If I don't have money to go to college, I can only go to slay the dragon.

"I probably already understand what happened."

On the overpass, Lin Nian leaned against the guardrail. The golden water flowed endlessly under the bridge, and strings of white light beads flashed past. Occasionally, the sirens of ambulances and fire engines roared past, heading in the direction they came from. go.

Li Huoyue leaned against the guardrail not far to the right of Lin Nian, folding her arms and turning her head to look away, thinking about something. Lu Mingfei squatted on the ground beside the guardrail, hugging his knees, burying his face in his knees as if he was trapped in himself. close.

If Lin Nian hadn't pulled him out of the station and forced him to carefully recount what happened today from beginning to end, he might still be working as a fire hydrant on the platform. Or even more extreme, if he couldn't think about it, he would just lie down on the track. But the dark humor is that even if the station is closed, no train will come in and crush him to death, even if he wants to die.

Lin Nian, who was leaning against the guardrail with his hands hanging out and clasped with his fingers, didn't speak for a long time. After saying what he just said, he fell into silence again. For a moment, he used his elbows to retract his hands from the guardrail. Putting it in his pocket, he turned around and looked at Lu Mingfei, whose head was buried in his knees as if asleep, and he kicked him up!

This kick was not heavy at all. Seeing that this guy was as pitiful as his dead wife, Lin Nian was reluctant to kick him hard. He was not light at all, otherwise it would not have the effect. So anyway, he kicked Lu Mingfei out of his crouching position. He fell to the ground and rolled two or three times, then got up from the ground without saying a word.

Lin Nian walked to Lu Mingfei who was halfway up and stretched out his right hand. He turned to look at Jin Liu outside the overpass, "You're not dead yet. If you want to die for your love, don't squat here. Jump down from here when there's a semi hanging from below." Or I’ll throw you away.”

Lu Mingfei pulled out Lin Nian's hand, but the other person's hand suddenly let go, and he almost fell down again. After he stabilized himself, he looked up at him dejectedly, and their eyes just met, "You know what I want to say."

"Well, my bad." Lu Mingfei stood up, dusted himself off and whispered.

He promised Lin Nian to take good care of Chen Wenwen, but in the end he still failed to do it. He slipped at the critical moment and didn't take back what he said. He is willing to be beaten now, but in the end no one will beat him. That's right. , Chen Wenwen’s parents. Fortunately, Chen Wenwen was studying in Bei'an and living outside. Otherwise, within a day, the girl's parents would have come to Lu Mingfei to ask for someone. He was the last person to come into contact with Chen Wenwen.

When Lin Nian saw Lu Mingfei's look, he took back what he wanted to say. He knew that Lu Mingfei felt worse than he thought. This was not the first time that Chen Wenwen had lost something like this. Well, the Pearl Tower taught Lu Mingfei a lesson that time. This time, although Lu Mingfei tried his best to save the situation, he still made the same mistake again.

This kind of psychological blow and guilt can directly crush a person. Lu Mingfei is suffering from this kind of torture now, but no one will say a kind word for him, because in the end it is not him who is really hurt, but Chen Wenwen. This This reality doubled his pain.

"Lin Nian, help me." Lu Mingfei said.

There is no shame, there is really no shame in asking for help. If face, dignity, and even personality could be exchanged for Chen Wenwen to be brought back safely immediately, Lu Mingfei would do it without even thinking about it, instead of being like a fool who would be full of energy and exaggerate about his faults to make up for it himself. , who can say such nonsense is a truly selfish beast.

The only thing he can do now is to seize every opportunity that can save the outcome. Lin Nian is undoubtedly the most powerful helper at the moment. He may have more information than he can imagine. Maybe he really has a chance to help. He also helped Chen Wenwen who was in danger.

"I will help you, so you can't be anxious. It's normal to be anxious, but the more urgent things are, the slower they will be. You know this truth." Lin Nian said.

In the kendo hall of Kassel Academy, every time Lu Mingfei and Lin Nian were sparring, they would hear each other emphasize this sentence. The more urgent, the slower. Everything is faster and slower. However, this principle does not exist. How many people can truly understand and implement it in how they behave and do things.

"First of all, let's be clear. Chen Wenwen is indeed in a very dangerous situation now. If there were no accidents, she would have already embarked on the road to enter the Nibelungen when she was forced to get on that train. According to your understanding of the situation at that time The description, the darkness of the station entrance where the car lights cannot illuminate, the sudden appearance of a large number of Deadpools, and the closed and unmanned Xizhimen platform. Based on these conditions, it can be basically determined that you have fallen into the liminal between Nibelungen and reality. Space'. The so-called '3 minute' limit should be the time necessary for the Nibelungen to complete its erosion of reality. Even if you kill all Deadpool within 3 minutes, the person who planned this conspiracy can still send her into the Nibelung. Dragon root.”

