Lu Mingfei doesn't want to be a superhero

"A deal? What deal?!" Lu Mingfei instantly became alert—he was now somewhat allergic to the word "deal".

"How dare we employees presume to guess what the boss is thinking? He's quite a strange person; anything is possible, right?" Mai Jiude winked at Lu Mingfei, licked her luscious red lips, and ran her fingers along the curves of her alluring thighs. "Maybe... I'm a commodity too?"

Lu Mingfei's tense body relaxed instantly: "Oh, then it's alright."

Mai Shude: ...

Take a deep breath, take a deep breath, Mai Shude, take a deep breath, you can do it. Mai Shude comforted herself in her heart.

“The message has been delivered, goodbye!” Mai Shude rose from the table and walked towards the porthole.

Lu Mingfei hesitated for a moment and did not take action to capture her—judging from the current situation, the other party was undoubtedly a powerful force, and capturing one person seemed to be of little use.

Moreover, the other party did not show any malice from beginning to end; if anything, they were just trying to wet his bed.

Watching as Jiu De Mai nimbly slithered out of the porthole, Lu Mingfei wondered if it was just his imagination, but he felt that this woman he had so easily captured was actually quite formidable, and that if they were to actually fight, it would probably cause quite a commotion.

"Hey! Close the window!" Lu Mingfei shouted.

Mai Shude, who had climbed out of the window, stretched her arm in and gave Lu Mingfei the middle finger before disappearing into the night.

171. Chapter 170 Going into the water

The captain's cabin of the Moniach.

To be precise, it should be the captain's office, where only Lu Mingfei and Professor Mans were present.

"Are there other people eyeing the underwater ruins?" Professor Mans frowned. "Are you sure?"

“Someone broke into my room last night, that’s what she said,” Lu Mingfei said.

He selectively told Professor Mans what Mai Shude had said after entering his room the night before. When Mai Shude left, he only said that he hadn't stopped her, rather than that he hadn't stopped her at all.

Capturing Mai Shude wouldn't actually benefit him. Although Mai Shude said she would also enter the Bronze City, the other side was a powerful force with intelligence capabilities no less than the Secret Party. What if he captured Mai Shude and they sent out an even more powerful figure? Wouldn't that be even more troublesome?

“That’s normal. There are many forces composed of hybrids in this world, and our Secret Party is just one of the larger ones,” Professor Mans said. “After discovering clues or ruins of the dragon race, the Secret Party inevitably clashes with various forces. Usually, these kinds of problems can be resolved through negotiation. It’s just that people who dare to come and provoke us are quite rare.”

"So, Professor, what are we supposed to do?" Lu Mingfei asked.

“No need to do anything special. I’ll have the others prepare. I’ve led many missions before, so this is nothing out of the ordinary. Don’t worry, everything is under control,” Professor Mans said calmly. “Also, call me Captain!”

……

Kassel College, dormitory building, Su Xiaoqiang's dormitory.

Su Xiaoqiang sat on the top bunk, holding her course selection form, and glanced down at her new roommate who was sitting at the table, engrossed in a thick book.

She couldn't say whether her roommate was easy or difficult to get along with.

Although she generally responds when you talk to her, her responses are usually no more than three words each time, and her attitude is cold and aloof, almost like keeping people at arm's length.

But aside from being rather cold, she doesn't have any other annoying traits.

Ling is very clean; her things are almost always spotless. On the first night of moving in, she took the initiative to clean the entire dormitory. Of course, later, Su Xiaoqiang couldn't resist the moral pressure of "watching a junior high school student busy with housework" and took the initiative to help.

Moreover, she is very quiet and never makes any noise. She listens to music with headphones, and her usual entertainment is reading. She doesn't snore or grind her teeth when she sleeps at night.

Overall, Su Xiaoqiang, who was staying in a dormitory for the first time in her life, was quite satisfied with her roommate.

And most importantly... she's also very cute.

Even from a girl's perspective, Su Xiaoqiang thought Ling was the cutest girl she had ever seen. Her porcelain doll-like face made one want to hold it in their hands and knead it—but if anyone actually dared to do that, they would probably be frozen into an ice block by that piercing gaze.

Moreover, when Su Xiaoqiang got out of bed to go to the bathroom last night, she saw Ling, who was sleeping on the lower bunk, tightly hugging a worn-out teddy bear, which made her even cuter.

Su Xiaoqiang put down the course selection form and turned to look at Ling: "Ling, what are you looking at?"

