The Heavens: A Qing, the Yue Girl at the beginning

The sound of the vice-principal's Adam's apple rolling was particularly clear in the silent ice cellar. When he saw the silver-blue embryo swimming at the bottom of the glass, the tail fin of the dragon subspecies was sweeping across the ice ball in the whiskey.

The old cowboy's pupils shrank into pinpoints in an instant, and a scream like sandpaper rubbed against his throat erupted. He suddenly spit out a large mouthful of wine mist with a "puff", staggered back two steps, and let out a roar like sandpaper rubbing against each other: "Damn it! What the hell did you put in my wine!"

"1982 Lafite Dragon Cocktail, Cassel Special Edition."

Ange calmly avoided every splash of rainbow-colored liquid, swirled the wine glass gracefully, and looked through the glass at the blue-purple wine stains on his old friend's collar. His knife-like wrinkles hid a mischievous smile: "Would you like to try it again?"

The krypton arc lamps on the top of the ice cellar refracted bizarre blocks of color in the alchemical matrix. The mercury pool reflected the flickering light of the bronze compass, splitting the "Nidhogg's Awakening" symbol above into twisted star tracks.

"This wine tastes like battery fluid mixed with formalin!"

Flamel grabbed a towel and wiped his beard. The alchemist's demeanor shattered into a rag stained with wine. "I should have thought of it earlier. Can the old bastard really treat us? Damn it... How did you hold back from vomiting?"

"I didn't expect that there would be an idiot who would drink..." The principal handed over the silver-mounted spittoon at the right time, and at the same time used the tip of his folding knife to pick out the plastic bionic model in his glass, "but considering your feat of stuffing Cuban tree frog eggs into my cigar box in 1973, this surprise is just a courtesy."

"I bet Manstein's hair was corroded by this liquid!"

Flamel wiped his mouth and activated the alchemy array. The blue light from the bronze compass enveloped the vomit. He cursed in a low voice, "Don't even think about going to fight Nidhogg. Next time I'll just mix the Philosopher's Stone powder into your tea!"

"You can mix it up as you like. You can buy black tea anywhere. Let's see who goes bankrupt first."

The principal tapped his headset to switch channels. A holographic projection of Schneider's iron-gray face appeared on the surface of the mercury pool. "The data from the Tokyo Bay Magnetic Storm Monitoring Station has been synchronized. The speed at which the dragon viper spreads is 17% faster than expected."

The hissing of mechanical lungs mixed with the sound of keyboard tapping came: "Mance's team has just completed the analysis of the latest sample."

"Let Norma pull up the biological atlas. Tell me, how troublesome are these little cuties running around in the sea?"

Ange's fingertips slid across the holographic operating interface, and a three-dimensional projection immediately emerged of a translucent fish-shaped creature. The creature's scales glowed with the blue light of copper sulfate crystals, and its abdominal cavity was densely covered with coral-like metal digestive glands.

Mans's smoky voice came from the Tahiti Observatory: "A variant of deep-sea viperfish, bisexual reproduction, 0.7 eggs laid per day. Strong acid mucus pH value -78, combined with a ratcheting frequency of times per second..."

The scene switches to the remains of a sunken ship, where a group of dragon vipers are chewing propellers into metal fragments: "Their three-fold jaws, combined with rotating teeth, produce 12000K micro vacuum bubbles when biting to crush the target, and can also absorb energy from oxidation reactions."

"Each gram of marine steel provides 3.7 kilojoules of metabolizable energy, and under ideal conditions, the population can double every 72 hours."

"Have any of you ever seen a deep-sea species that reproduces faster than lemmings?" This cold joke made Professor Mans' cheek twitch slightly, as a response to Ange's humor.

Vice-Principal Flamel was in no mood to laugh. He walked back and forth behind Ange, occasionally getting closer to the holographic projection to carefully observe those creepy deep-sea killers.

On the holographic data screen on the other side, biological information was refreshed synchronously like a waterfall:

Ophioichthys daemonicus

Category: Dragon subspecies/semi-alchemical creature

Body length: 10-15cm (adult)
Features: Silver-blue translucent skin, three pairs of foldable wing-like fins, peak mouthpart pressure of 2176 psi
Ecological characteristics: Based on metal redox energy for metabolism, adaptable to both fresh and salt water, can survive at temperatures between 85°C and -20°C

Threat Level: SS (Civilization Collapse Level)

Schneider's hoarse voice, with the noise of electricity, pierced through the mercury mist:

"Samples collected by the Seventh Group of the Executive Department in Tokyo Bay show that each Devil's Tooth Viper can eat 1.7 kilograms of metal every day. At the current rate of spread, the Pacific Ocean submarine optical cable will face the risk of complete paralysis in one and a half months."

