Vol2 Chapter 34: Explode
The executive suite was a mess, papers strewn across the floor, multiple laptops open, and a projection of Beijing’s map on the wall. Colorful fast-food wrappers littered the room, with two half-eaten KFC buckets on the table.
Chu Zihang, a chocolate bar in his mouth, sat upright at the desk, typing away. Since checking into the hotel, he’d been working nonstop, surviving on chocolate bars, cookies, and soda.
Fingel sprawled across a bed buried in documents, one hand clutching a red wine bottle, the other a fried chicken drumstick, lounging like a sunbathing toad.
“Lu Mingfei’s been gone all day. Know where he went?” Chu Zihang asked suddenly.
“Said he’s at an internet café. Playing games here would distract you. Junior Brother, we’re counting on you. Their team’s all elites, and you’re stuck dragging us two deadweights.”
“You’re misusing that term. A ‘deadweight’ refers to a child from a previous marriage after a divorce,” Chu Zihang corrected. “Like me.”
He hit Enter, loading data into his newly built mathematical model. The projected map on the wall rippled as if fine sand had been sprinkled onto a calm lake.
“What’re you working on?” Fingel asked, confused. “Aren’t we here to slay a dragon? But we’re all holed up differently—you’re a science nerd, Junior Brother’s a gaming nerd, and I’m a foodie. Shouldn’t we be scouring Beijing with gear?”
“If you mean gear like a DSLR camera, Tang Sen and his crew are doing that. They toured the Forbidden City yesterday and are hitting the Summer Palace today,” Chu Zihang said flatly. “They’ve turned into a full-on tourist group because this city’s crawling with dragon traces. Geographically, there’s the Dragon Vein; imperial carvings have dragons and phoenixes; dragon descendants perch on palace corners; even the turtles carrying stone tablets are dragonkind. There’s no starting point. China reveres dragons as totems, so it should have the most dragon-related info, but too much noise buries the core data.” He pointed at the map’s ripples with a pencil. “I’m analyzing seismic data from Beijing and its suburbs this year.”
“Seismic data?”
“The Earthquake Bureau has small monitoring devices across the city. Beijing sits on the North China Yanshan seismic belt, with hundreds of minor quakes yearly—too weak to feel, but the devices record them faithfully. Quakes could be tectonic shifts or something hidden underground. This year, Beijing’s seismic frequency spiked tenfold. I built a simple model, fed in the data, and applied various calculations and filters. We might pinpoint the epicenter—the King of Earth and Mountains.”
Fingel stared, nodding. “That’s wild!”
“It’s normal you don’t get it. My focus is science; yours is dragon genealogy,” Chu Zihang said. “I’m STEM, you’re humanities.”
“Nine years in college, and I just learned I’m a humanities guy!” Fingel gulped his wine. “So, this cranky Dragon King’s blasting power from one spot? What if he’s moving while doing it?”
“Why would a Dragon King move? Does he have a day job?”
“Fair point. He’s probably hiding somewhere, recharging to wipe us all out,” Fingel nodded. “With this data, we’re ahead of Caesar’s team, right?”
“Hard to say. Urban ground vibrations have too many causes—heavy trucks, subways, construction, even festival fireworks get recorded. The seismic data’s mixed with hundreds of times more noise. Filtering it could take forever, and we’re short on time.” Chu Zihang stared at the projection, pausing. “What do you think Bai Ci feels for Lu Mingfei?”
“Whoa, what’s with the topic switch? No segue needed? You STEM guys are so blunt!” Fingel exclaimed.
“Sorry, I just didn’t know what else to say. If you can’t tell, forget it.”
“Are you kidding? It’s obvious she likes him! She brought him food that night. I was jealous for hours,” Fingel sat up. “But she’s super stubborn, won’t admit it. And Junior Brother’s a coward, too scared to confess. They’re both so awkward, it’s like they’re made for each other.”
“I’m curious why Lu Mingfei’s holding back. He mustered the courage to confess to Chen Wenwen before.”
“Psychological baggage,” Fingel leaned back, hands behind his head. “Norma never hid his past. Growing up unloved, the girl he liked treated him like a pet, lousy grades, dirt poor—Chen Wenwen nearly broke him. So, he keeps it inside. As long as he doesn’t say it, there’s always hope.”
Chu Zihang pondered for a moment. “If they don’t speak, hidden feelings are worthless. One day, he’ll die with those feelings. Why not say it?”
“Junior Brother and Junior Sister are both spineless. They like each other but won’t break the ice, so it’ll just drag on,” Fingel picked at his ear. “If some guy steals Bai Ci, Lu Mingfei will probably just stand at her wedding in a sharp suit, watch her marry, then go home, chug two bottles of wine, and pass out like a pig. Tiny chance he’d get hotheaded, knock the guy out, and steal her back, like at the hearing.”
“And if someone steals Lu Mingfei?”
“Uh… she might cry in an internet café?” Fingel thought. “I don’t know her as well as Junior Brother, but she’s different. At the hearing, she cried when he stood up for her. Maybe one day she’ll snap if she figures it out.”
Fingel sat up again.
“Man, that’d be intense!”
“Intense how?” Chu Zihang asked, puzzled.
“Picture it: Lu Mingfei’s walking down the aisle with some girl, and Bai Ci’s suppressed feelings explode. She goes nuts, determined to steal him back. Isn’t that wild?”
“I don’t quite get it.”
“It’s simple. Don’t let her soft, nerdy vibe fool you—she’s a legit S-rank who stopped Constantine. Without Junior Brother, her Blood Grief would’ve driven her mad long ago. If he’s marrying someone else, even if the wedding car’s rolling, she might go full dragon girl, smash it, and snatch him away.”
Seeing Chu Zihang’s thoughtful look, Fingel continued.
“In plain terms, when someone bottles up their feelings too long, they’ll blow up eventually. Like a balloon—seems fine at first, but keep filling it, and it’ll burst.”
Chu Zihang froze.
Keep filling… and it’ll burst?
A knock came, followed by a pinched voice: “Mole, mole, it’s Sweet Potato!”
While Chu Zihang stared blankly, Fingel got up to open the door. Xia Mi poked her head in, scanning the room. “Wow, what a mess! Is this the legendary boys’ dorm? Can you raise cockroaches as pets here? Tell those little critters I’m scared I’ll accidentally squash them…”