She was genuinely curious. The book Zero was reading seemed to be written in some very niche language, and it was as thick as a brick with metal corner seals. It seemed perfect for use as a weapon to smash people.

“The textbook for ‘Dragon Family Genealogy’,” Zero said. “I enrolled in the principal’s class.”

"You're taking the principal's class? Is it because the principal is a very good teacher?" Su Xiaoqiang asked curiously.

The course selection forms will be distributed to students as soon as they arrive at school. They just need to submit them before 5 p.m. tomorrow. So Su Xiaoqiang is still hesitating. On the other hand, Ling submitted her course selection form almost immediately after arriving, as if she didn't hesitate at all when selecting courses, or she simply filled it out randomly.

“No,” Zero shook his head. “I checked. Although the principal offered a course, he was often away on business trips, so the course was often not taught.”

Su Xiaoqiang suddenly realized and teased, "I didn't realize you could be lazy, Zero. I thought you were the kind of person who was very serious and meticulous."

“I wasn’t thinking of slacking off,” Zero said. “If I can attend fewer classes, I can have more free time to do other things, such as training or taking an elective course.”

Su Xiaoqiang's eyes widened, feeling a sense of shame, like a mediocre student looking down on a diligent and hardworking top student.

However, she quickly forgot about her shame, picked up the course selection form, placed her phone underneath it, and selected the course "Dragon Family Genealogy".

"Done! I found an easy elective course with a decent GPA. Thanks, Zero!" Su Xiaoqiang was in high spirits.

“Easy?” Zero looked up at Su Xiaoqiang, her usually indifferent face showing a hint of doubt for the first time. “But ‘Dragon Family Genealogy’ is recognized as the most difficult course in the school.”

"What?!" Su Xiaoqiang's voice suddenly rose eight octaves.

“Because the principal doesn’t teach very often, in order to ensure the students’ learning outcomes, this course requires very complicated assignments every time they attend class, and the final exam is also very difficult. The principal sets the questions himself, and the failure rate is over 60% every year. Even after the make-up exam, more than 30% of students still fail,” Ling said. “These data are all posted on the official website.”

"Ah..." Su Xiaoqiang opened her mouth, her eyes glazed over.

“Also, each student gets one course selection form from Kassel College, and it can’t be modified,” Zero said. “Hopefully, you haven’t filled in this course yet.”

Amidst Su Xiaoqiang's wailing that echoed throughout the dormitory, Zero's lips curled up slightly.

……

Late at night, the tugboat "Moniach" trembled in a storm on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.

This was a rare rainstorm in autumn. The rain was pouring down and the wind speed reached level five. Other ships had to dock to avoid the wind. On the restless water, only the xenon lights of the Moniach were flashing in the rain.

Mans stood by the cockpit window, as raindrops pelted the windshield and burst open. The wind howled, the ship rocked, but Mans stood steadily, smoking a cigar.

Lu Mingfei, wearing a diving suit and holding a helmet, was originally standing next to Professor Mans, but now he had to move away a bit to avoid being choked by the smell of cigars.

The front cabin was quiet; everyone, rigorously trained at the Kassel Institute, stared at their screens, operating swiftly and silently. The faint sound of a baby crying could be heard from the rear cabin. Mans frowned. "Go check on that baby. What's wrong? He keeps crying. Doesn't any of you know how to take care of a child?"

“Professor, none of the current core members of the Executive Department are married. Where do you expect us to learn how to take care of a baby?” the girl sitting in front of the screen said without looking up.

She was Selma, the girl in the sailor uniform that Lu Mingfei had seen when he first boarded the ship. Now she had changed out of her sailor uniform and put on a combat uniform specially made for her by Kassel College.

“I could try taking care of the baby, but I have to go into the water,” Lu Mingfei said from the side.

Speaking of taking care of babies, he did have experience taking care of a large green baby, but he was a last-minute addition to the underwater exploration team. In addition to being the force provider, he also provided underwater technical support based on his technical skills recognized by the equipment department.

"Captain, we're ready." Ye Sheng and Jiu Deya walked in, wearing diving suits that were slightly different from Lu Mingfei's.

The two of them were exploration and recording personnel, and the equipment on their diving suits was more sophisticated and complex, so they were a little slower to put on their suits than Lu Mingfei.

“Alright, let’s go then.” Professor Mans took out his cigar.

……

The river surface churned and surged amidst the torrential rain and fierce winds, appearing as if it were boiling. But just a few meters below the boiling surface, it was as quiet as another world.

