Chapter 11 Act Ten: The Phantom of the Subway

Chu Zihang slowly opened his eyes, covered in sweat, as if he had just had a nightmare, but he couldn't remember what that nightmare was.In the silver tray in front of me was a whole pear, the stem of the pear was picked up by the old and thin hands, the pear peels fell on the tray in a beautiful arc, and the remaining one was peeled. The pear was handed to him. "Principal?" Chu Zihang was a little surprised, the ward was quiet, there was no Xia Mi, no nurses and doctors.Sitting in front of the bed, Ange slowly wiped off the pear juice on the pocket knife with a handkerchief, then put it away and stuffed it into the leather sheath in the sleeve of his shirt.

"I like peeling pears very much. I used to read novels in the period of the Republic of China, saying that Du Yuesheng, the leader of the underworld, likes to peel pears for his subordinates to eat. This is a great honor and it costs nothing." Angers smiled. Chu Zihang looked at the pear in his hand with some puzzlement, of course he knew Du Yuesheng, it was easy to understand that Du Yuesheng used this method to win people's hearts, but Ange didn't have to. "I thought it was fun, so I picked up a pear and began to peel it. As the pear peeled off my hand, I suddenly understood that the man named Du Yuesheng was not just a way to win over a pear. It's the way you Chinese cultivate yourself. For ordinary people, peeling pears is a matter of good wrist strength. You can't be too impatient or indecisive. A little mistake will break the pear skin, so that It's not beautiful anymore. You have to straighten your body and be calm and dignified. At this time, your strength has a kind of feminine beauty, which is the most durable and has the most vitality." Angers said casually.

"Principal, what do you mean?" Chu Zihang put the pears on the tray.Of course he understood that Angers should be busy with many things in such an afternoon, but he came here to see him and dismissed the others, not to talk about the pear-peeling skills. "How long have you mastered this technique?" Anger's voice was low and indifferent. The temperature in the ward seemed to drop suddenly, so cold that ice shards would condense from the air.Chu Zihang shivered slightly, and Ange looked him straight in the eyes without moving. "Two years." Chu Zihang understood what Ange was talking about. Once "exploding blood", the power of speech and the scope of the field would increase sharply, and he couldn't hide it from Ange.

"In other words, shortly after you became the president of the Lionheart Club, you mastered this technique." Anger got up and paced the ward, "You summed up this technique from the original files of the Lionheart Club Right? Although you are very talented, it is still too difficult to comprehend on your own." "yes." "It's incredible," Angers lowered his head, smiled, and sighed, "The Lionheart is the oldest fraternity in this college, with rich archives, and even some things that don't even exist in the library. I found it in the archives of the Lionheart Society. But it was incomplete. As a founding member of the Lionheart Society, I took the most important part of it. This part is the technique of 'exploding blood', but you can re-deduce it from the clues All of this. It's amazing. Do you understand why I took that part of the file?"

"Blood explosion is dangerous. It seems that the purity of the bloodline can be improved in an instant, but people will have a strong aggressiveness, which is called 'killing will' in the file." "Yes, the 'will to kill', a unique spiritual power of the dragon race, biologically speaking, this kind of thing is like a beast that will be excited by the smell of blood, it is genetically determined, it is called the 'bloodthirsty gene' '.The dragons have the urge to attack all targets when they are angry, and this urge will greatly improve their abilities. But sometimes it also makes them reckless. After bursting blood, the will to kill in mixed blood will also increase. People who have always been gentle It can get brutal. But that's not why 'exploding blood' is considered taboo."

Chu Zihang nodded, "I'm listening." Angers sat by the bed and was silent for a while, "The school board has always kept the matter of 'blood' secret. You only know that you have the blood of two races at the same time, but all the lessons bypass the core secret of blood.Do you feel strange? " "I feel that there are some things you are unwilling to teach." "Understanding yourself is often a cruel thing. It is not an easy task for young people to dissect one's blood from the deepest point. It's not that we don't want to teach, but we don't know how to talk about the past." Angers slowly Sighing, he began a long narration, "It is an indisputable fact that dragons are far stronger than humans genetically. Since the establishment of Darwin's theory of evolution, we often believe that superior species will weed out backward species. But dragons Compared with human beings, it is just the opposite. Human beings with no dominant genes ended the theocracy era ruled by dragons. Since then, dragons have instead become reptiles living in the shadows, and human beings occupy the throne of the spirit of all things. You can imagine , For dragons, how intolerable this is. Humans clearly know how strong the hatred of dragons is. As long as dragons are revived, humans will be put under their feet again, and dragons really survived... …because of human greed."

"Greedy?" Chu Zihang was taken aback. "Because the earliest people who mastered the secrets of dragons were reluctant to destroy this race. Think about how powerful and beautiful dragons are. They master the two technologies of 'alchemy' and 'speaking spirit'. The former changes the structure of matter. , the latter tempers the spirit, and these two technologies are far stronger than the so-called "science" of human beings at their peak. In the age when "science" has not yet been mastered, human beings covet the power of dragons, and continue to study the only remaining Dragons, in the name of paying tribute to the gods, let human females and dragons give birth to hybrid offspring, thus creating the so-called "hybrid". You are only 20 years old, and it is probably hard for you to imagine the cruel and barbaric ritual "Ange said in a low voice, "It is very difficult for a woman who is paid tribute to dragons to survive the birth of a child, because her own body is too fragile, but the child she conceives is too strong. They are in a cage made of metal railings, In a dark dungeon, or tied to a stone altar, struggling painfully, covered in blood, unable to complete childbirth. In the end, the mother as a container will be broken by the daughters inside, and the docile children will be cultivated, and the dangerous offspring will be stabbed into it. The spears of the cage kill, and then continue to interbreed from generation to generation until the lineage is stable. Such is the dirty history of interbreeding."

Chu Zihang closed his eyes slightly, and in front of his eyes was the darker blood splashed on the dark stone wall, the lights were flickering, the woman's wailing and the monster's roar echoed in the depths of the cellar, and the ancient priests sang hymns. He understood why Angers sighed, this history was disgustingly dirty. Anger went on to say, "After taking the basic courses of the academy, each of you has a concept that what we call 'hybrids', the proportion of human blood must exceed the proportion of dragon blood, otherwise it is a heterogeneous species, ours." Enemies. Usually, the higher the proportion of dragon blood, the more obvious the advantage of blood, but once a certain ratio is broken through, which we call the 'critical blood limit', everything changes. Dragon genes are powerful enough to modify The genes of other races, the hybrids that break through the critical blood limit, their human genes will be forcibly modified into dragon genes, and he will complete the 'evolution'."

