dragon raja

Dragon Shadow(1)

There was a faint buzzing sound in the wind, followed by lights. In the distance, there was a huge light spot moving on the dark water. A moment later, a call came from the front left of the bow, "Moniah, please pay attention, Moniah, please pay attention, this is the Three Gorges Waterway Emergency Rescue Agency, this is the Three Gorges Waterway Emergency Rescue Agency, please turn on the lights to reply, please turn on the lights to reply."

The third mate came on deck and asked, "Captain, do you want to wait any longer?"

Mance smoked his cigar fiercely, staring at the water, and was silent for a few seconds. He looked down at his watch, and fourteen minutes had passed... Suddenly, the eyes of this elite leader of the executive department softened, and he suddenly felt too tired.

"The signal light is back on, accept rescue, all personnel evacuate." He waved behind him.

A bright xenon lamp was turned on on the top of the ship, emitting three short flashes of light. This was a distress signal. A helicopter cruising at low altitude received the signal and immediately moved its lights towards this side. The "buzzing" sound was amplified hundreds and thousands of times. The huge wind pressure from top to bottom made it difficult for people to breathe. A pitch-black helicopter appeared in the aperture of the signal light, with seven huge rotors, and an estimated length of thirty meters.

"CH-53E, 'Super Stallion', the Chinese rescue agency actually uses such a luxurious heavy helicopter." The third mate recognized the American military aircraft.

Mance had completely lost interest in these things. He turned around and wanted to return to the cabin. At this time, he heard a muffled sound from the stern. He took out his flashlight and shone it over. Next to the lifeboat on the side of the ship, a dark head floated up, followed by a pale face.

"Aki..." Mans couldn't believe his eyes.

His favorite student, Aki Sakutoku, the Japanese girl who always shone with maternal radiance, somehow surpassed the limit of human diving and survived. She was struggling to push a brass can almost as tall as her onto the lifeboat. The brass can didn't seem very heavy in the water because of its buoyancy, but it was completely different once it left the water.

"Selma! Selma! Help!" Mance shouted in surprise, and then cursed, "Come up! Don't worry about the can!"

Aki didn't answer him, but let out a roar, and pushed the brass can onto the lifeboat with her last bit of strength, then looked up at Mans. She didn't try to climb onto the lifeboat, and her slender arms clung to the rope on the side of the lifeboat, so weak that she could be swept away by the current at any time. But her eyes were so bright that Mans was stunned for a moment.

"Professor, take the jar and run!" Yaji said loudly, "Ye Sheng snatched it back then..."

She suddenly loosened the rope, not because she wanted to let go, but because a huge force from under the water pulled her down. Her long hair was swept by the waves and disappeared completely. When Mance ran to the side of the boat, bright red blood surged from under the water like a rising red smoke.

"Aki!" Mans yelled hoarsely. He was furious and tore open the buttons of his captain's uniform and tried to jump into the water.

"Drop anchor! Start the engine! Turn on the afterburner!" the third mate also shouted, while pulling Mance.

Compared to Mans, he was the most experienced crew member here, having been sailing in the ocean for more than ten years. He had seen what happened to Aki before, a shark attacking a diving companion. But he didn't think sharks would exist in the Three Gorges Reservoir, and judging from the huge whirlpool that rolled up on the water when Aki sank, the size of this "shark" was astonishingly large. He had to leave as soon as possible, taking the copper pot that Aki had exchanged his life for.

The two anchor chains connecting the Moniach to the bottom of the water were cut at the same time. The powerful engine started instantly without preheating. The huge acceleration caused the third mate and Mance to roll over together. Just before falling, the third mate saw a sharp water line behind the ship chasing them straight ahead.

"What is that?" The third mate broke out in a cold sweat. The Moniach was equipped with engines purchased by the academy at a high price. These engines were originally used for German submarines. When accelerating, they could reach a speed of 50 knots, which is about the same as a speedboat. What can swim at a speed of 50 knots while submerged? The fastest swordfish is probably no faster than that, and the torpedoes in World War II were probably no faster than that.