Lu Mingfei, Ye Sheng, and Jiu Deyaji descended slowly in a "品" (pin) shape.

"Senior Brother Ye Sheng, is it too late for me to ascend now?" Lu Mingfei asked in the public channel.

"I'm afraid that won't work," Ye Sheng joked. "What, Junior Lu, are you scared?"

“No, I’m not worried about myself,” Lu Mingfei said. “I just suddenly remembered that the miniature sonar detection equipment you and Senior Sister Aki were equipped with was modified by the Equipment Department and was made by Researcher Matur, who is most skilled in underwater blasting.”

"Professor, is it too late for me to surface now?" Ye Sheng asked on the public channel.

172. Chapter 171 The King of Bronze and Fire

The Yangtze River, with water levels below 50 meters.

Lu Mingfei, Ye Sheng, and Jiu Deyaji slowed their descent. Each of them had a signal cable extending upwards into the Moniach. With this signal cable, they could communicate with the Moniach, and the Moniach could also use it to monitor their life signals.

The spotlights mounted on the diving suits couldn't penetrate much in the deep water, only casting a bluish-gray streak of light. Aki's slender figure floated beside him; Ye Sheng could reach her with a simple stretch of his arm.

They were the task force responsible for gathering information. In addition to the signal line linking them to the Moniach, they had an independent signal line connecting them to each other for easy communication.

But the two of them seemed to have no need for the signal cable. They didn't need any verbal communication at all. They could understand each other immediately just by giving each other a look.

Several times, they would exchange a glance, and their diving speeds would change simultaneously and synchronize.

As Lu Mingfei swam behind these two people, he suddenly felt like a third wheel.

"Junior Brother Lu, is this your first time deep-sea diving?" Ye Sheng asked.

"Hmm... sort of. When I was a kid, I lived in the suburbs and would always swim in the nearby pond to catch clam shells. I could hold my breath and swim a hundred meters underwater. Now I should be able to go even further," Lu Mingfei said casually. "But this is the first time I've ever dived this deep wearing gear."

Lu Mingfei told a little lie. In this world, he had never done a deep dive, but in Tony's world, he had gone diving a few times when Tony took him out to play, and even took a picture with a coral reef.

"Don't worry, given the physical abilities of a hybrid, diving fifty meters is no different from swimming normally," Shudeya reassured her. "Just relax."

“I’m fairly relaxed,” Lu Mingfei said. “But you two seem a bit nervous.”

Ye Sheng and Jiu Deyaji remained silent for a moment.

It would be strange not to be nervous if you suddenly learned that the miniature sonar detection device you were carrying was made by the Equipment Department.

As they chatted, easing the pressure of the deep water, the three gradually reached the bottom.

The torrential rain and strong winds are filtered by a 50-meter layer of water before reaching this place, leaving only gentle ripples. This area was submerged due to the Three Gorges Dam's water storage. Before, it was a mountainous area where the rocks were smoothed by the water flow, making it difficult to find a foothold.

Ye Sheng extended his steel claws from his webbed feet, stood lightly on the rock, and reached into the mud and sand at the bottom.

A moment later, Ye Sheng pulled out something and held it up to show it off—a shard of pottery with ancient patterns.

Aki took the pottery shard and examined it: "It has a history of at least a thousand years. Judging from the style, it is something from before the Shu culture was integrated with the Central Plains culture. It may be a relic from Baidi City."

Baidi City is the code name for this ruin that will be explored.

“The information says that Baidi City was buried at the bottom of the river. A small earthquake caused a crack in the riverbed, which allowed it to come into contact with the outside world,” Lu Mingfei said. “If we want to find it, we have to find that crack first.”

“Norma, I need to scan the terrain with sonar,” Shudeya called out.

"Understood, sonar scan ready," the central processing unit in the United States responded immediately.

A three-dimensional sonar map, outlined by dark green contour lines, was displayed on the helmet screens of the three individuals; sound waves are far more useful than light in water.

“Although we can’t see it,” Ye Sheng pointed into the distance, “there are mountains to the northeast and southeast. The one above the water is Baidi Mountain, and the one below the water is Chijia Mountain, forming a ‘gate’ structure. Opposite is the original Caotang River, which flows through a valley. From the perspective of Chinese feng shui, this is where the mountain dragon and the water dragon meet, gathering yin and yang energy. It is a good place to build a city. The ruins of Baidi City may be here.”