Scene 4: The Bronze City (2)

Lu Mingfei jumped up from his chair violently with sweat, as if he had broken a dark membrane to come back to reality. In front of him stood Nuo Nuo, smacking his head so hard that he felt dizzy. They were alone in the empty examination room.

“Admire that you can sleep like that in the 3E exam,” said Nuo Nuo. “Is your zodiac pig?”

“Mine is sheep… Is the test over?” Lu Mingfei rubbed his eyes.

“It’s almost lunchtime. The 3E is only three hours long.”

Lu Mingfei was surprised. On the platform, the burly maintainers removed the whiteboard with messy lines and carried it away.

Nuo Nuo turned to have a look, “Oh, she answered on the whiteboard. There’s no way, we had to put the whiteboard as an answer to hand in. The person in the 3E exam’s mood won’t be very stable, this kind of accident is inevitable. But you are super calm, we are all very curious about your performing. From the monitoring results, you finished with a sweet sleep calmly. Even Professor Manstein was impressed.”

“So… Nothing strange?”

“Not at all, as I said, you were super calm.”

When did that strange dream begin? Ever since he saw Kieran cry? From the time he finished his paper? Or is he still dreaming? The feeling of disconnection between reality and unreality was so unpleasant that he gave his hand to his wrist and wrenched it so hard that tears welled up.

“Swollen…” Said Nuo Nuo, pointing to his wrist.

“Ouch… I know…” Lu Mingfei answered with a grimaced.

“Hand your paper in please.”

“Oh, oh.” Lu Mingfei said, turned over his several pictures and handed them to Nuo Nuo.

“Well, let me count.” Nuo Nuo counted and took out a stapler, “Total of nine answer sheets, nailed up.”

Lu Mingfei was stunned and his head rang loudly. Nine answers, why there are nine answers? He clearly remembered that he had only drawn eight pictures, and he only had eight to draw. Fingel had sold him eight answers. Where did the ninth one come from?

“Wait a minute… Let me check again.” He turned over the paper in Nuo Nuo’s hand in a hurry.

“Check what? For this kind of test, an ‘S’ could deal it easily, right?” Said Nuo Nuo, taking the answer sheet away.

For a brief moment, Lu Mingfei saw his last answer sheet, which did not exist in his memory at all… He certainly drew it, but he can’t remember it at all.

He watched Nuo Nuo hand the answer sheet to Professor Manstein, who threw it into the black cipher box. As the lid snapped shut, it was a done deal. Lu Mingfei has no right to make any further changes.

After Professor Manstein had messed up the code, he handed the box to Nuo Nuo. “Send to Norma to read the papers.”

Lu Mingfei pressed his forehead and his face turned pale. “My drawing skills… Can it be that good? Is that possible?”

When Lu Mingfei sat down at the dinner table, his face can be described as “terrified”.

“Hey, hey! How’s that? The expression on your face… Got caught cheating?” Fingel sat down beside him and shouldered him. “Don’t speak about me!”

“Bullshit, who am I? I am super familiar with this!” Lu Mingfei waved his hand impatiently. “I have answered all eight questions. No one can see my mechanism. It’s just I have… a little more scribbling after I finished.”

“All right, all right, as long as you don’t talk nonsense. Graffiti will be ignored.” Fingel breathed a sigh of relief.

“There is no nonsense talk… As a painting, it’s better than what I can do… “Lu Mingfei didn’t know how to explain it.

They sat under the arc of the restaurant at lunchtime. The restaurant looks like the Templar knights’ era, the central dome hangs a huge tree droplight, each leaf is a small crystal light. On the walls of granite hangs “welcome to our new students” in Latin, while students dressed in green uniforms sitting at the table. At the end of the table sitting the header of this table, Fingel.

“I don’t know you are a leader here.” Said Lu Mingfei.

“I was the table leader because there isn’t a table for eighth-graders, I was assigned to sit with the freshmen.” Said Fingel.

“Pass them in turn.” The waiter set lunch before Fingel.

“Is that the same dish?” Sighed Fingel. “Welcome to the freshman luncheon. We’ll have nothing but schweinshaxe and mashed potatoes and sauerkraut? I have eaten this dish eight times in a row!”

“No problem, I can make some adjustments for you.” The waiter said.

