Lu Mingfei doesn't want to be a superhero

He was surrounded by countless ingeniously combined gears, transmission rods, bearings, and other mechanical parts. Lu Mingfei inexplicably recalled an animation he had watched not long ago called "Qin's Moon." In this animation set in the Qin Dynasty, the Mohist school was an organization skilled in mechanical arts. They not only had mechanical birds that could fly in the sky, but their headquarters was also a city built inside a mountain, composed of countless ingenious mechanisms. These mechanisms were powered by the surging river, forming an indestructible fortress.

Lu Mingfei now had the illusion that he was wandering through the mechanical city. These mechanical structures that filled his field of vision were still static at the moment. He wondered what a spectacular scene it would be if they moved.

As he swam, Lu Mingfei looked around, using his "Mirror Eyes" to memorize all the mechanical structures—this was likely a city personally built by the King of Bronze and Fire, and these machines must contain advanced dragon technology.

Lu Mingfei maintained communication with Ye Sheng and Jiu Deyaji, knowing that the two of them separated shortly after entering the Bronze City. They passed through a place that resembled a palace, where the water had reached almost to the dome, which was covered with dragon script.

Such a massive amount of dragon script data is extremely valuable. Jiu Deya stayed behind to photograph the data, while Ye Sheng went alone to find the sleeping egg of the King of Bronze and Fire.

Lu Mingfei couldn't help but admire his senior brother's audacity. Who knew what terrifying security measures the Dragon King would arrange around his egg? Especially since the egg was right in the Dragon King's old home.

Lu Mingfei decided to go find Jiudeyaji, who was closer to him, first, because he was also very interested in dragon script. The dragon script recorded in the palace of the King of Bronze and Fire must have something to do with alchemy, right?

But unexpectedly, just as he was about to approach Shudeya, Shudeya's signal disappeared from the display screen.

"What's going on?" Lu Mingfei was taken aback and immediately switched channels to say, "Calling the Moniach, the signal from the Jiudeyaji has disappeared."

“This is Selma. The Moniach has been received,” Selma said. “Our data transmission with Aki has been interrupted. We are attempting to retrieve the lifeline. Commissioner Lu Mingfei and Commissioner Ye Sheng, please proceed immediately to the location where the signal was last observed to check on Commissioner Aki’s condition.”

Lu Mingfei responded with a sentence, then, without bothering to record the surrounding mechanical structure, swam at full speed towards the direction of Jiudeyaji.

“There’s no tension in the engine,” Selma’s voice came a moment later, “Aki’s lifeline has snapped!”

Lu Mingfei had already swum to the main hall where Jiudeya had been, but he couldn't find her. Even with the insight of his "Mirror Eyes," he only found an empty lifeline, which floated in the dark river like a dying snake.

Swimming to the vicinity of the lifeline, Lu Mingfei brought it to his side to examine it: "The lifeline has been cut. Judging from the break, it was... probably caused by some kind of sharp weapon."

Lu Mingfei's heart skipped a beat. He casually drew his life-saving knife, cut a small section off the lifeline, and carefully compared the cut. He said, "The lifeline was cut by the life-saving knife! It seems that Aki cut it herself!"

"Keep searching!" Professor Mans' voice rang out on the channel.

Lu Mingfei continued swimming, the water concealing all traces, and even "Mirror Eye" could not analyze the whereabouts of Jiudeyaji in the water.

Fortunately, he seemed to be in luck; after turning two corners, he saw a slender figure in a diving suit...

No! She's a little too slender!

Although it's a bit impolite to say it like that, Lu Mingfei was certain that the girl in the diving suit in front of him was not Shudeya, because Shudeya couldn't possibly have such a good figure.

Even in a diving suit, the person in front of him couldn't hide her striking curves, far surpassing those of Shudeya. Among all the people Lu Mingfei knew, it seemed only one person possessed such an exaggerated physique—

Shotoku Aki's older sister, Shotoku Mai.

