With dark circles under his eyes, Lu Mingfei crashed into the classroom on the second floor of the library. The first thing he saw was a pair of long legs in jeans and a pair of Mary Jane shoes with 10-centimeter high heels that he had seen before.
"You're late." Nono, who was sitting at the lecture table, said expressionlessly.
Lu Mingfei scratched his head." Did I go the wrong way? I'm here to take the exam…"
"You're not in the wrong place. I'm the invigilator for this exam. The invigilator is Professor Manstein from the Discipline Committee.”Nono pointed below." Everyone is waiting for you.”
Professor Manstein, who was wearing a black suit, appeared behind the door. He glanced coldly at Lu Mingfei through his round glasses and said in a low voice," Don't be flawed. As an S-level Xueshen, you have the privilege of being seven minutes late, but if you are demoted in this exam, you will lose this privilege. I am warning you."”
He glanced at his watch." Everyone is here. I will now announce the rules of the examination!”
"Cheating is absolutely forbidden. Violators will be disqualified! As the head of the Discipline Committee, I can guarantee that the learning atmosphere in Kassel Academy is relaxed, but the discipline is the strictest. Don't try to peek at other people's papers. The cameras cover the entire classroom, and there are no blind spots! Don't try to bring any small electronic devices with you. Radio waves are also monitored in the classroom! I know that you are all geniuses, but I can tell you that people who are even more talented than you have also taken the exam in this classroom. For example, a voice from the United States had developed a special radio wave modification device. With this device, he disguised the communication waves as radio turbulence caused by sunspot eruptions, but he failed. Norma easily deciphered his signal. " When we presented the evidence, he had nothing to say…" Professor Manstein glanced at the freshmen and spoke with confidence, like a general who had been through the battlefield lecturing a group of new recruits.
Lu Mingfei seized the opportunity to slip into his seat. Everyone had a name tag in front of their seats, and his seat clearly read " Ricardo." M。Lu."
Lu Mingfei was stunned when he saw the name. He realized that the name was referring to him, but something was wrong. He looked up and scanned the entire classroom. He saw Nono hugging her arms and looking out the window. He suddenly understood.
The name tag was Nono's. She was the first person in the world to call him " Ricardo." This name, which reminded people of a famous mathematician, was casually given to him by Nono.
"Damn it!" He muttered in his heart, but he felt a little person dancing shyly in his heart.
He suddenly realized that today was a sunny day. The sunlight that was spread across the clouds shone down on Nono's expressionless face. The shadow of the window was cast on the walnut desk, and the entire classroom was a faint shade of red. He suddenly felt better, thinking that this was a good sign. Perhaps things weren't as bad as he thought last night. From the time he bought Nono that ice cream to his encounter with Fingal at subway, he had overcome all the troubles and was actually able to sit in this classroom with these guys who had dragon blood!
He wanted to clap his hands like a real gambler and say,"Lady Luck is on my side!”
He was always so heartless. Even when he was at his lowest, he would be happy because of something trivial. In the past, Chen Wen would often cross a few rows of desks and ask him who was responsible for cleaning the blackboard at night. He was the type of person who would shine with a little sunshine. Now, he felt that even if there was a dragon in front of him, he would grab a sniper rifle and take a look. He would not be discouraged. In this world, it seemed that one could not survive without being a hero.
"Hey! Brothers! Path? Was it you? They all say you're great! A black student in the front row carefully turned around and gave Lu Mingfei a thumbs up. He lowered his voice and smiled brightly, revealing his white teeth.
When Lu Mingfei was in high spirits…although he didn't know why he was in high spirits…he gave a thumbs up in response.
"Bradley." The black student introduced himself.
" Lu Mingfei." Lu Mingfei tried to walk past a desk to shake his hand.
The name was like a bomb dropped in the classroom. In an instant, everyone's gaze shifted from Professor Manstein's shiny forehead to Lu Mingfei's face. Dozens of freshmen gasped at the same time. After a " ha ", the entire classroom fell silent. Professor Manstein stopped lecturing and looked displeased.
A male student suddenly stood up and clapped. The applause was deafening. Lu Mingfei suspected that he had a pair of rubber palms that didn't hurt at all. It was followed by the black student, Bradley. The other freshmen were still exchanging glances with each other, but at this moment, they stood up excitedly and clapped hard as if they had been injected with stimulants. The applause was deafening.
Lu Mingfei was stunned. He became the center of attention once again, like a hot water kettle on the solar stove. He stood up in a flattered manner, but he also felt that it would be too arrogant if he accepted the applause calmly. Therefore, he also clapped and nodded at everyone, like a new beef noodle restaurant owner. He even gave Professor Manstein a brilliant look.
Manstein was so angry at this uncontrollable collective behavior that his nose almost crooked. Nono shrugged and continued to look out the window in boredom.
When Lu Mingfei nodded to the crowd, he noticed that there was still one person who hadn't clapped. It was a petite girl sitting in the corner with her back facing Lu Mingfei. She was wearing a white T-shirt, and her blonde hair was braided into a bun, revealing her slender neck. Her skin was so fair that it gave off a " cold " feeling. In such a noisy occasion, she looked more like an ice sculpture isolated from the world.
Lu Mingfei's heart skipped a beat. He had a strange feeling that he couldn't get rid of. But when he tried to figure out that feeling, it disappeared again. The first boy who clapped came over to shake his hand. He looked like an Indian with a handsome face, dark curly hair, and well-defined eyes. Under his T-shirt, he was muscular and looked like a male star in a Bollywood movie. He introduced himself with a natural friendliness," Qilan, the head of the freshmen's Fellowship Association, Lu Mingfei. You're our idol.”
Lu Mingfei put more strength into his hands. There was a friendly smile on his face, as if he was having a reunion with an old friend who had been separated for ten years.
"Alright, gentlemen, now is not the time for club activities. It is the 3E exam. If you don't pass this exam, what awaits you won't be the world-class education of Kassel Academy.”Professor Manstein interrupted the welcome ceremony." The exam will officially begin in three minutes. Turn off your phones now and put them on the corner of your desk with your student ID.”
He tapped his watch, and a black curtain wall silently emerged from the mezzanines of the carved wooden windows. All the windows were tightly sealed. At the same time, the lights in the classroom lit up. Nono walked along and gave each freshman an A4-sized test paper and a sharpened pencil. The students took out their phones from their pockets and turned them off. Only Lu Mingfei had nothing to do. He didn't have a phone. He looked around and saw the ice-sculpture-like silent girl reach out a nearly transparent hand and push an expensive Vertu phone to the table. He felt a little awkward, like a country bumpkin entering the city. He suddenly thought of the student ID card with a limit of 100,000 dollars. He glanced at the student ID card on the corner of his desk and realized that it would indeed change his life. Even if he couldn't do anything else, at least he could buy any mobile phone in the world.
A mobile phone was a small thing, but Lu Mingfei had wanted one for many years. Now, he could get it at his fingertips as long as he passed the exam.
He made up his mind again and took a deep breath to examine the paper.
It was a blank.
Gasps could be heard. This unbelievable test paper had obviously shocked everyone here. This test paper was just a snow-white watermarked paper. There was not a single word printed on it.
"There are no questions. The papers have been distributed. I, the invigilator, and the medical team are outside the classroom. This classroom is monitored by Norma. You can chat or sleep.”Professor Manstein smiled coldly." You can't plagiarize because each of your answers are different!”
As the classroom door slammed shut behind Nono and Professor Manstein, all the students began to look at each other. The two tables near them whispered to each other, their faces full of shock. Indeed, they couldn't cheat because they didn't even know what the questions were. The camera on the roof silently stared at the students who were in a mess. At this damn moment, they actually thought of melodious light music.
"Are they playing a game? Maybe I should have gotten an admission letter from Stanford... they gave me a half-prize.”Bradley grabbed his small curly hair, clearly extremely depressed." I heard that there are no exams there.”
"If I were you, I would go to Stanford.”Lu Mingfei shrugged." Why would I come here when I have an offer from Stanford?”
"But don't you want to be with the best people in the world?”Bradley looked back at him in confusion." If I go to Stanford, I won't be able to meet people like you.”
"Someone like me?" Lu Mingfei perked up his ears to listen to the sound of the wind behind the music as he spoke to Bradley," What kind of person am I?
