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 to react. She subconsciously rolled backward to avoid the shadow's next attack, but she was already tightly hugged by the shadow.
"Ye Sheng! Open fire!" Aki shouted.
"Shoot who?" The shadow asked.
Yaji was stunned. It was Ye Sheng's voice. Once, when they were training on the Great Barrier Reef, her oxygen tank broke down underwater. Before she suffocated, she heard Ye Sheng's voice and regained consciousness. This saved her life. She widened her eyes and looked at the black shadow. The faint light from the other party's helmet illuminated his face. It was Ye Sheng's thin and lean face.
"Why are there two Ye Shengs?" Aki's heart exploded with fear.
She turned her head to look behind her. Ye Sheng, who had swam over with her, was gone. Floating in the water was a statue of a snake-faced man. No one knew how a bronze statue could float in the water. Its silver eyes flickered, and its mouth, which was wide open and revealing its fangs, seemed to have a mocking smile.
Ye Sheng pulled out the SSR-1 and shot the statue's face off. He opened the helmet and mask of his helmet and Akane's helmet." I came back and found that you swam here. That thing was floating behind you. I didn't understand why it kept following you until you reached out to activate the system.”
It was only then that Yaji realized that her lifeline and data cable had been cut off. The connection between her and Ye Sheng had also been cut off. She followed the lifeline around her waist and felt the cut without any thorns. The lifeline had been cut with a knife. She suddenly remembered that she had pulled out her knife and cut the lifeline. She remembered that she had pulled out her folding knife earlier.
"Oh my god!" Akira whispered. The low oxygen content in the air made it difficult for her to breathe.
" Those dragon characters," Ye Sheng pointed to the top of his head," If you take pictures continuously and read them in a certain order, it will be a kind of spiritual language that will cause you to fall into an illusion. This is the trap here."”
"Just like the voice during the 3E exam, it will directly affect the depths of one's consciousness?”
"Far more powerful than those."
A creepy sound came from the bronze wall, as if someone was holding two pieces of rusty iron and rubbing them against your ears. But at this moment, the sound was amplified hundreds or thousands of times.
Ye Sheng and Ya Ji looked at the bronze wall in horror. Tens of thousands of bronze gears surrounded by wolf teeth began to slowly rotate. A huge bell echoed inside the cave. The rust on the bronze gears began to peel off, and the teeth gritted together, making a cracking sound. Ye Sheng suddenly raised his head. Hidden in the darkness, a giant bell of a shape he had never seen before rang. The bronze bell vibrated around the bearing. The snake-faced people standing on the bronze rods around the bronze wall moved. They raised the ivory boards in their hands as if they were praising something. Their slender snake necks bent. They looked up at the dome together, like an ancient pilgrimage ceremony.
" You've activated the system." Ye Sheng looked at the bronze rod that Yaji had just pushed." But the problem is that I don't know what kind of system it is..."
His heart jolted as he felt the 'snake' that he had left to guard the surroundings was escaping. This was a phenomenon that had never happened before. Those 'snakes' were his slaves, his subordinates who spied for him. They would always reside in the depths of his spiritual consciousness, and at this moment, great fear was forcing this 'snake' to choose to escape from its master. Ye Sheng's head was in pain. The other snakes in the depths of his consciousness were also swimming in fear, wanting to squeeze his head.
It was too late, there was no choice. Ye Sheng pulled out the folding knife at her waist and stabbed into the gap between the two gears. The power was astonishing. The nanoblade of the folding knife was also exceptionally sharp. The folding knife sank two inches into the bronze wall, and the two gears were locked on the folding knife, preventing it from turning. The shaking of the bronze bell immediately slowed down, and it lost its power.
"No matter what alchemical machine it is, it still needs power!”Ye Sheng said loudly, closing his and Yaji's helmet masks." Hurry up and go! Leave this place! We don't have time!"
Lu Mingfei heard the deafening sound of the bell. He was jolted awake by the sound and looked up at the night sky and the stars outside.
"Damn it, is this a call to the soul in the middle of the night? What kind of damned school is this? Doesn't it know how to protect the students 'healthy sleep?”His first reaction was to curse, and his second reaction was to lift the blanket and cover his head.