"What do you mean by evolution?" Chu Zihang asked. "Evolve into a dragon, a higher-level creature," Anger paused, "and the dragon is our enemy." Chu Zihang was silent for a long time, then raised his head, "You are not willing to teach this knowledge because... it is possible for a hybrid to evolve into a full-fledged dragon?" "No, this is actually a paradox," Anger shook his head, "If the hybrids who cross the 'critical blood limit' will eventually transform into pure-blooded dragons, then there will be more and more pure-blooded dragons in the world. Students in the introductory course of genetic biology can understand that after many generations of blood mixing, it will inevitably be enriched in a certain individual. Do you know hemophilia? It was once a "royal disease" of the European royal family, because various The royal family frequently intermarried. At the beginning, the hemophilia gene of a certain royal family member would be enriched in some offspring after many generations of transmission. The same is true for dragon blood. Pure blood dragons are immortal, as long as they have With enough time to cocoon, they can always be resurrected from the dead. After thousands of years and tens of thousands of years, the world is full of pure blood dragons. Blood dragon group."

Chu Zihang nodded. "This is because of the backlash of human genes." Ange reached out to pick up a piece of dry and hard bread crumbs from the tray, and slowly crushed them with two fingers, and the crumbs slowly fell on the tray, "In front of the dragon genes, Human genes are too weak to mention. Dragon genes overwhelm human genes. It is as simple as a high-powered road roller crushing gravel, crushing it into dust. But imagine a road roller after crushing gravel into dust..." He rolled over his hands Let Chu Zihang look at his fingers, there are still some small bread crumbs left, Anger crushed those crumbs again, using several times the strength of the last time, turned over his hands again, the bread crumbs were still there.

"After turning into dust, it's useless for you to crush it. You can't completely erase it and turn it into zero." Anger said softly. Chu Zihang was slightly taken aback, "Understood, human genes cannot be completely rewritten!" "Yes, the human gene will show amazing tenacity at the last moment. When the human gene is modified to only 0.001%, it will fight back. The powerful dragon gene cannot clear the last 0.001% of impurities. What seems impure to man remains in the genes like dross that cannot be removed." "So hybrids won't become pure-blooded dragons," Chu Zihang said. "Yes, but they will become something called 'Deadpool'. The imperfect genes lead to imperfect bodies, so they cannot accommodate strong spiritual power. They will die when they evolve to the last moment. The microstructure changes, most of the consciousness is lost, and they lose themselves." Anger said quietly, "They still look like ordinary people, but they are basically walking dead. Dragons don't regard them as companions, and humans see them more. As enemies. If the world of dragons is heaven and the world of humans is hell, then they are lost souls lost between heaven and hell, and no one accepts them. They naturally obey dragons because of the call of their blood, and dragons Use them as cannon fodder in the war against humans, it doesn't matter if they die, because there are always new ones." There was a dead silence in the ward, Ange took out the scarf in his coat pocket to wipe his hands, and looked at Chu Zihang. "I understand." After a long time, Chu Zihang broke the silence. "You are a very good student, of course you can understand what I mean. 'Blood burst' is a taboo technique, although it can activate your dragon blood in a short moment, but the side effect is that it may break through the 'critical blood limit'. Breaking through the critical blood After the limit, it is like a roller coaster on a downward track, no force can pull you back. This kind of technique is a devil, not only consumes your life, damages your body, but also the pleasure brought by the instant purification of blood will make you You're indulging in the illusion of 'omnipotence'. If you're too greedy for power, the devil will quietly lead you over the line and push you into the abyss. You'll end up as a Deadpool." Anger reached out and patted Chu Zihang's shoulder, "At that time, I could only kill you. For you at that time, death was the best ending." He picked up the pears in the tray and handed them to Chu Zihang, "Eat it, don't waste it. Remember the story I said about peeling pears, only the strength of flexibility is the most durable, don't be impatient, many things don't happen by burning yourself It can be done." He turned his back to Chu Zihang, "I came here alone today to talk about the 'explosion of blood', I don't need to know about it. But if the school board knows about it, Your school status will be affected. As an educator, I never violate the school rules I set, this may be the only time I make an exception, and your bravery has left a deep impression on me." Anger