As Lu Mingfei stood in the Chicago station, he couldn't help but complain that the treatment given to new students by Kassel Academy was vastly different from before.
The black helicopter took him straight to Beijing and landed at Liz. Downstairs at the Carlton Hotel, Professor Guderian was waiting for him with a smile on his face. All the documents for admission had been prepared. A twisted Mont Blanc pen was placed in his hand, and all the places to sign were labeled with red paper.
"If there's no problem, just sign it. It's actually a very simple procedure.”Professor Guderian said to him in a tone that was almost like the devil trying to persuade Faust.
"Damn it, who knows if there's a problem or not.”Lu Mingfei muttered in his heart. That damned document was written in a complicated mix of English and Latino. He couldn't understand it at all.
However, he still signed it. While he was scribbling his name, Nono leaned against the wall beside him and blew on her bubble gum, looking as if it had nothing to do with her.
"Then go back and pack your things.”Professor Guderian put away the document and nodded in relief." We'll meet in the United States in three months.”
Lu Mingfei's heart skipped a beat. Shouldn't we board a private helicopter and fly straight to the United States? Shouldn't the officials from the Exit-Entry Administration let us in without blinking? Shouldn't a luxury car pick us up the moment we get off the plane and drive us to an ancient aristocratic school shrouded in mystery?
"Oh, Nono and I still have to interview a few other students in Russia. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind sending you on your way.”Professor Guderian seemed to have noticed his confusion." Also, you need to familiarize yourself with the way to Kassel College. You'll remember the necessary entry and exit procedures better if you go there yourself.”Then, he patted Lu Mingfei's shoulder." Relax, my student. Compared to many Chinese children who study abroad, you have the least pressure. You don't have to bring any luggage. You just have to bring a sharp heart and a studious spirit.”
Lu Mingfei thought to himself that he did not have any of these two items, but Lu Mingze had some. He did not know why they did not recruit Lu Mingze.
Therefore, Lu Mingfei had no choice but to board an overseas flight alone. After connecting flights in Los Angeles, he landed at the International Airport in Chicago. According to Norma's itinerary, he would take the CC1000 express train at the Houston train station to go to Kassel College.
However, there was a problem. He did not find this express train in the train schedule. Although he did not even need to buy a ticket, the ticket had already been sent to him by express mail. However, he did not know which ticket gate would lead to the CC1000 express train. He tried to ask the staff on duty in English, which was not very fluent. The staff on duty obviously knew nothing about it. They only repeatedly said that the new train schedule contained all the information about the train number. If you need help, please check it carefully.
Lu Mingfei was very embarrassed. This had something to do with the 20 dollars he had left in his pocket. Although his aunt was not nice to him, she still gave him 500 dollars for the expenses on the road. However, when the customs found out that Lu Mingfei had brought more than a dozen pirated PlayStation 2 discs with him, his aunt donated them to Chicago customs in the form of a fine. The damned fatty who gave Lu Mingfei a fine receipt wrote down a frightening number on the receipt while praising Lu Mingfei's taste." Is this Resident Evil IV? I like this game. My whole family loves it, especially my grandmother.”
Lu Mingfei muttered to himself," Does your grandmother like to shoot zombies with a game controller? Fine then fine, leave some money, there was no need to say anything else…
Fatty left 20 yuan for Lu Mingfei. Lu Mingfei looked at the sandwich shop and thought about how he could survive for a few days if he spent 6 yuan on a sandwich and coke set meal and couldn't find the CC1000 express train by tonight. He didn't even have a SIM card to call Norma. Of course, he didn't have a mobile phone either. He gave the N96 to his uncle as a parting gift.
Finally, his hunger overcame his worries about tomorrow's hunger. He took out the last 20 dollar bill.
"One dollar…just one dollar.”someone said beside him.
This was a typical begging phrase in the United States, just like the Chinese beggars singing about the falling lotus flowers. However, for a poor person like Lu Mingfei, a dollar that was enough to buy a small cup of Coke was practically a lifesaver. Moreover, he could have unlimited refills here…
"No, I'm very poor. I don't have money." Lu Mingfei expressed his thoughts in simple English.
"I'm not a beggar. I have money to buy sandwiches, but I'll choke to death without a cup of coke.”The other party was also very simple and concise.
Only then did Lu Mingfei notice that it was a tall and thin young man. His face hidden under his beard could be considered handsome, but his eyes that were as bright as candlelight made people feel a little uneasy. He was wearing a dark green checkered shirt and a pair of sloppy pants that had probably not been changed for two to three weeks. Perhaps he was indeed not a beggar, because even beggars were not as sloppy as him.