He curled up under the blanket for a while and realized that something was wrong. The line was pulled back. Fingal, who had been snoring loudly on his upper bunk before he fell asleep, was now as silent as a dead man. Secondly, the bell did not show any signs of weakening. It pierced through his blanket and entered his mind. Shouldn't Fingal, a person with a split personality, jump up and curse at such a thing? Lu Mingfei slowly got up and stretched his head to the upper bunk to take a look. Fingel was sleeping peacefully there, as if…he was dead.
"Hey, here." someone said from the window.
Lu Mingfei turned around and saw the boy in a black suit, white silk shirt, and square leather shoes sitting on his windowsill, staring into the distance in a daze. Lu Mingfei hesitated for a moment before he tiptoed behind the boy. Gritting his teeth, he suddenly reached out and messed up the boy's hair. What disappointed him was that the touch was unusually real. The washed hair was smooth and easy to touch, and the boy's body temperature was real. The boy didn't resist at all. He looked back at Lu Mingfei with his head that looked like a chicken nest. He simply swept his hair and returned to the hairstyle of a noble primary school student.
"Hey…can you tell me if I'm dreaming?”Lu Mingfei said as he leaned against the window.
" It depends on how you understand 'dreaming'. More or less. According to your understanding, what you're seeing now is not the real world.”The boy shrugged.
"But what is the real world?"
" But it feels so real…" Lu Mingfei pointed at the clock tower outside and said," Look at the clock. It's still ticking. I remember I went to bed at two o'clock at night. It's four-thirty now. I don't think I'm dreaming at all."”
"Don't trust your eyes too much. What you see might not be the truth. Maybe you're dead now, but you're still standing here talking.”? The boy looked into Lu Mingfei's eyes." The maggots are crawling around your body, as happy as worms in cheese holes.”
Lu Mingfei froze for a moment. He felt a chill run down his spine and wanted to retch." I just ate cheese tonight. Can you not make such a scary analogy?" There was more. Don't push me down this time. It's quite scary to dream.”
"It won't happen this time. Last time, you were just too annoying. This time, I'm here to remind you that something is about to happen, so be prepared.”the boy said.
"What is it? Is the Dragon Clan invading or is the world destroyed?"
"Didn't you hear the bell?" the boy said meaningfully.
Lu Mingfei was taken aback." What's a bell? I can even buy a small alarm clock for ten yuan on the carpet at my doorstep!”
" But the little alarm clock doesn't kill people," the boy smiled." Besides, I want to congratulate you on passing the 3E exam and becoming a member of Kassel Academy.”
"But the test scores haven't come out yet!"
"Trust my judgment. However, there are probably many people who want to challenge you or gain some benefits from you. I'm willing to help you with something. If you want to continue your studies here as an'S 'grade student, you must have some ability. Do you remember the secret manuals in StarCraft?”
"Of course I remember. PowerOverwhelming means invincibility, showmethemoney means adding 10000 mineral energy, blacksheepwall means opening the map…" Lu Mingfei was very familiar with this.
"Yes, that's good. Isn't it useful to open the map?”
"Of course. Don't you know how important scouting is in the galaxy?”
"The first secret manual I taught you is the Blacksheepwall. You can use it now. As long as you shout this sentence into the air, you will receive a detailed map of your surroundings. But remember, you can only use this secret manual once, so don't use my good intentions to try it. When you need this help, shout it out loudly, and you will thank me for saving you.”the boy said.
Lu Mingfei was taken aback." You're so weird. You're shouting at the air…black…"
He couldn't finish his sentence because the boy suddenly reached out and pressed his mouth. The boy raised a finger and shook it at Lu Mingfei." Don't say it now. Don't waste my good intentions. Otherwise, I'll get angry."”
Lu Mingfei didn't think he was pretending." Why are you helping me?”
"Because I'm Lu Mingze. We're brothers.”The boy stood up on the windowsill and patted Lu Mingfei's shoulder hard." Remember, Blacksheepwall, when you need it the most…your troubles will soon find you.”