left the ward, leaving Chu Zihang sitting silently on the hospital bed looking at the pear. At some point, the sky outside became overcast. It started to rain in the evening, and the overwhelming rain hit the bell tower of the chapel, and the bell rang in the wind. "Listening to this sound is like a funeral." Angers sat on the horsemane sofa and raised his glass to the person lying on the table playing with the computer, "I don't know how you have lived in such a small attic for so many years of." This attic is directly below the clock tower, with glass windows on the sunny side, a whole wall of shelves full of DVDs of Western movies, a messy bed, a huge projection screen, and a pile of empty wine. The drunkards with bottles, and all kinds of fashion magazines with beautiful women in swimsuits or low-cut girls on the cover, all concentrated in this small room, which is even more messy than a student dormitory after a drunken party.With Angers' aesthetics and the elegant custom-made suit on his body, he shouldn't sit in this dilapidated place, let alone share that bottle of scotch whiskey with the owner.But Angers naturally occupied the most comfortable position in the room after entering the door. He was familiar with this place, just as he was familiar with his own principal's office. This is one of the few places in the world where he can feel safe. The owner of this room is the night watchman. "Familiarize yourself with the funeral bells so that on the day I die I'll feel at home when I hear them," the night watchman whimpered. "On a rainy day like this, please don't dress like a Undertakers come to me to hear the bells?" "Black suit, what's wrong? Don't I always wear it like this?" Anger shook his neckline helplessly. "Because you have been preparing for the funeral all these years." The night watchman turned the swivel chair around and stared into Angers eyes without the slightest expression on his face, "You don't come here to drink for no reason, tell me, you can find me What's up?" "Borrow your stereo." Anger held a recording pen in his hand. "It was very windy and rainy that day, so there were no cars on the elevated road, right?" "It's nothing... Quiet, very quiet, only the sound of wind and rain." "What about the speed? Do you remember your speed?" "I don't remember...no one pays attention to the speed, the speed seems...disappeared, only the sound of wind and rain..." "Suitcase, you mentioned the suitcase just now, did you see what's in the suitcase?" "Black... black suitcase, metal, with a round... tin... metal stamp... on the mouth." "Tell me about those shadows." "They're hungry...they're thirsty...they want fresh meat, but they can't get it...they're...dead." "The intersection that enters the elevated road, do you remember the number of the entrance?" "Street signs... the street signs are covered by willow trees." "But you saw the sign, didn't you? So you remember it was covered by willows." "I saw the road sign, and the willow tree was swinging in front of the road sign..." "Think about it carefully, that road sign, the green road sign, was covered by willow branches, and the willow branches were blown by the wind, revealing some words, right? Some words were exposed, do you remember anything?" The sound of breathing became heavy, shaking the whole small room through the set of high-fidelity speakers, as if the whole space was the huge lungs of a monster.The sound of wind and rain outside the window became more and more clear, as if the night where the sky could not be seen had come again across time, that night was a devil at all, and the wind and rain were its messengers.The night watchman licked his teeth vigorously, just like when watching a horror movie to the climax, you know that the blood-sucking villain will jump out, you just want to know which angle it is, you don't even want to escape but just wait. "Entrance 000...000!" After saying this, the sound of breathing stopped, as if the narrator had been cut off. Dead silence. "It's Chu Zihang?" the night watchman asked in a low voice. "It was him. When he was about to wake up, I hypnotized him, but he didn't know." Anger took a deep breath, "I just wanted to know how he figured out the technique of 'exploding blood'. Thinking of hearing that." The night watchman was silent for a long time, he stroked his hair violently, leaned on the back of the swivel chair, and let out a long breath, "Sounds like a nightmare." "Did you find that Maybach in the end?" "I found it. In the wasteland outside the city, the car body was severely damaged, as if it had been randomly cut with a laser cutter and spot welded with a welding torch. The location where the car was found was 15 kilometers away from the nearest viaduct." Ang Re handed a copy of the printed material to the night watchman, "It was not towed by a trailer, but drove by itself. There is no trace of a trailer at the scene, and there are obvious ruts left on the wasteland." "Where did you get the information?" "The school management committee got it in China, the Chinese police's 'unknown type of crime' file, I quietly