"Create a new world?" Lu Mingfei wondered if this had anything to do with him. He waved his hand." This is his problem. It's true. He just won the Nobel Peace Prize. I saw it on the news.”
"Qilan said so." Bradley inched closer to Lu Mingfei." Qilan never says the wrong thing. His words are prophetic.”
"Prophet? Yan Ling?" This was the second time Lu Mingfei had heard of this concept. Fingel had mentioned that this was an ability of the dragon language that could impose a rule in a small area. However, Lu Mingfei was a little skeptical about this. If this ability really existed, it would be a BUG. It was like the magical item in Doraemon's hyperspace pocket. If someone's voice was " rich," wouldn't they just have to say " I'm the richest person, and I'll pay for my meals wherever I go " every time they ate?
"He never said anything wrong, and he never praised anyone, but he praised you.”Bradley said in a low voice," He was a good friend of mine since childhood. Every time his prophecy came true, someone was afraid of him and thought he was crazy. They sent him to a mental hospital. He was very depressed, and only I accompanied him.”
Lu Mingfei couldn't help but look up in Qilan's direction. The handsome Indian student seemed to have predicted this gaze and turned around to greet Lu Mingfei.
" The freshmen's association supports you," Bradley said sincerely." The Lionheart Society and the student council have been trying to recruit new students to strengthen themselves, but Qilan told us that we shouldn't split up. We should wait for someone to lead us. At first, we were all suspicious, until we heard that they found an'S 'grade freshman. It was you!”
Bradley was silent for a moment. He covered his face with his hands and rested his elbows on the desk as tears flowed silently.
Lu Mingfei was shocked." Damn it, why is he crying? Am I a savior? [You're so touched to see me?] Oh right, he said that he had been accompanying that Qilan. Was he in the mental hospital? Are these people stupid?"
" My condolences…It's not a good idea to be sad…" Lu Mingfei tried to comfort Bradley, but this matter was a little tricky. It seemed that Bradley had no reason to be sad.
Bradley placed his tear-stained hands on the desk, revealing his tear-filled face. His eyes were filled with sadness that penetrated time…Then, he no longer cared about Lu Mingfei and began to write on the white paper.
"Damn it…he wasn't moved by seeing me…the exam is starting!”Lu Mingfei became alert.
Fingal's words echoed in his mind." No matter what happens to the other examinees, don't be distracted. You have to focus on listening to a low voice that is close to the sound of water under the cover of the music. That is the dragon incantation. For those who resonate with it, that incantation will enter the depths of their minds directly, as if someone is speaking in their minds. It doesn't matter if you don't resonate with it, you can still hear those subtle sounds with your ears. You just have to write down the rhythm of the notes and fill in the answers I give you.”
The nervous students no longer whispered to each other. Some of them sat there in a daze, as if their whole family had just died. Some of them dragged their feet in the corridor, their eyes empty, as if they were Qu Yuan or some other zombie walking by the Miluo River. A girl was holding a pen and writing on the whiteboard non-stop, as if she was drawing an abstract painting. She did not even realize that the pen oil had been used up long ago. There was also a light and charming girl who was jumping with joy. It was as if she had seen the sky and was dancing in front of her. She wanted to be the God of Angel Island. It was obvious that she had practiced before. Her dance was graceful, but no one appreciated it. Qilan knelt down beside the desk in a standard Indian posture and muttered,"Yes, is that so? I understand everything." These people would answer the questions on the test paper for a while and then dance around like a group of demons. They did not interfere with each other and enjoyed themselves. Lu Mingfei felt goosebumps when he saw them.
"How did you feel the first time you heard the dragon language incantation?”Lu Mingfei had asked Fingel.
" It's as if a hole was opened in the head and someone poured water in from there. The space became like countless threads. These threads suddenly erupted and pierced through time. At the end of time, a woman was crying.”" I don't know why," Fingal said." I suddenly felt very sad. I cried myself, so I wrote the answer out naturally.”
Lu Mingfei thought about it for a long time. He didn't know what kind of strange feeling it was, but now he believed that Fingel had seen something strange and heard a strange sound. It was because Fingel had indeed passed the exam, and the people around him were no less crazy than Fingel.
"Focus, focus." Lu Mingfei forced himself to calm down. He looked at the small note in his hand and focused on listening to the flowing sound of the ancient sacrificial song. Fingel taught him several times, but Lu Mingfei really couldn't remember the completely irregular sounds, so he memorized them in Chinese.
Fingal thought that this was a good idea. The incantation that pronounced " Wood Dumb Goose Head Dumb " was " Moonshine ", the incantation that pronounced " Lang Ge 250 " was " Dharma Emperor ", the incantation that pronounced " Sesame Head Big " was " Silence "…This method greatly increased the efficiency, allowing Lu Mingfei to use four hours to complete all the preparations.
Although this method was a little blasphemous to the dragons of the ancient mythological era, it was indeed the most reliable method for Lu Mingfei, who had completed his English education by recording the words " BUS " as " dad died,"" BIKE " as " guest," and " PEN " as " basin." Lu Mingfei's strong imagination made Fingal very amazed. For example," The Dharma Emperor is a fool "," There is no sound when sesame seeds fall to the ground, so it is silent ". The rational thinking of the Germans was convinced by the ancient Chinese techniques. In fact, when Lu Mingfei was in the TOEFL class in New Oriental, her teacher had also taught her that " charisma " could be written as " China-rise-MAO " or " China has risen ", which was shortened to " charisma ". Of course, she had charisma, right? Lu Mingfei once again proved the power of exam-oriented education in China on behalf of all the Chinese students. Compared to the Americans 'standardized tests, they were just some foreign tricks. The motto of the Chinese students was-I don't need to understand, I just need to get it right.
The atmosphere inside was probably very gloomy now, right?
Every time the 3E exam ended, Instructor Masashi Toyama would have to give a long period of psychological guidance. By the way, how did you feel the first time you heard the dragon language incantation?”Professor Manstein leaned against the door and asked Nono.
"I saw my mother lying in bed. A shadow came and took her soul.”Nono said softly," Because this has already happened, I'm not afraid. I just watched silently.”
"I heard the wind, the wind all over the world.”Professor Manstein said in a low voice," Nono, don't you students feel that the education in Kassel Academy is very cruel? Very few people feel happy when they first hear the dragon incantation and come into contact with the truth of the world for the first time. If they had known earlier, would it have been better if they hadn't removed the veil of warmth?”
Nono shrugged." I don't care. Everyone wants to see the truth, no matter how cruel it is. It's true. Someone took away my mother's soul and I saw that person's face clearly!”
Lu Mingfei didn't grieve at all. He held the three magical treasures of the Association Memory Method, his pair of pointy ears, and the small strip in his palm. He easily grabbed the eight dragon runes from the music that was covered. Fingel had proven his good character with facts. Everything matched what he said. Kassel Academy had taken out the questions from eight years ago and adjusted the order of the questions. They had retaken the exam, and Lu Mingfei had used all eight answers that he had bought at a high price.
Fingel kindly reminded Lu Mingfei that he didn't need to answer all the questions. He only needed to be overbearing and correctly analyze the eight dragon runes to be able to choose any advanced course. If he had to work hard to answer ten of them to maintain his status as an " S " grade student, it might instead arouse suspicion of cheating.
"Lowering to 'A' grade is just lowering the credit limit to 60000 USD. Caesar and Chu Zihang are both 'A' grade, and 'A' grade is already very good.”Fingal was like a Chinese philosopher, urging Lu Mingfei not to reach the top of the mountain in one step. After all, for ordinary people, the result of climbing to the top of the mountain was to go down the mountain and go downhill. It was better to leave one step for later and stop to eat some barbecue.
Next to him sat Bradley, who had already answered countless questions. In short, he was very sad. He held Lu Mingfei's shoulder and told him about the history of the revolutionary family. He said that he was born in a slum in Queensland when he was young and was friends with Qilan, the descendant of Indian immigrants. He talked about the story of his great-great-great-great-grandparents being smuggled to the United States on a broken ship. He talked about the pomegranate tree his poor grandmother planted behind his house, his alcoholic father, and his beaten mother.
Lu Mingfei couldn't shake him off, so he could only cast a comforting look at him with the magnanimity of a future leader. He helplessly thought that if the Dragon Incantation was translated, it would be a very touching prose. Otherwise, how could a tanned and uncouth person like Bradley be hit on the weak point?
