Lu Mingfei, why are you slaying dragons if you're not involved!

Chapter 217 Clearing the Place
This was an extremely large cavern, frighteningly so. The group reached it, and one of them took out a torch, lit it, and threw one of the torches. It was like a fiery meteor streaking across a cloud-covered night, illuminating nothing of the darkness, and revealing nothing of the top.

Such a vast space would require at least tens of millions of years to form naturally through the erosion of flowing water, but clearly this space has only existed for a little over two thousand years... definitely not enough.

It was the power of a certain person, or more accurately, the power of a certain dragon, that caused all of this.

The fiery "meteor" fell far into the water with a hiss and went out. Darkness closed in again, thicker and heavier.

The brief glimmer of light wasn't enough to illuminate the vast space, but it was more than sufficient for these people to see the ground nearby. The eyesight of the hybrids far surpassed that of ordinary people; even a small amount of light was enough for them to see many details.

The ground wasn't the bronze color of the outside, but bronze. Deep grooves, like snakes, were etched into its surface, and dark blue water flowed in the grooves. The water was viscous like living blood, flowing silently. The patterns formed by these engravings were like lush vines, branching out and then branching again, constantly branching and converging, eventually converging at a single destination.

In the center of the cave was a tranquil lake, and in the center of the lake was a small island. At the center of the island stood two bronze coffins side by side. The coffins were of an ancient style, their surfaces carved with the same patterns and grooves, seemingly suggesting the presence of the same dark blue liquid flowing within them.

The reason for saying "should have" is that both coffins were already open, with the lids tilted and half-open.

If viewed from above, one can see that these vine-like grooves conceal countless symbols, forming a perfect and enormous circular totem that surrounds this small lake.

In this vast space where one can't see the sky when looking up and only sees the bronze earth when looking down, time seems to be frozen, and everything is isolated and sealed off until this group of people arrives here.

This place is filled with an extremely powerful domain, filling this entire space that cannot be seen with the naked eye. What triggers this domain are the metallic patterns and flowing blue water underfoot. This is the Alchemy Matrix, a miracle of alchemy, and the greatest creation of the Dragon Clan civilization besides the power of words...

Unlike Words of Power, which allow one to command and use elements from birth, alchemy is a field based on symbols that drive the creation of elements, circulating and thus producing effects. Even humans can learn, construct, and use it.

"Is this where the King of Earth and Mountains placed the 'cocoon'?"

One of the group spoke in a low voice, "But who is the other one?"

"Does that matter now? The point is that the coffin has clearly been opened. If someone hadn't been there before us, then everything inside has already left. At least we know that the King of Earth and Mountains has already left."

Another person said, "So what's the point of us coming here?"

His question didn't specify a target, but everyone knew he was asking the team leader. There was a moment of silence in the group, and then a burst of light appeared—the team leader himself turned on a cold fluorescent light.

A soft light emanated, illuminating her delicate face with a pale green hue, making her blond hair appear grayish-white.

It was Percy, Percy Gattuso. Clearly, this was the Gattuso family's assessment team... at least nominally they had come from here, but they hadn't taken the same route as Lu Mingfei and his group, and somehow ended up here.

"So you didn't notice?"

Percy's voice was extremely soft, and his expression remained blank. Combined with his tone, the scene suddenly became somewhat eerie, like stepping into a classic scene in a horror movie where the "extreme stillness" suddenly turns into "extreme movement," usually manifested as a sudden loud noise or a ghostly face.

But Percy didn't do that. He just held up his glow stick and said, "Look more closely, around."

The actual brightness of glow sticks isn't as strong as depicted in movies, capable of illuminating large areas. They're only sufficient for close-range illumination, within a range of one to three meters—but that's for the average person. For mixed-race individuals, if they want, this thing is practically no different from a flashlight.

At Percy's prompting, they carefully examined their surroundings by the faint light.

Soon, they noticed what Percy had shown them… without even asking.