left a copy when it passed through my hands." "The school council?" The night watchman frowned slightly, "I thought you had completely emptied them all these years, don't forget that we are a college now, we are not the secret party of the past, the school council should be just a row of portraits on the wall , Why are they in charge of school affairs? Do you think they are the elders of the secret party?" "Overhead," Angers smiled wryly, "this is not the time to talk about campus politics." "Are you worthy of me talking about politics? You don't understand politics at all, you're just a conspirator." The night watchman shook his head, then looked at the file, "Did someone else drive the car there? Where the car was found Is it the first scene?" "No one else drove there. Only Chu Zihang and his father left fingerprints on the steering wheel. They are very clear and have not been damaged. If someone drives the car with gloves on, it will leave traces." "It means that the first scene is the wasteland, where Chu Zihang encountered... Odin, the leader of the Nordic Arthur God Race, and he mistakenly thought he was on the elevated road." The night watchman took the remaining ice cubes from the wine glass Swallow it into your mouth, chewing slowly. "Illusion? Collective hallucination? Some kind of speech spirit that can cause hallucinations?" "Perhaps the spirit of speech can affect the young Chu Zihang, but being able to use the 'spirit of speech time zero', his father's bloodline may not be as pure as mine. If he doesn't even realize that he is in a hallucination...then release this speech The only one who is spiritual can only be the Dragon King." "Will Odin be one of the dragon kings?" "I don't know. If it is deduced from Norse mythology, he is the god of justice, and the black dragon Nidhogg belongs to the evil camp." The night watchman shrugged, "Okay, Odin, whether it's a god or something else, let's call each other that, maybe we forged a street sign and led Chu Zihang and the others into an uninhabited area, such as An unfinished or abandoned road, that road is not far from the wasteland, Chu Zihang was very nervous when he escaped, and mistakenly thought he was still on the elevated road, how about this explanation?" "I searched on the map, and there is no such uninhabited area." The night watchman fell silent.His expression was weird, his cheek muscles twitched, and the corners of his eyes twitched. He couldn't tell whether it was anxiety, fear or funnyness. If Lu Mingfei saw it, he would definitely say, "Hey, why do you have a hellish expression on your face?" "Then he has seen a ghost," the night watchman looked into Ange's eyes. "He's in...the country of the dead?" "Yes," Anger also looked into the night watchman's eyes, "this is my conclusion. The elevated road does exist, and the '000' entrance also exists, but most people can't find it. The elevated road is still there to this day , empty, no one there, exactly the same as what Chu Zihang saw on that rainy night...there is...the kingdom of the dead!" "You're talking nonsense!" The night watchman jumped up violently from the swivel chair, "You came here today to tell me this? The kingdom of the dead! What a sacred place that is. For thousands of years of human history, alchemists have tried to find it. With a broken head, how can a child, He De, get in?" "You are worried. You haven't jumped up in front of me for decades. You are always curled up on the sofa like a lazy snake, and you have a beer belly after drinking too much beer." Angers pointed to the night watchman's denim shirt I can't hide my belly. The night watchman glanced down and realized that Ange was telling the truth. His eight-pack abs as an old-fashioned handsome man in the west had turned into a whole bulge. He hadn't been excited for decades, because There's really nothing to be excited about, and it's nice to watch Anxi and Sexy Girl magazines reminisce about their younger days.He realized why he suddenly lost his composure. If the exit of that world really appeared... His comfortable days are almost over. "The kingdom of the dead is just a legend, and it may not exist at all." The night watchman sat in the swivel chair, deliberating his words. "Tell me about the country of the dead. I'm a newcomer in the Secret Party. You know far more about science, alchemy, and dragons than I do." "It's a long story..." The night watchman pondered and poured himself a glass of single malt whiskey. "Long story short." "Then two words, heaven." "Heaven?" The night watchman took a sip of whiskey, "Actually, no one among the alchemists knows what the 'land of the dead' is. According to legend, the last person who went there was burned to death on a cross as a witch in the Middle Ages. There are many alchemists in history. Saying that they have been there, they can't prove themselves. The existence of this thing is more sacred than the "philosopher's stone". The essence of alchemy is to "kill" matter and then "regenerate" matter. In the process , magazines are removed, and matter is reborn. But it is easy to kill people, but it