"Fingal, I lost my wallet while reading.”In order to prove his identity, the young man took out the dictionary class textbook from the bag on his back.
Lu Mingfei had an idea. The book was written in English and Latin-language, which he didn't understand at all. It was exactly the same as the admission document he had signed.
"Are you waiting for the CC1000 express train?”Lu Mingfei asked.
Both sides were silent for a while, and each took out a train magnetic card from their pants pockets. Unlike the other train tickets at the Chicago train station, this magnetic card was black, and there was a huge tree pattern with lush leaves painted on it.
"Are you a new student?" Fingel was munching on his sandwich and enjoying Lu Mingfei's Coke.
After verifying each other's identities, the two of them quickly reached a mutual trust. They only had twenty-five dollars in their pockets. Lu Mingfei suggested that since the coke was free to refill, they didn't need to buy two cups at all. They only needed two straws and double the number of refills to make both of them full. Fingel didn't have the hygiene pursuit and restraint of a young man from a developed country. He appreciated the great imagination of this Chinese student.
"New student, what year are you in?" Lu Mingfei asked.
" Fourth year. I should have graduated four years ago," Fingal said." I was held back. You don't understand. Their graduation exams are really too disciplined.”
"Then have you taken the CC1000 express train?”
" Every semester, we take the train at the beginning of the semester. Otherwise, we can only go there by helicopter or on foot. The campus is in the mountains, and only this train goes there. No one knows who controls the departure. Anyway, no one at Chicago train station knows. The last train attendant who knew the train schedule died two years ago. He said that the train had been in operation since before World War II.”
"You don't know the schedule?"
"Of course not." Fingel calmly made Lu Mingfei feel that it was stupid of him to ask this question.
"Then what should we do?" [TXT[Fictional download: sjtxt.com]
"Wait, there will be a car. You still don't know that secretary named Norma. When she wants to care about you, she can accurately locate you even if you're in Antarctica. She knew we were waiting for a car here, so she probably didn't send a car because our priority wasn't high enough?”
"Prioritization?" Lu Mingfei was confused." What's that?”
"It's something similar to a noble's status. In Kassel Academy, high-priority students will have some privileges, and the academy's resources will be provided to them first. However, the priority was confidential.”
"You've been in school for eight years, but your priority isn't high?”
"Of course not. Aren't I struggling to get more credits?”Fingal remained calm.
"Is it easy to find a job at Kassel Academy? You were so reluctant to quit school that you studied for four years in the fourth grade?”Lu Mingfei's eyes widened.
"No, they assign jobs!" Fingel spat out a mouthful of carbon dioxide loudly, looking very full.
As night fell in Chicago city, Lu Mingfei looked out of the window of the train station. The dark skyscrapers stood like giants. The elevated railway sprinkled bright sparks as the train passed by. Pedestrians hurried, and neon lights went on and off. The world seemed so illusory.
This was the third night he and the German student Fingel had spent at Chicago station. They didn't have the money to stay in a hotel, so they could only sleep on the bench in the waiting hall wrapped in the blanket that Fingel carried with him. If it weren't for the fact that their magnetic cards could pass through the ticket gate, they would have been chased out by the security guards. However, no one at Chicago train station knew what was going on with this mysterious CC1000 branch express. Some staff even guessed that their tickets were some kind of special souvenir ticket. The train station had issued something similar, but this train didn't exist.
Fingal did not mind. He said that it was the same for him every time he returned to school. It was useless to ask the staff. Students with low priority had to wait for the bus, and students with high priority would be picked up by the bus when they arrived at the station. They would get on the bus through a secret passage without causing any commotion.
Lu Mingfei had no choice but to ask how low their priority was. Fingel said it was similar to the serf class in the Middle Ages. When Lu Mingfei opened his mouth in surprise, Fingel comforted him by saying that there were people who were lower in priority than serfs, and that some people had a lower priority than mules.
Only Fingel and Lu Mingfei were left in the huge waiting hall. There was no overtime bus tonight, and only two sleepy guards at the door were still watching over the two homeless people who were about to take the " non-existent train." Fingel held the reference book in ancient characters and walked around the bench in the waiting hall. His wild long hair and thick beard made him look like a 19th-century philosopher. His shirt and pants showed that he was obviously a Confucian. Lu Mingfei sighed and began to complain about his unreliable parents, the mysterious Professor Guderian, and the mischievous Nono. They worked together to trick him into a foreign country and ignored him, as if he had never existed in this world.
Didn't they know that they had to give a little warmth to a young man like him who didn't have a sense of existence in order to motivate him?