Sure enough, as he swam closer, Lu Mingfei could see Mai Shude's bright and beautiful face through his diving helmet.

Underwater, the range of human voices is greatly reduced, and communication relies mainly on communication devices. There was no signal cable between Lu Mingfei and Jiu De Mai, so even if they shouted, the range of conversation would not exceed five meters. Therefore, Lu Mingfei did not speak to her, but just swam towards her silently, while mentally complaining that the professor was unreliable, letting Jiu De Mai in even though he was guarding outside.

After Lu Mingfei approached, Mai Shude pointed in a direction and then mouthed two words to Lu Mingfei, who could roughly make out that she was saying "Aki".

Where is Senior Sister Aki?

After pointing out the direction to Lu Mingfei, Shudeya took the lead and swam over. Lu Mingfei followed and gave the Moniahe a brief report on the situation: people from another organization had appeared in Bronze City and were leading me to find the missing Shudeya. So far, they had not shown any hostility.

After swimming a short distance with Mai Shude, passing through a huge bronze gear with a hole in the middle, Lu Mingfei indeed saw a familiar figure.

With his back to them, Shudeya was trying to... lift up a bronze statue?

Although the bronze statue looked to be less than a meter tall, it was made of pure metal and was protruding underwater where it was difficult to exert force. For her, a B-grade hybrid, this action was like an ant trying to shake a tree.

Just as Lu Mingfei was about to go up and check on Aki Shutoku, he saw Mai Shutoku give him a thumbs up before her body faded into the water, as if she had vanished from the spot.

Damn it! You're just going to abandon your sister like this?

Lu Mingfei twitched the corner of his mouth, ignoring Mai Shude, and swam towards Aki Shude. Her signal cable and lifeline were broken, so Lu Mingfei could not communicate with her from a distance and could only swim closer.

Unexpectedly, just as Lu Mingfei swam toward her, Jiu Deyaqi forcefully lifted the bronze statue from the water!

"What the hell!" Lu Mingfei exclaimed, his eyes wide.

Bronze is an alloy whose density depends on its composition, but it is usually higher than that of iron. To be able to lift such a large lump of metal without any leverage, Shudeya's physical abilities shouldn't be those of a B-grade hybrid.

Lu Mingfei moved closer to her, but before he could get any closer, Shudeya suddenly released the bronze statue and, with lightning speed, pulled out a life-saving knife from her body and slashed at Lu Mingfei's throat.

What's so special about this? Tomb raiders are afraid their companions will steal their loot, so they simply strike first, kill their teammates in the tomb, and then they don't have to divide the spoils?

But we're an archaeological team.

Lu Mingfei found Shude Aki's actions quite "leisurely," so much so that he not only had time to mentally complain, but also noticed the abnormal cold light flashing in Shude Aki's eyes.

Lu Mingfei raised his wrist to block Jiu Deya's life-saving knife, and punched her in the lower abdomen with his other hand.

Shokuto Aki's eyes widened suddenly, and under the immense force, she coughed violently, as if trying to expel all the air from her lungs, her entire body instantly losing strength.

Lu Mingfei quickly grabbed the sinking Shude Aki—because of her performance just now, Lu Mingfei added a little bit of force when attacking, but he didn't expect that he used too much force.

However, when he looked at Shudeya again, he found that the unusual coldness in her eyes had disappeared, and she showed no signs of attacking him again.

Just as Lu Mingfei was about to ask Jiu Deya Ji how he was doing, another familiar figure swam over—it was Senior Brother Ye Sheng.

Lu Mingfei: ...

What should I do if I hit my senior sister in front of my senior brother? I need help urgently.

……

Fortunately, Lu Mingfei hadn't used his full strength in that punch, and Shude Aki wasn't injured and recovered quickly—although a trace of pain still lingered on her face.

"Junior brother, you're so strong!" Jiu Deya said with a wry smile as Ye Sheng helped him up.