"What's more troublesome is..." The projection switched to a three-dimensional projection of Tokyo Bay. The originally azure blue water was now turning a strange rouge color. In the area where groups of vipers swam, algae were multiplying wildly at a speed visible to the naked eye, forming a red tide zone covering hundreds of nautical miles.

“Secondary disaster.”

The vice-president grabbed the cigar and took two deep puffs. The veins on the back of his hand bulged as he held the bronze compass. "The strong acid mucus has changed the pH value of the seawater, inducing explosive reproduction of dinoflagellates. If this continues, the entire Pacific food chain will completely collapse."

“Look at the migration routes of these little guys – the Hokkaido fishing grounds, the cold Kuril Current, the warm North Pacific Current, a perfect buffet of metal feasts.”

He expertly pulled up the news report: "The WTO estimates that every hour of delay in resolving the crisis will cost the global economy $4.2 million."

"What is the current scale of reproduction?" asked Angers.

"At least more than 100 million."

Professor Mans's anxious, smoky voice came from across the Atlantic Ocean: "They are spreading along the Kuroshio Current to the Bering Strait. The Japanese Fisheries Agency reported half an hour ago that the shark nets in the Soya Strait have been gnawed through 17 holes - those vipers are eating the nets as a buffet!"

"What solutions does the Equipment Department have? Connect me to Director Akadura." Angers tapped the screen where the tactical map appeared. "Schneider, the results of the Executive Department's simulation."

"Based on the intelligence information provided by the Kunlun Group, there are currently four priority options."

The mask spits out dense parameters: "First, inert material protection. Building a protective embankment with ceramic-based composite materials as the core can effectively resist the bite of the ghost tooth viper. For ships that must pass through dangerous areas, polytetrafluoroethylene is used to paint the underwater parts."

"But this plan will take up a lot of resources and time," Schneider continued, his voice echoing in the ice cellar. "Just the construction of the embankment around Tokyo Bay will take at least two months to complete based on the current material reserves and construction speed, and the spread of the dragon viper won't wait for us."

"As for the polytetrafluoroethylene coating technology, there is currently no experience in large-scale application on ships, and there is no guarantee that it can completely resist the long-term bites of dragon vipers." Akadula's voice came from the communicator with a hint of fatigue. Obviously, in order to deal with this crisis, the equipment department has been working around the clock for a long time.

"Only high-strength inert materials can be foolproof. After all, the mouthparts of the Devil's Tooth Viper can drill through 60 centimeters of concrete." Mans called up a scan of the wreckage in Tokyo Bay. "Unless each ship is wrapped in two meters of Teflon - this is more expensive than the cost of an aircraft carrier."

"The second option is to use magnetism."

Schneider switched to the picture of Yokosuka Naval Base, where the Japanese Self-Defense Forces were laying an electromagnetic net on the sea surface:
"The iron content in most dragon vipers is 270 times that of normal organisms. In theory, a strong magnetic field can interfere with their movements, but covering the entire Tokyo Bay requires building a superconducting ring with a diameter of 70 kilometers."

"Why not equip individual ships with magnetic storm coils? Those who engage in illegal electrofishing know this trick." Angé rubbed his chin, his eyes fixed on the analytical data on the holographic projection.

Mance brought up an infrared image. The groups of dragon vipers became more active in the electric current, with arcs bursting from their bodies. "They just use the electric shock as a charging station! The mitochondrial membrane potential difference of these ghost creatures is 120 times that of humans. They are miniature alchemical reactors in themselves."

"No wonder it smells like battery fluid." The vice-president browsed the pages of his own Night Watch forum: "Many Chinese students said they wanted to eat this invasive species, but the Vipera is covered with strong acidic mucus. Who would dare to eat it? If you are not careful, it will corrode even the pot."

"Don't think about these unrealistic things," Ange brought the topic back on track, "What about the third plan, Schneider?"

"The third option is cluster mines."

Schneider pulled up the cross-sectional view of the MK60 homing mine. "Combined with thermite and infrasonic trapping devices, it can instantly evaporate a group of vipers within a radius of meters. However, actual combat tests have shown that the metal fragments produced by the explosion will instead become food for a new batch of vipers."

Ange's folding knife suddenly pierced the edge of the mercury pool, and the blade trembled and cut off the blasting screen report: "What about the fourth plan?"

"Based on the dragon viper's metal-eating characteristics, antioxidants are sprayed in key waterways to block redox reactions."

Director Akadullah interrupted: "Using dimethyl sulfoxide as a carrier, we can spray corrosion inhibitors containing molybdates or organic phosphonates in key sea areas to create an artificial isolation zone 30 kilometers wide."