Bradley wiped away his tears and continued to write his answers. The light music was like flowing water, like a woman singing, and like the low sound of an organ. The classroom was a mess.
"No, no, Mom, I was wrong, I was wrong.”Bradley muttered to himself as he wrote.
Lu Mingfei felt that all of this was ridiculous. No wonder the former S-grade senior had committed suicide by swallowing a gun. However, he had already answered eight questions, so he was the one who had the benefit. He spat on his palm and rubbed it against his pants. When he looked again, there was only a ball of faint blue ink in his palm. He laughed proudly in his heart. He had a feeling that everyone was drunk and I was the only one who was awake. He was happy that he would sing if you jumped into the river. Anyway, there was still a lot of time left. He couldn't be bothered with that loser, Bradley. He took a pencil and traced the Korean letters on the desk.
When he was in elementary school, he would draw a turtle on the back of the paper to pass the time after he finished all the questions. He did not check it, and this habit had not changed for many years... When he thought of this, he was stunned for a moment. His memory was a little blurry. He remembered that his grades had always been passable. Why would he be so lazy to draw a turtle on the paper? In his memory, he would always glance at his deskmate's answers to make up for the multiple choice questions before handing in his paper, but why was it that the scene of him drawing a turtle on the yellow paper was so clear when the afternoon sun shone on him?
He felt a headache coming on. Too many things had happened in the past few days, making his mind a little messy.
As he casually painted the circles on the " keychain " to be solid, he stole a glance at the girl who looked like an ice sculpture. When everyone else was crazy, only her back was as straight as bamboo, and she was answering the questions as normal as Lu Mingfei. Lu Mingfei suspected that Fingel would sell the answer twice. Judging from Fingel's poverty and shameless style, it was not impossible.
The girl wasn't there. The person sitting in the girl's seat was looking at Lu Mingfei. He was sitting on the desk, swinging his legs. He was wearing white square leather shoes, a black suit, a white silk scarf, and a pair of pale golden eyes.
It was that boy! Lu Mingfei was shocked. It was the boy he had seen in his dream at the train station in Chicago. He was now standing right in front of him! But where did that girl go? Did she go to the bathroom? How could the invigilator of the Discipline Committee allow this boy to enter the examination room? Lu Mingfei felt that there was something wrong.
The boy slowly approached Lu Mingfei with a faint, angelic smile. The afternoon sun shone on his back, casting his long shadow all the way to Lu Mingfei. Lu Mingfei felt that he had no choice. He pushed away the sobbing Bradley and walked towards the boy.
The boy gestured at Lu Mingfei as if he was hinting for him to sit on the windowsill. Then, he flipped over and sat on the windowsill, swinging his legs outside. Puzzled, Lu Mingfei sat down in the empty space beside him. With the light of the setting sun, he could finally take a closer look at the boy. Lu Mingfei had never seen a seven or eight-year-old boy as beautiful as he was. He had a round face and a childish air that was somewhere between a boy and a girl. His every move was gentle and elegant as if he had never stepped on dust. He leaned against the window frame that was covered with green vines and looked into the distance. His golden eyes were faint red in the setting sun.
No one could bear to break his silence. Lu Mingfei could only follow him to see Kassel Academy under the setting sun and see the boy's snow-white socks exposed by his ankles.
"Hey, my name is Lu Mingfei." Lu Mingfei thought about it and felt that he should still greet her.
"My name is Lu Mingze." The boy looked into the distance and said softly.
Lu Mingfei thought that he was joking. He knew Lu Mingze the best. He slept in the same room as him all day long and went to the same high school as him. When he was young, he was quite cute, but he was in puberty and had acne all over his face. He would take photos with his low-resolution phone and add a soft light effect on them before posting them in his blog space. He would write sad sentences about his despair in life to seduce little girls. The boy in front of her was miles apart from Lu Mingze.
"Sunset? You're up?" The boy slowly turned his head to look at Lu Mingfei.
Lu Mingfei was shocked." Sunset Mark " was indeed the name he used to disguise as a girl on QQ. He used this ID to tease Lu Mingze, and Lu Mingze would say this every time he saw his profile picture online. "Sunset? You're up?" This simple greeting was something that Lu Mingze had always felt a sense of anticipation every time he typed it out on the screen. However, when this boy said the same thing, it gave off a completely different feeling. It was as if-
He knew you would come, there, at that moment.
"Are you kidding me?" Lu Mingfei wanted to struggle out of this strange feeling.
"They are all very sad, even the girl who is smiling and dancing. Aren't you sad?”The boy glanced around at the people in the classroom, who were sitting on the windowsills like the audience in a noisy and magnificent play.
"If I'm not sad, what's there to be sad about? I think they're all crazy." Lu Mingfei shrugged.
"They are really sad because they saw the deepest part of their hearts. Where is the deepest part of your heart?”The boy stretched out a finger and poked Lu Mingfei's chest.
"Deeper than the heart…then it's in the stomach.”Lu Mingfei wanted to say something to break the atmosphere of this elegant, sad, and wordy conversation.
"Humans are very stupid things, and so are you. The only difference between you and them is that you deliberately make yourself stupid.”the boy said lightly.
"You're not sad because I'm sad for you. Cruel, isn't it?"
This " Lu Mingze " smiled at Lu Mingfei. His smile was very bright under the sunlight.
"What the hell? Are we talking about the love between two men? Don't you think your lines are very small?”Lu Mingfei shouted. He was about ten years older than the boy, but he did not feel the advantage of age and experience at all. The other party's faint words kept pressing on her, and Lu Mingfei gradually lost the ability to resist. It was like a person locked in a pool watching someone slowly come up and drown his mouth.
The boy ignored him and stared at the setting sun in a daze. The sun was setting, and in the last light, two lines of tears silently streaked across the boy's cheeks.
Lu Mingfei felt as if his heart had been squeezed by a hand. At this moment, he could feel the immense sorrow in the child's body. It was like a gush of cold water that covered the sky and covered the earth. It was about to cover him. It wasn't Xiao Yan, nor was it a pretense. The grief was intense, fierce, and domineering, making one feel weak and powerless. Lu Mingfei didn't know what the boy was talking about. He couldn't resonate with him, but he was in awe.
He subconsciously lowered his head and pressed his chest. It seemed empty.
"I hate it when you sit next to me now.”the boy said as he suddenly kicked Lu Mingfei.
Lu Mingfei was caught off guard by the sudden attack. He lost his balance and fell off the window sill. He was shocked to find that he was actually at a very high place, like the tip of a tower. Below him was not the grassy ground of Kassel Academy, but a group of canine-like rocks. The only result of crashing into them was that they would be torn apart. He waved his hands with all his might to grab something, but it was completely empty. All he could touch was air.
He saw the boy standing up silently above him. The boy was standing on the top of the tower that pointed to the sky like a spear. Behind him was a huge sunset. He waved at him slowly, his beautiful face expressionless.
For a moment, it was as if lightning had struck Lu Mingfei's brain. A picture flashed in his mind. It was on a cold and rainy night on a stone flower bed. Raindrops fell from the leaves above his head. He and that boy, or perhaps his cousin, Lu Mingze, were sitting in the dark and hugging each other tightly.
"Oh my god! "I don't like men," Lu Mingfei thought.
He almost jumped up from his desk, cold sweat all over his body. It was as if he had broken through a layer of darkness and returned to reality. Nono was standing in front of him, patting his head hard, making him dizzy. Only the two of them were left in the empty examination hall.
"I really admire you for sleeping so soundly.”Nono pursed her lips." The others are all focused, wishing they could prick their ears up. You're so arrogant because you're an'S 'class?”
"The exam is over?" Lu Mingfei rubbed his eyes and looked around.
"Of course, it will be lunchtime soon. The 3E exam is only three hours long.”
Lu Mingfei suddenly realized that something was wrong. He pointed at the empty whiteboard and said nervously," You wiped the whiteboard? Someone scribbled on it."
Nono shrugged." No one wiped it, and no one scribbled and drew. Are you dreaming? Look, there's still saliva at the corner of your mouth."
"The exam went well? No one went crazy?"
"The examinees are not in a good mood, but no one has gone crazy.”
"No one?" Lu Mingfei was a little stunned. He was confused again. When did that damn dream start? Was it because he saw Bradley cry? Or did it start with the appearance of that boy? Or was he still dreaming? That examination hall that went out of control, those demon-like examinees, were all his imagination? He stretched out his hand and twisted his wrist hard. He accidentally used too much force and tears welled up.