" You're my biggest problem right now, you mysterious brat…" Lu Mingfei wanted to say.
The boy opened the door and walked out like a visiting classmate. The moment the door closed, the dormitory fell into a deathly silence. Lu Mingfei looked up and down, left and right, and then at Fingel, who was lying on the upper bunk like a corpse. For a moment, he fell into the debate between reality and dream. A cold breath ran down his back, and he shivered violently. He reached out and pinched his own face.
Before he could pinch it, there was an ear-piercing buzzing sound outside the door. It sounded like a knife scraping his ear bone, or a thief had triggered the alarm of the World Bank at the same time.
"That guy didn't burn the fire alarm with a lighter, did he?”Lu Mingfei thought. He instinctively felt that the boy who called himself Lu Mingze was not someone to be trifled with. However, this voice lightened the pressure in his heart. That deathly silence was too terrifying.
He rushed out of the dormitory and shouted," What are you doing?”
"What are you doing?" someone asked.
Lu Mingfei was suddenly stunned. He saw the person standing in front of him clearly. It was Nuo Nuo in her school uniform. This was not a dream. He was standing in the hallway of the dormitory. Red lights were flashing along the ceiling, and the shrill buzzing came from the speakers hidden in the walls. The students were gathering at the stairway exit towards the elevator. There were both men and women, and they were all wearing school uniforms with serious expressions. Kassel Academy's scale was limited, so the male and female dorms in District 1 were mixed, but they were arranged on different floors.
Lu Mingfei, on the other hand, was wearing a pair of big shorts with a spotted dog pattern. He stared at his messy head with sleepy eyes.
"Friend, looking at you, even if you have the privilege of chasing a girl for three months without being rejected, you will definitely be kicked out after three months and one day.”Bradley, who had come up, said regretfully.
"Can someone tell me if there's a fire?”Lu Mingfei closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He smiled at the onlookers. He had already been seen anyway. It was too late to be embarrassed now.
"No, there must be an emergency. You should read the enrollment handbook carefully. The academy will summon students to gather in the library when there is an emergency.”Fingel poked his head out of the room, his eyes even more sleepy than Lu Mingfei's. Lu Mingfei knew that he didn't dare to show his head. Fingel liked to sleep naked." This alarm is to summon the'S 'and' A 'grade students. The others can continue to sleep. It's none of your business."”
After saying that, he closed the door loudly and retreated into his dormitory.
"All'S 'and' A 'class students, please report to the library. Emergency!" Norma's voice came from the loudspeaker, confirming Fingal's speculation.
"The marks for the 3E exam haven't been released yet, so I shouldn't count them.”Lu Mingfei really wanted to go back to sleep like Fingal.
"Nuonuo, Mingfei, hurry, hurry, it's an emergency. Gather at the library. We need your help!”Professor Guderian rushed out of the corridor while putting on a suit. His hair was even messier than Lu Mingfei and Fingel's combined.
Lu Mingfei knew that he probably couldn't escape, so he couldn't help but sigh. The door of the dormitory opened at the right time, and Fingel's bare upper body stretched out from inside. On it was Lu Mingfei's school uniform.
"An emergency is also an opportunity for the best students to stand out. I have confidence in you!”Professor Guderian patted Lu Mingfei's shoulder and whispered into his ear.
"You're doing this for your position as a full professor, right?”Lu Mingfei thought maliciously.
The group of people rushed into the library. The buzzing did not stop, and it sounded like they were urging their souls. Lu Mingfei suddenly realized that Lu Mingze was right. If there really was trouble, could that guy be a prophet?
Professor Manstein and Professor Schneider from the executive department were waiting for the elite students in the control room of the library with gloomy faces. Lu Mingfei quietly counted them. There were a total of thirteen people, including Caesar, Chu Zihang, Nono, and Qilan. There was also the petite girl from the 3E exam. She sat in the front row, leaving only her back view for everyone. The professors occupied the remaining seats. This room was a very classic and elegant library, unlike a control center. It could seat 40 to 50 people, and the four walls were bookshelves. On the bookshelves stood hardcover ancient books with leather covers.
