Dragon Clan: I am Lu Mingfei, the Intelligence Strategist, the God of Concepts!

Chapter 236 How Much Can a Person Pay to Slay a Dragon?
"...By the way, how did you manage to build that building?"

"First do this, then do that, then do this again... and it will collapse on its own."

"It sounds like a kind of incantation."

"Well, almost."

"It seems that the 'precepts' have no effect on you."

"I wouldn't say that, there is a little bit... By the way, Principal, you should also be able to use Word Power, right?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Because...you have a lot of energy."

"Hahaha, I'll take that as a compliment, but it's a school rule, and I won't break it easily."

Lu Mingfei shrugged: "It's a pity I'm not a student. If there's any way to make things a little quieter for them, why not? A new broom sweeps clean, and if you don't light the torch when it's handed to you, it's really disrespectful. But it seems to be working well; they're quite receptive to this."

"Mingfei..."

Ange hesitated to speak.

Lu Mingfei slightly raised his eyes: "Hmm?"

"It's nothing, it's just that you seem quite different from your great-grandfather..."

Inside the principal's office, Angers sighed and then pressed a hidden button.

"Iris detection passed."

"Fingerprint detection passed."

"It's starting to sink."

Norma's calm voice came through.

Lu Mingfei felt the chair and floor shake slightly. He, Angers, the huge nanmu desk and the steaming black tea on the desk, all fell into boundless darkness, along with the three-tiered pastry stand.

A slight feeling of weightlessness came over me.

"Where are we going now...?" Lu Mingfei picked up the teacup beside him, calmly taking a sip, based on his memory.

“An ice cellar,” Angers gave an expected answer.

The floor and table shook again, the speed gradually decreased, the sinking stopped, and suddenly the surroundings lit up.

The surrounding area shimmered with azure light. Hammerhead sharks, sea turtles, and bluefin tuna over two meters long swam in the glass tank, along with bioluminescent coral reefs—it was like a giant aquarium.

Everywhere you look, there is the shimmering light and shadow of water.

"Fish tank?"

Lu Mingfei saw a huge school of mackerel swimming at high speed around the 'elevator'.

"I also like to call it the fish tank... What you see now is the ice cellar, the collective name for the academy's underground buildings, which is also the real core area. Its space is much larger than the above-ground part, with laboratories, research institutes, central mainframes, heavy equipment, and even a subway line leading outside."

Angers, like a professional tour guide, explained, "This underground space integrates electronic, mechanical, and alchemical technologies, and no outsider can intrude here."

Lu Mingfei stood close to the transparent tempered glass wall.

Before arriving, Chu Zihang had given Lu Mingfei a general overview of the Kassel College campus. Like most hybrid factions, the core of Kassel College was hidden underground; they had hollowed out the entire mountain to create a massive mountain complex.

Few students are allowed into the ice cellar, the legendary place where Kassel College keeps its alchemical equipment and dangerous weapons, and those who have been there remain silent.

In previous years, the three special school rules for "Free Day" were: no use of the alchemy equipment in the "ice cellar," no causing injury or death, and no bringing non-school personnel to visit.
This year seems to have broken all the rules.

The elevator continued its descent, revealing lush greenery, but it wasn't a meadow or flowerbed; it was a forest. Two railway tracks stretched across the treetops, and the elevator was traversing a subtropical forest, with sunlight overhead.

“Artificial sunlight provides energy for photosynthesis to the plants here, which has preserved more than 120,000 plant species and more than 8,000 animal species, from pigs that are eaten as meat to the world’s rare giant pandas, but they are never open to the public,” Angers said.

"Not bad," Lu Mingfei commented.

The elevator entered the "belly of the mountain" through a rock fissure and quickly emerged again.

"what is that?"

Looking at the pile of pure black stones in the distance, Lu Mingfei realized, "There's even a pyramid?"

"some."

“We uprooted it from the South American jungle, transported it here, and then restored it. It was a huge project; we chartered a 70,000-ton container ship. To ensure we didn’t make any mistakes when putting it back together, we marked every single stone,” Angers added.

"how much did you spend?"

“…That’s not important, is it?” Angers scratched his head.

Meeting Lu Mingfei's relentless gaze,
Angers could only awkwardly reply, "I'll ask next time."

Lu Mingfei curled his lip.

The project, which required such enormous manpower and resources, was nothing more than trivial in the eyes of this old principal.

Calling this underground area of ​​Kassel College 'livable' is not an exaggeration at all.