"Is it really a torpedo chasing us?" The third mate shuddered and shouted, "Detour! Detour!"

He also thought his guess was ridiculous, but anyone would try their best to avoid that waterline and that terrifying feeling. The waterline did not give up and followed closely. The helicopter of the waterway rescue agency was probably also puzzled by Moniach's sudden and unreasonable escape. It was even more puzzled that a passenger ship suddenly ran like a speedboat and followed.

"Turn on the sonar and see what that is!" Mance jumped into the cabin, panting, dragging the copper can. He had recovered slightly from the pain of losing his students. His face twitched and his anger was like a volcano about to erupt.

"We are going too fast to get an accurate image. It's about 15 meters long and looks like a fish!" the second mate said loudly.

"Fish?" The third mate breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately it was a fish. If it was really a torpedo,

"It'll be easy if it's a living thing," Mance cut open a new cigar, put it between his lips, lit it, and moved his facial muscles vigorously. "No matter what your relationship with those lizards is, as long as it's a living thing, it will die! Give me the sniper rifle!"

The first mate threw the key behind him, and Selma opened the weapons cabinet hidden in the bulkhead. An L115A3 sniper rifle was placed upright in the center. This British-made long-range sniper rifle can be called the king of sniper rifles, but the executive department was still not satisfied with its performance and optimized the ammunition. Mance loaded the bullets with cold blue light and ancient patterns engraved on the bullet heads into the magazine one by one. The primer of each bullet was painted red, which was a sign of high-risk weapon possession.

"I really like those crazy guys in the executive department who are engaged in weapon optimization!" Mance slapped the magazine into the gun and flashed out of the cabin.

The light from the xenon lamp illuminated the surging white foam behind the ship clearly, but the white foam could not hide the sharp waterline. It seemed that not deep underwater, there was an invisible knife cutting the water surface, and the front of the waterline was only more than 500 meters away from the Moniach.

Mance leaned against the bulkhead tightly, put his feet on the railing of the boat, and his whole body was like a triangle between the bulkhead and the railing, which allowed him to keep his balance in the storm. He raised his sniper rifle and saw the high-temperature "fish" underwater in the infrared sight. The thing was swimming at full speed, so its body temperature was much higher than the water temperature, which completely exposed it.

"Very good, boy," Mance said softly, biting his cigar.

He pulled the trigger, and a straight cold blue light shot straight into the water. It was the result of the fluorescent material on the tracer bullet heating up due to friction in the air. The gunshot was like thunder, and the huge recoil could knock a strong man over. The advancement of the waterline was suddenly blocked, and a whirlpool rolled up on the water surface. Mance did not hesitate and fired continuously. A full ten large-caliber bullets shot into the water. The cold blue light had not yet extinguished, and the next one had already been pulled out. At the same time, when several cold lights were lingering in the dark air, it was amazingly beautiful. Mance watched it through the infrared telescope. It was zigzagging in the water, as if trying to avoid those bullets. He couldn't help but take off his cigar and laughed out loud.

"Selma, bullet!" he shouted.

He wasn't going to stop, he wanted to see the damn thing's body float up from the water so he could take a good look at what dared to take away his most beloved student just a few meters away from him.

When Selma rushed out of the cabin with a full magazine, she saw a helicopter from the waterway rescue agency hovering in the air. Apparently they had also noticed that Moniach, who was traveling at full speed, was being chased by something, so they shone the searchlight on the vortex created by the circling thing.

Suddenly, a large number of bubbles emerged in the center of the whirlpool, and an incredibly huge black shadow suddenly appeared from there. For a moment, Selma doubted whether what she saw was real or an illusion. The black shadow broke through the water surface with unparalleled power and rose straight into the sky - a flash of lightning tore through the sky, and the black shadow in the lightning was as agile as a mad dragon.

