Dragon Raja; Chapter 45: The Dictator (7)

Dragon Raja

“Has the redundant data grown that much? It requires a late-night purge. When you open the door, it creates a vulnerability. This should be done with other personnel present,” Schneider said.

“I believe I am still safe until the day dragons learn to use computers,” Norma replied.

“They learn quickly. Be careful.” Schneider was clearly friendlier to Norma than to his colleagues. “How much longer for the data purge?”

“Just completed. I’ve restarted the security system. The next garbage purge will be in seventeen years. Until then, I will be completely safe.”

“Sounds like I won’t need to patrol the library at night for the next seventeen years,” Schneider rasped with a laugh. “I won’t disturb you any longer. Good night, ma’am.”

“Good night, gentlemen.” The crystal chandelier and all the desk lamps dimmed, leaving only a few warm yellow wall sconces.

Schneider turned to leave but suddenly looked back, examining Guderian and Manstein. “The access records show that you two were in the ancient texts section just now. Those ancient texts are high-level classified documents. What academic problem brought you to study these texts late at night?”

Under Schneider’s murky but sharp gaze, Guderian felt his skin crawl. He looked to Manstein with a pleading expression. Manstein still had his phone in hand; just a few minutes ago, he had been trying to call the Principal to report the issue about the “White Emperor” bloodline.

“Is there something inconvenient to talk about?” Schneider pressed coldly.

Sweat covered Guderian’s forehead. He was afraid Manstein would bring up Lu Mingfei. He wasn’t good at lying, and as Manstein said, he had the habit of scratching his head whenever he lied. Schneider wasn’t easy to deceive—he had been an outstanding scholar before leading the Execution Bureau.

“The White Emperor,” Manstein said in a low voice.

Guderian’s mind went blank. It was over—he couldn’t protect Lu Mingfei anymore.

“The White Emperor?” Schneider’s eyes widened, It was obvious that this name was very lethal to him.

“A new hypothesis,” Manstein whispered, leaning closer to Schneider. “The White Emperor may be female!”

“Female?” Schneider’s eyes widened even more, pondering for a long time. “How did you arrive at that conclusion?”

Guderian looked blankly at both of them.

“I’ve always wondered, what was the internal war among the dragons about? For human monarchs, wars are either for land, gold, or women. What about the dragons? Land and gold don’t matter to them, so could the war have been over a female dragon?” Manstein spoke seriously and passionately.

“Hmm!” Schneider nodded repeatedly. “An interesting perspective.”

“Gender struggle has been such an important motif throughout human history! We never considered that the conflict between the White Emperor and the Black Emperor might not be about power, but gender. We could cite many examples where a husband and wife both held power but had differing stances, leading to severe disputes, like…” Manstein suddenly faltered, “Like…”

“Like Hillary and Clinton!” Schneider said.

“Precisely! Hillary and Clinton!” Manstein firmly patted Schneider on the shoulder. “Consider this hypothesis: what if the Black Emperor created the White Emperor to find himself a wife? Father-daughter marriages were quite common in Greek mythology. Their gender conflict ultimately led to a split.”

“Although it’s a bit anthropocentric, should we also include marital relations as part of our hypothesis?” Schneider mused.

“Absolutely!” Manstein said. “Why don’t we three share this topic? Though, when publishing the paper, will you insist on being the first author?”

“No, no, I have no such intention.” Schneider quickly waved his hand. “I’m just genuinely interested in the topic—it’s a great angle!”

“Then why don’t we organize detailed materials and have a joint discussion?” Manstein suggested seriously.

“Great, great. This is really interesting—worth staying up all night for.” Schneider shook hands with Manstein, turned, and left, lost in thought until he disappeared into the distant darkness.

“The White Emperor might be female?” Guderian looked at Manstein.

“I just made that up,” Professor Manstein replied impatiently, cutting him off. “We had to throw out something novel and interesting for Schneider to think about, or we’d have to explain why we were accessing classified documents in the middle of the night.”

“But what you said makes sense…” Guderian began.

“Enough!” Manstein covered his old friend’s mouth. “I told you it was just nonsense! Whether the White Emperor is male or female isn’t something we’ll figure out right now, but I’m willing to give your student Lu Mingfei a chance. Tomorrow is the 3E exam. The difference between a Black Emperor bloodline Word Spirit and a White Emperor bloodline one is significant. If Lu Mingfei is a Black Emperor descendant, he’ll do well. Then we can just forget my theory.”

“And if he… fails?” Guderian asked.

Manstein sighed. “In that case, we’ll still have to report it to the Principal. Guderian… I know your nature, but you also have to understand—we have no right to be selfish.”

“Alright,” Guderian sighed, “but thank you, anyway.”

“It’s nothing. You were right—if I were Lu Mingfei, I wouldn’t want to be treated as an anomaly either.” Manstein said, “We’ve both experienced the pain of being an outsider; I hope that doesn’t happen to the kid.”

Guderian was the last to leave, and as he held the handle of the cherrywood door, he remembered something. He had locked the door when entering the library, but when Manstein let Schneider in, it seemed he hadn’t twisted that brass handle three times in the opposite direction… But he couldn’t remember clearly; he was too tired, so he shook his head and closed the door.

Forty meters deep beneath the library, a figure sat with arms crossed, curled in a swivel chair, head bowed. Here, only the faint glow of the screens provided light, and his face was hidden in the shadows.

“Everyone else has left. During the dormancy of the security system, the cameras are not working, and your entry leaves no record.” Norma’s voice spoke. “When you leave, I will put the security system to sleep again. What brings you here?”