Scene 3: The Dictator (4)

“Ye Sheng and Aki, the strongest combination of young people in the Executive Department. The principle’s arrangements should not go wrong.”

“Nor is he blameless, such as… Ten years ago.” The man said faintly.

“It’s been ten years, don’t take it too much to heart. Although we lost a lot, we still won.”

“But only I came back alive.” The man shook the beer bottle.

“We’re all looking at you like the good old days!” EVA put her hand on the man’s shoulder.

Several top-down lights appeared at the same time around the man, and in each of them stood a translucent figure. There was a leather girl with short red hair, an indifferent boy with dark glasses, a man in black with priestly faces, a charming girl with long, crooked hair, and EVA. There were six of them, all of whom put their hands on the man’s shoulder. They happened to laugh together, like the smile on an old photo, it’s still as bright as before after many years.

The man bowed his head and drank in silence. He did not look at them or speak.

“EVA, don’t play this game, ok?” The man shook his head. “They’re not here. They are sleeping under the ice sea thousands of miles away, in those metal diving suits… Not to die, but never to return.”

The rest of the beam had disappeared, leaving EVA, who put out her empty hand and stroked the man’s cheek.

“Any news from ‘the prince’? “The man asked.

“If he had lived, he would have been ‘the emperor’. But I haven’t heard from him.”

“Of course he’s still alive. I can still smell his rancid smell. And if he dies, how am I going to kill him myself?” The man uttered the cruellest words in the coldest tone.

“If the only way to reassure you is to kill him,” EVA whispered, “Kill him then… I’ll wait for your news.”

The man nodded and pulled his hand away from the void. He was holding the air before. He drank his beer and went out. Infrared, invisible to the naked eye, but dense as the spider’s web went off, the scanning system shut down, the camera system automatically shut down, the red flash warning lights went to green, high voltage walkway ground was cut off… The security system entered a brief sleep state again.

“Oh, the thing about Lu Mingfei, no problem right?” He remembered the incident and turned around.

“No problem, just covering up for a new student. I’ve done more bad things for you than that,” EVA smiled. “but can I ask you why?”

“Looks like a good kid,” the man smiled. “I have other reasons. I’ll tell you when I prove them myself.”

He turned away, took a couple of steps and stopped again, He went to Adams in the corner, crouched down and said, “Hey, buddy, can you give me two coins to let me buy a coke… I gave you all the money… You see, money is just a toy to you, and there are no supermarkets or coke machines… “

Adams’s expression changed. He clutched the coins tightly and showed the classic stingy look.

“Adams, give your brother two coins,” EVA said.

Adams’ expression changed again, and, aggrieved, he carefully selected two old ones from those coins and handed them to the man.

“What a niggard!” The man slapped it hard on the head. Unable to withstand the force, the alchemical framework of the puppet robot crumbled into a pile of metal batons and pellets.

The man tossed two coins and drank his beer. EVA silently looked at his strapping and lonely figure. Compared with ten years ago, his back was not that straight.

The metal door opened and closed, and the man was gone. The girl in the beam shed tears silently.

The stick and the ball rolled together, Adams took shape again. He ran up to EVA with the sound of “hip hip hip hip”. Seeing her imaginary tears, it was stunning. After a while, it suddenly raised his hands over its head waving, shaking its body to do an ugly dance, shouting, “EVA, happy! EVA, happy! EVA, happy!”

The coins clanged on the floor, and the girl’s tears fell onto the metal floor in a glistening blue light.

“A freshman, in one day, took six of the top ten headlines of the day, which was really unthinkable before.”

“He shot Caesar and Chu Zihang, if his gun had been filled with live ammunition instead of Frigg bullets…”

“Shocking news, ‘S’ class student Lu Mingfei has no resonance for the dragon king incantatory text, the school is looking for the reason!”

“To whom does the crown of the day of liberty belong? Who blew up Caesar and then blew up Chu Zihang?”