Selma's legs went limp and she sat down on the deck. She knew from countless theoretical and practical classes that this species existed in this world, but she had never seen such a huge dragon appear in person. It was simply a miracle, a dragon breaking through the water and ascending to heaven. All these storms and winds were to welcome this great moment...

Mance reached out and grabbed the magazine from Selma's hand, loaded it into the gun and fired into the air. At this moment, the thing had already risen to the speed of a helicopter. It was exhausted, but its long tail rolled up and wrapped around the landing gear of the heavy helicopter. It was not small, but compared to a heavy helicopter like the "Super Stallion" that could carry 15 tons of cargo, it was not big. Mance's bullets hit its body, sparking sparks.

"It looks like it's enraged..." Mance whispered.

The thing took advantage of the landing gear and leaped up again. Another flash of lightning crossed the sky. In the lightning, the thing stretched out like a long dragon. After a slight pause, it twisted like a long whip and hit the helicopter's rotor hard. Iron fragments flew everywhere. The helicopter lost its balance and circled towards the water. Several black figures opened the hatch and jumped into the water. The helicopter collided violently with the water, splashing nearly 50 meters high. Ten seconds later, flames rushed into the night sky and the helicopter exploded underwater.

"It...it shot down a heavy helicopter? How could it jump 20 meters out of the water?" Selma shook her head, "Oh my God!"

"Yeah, it looks like it's not very smart, and it thought it was attacked by people on the helicopter," Mance whispered, "but if this continues, we will probably be its next meal."

Before Mance finished his words, the terrifying water line rose from the bottom of the water again, chasing the Moniach.

"Are we delicious?" Selma still managed to make a joke.

"What it really cares about is the copper pot. Hunting us is just a midnight snack." Mance said coldly.

Mans opened the hatch and yelled inside, "We don't have sniper rifles. Those things are super big. What other weapons and equipment do we have?"

"There are only depth charges!" The first mate roared in response. He was at the helm, and the engine at full power made the Moniach like a mad swordfish. Hot sweat broke out on the first mate's forehead, and all his energy was focused on those complicated instrument panels.

"We are now disguised as a tugboat. In order to avoid trouble during the inspection by the navigation authorities, all weapons and equipment have been removed. We only have 10 miniature underwater bombs," the second mate who was monitoring the sonar had time to explain, "besides that, we don't even have a mountain cannon."

"Damn it!" Mans yelled, "Then let's use underwater bombs! Prepare to release!"

Mance turned around and continued to shoot those bullets with cold blue light into the water. These bullets made of alchemical materials were exactly the opposite of "Frigga bullets". When they came into contact with blood in the body, they exploded immediately, and the deadly toxins would attack the heart along with the blood. But this thing was definitely not ordinary. Bullets might not be able to enter its body. Even if a few bullets were shot in, the toxins would only make it furious. But Mance didn't mind offending him. Either he killed this thing, or it would kill all of them. The speed of this thing was getting faster and faster. If it wasn't still trying to dodge Mance's bullets, it would have caught up.

"Z-shaped!" the second mate shouted.

The steering wheel turned rapidly in the hands of the first mate, and the Moniach splashed nearly ten-meter-high waves, drawing a "Z" shape on the water surface with a large angle of zigzag. At the same time, the second mate opened the underwater hatch at the stern of the ship, and ten underwater bombs were released continuously. Because of the "Z"-shaped route, they formed three rows, three in the front row, four in the middle, and three in the back row, with a spacing of about ten meters between each other. The micro engines of the underwater bombs started, which kept them at a depth of five to ten meters underwater, while slowly approaching the extremely close thing. From the second mate's sonar monitor, the underwater bombs formed an arc about 30 meters wide, waiting for the thing like a trap for catching animals.

"Beautiful!" the second mate shouted to the first mate.

This is a perfect hunting array. This thing must either slow down and bypass immediately to give the Moniach some time to escape, or it must come into close contact with those bombs. Although the underwater bombs are not equipped with warheads made by alchemical technology, they have amazing explosive power. The scientists in the executive department are all crazy. When designing these underwater bombs, they really hope that one bomb can blow through the armor of the Los Angeles-class aircraft carrier...