"In addition to severely affecting the dragon viper's feeding efficiency, it can also gradually dissolve the copper sulfate crystal layer on their body surface, narrowing their survival temperature tolerance range to 5-35°C. But the prerequisite is that there must be a sufficient amount. Preliminary judgment is that more than tons should be dumped every day - mainly due to the spread caused by ocean currents." "According to the current international market price, the daily cost of purchasing these antioxidants is at least around million US dollars. The secret party's funds for the next years must be filled in!"

Professor Mance's holographic image shook, revealing an underwater sonar array being assembled behind him. "Not to mention that the United Nations Environment Agency will nail you to the top of Tokyo Tower to dry before the thing falls down."

"Maybe we should try this."

The vice-president suddenly pulled out a rusty bronze box from his robe. Twelve metal balls engraved with cuneiform characters were vibrating at a high frequency. "An alchemical product left by the Assyrian Empire in the 7th century BC, specially designed to deal with a subspecies of dragons that feed on metals. Just replace the core component with plutonium 238..."

"And turn the entire North Pacific into a radioactive wasteland?"

Angers held the bronze box and interrupted coldly: "It would be better to let the US military drop hydrogen bombs in batches, just like they did in the Marshall Islands in 1952. There would be less pollution..."

The principal took a sip of whiskey and glanced at the projection of the viper swimming in the mercury pool: "I remember their fat content is over 35%?"

The vice-principal was about to retort, but suddenly he was stunned by the silver-blue embryo remaining at the bottom of the cup. The old cowboy suddenly stretched out his hand and slapped the alchemy array, and the mercury liquid instantly boiled into countless dragon symbols: "Fire! Use microwaves to boil these metal locusts! Their fragile skin can't bear it at all-"

"The ocean is not your bathtub." Angé said in a deep voice.

"There's no need to heat up the entire ocean. We can combine the previous plans and drive the vipers to concentrate in local waters. After all, it's one more way than before. According to the latest intelligence from EVA, the US Seventh Fleet does have several destroyers equipped with a new type of microwave anti-submarine system..."

"In fact, these idiots will blockade the southern waters of Honshu Island tomorrow in the name of a 'joint anti-submarine exercise' in an attempt to solve the naval aviation dilemma. So, I suggest you go feed the fish yourself and take a ride on the US reconnaissance plane."

The vice-president whistled: "Do you need my help in forging a naval advisory identity?"

Mance's eyes widened on the holographic screen: "But the Five Eyes Alliance just listed Cassel on the list of suspicious organizations last week."

"It doesn't matter. The Pentagon has reached a tacit understanding with the secret party recently."

Angers shook the Navy Command's transfer order that appeared at some point, and a golden flame ignited in the depths of his pupils: "I want to go to Japan to see for myself who these little creatures that are gnawing at the foundation of human civilization are clearing obstacles in front of the throne for."

"This crisis cannot be delayed. If the Ghosttooth Vipers are allowed to reproduce at such a high rate, even without the intervention of pure-blooded dragons, human civilization will be divided into isolated islands with only air traffic remaining. We are the last line of defense to prevent this from happening."

"The ninth round of Dragon Viper systemic destruction supercomputer simulation sent by Ms. Shi, CEO of Kunlun Group, estimated that if no intervention was made at the beginning, the Strait of Malacca would fall in just 35 days, and the global shipping system would completely collapse in five to six months."

After that, Ange gave a series of instructions into the headset: "Executive Department, all personnel are on standby and ready to go at any time. Equipment Department, speed up the feasibility study of various plans, report any progress immediately, and transport all the electromagnetic pulse mines tested last year to Tokyo Bay. Mance, continue to monitor the reproduction and spread of the dragon viper, and report to me every half an hour."

"Principal..." Schneider's electronic voice was briefly interrupted, and his tone was unusually serious: "The Equipment Department said that the triggering mechanism of those mines was based on the design of the Pokémon Ball. In actual combat, we may need to call in an appropriate number of hybrids as biological bait."

"Tell those lunatics that if they succeed in intercepting the group of Ghosttooth Vipers this time, I will allow them to use the EVA Unit-1000 paint job to modify the CC Express." Angers' last order was mixed with the aroma of wine. "And tell the Eight Snake Clan that I will come to their doorstep to deliver a great gift."

He turned around and pulled out a yellowed photo from his suit pocket. The Nagasaki Harbor in 1945 had burn marks on the photo paper. "We need to let our former Japanese branch chief Aga know that the Kassel Institute is planning to restart the Black Ship Project - but this time we are bringing protection technology, not gunboats."

"But before that, I need their people to explain clearly - did these crazy parasites escape from the laboratory of the White King's descendants, or are they appetizers sent in advance by a certain god they worship?"

"If I'm not mistaken, their source is probably more deadly than their spread, hiding a deeper danger - if we want to eradicate the locust plague, we must first find the barn that has been eaten through."

The pool of mercury suddenly boiled like lava, and Norma's alarm rang out throughout the ice cellar.

