Chapter 21: Dive

February 13, 2010—Chinese New Year’s Eve.

In past years, Bai Ci would spend this night holed up in an internet café, watching the Spring Festival Gala alone, buying dumplings, eating them, and then sleeping soundly.

But tonight was different.
She stood among a group of not-quite-strangers, listening to Manstein explain the storm torpedo developed by the Equipment Department.

Tonight’s mission likely wouldn’t need her.
Zero and Caesar could handle it.
Until she was told everyone except her and Lu Mingfei had food poisoning…

Speaking of which, the reason they were fine was because Zero had treated just them to dinner tonight, saying it was thanks for their usual care—though Bai Ci couldn’t see a trace of gratitude on her face.

So, the heavy task fell to Team C: Bai Ci and Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei’s mouth twitched.
What kind of coincidence was this?
Even the pancake lady by his house wouldn’t have made food bad enough to give the whole team food poisoning.
Was tonight’s chef some random beggar off the street?

And weren’t these guys elite hybrids?
How could a meal give them food poisoning?

“Everyone feels scared on their first mission, but you two are S-ranks.
This shouldn’t be a problem.”

Bai Ci glanced at Lu Mingfei, lost in thought, and nodded.

“I’m fine.”

Lu Mingfei turned to her, her dark eyes showing no hesitation—same as when she played Red Alert, decisive, resolute, handling everything methodically.

“I’m fine too.”

Great, he was about to dive in and be a hero.
Lu Mingfei looked up at the sky, suddenly feeling the world was beautiful, the stars dazzling.
He wanted to breathe more of this fresh air…

“Watch your oxygen gauges.
They’ll last about three hours, enough for you.”
Manstein crouched by the ship’s rail, giving instructions.

“The data line doubles as a lifeline, coated in nanomaterial.
It won’t break easily.
If you lose consciousness, we’ll pull you back with it.”
Manstein tugged the black line attached to Lu Mingfei’s diving suit.

“The suits are custom, fully sealed, able to withstand 20 atmospheres.
The surface is nanomaterial, but don’t scrape it.
If it leaks, not only will oxygen escape, but the pressure difference is dangerous.”
Manstein patted their shoulders.

“Can I ask something?”
Lu Mingfei said nervously.
“We’re diving into a Dragon King’s lair to plant a bomb…
What if he notices?
He won’t be happy…
What then?”

“You can rest easy.
The Bronze Plan was designed by the principal and professors.
We’ve done extensive research and concluded the Dragon King won’t wake.
He needs more time to regenerate his body.”

“Regenerate his body?”
Lu Mingfei blinked.

“Dragon bones are highly malleable, allowing them to mimic humans or take different dragon forms.
But to use their ultimate Yanling, they need a massive body.
A human frame can’t handle that power.
The dragon you saw at the college was interrupted mid-hatching, forced out early, so he couldn’t control his power.
He used less than one percent of his true strength.
This Dragon King, to master the ultimate fire Yanling, must re-form an egg to grow a massive body.
He won’t wake easily, which is why we’re using a bomb to force early hatching.”

“What’s the ultimate fire Yanling?”
Lu Mingfei asked.

“Candle Dragon, sequence number 114, extremely dangerous, effects unknown.
The Dragon King wants to master it to take revenge… on the whole world.”
Manstein stood.
“That’s why we must kill him before he can!”

“Good luck!”
Manstein pushed both their shoulders, sending them over the rail into the water.

The water was freezing…

It was still winter.
Bai Ci shivered as she hit the water.
But after a moment, she got used to it.

The pressure felt like it would burst her eardrums.
The gauge showed they’d dived to 50 meters.
High-pressure helium-oxygen mix filled their suits, countering the external pressure.
They looked like Michelin Men but were safe.

Bai Ci took a deep breath, adjusting her breathing.

The underwater world was silent, lit only by faint riverbed lights.
Occasional small fish swam by.

She instinctively tightened her grip on Lu Mingfei’s hand and kept descending.

Below was an underwater crevice.
They held on, letting the heavy lead weights on their belts pull them down slowly.
Jagged rock walls pressed close.
Lu Mingfei looked up—pitch black.
The pressure grew; the gauge hit 80 meters.
They’d sunk 20 meters into the crevice, about eight stories deep.

Soon, she saw a wall—a massive, endless wall stretching left, right, up, and down.
Under the spotlight, it glowed ancient bronze-green, covered in mottled copper rust like a layer of cotton.
Nameless plants grew in the foamy rust, their thin tendrils swaying in the current.

“It’s been buried here for millennia, right?
Who’d find it without an earthquake?”
Lu Mingfei marveled.

“Yeah.”
Bai Ci nodded.

“There’s a face!”
Lu Mingfei reached to touch a faintly raised human face on the bronze wall.
A pained expression, mouth gripping burning wood, grotesque.

“That’s a living spirit.
You’ll learn about it in alchemical biology.”
Manstein’s voice came through the earpiece.
“The burning wood in its mouth means it’s bound by fire’s power, suffering without release.
Dragon King Norton, strongest alchemist among the four monarchs, wields fire to burn metal, kill it, remove impurities, and revive it.
This ‘regenerated metal’ has strong properties and can trap souls.
This is a trapped soul, guarding the Bronze City’s gate per Norton’s will.”

“Bai Ci, the vacuum tube you carry has a milliliter of key blood.
Smear it on the living spirit’s lips.
High-purity dragon blood will open the entrance.”
Manstein continued.

“Is this guy still alive?”
Lu Mingfei asked.

“Seems dead.”
Bai Ci said, pulling out the vacuum tube.

“But he…”
Lu Mingfei’s voice shook.
“He bit me!”

Bai Ci snapped her head up.
Lu Mingfei’s hand was caught in the “living spirit’s” mouth, like it was truly biting him.
He struggled to pull free.

The bronze face protruded from the wall, rust cracking.
Sharp canines opened and snapped shut with a loud crack.

It was like a starving wolf eyeing prey, baring chilling fangs, biting Lu Mingfei’s fingers in an instant.

Bai Ci grabbed his hand, pulling hard, but it wouldn’t budge.
Despite her strength, she couldn’t free him!

“Ow, ow, ow!”

Suddenly, Lu Mingfei’s hand broke free.
The “living spirit” released his fingers.
Bai Ci quickly grabbed his wrist, stopping the oxygen leak.

She turned to the living spirit and froze—it gaped wide.
No one would believe a “human” could open their mouth that far unless they lacked a jawbone, like a snake that could swallow an elephant.

*

When Bai Ci opened her eyes again, she could breathe.
The coppery rust smell filled her lungs, not too harsh.
Her vision cleared—no longer foggy like before.

She glanced beside her.
Lu Mingfei lay on the ground like a dead dog.
She sighed, walked over, and tapped his helmet.

“Ugh… are we dead?”

“…”
Bai Ci ignored him, shutting off their oxygen valves.
She activated the comms to Manstein.
“Bai Ci reporting.
We’ve entered the Bronze City.
No injuries.
Lu Mingfei’s suit is damaged, but oxygen reserves are sufficient.”

But when she tugged the comms line, it was oddly embedded in the bronze wall behind them, like it was fused.

She remembered they’d brought an extension line.
After Aki and Ye Sheng’s experience, they wouldn’t trip over the same mistake twice.

The principal had given them a short vacation.
Those two were probably enjoying a honeymoon in Hawaii.

After Manstein’s instructions, Lu Mingfei pulled a dye tube from his suit pocket, snapped it, and poured it into the water.

Fluorescent yellow dye formed a large greenish-yellow patch.
Moments later, a thin stream of it slithered along the riverbed, like a living snake…