“Is there something to look forward to, like red wine or steak?” Fingel’s eyes sparkled.

“I can adjust the main dish to be schweinshaxe, and the side dish to be two mashed potatoes. Or the main dish is roasted pork knuckles with two sauerkraut. Do you prefer the former or the latter?”

“Is there a schweinshaxe across your head?” Fingel looked at the waiter’s head.

“Eat, you have no choice. This menu is also the tradition of the college. I thought German food is your hometown food? How can you not love home cooking?”

“My hometown’s cow has excrement, I don’t like cow excrement, too.” Said Fingel. “Can you get me?”

“Why do you always eat German food?” Lu Mingfei fiddled the schweinshaxe with a fork, hesitating to know where to start.

“Cassel is a German family, one of the most famous dragons slayer families in history, its generations have lots of great dragon slayers. It’s said that our current principal is a second-string member of the Cassel family,” Fingel said. “the family is the chief trustees of our college, so the style here is German.”

“Is our principle’s family name Cassel?”

“No, the Cassel family members are all dead.”

“All dead?”

“If you think about what his family did for so many years you can understand. It was lucky for them to make it into the 20th century.” Fingel bit his schweinshaxe. “Anyway, after the exam is over, you can relax and wait for the result. The class will start tomorrow at 8 o’clock, the teacher of the Magic Mechanical Design Level 1 class you chose is Maans Rundstedt, who is a crazy examiner, he must take attendance in every class. Careful.”

“Eight o’clock in the morning! So there’s no lie-in?” Lu Mingfei sighed.

“Attention, first-year students! Please note that the Magic Mechanical Design Level 1 has been cancelled tomorrow morning. Professor Rundstedt will send the notes for the first chapter to your email address.” Norma’s voice echoed through the restaurant.

“Sweet!” Lu Mingfei laughed delightfully.

“Professor Rundstedt must be on the mission in China.” Fingel did not lift his head, focusing on nibbling his schweinshaxe.

“Out for mission?” Lu Mingfei was surprised.

“Courses often close for weeks because professors are away on assignments since lots of professors work part-time in the executive department,” Fingel said. “which always has secret tasks.”

“Is it…” Lu Mingfei was surprised.

“It has to do with the dragon. If they cancel the course temporarily, they should find something.”

In the middle of the night, Moniaher was shaken in a storm on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.

It was a rare autumn storm. With torrential rains, the wind speed had reach category 5. Other boats moored to the shore, only the xenon lights of Moniaher was still flashing in the restless water.

Professor Maans Rundstedt, who is also the ship’s captain, stood at the bridge window. A splash of rain fell then burst on the front window. The wind was howling, the boat was rocking, Maans stood steady, smoking a cigar. He’s waiting for the order.

There was a faint cry from the back of the cabin. Maans frowned. “Go and see what’s wrong with that baby. He’s always crying. Are there none of you know how to care for a child?”

“Professor, none of the current leading members of the executive department are married. Where do you expect us to learn to look after babies?” The girl sitting in front of the screen said without looking up. She was about twenty-three years old, with dark hair, typical Latina looks, wearing the Cassel uniform.

“Call me Captain, now I am the captain of Moniaher, not your professor.” Maans exhaled his cigar. “Don’t let anyone leave their position. Since I’m the only married man, I’m going to visit our dear baby. Selma, watch their vital signs. If there is anything out of whack, get them up immediately!”

“Understood!” Latin girl Selma replied.

“Captain, we have received the signal from the Marine Bureau of the Yangtze River that the storm will continue after midnight, the wind speed will increase to 10 and the rainfall will reach 200mm. It’s a rare rainstorm, possibly accompanied by thunderstorms. They are mobilizing helicopters to rescue us and advise us to abandon the ship.” The third mate took off his headphones and said.

“Reply that our ship had a very deep draft and the hull was stable enough to withstand heavy rain. There are a few patients on board and it was not advisable to abandon the ship.” Maans said, “You don’t have to worry about it, this is Moniaher, not a tugboat, it’s a warship that could endure level 12 wind.” He looked up at the dark sky outside and said to himself for a moment, “But this storm reminds me of the frozen sea of Greenland ten years ago… Every time I get close to these things, there is a sense of impending disaster.”