Lu Mingfei's stomach was growling with hunger, but he had already relied on the guard to give him half a sandwich for his last meal. Now, he only had a few quarters in his pocket. He really didn't know how to walk to the still lit " subway " sandwich shop. He thought he might not be hungry after sleeping, so he wrapped Fingel's blanket around himself and curled up on the wooden bench facing inside.
Perhaps it was because he was hungry, or perhaps he was really sleepy, but his consciousness gradually became a little dizzy. He heard the sound of the bell ringing from afar.
The bell kept ringing in the night, as if it came from a church in the distance. It gave Lu Mingfei the illusion that the huge bell was hanging above his head. It reminded him of the wilderness under the moon and the dark shadow of the church in the distance. He thought of the people running on the wilderness with torches. The fire could not illuminate their faces, and their faces were hidden in the shadows. They ran towards the full moon, which was unbelievably large and half of it sank below the horizon.
Lu Mingfei felt that those people wanted to jump from the peak of the mountain to the moon…
He was shocked. He didn't know how he could think of this, how he could suddenly have such a crazy imagination.
However, his imagination was so real that he seemed to have personally witnessed that strange and magnificent scene at some point in time.
Why was there such a monotonous bell? Lu Mingfei suddenly realized that something was wrong. He was in Chicago, and outside was a bustling road. It was noisy and crowded. Why could he only hear the monotonous and lonely bell? He did not hear any bells during the day. There should not have been a church nearby.
He sat up from the bench, and a huge moon slowly rose outside Chicago train station. Moonlight poured in through the French windows, like a tide rushing into the shore with irresistible power, but it fell on him silently.
The entire waiting hall was enveloped in the cold moonlight, and the shadows of the floor-to-ceiling windows were cast on the backs of the benches.
A boy sat silently on the bench, his face full of moonlight.
Lu Mingfei sat up in shock. The boy was less than a meter away from him, and he couldn't find Fingel. The two guards were gone, and the lights at the subway sandwich shop in the distance had been switched off. Only he and the boy were left. He didn't know what was going on, but he didn't dare to speak or even breathe hard. At this moment, there was a silence in the waiting hall that no one dared to break. The little boy looked to be from China, about 13 or 14 years old. He was wearing a pure black evening gown, and his young face was flowing with radiance.
Lu Mingfei didn't know why such a young child would have such a " I've lived for thousands of years " expression of silence and sadness on his face. When and why did he come? Furthermore, there were so many benches here, but he just had to sit beside him, as if he was guarding a sleeping person.
Lu Mingfei lifted the blanket off his body and sat uneasily beside the young man, facing the moonlight with him. The two of them looked at the moonlight in silence. Time slowly passed, as if they were two people looking at the sea.
"Exchange?" the boy asked softly.
"What?" Lu Mingfei didn't understand what he was talking about.
"Exchange?" the boy asked again.
"Change what? " I don't have any money left…" Lu Mingfei thought of the few coins left in his pocket.
"So you still rejected it?" The boy slowly turned his head. His golden pupils were flowing with a flame-like light, like a mirror reflecting fire.
Lu Mingfei's will was instantly devoured by the flames. His entire body trembled violently, and as if he was on the verge of death, a huge force appeared in his body. He quickly retreated.
"Don't jump in your dreams, you were like a frightened flea!”Fingal complained.
Lu Mingfei didn't understand the word " flea ", but he could imagine it. He jumped up like a frightened animal and bumped into Fingel, who was reading a book. The Chinese boy with golden pupils in her dream? What was so surprising about the golden pupils? What color of contact lenses did the Cosplay girl at the comic convention not wear?
"Sorry, sorry." Lu Mingfei said to the senior who had eaten two of his sandwiches.
"I came to tell you that the car is here.”said Fingal.
Lu Mingfei suddenly heard the sound of a train horn. Yes, Fingel was right. It was a train station entering the station. It sounded the whistle, and the light of the car's headlights flashed through the window. According to the train schedule, there should have been no trains by now. This was a night without an overtime bus, but the unpunctual CC1000 branch express had arrived.
A man in a dark green train attendant uniform walked out of the empty ticket gate. His uniform was classical and exquisite, completely different from the staff on duty at the train station in Chicago. He had a golden train attendant badge on his hat, a flashlight in one hand, and a black card reader in the other.
"Hey!" He took the initiative to call the two guards at the door.