" It's swollen…" Nono pointed at his wrist.
" Aiyo…I know…" Lu Mingfei said bitterly.
"Hand in the paper. The 3E exam can't be extended anyway.”
Lu Mingfei had no choice but to turn over the test paper on the table and hand it over in fear. He was very worried that the paper was actually blank, and even answering the questions generously was just a dream. Fortunately, this was not the case. The entire paper was filled with his own handwriting that slanted to the left like a dangerous building.
His head buzzed loudly! He remembered that he had only written eight answers. Those eight answers were so short that he could remember them in his palm, but now there were so many words on the paper that it looked like a lengthy thesis. The worst thing was that he still could not understand what the key-like Korean characters were. However, some of the Korean letters were evenly blackened. It was obvious that he had done it when he was bored after answering the paper.
" Wait a minute, wait a minute…" A nerve popped in his head." When I was practicing drawing keys on the desk…I actually drew it on the exam paper? Wouldn't that be a mess of wrong answers?”
He was so anxious that he wanted to take the test paper back from Nono's hands and wipe away those ridiculous practice pens. However, it was too late. Nono took the test paper and walked to the door of the classroom. Professor Manstein was standing at the door. He opened the heavy black passcode box and locked the last test paper inside. The sound of the box lid closing hit Lu Mingfei's heart hard. Professor Manstein messed up the password table and nodded at Nono." Send it to Norma." She's the examiner."
Lu Mingfei pressed his hand on his forehead. He felt a sudden pain there, as if a little devil was struggling to jump out. At this moment, he noticed the indistinguishable ink stains on his palm. Yes, he had finished the paper and erased the answers, all of which were true, but there was no dancing of demons, no boy, no fall from the windowsill, no sunset, no tower.
Everything was like reality, but everything was also like a dream. His dream and reality seemed to blend together and could not be separated.
"Hey! Hey! How was it? How was it? You look like you've been caught cheating.”Fingel sat next to Lu Mingfei and nudged him with his shoulders." If that's the case, don't rat me out!”
"Stop joking. Who am I? I'm an old hand in the Dao!" Lu Mingfei waved his hand impatiently." I just went crazy after filling in the answers and scribbled on the paper…"
"Are you crazy? " Don't tell me you..." Fingal's eyes widened." You've resonated with the dragon language. Didn't you say that you never understood these dragon words?”
" Ridiculous…I'm just too sleepy…" Lu Mingfei was still drooping. He really couldn't separate the turbulent illusions and reality in his head and tell Fingal. Fingal would probably think that he was crazy, right?
They were sitting in the classical high-domed dining hall of Kassel College for lunch. The granite walls were hung with the words " Welcome to the New Year ". The giant world tree chandelier that symbolized Kassel College was hung in the center of the dome. Each leaf was a small crystal lamp, illuminating the gymnasium-sized dining hall. Each table was made of solid wood, which was worth a bit of money. It was 20 meters long and 2 meters wide. The students in the dark green uniform of Kassel Academy surrounded the table, waiting for the waiter to serve them. At the end of each table sat the student in charge of the table. Fingel sat at the end of the table.
"I didn't expect you to be a cadre." Lu Mingfei said listlessly.
"It's just that there really aren't any seats left for students who have repeated four years, so I was assigned to sit at the freshmen's table. I still have the qualifications to show off my status as a big brother here.”Fingal smiled brightly.
"Pass it over!" The waiter placed a lunch in front of Fingel. Lu Mingfei was stunned when he saw the dishes inside.
Fingal sighed." German cuisine. What do you think?" Apart from roasted pork knuckles, there's smoked pork knuckles, mashed potatoes, and pickled vegetables. I've been eating this damn recipe for eight years!”
"Why German cuisine?"
"Don't you know the origin of Kassel Academy? Kassel was the surname of a German family. This was the most famous dragon-slaying family in history. There were several generations of dragon-slaying experts.”Fingal said," Kassel Academy was established with his family's wealth, so all the rules are German-style!”
"Is the principal's surname Cassel?"
"Don't joke around. The people of the Cassel family are all dead.”
"Why?"
"Think about what his family has been doing for so many years…It's already lucky that they managed to survive until World War II.”Fingel bit down on the pork knuckle." Anyway, the exam is over. Wait for the results. I can show you around the campus tomorrow."”
"Look at the class schedule. Don't you have classes tomorrow?”Lu Mingfei's eyes couldn't help but shoot sideways. On a table not far away, Nono and the golden-haired emperor, Caesar, were sitting side by side. The Student Union's officials surrounded them. The elder brother's expression was solemn, and from time to time, a cold gaze would fly over to Lu Mingfei.
" Oh, you don't have to worry about that. This academy often stops classes during the day because the professors are out on missions. As far as I know, all three of your classes are currently suspended. For example, Professor Mance Rundstedt, the teacher of 'Level 1 Magical Mechanical Design,' is currently giving a guest lecture in China.”Fingal burped.
" Professor Mansi Long of China?" Lu Mingfei's heart skipped a beat when he heard the name of his country. Then, he returned to his depressed state.
China, Yangtze River.
Late at night, the Manyach trembled in the storm on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. This was a rare rainstorm in autumn. The Yangtze River was about to enter the dry season, but this sudden rainstorm raised the water level upstream of the reservoir by four meters in two nights. At this moment, there was no shadow of any other ship on the water surface. Only the light of the tugboat Manyach was still flashing in the rain.
Captain Mance Rundstedt stood in front of the window of the cockpit. The wind howled like a demon, and the rain " smashed " against the front window before exploding like heavy hammers. The ship was rocking, making it seem as if the whole world was rocking, but Captain Mance stood steadily, taking deep puffs of cigar smoke into his lungs. If one smoked too many of these expensive cigars, it would be like getting drunk. However, Captain Mance needed them. The thick cigar smoke shocked him instead. This was a critical moment. A captain should give his crew confidence by calmly smoking cigars.
The sound of a baby wailing could be heard from the rear cabin. Captain Mance frowned with his typical German eyebrows, which were as long as knives.
"When it's time to breastfeed, you have to breastfeed! When it was time to play with him, he had to play with him! I've said it many times. This is our job. It's very important! Don't any of you know how to take care of a child?”He turned around and shouted at the crew, who were all focused,""Who wants to see what's wrong with that treasure?
"Professor, the current main members of the executive department are not married. Where do you expect us to learn to take care of babies?”A girl sitting in front of the monitor said without looking up. The light from the monitor illuminated her beautiful face. She was about 23 or 24 years old, had red hair, and had the typical appearance of a Latino beauty. She wore a dark blue lapel sailor suit and looked like a trainee sailor.
"Call me captain. I'm not a professor at Kassel Academy here. I'm the captain of the Manaher. "Damn it, I remembered that my 'Level One Magical Mechanical Design' class should have started this week, and I'm still floating on the Yangtze River in China." Mance sighed."Alright, alright. Since I'm the only married man, I can't escape from taking care of that dear baby. Saroma, pay attention to their vitals. If there's any abnormality, hang up immediately!"”
"Understood!" Saroma answered calmly and forcefully.
"Captain, we have received a signal from the Three Gorge waterway rescue agency. The storm will continue in the second half of the night. The wind will increase to level 10, and the rainfall will reach 200 millimeters. This is a rare rainstorm that may be accompanied by thunderstorms. They're mobilizing helicopters to rescue us and suggesting that we abandon the ship.”The third officer took off his headphones and said.
"Tell them that our tugboat has a very deep draft and that the hull is still stable. It can withstand the storm. There are a few patients on board and it is not advisable to abandon the ship.”Mance looked back at the cabin door." You don't have to worry. This is the Manyah. It's not a tugboat. It's a warship. A level 12 storm won't be a problem for it.”He looked up at the dark sky outside and was silent for a while. Then, he said to himself," But this rainstorm reminds me of the ice sea in Greenland 10 years ago. Every time I get close to these mysterious things, I feel a sense of imminent disaster..."
He turned around and entered the back cabin. The people in the front cabin stared at their respective screens and kept quiet. All operations were fast and silent. The electric interference of the headphones echoed with the sound of two entangled heartbeats. On Saroma's screen, in the heartbeat monitoring window, the rising and falling green dots indicated that the two young and strong hearts were still beating normally 50 meters below the surface of the water.