He went to the back cabin. It was quiet. Everyone had been trained at Cassel. They stared at their screens, operating quickly and silently.

The earphones echoed with the sounds of two entwined hearts, in Selma’s heart-monitoring window, a glint of green light meant the young, robust hearts were still beating.

Fifty meters below the surface of the water.

Spotlights cannot penetrate much distance in the deep water. There’s only a livid light band. Aki Shutoku’s slim figure was floating in the side, Ye Sheng can pull to her hand if he wants.

Ye Sheng, Aki Shutoku, 27th underwater cooperative operation. They were Cassel College classmates who joined the executive department at the same time. They had been diving partners for five years and could read each other’s minds with one eye.

“I heard that that freshman, Lu Mingfei, shot Caesar and Chu Zihang in the ‘freedom day’ when he entered school,” Ye Sheng said, “He didn’t show that potential when we interviewed him.”

“I don’t know what Nuo Nuo did to persuade him.” Aki Shutoku said, “Usually she talks nonsense, but sometimes she has a lot of ideas.”

There was a single signal line between the two of them, which connected them closely.

Nuo Nuo did say one thing nonsense, that Ye Sheng and Aki Shutoku were not lovers, it was forbidden in Cassel College. Deep diving is quite dangerous, relying on oxygen cylinders and a layer of Nano-material diving suit to withstand the equivalent of a dozen atmospheres of water pressure, only relying on a signal line to maintain contact with the human world, it’s easy to lead to over tension. If there are emotional factors between companions, it may lead to unpredictable results.

The executive department forbade underwater cooperation with lovers, they claimed that the violation of this discipline led to heavy losses in the Greenland Ice Sea ten years ago. No one knows what the operation was ten years ago, but according to no one in today’s executive department has been involved in that operation, it can be roughly concluded that the team members all died ten years ago.

They reached the bottom, where the wind and rain had filtered through a 50-meter layer, leaving only gentle waves. It was flooded by the Three Gorges Reservoir, a hilly area where stones were worn smooth and difficult to settle. Ye Sheng popped his steel claws from flippers and stands lightly on the rock, reaching for the bottom sediment.

He showed Aki what he had found, a piece of pottery with ancient patterns.

Aki took over the piece of pottery to examine, “At least more than a thousand years. It’s a thing belong to the Shu culture that had been engulfed by ancient Chinese culture, maybe the relics of the Baidi City.”

“There’s not enough oxygen. Is this the intended location? But I can’t see the ruins of the so-called Baidi City. There was no sign of a ‘city’ anywhere in sight.”

“Norma, I need sonar to scan the terrain.” Ye Sheng called in the signal line.

“Copy that. Sonar scan ready.” The central processing unit in the United States answered immediately.

A 3D sonar map, outlined in dark green contours, showed up on the helmet screen of Ye Sheng and Aki. Sound waves are far more useful in water than light.

“Although we can’t see it,” Ye Sheng pointed, “there are mountains in the northeast and southeast. Above the water is the Baidi Mountain and below the water is Chijia Mountain. According to the Chinese Fengshui study, here is the meeting place of the mountain dragon and the water dragon, which gathered the breath of Yin and Yang, which means it is a good place to build a city. The ruins of Baidi city may be here, but we have to find the entrance.”

“Even if there was an entrance, it would have been covered by floating dust for several meters,” giggled Aki. “so, for saving time, please.”

“It’s exhausting every time.” Ye Sheng complained, “I need a constant point.”

“Am I not your constant point all the time?” Aki swam to his back and used her steel claw to clutch the rock tightly, hugged encircling Ye Sheng’s waist.

It’s a tacit understanding. Ye Sheng is as vulnerable as a baby when he drives “snake”. He may be carried away by water or entangled by the signal line, which may lead to life danger. So every time Aki would hold him like this.

Ye Sheng closed his eyes, in his “spiritual vision”, restless snakes were encircling in his mind with cold blue scales. Ye Sheng’s body quivered slightly.

Speaking Spirit – Snake.

Ye Sheng gives orders to these snakes. The snake group in the deep of his mind was liberated, they flew along with the limbs and bones of Ye Sheng, surged out and disappeared into the water.

Moniaher monitored a powerful biological current, which erupted at a point underwater.