The holographic screen switched to real-time monitoring of the North Pacific, where a silver vortex formed by a swarm of dragon vipers was engulfing the propeller of the USS Oregon. The moment Angers grabbed the satellite phone, Schneider had already connected to the Seventh Fleet headquarters.

"Good afternoon, Admiral James. I heard that you need to solve some 'small problems'? Hermann von Cassel, special advisor to the Pentagon's Strategic Defense Agency, applies to be connected to the 'Freedom Flag' operational command chain."

The principal clicked on a secret document titled "Request for Assistance in Removal of Abnormal Organisms": "Faced with a 'Salmon Migration' type of blockage, I happen to have some...special cleaning equipment here."

The sound of a coffee cup hitting the table came from the communicator, and the roar of a fleet commander shook the mercury pool and caused ripples: "How dare the charlatans from Cassel Academy give orders to the US military? The 'Alchemical Biological Risk Assessment' you submitted to the Pentagon is simply like a medieval witchcraft manual!"

"Damn it! The McCampbell is leaking on the starboard side! Torpedo! Torpedo! No, use incendiary bombs instead!"

The vice-president turned back to the alchemy matrix with a slightly embarrassed look. It was obvious that the "clumsy" manual was hand-drawn by him himself.

"The old bastard planned it all along." He muttered to himself and took a sip of tequila, but choked and coughed repeatedly - this time he specifically checked whether there were any suspicious embryos in the wine.

"Admiral James, I suggest you check the encrypted file sent by the NSA three minutes ago." Angers put the folding knife back into the inner pocket of his suit. The rustling sound of the printer spitting out paper came to his ears: "My strategic defense authorization code is Ares-Ω-0402."

"If your Excellency insists that the nickel-aluminum-bronze military propellers were destroyed by common remora, I would be happy to contact the Navy Times to share this new biological discovery."

Then, thirty seconds later, the fleet commander's voice mixed with the alarm sounded again: "Mr. Cassel, the Seventh Fleet Command invites you to participate in the 0800 operations meeting."

Before the ripples in the mercury pool had subsided, Ange had already untied his tie and strode towards the elevator.

"Wait!" The old cowboy took out a titanium alloy cigarette case engraved with runes from his dirty robe, "Take this - it contains an alchemical chip that can deceive the US military's identity recognition. Stick it on the Adam's apple and it will switch to the simulated voiceprint of the Pentagon's special envoy."

Ange raised an eyebrow and took the cigarette box, his fingertips stroking the fluttering crow emblem on the lid: "I didn't expect that besides making sex toys, you can also make something useful."

"It's better than that crazy old man who was going to microwave fish!" Flamel suddenly ripped open the front of Ange's suit and slapped the bronze box into his chest: "Remember! The killing radius of this thing is 12km, don't charge like Rambo holding a bomb!"

The moment the elevator door closed, the mercury pool exploded into a three-meter-high silver wave, and Norma projected the Seventh Fleet's battle map into the water droplets. Ange's figure gradually dissipated in the mist, and only the scent of cedar mixed with the smell of whiskey lingered in the vice-president's curse:

"If you die, I will dig up your grave and fill your coffin with Cuban tree frogs!"

The ice cellar soon returned to silence, with only the runes on the bronze compass continuing to flash.

Flamel used cigar ash to draw a funny Pikachu smile on the ice, and suddenly raised the bottle to the empty altar: "Cheers to the fear wrapped in the sugar coating of science, and to this damn summer of 2004."

……

Twelve hours later, in the pre-dawn darkness of the North Pacific, 120 nautical miles southeast of Japan's Boso Peninsula.

The Burke-class destroyer USS Mitchell is cutting through the inky waves, and its AN/SPY-1D phased array radar is slowly rotating under the dark clouds.

The officer on duty leaned against the cabin door and cursed the humid sea breeze, but his complaints were suddenly drowned out by the roar of a ship-borne helicopter - a black "Sea Hawk" was crashing into the flight deck at an elevation of 60 degrees.

The night sky suddenly cracked open, and the moonlight shone down like a searchlight. Angers walked out of the cabin holding a silver cane. The salty sea breeze blew up his Givenchy trench coat. This silver-haired old man wearing tortoise-shell glasses was so elegant that he looked like he was attending a yacht party.

"Counselor Herman?"

The American major with a greasy face stared at the trident emblem on the tablet computer: "Sonar shows that more than 500,000 units are breaking through the third line of defense! The headquarters said you have a way to solve these..."

"No problem," Ange leaned against the hot gun and lit his cigar. "I need your ship to switch the S-band radar to active denial mode within 240 seconds, and have the kitchen send two servings of Blue Mountain coffee to the CIC War Situation Room - no sugar, two Cuban crystal coffee jellies."

...(End of chapter)