Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 39: The Unsolvable Knot (2)

Dragon Raja 3

“School affairs should be left to someone at least somewhat reliable. I’ve already called Professor Manstein to take over. I have to go offline now; a new season fashion show is about to start. Convey my regards to the Maintenance team.” -Cambridge Knife.

“By the way, bring me some sparkling wine from the Champagne region.” -The Nightwatchman.

“Got it.” Cambridge Knife logged off.

Another earth-shaking explosion sounded, and a second pillar of blood-red flames shot out of the dark well as if a fire-breathing dragon was roaring from below.

“An expected explosion. Teachers and students, please do not panic. The experiment is still ongoing, and there may be two or three more explosions within the next hour, possibly of greater intensity. Please be prepared.” The Gear Department posted.

This was the shared ID of Gear Department. It seemed the heat of the discussion had drawn the attention of the lunatics in the underground lab, or perhaps they were browsing the forum while conducting the experiment. Instantly, numerous tomato emojis appeared in the replies.

“The burning of refined sulfur releases harmful fumes. Carrots can help neutralize toxins, so we suggest students eat carrots for a midnight snack.” A few moments later, Gear Department posted again.

“Bad news, we need help catching snakes. The recent explosion caused the reptile pool on sublevel two to crack, and approximately 200 snakes of various species are now escaping through different passageways. This includes twelve king cobras, two Amazonian anacondas, and twenty Bothrops asper. A detailed list will be emailed in ten minutes.” The Bio Lab posted.

Chu Zihang had taken “Herpetology” in his second year and had heard of these snakes. If a person were bitten by one, it would be best to immediately pray to God because there would only be enough time left to pray. The Amazonian anaconda, however, was non-venomous, but adult snakes were up to sixteen meters long and could crush a buffalo.

“Dammit! I see an anaconda climbing up the clock tower! Help! Help!” The Nightwatchman posted.

Chu Zihang shook his head, not wanting to continue reading. He returned to his email page and clicked the “Send” button.

The email went into his sent box, and in a few seconds, it would appear in his mother’s inbox.

The reality of campus life always differed from what parents imagined. Before Chu Zihang went to study in America, his stepfather gave him The Diary of Hu Shi’s Study Abroad to encourage him to study hard. He still remembered passages from it:

“April 9th: Played cards at Mr. Shen’s house, returned at midnight.

April 29th: The weather suddenly turned warm, over eighty degrees, couldn’t study, played cards with Shen, Chen, and others.

May 6th: Played cards. Went to the Chinese Students’ Association at night.

May 12th: Played cards.”

It was likely that Mr. Hu Shi only wrote to his family about his diligent pursuit of knowledge in America, so Chu Zihang felt his descriptions of Cassell College life weren’t exactly lies—just a bit of literary embellishment.

If he were to tell the truth and say this was a campus full of maniacs conducting explosive experiments every day, with professors and the principal all either eccentric or extremely violent, that he wasn’t the well-behaved student they thought but actually the leader of a violent group, often involved in gang-like confrontations with another group leader, and that at this moment highly venomous snakes and giant anacondas might already have infiltrated his dorm… well, even then, his mother would probably think he was joking to entertain her and would laugh herself silly.

Chu Zihang initiated the shutdown process, ready to sleep. Shutting down took a dozen seconds, and during that time, he could still see the posts on the Nightwatchman discussion board rolling and refreshing.

Suddenly, a bright red post jumped out and immediately rose to the top of the list. A red post meant it was a bounty post.

“Who can get in touch with the Japanese imperial family? I want to book Meiji Shrine in Tokyo for one night, for a wedding.”

The post was made by “Dictator”—Caesar Gattuso’s ID, the Student Council President.

Chu Zihang’s fingers jolted off the keyboard as if electrocuted.

“Is this a proposal hint? Throw some flowers!”

“Caesar, you’re marrying a Chinese woman, why not book the Temple of Heaven in Beijing?”

In an instant, a flood of replies pushed the bounty post to the top of the list. Compared to that, the raging flames outside and the snakes running loose on campus were no longer news. Tonight’s headline would undoubtedly be: “Countdown! Student Council President Plans to Marry the Red-haired Witch!”

Chu Zihang wanted to take another look, but the screen had already gone black. The dormitory was quiet, with no lights, and the wind chimes by the window jingled softly. The tongue of the bronze wind chime was a key.

That key could open a door in an old residential area in Beijing, or perhaps a certain part of his heart… Behind that door or in that part of his heart, there was nothing—just emptiness and dust.

He grabbed his school uniform from the back of the chair, stood up, and left the room.

The dining hall was quiet.

This Baroque-style hall could accommodate a thousand people dining at the same time, but now there was only one diner. Someone was hunched over at the end of the long table, eating voraciously, treating the food like a storm sweeping away fallen leaves. On the plate were a whole chicken, a smoked pork leg, a beef burger, a vegetable salad, and a large portion of mashed potatoes… It seemed he really had a great appetite.

Lu Mingfei always had a good appetite.

As he was eating with complete absorption, almost reaching a state of oneness, someone sat down next to him and set down their own tray. Lu Mingfei spat out a thoroughly cleaned chicken bone and looked at the expressionless Chu Zihang.

Chu Zihang’s midnight snack was simple—two fried eggs, cereal in milk, and a glass of orange juice.

It was past midnight. Maintenance had successfully put out the fire before ten, and for the next two hours, the dining hall was full of people, drinking beer in celebration. Actually, it wasn’t exactly a celebration—just an excuse to drink beer. Every time the Gear Department caused a big incident, people had a reason to celebrate. Sometimes, the lunatics from Gear Department would also join in, singing and dancing.