Dragons begin with courage

"Lu Mingfei?" Leo Vance's rugged face was instantly filled with astonishment, and his voice rose a few decibels. "That 'Freedom for a Day'... S-rank?!" He looked Lu Mingfei up and down, as if trying to find the terrifying power in this slightly thin frame that could kick an A-rank elite away and "snipe" the student council president with one shot.

Juliet Harrington's gaze became calmer and more scrutinizing. She nodded slightly and said in a low voice, "Judging from the video leaked from the campus network, there were seventeen irregularities in your tactical evasive maneuvers, but the accuracy of your shooting timing was exceptional, especially your on-the-spot judgment in using the pistol throw to create visual interference. The probability model shows a success rate of less than eight in a thousand, but you did it. Interesting."

Lu Mingfei: "..."

This girl talks like she's giving an AI analysis report.

"We'll get the mission briefing on the way," Chu Zihang interrupted the potential discussion, speaking succinctly. "Lu Mingfei is with me. Susie, you take them."

"Yes, President." Susie replied crisply, then gestured to Leo and Juliet, "Get in the back plane, check the equipment, and take off in five minutes."

Although Susie is a sophomore like the other two, she had already completed a mission in her second semester of freshman year, achieving a B-level rank, which is higher than theirs. While Susie's 3E test upon enrollment showed an A-level bloodline, an A-level bloodline does not necessarily equate to A-level strength.

Chu Zihang walked straight to the lead modified "Black Hawk" helicopter, opened the door, and got into the pilot's seat. Lu Mingfei quickly followed and climbed into the co-pilot's seat. The cabin door closed, shutting out most of the outside noise, replaced by the low hum of the instruments and a faint smell of metal and engine oil. He then saw the interior clearly—the instrument panel was as complex as a fighter jet cockpit, and a slender sniper rifle with a dark blue barrel was fixed on the weapon rack on the side. Next to it were several tightly sealed silver metal boxes, with fine gold matrix patterns etched on their surfaces.

"Senior brother, you can even drive this?" Lu Mingfei asked, fastening his multi-point seatbelt. In his mind, Chu Zihang should be the kind of person who sweats profusely in the dojo, accompanied by swords.

Chu Zihang had already donned the flight helmet with its noise-canceling microphone. In the dim backlight of the instrument panel, his profile appeared even more hard and cold. He didn't answer immediately, his fingers rapidly swiping across several touchscreens, bringing up complex route maps and terrain data, his movements so practiced they were almost like breathing.

"Basic skills for the Executive Department. In most cases, it's Norma's autopilot," the voice came through the internal channel, flat and emotionless.

As he spoke, he pressed an inconspicuous black button in the center of the control panel. A soft but emotionless electronic female voice rang out in the cabin; it was Norma: "Please enter the activation code."

"Chu Zihang".

"Voiceprint verification successful. Please enter your secondary operation password."

Chu Zihang paused for a second, seemed to sigh almost imperceptibly, and then read in a steady, almost monotonous tone: "Tiger of the Execution Department."

"Password correct. Welcome aboard, Commissioner Chu Zihang."

Lu Mingfei's lips twitched; he almost couldn't hold back. Tiger of the Execution Department? This codename... why does it have such a contradictory feel—both childish and hardcore?

With Norma's confirmation, the entire cockpit seemed to awaken. Countless indicator lights flashed in a continuous stream, the main screen displayed a holographic projection of the flight path, and the roar of the engines became deep and powerful. The rotors began to accelerate, and the swirling sand slapped against the fuselage.

"Auto navigation set. Destination: Sonoran Desert, 31°45'N, 112°30'W." Norma's voice came through the slight lift of the aircraft.

Through the porthole, Lu Mingfei watched as the castle-like spires of Kassel College and the lights of the old Lionheart building rapidly shrank and receded into the distance, eventually being swallowed by the clouds. The helicopter turned southwest, and the land below gradually lost all traces of civilization, revealing a primitive and chilling desolation.

The US-Mexico border!

Juliet looked down at the ground through the observation window: "In the 19th century, Mexican President Porfirio Díaz lamented, 'Poor Mexico, so far from God, so close to the United States.' The model of illegal border crossings observed here can serve as a contemporary footnote to that statement."

Leo's deep voice continued, with an almost cold calm: "With the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, Mexico lost more than 55% of its territory. Borders are lines drawn by men, but poverty, violence, and despair flow on their own."

As Lu Mingfei listened, he recalled the horrifying news reports about Mexican drug lords, presidential candidates assassinated in broad daylight, and streets resembling battlefields. So this was a glimpse into the world that mixed-race individuals might face—not just mythical dragons, but also a blood-soaked human world crushed by history and reality.

"The border politics between the United States and Mexico are not within the scope of our mission this time," Susie's calm voice interjected, with a clear direction. "Keep the channel clear and focus on the target. Norma, bring up the latest satellite synthetic aperture radar imagery and thermal anomaly report for the target area."

"Retrieved." Norma's response was always immediate and precise. On the passenger screen in front of Lu Mingfei, complex images and data streams appeared. "Coordinates confirmed. Based on the abnormal energy fluctuation spectrum analysis and activity trace comparison, the target is preliminarily identified as a third-generation sub-dragon. Its activity trajectory overlaps 74.6% with the smuggling routes of the local criminal organization 'Viper.' According to big data analysis, there is a 38% probability that unregistered hybrid individuals exist within this organization."

Chu Zihang's voice rang out in the channel, clear and cold, carrying the final orders before the operation: "Mission priority: Confirm and control/eliminate third-generation species. If encountering 'Viper' members, use Frigga tranquilizer darts to subdue non-hybrids, in conjunction with memory erasure procedures. If the target is confirmed to be a hybrid, attempt to control and bring them back. However, if the target's bloodline is extremely unstable, has exceeded the 'critical bloodline limit,' and exhibits strong aggression or uncontrollable dragonification tendencies..." He paused for half a second, and in that half-second of silence, it seemed as if ice blades had condensed, "Execution Department Rule 7 applies: On-the-spot execution is permitted."

"clear!"

"Susie, frontline command is yours. Juliet, take charge of data link support and long-range precision strikes. Leo, you'll assist Susie in the frontal breakthrough." Chu Zihang assigned tasks, finally calling on Lu Mingfei, "Lu Mingfei, stick close to me."

"Yes, Senior Brother." Lu Mingfei took a deep breath, his hand unconsciously resting on his waist. There, a chainmail pistol issued by the Execution Department was tucked; the grip was icy cold, and the magazine contained a mixture of specially made Friga tranquilizer darts and several live chainmail rounds engraved with armor-piercing patterns. His black combat suit was slightly oversized, but the texture of the special fibers gave him a strange, enveloping sense of security.