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

Chapter 267 The State Apparatus
"Lu Mingfei is one of our men."

Zhang Shanfeng stared at Angers.

"Although he will be going to Kassel College for further studies in six months, that will be six months from now. Besides, Principal Angers, you promised me that he would only be going as an exchange student and would not join the Secret Party."

"Yes."

Angers lit a match and lit his cigar. "So I'm asking this question just as a principal. As the future principal, it's never a bad thing to want to know something about the students, right?"

“You said you’re the ‘future’ principal.”

Zhang Shanfeng emphasized the word "future" in particular, "Since that's the case, let's wait until the future to talk about it. Anyway... it's only about six months."

“If it were in the past, I would have agreed with you, Teacher Zhang. Because six months is really not a long time, even for an old man like me who has lived for so long, I can wait.”

Angers leisurely exhaled a puff of cigar smoke, the smoke mingling with the white steam rising from the teacup before slowly rising and disappearing.

“But Lu Mingfei is different. Judging from the commotion he’s caused these past few days… if I don’t pay attention for the next six months, the whole world might become a place I don’t recognize.”

"He is, after all, just a child who is not yet eighteen years old. His coming-of-age ceremony will be in six months."

Zhang Shanfeng chuckled, "Although he has exceptional talent and is a dignified S-class hybrid, to say that he has reached the level of influencing the world or even causing earth-shattering changes as you mentioned, principal, is still a bit of an exaggeration, isn't it?"

Angers glanced at Zhang Shanfeng, who was chuckling, and felt a headache coming on. There was no point in arguing with this old fox who pretended to be ignorant unless irrefutable facts were presented to him.

So he took out his phone, neither confirming nor denying: "I must say, you guys have done an excellent job of keeping things confidential. A lot of important information that we want to know has been protected. Even Norma can only guess and make judgments based on some other phenomena and behaviors..."

He placed his phone, which held the document, on the table, spun it, and gently pushed it. The content on the screen came into Zhang Shanfeng's view as he looked down.

“长江海事局关于长江流域实施特别交通管制的通告，管制时间自即日（2009年1月25日）22：00起，解除时间另行通告。核心管制区域为……全长300公里……

The controlled areas include all vessels, floating facilities, water-based work platforms, and personnel within the controlled waters. This includes, but is not limited to, passenger ferries, cargo ships, engineering vessels, fishing boats, and rafts.

Control measures: No navigation in the entire area, communication silence and monitoring, airspace control, security checks, emergency response...

"Oh."

Zhang Shanfeng calmly sipped his tea. "What's wrong?"

"With such large-scale traffic control, is there really nothing unusual happening?"

Angers asked casually, "The main campus of Kassel College and the External Cooperation Division are still in a cooperative relationship, right? Sharing some important intelligence is something I think is appropriate."

“Principal Angers, you’ve misunderstood.”

Zhang Shanfeng chuckled, "You might not be aware of this, but I happen to know a little about it. Here's the thing: the Three Gorges Dam conducts an experimental impoundment every year, and the full name of this experiment is the 175-meter experimental impoundment."

Although the dam has been built for a long time, for the purpose of caution and continuous monitoring, the annual water impoundment can continuously test the condition of the dam itself, reservoir bank slopes, geological disaster monitoring system, and ecological environment under long-term immersion at high water levels, optimize the scheduling plan, and dynamically adjust the water impoundment process according to the actual water conditions, rainfall and downstream demand.

During this process, we will gradually raise the water level from the flood control limit of 145 meters during the flood season to 175 meters, based on the upstream water flow and weather forecast.

During this process, the rapid rise in water level causes drastic changes in hydrological conditions, such as increased flow velocity and the formation of eddies. If traffic control is not implemented and ships are allowed to navigate, accidents could easily occur. The Three Gorges Dam is of paramount importance; although it is designed to withstand natural disasters and man-made calamities, it's always best to prevent accidents as much as possible. Therefore, a navigation ban is perfectly normal.

"This sounds like more than just a little understanding..."

Angers took another puff of his cigar and stared at Zhang Shanfeng intently. "You must have had a hard time memorizing the materials, Teacher Zhang?"