The magazine with smoke fell at Mance's feet. Mance threw down his sniper rifle and ran back to the cabin. He pushed the second mate aside and lay on the sonar display, staring at the flashing lights and the fish-like behemoth getting closer and closer.

"Very close, only 50 meters left!" the second mate shouted, "This thing really has no IQ, it's rushing straight at me without slowing down!"

The speed of that thing was close to the speed of the Moniach, also about 50 knots. Those underwater bombs were suspended in the water, like fireflies floating in the air. In this case, the distance of 50 meters only took two or three seconds to disappear, just a sudden braking distance. Imagine a running car on an icy road in the middle of the night. Can it be stopped? Obviously not, and the friction of water is not much higher than that of ice. Mance was ecstatic and clenched his fists with the pleasure of imminent revenge.

"It...it stopped!" The second mate's face turned pale.

Just as they pricked up their ears and waited for the thunderous explosions, the huge thing on the sonar display stopped at the floating underwater bombs. It was not like braking, there was no sliding, but it was completely still with a "whoosh", and the relative speed became zero. The second mate's head was buzzing, and he was doing a terrible arithmetic problem. Assuming that thing is the same as a 15-meter-long sperm whale, it weighs about 50 tons, which is equivalent to 20 Bentley cars tied together. Its speed is 100 kilometers per hour. What force can stop 20 Bentley cars tied together instantly?

"Detonate the bomb directly?" The second mate looked up at the burly Mance.

Mance's face turned pale, "Will it work?"

“Look at the screen first to see if it will work…” an intern who came over said cautiously.

Mance and the second mate looked up and saw that five of the original ten light spots on the screen had disappeared, and the behemoth was swimming around the remaining light spots, like a small whale curiously playing with a small group of jellyfish. The second mate was completely stunned and looked up at another screen, which showed that the signals of the five underwater bombs had completely disappeared.

"Only three left..." Mans whispered. In just a moment, two more spots of light disappeared.

"Impossible! The bomb didn't explode, didn't float up, and didn't sink. It just disappeared!" The second mate pulled his hair hard. He was a Russian, a staunch materialist who didn't believe in supernatural powers. He also held an absolute scientific attitude towards dragons. At this moment, he couldn't make a judgment. He couldn't say that the bomb suddenly entered another dimension, right?

The last blip also disappeared before the second mate had time to detonate the bomb.

Mance slowly raised his head. "I actually have a very materialistic explanation... Your bombs were eaten... The sonar showed that the behemoth stopped in front of those suspended underwater bombs."

“Eated...?” The second mate felt a huge sense of powerlessness. Although it did not meet the initial design expectations, it was still a weapon powerful enough to blow through tank armor. How could it be eaten like a candy bean?

"Will it taste good?" the second mate suddenly asked a nonsensical question.

Mance knew that it was meaningless to discuss the eating habits of dragons with his colleague and comrade-in-arms at this moment. He thought quickly and his speech became confused. "Apparently its body can block electromagnetic waves... so the signal of the bomb disappeared... the question of whether it tastes good or not... maybe it also wants a dish of soy sauce... It is chasing us with ten bombs now... the engine won't last long with afterburner on..." His thoughts were like a tangled mess. He had to find a way to save everyone, but they had no weapons available.

"Captain..." Selma, who was in charge of observation outside the cabin, said with a trembling voice and pointed at the stern.

Mance rushed out of the cabin again, holding the railing to steady himself, and looking in the direction of Selma's finger, what was chasing them behind was no longer a thin line of water, but a dark back floating on the water surface, and it was vaguely visible that each part of the spine was as rugged as a reef, and the long tail was swinging at high speed, but it did not bring up any water splashes, and a huge mouth was half submerged in the water, and the ferocious upper jaw was exposed above the water. The shape was unclear, and only two withered yellow hooked teeth could be seen. The distance between the two sides was about one kilometer, which was barely enough for the light to illuminate.

