Dragon Clan: Lu Mingfei Returns from Japan

Chapter 699 The Fall of Nidhogg
"Is this the college's confidentiality agreement?" Lu Mingfei asked Wan Boqian, looking up at her.

Wan Boqian nodded: "Yes. This is standard procedure. All students enrolled in the preparatory program at Kassel College need to sign this confidentiality agreement before their orientation."

"Mingfei, do you even know Latin?" Su Xiaoqiang turned to look at Lu Mingfei, her voice filled with surprise.

Of course, he didn't recognize it. Lu Mingfei knew that the document in front of him was a confidentiality agreement from Kassel College, purely because he had been tricked into signing it once by Professor Guderian.

At the time, he had no idea what a document was, and Professor Guderian tricked him into signing the confidentiality agreement. Only after signing did Professor Guderian tell him that the agreement included a clause on 'memory erasure,' meaning that if he dropped out, this memory would be erased. After losing his memory and being sent back to China, he had to repeat a year of high school and retake the university entrance exam.

“If needed, I can help you translate the contents and terms of this document,” Wan Boqian said.

"no need."

Lu Mingfei picked up the pen on the table and signed his name on the document. Seeing that Lu Mingfei had already signed the document, the girls followed suit and signed their names on the confidentiality agreement.

Wan Boqian walked up to the group, collected the documents one by one, and then spoke:
"Before the admissions guidance, I need to introduce myself first. As a registered university with the U.S. Department of Education, Kassel College is committed to providing a high-quality education to students with exceptional talents and recommending them for jobs."

"Our normal academic system is four years. The school uses a traditional, closed education system, and all students must live on campus. Upon graduation, we will award you a formal degree certificate. However, a degree certificate from our school may not be able to help you find a corresponding major at other universities. Therefore, if you particularly want to pursue a master's or doctoral degree, you can only choose to study at our school. It's similar to the theological seminaries of some universities."

"However, the seminary mainly studies knowledge about God, while we at Kassel College study..."

The classroom lights suddenly went out, and the multimedia screen on the blackboard lit up, projecting a grotesque image onto the screen in the quiet darkness.

The sky in the scene is a dark blue mixed with the color of flames. A single giant tree stands tall, its withered branches extending in all directions, weaving a dense net to support the cracked sky. The wasteland is littered with withered bones, and a black behemoth rises from the depths of the skeletal remains. Its wings are covered with skulls, and after spreading its enormous membranous wings, it thrusts black flames upwards.

Su Xiaoqiang was not completely ignorant about dragons, nor was this the first time she had seen a dragon in its true form. In Portugal, she had even witnessed a real dragon, the one that Father Bernardo had kept in the ground beneath the church.

Even so, the moment Su Xiaoqiang's eyes fell upon the grotesque scene before her, she felt as if a tremendous force had suddenly pressed down on her.

It was as if the oppressive aura emanated from that painting.

She even seemed to hear a low, distant roar of a dragon echoing in her ears.

Clearly, Su Xiaoqiang wasn't the only one who felt this way; Chen Wenwen and Liu Miaomiao also felt varying degrees of shock at the scene before them.

Wan Boqian, standing on the podium, observed the expressions of the crowd without making a sound.

This painting, titled "The Fall of Nidhogg," is no ordinary painting; the original artwork itself is a product of alchemy. Alchemical creations are not limited to weapons or pure elements. Items that can bear the weight of alchemy are incredibly diverse; the earliest known alchemical tablet, the "Emerald Tablet," was itself an alchemical creation.

This painting is also said to have been created by a master alchemist who witnessed the fall of Nidhogg, the Black King, in the "Fragments of the Frozen Sea" through a spiritual vision. In a moment of loss of control, he inadvertently used his paintbrush to record the scene he witnessed in his spiritual vision.

For a long time, this stunning painting was known as a cursed painting because those who owned it often suffered mental breakdowns or collapses within a short period. Some said it was because the artist's ghost was attached to the painting and lingered there.