"Haha, Principal Angers is joking. As a teacher, and a physical education teacher at that, I have so many classes taken away by teachers of other subjects every day, I have to get my revenge, right?"

Zhang Shanfeng stroked his beard without batting an eye, even raising an eyebrow with a smug look on his face.

"In that case, I naturally had to learn more so that I could teach my students. Over time, while I wouldn't say I knew everything from astronomy to geography, I did have a rudimentary understanding of various aspects. I can only say... I know a little bit!"

Even with Angers' composure, his eye twitched slightly, but he didn't say anything, simply switching the information displayed on his phone without comment.

"What about this?"

"This one……"

Zhang Shanfeng looked closely and saw that the screen displayed the following: [Announcement from the Hubei Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters Regarding the 2009 Comprehensive Flood Control Drill]

The exercise also began at 22:00 on January 25, 2009. The exercise area included both banks of the Yangtze River from YC City to Huangmei County, as well as related tributaries and lakes, encompassing all cities and counties along the river. The exercise included personnel relocation and resettlement, dike patrol and hazard handling, as well as various drills on transportation and communication support...

"Oh, this is also part of the preparatory work for the experimental water storage..."

"I don't think it's necessary for me to present you with all the flood prevention drill notices that were issued almost simultaneously by relevant provinces such as Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Shanghai, one by one, Teacher Zhang, right?"

Angers finally had to be direct, "Besides, I did graduate from Cambridge, and it's January now! The dry season! What country would conduct experimental water storage for a dam at this time? Didn't the Three Gorges Dam's experimental water storage usually start in September or October?"

The office fell silent for a moment; you could hear your own heartbeat. The air seemed to freeze, heavy and oppressive around the two of them.

"I have to say, you're probably the only people in the world who can mobilize so many manpower and resources in such a short time. If this happened in the United States, it would at least have to go through Congressional wrangling for a while, and by the time the decision is implemented, it would be too late."

Angers even skillfully used a proverb, took another puff of his cigar, and decided to completely give up on the idea of ​​getting Zhang Shanfeng to speak first.

"Based on the information provided by Norma, the main campus of Kassel College has roughly deduced what you have discovered this time... related to the palace of the King of Bronze and Fire, or even the King of Bronze and Fire himself, right?"

He leaned slightly forward, a demeanor used in negotiations that easily conveyed a sense of pressure... especially when someone like Angers did this, his sharp edge seemed to press down on his face. "Professor Zhang, since it's a cooperative relationship, I believe the main campus of Kassel College should also assume corresponding responsibilities in this operation."

His eyes seemed to be flashing with flames, a look that shouldn't be seen in a man over a hundred years old, as if he wanted to burn the world to ashes.

But Zhang Shanfeng showed no intention of backing down. He leaned forward slightly, his voice becoming deep and steady.

“Principal Angers, now that you’ve seen these announcements about the controls and exercises, you must be aware of the amount of manpower and resources we’ve mobilized. So, have you realized why we’ve acted so swiftly and on such a large scale, even disregarding some logical issues such as the ‘dry season’?”

"of course."

Angers nodded slightly, "Because the Three Gorges are very important."

"The word 'important' is not even enough to describe the Three Gorges Dam."

Zhang Shanfeng slowly shook his head. "In terms of design, the Three Gorges Dam is the world's number one gravity dam. In a sense, it is a concrete mountain that can withstand earthquakes and once-in-ten-thousand-year floods... But the destructive power that the Dragon King can unleash is earth-shattering."

Given the enemy's world-destroying capabilities, we have to consider the possibility that allowing them to unleash their full power could potentially impact or even severely damage the dam.

In the worst-case scenario of a dam failure, a devastating flood peak could strike the nearest downstream city within minutes or even an hour, causing catastrophic damage. The powerful flow could trigger massive landslides and rockfalls, submerging the middle reaches of the Yangtze River plain within a day, and impacting the downstream and delta regions with sustained high water levels for several days.

Even with some preparation, massive casualties are still unavoidable. The Yangtze River Economic Belt will be directly paralyzed, major transportation arteries will be severed, and floods will sweep away thousands of chemical plants, sewage treatment plants, and other facilities, causing the spread of highly toxic chemicals and heavy metals. The power grids in Central and Eastern China will suffer devastating damage.

