Dragon Raja; Chapter 58: The City of Bronze (9)

Dragon Raja

“The great achievement of alchemy, to hold spirit within the purest material and set it as the guardian here,” Mance said, “It’s a living spirit. Only high-purity Dragon Raja blood can temporarily satisfy it. You have about an hour—the living spirit will close the door.”

“About?” Ye Sheng said. “That’s pretty vague. If this were a moon mission, would you say we’ve got ‘about an hour until we land’? This place is more dangerous than the moon!”

“Then save a minute for discussion,” Mance said, “I’ll release the Yanling now, and after the passage fills with water, you can enter.”

The light gold in the baby’s eyes faded. He raised his bandaged finger before his face, glanced at it in surprise, and suddenly burst into loud, thunderous cries, sobbing as sorrowfully as could be.

“Oh, oh, oh, don’t cry, don’t cry, baby, you’ve done well.” Mance looked helpless, like a father, as he placed the baby back into the compartment.

“Remember, one hour,” Mance said, looking Ye Sheng in the eyes, once again reminding him, “The Dragon King Norton has not awakened yet. The goal is to find his egg, but if you can’t, destroy it.” He handed over a black iron box. “It’s alchemical equipment from the Gear Department. It can destroy the egg. Stay at least 50 meters away before triggering it.”

Ye Sheng gave a thumbs-up, and Mance put his helmet back on. The Yanling was lifted, and the massive air bubble instantly shattered into countless bubbles, rising rapidly, while the onrushing water nearly choked Ye Sheng and Aki. Meanwhile, Mance, as agile as a fish, propelled himself off the bronze wall, plunged into the water, and activated the pressure boost on his back, speeding away.

Aki looked up at the figure fading into the distance. Darkness returned, the only light being the headlamp on Ye Sheng’s helmet.

Aki suddenly felt the cold, a cold that was enough to destroy people and the edge of the world.

“Ye Sheng!” she shouted, turning her head.

“I’m here.” Ye Sheng reached out his hand, gripping hers through thick gloves, smiling.

Mance climbed aboard the boat, removed his flippers, and, not even bothering to strip off his diving suit, rushed into the forward cabin.

“Life parameters are normal, signal is clear, they’ve gone inside. There are many snake-faced human bronze statues there, passageways like a space station, and… well, you wouldn’t believe it—God, nobody would without seeing it firsthand!” Selma came forward, her face full of excitement.

“Put it on the big screen,” Mance said.

Dark green footage appeared on the large screen—footage transmitted from underwater by Ye Sheng and Aki. In the spotlight beam, the rippling waves were projected onto an incredible bronze structure—circular, surrounded by a ring of teeth-like structures as sharp as wolf fangs. At first glance, it looked like it would scream through the air and bite an enemy’s neck if thrown.

“Incredible craftsmanship,” Mance murmured.

“Looks like some kind of weapon,” Selma said.

“It’s not a weapon; it’s a gear, part of some system,” Mance said quietly.

The camera kept zooming out, and it seemed that Ye Sheng was swimming slowly away with the camera on his helmet, and at the same time the camera rose above the water.

The camera slowly pulled away, seemingly as Ye Sheng swam backward with his helmet camera rising above the water’s surface.

“There is a significant amount of air inside, which will buy us some time,” Mance said.

“No, the oxygen content is very low. The prolonged closure has allowed the oxygen to be depleted due to metal oxidation,” the first mate replied. “Their oxygen will only last for another hour and thirty-five… no, thirty-three minutes.”

A second metal disk appeared in the footage, then a third, a fourth… countless metal disks covered a massive bronze wall dozens of meters high, their bronze teeth interlocking. Mance paused and looked down at his wrist, where he wore an Omega diving watch.

“Doesn’t it look like a watch movement that has been magnified countless times?” Ye Sheng’s voice rang out.

“It’s an alchemical machine, although I don’t know what it’s used for.” Mance said, “But judging from its complexity, the mechanical transmission technology of dragons at that time was far more advanced than that of humans.”

“This is just one of the closed holes. The other holes also have different mechanical systems, which have been rusted for many years.” Ye Sheng said, “Is this a mechanism set up by the Bronze King to protect himself?”

“Don’t be too naive. This dragon prince’s knowledge of fire and metal is unparalleled. If the mechanism was designed by him personally, it would not have rusted and become inoperable.” Mance whispered.

“Captain, the Chinese rescue helicopter has been loaded with medicines and serums and is about to take off. If they come over, our actions will be exposed.” The third mate said loudly.

“Ye Sheng! Speed ​​up, find the location of Dragon King Norton and detonate the underwater bomb. There is not enough time.” Mance ordered.

“Understood. I can sense the position where the ‘snake’ is encircling—it’s close to me,” Ye Sheng said.

He touched the black box, then turned to Aki, “You take photos and samples here. I’ll look for the location of the ‘snake’; it’s below us. Keep an eye on my life signs. If anything happens to me, don’t attempt a rescue—evacuate immediately. That’s an order from the team leader.”

“Yes,” Aki replied.

Ye Sheng gave her a thumbs-up, then flipped over and dove underwater. The ancient bronze city was full of one hollow after another, each connected by bronze passageways. After being flooded, most of the corridors were located below the waterline, like an ant nest partially submerged in water.

Aki raised her head and shone her flashlight upward, looking up at the hollow. The space was vast, like a giant’s palace, and the dome above was covered in ancient carvings—branches and leaves of a great tree, curling into unreadable characters.

“Draconic?” Aki suddenly understood what it was.

She took out a waterproof camera from her pocket, divided the dome into sections, and began taking pictures. The data was immediately transmitted back to the Maniakh.

“Remember to make a backup!” Mance rubbed his hands in surprise. After Nicholas Flamel, this was the first time that humans had obtained such a huge amount of dragon text information. Although it might take decades to decipher it, it was better to have it than nothing.

“I understand.” Aki said. She was suspended in the water, trying hard to stop the camera from shaking too much. There was not much time left.

Complex patterns kept entering her viewing window. The complexity of these patterns was incredible. The leaves gathered together looked like human faces, and when separated, they were indeed a kind of ancient characters that had disappeared for many years. They rotated counterclockwise on the dome. Aki lowered the output pressure of the oxygen cylinder to extend the time of underwater activities and wait for Ye Sheng. The oxygen delivery volume was reduced to zero. She felt a little dizzy, and the patterns on the dome were a little blurry in her eyes. She stopped shooting temporarily, closed her eyes slightly, shook her head, and took two deep breaths.

“Aki, your heart rate is increasing. Are you okay?” Selma’s voice came through the headset, tinged with worry.

“I’m fine, just a bit dizzy,” Aki replied.

She put her folding knife back in her pocket, opened her eyes again, and swam toward the edge of the hollow.

“Signal lost!” Onboard the Maniakh, Selma cried out, “We’ve lost data transmission with Aki!”

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