Ye Sheng turned on the flashlight. The light beam of the Xenon Lamp could not penetrate much in the deep water. There was only a bluish-gray band of light, and the end was blurred in the water where tiny creatures floated. Aki Sakuede's slender figure floated not far from him, and he only needed to stretch out his hand to pull her. This Japanese girl who grew up in the United States was his classmate at Kassel Academy. They had practiced and cooperated for five years before they entered the executive department together. They could read each other's hearts from one look. But they never fell in love, which was forbidden by convention.
Both of them specialized in deep diving. When they were deep diving, they relied on oxygen tanks and a layer of nano material diving suits to withstand the water pressure of more than ten atmospheric pressures. They relied on a cable to maintain contact with the human world. The world in deep water was so lonely that it made people doubt their existence. If the companions on the mission had emotional factors, it might lead to uncontrollable results.
They had already reached the bottom of the water. The storm on the surface of the water was filtered by a layer of water that was dozens of meters thick. Only gentle waves were left. As long as there was sufficient oxygen supply, the storm would not affect the diving operation. The Manyach had chosen this time of day, otherwise the busy Yangtze River waterway would be filled with ships, and it would be easy to be exposed.
Ye Sheng gently stepped on the bottom of the water. Before it was submerged, it was probably a mountainous area. It was all stone surface and there was no water grass. The stones were polished by the water current and it was difficult to stand on. Ye Sheng shot out his steel claws from his flippers and stood steadily on the rock. He reached out and groped around in the sand floating on the bottom. He showed her what he had touched, a piece of pottery with ancient patterns.
Aji floated over and took the piece of pottery to inspect it.""At least 1,000 years of history, before Shu culture was swallowed by the Central Plains culture.”
Their conversation in the water was very clear through the walkie-talkie in their helmets.
Ye Sheng looked around." It's probably an ancient tomb that was buried on the mountain. It was overturned when the Three Gorge flooded, and the burial items were scattered everywhere.”
Aji silently agreed with his suggestion. Not far ahead, a decaying greenish black coffin was half-submerged in the water. The coffin was already open, and its surface was covered with a layer of moss-like creatures.
"Although we have used the new oxygen supply equipment, we don't have much time left. Is this the location indicated on the map?”Aji looked around. It was pitch-black. The naked eye could not see anything here.
"Norma, we need the underwater structure.”Ye Sheng activated the sonar map on his helmet. Sound waves were far more effective in water than the human eye.
"Understood. I need about 20 seconds to scan.”The central processor in the United States immediately responded. Their overseas conversation was directly transmitted through the satellite channel. Soon, a three-dimensional sonar map outlined by dark green contours appeared on Ye Sheng and Aki's helmet screens.
" Although we can't see it," Ye Sheng pointed to the distance," there are mountains in the northeast and southeast. The one above the water is the White Emperor Mountain, and the one below the water is the Red Armor Mountain, forming a 'gate'. Opposite it is the original Cottage River, which passes through a valley. According to the geomancy of the Chinese dynasty, this is the place where the mountain dragon and the water dragon meet, gathering the Qi of Yin and Yang. This is a good place for burial, and it is also the location marked on the map. But we have to find the entrance.”
"Even if Dragon King Norton built the entrance to his hiding place in the open, the entrance has been covered by floating soil for thousands of years. We need to take soil samples to determine the possible location.”Akane smiled gently." So, to save time, I'll have to trouble you. Please."”
"Every time, I feel like I'm going to collapse.”Ye Sheng complained," I need a fixed point.”
"I've always been your fixed point.”Aki swam to his back, and steel claws shot out of her flippers. She held onto the demonstration tightly, and her hands wrapped around Ye Sheng's waist from behind to front." Are you ready?”
This was the method they had been working together all along. Ye Sheng's unusual ability to speak in winter was as fragile as a baby, and he might even lose consciousness and fall. It was dangerous underwater, and he could be carried away by the current at any time. If the rope was entangled again, his life would be in danger.
Thus, every time he was about to use his " snake " ability, Aki would hug him like this.
Ye Sheng slowly clenched his fists and closed his eyes. Those cunning and dangerous snakes flowed in his mind, and their scales were suffused with a cold green light.
"Manyach, get ready. Activate the electromagnetic shield of the equipment.”Ye Sheng said.
" Manyach received. Your vital status is normal. The frequency of your brainwaves is rising rapidly. You can activate the 'snake' word spirit. The electromagnetic shield has been activated.”
Saroma's voice came from the earpiece.
Ye Sheng closed his eyes and stretched out his hand into the darkness in front of him. He slowly opened his mouth and let out a voice that echoed heavily like a song. There were no longer people in the world who could truly understand this language. This was a dead language-Dragon Language.
The snakes in the depths of his mind were released. They flowed along Ye Sheng's limbs and bones, and finally surged out and disappeared into the entire water.
At this moment, the Manyaher detected a powerful bioelectric current that erupted at a certain point in the water and flowed with the water.
Spirit of Words-Snake
Ye Sheng first met these " snakes " in his 3E exam, they lived in the depths of his mind, hibernating, and Ye Sheng's voice would wake them up.
They would temporarily leave Ye Sheng's body to explore the surroundings. From a scientific point of view, they were a type of bioelectricity. In the understanding of dragons, only an insulated body could stop the subdued slaves. At this moment, Ye Sheng was 50 meters deep. The huge water body greatly enhanced this ability. A radius of five kilometers was under Ye Sheng's surveillance, surpassing the sonar system controlled by Norma.
Ye Sheng's consciousness domain instantly seeped into every crack in the water, going down and down. Ye Sheng suddenly opened his eyes. A faint golden light flowed in Yan Di's eyes. He observed the world with the eyes of a " snake ", digging deeper and deeper into the bottomless darkness. In his eyes, the world was made up of countless tiny tubes. The tubes were connected, intersected, separated, and extended endlessly. His " snake " traveled through the tubes, but everywhere it went, it was filled with fog. It was a despairing, gray world.
Yaji felt Ye Sheng's body trembling slightly. This was his weakest moment. His heartbeat rapidly dropped to less than 30 beats per minute, and his blood temperature was also slowly decreasing. Through the mask, the small light in the helmet illuminated Ye Sheng's dead gray face, only his pair of disturbing pale golden pupils were shining. Aji hugged Ye Sheng, trying to let him feel her body temperature. It was not the first time she had experienced this. Ye Sheng was as fragile as the child in her arms and needed her protection.
"Captain, the sea route rescue agency has informed us that there might be an underwater earthquake of magnitude 5!”The third officer said loudly," They insisted on sending a rescue helicopter to us. Maybe they realized that something was wrong here.”
Mance Rondetet quickly entered the front cabin and moved closer to Saroma. He stared at Ye Sheng's heartbeat test." There's no point in refusing again. Inform them that we have leukemia patients on board and ask them to bring blood.”
"A person with leukemia?"
"We need some time to buy time. It will take some time to prepare the blood so that they can arrive later. I have a feeling that we are approaching, very close…very close!”Mance said in a low voice. Ye Sheng's heartbeat had already dropped to a few beats per minute.
Ye Sheng's body shook violently, and the faint golden color in his pupils disappeared. His heartbeat rate rose rapidly, and his blood became warm again. Those " snakes " returned to his mind to hibernate, leaving only one. This one was still going down. It drilled through the darkness and saw the light!
There's a result? Aki asked.
"Right below our feet, about 100 meters away, I can feel the presence of a huge metal. The 'snake' is moving very fast there. Only metal has such good electrical conductivity.”
"100 meters down?" Aji was stunned." There are rocks below. We can't break through 100 meters of rocks, and Dragon King Norton can't place his underground palace inside.”
"We can only give up for now. We need to drill a core for analysis.”Ye Sheng said. At this time, he felt a disturbing shaking in the surrounding water. Aji also felt it. The shaking came from the rock she was standing on. The entire bottom of the water was shaking, and the dust rising from the bottom of the water completely blocked her vision.
"The earthquake is starting…Damn it, an earthquake is happening now!”On the Manyach, Mance clearly knew what was happening underwater from the sonar map. He turned around and shouted at the first mate," Reel in, reel in, pull them up!”
The hull shook slightly, and Mance's expression changed. He vaguely heard a cracking sound coming from the sound of the wind and rain. The lifesaving rope of the nano material broke, and they lost contact with Yesheng Aki.