As the elevator traveled along, the true face of Kassel College was gradually revealed to Lu Mingfei, until finally entering a solid wall formed by a rocky mountain.

"Meat, fish, vegetables, everything is available, and there are even 'spectacles' to cultivate one's mind... It looks like a refuge, and it's of a very high standard."

Lu Mingfei sighed as if he hadn't had enough, then put his hand in his pocket and stroked a pure black card.

Theoretically, with this card, he can come to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables at any time.

“Principal Angers, is this the ‘determination’ you’re trying to demonstrate?”

"Actually, there's no need for that. I don't care."

Previously, in the principal's office next to Valhalla, Lu Mingfei first directly raised the issue of 'eggs' with Angers. The old man's deep silver-gray eyes were filled with an emotion that Lu Mingfei could not understand.

Calm, indifferent, yet carrying a palpable sense of relief, somewhat like a family member in the emergency room receiving a critical condition notice, their eyes momentarily unfocused after a long period of pressure being released, yet without revealing any panic or despair.

Angers paused for a moment, then answered irrelevantly, "Do you feel lonely, Lu Mingfei?"

"The Sorrow of Blood?"

Lu Mingfei paused, stopped what he was doing, and uttered a term that would appear in popular science books about various mixed-race factions.

Angers said softly, “Those who possess dragon blood are not truly human. Blood brings the power of words and physical talents, but also creates a sense of alienation from normal humans. When you obtain the great power of dragons, you will constantly remind yourself that you are not an ordinary person. Only among your own kind will this loneliness disappear. Therefore, dragon bloodlines will naturally gather together. This is determined by genes. This loneliness is called ‘the sorrow of blood’.”

“You must feel this deeply, right… You were right before, we should have a frank talk. For the past ten years or so, Kassel College has sent people to observe your every move. Their reports consistently concluded that you are very lonely and often sit on the rooftop in a daze until the sun sets on the edge of the city.”

"That's only natural, after all, you're an 'S' class, an S class with an incredibly powerful bloodline."

"Lonely?"

Lu Mingfei recalled his past eighteen years of life and shook his head calmly, "A little bit, but actually I have never agreed with the term 'the sorrow of blood'."

"Why?" Angers asked, puzzled.

"Why are mixed-race people lonely? Is it because they are born strong? Is it because they are extraordinary? Most mixed-race people have a mind that surpasses the average person, an appearance that is far above average, and even have several times or even dozens of times more hormone information than the average person. A single glance can make the opposite sex fall into their arms willingly."

"Money and status are readily available to mixed-race people, and excitement and pleasure are the main themes of their daily lives. So they feel lonely because they are bored... But Principal Angers, don't you think that's outrageous?"

Lu Mingfei slowly said, "I did feel lonely before, but that was because my parents weren't around, I didn't have any special skills besides playing StarCraft, I couldn't pick up girls, my grades weren't good, and I didn't even have many true friends."

“Back then, I didn’t have much ability. Sometimes I wondered if this was how my life would end up: graduating from high school, getting into a related undergraduate or vocational college, drifting through college, finding a job I didn’t like, and then settling down to marry a girl at thirty. She wasn’t satisfied with me, and I wasn’t satisfied with her either. In the end, we had a child that neither of us was satisfied with. Every night we would argue over trivial things, then slam the door and go back to our rooms, leaving the child alone in the living room crying.”

"Of course, it's possible that things aren't so bad. The girl and I love each other, have a lovely child, and live a harmonious family. But because of our limited resources, every step, from baby formula to clothes to school district housing and wedding homes, requires all our strength. I started balding at thirty and was plagued by minor and major illnesses at fifty... Am we happy? Maybe, but are we perfect? ​​Absolutely not."

"But this is the norm for ordinary people."

"Of course, you can say that mixed-race people are the product of contradictions, whether they are violent, complex, or depressed... But undoubtedly, they are all born with a golden key in their hands. Their lives are not necessarily smooth sailing. After all, I do not deny that they will be rejected because they are 'outstanding', but in fact, they just need to get through the hurdle called 'awakening'."

How many hurdles does an ordinary person have to overcome?

"If it really meant losing all their specialness and returning to being ordinary people, experiencing the happiness and perfection that ordinary people have 'within reach' in their eyes, I'm afraid not many people would be willing to do that, right?"

“Principal Angers, now I will answer your question.”

