Dragon Raja 4; Chapter 5: Journey to the End of the World (5)

Dragon Raja 4

Sasha took a long drag on his cigarette, “I’ve retired. I’m working now to save up for my wife’s medical expenses. Her name is Anna. She drinks and gets by, and she’s still lying in a hospital in Moscow.”

“Ex-wife. Anna is your ex-wife,” Chu Zihang said, “But you don’t seem like the kind of man who’s very sentimental. Over the years, there have been as many as 23 women who had affairs with you, including tourists and waitresses.”

“Anna was the one who wanted to have children with me and spend her life with me. She was different from other women,” Sasha exhaled a puff of smoke, his eyes momentarily losing focus.

“Was there a funeral organized for the first-generation ‘Maria of the Stars’ after her death?” Chu Zihang swiftly changed the subject, moving away from his own unknown territory.

“Not that I’ve heard of. Funerals on board can only be sea burials, and sea burials are a very ceremonial process; simply wrapping the body and throwing it away doesn’t count as a proper sea burial.”

“Given the high status of Maria, it wouldn’t have been such a casual disposal. It’s likely that her remains are still on the ship. You might want to send someone to look for them,” Chu Zihang suggested, then returned to his cabin and sat down at the small desk.

Although it was a five-star luxury cruise ship, the YAMAL was lacking in hardware, security, and luxury compared to the cruise ships in the Caribbean. Chu Zihang’s first-class cabin was only about ten square meters, with just a high-end bed, a wardrobe, and a small desk by the porthole. The air felt a bit stuffy, and the hum of the equipment could be clearly heard through several cabin walls.

Chu Zihang opened his notebook and accessed the custom client set up by the academy, where all his various data was aggregated, from bank accounts to email, and call records were listed clearly.

EVA silently monitored every aspect of his life, constantly keeping him safe and ready to provide assistance, but it also knew all his secrets: any ex-girlfriends he might have, if he had a habit of reading or playing on his phone while sitting on the toilet, and his likes on some obscure photo forum. But EVA would not share this information, not even with the college’s higher-ups. If you think of EVA as an artificial intelligence, this might not matter, but if you think of EVA as a living, breathing girl, it becomes a bit awkward… Your life is like a lively monkey bouncing around in front of her, and you have to discuss serious matters with her, though she won’t expose your secrets, you know she has all your unflattering photos.

The first two messages were from Caesar and Lu Mingfei. Caesar’s message was: “How is your schedule next month? The Spring Festival is coming. Shall we go back to the college and arrange a social event?”

Lu Mingfei’s message read: “Senior, I was in Oslo, I just came back… I wanted to find you to hang out, but EVA said you’re on vacation. I’ll be gone in two days, so I probably won’t catch you when you return… The boss wants to arrange a social event between the Student Union and the Lionheart Society during the winter vacation, but I’m thinking of going back home for the Spring Festival. You know I haven’t been back to see my uncle and aunt for several years… Damn it, who left this thing on the back seat? I thought I laid an egg… Never mind, the guys below left a grenade here so carelessly… What I mean is, if you’re returning to Cassell, I’ll spend the winter vacation there. If you’re going home, I’ll go with you…”

In addition, there were mass emails from the Execution Bureau, a winter break notice from the Austrian branch, and an electronic greeting card sent from China. This is how the adult world works: everyone is a node in a network of information. The more important you are, the more information you receive. If the entire network of information forgets you, it’s almost as if you’ve died.

Chu Zihang clicked on the EVA icon in the corner, entered his account and password, and the screen immediately went black, leaving only a string of green characters: “Connecting—”. After a moment, the screen lit up again, revealing a girl with a translucent, blue aura floating in the darkness. Her skirt billowed like clouds, and countless information windows surrounded her.

“Is communication with Maria of the Stars going smoothly?” EVA asked with a smile. “The first-generation Maria is already dead. The one residing in the top cabin now is the second-generation Maria, named Reginleif.”

“She’s either joking with you or doesn’t want you to know her true identity. This is an Old Norse name, and Old Norse is a dead language.”

“That’s fine. I don’t need to know her real name anyway,” Chu Zihang briefly explained the encounter with Reginleif.

“Even in a familiar environment, being able to withstand your heavy strikes is quite remarkable. If she’s stronger than the White Wolf; she might be a hybrid.”

“In her bedroom, there’s a large painting of the Norse gods. Strangely, the painting depicts not only the Black Emperor Nidhogg but also the White Dragon. But Reginleif said she has no knowledge of them; the painting is just a relic from her great-grandmother.”

“Regarding the Arctic, we need to conduct further investigation.”