The earthquake tore the bottom of the water, and an obvious crack rapidly approached from afar. It was as if an invisible knife was cutting. The thick rock layer cracked, and the coffin immediately sank. Ye Sheng and Yaji did not have time to react. They felt a huge water pressure coming down from above, like a wave dozens of meters high hitting their heads. The pressure on all sides of the water was equal. There was only one possibility that could cause the pressure above their heads to suddenly increase. It was a huge cavity under their feet. Millions of tons of water were pouring into that cavity, bringing them and the rocks down, down, and down. Even a high-tech lifeline would not be able to resist such a natural force.
At this moment, Ye Sheng thought of Lucifer's fall from the sky. That legendary fall lasted for nine days and nine nights, all the way from Paradise Island to Hell. Ye Sheng didn't know what was in the darkness under his feet. Perhaps it was Hell.
There was a dead silence in the front cabin. Mance Rundstedt inserted his hands into his hair and combed it back so hard that the roots hurt. He had lost two of his best students, though he had been aware of this possibility before coming here. There was no lack of heroes in the history of Kassel Academy, and most of them had died. Slaying a dragon was never fun. There was a hissing sound from the communication device. The signal was cut off, and it was unknown whether he was alive or dead. Should he send someone to explore and rescue him? Or should he give up like he did at the glacier in Greenland? Mance gritted his teeth and thought hard.
"If you see a wall that you can't see the end of, and you can't reach the border, what is it?”A low voice echoed in the cabin.
Mance suddenly raised his head. He believed that he had not heard wrongly. That was Ye Sheng's voice!
"That's death. A Chinese science fiction writer said that. I understand what he meant now.”The voice said," This is Ye Sheng. Aji and I are both alive. I'm talking to you through the current of the snake. We have arrived at Dragon King Norton's underground palace. Please reply if you receive."”
"Are you sure?" Mance grabbed the microphone, his voice trembling slightly.
"Professor, if you see the bronze wall in front of me, you'll believe it too.”Ye Sheng said.
At a depth of 150 meters underwater, Ye Sheng and Yaji held each other's hands tightly and floated in the dark green water. They looked up and saw that the light of the flashlight was lost in the dark green, and they could not see the end. A bronze wall several feet thick with bronze rust stood upright, extending up, down, left, and right. It seemed to have no boundary. The dust in the water gradually fell, and the field of vision became clear.
The earthquake stopped in an instant, but the door to the Dragon Country had already opened. Ye Sheng could see the mottled mark on the bronze rust. It was exactly the same as the mark on the pottery piece he found, a face burning in flames.
"Was it a coincidence? Are we that lucky?" Aji said softly. The communication line between her and Ye Sheng was still connected.
"If it isn't a coincidence, we'll just treat it as an invitation from Dragon King Norton.”Ye Sheng smiled." I'm guessing that the ancient tomb where the coffin is located originally led to this Bronze City, but it was destroyed by the flowing water and the entrance was blocked. The seal here was very good. Such a large cavity had been maintained for thousands of years without any gaps.”
"It's exactly the same as the legendary Bronze City in Northern Europe.”
"Do you remember Professor Schneider mentioning a possibility in class? Dragon King Norton had used the entire mountain as a mold and poured copper paste into it from the top of the mountain. When the City of Bronze was formed, the high heat caused the rocks to crack, thus creating a giant that was impossible to achieve with technology. A city completely made of bronze, his habitat.”
"Dragons are really crazy." Akane said softly," I don't know what's inside.”
"Knock open a hole and take a look." Ye Sheng said," I'm looking forward to it."
"Manyach, pepper cutter support.”Ye Sheng's voice was heard in the cabin.
Mance pondered for a moment." Your current depth is 150 meters. The water jet cutter can't cut such a big thing. Moreover, your oxygen is about to run out. After replacing the oxygen tank, it can only last for two hours. I suggest you give up the mission and return. Dragon King Norton hasn't woken up yet. We still have a chance.”
"Professor, do you stop to catch your breath when you touch the edge of the world?”Ye Sheng said," Although the awakening period hasn't arrived yet, I'm worried that the 'snake' will wake him up. I can feel that the 'snake' that went in is afraid. It's swimming around something.”
Mance was silent for a full minute." Prince Norton is inside? Alright, I completely understand. Four underwater cutting equipment are ready. They will arrive at your designated location in 10 minutes. Remember, you only have two hours. Whether it's oxygen or electricity, the helicopter from the Seaway Rescue Agency will probably arrive in two hours. At that time, we won't be able to explain to these government agencies that we're here to excavate the Dragon King's sleeping place on a rainy night.”
"Also, always pay attention to your 'amulet.' If it is contaminated, it means that the Dragon King's spirit has begun to invade you, so you have to evacuate quickly.”he added.
"I remember everything that was taught in class.”Ye Sheng said. He held the flashlight horizontally in front of him. The World Tree on his diving suit was still shining with silver light. This was an amulet, an alchemical product washed with silver mercury. If the dragons released their spiritual domain to attack them, this little thing could withstand it a few times.
Soon, dazzling lights came down from above. Four young members of the executive department approached with a cutter that could be pushed underwater. After they replaced the oxygen tank and lifeline for Ye Sheng and Yaji, they began to make four holes in the huge bronze wall and began to cut. Sonar could be used again. The result of echolocation was that the bronze object that was half-embedded in the underwater mountain range was roughly in the shape of a square. It was not without boundaries, but it was larger than a skyscraper. If it stood on the water, it would be a bronze mountain.
"God, I really want to know why he can't make a stone nest for himself. Do dragons like to live in metal houses?”Some people complained about the water jet cutter. The water jet that could cut through high-strength steel was cut into the bronze wall, but it could not penetrate it.
"It's just that the Bronze King likes it, right? Who taught him the right to manipulate flames to smelt metal?”Ye Sheng and Yaji smiled at each other through the mask.
Mance walked into the back cabin and turned on the satellite phone." Headmaster, we believe we have found Dragon King Norton.”
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone." What exciting news. But shouldn't you be in Lop Nur? You always told me that Lop Nur was the place where Dragon King Norton slept, but now it suddenly became the Three Gorge Reservoir.”
"Lop Nur is just a cover-up. Someone is following us. Wherever we find, they will find. That's why we left some people at Lop Nur to do a busy excavation site, but we secretly gathered the main people here.”
"Who would try to compete with us in an archaeological expedition?”
"It's an archaeological team funded by a private fund in Hong Kong, but it seems that they don't know much about the Dragon King.”Mance said." But we have made a breakthrough here. We are cutting down the City of Bronze and waiting for the command from the headquarters.”
"The first choice is to capture him alive, then kill him.”The principal said," But remember not to let a real dragon leave our surveillance. If this thing is released, the entire world will be turned upside down.”
"Understood. Time is limited. Can I use the key to open the City of Bronze?”
"Sure. I asked you to bring him along just for this moment.”The principal hung up.
Mance put away the phone and bent down to gently touch the baby in the cradle. The baby who was crying just now was now quiet, and his innocent eyes were wide open. A middle-aged woman sat beside the cradle. Her face was charming, and the wedding ring on her left ring finger clearly showed that she had a rather rich husband.
"Baby, did you feel that thing?”Mance pinched the baby's nose.
" Be careful when using it. This is our only 'key' at the moment." The woman looked into Mance's eyes.
" I know, I like him a lot." Mance shrugged." Don't act like you don't trust people. This isn't your child, it's ours. You have your own daughter, so you should take care of her when you have time. She even chose one of my classes this year."”
Chen Motong?" The woman said lightly," I can't tell that she sees me as her mother.”
" Family problems, family problems are always complicated... Don't talk about this during work hours." Mance carefully picked up the child from the cradle." However, don't you think it's too demanding for a mother to treat her daughter as her own daughter only when her daughter sees herself as her mother?”
"A girl who can watch her biological mother die in front of her without crying or making a fuss and only wait quietly for two days and two nights until the corpse collector knocks on the door makes people not have the intention to love her.”The woman's voice did not waver.
Mance stood in front of the window of the front cabin, stretching his arms to let his men wear the diving suit that could withstand high pressure and tear for him. There was someone beside him who helped him hold the baby. His gaze pierced through the wind and rain and landed on the mountain that was above the water in the distance." Yes, White Emperor City. I really like this name.”
"Professor…Oh, no, Captain, is there really a city underwater?”Saroma asked.