is not so simple to kill matter. In order to kill metals, alchemists are constantly pursuing higher flame temperatures and more magical formulas." "The premise of life is death." Ang Rou nodded. "Yes, dead matter is the best material. If you want to refine gold, you must kill silver. If you want to refine swords, you must first kill steel." The night watchman whispered, "And the kingdom of the dead , is a world that coexists with our world in the legend. There are not only dead people, but also a place where dead matter accumulates. There is no day and night, and there is always half-dark and half-bright light. The ground is bronze-colored, that is Made of dead metal, the sky is gray, it's made of dead air, the fire is cold and blue, it's all dead elemental fire, water can't float anything because water is dead too. There's a city that's made of It is the bones of all creatures from ancient times to the present. They are all dead. The fifth element "life" is enriched in their bones, which can be used to refine the legendary medicine of immortality, the touchstone, or we can call it "virtuous". The Stone of the Founder'. Imagine what a treasure trove that would be for the alchemists. If they could get there and pick up a stone at random, it is the best raw material. The dust there is worth in this world. Liancheng." "What does this have to do with the Dragon Clan, or us?" Angers asked. "It probably doesn't matter, because this country of the dead probably doesn't exist at all," said the night watchman. "Think about the hard life those alchemists live, burning strange things in the fire all day long, I hope I can make something worthwhile. I’m ashamed. At that time, there was no public lecture class, and I only relied on a little bit of experience from parchment books. If I don’t make up a paradise to satisfy myself, this career may really persist. Can’t go on. There are too many such legends in the Middle Ages. Navigators couldn’t sail to China at that time, so they said that China is full of gold, but the sea is impassable, because the bottom of the sea is full of dragons sleeping in magma, and the ship sailed there. , the dragon wakes up and bites the bottom of the boat, and people fall into the seawater boiling with magma." He paused, "However, this is indeed in line with a Norse mythology, the black dragon guards the 'World Tree' leading to the 'dead the kingdom of the dead, it seemed that he was the gatekeeper of the kingdom of the dead. And when the twilight of the gods came, the sea was broken, and a great ship made of dead men's nails rose from the sea, and it came from the kingdom of the dead. , the ship is full of undead. They are the army sent by the kingdom of the dead to challenge the living." "Undead... those black shadows that Chu Zihang saw?" The night watchman nodded, "Over the years, do you feel that even though we have worked so hard to study the dragons, they are still very mysterious. They once established a huge civilization in this world, took humans as their servants, and built a huge It is reasonable to say that they have left countless relics. Human destruction alone is not enough to erase the relics of dragons from the surface of the earth. But in fact, there is still quite little evidence that can prove the existence of dragons. Ordinary humans know nothing about it, and we have never unearthed those miraculous things, such as the towering bronze palace of the King of Bronze and Fire in Northern Europe, such as the towering copper pillar standing on Greenland today, The black king crucified the white king on it. For example, the transoceanic shrine that the black king ordered to build connects the European continent and the Atlantic islands. According to the literature, the shrine is about 400 meters wide, enough for a Macedonian phalanx of ten thousand people. Keep the formation through, flat as the surface of water, straight without a trace of curvature." "If this kind of road still exists, I will definitely drive to the extreme speed." Ang Hot nodded. "But as soon as the Black King died, these things disappeared, just like Atlantis sank into the Atlantic Ocean. In fact, the legend of Atlantis is a historical deformation of the demise of the dragons. Overnight, these things are bigger than the Empire State Building today. Things that are still majestic, even the entire island of Manhattan, and even the entire United States, have completely disappeared, never to be seen again, never to be found again. Is this possible? You must know that even if these things sink into the Atlantic Ocean, the tsunami caused will still It would take three days to reach the Indian Ocean and drown the whole of India in one fell swoop, but it disappeared peacefully." The night watchman asked, "Why?" "Is it related to the kingdom of the dead?" "This is one of the conjectures. The kingdom of dragons is not built in a normal dimension at all, but in the 'land of the dead' they rule. This is a mythical dimension, a world of another concept, similar to our current Some worlds coexist, and only a few interfaces can be reached." Angers