"The Nibelungs, the Nibelungs of the King of Earth and Mountains?" Even though Lu Mingfei knew the answer, he couldn't help but confirm it again.

"No matter who it is, the Nibelungen is a dangerous place for ordinary people to escape death." Lin Nian said, "But Chen Wenwen's current situation is very special. She should be fine for the time being." He turned his head and looked not far away. Li Huanyue, who was leaning against the guardrail and said nothing, said, "If your description is not wrong and you have not identified the wrong person, then the orthodox next 'Yue' is with her now. According to my superficial understanding of that guy, in In that special situation, he would put the lives of ordinary people around him above his own, and he is an out-and-out good guy who is a hot-blooded protagonist."

"That Sima Xuxu?" Lu Mingfei still remembers the young hybrid who used 'Time Zero'. He left a big impression on him when he was in the courtyard, but he didn't know much about the other information. " Is he the next 'Yue'?"

"'Gan' is a mixed-race. In the words of the secret party, he is an 'S'-level specialist. You have also seen Yan Ling. Although the way of calling him is different on the orthodox side, he is still essentially 'time zero'." . To be honest, he was the one who got in the car at that time, not you. It can be regarded as a good draw. It was only out of consideration for Chen Wenwen's safety. As a bodyguard, he is more qualified than anyone else." Lin Nian said calmly. say.

Lu Mingfei thought for a moment in silence and found that this was still the case. He and Chen Wenwen entered the Nibelung. According to his current level of strength, self-protection may not be a problem, but it would be too difficult to protect a weak ordinary person. He was in trouble - it would have been very difficult for him and Chen Wenwen to escape from the hunt of the hunters, let alone the monsters that might appear in the Nibelungs.

"But he is not in peak condition now. He was injured at noon, and the contusion on the arm joint will take at least two to three days to heal." Li Hueyue's voice sounded next to the guardrail, "And neither of them carried any The actual situation of supplies and survival equipment after entering the Nibelungen will not be as stable as you think."

"What are the conditions for entering the Nibelungen? Can't we go in directly now?" Lu Mingfei asked quickly, but he found that just after asking this question, Lin Nian and Li Hueyue were silent, and they were still They looked at each other.

"Originally, according to the normal plan, she and I will enter the Nibelungen tonight to solve this trouble." Lin Nian finally decided to tell Lu Mingfei the inside story clearly, "The specific method is to take the Beibai subway system For Line 2 and Line 13, use your subway magnetic card to swipe your ticket at the gate at each station, and then punch in at each station of the ring line to get your 'ticket' to enter the Nibelungen."

"Isn't this that urban legend?" Lu Mingfei was stunned. Recently, Su Xiaoqiang and the others had been studying such rumors too much, and he had also heard a lot. The rumor about entering the mysterious subway through the Circle Line gate is the most widely circulated one. , but they all regarded it as a joke and did not even practice it, because it sounded too outrageous, and it looked like a netizen’s joke for fishing.

"It's not a legend, it's a fact. The Nibelungs are called 'little worlds' in orthodox academic terms, and the owner of a 'world' has the power to create rules. This seemingly absurd urban legend is the introduction to the Nibelungs. One of the rules." Lin Nian flipped his hand and took out his white magnetic card, "She and I have already taken the entire Circle Line 2, and we were interrupted when we were about to transfer to Line 13."

As for why it was interrupted, Lu Mingfei didn't ask, because he himself was the cause of the interruption. He almost demolished the Xizhimen platform of Line 13. Where is the gate to check in for them?

"Then what should we do now?" No matter how absurd the rules are, Lu Mingfei still hopes that they are true, because at least there are traces to follow and a place to exert force, and he will not wander around in the ruins like a headless fly. .

"I don't know." Lin Nian also told the truth directly, flipping his fingers to put away the subway magnetic card, "The rules for entering the Nibelungs were obtained through a deal between me and one of the orthodox clan leaders. You know, this is the only accurate way to enter the Nibelungs that Orthodoxy controls, but now one of the stations is paralyzed, and no one knows how to enter the Nibelungs before the station resumes work."

"It will take at least a week for the platform to resume operation." Li Huanyue said, "I have asked, and now the Xizhimen platform has attracted a lot of public opinion. Even the orthodox cannot withstand the pressure and restart the platform at this special time. , Moreover, the dragon blood biological contamination inside and the problems left over from the fire will also take time to deal with, and it will take three to four days at the fastest."

