest shochu, and drink it with all the people in the division, and then return home together at cockcrow... In three years, everyone on the road was impressed by his power, and he was called 'Jiuban Da'." He also had tattoos of a colorful tiger on his left arm and a green-faced, fang-toothed yaksha on his right arm.

This is the origin of the "Principal's Row"
That's how the story ends.

That's right.

The reason I mentioned all this is to prove how domineering and tough this man, Hilbert Jean Ange, is!

When he sees something he doesn't like, he will just run over it head-on.

As the 'strongest hybrid of the contemporary era'.

As the 'greatest dragon slayer in history'!

Even the Gattuso family is the same.

This is also the reason why Ange is so popular among the mixed-race people. Even a proud person like Caesar Gattuso fully trusts and admires this old man.

"Well, it looks like we're done talking about this."

Ange curled his lips and said, "Then you can go out first. I can see that you are enjoying the bath."

"It's just that you want to have the bath all to yourself, right, Principal?"

"Mingfei."

"That was what Boss Caesar said just now!"

"What nonsense are you talking about!"

"It's indeed him."

"Chu Zihang, don't you know how to speak except at times like this?"

They got up from the bath noisily, Caesar and Chu Zihang walked in front, while Lu Mingfei lagged behind for some reason.

"Ok?"

Noticing the boy's movement, Ange opened one eye.

"Any questions? My dearest S-Class."

"Isn't 'dearest' a bit of an exaggeration? What about Caesar and Senior Brother Chu Zihang?"

"Dearest?"

"."

Lu Mingfei had a bath towel wrapped around his waist, and there was a lot of complicated and confusing hesitation in his eyes as he looked at Ange.

But when the two looked at each other, Lu Mingfei thought of all his interactions with Ange so far.

The old man pushed himself onto the stage in Kassel. He was occasionally out of touch, but most of the time he was mature and steady.

And just now too.
His attitude made Lu Mingfei want to reveal all the doubts in his heart.

".Principal, do you know Chen Motong?"

"Of course." Ange followed Lu Mingfei's words and looked at the boy. "He's an A-level mixed-blood from the academy, an outstanding young man with super profiling abilities. He's also your interviewer in China. Let me think about it. Did she say anything to you?"

".Um."

Lu Mingfei nodded.

He looked at Ange, paused, and then spoke slowly and firmly, "She saw the contents of my vision, and I want to ask you a question about those images."

"Go ahead."

Noticing the seriousness in Lu Mingfei's eyes and the helplessness that finally suited a child of his age, Ange narrowed his eyes, spread out his arms that were originally crossed over his chest, cut through the water, and moved closer to Lu Mingfei.

The principal pretended to listen attentively, his smile full of encouragement.

Lu Mingfei finally spoke.

"It's a city of the future."

The boy did not reveal everything about his Cyberpunk senior sister.

Of course, he couldn't trust Ange 100% like he trusted Lucy, David, and Rebecca.

So he used spiritual views as an excuse.

Just for an attitude.

He described a possible future to Ange: a neon city, advanced technology, immortal rich people, and the lower classes struggling in despair.
All this for just one question.

"Principal, if one day we truly defeat the dragon race, will we hybrids replace them and become the new dragon race?"

"."

The old man who received the question did not answer immediately.

He closed his eyes, as if remembering a lot.

The old man's life spanned a century, and he witnessed the changes of the times and the changes of mankind more than anyone else.

So he knew the correct answer at this time.

But there’s a difference between being right and being “correct.”

"If I could, I would tell you that the Hybrid Organization only fights for the peace of humanity, but unfortunately, that's all a lie."

In the empty bathtub, there were only Lu Mingfei and Ange. The old man's calm response had a unclear echo.

"I've met so many people, and I once had many comrades. We fought together on the battlefields of slaying dragons. We vowed to drive out all dragons, to honor those who died, and to make their lives meaningful."

“But they changed.”

Ange was telling other people's stories, his eyes as peaceful as still water.

"Some people have lovers and children, so they let go of their hatred."

"Some died on the battlefield."

"Some people, after achieving great military success, chose to accept salaries and enjoy their old age."