"There really is. It's a city built more than 2000 years ago. It was still exposed to the air decades ago. Because of the construction of the Three Gorge Reservoir, the water level rose, and the main body of the ancient city was submerged. Only the White Emperor Temple on the island was left. The person who built this city was called Gongsun Shu. More than 2000 years ago, he rebelled against an idealistic dynasty traitor, Wang Mang, and established his own country here. Some people called him the White Emperor.
"White Emperor, this name reminds me of the White King.”The third officer said.
" It's not the White King. According to the information we have, the one below should be the Bronze King. Some people also call him the Fire King or the Ash King. His name is Norton, the noble first generation of the dragon race, the greatest dragon prince directly produced by the Dark King Nidhogg.”
"Can you explain in more detail?”
"You obviously didn't spend much effort on the Dragon Clan genealogy class, but this introductory theory class is actually quite important. Not only do you have to master the technique of slaying dragons, but you also have to know the things behind the technique.”Mance returned to the time when he was in high spirits in Kassel Academy's class." Simply put, the dragon princes are arranged according to the four elements. However, the Eastern people's elemental expressions are different from ours. They are metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. This place is the west on the map of the ancient Chinese dynasty. Gong Sunshu believes that his luck comes from metal. The color of metal is white, so he is called the White Emperor. In other words, the so-called 'White Emperor' actually meant 'King of Metals'.”
"The same meaning as the Bronze King?”
"Yes, the Bronze King Norton was named after his unparalleled flames. He refined bronze from the depths of the earth vein and used it as a weapon.”
"That Gongsun Shu? That Chinese man is actually the Dragon King?"
" No, it's someone hiding behind Gongsun Shu. It was this person who let Gongsun Shu see a dragon rise from the well and lie down in front of his mansion. In the history of the Celestial Dynasty, it's recorded as 'the dragon leaves the mansion and the palace.' This was seen by Gongsun Shu as a good omen that he could claim the title of emperor.”Mance said," See, this is the difference between a teacher and a student. I've done enough homework before I came.”
"This person…Alright, he's actually a dragon. Why would he do all this? To build such a huge bronze city was an unbelievable project!”Saroma stared blankly at the huge object on the sonar map.
Oz shrugged." We never knew that. If we want to figure out what these dragons want, we have to figure out what dragons are and their relationship with humans. However…this is a difficult academic problem. There is no conclusion just by analyzing the fossils of dragons. We might only be able to capture a living dragon king and interrogate him.”He paused." Tonight is an opportunity!”
Ye Sheng looked at the barometer reading. There was only about an hour left of oxygen. The water jet cutter left a " well " shaped horizontal and vertical pattern on the bronze wall, about 20 centimeters deep, but they could not penetrate the wall. This huge object made people feel that it was a pure solid metal. Ye Sheng felt that the 'snake' he left inside the metal became more restless. It swam much faster as if it had sensed something.
The beam of the flashlight came down from the top. Mance, who was in the diving suit, did not speak. Instead, he knocked on his helmet's visor to show his respect and spat out a string of bubbles. He looked like a woman who was nine months pregnant. The special diving suit had a hard transparent bag in front of him, and inside it was a baby wearing an ultra-small diving suit. At a depth of 150 meters, the baby did not cry or even show any fear. He slowly turned his head around, his pupils flowing with a faint golden light.
"Withdraw the water jet cutter. Prepare yourselves, Aki Yasheng. We are about to open the door.”Mance ordered.
The four water shears rose up. Ye Sheng and Yaji floated behind Mance, each placing a hand on his shoulder. Mance crossed his hands in front of his chest and patted the hands of his proudest students.
Mance closed his eyes, reached out his hand, and spoke in a low voice. He turned off the walkie-talkie, but the majestic voice that sounded like singing and roaring directly penetrated the depths of Ye Sheng and Yaji's minds. Mance's eyes snapped open. He did something that would scare the heart of an ordinary diver. He opened the mask of his pressure diving suit 150 meters underwater. The result was that the huge water pressure would directly act on his fragile human body. Every bubble in his lungs would fight to escape, and these bubbles would burst his blood vessels!
Mance's voice reverberated in the water. He had completed the last part of the spell.
Spirit of Words, Untainted Land.
The water surrounding Mance started to spin, and a transparent water shell rapidly expanded outward from his forehead. The water under high pressure was repelled by some force, forming a violently rotating vortex. The elegant oxygen leaking from Mance's oxygen tank filled the space in the bubble. The vortex spun around them at high speed, and they stood in the air! Miyabi lost her footing and lost the buoyancy of the water. The moment she fell, Ye Sheng grabbed her wrist and pulled out the alloy knife in front of her chest with his other hand, inserting it into the marks left by the water cutter.
"Damn it…I've never used this Spirit of Words underwater before.”Mance had the same reaction as Ye Sheng.
At this moment, the violently rotating water surrounded them. In the spherical space with a diameter of several meters, the water was forcibly pushed away, as if a new wind blew over the surface of the bronze wall. Large pieces of bronze rust were peeled off, leaving behind a smooth and dust-free metal surface that was suffused with a green-black glimmer. This time, the picture on the wall was clearly revealed. It was a protruding human face with burning firewood in its mouth. It was a strange picture. The face was twisted in pain, but it refused to let go of the firewood.
"Oh, baby, I'll leave the rest to you.”Mance carefully held the baby with his steel claws and took it out of the abdominal cavity of the diving suit.
Manspin held out a hand as large as a plate, and the baby curled up in his palm. The golden-eyed baby was silent for a long time. There was only the sound of the water vortex spinning at high speed. The baby bent down hard, stood up, and stood on Mance's palm. He looked to be only a few months old. He had a pacifer in his mouth and was wearing a one-piece baby suit with the size of a cow printed on it. There was only a few sparse lanugo on his head. He stood on Mance's palm with his back straight, looking as solemn as a priest. He looked at the face and slowly reached out his chubby little hand. He pointed at the forehead of the face with one finger.
The bronze bulge between her eyebrows cut through the baby's delicate fingers, and the blood flowed over her painful face. For a moment, Aki had the illusion that her face was relieved of a burden... Ye Sheng reached out and caught the pacify that fell from the baby's mouth. A deep voice that sounded like a giant bell poured out from the child's mouth, and the bronze wall faintly resonated.
The baby's blood seemed to be sucked into the face's mouth, but the baby stood there with the indifference of a martyr. There was no painful expression of blood loss. He bent down slightly, as if he was going to kiss the mouth of the bronze face. Mance suddenly hugged his waist and forcefully stopped this horrifying behavior. He took out a hemostatic bandage from his waterproof box and carefully wrapped it around the baby's little finger. He patted his face." Key, you're amazing."”
After the bronze face absorbed all the blood, it was silent for a moment before slowly opening its mouth as if it was yawning. The sound of metal cracking could be heard from the depths of the bronze wall. A pitch-black hole with a diameter of about one meter appeared on the bronze wall. The teeth of the bronze face were everywhere. They were definitely not human teeth. They were as sharp as daggers.
"Oh my god!" Ye Sheng whispered.
" The great achievement of alchemy, using the purest substance to contain the spirit, and then acting as the guard here." Mance carefully stroked the face." This is a living spirit. The spirit of the key is ordering him to open the door. The blood will satisfy him temporarily. You have about an hour.”
"Roughly?" Yaji said," If it's to explore the moon, can you say that there's about an hour before we land on the moon? This is even more dangerous than the moon!"
" Then let's save a minute for discussion," Ye Sheng said." Professor Rundstedt, remove the spirit of the Undusty Land. We can enter after the passage is filled with water."”
The baby's golden eyes faded. He raised his bandaged finger in front of him and looked at it in surprise. Suddenly, he opened his mouth and cried loudly. His cries were as loud as thunder. He was as sad as he could be.
" Oh, oh, don't cry, don't cry, baby, it's been hard on you..." Mance showed a helpless father's expression and put the baby back into the empty warehouse that looked like a kangaroo baby bag.
" One hour." Mance looked into Ye Sheng's eyes and raised a finger." It hasn't reached the awakening period yet, but if you can't obtain the skeleton, destroy it directly."”He handed over a black metal box." You have to stay at least 20 meters away before detonating it.”