As a B-class hybrid, this was the first time in her life that Shudeya had experienced the suppressive power of a high-class bloodline. In the past, she had fought against other A-class students at school. Although her strength was not low, she could at least hold her own for a few or even a dozen rounds.

But in Lu Mingfei's hands, a single "light" punch was enough to nearly render her unable to fight.

Lu Mingfei waved his hand, making a humble expression.

The advantage of a diving suit is that no one can see any physical changes in the person wearing it. So, when Lu Mingfei first entered Bronze City, he had already covered his body with dragon scales except for his head. The strength of the scales was so great that even Senior Brother Chu or Old Tang would probably have a hard time resisting them.

“Aki, you were probably hallucinating just now. Taking pictures of the dragon runes one after another is like reading them in a certain order, which will cause you to have ‘spiritual vision’ and become mentally confused,” Ye Sheng pointed to the bronze statue at the bottom of the sinking. “This bronze statue should have some kind of special ability to guide people who have developed spiritual vision due to the dragon runes to have specific hallucinations.”

"As expected of the palace of the King of Bronze and Fire, it's truly terrifying. If I'm not careful, I'll fall into a trap. Luckily, you and Junior Brother Lu stopped me in time, preventing a greater danger," said Shudeya, still shaken. "I'm so sorry, I dragged you down."

"Senior sister, don't say that," Lu Mingfei said as he swam to the spot where the bronze statue had been placed.

“Junior brother, you don’t need to comfort me. I’m a mature specialist, and I won’t fall into a slump because of this…” said Shudeya.

“No,” Lu Mingfei said, “I meant your statement that ‘it didn’t cause any greater danger’ is a bit hard to say right now. That bronze statue you mentioned seems to have activated some kind of mechanism. Have you heard any strange noises…”

A chilling sound came from all around, like someone rubbing two rusty iron pieces hard against a person's ear—the sound was amplified hundreds or thousands of times.

Ye Sheng and Ya Ji looked around at the bronze walls. Tens of thousands of bronze gears slowly began to turn, and a huge bell echoed inside the cave. The rust on the bronze gears began to peel off, and the teeth made a clattering sound when they clenched together.

Ye Sheng suddenly looked up, and in the darkness where he couldn't see clearly, a giant bell with an unprecedented shape rang out. The bronze pendulum vibrated back and forth around the bearing, and countless bronze sculptures of snake-faced people on the bronze wall also moved at the same time, raising the ivory tablets in their hands, their slender snake necks bent, looking up at the dome, like an ancient pilgrimage ceremony.

“Wow, what an exquisite mechanical structure,” Lu Mingfei muttered with a blank expression. “But why would the King of Bronze and Fire have so many bronze sculptures worshipping him in his palace? I have reason to suspect that he’s actually a repressed pervert.”

“We can analyze the psychological profile of the palace owner through the architecture and decoration later. Now we have to run,” Ye Sheng said. “Although we don’t know what will happen after this mechanism is activated, it certainly won’t unfurl a ‘Welcome’ banner.”

“Every mechanism needs power and transmission,” Lu Mingfei said. “The power source of this city is unknown, but as for transmission… Senior brothers and sisters, please step back a bit!”

Ye Sheng pulled Jiu Deya back: "Junior brother, what are you doing? Such a large building, even if you damage a few transmission gears, it would be difficult to stop it from operating, right?"

Lu Mingfei floated in the water, raised his arms, and activated the amplified power of the Silver Oak Sword and the chilling energy within his body at the same time!

A faint, pale blue spherical ripple emanated from Lu Mingfei, as if unfolding a barrier. Within its range, the metal bearings and gears were instantly cooled to an extreme cold far below zero, and thick, solid ice formed around them.

A moment later, although the river was still flowing, it was already incredibly cold.

Ye Sheng and Jiu Deya looked up, shivering. The bronze hall in front of them seemed to have turned into an ice palace. The bronze bell that had been echoing above their heads was now frozen into a solid block of ice.