"Are you betting that they can last three to four days in the Nibelungs? Do you think Sima Xuxu can do it?" Lin Nian looked at Li Hueyue.

"He can do it, but not necessarily the girls around him. Lack of water and food is a big problem." Li Huanyue said bluntly.

"Didn't Orthodoxy send an operator of Lang Juxu into the Nibelungen this afternoon? The man with the red tassel gun on his back brought enough food with him. Is it possible that they will meet in the Nibelungen? Sima As an orthodox 'gan' hybrid, he should know Xuxu, and he might help them survive for a while."

"If we can meet, we will definitely lend a helping hand, provided that we can meet. Right now we know nothing about the situation in the Nibelungs."

Li Huoyue and Lin Nian were chatting quickly. Lu Mingfei, who couldn't get a word in, took a long breath to release the pressure in his chest. He closed his eyes and leaned his elbow on the guardrail of the overpass next to him, rubbing his right hand straight and hard. The messy hair and dust left over from the fire also fell from the ground to the overpass, and the particles looked like flying snow in the golden street lights.

Nibelungen, the subway, Chen Wenwen, and Sima Xuxu were all in a mess in his mind. The cars coming and going on the overpass, the sound of whistles and wind, and the sirens of fire trucks drifting in the distance, all seemed like The fluttering catkins were twisted into ropes in the golden light and wrapped around his neck, making him unable to breathe smoothly. However, he stubbornly refused to break free from the shackles. He held on to the rope with both hands and tried to find the other side.

After a while, he suddenly opened his eyes and turned to look at Lin Nian, "What time is it now?"

Lin Nian, who was still discussing the Nibelungen affairs with Li Hueyue, stopped talking, raised his wrist and glanced at the black watch, "Ten twenty."

"The game will be open for public testing at twelve o'clock tonight." Lu Mingfei left the guardrail, walked over quickly and lowered his head and said, "This is a clue, this is a clue, we can start from here. Yes, Clue, I almost forgot this clue.”

"Game. That game you mentioned before that seems to be related to the Nibelungs?" Lin Nian nodded slightly. He still remembered this. The reason why Chen Wenwen and Lu Mingfei appeared in the Internet cafe was because of that Su Xiaoqiang game. The mysterious game they've been tracking down.

"Lin Nian, do you remember? Chen Wenwen grabbed the qualification for the closed beta of that game, but I didn't grab it, and then what happened today." Lu Mingfei spoke a little fast, and tried his best to keep his words in order. Error, express as clearly as possible, "The official website information of that game even released information about 'Deadpool'. By the way, those weird Deadpools I met in the subway station before, I seem to be there." I’ve seen it on the game’s official website! The Beibu in that game is also related to the Beibu subway! Is it possible that we can find a new way to enter the Nibelungen through that game?”

"Deadpool?" Lin Nian frowned slightly, but the next moment Lu Mingfei had already reached into his pocket to look for his mobile phone. He also let the other party take the mobile phone and poke it around, and finally what appeared in front of him was the mobile phone. A black website on the screen.

Lin Nian first glanced at the "Monster Illustrated Book" that Lu Mingfei clicked on the website. He raised his hand and took the phone over. He lowered his head and quickly swiped the screen to open a few "game monsters" that barely concealed their meaning. His expression became weird.

After seeing his reaction, Li Huoyue also walked over quietly. After catching a glimpse of what was on the screen, she also frowned. No mixed-race species would be able to resist seeing something like this that openly puts the dangerous secrets of the dragon world on the table. Frowning.

"Game qualification, Chen Wenwen obtained the game qualification and then this happened, but I did not obtain the game qualification, so I am here now. Do you think there is any connection between the two?" Lu Mingfei never felt that My mind was spinning so fast, maybe it was because a drowning person was grabbing straws to save himself, grabbing all the information in his hands in an attempt to squeeze out a bunch of useful evidence.

"The connection between game qualifications and entering the Nibelungen. I don't think the relationship is big, right?" But unfortunately, Lin Nian felt that this statement was too forceful. "You may not know that the orthodox has sent out many people as of today. When young operators enter the Nibelungen, they all enter through the 'rules' I mentioned before, rather than the so-called game qualifications. There was not even news about this game a month or two ago. The most difficult point to reconcile. The reason is that Chen Wenwen entered the Nibelungen because she qualified for the game, and Sima Xuxu also entered with Chen Wenwen."

The light in Lu Mingfei's eyes gradually faded, and at this moment, Li Hueyue suddenly said, "No, Xuxu seems to have also been exposed to this game and obtained the qualification for internal testing."

Lin Nian was stunned. He didn't know anything about this. "When did it happen?"