Of course, there were no ghosts. Later, the alchemist Flamel spent a long time studying the painting "The Fall of Nidhogg" and finally discovered that many of the compositions in the painting contained dragon-like lines. Without exception, all the collectors of the painting had made copies of it.

During the process of copying, they inadvertently deciphered the dragon script contained within these compositions. No one knew what terrifying spiritual visions were hidden behind those dragon scripts. In short, the impact of the spiritual elements contained within these dragon scripts led to the mental breakdowns of the collectors.

The painting was later naturally collected by the Secret Service and is now locked in the ice cellar of Principal Angers.

A copy of "The Fall of Nidhogg" was used as a benchmark test in the entrance exams at Kassel College. Professor Guderian had shown Lu Mingfei this painting when he enrolled.

The copy naturally lacks the spiritual impact of the original. However, even so, when Wan Boqian saw this painting during her first orientation, she was deeply moved by the spiritual elements it contained.

But... isn't this a bit too calm?

Wan Boqian's gaze fell on Lu Mingfei, Ling, and Xia Mi, and she thought with some shock.

Whether it was Su Xiaoqiang, Liu Miaomiao, or Chen Wenwen, their expressions all showed varying degrees of shock or awe at the scene. However, the three of them just sat there like they were watching a slideshow in a museum, without showing any particular reaction.

Junior Brother Lu is one thing, after all, he's an S-rank student. The advantage of bloodline gives hybrids a significant edge over ordinary hybrids when deciphering dragon runes. Dragon runes that would drive an ordinary hybrid crazy with just a glance might be as simple as reading a fairy tale to an S-rank hybrid.

But what about the other two girls? How could they be so calm?

What kind of monsters are these...?
She had originally been secretly hoping to see her junior brothers and sisters' shocked expressions, and then she would comfort them with the air of an experienced person. But now, she was the one who was shocked.

Wan Boqian glanced down at the documents in her hand and flipped through them.

They really were a bunch of monsters!

Lu Mingfei's rating was S-rank, so of course she already knew. The fact that Kassel College had admitted a new S-rank student had already spread on the Night Watchers forum and was no longer a secret.

She hadn't expected that, besides Lu Mingfei, there were also two freshmen, Ling and Xia Mi, who were rated A, in this group.

Of course, an A rating sounds a bit inferior to Lu Mingfei's S rating.

However, Wan Boqian knew that A-level students were extremely rare at Kassel College. Each year, there were at most only two or three A-level freshmen. In years with poor student quality, there might not even be a single A-level student.

As for the A-level students, whether in the student council, the executive department, or even the secret party, they are already the backbone of the dragon-slaying force.

The current student council president and the Lionheart Club president are only rated A. Some department heads in the student council are only rated B or B+.

As for Lu Mingfei's S-level rating, it's simply because he's too abnormal! You have to know that even if you search through the entire history of Kassel College, there was only one S-level student with the same rating as Lu Mingfei a few decades ago!
There were actually two A-level students in front of her... Are all the students in the preparatory class this amazing?

Wan Boqian felt a slight sense of awe emanating from the preparatory class. ...

“Sanwu sent me a text message saying he’s already met with Lu Mingfei.” Su Enxi, wearing strawberry-patterned pajamas, lay on the bed, her slender legs swinging behind her, and opened a bag of potato chips with her phone clipped to her ear.

"So what if we met? What does it have to do with me?" the voice on the other end of the phone said, sounding somewhat bewildered.

With a "snap," the bag of potato chips was ripped open. Su Enxi chewed on a potato chip and said, "I was just reporting on the progress of the mission on the Three No's side. Why are you so overreacting, Long Legs? You weren't like this before."

"..."

Mai suddenly choked up. She thought to herself, "Potato Chip Girl really thinks she's all grown up. She's got the upper hand. She's got the idea that I'm in Siberia and can't do anything to her, so she's been using Lu Mingfei to cause trouble for me every day."

What's even more annoying is that, for some reason, I seem to be particularly fond of potato chips; they take the bait as soon as I try to hook them.

While Lu Mingfei and the others were receiving orientation, Su Enxi was also on the phone with Jiu De Mai.