Lu Mingfei said softly, "I don't feel lonely because compared to before, I am really happy now. I think that depression and loneliness mostly stem from dissatisfaction."

The elevator had already stopped.

Before them was a brightly lit passageway, entirely made of polished steel. Lu Mingfei and Angers stopped there, neither of them proceeding any further.

The sorrow of blood.

As an absolute outlier, Lu Mingfei expressed for the first time his unwavering belief in the direction of the mixed-race group.

"People have agency. If you feel lonely, you should find ways to overcome it, instead of simply indulging in this bad feeling," Lu Mingfei concluded.

“You… I suddenly don’t know what to say anymore,” Angers said hesitantly.

Lu Mingfei relaxed, chuckled, and encouraged, "It's okay, just speak freely."

This was his honest opinion. He never really looked down on people who were lonely or depressed all the time, especially those who already possessed all the good things in the world.

“Let me show you around first.” Angers gave a wry smile. “This is a secret place in the academy. Now that you’re a member of the board of directors, you should be familiar with it… Oh, right, and this white card.”

Angers pulled a white magnetic card from his pocket. It had no markings on it, similar to the black card in Lu Mingfei's pocket, probably indicating different levels of access.

"Row."

Lu Mingfei took the white card and put it in the same pocket as the black card.

Following Angers into the passage, you'll find a huge cavern deep within the mountains, an underground space eroded by water over tens of millions of years. The entire ice cellar was built around this cavern and transformed into different areas.

It includes natural ecological areas and marine ecological areas, as well as various warehouses, which preserve standard alchemy equipment, miniature nuclear reactors, circulating water systems and other facilities. As Lu Mingfei said, the ice cellar can indeed be considered a refuge.

At that moment, Lu Mingfei looked up and read the words on the sign ahead.

"The Well of Oblivion".

The elevator took the two to the bottom of the ice cellar, where, according to Norse mythology, the three Fates wove, stretched, and severed the lifeline, a place where everything was annihilated.

As they ventured deeper into the passage, the lights gradually dimmed, and the surroundings darkened, as if they had entered an open space. A faint blue light flowed through the boundless darkness, making them feel as if they were in a vast universe, with only the omnipresent sound of water. "Water is an excellent medium," Angers murmured.

"Norma, turn on the light."

As the order is issued.

Click—the light came on, and everything in front of me was suddenly illuminated.

Only then did Lu Mingfei see the truth about this 'universe'.

The ground was made of bronze, and deep, snake-like grooves were intertwined on the surface, filled with dark blue water that emitted a fluorescent glow. The air was extremely humid and the temperature was very low.

The patterns formed by these deep grooves resemble a lush vine, outlining and intertwining ancient and mysterious designs, branching out again and again, before flowing into the tranquil lake in front. If viewed from above, one can see endless symbols hidden within these patterns, forming a perfect circular totem that surrounds a small lake.

If you are familiar with the topography of Kassel College and its surroundings, this lake corresponds exactly to the Fairy Sea on the edge of the 'Vida Forest', while the rest of the area is remotely connected by alchemical symbols through some kind of mystical signal.

This is the core of the entire Kassel College alchemy matrix.

It is known as the 'Mimi Forest'.

"Guderian told me that you are very interested in the matrix of 'Discipline'."

The dark green fluorescent light illuminated Angers' profile, giving his silvery-white hair a faint glow.

"I see... Please thank Professor Guderian for me."

Lu Mingfei took in everything around him.

Everywhere there were exclamation marks rising from the darkness, meaning that these were all independent alchemical creations.

Without exception, the manufacturer was 'Leonardo Flamel'.

In his perception, an extremely powerful 'domain' filled the entire space, and what triggered this domain was the metal pattern under his feet.

That deep blue vine is an unparalleled array of incantations, a miracle of alchemy. It creates a domain with symbols and elements, circulating and sustaining it without the need for life or any additional energy.

Here, the sky is nowhere to be seen when you look up. In this space where the earth is made of metal, time seems to be frozen, and everything is isolated and sealed off.

Lu Mingfei stood still, not stepping forward to touch the protective shield that was clearly defensive in nature.

Even if he wanted to touch it, Angers might not stop him.

"Was this the work of the fourteenth generation Flamel mentor?" Lu Mingfei asked.

Angers scratched his head: "Uh... I don't know which generation it is, but anyway, Master Flamel is a descendant of the greatest alchemist in history. He is the vice principal and also an old friend of mine. Everything you see here took more than half a century to build. He was the chief designer and chief engineer all by himself."