Lu Mingfei clapped his hands, turned to look at Ye Sheng and Jiu Deya, and gave them a thumbs up: "Done!"

Ye Sheng & Jiu Deya, shivering in the water: ...

175. Chapter 174 Dragons of the Bronze City

At Kassel College, in the professors' dormitory area, a rapid doorbell rang.

The professors are the backbone of Kassel College. Even in the world of hybrids, each of them is a renowned figure. Usually, only the best of the A-grade hybrids are qualified to serve as professors at Kassel College. There are only 27 tenured professors in the entire school.

Therefore, professors receive very high treatment. For example, tenured professors live in small, detached villas, while assistant professors live in dormitories, but each assistant professor occupies an entire floor.

Guderian lived on the second floor of the professors' dormitory. When the doorbell rang, he was lying in bed in his pajamas, with his ears covered by a nightcap.

A moment later, the bedroom door was kicked open, and Professor Manstein strode in: "Wake up, Guderian, go to the library!"

"Gathering what?" Guderian muttered as he got up. "Manstein, are you mistaken? This is the bell that calls the members of the professorship. Only tenured professors are eligible to join the professorship. Although I would love to join, an assistant professor like me would just be kicked out if I walked in..."

“That was the case before, but this time is an exception,” Professor Manstein said. “Schneider said that this gathering was because a specialist made an important discovery in a dragon-like ruin, and it is believed that the place where the King of Bronze and Fire has been cocooned and is asleep has been found. One of the specialists is your student.”

Professor Guderian jumped out of bed excitedly: "I knew Lu Mingfei was the best!"

"How can you be sure it's Lu Mingfei? I haven't even said who it is yet," Professor Manstein said, somewhat surprised.

“I only have two students, it couldn’t have been Fingel who did it, could it?” Professor Guderian shrugged.

……

In the Bronze City.

The original bronze hall has been transformed into a winter palace, with almost all the bronze gears and transmission rods sealed in ice and unable to move.

Although Lu Mingfei deliberately concentrated the cold air and low temperature on these devices, some leakage was inevitable. The surrounding water temperature dropped sharply, and Ye Sheng and Jiu Deyaji shivered.

For Class B hybrids, diving to depths of over 100 meters puts very little pressure on their bodies, so their diving suits are naturally lightweight and thin, offering little protection and warmth in low temperatures.

Ye Sheng and Jiu Deyaji floated side by side, looking at Lu Mingfei with eyes that seemed to be looking at a monster.

Although it was known that the Word of Power of an S-class student must be exceptionally powerful, it was still somewhat unbelievable that it was this powerful.

Normally, the power and range of a Word of Power are inversely proportional; that is, the greater the power of a Word of Power, the smaller its range should be. However, the Word of Power released by Lu Mingfei instantly froze the entire bronze hall, with a radius estimated to be tens of meters. This completely overturned the common sense about Word of Power that Ye Sheng had learned in class.

"Senior brothers and sisters, are you alright?" Lu Mingfei swam over to Ye Sheng and Jiu Deya, who were shivering.

"I'm not... I'm fine, junior brother... you... don't worry," Ye Sheng said, trembling.

This doesn't look like anything's wrong at all, does it?

As a woman, Shudeya had more subcutaneous fat than Ye Sheng, making her more resistant to the cold. At least, although she was also shivering, she didn't stutter: "This place is not safe to stay for long, Ye Sheng, junior brother, let's leave here quickly."

Ye Sheng hesitated. He had previously used the "snake" to search for the egg of the King of Bronze and Fire in the Bronze City. Although the "snake" could not find the egg, there was an area that the snake dared not approach under any circumstances. Within his detection range, there was a black space. If nothing unexpected happened, the egg of the King of Bronze and Fire should be inside.

However, before he could find the egg, he received news that the signal from Shudeya had disappeared, so he immediately turned back to find her.

The mechanisms of Bronze City have now been activated. If we leave now, finding the egg of the King of Bronze and Fire will likely become a hundred times more difficult.