slowly raised his head, facing the pitch-black roof, spit out the gas full of alcohol on the first floor, feeling the mysterious atmosphere that was magically transpired in this legend, "From a scientific point of view, this is too difficult to explain Yes. A new dimension, a new space, and opening access to it would take an incredible amount of energy, probably enough to accelerate the Earth to nearly the speed of light, and shoot it like a bullet through a black hole or something. Well, it is impossible for the Black King to be killed by human beings, he can burn the world hundreds of times by inhaling and exhaling once." "You're talking about energy, black holes, and four-dimensional space," the night watchman raised his eyebrows, staring into his eyes, and said slowly, "This is still a matter in the field of science, and you are still seeing the world with human eyes. " "The world in the eyes of the Dragon Clan...is completely different from ours, isn't it?" "Yes, the innate ability of the Dragon Clan is to change the rules. The route you are currently taking is to explain the word spirit in a scientific way. You say that the effect of the 'Scythe Weasel' is actually to change the density of the air, so that the air around the releaser is formed. Naturally amplifies the cavity and improves hearing at the same time, so it is extremely sensitive to subtle sounds. But the dragons don't think so at all. The dragons think that the word spirit has changed the world rules in the domain, and releasing the weasel is to wake up the sleeping spirit in the air. These spirits turn into wind demons, picking up their voices and sending them to your ears like a messenger, and once they evolve into 'vampire sickles', they will change from messengers to death-defying attackers, and turn into sharp blades of the wind to attack you. Outward diffusion.” The night watchman said, “In terms of the logic of alchemy, everything is smooth and easy to explain. But the science you study is a kind of thing that discards the basics, and you have to come up with different scientific concepts every time. Stumbling, cavities, microstructures, turbulence, wind eye effect." "Is your alchemy logic the magic stick logic?" As a Cambridge graduate, Ange couldn't accept the other party's slander of science, and his voice raised, "In fact, what your magic stick says is vivid, not at all. Logic!" "What about your own 'time zero'? Can you explain time zero scientifically? You slow down or speed up time? Can you tell me how much energy it takes to shorten or lengthen the timeline?" The night watchman shrugged, "The more High-level speech spirits are more difficult to explain scientifically. This is originally the field of mysticism. Evidence of the existence of the kingdom of the dead can be found in many myths. Tibetans believe that people have forty-nine days to wander around after death. This is a mystical realm. At this time, the human soul is called 'Bardo', which translates as 'Antrabhara' according to the pronunciation. This is something in the field of occultism. The real space may exist in the illusory world of consciousness." "Okay, magic stick." Angers spread his hands, "Then, how to open the 'Kingdom of the Dead'?" "Dead..." "Nonsense! I mean to live..." Anger felt a little powerless. "I said that the alchemists of all ages wanted to live... and now they have all gone because they are all dead." The night watchman curled his lips. "You are the person with the greatest achievement in alchemy in the entire academy. If you have no clue about opening the passage, why did the passage suddenly open to Chu Zihang?" "First of all, your evidence now does not prove that Chu Zihang has really been to the country of the dead, it is just a hypothesis; secondly, if you want to enter, the most important thing is to obtain the permission of the gatekeeper." "The gatekeeper is..." Anger was silent for a long time, "Black King Nid Hogg." "But what he saw inside was not Ned Hogg, but Odin." "In the myth, the black dragon and his opponent... could it be the same existence?" "God knows the rest. I've already told you everything I know," the night watchman paused. "Well...there is one last thing...the permission to cross the border is not a one-off." "What do you mean?" Anger was taken aback. "According to the oldest classics, permission is required to enter the territory of the Dragon Clan. Human beings are allowed to enter, perhaps as a pilgrimage, or as servants to listen to orders. At this time, they are closely seen, but they can See and listen as much as you can. They can't take anything there, even though everything there is more precious than gold. But humans are a very thieves, and some of them still managed to steal from dragons, because After many generations of trials, they discovered that those who are admitted once will have a certain mark on their body, which is called a "brand mark". If you have walked that road once, you can find that road again , so these people sneaked in quietly by themselves to avoid the dragon's surveillance, they are the legendary treasure robbers who