Ye Sheng gave him a thumbs up, and Mance put on his helmet again. The Spirit of Words silently dispelled it. The huge air ball instantly shattered into countless bubbles that rapidly rose upwards. The surging water made Ye Sheng and Yaji almost unable to breathe for a moment. As a professor, Mance actually had the agility of a fish. He borrowed strength from the bronze wall and stabbed into the water. At the same time, he activated the water pressure propulsion equipment on his back and left at high speed.
Aki looked up at the figures that gradually disappeared in the distance. Everyone left them again. The darkness returned, and the only light was the flashlight in Ye Sheng's hand. Aji suddenly felt a chill that was enough to destroy a person. It was a chill at the edge of the world.
"Ye Sheng!" She turned around and shouted.
"I'm here." Ye Sheng reached out his hand and shook her hand through the thick gloves. He shone the beam of light on his face and smiled at her.
Mance climbed onto the side of the ship, took off his flippers, peeled off the diving suit that stuck to him like skin, and rushed straight into the command room in the front cabin.
"Vital parameters are normal. The oxygen tank can last for another 35 minutes. The signal is clear. They're already deep inside. There are many snake-faced statues and gears…You won't believe it.”Saroma pounced forward, her face filled with excitement.
"Is there a map?" Mance said."Put it on the screen.”
A dark green video appeared on the big screen. Under the illumination of the flashlight, layers of ripples were cast on an incredible bronze artifact. It was round and surrounded by a sharp structure like a wolf's fang. It looked like an ancient killing weapon. At first glance, it reminded people that if it was thrown, it would whistle and draw a strange arc, biting the enemy's neck and spinning.
" Incredible craftsmanship." whispered Mance.
The camera zoomed out. It seemed like Ye Sheng was slowly swimming away with the camera on his helmet. At the same time, the camera rose to the surface of the water.
"There's still a lot of air inside, which is good. It'll buy us a lot of time.”said Mance.
"No, the oxygen content in the air is very low. After being sealed for too long, the oxygen has been exhausted by the metal's oxidization.”The first mate said," Their oxygen is still only enough to last for 35…no, 33 minutes.”
The second metal disc appeared in the camera. Its bronze teeth were tightly clenched with the bronze teeth of the first metal disc, followed by the third and fourth. Countless metal discs covered a giant bronze wall that was dozens of meters tall. Each metal disc was nailed to the wall by an iron shaft in the center. Mance was stunned for a moment and could not help but look down at his wrist. On his wrist was an Omega Ocean Universe coax diving mechanical watch.
"Doesn't it look like a watch movement that has been magnified countless times?”Ye Sheng's voice sounded.
"It's an alchemical machine, although I don't know what it's used for.”Mance said," But according to its complexity, the history of mechanical transmission technology of dragons at that time was far higher than that of humans.”
"This is only one of the sealed caves. The other caves have different mechanical systems and have been rusted for many years.”Ye Sheng said," Is it a mechanism set up by the Bronze King to protect itself?”
"Don't be too naive. This Dragon King's understanding of fire and metal is unparalleled. If he had designed the mechanism himself, it wouldn't have rusted to death.”whispered Mance.
"Captain, the Chinese rescue helicopter has been loaded with medicine and serum. If they come, our operation will be exposed.”The third officer said loudly.
"Ye Sheng! Hurry up and find Dragon King Norton's location. Detonate the underwater bomb. There's not enough time.”Mance ordered.
" Understood. I can sense that the location that Snake is circling around is very close to me.”
Ye Sheng touched the deep-water bomb in the side pocket of his diving suit and turned to Aki." You take photos and take samples of the surroundings here. I'll find the location of the snake. If I'm not wrong, it's in the hole next door. Pay attention to my vital data. If there's a problem, don't worry about me. Evacuate first."”
Aji nodded. Ye Sheng gave him a thumbs up and dived into the water. This magnificent Bronze City was filled with holes. Each hole was connected by a bronze tunnel. After being submerged, most of the tunnels were below the water surface, like an ant nest half-submerged in water.
She raised her head and shone her flashlight upward. Looking up at the hole, the space was as huge as a giant's palace. The dome was engraved with ancient patterns. It was the scattered branches and leaves of a giant tree. The leaves and branches were bent into undecipherable characters.
"Dragon text?" Aki guessed what it was.
She took out the waterproof camera in her pocket, cut the dome into small pieces, and began to take pictures. The data was sent back to the Manaher along the lifeline.
"Make sure to make a backup!" Mance rubbed his hands in surprise. After Nicholas Flamel, this was the first time humans had obtained such a huge amount of Dragon language information. Although it might take decades to decipher, it was better than nothing.
"Understood." said Miyabi as she floated in the water, trying not to shake the camera too much. There was not much time left.
Complicated patterns kept entering her viewing window. The complexity of these patterns was unimaginable. The leaves gathered together like human faces, and when separated, they were indeed ancient characters that had disappeared for many years. They rotated counterclockwise on the dome. Yaji lowered the output pressure of the oxygen tank to extend the time he spent underwater while waiting for Ye Sheng. The oxygen supply had dropped to zero, and she felt a little dizzy. The patterns on the dome were a little blurry in her eyes. She temporarily stopped filming, closed her eyes slightly, shook her head, and took two deep breaths.
"Aji, your heart is beating faster. Are you okay?”Saroma's slightly nervous voice came from the earpiece.
"I'm fine. I'm just a little dizzy." Aji said.
She put the folding knife back into her pocket, opened her eyes again, and swam to the edge of the cave.
"The signal has been cut off!" On the Manaher, Saroma cried out in alarm,"The data line between us and Aji has been cut off!”
"Withdraw! Retract the line! Warn Ye Sheng!" Mance was stunned for a moment before he roared.
The roller at the stern of the ship began to rotate at high speed, retrieving Aki's lifeline.
"There's no tension on the roller motor." Saroma raised her head. Her face had lost all color.”
Ye Sheng floated up from Yaji's side and held her arm, making her feel much more relaxed.
"You're back? Was the mission over? I didn't hear any explosion." The subdiscipline saw her companions again, and her mood relaxed a lot.
"An underwater explosion won't cause too much of a commotion.”Ye Sheng said," I've already dealt with it. We're going to return after collecting it. There's not much time left.”
"Alright, I've already finished taking photos of the dome patterns.”
" Let's collect some bronze materials and go back to analyze the composition." Ye Sheng pointed at a snake-faced statue on the bronze wall not far away." We can try to bring that thing back. This statue must not be from ancient China, but from Europe."”
" Sure." Aki was dragged by Ye Sheng and swam towards the snake-faced person. The water parted along her diving suit, bringing a slight warmth.
The statue of the snake-faced man was only a few dozen centimeters tall, which was incomparable to the human-sized snake-faced man statue they saw when they entered the Bronze City. It was wearing an ancient robe of the Chinese Dynasty and holding a very elegant tooth. It stood on a bridge-shaped bronze pole with its head slightly lowered, showing a respectful appearance. Its posture seemed to be telling the people in front of it, but its head was like a cobra. Its slender neck protruded out from the collar of the robe, which was extremely abrupt.
"What is this thing?" Aki turned to Ye Sheng.
"I don't know either. It's probably a dragon totem, but it'll be useful if you bring it back.”Ye Sheng said.
Akane nodded and swam over. She was a little surprised when she saw the snake-faced statue. The snake-faced statue's eyes were pure silver, and they shone with a silver light on the surface of the dark bronze. It felt like it was blinking, but it also felt like it was staring at you. Yaji reminded herself to dispel the strange thoughts in her heart. It was just an illusion caused by the reflection of light. There was nothing to be surprised about. Ye Sheng was still waiting for her not far behind to take the sample and return to the Manyaher.
She reached out and grabbed the snake-faced person's neck. The bronze statue was not as heavy as she thought, so she lifted it up without much effort.
A shadow floated up from the water beside her and reached out to grab her neck at an indescribable speed. The physical education classes at Kassel College, as well as the years of training with the diving team at the University of Chicago, made Aki unhesitatingly pull out a folding knife from the pocket of her diving suit and slash at the shadow.
At the same time, she shouted into the microphone in her helmet,"Ye Sheng! Be careful!"
Ye Sheng was equipped with a Russian-made SSS-1 underwater pistol modified by the Equipment Department.
However, the shadow was faster than Aji and Ye Sheng. In an instant, it used a weapon in its hand to block Aji's folding knife and hit Aji's helmet. The power of this blow made Aji instantly lose her ability t
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