"Very strong," Lu Mingfei said sincerely.

Undoubtedly, what was before them almost symbolized a certain pinnacle of the art of 'alchemy,' in no way inferior to that of the original Nicholas Flamel.

Is the vice principal at the school?

"Here I am."

"Could you introduce me if you have the chance?" Lu Mingfei asked expectantly.

“No problem.” Angers nodded readily.
It was said that Lu Mingfei wanted to discuss alchemy-related techniques with the vice principal.

Angers has a good relationship with Eyton, the elder of the Göttingen family, and recently received a message from him.

Upon learning that the old clan chief had recovered,
On the phone, Elder Aiton sincerely thanked Angers for introducing him to "Dr. Lu," and happily expressed that his granddaughter intended to fully support Lu Mingfei's resolution at the next board meeting... if Lu Mingfei intended to make the proposal.

In other words, he's not going to continue Angers' madness.

Angers took a deep breath and silently prayed for the ever-single and beautiful Gauttingen: "I hope that when you hear Lu Mingfei's proposal, your daughter will really have the courage to cast the vote in favor..."

"Let's go."

After pausing for a moment, Lu Mingfei suddenly spoke, interrupting Angers's thoughts.

"Won't you take a look around a bit more?" Angers asked in surprise. "Or you can take a couple of photos if you want."

Lu Mingfei shook his head: "No need, let's go check out the other areas first."

Angers thought about it and probably realized that alchemy was a very time-consuming craft.

"That's okay too."

The Annihilation Well is the bottom level of the Ice Cellar, accessible only by authorized elevators.

We took that same 'desk-shaped' elevator again, and it returned to stop in front of the pyramid.

The two walked up the metal escalator to the massive concrete base where the pyramid was located, next to the passageway to the engineering laboratory 'Land of Fire'.

"Do you notice any differences between it and a regular pyramid?"

Angers didn't rush in.

Instead, he led Lu Mingfei around the pyramid.

The entire pyramid is constructed from pure black stones without any adhesive, much like building blocks. It maintains its stability entirely through its own weight and excellent cutting techniques, although some of the carvings on the surface are worn.

The people who built this pyramid carved patterns on the hard black stone surface and filled the deep inscriptions with molten copper, forming a kind of script.

Lu Mingfei said thoughtfully, "So this isn't a pyramid, but a Mayan calendar. It has five sides, each with 133 stone steps, and each step is covered with ancient Mayan script, or rather, numbers, which record the history of the entire world in the minds of the Mayans."

“Indeed, the history of the Maya includes not only the past… but also the future.” Angers stroked the surface of the black stone. “It is a book of the past, a book of the present, and a book of the future. It is a history book and a prophecy book.”

"Principal Angers actually believes in this?" Lu Mingfei said.

He clearly knew about the Mayan calendar, not the science fiction movie "2012" about a writer saving his ex-wife when the world was destroyed, but he genuinely knew about the Mayan prophecies.

"Most myths and histories in the world can be traced back to the era of the dragon race."

Angers stared at the writing on the steps: "The destruction of the first four eras mentioned in the Mayan prophecy can almost certainly be attributed to the Dragon King."

"The first prehistoric super-civilization of the First Sun Age began 10 years ago with the Mattrarchi civilization. It is speculated that the humans of that era were less than one meter tall, the men had a third eye, possessed all sorts of superpowers, and could even predict the future. The women's wombs had divine power, and they could communicate with the gods who were about to be reincarnated in the sky, thus giving birth to divine children. Some gods were jealous of their potential... In the end, the civilization was destroyed by a flood."

"The Second Era was called Iehotel, a continuation of the previous civilization. It was established by the refugees and rebuilt using the remaining ruins and technology. The men's third eye gradually disappeared, and they returned to ordinariness. However, people began to pursue food and pleasure, giving rise to endless greed... and were eventually destroyed by the wind serpent."

"The Third Era was called Quyawilo, the third civilization on Earth recorded by the Maya, also known as the bio-energy civilization. It was also established by the survivors of the previous era. These people began to notice that plants produce energy when they sprout, and this energy is enormous. After continuous improvement, they eventually invented a machine that could utilize plant energy. This machine could amplify plant energy, but a great fire from the sky devoured all the plants."