entered the dragon's lair." The night watchman suddenly lowered his voice, "The brand mark is like... a passport that allows multiple entries!" Chu Zihang is the only person we know who has been there." Angers shuddered slightly, "Those who have been there once can find their way! " "Like a psychic, like a crystal ball, like the boundary between day and night, they can communicate with different worlds," the night watchman said softly, "If he is the chosen one, he will be chosen by the dragon." The rain became heavier, and a burst of dense raindrops hit the glass. Angers turned his head to look at the hazy campus under the rain curtain outside the window. The night watchman looked at his partner for many years. He sat on the sofa in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, straightened his waist, his silhouette was thin and hard, clearly only wearing a suit, but he was as majestic as a warrior in iron armor.Every time he burst out with such an aura, it was all due to some kind of strong... desire to conquer. "It's been many years, and I never thought about it like this today. I think I'm very close to the finish line." After a long silence, Angers turned around and whispered. "What is your end?" "I want to find the Forbidden City of the Dragon Kings, tie them inside, put a nuclear bomb in those bronze, rock, underwater or floating palaces, and then detonate them at the same time. The world of this group of reptiles is destroyed from the copper pillar of the king, and the fire is pouring down from the sky like rain." Angers looked serious, "What do you think of my ultimate ideal in life?" "Very good," the night watchman nodded unexpectedly, "I believe you can do it, you have always held grudges." "Yes, the country of the dead, this is my chance." Angers raised his glass, "Old friend, I need your help." "My specialty is alchemy, not the development of nuclear weapons. For this matter, you should contact Doug Jones. He is the head of the physics department! Speaking of which, I have a stomachache..." The night watchman hurriedly said, he only hated himself for not leaving a back door You can jump up and run away... Angers seldom begged him, and begging was always a fatal thing. "Next week the board's investigative team arrives at the college." "What?" The night watchman was stunned. The word "investigation team"...it is very strange for this thing to appear in Kassel College. For almost a hundred years since the establishment of the school, Angers has almost always been the absolute leader of the campus. As a result, although these people were able to restrain Angers, they rarely tried to interfere with Angers' work. It was already the limit for the command and execution department to obtain some information, and now they openly sent an "investigation team"!Investigate what?Doubt what? “名义上是和教育部联合的一次考察，考察卡塞尔学院办学情况，事实上在六旗游乐园事件之后立刻排除调查组，目的应该是事件的中心人物楚子航，他这些天在小校园新闻网上已经热透了”。昂热叹了口气。“我们确实养了一支不错的狗仔队，校董会对于学校情况的了解很多都出于我们自己在内部网上放出的新闻，他们应该能觉察出楚子航的表现异常。” “不仅仅如此吧”？守夜人皱眉，“他们把那份中国警方的资料看得如此重要，应该是很早就对楚子航的身份和那起事件有怀疑了。” “'暴血'、'烙痕'这两件事中的任何一件都能叫楚子航完蛋。”昂热说，“你必须帮我。” “说得好像我欠你的一样……” “我不信任校董会。”昂热一个字一个字地说。 守夜人愣住了，室内本来已经不高的空气温度在这冷感四溢的一句话间好似冰凝了，两个人默默地对视，听着雨声哗哗，。守夜人对校董会的态度也说不上好，他一直都说已经是新时代了，什么密党元老会这种机构已经没哟必要存在，家族的老家伙或者新继承人什么的就当好自己的幕后投资人，校董会不该干涉校务，校务是执行者的事，他们这群人才是执行者……如果他在阁楼上喝了几十年酒看了几十年美女杂志也能称“执行”的话。 但是他不是说对校董会不信任，毕竟大家的目标是一致的，而长老会毕竟仍旧是整个密党的精神领袖。 有什么理由不信任手握巨大资源而且愿意与你并肩作战的领袖们？ “每个人都有各自的目标。大家就像是同性的伙伴，暂时目标一致的时候，就会同行，但是应为最终的目标不同，总会在岔道口分道扬镳，我不知道还有多久我会和校董会分道扬镳，但我觉得隐约看见了那个岔路口……”昂热轻声说。“这么多年来，密党对抗龙族的战争是无私的么？” 守夜人沉默了片刻，摇头，“虽然在有些年代，我们曾经涌现过英雄，为人类或者世界这样崇高的主题付出过惨重的牺牲……但我不敢说密党是无私的，组成长老会的每个家族都是财阀，我们从龙族文明中获得了巨大的好处，介于纯血龙族和人类之间，龙族比仇恨人类更加仇恨我们，因此我们被逼上了与之决战的路。” “那么如果有一天没有了龙族呢？有一天这世界上所有的龙都死了。”昂热端着酒杯，走到窗前，眺望“英灵殿”顶被雨水冲刷的雕塑。 “你觉得……那一天快要来了？” “神话中'诸神的黄昏'，黑龙复活，从死人之国来的军队和恶魔们一起发动对生者的战争：玛雅文化说2012年第五个太阳纪的尽头，将不再有新的纪元，因为一切彻底结束；佛教神话说三场巨大的灾难之后，三界之中，自无间地狱至第三禅天，全部毁灭，一切如尘埃飘散。这是从太古时代开始人类世代相传的'毁灭主题'，我相信有这样一天，命运三女神的丝线纺织到尽头，迎接生命线的只能是一柄剪刀，那一天就是决战之期。”昂热深深地吸气，“我并不害怕决战，从我知道这场战争自太古时代已经注定，我只怕自己没有那么长的寿命，赶不上它。如今我看到了希望，四大君主轮次苏醒，死人之国的门重新打开，路明非、恺撒、楚子航这样血统精纯的年轻人出现，最后的战争临近了。” “不如说是毁灭临近了。”守夜人对于这个悲观的语言显得很淡定。 “不！”昂热猛地扭头，那对铁灰色的瞳孔里，炽烈的金色光艳吞吐。 守夜人愣了一下，一手高举酒杯，一手麻利地抓起酒瓶，挡在自己两眼前。他透过琥珀色的酒液看昂热。 “你搞什么？”昂热倒是愣住了。 “当墨镜用……你现在两眼亮得好像闪光灯！”守夜人振振有词。 昂热忽然间高涨的威严在各个做事风格素来没谱的家伙面前没撑住几秒钟，退潮般迅速回落了。昂热叹了口气，“决战，只有打了才知道胜负。我们既然能杀死青铜与火之王，我们未必不能杀死其他龙王，乃至于黑王。命运女神的剪刀不仅仅是落在人类的生命线上，还有龙族的生命线，决战之后，可能龙族重新成为世界主宰，也可能他们被彻底终结。事实上，校董会对于决战也很期待，他们甚至满怀信心，甚至其他的混血种家族，比如汉高那些人……” “汉高不过是个投机商人，”守夜人冷冷地哼了一声，“还学我穿得像个牛仔。” 昂热又叹了一口气，他不知道为什么这个多年的伙伴总是有点脱线，人类命运世界毁灭的主题似乎没有他和汉高撞衫来得严重……其实守夜人对汉高指责完全站不住脚，年轻时代的汉高真的是一个德州牛仔，还是一个警长，以那对炼金转轮大杀四方。而他这位老朋友……似乎只是一个沉溺在狂野酒吧女郎和酒瓶子里的英俊青年，酷爱牛仔风格的服饰而已。 “他们都认为在龙族全灭之后，混血种会掌握世界的权力，没有龙族潜在势力的制衡，混血种可以把全部精力用于统治人类。他们已经开始准备在家族之间分权了。”昂热说，“他们才是真正的政治家，政治家永远在战争还未结束的时候就想到建设新的世界，就好比美国和苏联还未攻克柏林已经考虑如何在欧洲划分势力范围。” “他们这么想我不意外，他们一直是这样的人，”守夜人说，“我好奇的只是，你的目的是什么？那么多年以来你一直是秘党中最具执行力的人物，你为'屠龙'这件工作出力最多，你没有家庭子女，没有财产，花钱像一个朝生暮死的浪荡公子。而你已经老得快要死掉了，你为什么这么坚持？” “你知道的，何必再问我？”昂热淡淡地说。 轮到守夜人叹息了，“你是送葬人，龙族的送葬人。所以你一直是、穿着黑色，袖子里带着折刀，一百年里每一刻你都在想杀人，啊不，屠龙。你是那种很记仇的人，谁和你结下仇恨，成为你的敌人，就只有死路一条。除非他们先杀了你。” “对。”昂热点点头。 “你的目的呢?彼此交换一下内心是老朋友间应该做的。”昂热扭头看着守夜人。 守夜人接着挠头，歪嘴，“不告诉你……因为我不喜欢说谎。” “你以前总是对女人花言巧语。” “你全身上下哪有半点像女人？” “我不想跟你说烂笑话。”