"There are 13 students, 12 'A' class and 1'S 'class, and 27 professors.”Professor Manstein whispered to Professor Schneider.
"We don't have much time. Let's begin immediately.”Professor Van Schneider dragged his gas tank cart to the wall and scanned the crowd. He was breathing heavily, and his ferocious face, which was half-covered by a black mask, suppressed the restless students.
"Students, we need your help. The situation is that two members of our executive department are trapped in the Bronze City of the Three Gorge Reservoir in China. It's a dragon's cave. We just obtained important information from it, but we don't know what kind of mechanism has been triggered, and all the roads have changed. Their oxygen tanks were depleting every second. All of you have dragon blood. Some of you have blood from the great Bronze King Norton, the owner of the dragon's lair. I have here the information about the dragon characters that Aji, a member of the executive department, obtained underwater. I hope that you can concentrate on reading it, think about it, and recall it. I want to see if you can provide any help in unlocking the maze of the Bronze City. Please hurry! As soon as possible! Our people all over the world are trying to help. Their oxygen tanks won't last more than 20 minutes!”Professor Schneider clapped his hands, and the two sides of the teak bookshelves that were higher than the ceiling moved away, revealing a giant screen that was 100 inches long. At the same time, the desks in front of everyone automatically opened, revealing personal monitors.
In an instant, the place became a control center with extremely sophisticated equipment. Everyone, including the freshman Qilan and the petite girl, quickly took out their student magnetic cards and swiped them in the card slot. Norma quickly checked their identities and entered their respective operation screens. At the same time, a huge blue dome made of photos appeared on the big screen. Lu Mingfei looked at the words in a daze. It was different from the Chinese characters in the 3E exams. This time, it was not the Korean characters that looked like keychains. It was completely…a big tree!
"Damn it, do dragons use drawings to replace words?”Lu Mingfei cursed these ancient lizards who didn't make rhetoric simple but made words extremely artistic.
He searched his entire body and finally took out his student card from the pocket behind his buttocks. He hurriedly swiped it in the card slot. His screen lit up as well. It was probably because he had never set up his own interface before, so unlike others, the navigation page actually appeared. On the side of the page was a realistic 3D image of a young girl. She was wearing a long white dress that looked like pajamas. Her long hair fluttered in the air as she bowed lightly to Lu Mingfei.
" The beginner's guide is very thoughtful…" Lu Mingfei muttered.
"Hello, Lu Mingfei. I'm glad to be of service to you. Please set up your system.”The girl's voice came from the earpiece.
"Are you Norma?" Lu Mingfei was very happy to hear such a sweet voice." I thought you were a middle-aged woman.”
"I'm Eva." The girl smiled on the screen." If you don't know how to set it up, I can set it up for you according to the most commonly used method. Is that okay?”
"No problem!" Lu Mingfei thought that unless he made the system into a Bubble Bobble game, he wouldn't be able to play it even with the simplest configuration.
The window on the screen flashed quickly. To Lu Mingfei's surprise, the difficulty of this system was indeed similar to Bubble Bobble. He only needed to poke his finger on the screen to open, move, and close documents at will. The icons that needed his attention were all highlighted by the Eva. He followed the Eva's lead and naturally pulled up a map.
" This is a map that we compiled based on the route Ye Sheng took when he entered." On the Manyach, Mance looked at the monitor with a serious expression." But the map has changed. The original routes are all locked, all of them!”
"Ye Sheng's 'snake' can still maintain communication, but I don't know how long it can last. The spirit 'snake' will consume his physical strength, and his oxygen consumption will also increase.”Saroma's face was pale." Time is running out.”
"The rescue helicopter is only 60 kilometers away from here.”The first mate took off his earpiece and shouted.
"The principal has already ordered all the elites to begin deciphering the Dragon Text…All we can do now is wait.”Saroma said.