"Some people took over that dirty blood, and they became greedy, cruel, and crazy."

"There's nothing wrong with this, Ming Fei. Power is poisonous. It's not something you can 'endure' or tolerate. When you see the torrent of money rolling towards you, when you see all the benefits that were once out of reach now within your reach, no one would choose to refuse."

Lu Mingfei's heart sank when he heard this.

But it was also at this moment——

Ange said calmly, "So, I will kill them when necessary."

"It doesn't matter whether it's right or not, just kill."

"It doesn't matter whether it's justified or not, just kill."

"It doesn't matter whether it's active or not, just kill."

"As you can see, I am a human. I am just an old man who has lived to be over a hundred years old. I have long confessed my dream to everyone. I want to kill all dragons - whether they are born or self-proclaimed."

The old man looked so handsome at that moment that it was hard to ignore the fact that he was over a hundred years old.

He was beaming with joy, and when he talked about "killing the dragon clan", his eyes were like a child with the purest light in them.

There was no trace of gloom in those sharp eyes.

"Kill all the dragons. That's my answer."

".That's really cool."

That's really cool.

At that moment, no matter what I said or what I thought in my heart, it seemed to be the same thing.

Lu Mingfei suddenly felt that cyberpunk might... no, it definitely would not be the future of this world.

Because Lu Mingfei couldn't imagine how the old man in front of him would die.

He is like a flame that will never burn out. Even if the power of the half-bloods takes root in the world, as long as he is alive, he will not allow such a horrible and dirty world to exist in the future.

"excuse me."

Lu Mingfei couldn't describe what he felt in his heart, but when he scratched his head, he felt that the loneliness that filled his heart seemed to have dissipated a lot.

He returned from another world, but felt a little lonely in the era where he originally lived.

But looking at Ange, Lu Mingfei felt that this was an excellent old man who would live into the "future".

Thinking of this, Lu Mingfei planned to take his leave first, but just as he was about to leave, he remembered a doubt.

"By the way, Principal, one last question."

"explain."

The boy's eyes rolled and his thoughts went back to a certain moment today.

"Didn't I stake out your office this afternoon? I saw a document sent from Japan."

"You really have no remorse at all. You're telling me so blatantly that you snooped through the principal's files, right?" Ange twitched his lips. He wanted to scold Lu Mingfei harshly, but when he realized that Lu Mingfei wasn't really angry, he gave up. "Yes, there was such a file. What's the problem?"

"No, I'm just concerned about you, Principal. After all, you usually stamp and process all the documents immediately, but you picked out that one and put it aside. I wonder if it's something particularly tricky."

Lu Mingfei spoke what he thought were ordinary words with a matter-of-fact expression.

"I'm a sick person. If someone treats me a little bit well, my favorability will increase rapidly, and I will also think about how to repay them. So, if you have any trouble, please tell me, your dearest student will help you solve it!"

Thumbs up, it was obvious that Lu Mingfei's mercenary personality began to take effect.

The same is true in Night City. The most striking thing about the mercenary [L] in the outside world's evaluation is that he is particularly good at remembering favors.

L is a person who lacks a sense of justice, but attaches great importance to "loyalty" and is easy to talk to.

Although you may not shout when you see injustice, if you happen to meet L in a ramen restaurant, you can try to treat him to a bowl of pork bone chashu noodles, which may very well become your life-saving straw when you are in a life-and-death situation one day in the future.

It's the same situation now.

"You little brat! You dare to dream about the future when the Three Gorges issue hasn't been resolved." Angé cursed with a smile.

But this is in line with his temperament.

"It's a document from Japan. It says that a Japanese organization wants to join the secret party and get a piece of the pie here, but since it doesn't meet the regulations, I intend to reject it."

"What's the name of the company?"

At that moment, Lu Mingfei didn't actually expect an answer.

It's just like "what to eat", just a casual action, just an unintentional remark to chat with the elderly.

That's why he was so stunned by the name, even as if he was falling into an icy cave.

That name——

"Arasaka."

Ange said casually without any suspicion.

"Arasaka Corporation."

“It’s just a small business that’s not worth mentioning.”

(End of this chapter)