Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 109: Greenland’s Shadow (3)

Dragon Raja 3

“Are you trying to kill yourself?” someone said behind him.

Schneider was startled. “It’s not your shift today, Professor Manstein.”

Manstein placed a box of pills on the table. “If you insist on smoking, at least take one of these. They have a sedative effect, so you won’t end up coughing like this. With what you’re using to breathe, can it still be called a trachea? Even a broken chimney would be more efficient.”

“Two-thirds of my trachea was removed and replaced with a soft plastic tube,” Schneider said, taking a pill and a few breaths from his oxygen tank. “But the plastic trachea works well enough—I won’t get laryngitis, at least.”

“I read your health report. Laryngitis isn’t what will kill you; you’ll die of lung failure,” Manstein replied.

Schneider took another puff, and this time his reaction was much milder. He closed his eyes slightly, savoring the taste of the tobacco.

“So what brings you here at this time? It’s not just to deliver medicine, is it?” Schneider asked.

Manstein threw a fax onto the table. “The School Board sent this document, demanding the immediate termination of Project Dragon Embryo.”

“The affairs of the Execution Bureau are none of those old men’s business,” Schneider said. “We’re only dealing with small matters. Let them worry about the big ones.”

“But your dive team includes the precious heir of the Gattuso family. When the news reached Rome, Frost went crazy and was ready to come here himself, but he had a heart attack from the stress. Otherwise, he might have already dismantled your Execution Bureau.”

“But wasn’t that submersible donated by the Pompeii patriarch? It even has a special ‘Sunrise Bless My Son’ lucky paint job.”

“Everyone knows that the head of the Gattuso family is an eccentric. His personal opinions don’t represent the family’s stance. His seat on the School Board is entirely represented by Frost, and if Frost says no, it means the Gattuso family says no.”

“The dive list was decided by the principal. Frost should speak to him. Once I finish this cigarette, I’ll proceed with Project Dragon Embryo. Unless the principal orders a halt, even if Frost himself comes, it won’t matter.”

“You can’t do that.” Manstein threw a black card on the table. “With this Gattuso family black card, I have the same authority as the principal. I can order Norma to forcibly terminate Project Dragon Embryo. Without Norma’s assistance, you are powerless.”

“Never thought you’d pledge loyalty to the Gattuso family,” Schneider raised an eyebrow. “Your twisted old man always loved to oppose them.”

“I wouldn’t say loyalty. I’m the head of the Disciplinary Committee, which gives me the authority to investigate professors. In their eyes, I’m worth recruiting, unlike you, who’s the principal’s devoted follower. Project Dragon Embryo is indeed strange—a mission classified as ‘SS’ level was decided on solely by you and the principal. You’re rushing to send three students with the best bloodlines into the deep sea, which isn’t like you. I need an explanation,” Manstein said.

“You’re mistaken. This decision had nothing to do with me; it was made solely by the principal, and I’m just executing it,” Schneider said. “It’s a gamble, but sometimes you have to take risks.”

Manstein inserted the black card into the control panel slot. The screen displayed the Gattuso family crest. “Welcome, Professor Manstein. The black card you hold has passed system verification. You are now logged into the Norma system as the head of the Disciplinary Committee and a Gattuso family privileged envoy. How may I assist you?” Norma’s voice echoed in the central control room.

“I can immediately call off Project Dragon Embryo, or I can side with you, but you need to tell me why you’re in such a hurry to start Project Dragon Embryo.”

“Have you ever seen my face?” Schneider asked.

“My face?” Manstein was taken aback.

Schneider removed his oxygen mask, bringing his face into the light. Even while smoking, he continued inhaling oxygen. When he moved the mask away, he would carefully keep his face hidden in the shadows. This was Manstein’s first time seeing Schneider’s face—one that would make even horror movie enthusiasts have nightmares. The flesh below his eyes was completely withered, leaving only a layer of dried skin clinging to the bone. His lips and nose were shrunken, exposing his teeth.

“Ugly, right? I’m actually only 37 years old, yet I have half the face of a century-old corpse. The students hear my coughing and think I’m an old man in his fifties, but I’m actually even younger than you,” Schneider said self-deprecatingly.

Manstein shuddered. “How did this happen?”

“This is the mark left on me from a certain mission,” Schneider said. “It was ten years ago, when we first heard a heartbeat signal from the deep sea.”

“This wasn’t the first time we found an embryo in the ocean?” Manstein was shocked.

“No, it wasn’t. ten years ago, near Greenland, we discovered a similar embryo.” Schneider exhaled a full smoke ring. “You’ve probably guessed by now—I’m referring to the unresolved case of the Greenland ice sea. That dive team was completely lost, and the School Board ordered all files sealed and the investigation forcibly terminated. If you want to hear this story, you’ll have to be patient, as it’s a long one. And please instruct Norma to leave this room. With the black card, you can do that.”

“Why ask Norma to leave?”

“Because even Norma doesn’t know. True top-secret information can’t be stored in systems or hard drives—it can only be kept here.” Schneider tapped his temple. “After hearing this story, you can’t write it down in any form, not even as a personal memo. This is an college mandate. You must try your best to remember every detail I tell you, but if you forget, there’s nothing we can do.”

“You still remember every detail of what happened ten years ago?”

“Of course I can,” Schneider said softly. “That was my one and only trip to hell—I could never forget.”

A bone-chilling cold seemed to seep from Schneider’s words. Manstein had a vague sense that when mentioning the events of ten years ago, this grotesque yet powerful man before him had ignited a fury—one that had burned, unextinguished, for over a decade.

“Norma, leave us alone for a moment,” Manstein said.

“Understood. For the next 15 minutes, the central control room will be out of my surveillance range,” Norma replied. The room’s equipment stopped functioning; cameras and recording devices locked up, and the lights dimmed one by one. With Norma gone, surveillance lifted, the central control room was momentarily disconnected from the campus. Tree shadows swayed across the high windows, making it feel like they were in the depths of an ancient cathedral.

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