Number 13 pressed “1#.”
“Is the relative humidity close to 100%? If it is, please press ‘1#’. If it is not, please press ‘2#’.”
No. 13 touched the handle of his sawed-off shotgun, and there was a layer of fine water droplets on the wooden handle. The woman who recorded the video seemed to have done a field survey and was fully aware of the environment here. No. 13 pointed the screen of his mobile phone forward, and there was a layer of mist. He was also a good student in high school, and he could confirm that the air humidity here was indeed oversaturated without the help of a hygrometer.
“1#”.
“Extremely high residual magnetic field? If yes, please press ‘1#’. If no, please press ‘2#’.”
This time, No. 13 was a little confused. How could he measure the extremely high residual magnetic field? He didn’t even bring a compass. He wasn’t Magneto in “X-Men” and was not sensitive to magnetic fields. He pulled up his sleeves and looked at his watch. The automatic mechanical watch stopped at 21:30, which was when he entered this passage. There was no doubt that there was an extremely strong magnetic field here.
“If you’re not sure how to detect the magnetic field, just look at your watch.” The woman said, and the receiver actually came out with the sound of… chewing potato chips. One can imagine how leisurely this woman was when she was recording.
“1#”, No. 13 almost wanted to spit at the woman into the microphone, but considering the five million dollars and the fact that the woman couldn’t hear him, he gave up the idea.
“After these confirmations, you are extremely close to the target. Don’t be afraid of possible hallucinations. The strong magnetic field will affect your mind. Keep a calm and stable mood.” The woman said, “Now keep moving forward, find the target, approach the target, observe and record everything you see, and then return to report, the mission is completed. Remember, you must see the target with your own eyes; you must look directly at it! You don’t need to bring the target out—just your report is worth 5 million dollars!
Number 13’s mood reached a peak of joy. He didn’t even need to bring the target out—just observe, record, and report for 5 million. This was a deal too good to pass up. In an instant, the shadow in his heart was completely swept away.
The various things he saw along the way were enough to write a decent report, and his joy suddenly soared. However, when he heard that he had to see the target with his own eyes, it was a bit tricky. If this thing was locked in a huge safe, it would be a bit difficult. If it was soaked in hundreds of years of black dog blood – he had seen it in a mission, and the owner of the antique thought that this could suppress the evil spirit of the bronze casket – it would be even more troublesome. Did he have to clean the six-foot-high brass jar and then write an archaeological paper?
“Good luck, Number 13,” the woman said gently.
“Hey, what kind of mission prompt is this? Is it just ‘keep going forward’?” No. 13 shouted into the microphone. It was so quiet that only the sound of the exhaust fan could be heard. The recording had ended. No. 13 suddenly missed the few minutes of arguing with this woman. At least he could still hear some human voices. Otherwise, it felt like… he was in an ancient tomb.
The farther he went, the damper the air became. Water droplets condensed on the ceiling of the passage, “plop, plop,” falling to the ground. The water at his feet gradually rose past the soles of his shoes. Now, he was no longer an elegant bat—just a rat in the sewer.
“Brother… Brother… Brother… Brother…” That damn voice always floated behind him faintly, but after he firmly reminded himself that it was just an illusion caused by the magnetic field, he was not so scared anymore.
But the problem is that he is an orphan from head to toe, so why did he hallucinate a younger brother? No. 13 felt a little confused.
“Good luck, Number 13.” He suddenly recalled the woman’s final words.
It was strange; those words seemed directed at him alone. Originally, Number 13 thought this recording was prepared for everyone in the team.
2. Prepare for War
Group B had complete control over this area. They were composed of key members of the Student Union, most of whom had attended the Amber Hall ball.
So nearly half of the group wore black evening gowns or long white gauze court dresses. The girls had their hair tied up on top of their heads, revealing their smooth necks. Their communication devices were hung around their waists with black belts, and their earphones were inserted into their hair buns along their fair necks. They held Uzi submachine guns with 9mm caliber 30 rounds in their hands, and the black bullet belt on their right shoulder was filled with spare magazines. The short gun belt under their long skirts was tied tightly against their bare thighs, and they were wearing three-inch high heels inlaid with rhinestones.
“Gothic beauty’s splendor!” A Student Union officer looked out through the stained-glass window, the white skirts swaying in the wind.
