"Chen Motong! Chu Zihang! What's going on? What happened?!"
"Chu Zihang, answer me quickly!"
"Chen Motong, report the situation. What exactly happened?"
From the earphones in the diving suits, Manstein's anxious voice could be heard.
Shaking her dizzy head, holding back the nausea from the dizziness, Nono said, "Chen Motong reporting. There was a slight accident, but we've successfully entered the Bronze City. Both of us are unharmed. The only issue is that the communication line is stuck inside the wall."
She tried tugging at the black cord, but unfortunately, it was embedded in the bronze wall with no gaps, as if it had been poured into place.
Manstein sighed in relief and said, "I've prepared an extension cord for you. You should find it in your pocket. Don't worry about the rest. When the door is opened again, the connection will be restored."
As expected, Nono found the extension cord in her pocket. After attaching it to the diving suit, she tested it again: "Calling the Moniah, can you hear me?"
"The signal is clear, no problem," Manstein immediately replied.
"There's something that doesn't match the initial prediction," Nono said. "When Ye Sheng and Sakatoku Aki entered last time, the air here was depleted due to years of metal oxidation, and it couldn't sustain breathing. But now, the air quality is breathable again."
"I can probably answer your first question," Manstein said. "It's likely that the Dragon King is in its incubation state. It's a reptilian creature, so it needs to breathe oxygen. In other words, it's here in the Bronze City, and it's probably not far from you."
"Let's hope your assumption is correct," Nono sighed. "Otherwise, facing the Dragon King underwater, even ten lives wouldn't be enough."
"Therefore, you must hurry!"
Manstein said solemnly, "Place the alchemical bomb near the Dragon King's incubation site. The bomb's explosive power is average, but the alchemical reagents inside will react violently with the water and metal, quickly depleting the air in the Bronze City. At that point, the Dragon King will suffocate and will have no choice but to break out of its egg prematurely."
"Then, when he's weak, you just go ahead and hit him, right?" Nono said.
"Though your description is rough, that's basically it." Manstein said, then suddenly realized someone was missing. He asked, "Where's Chu Zihang? Why isn't he speaking?"
"Hey, leader, the professor is calling you." Nono shouted at Chu Zihang, who was crouching down in the hallway.
However, Chu Zihang didn't respond, staying silent as he closely observed something.
"Hey, Chu Zihang?" After a few calls with no reply, Nono frowned and walked over to tap his shoulder. "What are you looking at? Professor Manstein said the Dragon King might be in a hatching state. We need to confirm quickly."
"Footprints."
Chu Zihang ignored Chen Motong and continued staring at the clear set of footprints on the hallway floor.
"There are footprints, but it's nothing to be surprised about, right?" Nono said casually. "It's probably just the footprints left by Ye Sheng and Sakatoku Aki when they came in last time."
"No, look closely."
Chu Zihang shook his head, signaling Nono to take another look. "There's only one set of footprints, and the shoe size is around 44. It's a man. I've seen Ye Sheng's feet, and they're not that big."
Nono froze in surprise, quickly crouching down to closely inspect the footprints. She felt a chill run down her spine.
"So, Chu Zihang, why are you so focused on the size of a man's feet?" came the voice of Xia Mi, complaining from the communicator.
"Male, around thirty years old, weighing about 170 pounds." Nono, naturally good at profiling, analyzed quickly.
"And they're fresh. Chen Motong, I have bad news."
"What is it?"
Manstein, shooing away the disruptive Xia Mi, quickly asked.
Nono looked up, staring at the endless rows of bronze statues lining the hallway. She took a deep breath, suppressing her fear, and spoke with a trembling voice: "Before we arrived, someone else secretly entered the Bronze Ancient City!"
"Who else, besides the Dragon King, could have entered the Bronze City?"
On the Moniah ship, Manstein's face turned pale with shock. Instinctively, he wanted to call off the plan.
Over a decade ago, Schneider had led the elite team from the Execution Bureau on a mission beneath the Greenland Ice Sea.
However, they encountered unknown dragons, and the entire team was nearly wiped out.
Schneider himself was contaminated by dragon blood and severely frostbitten, left alive only by a life support machine.
Manstein didn't want to face the same tragedy, and certainly didn't want to lose what could be considered his best student!
"Perhaps it really is the Dragon King?" Xia Mi said quietly, with a complex look in her eyes.
"Impossible!"
Manstein instinctively dismissed the idea. "Ye Sheng and Sakatoku Aki have confirmed the Dragon King's egg is in the Bronze City. If you don't understand, don't say such things!"
"Uh, I was just guessing. What if the Dragon King has twins?"
It was only after Xia Mi said it that she realized she had misspoken and quickly corrected herself. "Hahaha, I'm just joking, don't take it seriously."
However, the speaker was unaware, but the listener was not.
"Twins? Twins?!"
Suddenly, a flash of lightning crossed Manstein's mind. He trembled violently. "Right! How did we not think of that? The twins on the throne, the Four Dragon Kings... maybe they aren't just one, but twins, each holding power and authority. That's the only way it makes sense!"
Xia Mi clenched her fists, silently frustrated. It was her slip of the tongue that revealed such important information.
Staring at the rushing river, she felt a bit lost. The years she spent with Chu Zihang seemed like a clear stream, flowing bit by bit in her mind.
Well, at least it's a small bit of compensation.
"Chu Zihang! Chen Motong!"
Manstein shouted urgently, "Listen up, there's not just one Dragon King, each Dragon King has twins, one holding power, the other holding authority. The person who entered the Bronze City ahead of you is most likely the other of the Twin King of Bronze and Fire. Mission cancelled. You need to retreat immediately!"
Shhhhhhh
The signal that had been clear moments ago was now replaced by a harsh, crackling noise.
"Connection... lost!"
Manstein's face turned pale, cold sweat dripping down his face.
"I'll go down!"
Caesar heard there was danger and immediately couldn't sit still, grabbing his diving suit and rushing to dive in.
"No! You can't go!" Manstein immediately stopped Caesar. He couldn't just watch as the heir to the Gattuso family charged into the Dragon King's forbidden zone.
"What about Nono? What about Chu Zihang?" Caesar was like an angry lion.
"Calm down, you need to calm down!"
Manstein took a deep breath. He had to stay calm now and spoke firmly, "The underwater situation is unknown. Even if we let you dive in, will it really change anything?"
"Do you expect me to just watch them die?" Caesar said coldly.
"I'll go."
Manstein spoke up. "My Word Soul is 'Void Snakes'. As long as I'm within a certain range, I can connect with them!"
When he said this, both Caesar and Xia Mi were stunned.
Caesar was doubtful. After all, Manstein was older, and if anything went wrong, it would be almost certain death. "You're going yourself?"
"This is something only I can do," Manstein said without hesitation. He started putting on the diving gear and gave orders, "Caesar, from now on, you are the highest commander. If we don't come back, your task is to do everything in your power to kill the Dragon King. Understand?"
Caesar looked at the resolute Manstein and felt an inexplicable weight on his shoulders. He nodded heavily. "I understand, Professor Manstein."
Splash!
Manstein, with his oxygen tank, dove into the water alone, pulling the black rope behind him.
"Nono, Chu Zihang... please be safe!"
Caesar could only force himself to calm down, controlling his anxious and restless feelings, waiting for Manstein.
********
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