The two guards woke up briefly from their deep sleep and returned the greeting with a wave of their hands. They did not seem to realize that it was such a crazy thing for a train attendant to appear in a Chicago station in the middle of the night. After greeting, they lowered their heads and continued to doze off. Lu Mingfei pressed his forehead. If he hadn't seen too many strange things in the past few days, he would have thought that either the world or himself had gone crazy.
"CC1000 branch express, Kassel Academy student Fingal? Feng? Frings and Xinsheng Lu Mingfei checked their tickets and got on the bus. They didn't stop for long.”the train attendant said.
Lu Mingfei took out the ticket from his pocket with his sweaty fingers and followed Fingel to the conductor. He felt like a soul walking to heaven, waiting for the judgment of the angels. He thought, Damn it, why did he agree to this strange Kassel Academy to study for its degree? It was obvious that this academy hid a secret that was bigger than the entire Earth, and it was possible to study for four years in a row. He thought that he was probably really seduced by the beauty because he felt at ease when he saw Nono.
The train attendant was very calm, as if this was just an ordinary train with fewer passengers. He took Fingel's ticket and ran it through the ticket inspection machine. The green light lit up and a beep sounded.
"Fingal, why aren't you learning?" The train attendant and Fingel started chatting." I thought I wouldn't see you this year.”
" But I don't know anything else." Fingal scratched his messy hair." I have to find a job for myself." Did my priority drop again?"
"Yeah, it's been demoted to 'F'. You've been demoted from' A 'class, which means you've already fallen from heaven to hell. That's why I didn't arrange for a car to pick you up.”The train attendant said," These two days, we've been transporting new equipment and large equipment to prepare for the practical classes of the new semester.”
" You mean the Huns turned into beasts…" Fingal toot.
When Lu Mingfei's ticket slid past the ticket machine, the green light lit up and the sound of a beep was heard.
"Is it the new student Lu Mingfei?" The train attendant's beautiful green eyes lit up." I'm very sorry for being late. Actually, your priority is the highest,'S'. However, there are very few people with such a high priority in the school. I thought that the printed train was' B', so I didn't arrange the train in advance. By right, I should have put aside other things and come to pick you up as soon as possible.”
“‘S'？”Fingal's eyes widened." Isn't the headmaster the only one with an 'S'?”
"There are still a few people with'S 'rank.”The train attendant said," Alright, alright. Get in the car. Just the two of you."”
"I just want to ask you one question before I get in the car.”Lu Mingfei didn't dare to breathe, but he still forced himself to ask this question.
"Tell me." the train attendant said calmly.
"Is this really an official train? Why wasn't it on the train schedule? Why didn't you arrive on time?" Lu Mingfei couldn't hold it in anymore. Who knew if this train was an express to hell or something? He stepped on it and saw the Fallen Angel Lucifer.
"Yes, the government of Chicago has specially approved it to go straight to Kassel College. The road there is not easy to walk. It's not on the train schedule because it's a branch express train. It's a branch train that runs irregularly. Do you know the special trains that run from the public railway but go to some mines and factories? We're the same as those people. You see, your tickets can also pass through the ticket inspection machine here, right? They are all official tickets." The train attendant's answer was very calm and did not keep her in suspense at all.
"But why does a university have to be so mysterious?”Lu Mingfei scratched his head.
"A rich university like us can do whatever we want. Isn't it just donating some money to the Chicago government? As for the rest, you can ask the temporary tutor when you are on your way to the school.”The train attendant suddenly switched to pure Chinese. Lu Mingfei remembered the plan of the " Chinese Campus " that Professor Guderian had mentioned. It seemed that everything was true. Even the blonde train attendant at this strange university could speak fluent Mandarin.
They followed the conductor to the high-speed train that was parked in the dark. The train was black and streamlined. The dazzling black-and-white vine pattern unfolded on the black paint. It was unbelievably gorgeous under the moonlight.
There was only one light on in the carriage, and a familiar figure stood in the only open door. It was Lu Mingfei's temporary mentor, Professor Guderian. This old fellow was obviously very happy about the reunion, and he opened his arms from afar.
4. dialogue
The train started and sped through the dark night. Lu Mingfei, Fingel, and Professor Guderian sat opposite each other. Lu Mingfei and Fingel had changed into Kassel Academy's uniform. They wore a white shirt, a dark green suit, and a dark rose-red scarf. The Kassel Academy's World Tree emblem was embroidered on their chests. Although the tailor had never seen Lu Mingfei before and had never measured his figure, he had made the clothes fit him perfectly. His waist and chest were not off at all. Even Lu Mingfei felt that he had become more handsome.
"Finger, don't put your bare feet on the sofa.”Professor Guderian said," You should know how important the orientation is to our new students.”