The size of the object was so obvious that it had been hidden in the boundary between light and darkness, only outlined in a very faint way, while the attention of the others was drawn to the lake, islands and coffins in the central area, so they had not noticed it.

Those were bronze statues, several meters tall, standing at exactly the same intervals along the edge of this enormous alchemical matrix, a total of twenty-eight.

They themselves are part of this alchemical matrix, because the pure blue water flows continuously on the base of the statue, as if they are the source that sustains the operation of this great alchemical matrix.

Even the great alchemy needs an energy supply to continue. When this alchemical matrix was initially built and put into use more than two thousand years ago, the designer had obviously taken this into account. And he did indeed have enough loyal subordinates to guard his mausoleum... a full twenty-eight.

“What a shocking act…” one of them sighed softly. “But now that what they were guarding has left, why are they still here?”

“Excellent question, that’s why we’re here.”

Percy spoke calmly, reaching into the lining of his suit jacket as if grasping something. Just as he was about to take it out, he suddenly stopped, released his hand, slowly pulled it out, and looked in another direction.

"Da da da……"

The sound of footsteps landing on the familiar ground grew louder and louder. The rest of the Gattuso family investigation team tensed up. How could there be anyone else in this godforsaken place? The only thing that could be here was something that wasn't even human!
"Hey, don't be nervous. When people meet in a foreign land, they should be all teary-eyed. Why are you so nervous? As a fellow countryman, I won't stab you in the back. Don't worry, I don't need a knife!" The newcomer spoke quite familiarly, saying completely nonsensical things, and lit a flaming stick, which he just held in his hand.

The sudden burst of light made the Gattuso family members tense up. In such low-light conditions, being suddenly exposed to a bright light could easily cause temporary blindness, and for hybrids, this distance was already quite dangerous...

Who knows if the other party possesses a speed-enhancing spell? Logically speaking, this situation is extremely rare, but they have already seen two in just a few days. The other one was one of their own, but he had been crippled and was lying in the hospital.

But the newcomer didn't seem to intend to attack immediately. He just stood there with a KFC paper bag over his head, and it looked like he had gouged out the eyes, mouth, and nose with his hands. His tall figure and strong muscles were quite visually striking, but there was just a tiny bit of something out of place about him.

He looks like a Mr. KFC who has wandered into the building.

"Nice to meet you all. I haven't had lunch yet. Luckily, I bought some chicken wings on the way, but I've already finished them. Would you like some chicken bones?"

Mr. KFC asked with feigned seriousness, but his words were clearly malicious. As he spoke, he even spat out a chicken wing bone, the cleanly gnawed spicy chicken wing falling into the alchemical matrix's recess—a truly magnificent creation—without even a splash. "Pfft~"

Before the Gattuso family could react, a sudden burst of laughter rang out from another direction. It was clearly a girl, with a clear and somewhat arrogant voice.

"Although they are indeed dogs, they are the Gattuso family's dogs. Isn't it a bit too stingy for them to eat chicken bones? Shouldn't they at least be gnawing on beef bones?"

A wisp of black mist dissipated, and the girl stood lazily in one direction with her arms crossed. She wore a black bodysuit that accentuated her amazing long legs and hot figure. Two straight knives were tied close to her thighs, and her long hair was tied into a high ponytail.

Mr. KFC whistled: "Not even wearing a mask? That's not professional enough."

“Wearing a ‘mask’ like yours is what’s unprofessional, isn’t it? I don’t wear a mask because it’s pointless… unless I wear an Arab robe every time,” said Jiu De Mai.

"Believe me, with my eye... even if you wear it, it won't make a difference." Mr. KFC looked him up and down, as if he were assessing him.

"really interesting."

Percy said calmly, "You've followed me all the way here, surely not just to say something meaningless?"

"How can you say it's meaningless? Do you understand what a standard man should say about praising beautiful things? This is just my praise without any ulterior motives!"

Mr. KFC was clearly offended, and he gave Percy a look.