"It really is... a vertebrate." Mance whispered.

"Of course reptiles are vertebrates, and you also taught about vertebrates in class." Selma was at a loss whether to laugh or cry at what Mance said.

"But who knows that dragons are reptiles? Maybe the so-called dragons are just eternal shadows that exist in people's hearts." Mance glanced at Selma.

"Captain! There's another bomb signal!" The second mate shouted in surprise, like a sad father who suddenly found his missing children.

Mance's body trembled, realizing something, and strode into the cabin.

“Could it be a signal error? Weren’t they... eaten?” As an academic, the second mate had no idea how to proceed before solving the technical problems.

"Yes, its body can block electromagnetic waves, but it is about to float to the surface and has opened its mouth! Your bombs in its stomach are calling daddy!" Mance pressed the detonation button without hesitation.

A deafening explosion sounded from one kilometer behind, and the sound made the entire Moniach tremble. The only one who had the opportunity to see that great scene was Selma outside the cabin. At the moment when ten underwater bombs exploded at the same time, she saw a vertical column of fire that plunged straight into the water, like a sword made of flames thrown from the clouds. A moment later, the flaming sword burst open, and fire fragments were projected in all directions. Sharp metal pieces mixed in the explosives splashed in all directions, and some directly hit the stern of the Moniach, making a harsh sound.

"Success!" Selma shouted and waved her arms. She looked at the dark back being twisted at the moment of the explosion. As long as it was still a living creature, there was no way it could survive.

The first mate turned the steering wheel suddenly, and the hull of the Moniach tilted almost 90 degrees on the water surface. It stopped with great difficulty due to the huge resistance of the water. The overheated engine evaporated a lot of water vapor from the bottom of the ship. Everyone in the cabin followed Mans out and stood in the cold rain, looking at a piece of water that was boiling instantly a kilometer away. The huge whirlpool on the water surface was spinning, sucking a lot of foam deep into the water. Mans wiped the rain off his face, thinking about the thick spine that was not completely destroyed at all and slowly sank to the riverbed at the bottom of the water. He breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and then he felt the pain of losing his companions again.

"It would be great if we could capture a live specimen," the third mate sighed. "It's a rare research subject."

"How are you going to transport a living organism that's 15 meters long and weighs 50 tons back to Kassel College?" Mans asked coldly.

"So... is it really a dragon?" Selma asked.

"I'm not sure, but it's definitely not a noble first or second generation species. Its IQ is too low to have eaten the bomb." Mans said, "We can go over and see if we can get some muscle fragments and do some research when we get back."

"Do you still remember that you promised me that I would be exempted from the exam?" Selma lowered her head as she looked at the water. "Of course I would rather not pass the exam and let Ye Sheng and Aki come back."

Mance said nothing, but grabbed Selma's shoulders and squeezed them hard. This was the only way he could encourage her. Just as his hand touched Selma's shoulder, he was suddenly pulled away and Selma's body suddenly left his palm, flew backwards and fell into the water, as if a giant devil's hand was grabbing her vest in the darkness.

Mance roared in shock. Selma had no chance to struggle. She fell on the water and sank straight down. The light shone in at the last moment. Mance saw Selma open her mouth wide, but no sound came out. Water poured into her mouth, and she disappeared in an instant. All that was left on the water was a long, dark snake-like thing that rolled up and then sank under the water.

"Damn it!" Mance grabbed the sniper rifle that fell on the ground and emptied the entire magazine. Dense blue light shot into the water, and after a moment, red and black blood floated on the surface of the water.

Mance was stunned. He suddenly remembered that there was not only the monster underwater, but also Selma... He didn't know whether the blood was from Selma or the monster, but if Selma was still alive, it would be difficult to escape from such intensive shooting. He killed his own student by mistake... He was too eager to take revenge on that thing. He dropped his sniper rifle, stumbled back a few steps, and leaned against the bulkhead weakly.