Fingel had to put his foot away. In front of Professor Guderian, this senior who looked like a science maniac became much more obedient.
"Coffee or hot chocolate?" Professor Guderian asked.
He sat on a dark green sofa against the wall, behind him was a painting covered by canvas.
It was an elegant and luxurious carriage. The walls were decorated with Victoria patterned wallpaper, and the portholes were wrapped in solid wood. A handmade solid wooden table separated the students and teachers, and the dark green leather sofa they sat on was embroidered with gold thread. Lu Mingfei felt that this carriage was simply designed for the emperor or some head of state. He had no idea why he was sitting here.
"You can order a glass of hard liquor or something. We'll provide it.”Professor Guderian said.
"You can drink when you meet a mentor? Kassel Academy's rules were really lax.”Lu Mingfei said.
"Anyway, drink something to calm you down, in case you hear something screaming.”said Fingal.
" Then I'll have a coke with sleeping pills…" Lu Mingfei forced himself to say something that sounded like a joke.
" Dreams can't change reality..." Professor Guderian scratched his head." First of all, I'm sorry I'm late. I've been in Russia for too long, but I still haven't found a qualified candidate. When I returned to Kassel Academy, I realized that the train attendant had mistaken your priority, so I decided to follow the train and personally welcome you. Secondly…"
" I know you're going to say something scary. I also don't think it's so easy to give me a high scholarship and trick me to come to the United States so mysteriously…" Lu Mingfei said," I've already come to my senses these days."”
"I mean, the academy requires every student to take the qualification examination. According to the school rules, if you don't announce the examination, you can't be admitted. Your scholarship won't take effect for the time being…I actually wanted to talk about this.”
"Qualification examination?" Lu Mingfei said," It's really scary…" Actually, he originally guessed that Professor Guderian was going to reveal today's big secret in front of him. Even if he told him that his parents were superhumans and that he was actually the second generation of superhumans, he wouldn't find it strange. In Kassel Academy, it seemed like anything was possible. However, Professor Guderian only told him about the academy's system.
"There's a confidentiality agreement here.”Professor Guderian handed over a document.
Lu Mingfei signed the strange document written in a mixture of English and Latino with trembling hands. The express he was on was now heading to the mysterious Kassel Academy at a speed of more than 200 kilometers per hour. It was just a road pointed out by his parents. What else could he refuse? He couldn't just stand up and scream,""I want to go home, I want to go home!"
"Then, our orientation will officially begin.”Professor Guderian said very seriously," As a formal university registered in the United States Department of Education, Kassel College has always been committed to providing high-quality advanced education to students with special talents and abilities. It provides them with a variety of possibilities and recommendations for jobs.”
" Our education system is four years. Except for geniuses like Fingel, 32% of the new students graduate successfully every year. All students have to live on campus. It's a classical closed education. When you graduate, we will issue you an official academic certificate. However, I'm sorry to say that your degree certificate from our school can't help you find a corresponding major in other universities. Therefore, if you want to study for a master's or a doctor's degree, you can only choose to study at our school.”
"If that's the case…wouldn't we have to go down the same path?”Lu Mingfei said.
"This is because Kassel Academy's subject setup is a little... biased.”Professor Guderian crossed his hands and twirled his index fingers.
"Biased?" Lu Mingfei didn't understand.
"In fact, there is only one research subject in the entire academy.”Professor Guderian stood up and took off the canvas on the oil painting behind him.
It was a very beautiful painting. Under the blue sky, a black dragon was rising from the depths of the pile of corpses. Its wings were covered with the bones of the dead. Behind its huge membrane wings was a huge tree. The dead branches extended in all directions, weaving into a dense net, just like the ones Lu Mingfei saw on the computer.
Lu Mingfei felt like there were ten thousand bees buzzing in his head." Dragon?”
"To be more precise, Dragon Emperor Nehogg, according to the Norse Mythology's Old Aladdin, during the Twilight of the Gods, this big guy will bite off the roots of the World Tree, Yggdrasil.”Professor Guderian pointed at his bookshelf." Kassel College studies dragons. Of course, you can choose alchemy engineering, magical mechanical design, dragon race theory, and so on. But in the end, our goal is..."
"Dragon slaying!" he paused.
Lu Mingfei was so shocked that his legs went weak. Then, his consciousness went dark. There was a loud bang that sounded like the sky was falling and the earth was shattering. The entire train shook and all the lights flickered and went out. It was as if those two words were a curse that woke up the king who was sleeping in the darkness.
In the terrifying darkness, a pair of doomsday-like golden eyes slowly opened.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。