昂热把空酒杯放在一摞DVD上，“校董会既然派出调查组，说明他们对我在这件事上的能力不信任，而我也不信任他们的判断，无论是出于楚子航继承了狮心会的角度，或者因为他是目前唯一一个可能去过死人之国的人，我都不希望校董会把他从这个校园里赶出去。教授中肯定会保护楚子航的只有施耐德，他控制着执行部，但是影响力还不够，院系主任那些老怪物们……” “你自己也是老怪物。” 昂热没理睬他，“还是会尊重校董会的意见，能帮我留住楚子航的只有你，你是我多年的朋友，我需要你的回答，不用多话，一个字的答案。” “你就是在逼我表态嘛……”守夜人缩在转椅里，双手抱怀，挺着肚子叹气。“一个字，Yes或者No。”昂人的声音严厉起来，他知道求这个人没用，这个人看起来邋遢没谱，但是对一切事情都有自己的判断。 “我记得学院里推行中文教育还是我的意见。”守夜人慢吞吞地说。 昂热一愣。 “在这所学院里大家都说中文，以便我们在中国屠龙的'东方攻略'，而中文里'不好'是两个字，”守夜人歪着头看着昂热，“可你要一个字的答案，我只能说……” 沉默了很久，昂热嘴角掠过一丝难以察觉的笑容，“你非要卖这么一个关子么？” “我也这么说'呸'……”守夜人挥挥手，“但是我是个有教养的人，这种字不能出自我的嘴里，所以我还是说'好'吧。” “你好像是个不说冷笑话就会死的人似的。”昂热拿起自己带来的雨伞就要出门没他已经实现了此行的目的。 推开门的瞬间他听见背后守夜人慢悠悠的声音，“喂，朋友，你明白你在做什么，对么？” “当然。”昂热没有回头。 “我承认，我不喜欢校董会那帮老古董和政治家。出于他们自己的利益，他们可能滥用卡塞尔学院的力量，但他们的目标是建立混血种的时代，全新的时代。他们想的仍旧是建设，虽然权力欲有点过剩。而你，你是是要为龙族送葬，如果这个世界上真的有死人之国，我相信你会把核弹运进去，把那些太古时代的伟大遗迹炸毁，火雨从天而降的时候，你会点燃一支雪茄倒上一杯香槟来祭奠你的朋友们，那些最早的狮心会成员，如今他们已经成了一块大墓碑上的名字。龙族如果知道他们的复兴的命运因为杀了几个混血种跟一个差不多该死的老家伙结仇，于是被老家伙百变，他们会后悔得肠子发青的。”他顿了顿，“昂热，你要的只是毁灭，对于毁灭之后的事情你什么都不想，你在发狂的边缘。你以为你是谁？复仇女神？” 昂热撑着伞站在门前，雨水从他的伞缘坠落。他望着铁灰色的天空，似乎在思考，守夜人看着他的背影，老友此刻的背影模糊而遥远。 “你错了。”昂热低声说。 “哦？”守夜人一愣，“你的意思是……出了屠龙，你那固执的脑瓜子里还有点别的计划？” “我的意思是……你错了，是男神。”昂热反手带上门，“不要以为只有你会将烂笑话。” cc1000次支线特别快车奔行在伊利诺伊州北部的丘陵地带，放眼望出去，植被从深绿到金黄到红褐，颜色变化如同霓虹。铁轨在原野上切出一条铁色的线，直指前方。 已经是初秋了，校董会在几次审慎的紧急会议之后联系了教育部，派出了这个调查组，距离“六旗游乐园”事件已经过去两个多月。为了掩盖这次时件的真相，校董会令旗下财团购买了六旗公司的股份，入驻董事会，并把修复的任务交付给校董会控制的另外一家建筑公司。 “这群惹事的家伙，每次斗室大笔大笔的钱啊！”调查组组长安德鲁加图索眺望窗外，喃喃自语。 作为加图索家族的首席财务官，他也是一个混血种，只不过言灵能力有限，这次被委派为组长，得以亲赴秘党最大的投资项目卡塞尔学院观摩，其实他心里是很开心的。想像一下一个埋头在财务工作里几十年的老会计忽然开始扮演一个钦差的角色，威风凛凛地去旗下项目考察，何等的舒畅。 他觉得趁此机会有必要给学院的人一个警示，这么多年来这些无法无天的家伙总是捅娄子，然后就要用海量的钱去善后，而这些钱往往就得从校董们的账户上调用。安德鲁曾经深夜被电话吵醒，让他从美国纽约的地下金库里调动5吨储备黄金运往南部非洲，只因为执行部在围攻一个三代种时痛下狠手，当着当地土著的面把那家伙切成了碎片。 那家伙藏在金脉里，以黄金为食物，是当地土著供奉的财富之神，浑身肌肉骨骼都渗透了金元素，碎片都像是纯金的。土著认为这些外来者杀死了神，于是要求赔偿，如果不能赔偿一条新的黄金龙兽，就要把执行部的人吊在笼子里直到死，据传之后能用来灌腊肠什么的……为了掩盖这个事件，并且和平解决冲突，学院用这些黄金铸造了一条龙兽模型馈赠给土著，换回了被擒的专员们。迄今这座黄金雕像还站立在南部非洲的密林深处，美国军方的间谍卫星几度把它误以为是什么导弹发射装置。 安德鲁受够了学生们在昂热的教育下胡作非为的风格，不整顿校风校纪是不行了！在安德鲁上学的年代，还分男女校，学生们彬彬有礼敬畏师长，安德鲁认为那才是学生应有的风貌。 他觉心趁这个机会展示自己的领导才能。 “还有五分钟火车就会抵达终点站，现在已经开始减速。”年轻的秘书走到安德鲁背后，微微躬身。 安德鲁立刻端正了坐姿和表情，冷冷地回看了秘书一眼。他在跨国公司有多年经验，知道一个优秀的领导一定要庄严，而庄严最好的办法就是面瘫，不要轻易流露表情。这个秘书不是他的下属，是被弗罗斯特加图索先生指派来的随团秘书，说是可培养的年轻人。对陌生的年轻人尤其要严肃。否则他们会认为你是好说话的上级而放松对待。 “资料都准备好了么，帕西。”安德鲁问。 “准备好了，先生。”名为帕西的年轻人用温雅好听的意大利语回答。 安德鲁其实很满意于帕西的效率和勤奋，看起来是有前途的年轻人，不多的缺点之一是他似乎总把那头漂亮的金发梳成长刘海遮住整个眼睛和双眼，尤其躬身的时候，安德鲁看不见他的眼睛。跟上司汇报的时候不诚恳地直视，安德鲁觉得这很不好。 “作为调查团的成员，这次我们会严肃地考察卡塞尔学院的办学情况，确保校董会的每一分钱都用到了实处，如果存在浪费、违规、活着教育原则上的错误，我们会本着校董会章程给予严肃的处理。我们就代表校董会，我们有最高授权！明白么？”安德鲁以教训的口吻说， “所以一切都是公事公办的，你是秘书，是重要的接口人，我不希望你在工作之外和学院的人有单独联系。” 安德鲁很为他的最高授权自豪，这东西放到中国古代就是皇帝赐的尚方宝剑，而卡塞尔学院的校董会章程则完全是份暴力章程，违反章程者的下场可谓悲惨。鉴于敌人的强悍，有这么一份强硬的章程也是难免的，执行起来往往会宽松。是否宽松要看安德鲁的心情，安德鲁想到就心情好。 “安德鲁先生，我们主要的目的，还是那名叫楚子航的学生吧。”帕西提醒，“如果调查范围扩大，我担心人手和时间都不够。” “那个劣迹斑斑的学生？”安德鲁皱眉，“他的事情已经有定论了！” 楚子航不会想到六旗游乐园事件之后，他已经成了卡塞尔学院的话题人物，虽知道来的却不是奖励而是出发。由于校董会建议的一系列出发，综合了他以往的表现做出，基于校董会章程，“失控”的学生会被带离学院，交由校董会进行“专人教育”。安德鲁握有足够的证据。 “是学院不多的'A'级之一，如果没有明确的证据就带走她，学生可能会暴动。”帕西轻声说，“我们还是控制不要让学院的状态失控为好。” 安德鲁在心里冷冷地笑了，学生们大概是受了什么新派教育的影响，而误以为他们真的是在一所普通大学就读。一旦被校董会拿到证据，暴动？校董会本身就是最强的暴力机构，怎么暴动？ “我们会展示明确的数据。”安德鲁回答得很冷淡，“我们此行还将拜会各位院系的主人，学院各个委员会的主人，你要为我安排好日程。” 这很重要，争取到院系主任们的支持，也就争取到了学院主流的支持。 “明白。”帕西说。 “我希望和昂热校长有一次友好的会谈，不过如果昂热校长不配合校董会的调查，我也可以不跟他见面。”安德鲁的口气很强硬，校董会最近对于昂热的意见比较大，显然他给校董会的报告非常地草率，逼得校董会居然要去校内新闻网上做“搜帖子”这种事来重现六旗游乐园的事件真相。 "clear." “学生社团的代表也是我要见的人。” "clear." “卡塞尔学院成立的初衷，就是一个针对龙族的军事院校，如今是它回到正轨的时候了！”随着进站的汽笛声，安德鲁霍然起身，整理自己的衣领，脸颊拉出生硬的线条，如同一个要上战场的武士，“现在开始是我的工作时间！” “卡塞尔学院欢迎您” "Welcome, welcome, welcome!" “欢迎校董会调查团莅临指导。” “安德鲁老师您辛苦啦！” 安德鲁踏出火车的第一步，忽然惊恐地想要退回车厢。他还没弄清楚到底出了什么事，但毫无疑问什么地方出错了，这场面和他预想的完全不一致…… 为什么是一辆花车？what happened?这招展的彩旗是为哪般？这占满火车站的男生女生手捧花束是什么意思？见鬼了这个穿着夏威夷花衬衫上来拥抱他的邋遢老家伙是谁？wait a minute!来前分明看过学院全部重量级人物的档案……没有看到这张长着个酒槽鼻子的脸啊! 他没有来得及反应，就被老家伙深深抱进怀里，大力地拍打后背，被他身上的酒气熏得几乎晕倒时，又有漂亮的女生上来给他戴上夏威夷风格的花环，被簇拥着上了那辆漆画着Q版五色小龙的花车。 “怎……怎么回事？这什么阵仗？劫持？”安德鲁傻了。回头求助似的望向帕西带领的全组干将，其中不乏言灵能力极端出色的战斗精英，居然此刻都呆站在原地没有动，怜悯地看着他。 帕西疾步跟上，凑到安德鲁耳边，“这应该就是派来迎接您的车队……这位大概是……副校长先生。” “副……副校长？”安德鲁脑海里一片空白，他从未听说过卡塞尔学院有副校长这个位置，从组织结构表上看，昂热校长直接管理着负责学院运营的“校务委员会”和负责教育研究的“学术委员会”，那个委员会里也没有副校长这种东西，以昂热校长强大的执行力，根本不需要什么副校长辅助吧？ “他还有一个称谓，”帕西低声说，“守夜人。” 安德鲁微微哆嗦了一下，大量那个酒气熏天的老家伙，无论如何没法把这家伙和照片上的人堆起来。来卡塞尔学院之前无论如何不能不研究学院隐秘的二号人物“守夜人”，安德鲁也搞到了他的照片，虽然是1934年在玻利维亚照的，历史有点太悠久，不过鉴于这家伙跟那些院系主任一样几十年没抛头露面了，能搞到照片已经不错了。可是照片上那雕塑般的美男子面孔呢？那希腊式的鼻子呢？那介于浪荡子和摇滚青年之间的细长卷发呢？那介乎妖冶和纯真之间媚杀少妇和老奶奶的眼神呢？那上有感觉的小牛皮靴呢？ 哪里蹦出来这么个好像刚从夏威夷度假回来，且挺着小肚子的老东西？ 他是守夜人？这隐藏在幕后的人物本该多么暗黑和强力啊!能够制衡昂热的人会是这种货色？而他居然还是……副校长？ “因为懒散，没有适合他的职位，所以头衔是副校长，不分管任何事务性工作。”帕西解释说。 老家伙用力点头，意思大概是“我就是你等的那个男人。” 安德鲁一瞬间就颓了，明白自己的计划完蛋了。原本他预计阻挠他调查的只能是学院里一手遮天的的昂热，这时候他就会将已经掌握的材料公布给昂热，告诉他校董会对他的执行力不信任，校务必须彻查，然后绕过昂热直接去找各个系的主任们。 “黑王和白王，吉祥物，吉祥物，活跃校园气氛。”副校长先生看起来是个很豪爽的人，热情地大笑，“学院最近十年有很多改变，一直等着校董会的人来检查，展示一下全新的校园风貌，的终于把你们给盼来咯！” 这奇怪的腔调让安德鲁一阵脚软。 几百个身穿墨绿色校服的男生女生高举手中的花束围绕，花车缓缓而行，人声鼎沸，空气中飞舞着气球和丝带，隐约还有开香槟的声音，看起来他们都很开心调查组的莅临，要把这次调查办成学院的盛大游园会。 副校长挥手指着下方，满脸骄傲，“学生们的精神面貌都不错吧？”有力的竖起大拇指，“就知道调查组一定会满意！” 他没有给安德鲁任何回答的机会，高举胳膊对这学生们高呼，“同学们好，同学们辛苦了！” 同学们大声回应，“老师好！老师最辛苦……” 世界上有很多讨厌鬼，其中最讨厌的那种就是“完全不按牌理出牌”的那种。 安德鲁没有在卡塞尔学院的“中文优先”的环境里呆过，自然也没有读过武侠小说，浑然不知中国文化的精深，若是双方对决，亮出“白鹤亮翅”这种有说道的起手势的，必然不如那个“双脚不丁不八站着，双手背后”的主儿武艺精深，当然最牛的还是在一群江湖人物刀枪剑戟斧钺钩叉纵横来去的时候，在旁边扫地的老和尚或者自顾自擦桌子的小二。 安德鲁终于领教了。 正牌校长昂热据说是得了严重的咽炎不能见客，鬼知道一个血统强大到能够延缓时间的强者怎么会得咽炎，但是他一次都没出现过。暂代校长职能的副校长——他的名片上公然印着“Night Watcher”作为自己的名字