“Is there a possibility that there is indeed a piece of land in the Arctic Ocean, but it’s in a twisted space? I mean… A Nibelungen,” Chu Zihang asked.

“Nibelungen is a twisted space constructed by alchemy. Though magical, it still follows its own rules. You’ve been to the Nibelungen in the Beijing subway; that was transformed from a 1970s subway station. In the Arctic Circle, there isn’t even land to transform. Creating land in the Arctic Circle would be much harder than creating the ancient City of Bronze. Who has that kind of power?”

Chu Zihang nodded slightly. No wonder EVA hadn’t assigned any task related to investigating Hyperborea, as even EVA found it illogical. “Friendly reminder, you have a Christmas card in your mailbox from your mother. Aren’t you going to reply?” EVA suggested.

“I’ll reply when I get back to Oslo. I told her I want to go out to sea with a few friends, and the signal at the ship might be terrible,” Chu Zihang said.

Last summer, Chu Zihang graduated from Cassel College and joined the Execution Bureau’s Oslo branch. His stepfather hoped he would return to inherit the family business, and his mother also thought Oslo was too far, but Chu Zihang insisted he liked the fresh air of Northern Europe and the colleagues at the research institute were very kind to him.

Cassell College has branches around the world, each with its own style. In the Arab world, the brothers ride camels and drink goat milk, invoking the greatness of Allah with every sip. In India, the brothers are tanned and bright, each one is a yoga master, and they dance around you when you play music on your phone. The Norway branch has a laid-back, cold demeanor; colleagues are lazy, like clouds floating over fjords. No one cares how hard you work, and you can skip work if you want. Oslo maintains that style; the sky is always clear, the streets are wide and welcoming, and warm, moist winds blow from the fjords throughout the year.

Chu Zihang’s ever-precise clock also slowed down. He learned to sail and often went alone to the sea to watch whales, which could take several hours.

This kind of life sometimes made him feel lost, as if he had suddenly become a nine-to-five worker, just a cog in a huge machine, with time passing and the cogs wearing out until they are replaced by new ones. The difference is that the cogs in the Execution Bureau wear out quickly; you might be abruptly broken before being worn out.

“One day, we might suddenly disappear like Professor Mance, only leaving behind a notice on the bulletin board. I want to prepare her for a life without me,” Chu Zihang said.

“Don’t be so pessimistic. The average lifespan of the Execution Bureau has increased significantly in recent years due to the absence of ancient dragons. Find a girlfriend, and you might make it to the wedding,” EVA smiled, “There are still two hours until Christmas Eve. Why not go to the bar? The Yamal takes a well-known high-value route on the Arctic Ocean, and many of its passengers are young people. According to my statistics, there are 26 female tourists.”

“Back when you were normal, you wouldn’t care about these things.”

“This suggestion wasn’t from the college’s secretary but from a friend. You’re still human; you don’t have to live like a lonely dragon,” EVA said as the connection ended.

Chu Zihang took a pre-mixed cocktail from the fridge, poured a glass, and drank while thinking.

The Tokyo Incident had passed for over two years, and no high-level dragons had awakened since. The world seemed to have entered a peaceful cycle. Yet, the shadow of Dr. Herzog still lingered. This man, who had lived from Nazi Germany to the 21st century, harbored too many secrets. He claimed to have worked at the Imperial Research Institute, but no records of him were found there. He also claimed to have received support from Soviet military figures like Golicina, but with the changing Soviet political landscape, how could Golicina’s family consistently support his research?

More strangely, Herzog’s understanding of dragons was exceptionally profound, even surpassing that of Cassel College’s professors.

Those who experienced the Tokyo Incident still didn’t feel that it had ended. On a stormy night, Chu Zihang, Caesar, and Lu Mingfan gathered on the terrace of the Norton Hall. They joined hands and vowed that in their lifetime, they would never abandon the pursuit of Herzog. If there were others behind Herzog, they would dig them out. If Herzog could be resurrected, they would be ready to kill him again or several times. Caesar named their vow “Project Pai,” derived from the female protagonist of the manga “3X3 Eyes,” symbolizing that each of them had an eye on Herzog’s case. Chu Zihang once questioned why they needed to name it after a manga character when many mythological gods with three eyes existed. It seemed a bit childish. Lu Mingfei said, however, that for someone like Caesar, who hides his childish side deeply, this actually represented seriousness. Caesar might make a casual vow using his father’s name, but if he swore on Albaird’s name, he would be very serious about it.

If Herzog knew of this vow, he might regret provoking the wrong people. These young people were stubborn, ruthless, and had plenty of time.