"You're only half a person, and if you add your pack of dogs together, you barely count as one person. We're still one short for mahjong, so how about we wake up one of those statues? Isn't that what you were supposed to do anyway?"

The vast space suddenly fell silent, with only KFC's last words echoing in the air. The words were not a question, but a statement, utterly certain and quite calm.

The Gattuso family's assessment team members couldn't help but glance at Percy, the team leader. When they received this mission, they only knew about Lu Mingfei and that they were coming here for the assessment. They had always thought that was all there was to it.

But now it seems... there are other tasks, but Percy didn't tell them?

Thinking about it this way, everything makes sense. No wonder Percy didn't follow Lu Mingfei closely, no wonder Percy seemed to know which way to go as if he had been here before... leading them straight to the most central place in the Nibelungen without any obstacles. It turns out that everything was arranged in advance.

"So this is what I was supposed to do."

Percy said casually, reaching into his suit lining again. This time, he took out what he had been about to take out earlier: a portable silver-plated flask, square, made of metal, about the size of a palm, and looked like the one used by James Bond in the 007 series.

This kind of thing is generally used to help alcoholics relieve their cravings, or it can be used to show off. Imagine taking out one of these wine jugs and having a small sip after finishing or before doing something important... that's roughly the idea.

But it's clear that Percy is neither a drunkard nor the kind of person who cares about formalities, so there's only one possibility for him pulling out this kind of flask at this moment—it doesn't contain vodka, but something special.

"Although I don't know what that thing is... I don't need to guess to know it's not a good thing."

Mai Shude tapped her earpiece with some annoyance. It had been disconnected ever since she entered this place; the electrical signal seemed unable to penetrate the two spaces after the Nibelungen "closed." She looked at Mr. KFC and nodded slightly.

"Hey, how about a temporary collaboration? That guy seems like a madman who doesn't know anything but still does whatever he's told, and doesn't care at all whether anyone lives or dies."

"That's normal. People like that don't have their own thoughts. What they do depends entirely on who controls them."

Mr. KFC stretched his limbs. "Cooperation is certainly a good idea. I happen to have other things to do and don't want to stop here. It would be quite troublesome to let those twenty-eight second-generation or third-generation level creatures revive."

The situation was tense and on the verge of exploding. Under such circumstances, Mr. KFC still had the mind to joke: "Hey, there are three of us. We're one short, so let's play Dou Dizhu instead. It just so happens that the Gattuso family and the 'landlord' attribute are a perfect match. I'll be the old farmer for a while."

"Don't rush, don't rush. Dou Dizhu isn't fun. There are plenty of people playing mahjong." At this moment, a brand new girl's voice rang out.

The situation reached a stalemate again, and the previously clear-cut situation became unpredictable due to the involvement of this fourth party.

The girl in the tight black action suit walked into the light. Compared to Mai Shude's impressive figure, she paled in comparison, but she was still tall and graceful, and her face was covered.

"What's this lady's purpose? Playing mahjong is fun, but there's this guy who wants to flip the table. How about we take him out first before playing Dou Dizhu?" Mr. KFC sent out a team invitation.

"Oh, I'm just dropping by."

The girl actually answered, and her voice sounded somewhat troubled.

“My good-for-nothing brother has forgotten his sister after getting married. He’s become like this since we separated from the family. Isn’t that pitiful? Now he can’t even take care of his own family. Look, the mice have even gotten into the house. As his older sister, I have to do my best to keep them in check.”

She looked around, her gaze seemingly scrutinizing three enormous rats.

"Which one should I clean first?"

Silence fell again, this time a deathly silence. If this place was "home," it would naturally belong to the King of Earth and Mountains. But now the King of Earth and Mountains' sister had arrived... so she was undoubtedly a first-generation species!
In an instant, everyone understood what the girl's purpose was. She didn't want to play cards or mahjong; she just wanted the house to be cleaned.

Clear the area!

(End of this chapter)