“Snake” is Ye Sheng’s speaking spirit, as well as his helper. Usually, they rest in the depth of Ye Sheng’s mind, only Ye Sheng can wake them up. As thousands of scouts working for Ye Sheng to explore the surrounding situation. In the scientific interpretation, “snake” is a kind of biological electric current, while in the understanding of dragons, they are slaves subdued by Ye Sheng.

The “snake” would be more powerful in a good conductor. It is greatly enhanced by the huge water of the reservoir at the moment. The field with a five-kilometre radius was now under the surveillance of Ye Sheng.

With the “snake” entering every crack of the water, Ye Sheng’s consciousness went down and down. He opened his eyes with golden light in his pupils. He looked at the world through the eyes of a “snake”, in which the world was made up of countless tiny tubes that intersected and stretched out in infinity. His “snake” moved through the tubes, filling the place with grey mist.

Aki felt his body cooling. At his weakest point, his heart rate dropped rapidly to 30 beats per minute, as well as blood temperature. Through his mask, Ye Sheng’s face showed dead gray, only his disconcerting gold pupils were still flashing. Aki put her arm around Ye Sheng and tried to make him feel her temperature. She always does so, although Ye Sheng is the group leader, he needs her protection at this time.

“Captain, the Maritime Bureau of the Yangtze River has informed us that there may be an underwater earthquake of magnitude 5!” The third mate yelled, “They’re insisting on sending us rescue helicopters. Maybe they realize something’s wrong here.”

Maans walked into the front cabin, leaned over to Selma, and stared at Ye Sheng’s heartbeat. “More time. Earthquake is bad news. I have a feeling… We are getting close… Very close.”

Ye Sheng shivered, the pale gold in the pupil disappeared. His heart rate rose rapidly, and his blood became warm again. Most of the snakes had gone back to sleep in his mind, only one of them was still going down, through the darkness into the light!

“The result?” Asked Aki.

“About 40 meters below our feet, there is a huge metal presence, where the ‘snake’ moves very fast because only the metal has such good electrical conductivity.”

“Forty meters down? There are rocks below,” said Aki, “we can’t pierce through 40 meters of rock, and the dragon king Norton may not put his palace under rocks.”

“Ye Sheng, Aki, prepare to get up.” Maans’s voice appeared in their headphone, “There could be a magnitude 5 underwater earthquake tonight, and underwater is now dangerous.”

“Got it. Give it up for now.” Said Ye Sheng, then his face changed. The water was shaking all around, and Aki felt it, the tremor came from the rock on which she was standing. The whole bottom was shaking, dust rising from the bottom blocking her view.

“Underwater earthquakes have started… Damn it! Their early warning is too accurate this time!” On the board Moniaher, Maans knew exactly what was happening on the bottom from the sonar chart. He turned to his chief officer and shouted, “Hold the line! Pull them up!”

As the engine turned, the black line, which doubles as a lifeline and a signal line, began to recover. But then Maans heard a crack in the wind and rain outside, the turbine was out of control. Maans’s face changed. It was out of control because there was no pull on it. The lifeline had broken.

Spotlights in such turbid waters were only dim enough to illuminate two pale faces. All Ye Sheng can do is hold Aki tightly. They were falling.

Just now a clear crack quickly approaching from a distance, as if an invisible blade cutting, several meters’ thick rock layer cracked and produced subsidence. The earthquake tore apart the water bottom. Ye Sheng and Aki had no time to react but felt huge water pressure from the top down, like a wave dozens of meters high hitting their heads.

In the water, the pressure on all sides was equal, and the only thing that might cause a sudden increase in pressure above the head was the appearance of a large cavity at the foot. Millions of tons of water are being pumped into the cavity, drawing them and the rock into it. Nanowires are no match for this natural power.

There was dead silence in the cabin. Maans ran his hands through his hair, pulling it back so hard until it hurts.

From the loudspeaker came the hiss of disorganized electric current. The signal was interrupted and life or death was uncertain. The lifeline was also the signal line, which’s the only channel connecting them with Ye Sheng and Aki. He may have lost two of his favourite students, though he was aware of the possibility when a similar incident occurred a decade ago.

The underwater situation is unknown. Should he send someone to explore and rescue? Or give up like the Greenland Ice Sea? Maans thought nervously.