"The Fourth Era, Zondriric, also known as Atlantis, also originated from the ruins of the previous civilization. The Maya speculated that the Fourth Civilization had developed nuclear weapons, possessed the power of 'light,' and even waged a nuclear war... In the end, it was destroyed and sank to the bottom of the sea due to geological changes."

"The appearance of the Maya marked the beginning of the Fifth Age, and now, the end of the Fifth Age is also imminent. Three years later, when the night falls on December 21, 2012, the dawn of a new day will never come."

“Flood, wind serpent, fire rain, earth change… earth, water, wind, and fire, they undoubtedly represent the four monarchs on the dragon throne, but what about the fifth time?” Angers whispered.

“The Mayans didn’t say,” Lu Mingfei said.

"It could be the Black King, it could be the White King, or it could be all four monarchs together, but there will be no sixth era. When the fifth Sun Age passes, there will be nothing left, nothing, nothing, nothing but the destruction of everything. Neither dragons nor humans will survive to that end."

“Everything… will happen in three years.” Angers’ eyes were deep. “And right now we haven’t received any reliable key information, such as the awakening of other dragon kings.”

"Pfft—" Lu Mingfei suddenly burst out laughing.

The heavy atmosphere was broken, and facing Angers' melancholy gaze, he quickly coughed twice to express his apology.

"What I mean is, don't believe in superstitious or ghostly things."

That's the truth. After all, there are only 3 years left until 2012, and the old man in front of us 'theoretically' has 5 more years to live. Not to mention the issue of the Dragon King waking up... It seems like everyone is basically up, the only difference is whether they are washing their face or brushing their teeth.

Furthermore, the so-called Solar Age is probably nonsense.

...At least the two unlucky pairs, the King of Earth and the King of Bronze and the King of Fire, have been in a cycle of dying and living ever since the ancient war.

The King of the Sky and the Wind laid the foundation with a single victory, and then, through a continuous stream of victories, snowballed his way to the final Ragnarok.

As for the King of the Ocean and Water... that's questionable.

Angers smiled helplessly: "At least it's quite interesting, isn't it? We can't prove the truth of this prophecy, we can only do our best to prevent the possibility of it coming true."

"The ancient Mayan civilization declined in the 8th century AD. With the division of the country, the priests lost their lineage. Before the Spanish arrived, they had already lost all the ancient calendar and all mystical knowledge."

"But this does not mean that the prophecies of the ancient Maya are unreliable. Many experts and scholars believe that all the prophecy books in history were not written by humans... humans were just the messengers, and these are things left behind by the dragons."

"The term 'expert' or 'scholar' is generally a synonym for 'unreliable'," Lu Mingfei cautioned.

Angers shrugged, “But there must be many people who are willing to believe in this group.”

“You were right just now. This is a refuge. There are five such underground spaces in the world. Some are located deep in mines, and some are located beneath glaciers. Each natural space, after being excavated, preserves a large number of plants and animals, as well as embryos, pollen, and seeds. Human scientific knowledge, along with knowledge of alchemy and the power of words, has been sealed away. There are complete sets of machinery in storage, as well as food and drinking water. Deep inside the ice cellar, there is also a miniature reactor, whose energy is enough to keep this place running for 500 years.”

"Will it be useful?"

Lu Mingfei raised an eyebrow, recalling the 'Word of Power: Bloodline Binding'.

Upon first entering Kassel College, he secretly unleashed this power of words, countless lines spreading out in all directions. Although the ice cellar was protected by an alchemical matrix, which could block some of the power of words from being detected,
But it is by no means sufficient to fulfill the responsibility of a '500-year-old refuge'.

Flamel had only one mentor.

“Some people… find it very useful.” Angers looked up at Lu Mingfei.

“Oh.” Lu Mingfei raised an eyebrow.

“However, I can now answer the question you asked me upstairs,” Angers said softly.

"Tell me, how much am I willing to pay to slay a dragon..."

The old man slowly raised his head, his silver-gray eyes gleaming: "My answer is, all of it."

He pulled a signal transmitter out of his pocket.

Once the correct command is entered, the shelter will enter an irreversible self-destruct mode and explode via nuclear explosion.

Lu Mingfei turned his head to look at him.

"I like your understanding of the sorrow of blood. It's very good. I plan to publish a paper on it."

Angers leaned against the railing beside the concrete base, the wind blowing through his white hair. "I have felt the 'lack of loneliness' you have now, and I sincerely hope that you can always have everything you have now. That's good."

“I will not retire anywhere because I have already lived once as the ‘last person’ alone.”

(End of this chapter)