Such consequences are unacceptable to us, therefore we must ensure that this never happens, and we cannot allow even the slightest accident to occur!

Zhang Shanfeng looked at Angers with a quiet gaze and chose to be straightforward and make his point clear as well.

“We don’t trust the Secret Service. Although we are partners and can be considered friends, there are no permanent friends between nations, only permanent interests, and the same applies to mixed races. In a moment of life and death, only our own people can handle this matter.”

"……I see."

Having said all that, even Angers knew he had no way to get involved... Not only him, but even the so-called Gattuso family was out of the question. It was foreseeable that they would be politely "invited" out of China until the matter was over.

Even those of mixed race ultimately have to rely on the strength of their nation to speak. Angers was able to remain a shadow over the Japanese branch for so many years, controlling it almost like a "power holder," not only because of his own strong personal abilities, but also because Japan was indeed America's lapdog.

But rabbits are different.

The influence of the old saying "A single punch can prevent a hundred more" continues to this day. Even though it was still considered a threat overseas in 2009, no one dared to truly push China to the brink.

When a rabbit gets desperate, it's really going to kick the eagle.

Angers stubbed out his cigar in the ashtray and stood up. Zhang Shanfeng also stood up to see the guest off, but Angers waved him off.

"No need to see me off, Teacher Zhang. This matter is of great importance; you must have a lot of other things to attend to, right?"

"Huh? Hehe... Actually, it's alright."

Zhang Shanfeng smiled and said, "I even have time to make tea."

He was telling the truth. This matter concerns the Three Gorges Dam and is already a national-level event. When the behemoth that is the state apparatus is in operation, there is never a situation where "the burden of a thousand things falls on one person." Everyone is a cog in the machine, and Zhang Shanfeng's job was simply to report the relevant information to the director of the National Bureau of Anomalies.

After all, his consistent label was "a military general"... There were countless people more capable than him in terms of command and arrangement.

To be honest, the work he did tonight was definitely far less than what Ye Sheng, whom he had entrusted with such an important task, had done.

"I won't get involved in this matter, but before I leave, I have a question I'd like to ask, and I hope Teacher Zhang can answer it truthfully."

As Angers spoke, he stared intently at Zhang Shanfeng, as if trying to discern from his words and expressions whether Zhang Shanfeng was lying.

“As long as it doesn’t involve confidentiality regulations, Principal Angers, please feel free to ask.” Zhang Shanfeng smiled nonchalantly.

"What countermeasures have you prepared for the Lord of Bronze and Fire? Is it to kill him... or something else?" Angers asked.

After these words were spoken, the office fell silent once again.

Angers' words were so direct that Zhang Shanfeng didn't know how to respond.

The attitudes towards dragons differ between China and the Secret Society, stemming from cultural differences.

In China, the identity of "descendants of the dragon" has always been highly recognized. Moreover, the Chinese people are often pragmatic. There is a saying that goes, "It doesn't matter whether a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice, it's a good cat." There are bad people among people, and there are good dragons among dragons. This pragmatic approach also extends to the National Bureau of Abnormal Investigation's attitude towards the dragon race... If cooperation is possible, then cooperation will be the priority.

The Secret Society is quite different; they have been fighting and killing each other from the very beginning, and their attitude towards the dragons is to exterminate them (and then take their place).

Prior to this, when the cooperation was reached with Kassel College, both the Peruvian Party and the domestic authorities had to somewhat ignore this issue, because that special period was approaching, and it wouldn't hurt for everyone to put aside past grievances and cooperate in the face of such an important matter.

Koange has now brought this matter into the open.

Zhang Shanfeng knew Angers' past, and given his experiences, it was understandable that he harbored absolute hatred for all dragons. So why did he ask such a question? Was it because he had discovered something else?

As his thoughts raced, Zhang Shanfeng could only manage a slight smile.

"That seems to be covered by the confidentiality agreement, Principal Angers, I'm sorry I can't answer that."

"I understand." Angers nodded slightly and turned to leave.

(End of this chapter)