Professor Manstein shook his head and shut down the discussion board page of the Cassel academy network. Tonight is probably a sleepless night, the number of online rushed to a new peak, the whole college students and even the pseudonym of the teacher are discussing the new student named Lu Mingfei. Does a new ‘S’ bring hope, danger, or just a joke?

Manstein was also a little confused, the white king guess may not be reliable. After all, it is just a guess, so far there is no record of white king generation being found.

He could only feel instinctively worried about Lu Mingfei who shot Caesar and Chu Zihang.

He turned off the light, sat alone in the dark for a while, and turned on his cell phone to make a call — “Father.”

The forum continues to refresh at high speed, and the message keeps moving.

“Maybe tomorrow he will suffer in 3E. I think he is not very good, maybe the principle misjudged his level.” Someone left a message.

“Maybe he has no dragon blood, so he is not afraid of the golden pupils of Chu Zihang.”

“His greatest strength is competitive games. What a funny specialty?”

“Hey! Why don’t we make a bet, who would wager Lu Mingfei can’t pass the 3E exam?” With the administrator’s logo on his message, Fingel’s presence created a buzz. This is a waste student who can’t graduate in 8 years. He is a popular figure on the website of Cassel College who is in charge of the news channel and can always produce some hot news.

“I think there’ll be a few people on his side. So, I would like to have a good start. 100 bucks, bet he can pass the exam!” Fingel launched the theme of the voting area.

“Fingel, are you going to bet your chances to pay your loan back on your roommate?” Some people laughed.

The stakes on the “No” side shot up to more than $20,000, while the “Yes” side still only had Fingel’s $100. In a single night, the background information of Lu Mingfei was dug up. Funny high school grades, he never had a girlfriend because no one took a fancy to him, has no sense of direction, the only specialty is playing games, was detained dozens of pirated discs in the custom… No matter how they analyze it, he’s not like the “S” students who are said to have the greatest potential for bloodline purity.

“Doesn’t anyone have a little gambling spirit? You can’t play like this,” Fingel complained. “You’re going to win my 100 bucks. The odds are 1 to 130 that he can’t pass the test!”

“I bet $500 that Lu Mingfei can pass the exam.” The person whose ID is “Murasame” left a message.

For a moment, the discussion area was silent. That was the ID of Chu Zihang. The silent Lionheart President, known as the “A+” level. The boy does not like the garrulous discussion. But he made an exception to gamble, bet 500 dollars bet on Lu Mingfei can pass the exam.

“I bet $5,000.” Someone with the ID “Dictator” left a message.

“Caesar! “One person wrote to exclaim.

“That he can’t pass the examination.” When Caesar finished, he went offline, leaving a frozen discussion area temporarily.

It was the beginning of another competition. If there is such a thing as natural enemies in the world, Caesar and Chu Zihang must be. The two of them never agreed on anything in the students’ memory. But one thing finally happened today. After “freedom day” was magically ended with two shots from the freshman, the Student Union and the Lionheart both announced their approval of the result.

They all admit they lost to a bum? Lost one year’s use of the Norton Hall and the right to pursue any girl in the college without being rejected? The students all felt that the two men had been a little too generous. Of course, they two need not worry about the problem of the schoolgirl, Chu Zihang is silent and incoming and kept single, he seems has no interest in any of the girls, while Caesar had had famous Nuo Nuo.

Caesar, holding a wireless keyboard, lay on the sofa in the Amber Hall, watching the huge projection screen as the stakes rose. He logged in as “Sonic” after logging out of his “Dictator” ID, which remained silent in the corner of the online list.

Nuo Nuo was leaning against the wall behind him, holding a cup of iced coffee. “You do care Lu Mingfei.”

“Yes, I’m not sure if he will pass the 3E exam tomorrow.” Caesar confessed, “I bet he can’t because I never bet with Chu Zihang on the same side.”

“I know, 5,000 dollars is nothing to you.” Nuo Nuo put down the coffee and grabbed her bag, “Gotta go. I’m taking Professor Manstein’s class this semester. I have to read lots of books. Call me if there’s something.”