Eight students who excelled in “Battlefield Survival Course II” guarded the front door, eight guarded the back door, four were at each side door, two under each stained-glass window, and six on the second-floor passage, all equipped with light and heavy weaponry to provide rapid support when needed.
“‘Battlefield Survival Class’ can only be regarded as a physical education class. How come only second graders are in charge of guarding such an important place as Odin Hall! Isn’t this an important strategic location leading to the Three Goddesses Layer?” another cadre complained.
“Don’t worry, Professor Schneider’s arrangement won’t leave any loopholes. They are indeed all sophomores, but Caesar is in the middle.” The man with glasses was full of confidence, looking at the center of the hall.
In the main hall, Caesar Gattuso, president of the Cassell College Student Union, sat there quietly, resting with his eyes closed.
The importance of Odin Hall to Cassell College lies in the fact that it is only used to issue degree certificates and commemorate the death of the most important academic leaders – you can imagine who has achieved high academic status in Cassell College, almost without exception, they all have a glorious list of dragon slayers. This hall is usually only opened once a year, and students enter in dresses and graduation robes with Prussian court characteristics, sit on rows of oak benches, and wait for the purple-robed principal to read their names, and go on stage to receive their degrees amid the applause of everyone. The walls on both sides are covered with portraits of heroes who have made contributions to mankind in the dragon slaying wars of all dynasties.
For every student at Cassell College, Odin Hall is a sacred place, on par with the church and the theater known as Valhalla.
Caesar sat in the front row of the Odin Hall, legs crossed. He did not change into his combat uniform, but still wore his elegant white suit. He looked up at the sculpture under the dome, which was the god Odin in full armor, riding an eight-legged warhorse, holding a spear. The hunting knife Dictator, was unsheathed and lay quietly on Caesar’s knees, and the loaded gun was placed on the seat next to him. Caesar did not seem to be prepared for someone to sneak into the Odin Hall.
“Boss, this is…” the student union cadre holding the Desert Eagle asked cautiously.
“Think!” The man with glasses was very confident. “That’s what a leader should do. Never panic when something happens. Always make the most correct judgment calmly.”
“That makes sense!” The man holding the gun understood a little.
Caesar? Gattuso closed his eyes, chewing the beef strips in his mouth, with a faint smile on his lips. The conversation between the two student union cadres a few dozen meters behind him was as clear to him as if someone was whispering in his ear. All the sounds in the entire Odin Hall and the hundreds of meters around the Odin Hall also echoed in his mind, including mosquitoes grinding their wings in the air, small insects crawling in the soil, and the 46 heartbeats of the 46 people in Group B who were under his command, with completely different rhythms.
No, not 46, but 58. Just in that moment, 12 strange heartbeats entered the area controlled by Caesar.
Yanling: Kamaitachi.
Caesar opened his eyes, stared at the podium under the Odin statue, took out his cell phone and dialed. The call was quickly connected, but the other party did not make any sound.
“Chu Zihang, what are you doing right now?” Caesar asked.
“I don’t know, nothing to do, just waiting, I guess.” Chu Zihang’s voice came from the other end of the phone.
“My guests have arrived; what about yours?”
“They’ll come when they have to.”
“Who will end the battle first? Are we betting on something again this time?”
“On Day of Liberty, you lost your car, and I lost my sword. Neither bet has been given to the winner, to Lu Mingfei. Is there still any point in betting again?”
“True enough.” Caesar thought of his Bugatti Veyron parked in the garage. In his mind, that car still obediently stayed in his garage.
He felt a bit embarrassed, not because of the car but because it was hard to bring himself to hand it over to Lu Mingfei. He had planned that if Lu Mingfei would obediently come on stage to stand beside him, he’d casually take out the car key from his pocket and slap it into Lu Mingfei’s hand, saying that the toy was always meant to be his. Caesar was a little nervous at that moment— But Lu Mingfei didn’t know.
But then the phone rang and everything became like this.
Chu Zihang hung up.
Caesar lowered his head again, closed his eyes, and rested his forehead in his hands.
The church is the control area of Group C.
The number of people in Group C is much smaller than that of Group B, but the area they control is smaller and the personnel are more elite. All 20 people are members of the Lionheart Club. The third and fourth grade students are much more capable than the second grade students. They are not stationed in a fixed position, but are always moving. However, for those who want to invade this building, they will find that different groups are blocking a certain entrance at any time. The movement trajectory of each group is pre-rehearsed and coordinated perfectly.