Lu Mingfei looked left and right, and everyone's expression was heavy. Some stared at the map on their monitors, while more stared at the 'tree' on the big screen as if they were looking at a three-dimensional painting. Nuo Nuo was drawing on a piece of white paper at high speed, copying the dragon characters, probably hoping to solve its grammar rules. Caesar and Chu Zihang were staring at the big screen, and their expressions were terrifyingly dark. Qi Lan held her forehead with both hands and closed her eyes in deep thought. The petite girl sat like a statue. She breathed heavily, as if she was not thinking, but doing some physical work. The professors lowered their voices and argued intensely. They were not as pure as the students in terms of bloodline, and their direct understanding of the dragon language was much weaker. However, they had studied the dragon language grammar for decades, and they were trying to gather this knowledge in these twenty minutes to create a miracle.
Lu Mingfei actually sympathized with these people. They were all elites and were different from the rest. This was because they had extremely high intelligence and were different from humans. They would have a sense of loneliness similar to Blood Sorrow. To them, even if there was still a glimmer of hope, it would be shameful to give up. This was just like what Spider-Man's uncle told Spider-Man before he died. The greater the power, the greater the responsibility. However, Lu Mingfei was different. He had snuck into this place. When others heard the dragon characters, it was as if they had heard a clap of thunder. When they saw the dragon characters, they felt as if the patterns had come to life and blossomed with flowers and leaves. However, to Lu Mingfei, a snort was a snort. A tree was a tree. It was simple and vigorous.
Therefore, he was dragged to think about the secret of the dragon language that humans had not been able to uncover for hundreds of years with these super elites. To save two people who were about to die in twenty minutes was really like a charred turtle carrying an elephant on its back. Lu Mingfei felt that he was quite kind. If he had the ability to help the two people under the water, he would be willing to even pour a glass of water for the elites who were deep in thought to quench their thirst. Unfortunately, none of them wanted to drink water.
Lu Mingfei frowned and pretended to be deep in thought. This was a big matter of saving someone. He didn't want to be seen as a cold-blooded animal for nothing.
As time passed, he sighed in his heart. This cross-sea rescue using satellite communication was actually not realistic at all. Some things were very cruel. For example, if you were a Zerg and your two puppies were trapped in a human home, and the other party's tanks were about to be bombed, would you be able to hatch a Wyvern to save them in time? It would be a miracle if he could make it in time…
Lu Mingfei was stunned for a moment, and a spark suddenly appeared in his mind. That's right…it might not be too late…as long as you cheated!
Map…Isn't it a map? But to unlock the map…how?
Blacksheepwall！
Black Goat Wall!
The Black Sheepwall, the Black Sheep, or the Black Sheep, the restless evil of the Aries, what would it see when it crossed the wall? A vast world?
Lu Mingfei felt like he was only a piece of paper away from mentioning a certain taboo. The control room was filled with a flock of white sheep. They only lowered their heads to eat grass and did not know how to look outside. Therefore, they could only be sheared and slaughtered for meat. They could not find a way out. But the Black Goat was different. The Black Goat would jump over the wall to survive, and the Dragon Character was the high wall erected in front of them. They couldn't climb over this wall, so they could only rely on the pair of Black Goat's sharp horns…to smash it into pieces.
Lu Mingfei took a deep breath and entered " Blacksheepwall " in the search box at the top of the map.
He thought he heard someone chuckling in a hidden corner. The map moved quickly. Old roads were blocked and new roads appeared. A few seconds later, a brand new map appeared on Lu Mingfei's monitor. Lu Mingfei couldn't believe his eyes. His hands left the keyboard and his eyes widened. He didn't do anything else, but just as " Lu Mingze " had promised, a miracle was happening right in front of his eyes. He had jumped over the wall. He was that restless Black Goat!
"This is the map…This is the current map!”Lu Mingfei stood up and said loudly," I've untied it!”
The new map was immediately displayed on the big screen. After a short silence, everyone turned to look at Lu Mingfei. After the map was unraveled, it was too easy to understand. Everyone realized that this was the correct result. The control room was dead silent, with great surprise and uneasiness hidden in the calmness, like a deep water bomb sinking slowly.
This was the first time Lu Mingfei saw the petite girl's face. It was as transparent as ice and as cold as ice.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。