“Wouldn’t it be crowded to read in such a small dorm with Susie? And she gave you a shot in the middle of the day… She can do anything for Chu Zihang.” Caesar stretched out his hand as if to stop Nuo Nuo. “Stay here. Amber Hall is more comfortable than Norton Hall.”

Nuo Nuo turned at the door and rolled her eyes at Caesar.

Caesar threw up his hands in a rush of innocence. “I mean… Guest room! I have many guest rooms!”

“In fact, the last thing I like about you is that you rent a villa on campus. Don’t you think it’s empty?” Nuo Nuo said, “I don’t like your Bugatti Veyron either.”

“The good news is I lost it today.” Caesar shrugged.

“Ok.” Nuo Nuo took the door and left. Caesar put his finger into the brilliant golden hair and scratched his head with a helpless expression.

“Three more minutes! If you have not placed your bets, please place them immediately. All bets must be paid into my account before the 3E exam tomorrow. I will manage them for you.” Fingel was curled up on the couch in the activity room of Flat 1, with bouncing fingers on the keyboard. A dozen students stood around him, looking serious and staring at the screen.

“The power of news is immense! I first put out the message that Lu Mingfei could not resonate with dragon language, and then bet on whether he could pass 3E.” Fingal clapped his hands and exulted, “And then the backroom guys bet Lu Mingfei can pass, we can get at least five times profit, I was moved by myself. Are the stakes ready?”

“Ready.” The mathematician boy replied.

“Be sure to place your bets near the end, or they’ll find out.”

“Understood. 34 seconds to go! I have synced to the system time!” Elite members of the campus loan sharks opened the countdown software on their laptops and gave their answers with the rigour of a scientist.

“Three to four seconds in advance, the disk is locked, the last few seconds should be the most concentrated time for capital injection, the network may be a little slow.” Someone reminded.

Bets were being placed on both sides at high speed, new bets were being added every second, the closing time was getting closer, and everyone’s heart was beating as fast as traders on a stock exchange.

“10,9,8,7,6,5,4,” the countdown man said, licking slightly dry lips.

“Go! Lock the entrance!” With a sweep of his hand, Fingel was striking.

“0.” The countdown man shouted, “Capital injection successful! We won!”

“Wait a minute! The amount of money bet on Lu Mingfei is… 39,400. At the last second, someone added 20,000…” A voice trembled.

“20000!!!!!” Fingel exclaimed. “Login using my admin ID and find out who he is!”

A minute later, Fingel stared at his laptop. The inputted ID clearly displayed on the screen, under his real name and without disguise — Gard Rudolph Manstein. And then there’s the title: “Professor.”

“The chairman of the Disciplinary Committee take part in… Didn’t he catch cheating?” Fingel got cold sweat on his head.

At this moment, Lu Mingfei is copying the answer sheet left to him by Fingel under the lamp, one stroke at a time. Fingel said he didn’t want to disturb his efforts, and went out with a big smile on his face, leaving him alone in the empty dormitory. It was less than four hours before dawn, and within four hours he had to copy and memorize all eight pictures. The lines were like a forest of branches, not meant to be remembered.

Remember, though, that weariness crept up like rising tides.

Are those right or not? Maybe this $2,500 answer sheet is bullshit? Where in the world would have tests about how to draw languages? What reason could he have for believing in the sometimes off-line and sometimes devious Fingel? He took advantage of him from start. His mind was a mess. But what happens after 3E? Can he get out alive in a genius academy of reptilian lineages? What about crawling out? All over the world slaying dragons?

At this moment in distant China should be morning, Chen Wenwen wearing a white skirt should hold hands with her new boyfriend, walking on the road that goes to a normal university?

The night Nuo Nuo drove him up the highway, he thought he had found his way out, but he turned out still to be a tiny firefly, flying aimlessly with the others.

He sat on the bed with his knees folded. He thought for a long time.

He just wanted to see her, no matter what happened.