A strange laugh seemed to rise from the raging waves and echoed around the Moniach. It was very heavy, reminding people of the sound of pulling bellows to start a train, but with a very frivolous joy.

"Did I hear it right...did you all hear it?

The third mate's voice trembled.

"You heard it right, it's not an illusion, it's the dragon laughing, he's laughing at us." Mance whispered, and now there was no expression on his face.

"He was blown to death!" the second mate shouted, "Nine out of ten bombs exploded! Only one was a dud! It can definitely destroy the outer armor of the cruiser!"

A rapid buzzing sound was heard in the cabin, and it was deliberately cold. It was the signal that the fire control radar had captured the unexploded dud bomb again. Almost at the same time, a black back slowly floated up from the water not far from the simulated Yach, like a sneaking crocodile. The thing slowly opened its mouth. Everyone could see its terrifying mouth, with dense gums extending to the throat. Deep inside was an underwater bomb flashing red.

"Do you want to detonate it again?" asked the second mate.

"It's waiting for you to detonate it," Mansi said. "Do you remember that at the moment of the explosion, a column of fire appeared and rushed upwards? This is not an atomic bomb, why would a column of fire appear when it exploded?"

The second mate shook his head. He had just ignored this strange phenomenon.

"This thing opened its mouth and pointed upwards. A large amount of air flow generated by the explosion was ejected from its mouth, releasing the pressure, just like dragon fire." Mance said, "It's facing us now. If you detonate now, those hot air currents will rush towards us. Maybe it will be as beautiful as fireworks."

"Is his digestive tract made of iron?" The second mate scratched his head. "Oh my God! If you can't blow it through from the inside out, then blowing it from the outside in won't work! Then why did he dodge your bullets?"

"At the moment of the explosion, he may have used some kind of spiritual power to defend himself," said Mance. "We were wrong. His intelligence is not low at all. He wanted to destroy the helicopter, but he didn't like the light of that thing disturbing him. Maybe now we can respectfully call him 'he'. We are facing that fish or dragon, and he is playing games with us, a group of cornered prey. Start the engine."

The first mate shook his head. "The engine has overheated. It can't hold on for much longer."

"You don't need to run far. Shine the light towards the bow and see what is underneath." As Mans said this, he stared at the thing in the water.

The first mate looked back and was almost dumbfounded. In the darkness, they were only focused on steering the boat away, and the direction of the sonar scan was always aimed at the pursuer behind them, but they did not realize the mountain-like existence in front of them.

The Three Gorges Dam.

They were 100 kilometers away from the Three Gorges Dam, a rare giant man-made structure in the world. The towering dam stood on the dark water like a giant lying down and sleeping. Tens of millions of tons of cement and millions of tons of steel built this behemoth, blocking billions of water, with a drop of hundreds of meters. Probably nothing could shake it except nuclear bombs. There were pursuers in front and fortresses behind, and the Moniach was in the middle like a fleeing squad.

There is no escape.

"Everyone return to the cabin, start the engine, and go straight ahead." Mance said again

Everyone looked at him silently.

"I am the captain of the Moniach, a professor at Kassel College, and an executive officer of the Executive Department. I have the final say here." Mans said slowly, "Start the engine, full power, and move forward."

Everyone obeyed the order. When the first mate passed by Mance, he heard his whispered order, "Take the helm." The second mate also received the order when he passed by. "Prepare the last bomb for intelligence." The third mate was stunned by the order, he didn't say anything, just nodded.

The overheated engine roared again, the stern rolled up the water waves fiercely, and the Moniach suddenly accelerated. Mance stood alone at the stern facing the dragon, and the rain flowed quickly along the wrinkles on his face.

"Come on!" he suddenly growled.

As expected, the thing was waiting for this moment. The prey began to flee, and the final hunt began. The monster suddenly disappeared under the water, and the sharp water line reappeared. Now nothing could disturb him. He approached the Moniach at an unprecedented speed. Even in the best condition, the Moniach had no chance of escape.