Chapter 52: The Vanishing Dragon Egg

Light.
A dazzling white pillar of light pierced the sky, linking the mountaintop platform to the rainclouds above.
Blinding white radiance intertwined with roaring thunder, as an enraged celestial being hurled its divine scepter in wrath toward the turbid, defiled mortal world.
The lightning descended at its rightful, utterly inescapable speed, igniting bone-chilling flames and searing hot winds.
More than a dozen figures, caught in the high beams of the headlights, struggled in agony before collapsing to the ground.
Lu Mingfei exhaled a breath of stale air, expressionless as he tossed aside a strip of yellow ritual paper that had not yet finished burning. Had he been wearing a Taoist robe, he truly would have possessed the air of a Daoist master summoning thunder and lightning.
The Art of Thunder, also known as the Summoning of Lightning.
It summoned a genuine bolt of lightning to strike a designated location chosen by the caster, usable only when cumuloinscious clouds were present. Highly effective against the undead, it was the most lethal spell Lu Mingfei could temporarily mobilize at the moment.
Though Nono had long since witnessed Lu Mingfei harness the power of heaven and earth to battle enemies, she was still startled by the sudden apparition of lightning.
"Lu Mingfei, was this you—"
Lu Mingfei ungraciously reached out a hand and retorted:
"Otherwise, was it you? Give me the pistol. Wait here while I go check on what's left of those disgusting things."
Nono pressed her lips together.
"I'll go with you."
Lu Mingfei shook his head, persuading her:
"Your 'inspiration' is too strong; you aren't suited to face a ritual site directly. Just wait here."
Nono lowered her gaze, her fair, delicate hand gripping the pistol handle tightening further. She shook her head stubbornly.
"Let's go together."
Seeing that Nono's attitude was resolute, Lu Mingfei did not argue further. He clutched his waist and took the lead, walking up toward the mountaintop platform.
The thin, clumsy attempt at concealment by the mist was completely ineffective against the powerful glare of the Bugatti Veyron. The two of them trudged heavily through the autumn meadow, the only light source being the headlights of the Bugatti behind them, which cast a silver sheen upon the reflecting surface of the spring water.
If not for the blackened, barely human-shaped charred corpses scattered on the ground and the lingering stench of burning flesh in the air, this would truly have been a serene and picturesque place.
Lu Mingfei felt it was best not to touch these things with his bare hands. He ordered Nono behind him:
"Nono, fire a couple more shots. Aim for the head."
To everyone's surprise, one of the figures, whose facial features were horribly blurred, suddenly extended a trembling hand and let out a parched voice:
"Nono... Nono, it's me, Ye Sheng. Have you forgotten the time you and Aki and I ate ice cream in the cafeteria..."
"Chen Motong, it's me, Ludeschnat, your professor. I won't take roll call in class anymore, you..."
"Nono..."
"Nono, please..."
"..."
The parched voices pleaded one after another, their trembling tones weaving an ocean of terror, overflowing with a desperate craving for life.
Nono recognized every single voice, and the events they spoke of were indeed things they had experienced together. Their faces and smiles flashed through her mind.
"What are you standing there for? Shoot!"
Only a dead anomaly was a good anomaly. Lu Mingfei had zero intention of extracting information from their mouths, casting a sideways glance at Nono.
Nono's rosy lips were pale, the searing, foul-smelling wind making her tremble uncontrollably.
"Look at you. Didn't I tell you not to come? Just asking for suffering."
Seeing that Nono remained frozen, Lu Mingfei reached out and snatched the pistol from her hand.
The sharp-witted, imposing red-haired heroine who could lift Lu Mingfei with a single hand was now as frail as a kitten.
The voice of Ye Sheng beneath his feet suddenly grew hurried:
"Lu Mingfei! Don't! It's me, Ye Sheng! Have you forgotten I even lent you a thousand yuan? I—I can tell you how I—"
Lu Mingfei chuckled.
"Quite the social climber, aren't you?"
"Bang!"
The pistol modified by the Equipment Department was meant for hybrids with inhuman physiques; for Lu Mingfei, the recoil was simply too great. Even with a two-handed grip, he was jolted half a step back.
The weapon's firepower was undeniable, however. Ye Sheng's head burst open like a black balloon.
There were no human red-and-white matters inside his skull; instead, what splattered out was some kind of yellowish, foul-smelling, viscous substance.
The stench carried an indescribable, cloying sweetness, which only made it all the more unbearable.
"Ugh, this smells like cheap cake dipped in shit."
Lu Mingfei rolled his eyes, speeding up his pace to blow the heads off the fallen figures one by one.
Under the glare of the high beams, Lu Mingfei's shadow swayed back and forth. Yet within the darkness behind the light, a silent, shadowy figure was crawling toward the summit.
***
Shifting the perspective temporarily back to Cassel College.
The heavily guarded Ice Cellars, which housed countless dangerous alchemical items, specifically the Skuld sector representing the "Goddess of the Future."
"Very well, release." Someone clapped their hands.
After four robotic arms retracted, the brass canister hung steadily within the superconducting magnetic field immersed in cryogenic liquid nitrogen, surrounded by half-meter-thick quartz glass walls.
It lay dormant like a developing fetus, with the special elliptical quartz glass shield serving as its womb.
"Perfect!" The researchers in white lab coats applauded.
"Allow me the pleasure of announcing: the Dragon Lord Nurtun has been successfully captured."
Principal Anjou applauded. "To capture one of the Four Great Monarchs among the First Generation Dragons, we exerted immense effort. Ladies and gentlemen, a toast to those who sacrificed for our cause."
Thunderous applause erupted in the laboratory.
The principal pointed at the copper canister isolated within the sealed glass vault:
"Today will be a historic day. Let us witness a miracle in scientific history; we shall... dissect the Dragon Lord! First, initiate a magnetic resonance scan."
The instrument swept across, and the results of the MRI appeared on the massive screen. In an instant, everyone's expression changed.
"Two cavities... why are they both empty?" Someone scratched their head.
The internal structure of the copper canister was clearly displayed, divided cleanly into two halves, both of which were completely vacant.
Two unsettling cracks were located right above the cavities, one large and one small.
"Something... has escaped from inside," the principal murmured. "Damn it, those two gaps—those are the cracks of a dragon egg!"
An intruder, whom Lu Mingfei detested to the core, had already infiltrated the heart of Cassel College. Wearing a surgical mask and a full-body sterile hazmat suit, his protection was as thorough as an astronaut preparing for a moon landing.
The mercenary Old Tang, Lu Mingfei's StarCraft gaming buddy.
He scratched his head in confusion as he stared at the MRI results. Due to his exaggerated movements, his elbow collided with a similarly suited researcher standing beside him.
That slender researcher, clearly a woman, shot him a warning glare. Anxious and agitated, Old Tang gave her a heavy shove, clutched his head, and roared in fury.
The gazes of more than a dozen people in the room instantly converged on Old Tang. Goosebumps erupted across his entire skin in rolling waves, and the blood vessels inside him twitched restlessly as if crawling caterpillars had been stuffed inside.
Something was wrong!
Something was terribly wrong!