On a summer afternoon in the capital, the sky wasn't exactly clear and the air was crisp; the direct sunlight was scorching and the air was rather muggy. Su Enxi, who always disliked the heat, naturally kept herself in an air-conditioned room. Meanwhile, just a phone call away, Jiu De Mai was already wearing a heavy cotton coat.

Northern Siberia has a tundra climate, with harsh and long winters, where extreme low temperatures can last for months. Even the brief summer months are pitifully cold.

"I don't know how Sanwu managed to stay with the Gypsy camp under these conditions," Mai thought to herself.

Furthermore, she couldn't understand why the Gypsies would migrate their tribe to northern Siberia. Was it because the Gypsies were naturally more resistant to cold?
"Did you find anything?" Su Enxi asked Jiu Demai.

“No,” Mai said. “It seems they found nothing at Kassel College either. Aki and the others have already left.”

“I heard that Aki will be coming to the preparatory class next week.”

"I know."

The chat stopped abruptly, followed by the sound of someone chewing potato chips coming through the microphone.

"However, Mai, your suggestion to switch missions with Muku is indeed a good one."

Su Enxi said, "After Lu Mingfei transferred to the preparatory class, it became less convenient for us to get close to him. If it were Sanwu, there wouldn't be this problem. She could transfer to the preparatory class in the capital and stay by Lu Mingfei's side legitimately as a classmate. Could it be that the reason the boss accepted your exchange mission application at this time, Mai?"

Mai Shude said, "It's hard to say. Based on my understanding of the boss, it's more likely that he acted on impulse. He's always been the kind of person who does whatever comes to mind, and he thought it might be more fun, so he did it."

“That’s true,” Su Enxi said.

No one can truly understand the boss's thoughts. He's not lacking in thoughtful consideration, but he's also not lacking in flashes of inspiration. He often makes inexplicable decisions on a whim, such as massively selling Square Enix stock because he wasn't satisfied with the ending of a certain Final Fantasy series. He's just that kind of childish, driven person.

"Since Mai, there's nothing going on your end, I'll hang up now. Sanwu should be back around now. Let's talk again sometime, if there's a chance," Su Enxi said.

She knew the Gypsies' journey was still ongoing, and further north into the Siberian tundra, there might not be any cell phone signal left in Mai's area.

"I hope there will be an opportunity," said Mai Shude.

The phone call ended. Su Enxi got out of bed and walked to the window.

It was summer, and the plane trees in the neighborhood were in full bloom, their tender green leaves scattering sunlight into dappled patterns on the pavement. Elderly people pushed strollers, slowly passing through the dappled light, while the children in the strollers waved to the sunlight filtering through the trees.

This is an ordinary residential community located within the Second Ring Road of Beijing.

This is the downstairs of the apartment Lu Mingfei rents.

……

"So... Zero, you mean you live downstairs from me?" Lu Mingfei looked at Zero and murmured.

In the hallway, Ling stood in front of the security door, nodded, raised her hand to her forehead, and half-opened her hand in front of Lu Mingfei to show him the key in her hand.

"Isn't this great?"

Su Xiaoqiang said with a smile, "I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence that Ling lives downstairs from us. It's so convenient for her to come upstairs to play now that she lives so close to us."

Is it really just a coincidence...? Lu Mingfei wondered silently to himself.

Now, Mai Shude's help to him has almost become overt. Lu Mingfei knows that Zero and Mai Shude have a close relationship; back in Portugal, the two of them rescued Charlotte from Father Bernardo together. Zero is in the capital, and perhaps that ninja girl is already there.

Whether it was a coincidence or not didn't matter anymore, after all, the person living downstairs was Zero... the Zero who often ate late-night snacks with him, the Zero who gave him cheat sheets when he was struggling with his exam papers, the Zero who would take the head of the Snake-Headed Eight Families hostage and descend from the sky to rescue him from the encirclement of the Snake-Headed Eight Families when he was isolated and helpless in Tokyo.

Besides, the little fairy and the others seemed quite happy about being neighbors with Zero.

Therefore, Lu Mingfei felt there was no need to care about Ling living downstairs from him.

……

(End of this chapter)