"Do you still remember when you asked me to find someone to help me get the qualification for the closed beta test of this game in the car this afternoon?" Li Hueyue said, "I entrusted this matter to Zhao Xuansheng, but Xiaosheng didn’t seem to understand online games, so he asked Xuxu for help. He was always attentive to my needs, so he took the initiative to get the qualification for this game. He mentioned this on the phone before. Have a mouthful."

Lin Nian unconsciously raised his left hand and put it on his eyebrows to scratch gently. He lowered his eyes slightly and quickly sorted out the connections between these things in his mind. The seemingly absurd things actually started to connect together to form a complete chain. Chain of causes and consequences? But how could the game and the Nibelungs, two completely different things, be related?

"This game will be tested at twelve o'clock. We can find a place with computers to see what this game is like." Lu Mingfei said quickly, "We can go to an Internet cafe. Many people are paying attention to this game now. Maybe someone in the Internet cafe can get the qualification for internal testing?"

"Then he shouldn't be in the Internet cafe now, but in the Nibelungs like Chen Wenwen and Sima Xuxu." Lin Nian said.

Lu Mingfei was stunned, but still said unbelievingly, "This is the only clue."

"There may be another way, but I don't know if it will work." Lin Nian lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said, "I know an ancient alchemical formation, the 'Solomon's Key', as long as I find the way to enter the Nibelungs." 'Gate', you can use this formation to open the door. Now that we know the exact locations where the Nibelungs were opened, maybe I can try to use the 'key' to open the door."

"This is not a conflict. There are still two hours left. Xizhimen Station has been closed, but it is enough to go to Pingguoyuan Station on Line 1 to try your so-called 'key'. If successful, go directly to Nibelungen. If If that fails, then go to the nearest Internet cafe to see what kind of connection there is between the game he mentioned and the Nibelungen." Li Huanyue gave quite pertinent advice.

"You can try it." Lin Nian nodded.

"Then what are you waiting for? Let's go. Have you driven?" Lu Mingfei saw that the clues he had hurriedly pulled out were actually reliable. His eyes became bright again, and he turned around anxiously to get off the overpass.

But just as he was walking towards the overpass stairs, he suddenly saw a passerby not far away wearing a hat and carrying a black plastic bag walking towards him. He was walking quickly and had sharp eyes under the brim of his hat.

Lu Mingfei quietly took a half step back and slumped slightly. The vigilance in his heart rose, and the cold liquid in his blood vessels began to heat up. He just took one look and was sure that the other party's target was them, and he definitely did not go to the overpass by accident. Passers-by—could it be that the group of unwilling hunters are chasing us again?

Just when Lu Mingfei was getting hairy, Lin Nian had already walked past him, raised his right hand and waved to the passerby wearing a hat. When he saw the passerby, he also trotted over, and the two confirmed each other's information. , the other party handed him the black plastic bag in his hand.

Seeing this scene, Lu Mingfei was stunned and put down his guard. He watched Lin Nian come back with a plastic bag, reached out and took out a hot plastic bowl and stuffed it into his hand. When he lowered his head, he saw The red soup contained grotesque bones floating in it.

"Sheep and scorpion, while they're hot." Lin Nian took another bowl from the plastic bag and handed it to Li Hueyue. Li Hueyue took it and took a look at it, but she didn't refuse.

The three of them haven't eaten anything since noon. According to the normal time, they should have had dinner long ago.

"Eat and walk." Lin Nian took out the disposable chopsticks and gloves from his pocket. He was about to ask Lu Mingfei if he was too uncomfortable to eat or something, but when he turned around, he saw that the boy had already opened the plastic He picked out the sheep and scorpions from the lid of the bowl and stuffed them into his mouth.

Okay, sadness and anger will not affect your ability to cook, and having an appetite is also a good thing.

He silently handed the plastic glove in his hand to Li Hueyue, and took out a bowl of sheep scorpion.

He was starving too.

—

At the same time, Longfeng Garden, outer hall.

In the moonless night, the darkness is like a veil covering the fiery maple leaves and ginkgo trees. The beauty of gold and flames is also still at this moment, like the burned out flames with only the embers of a bonfire. They carry a little warmth, but they are not beautiful. No matter how hot it is, it seems to only flicker faintly in the ashes, quiet and leisurely.

On the white marble table in the "empty" part of the outer hall, a long-bright lamp was burning, spreading soft light around, illuminating several rickety figures sitting together in front of the white marble table. They are dressed in ancient silk and satin. These costumes have a history of hundreds or even hundreds of years, symbolizing the same power and status in different eras. There is a gloomy atmosphere deeper than the night between the shadows, as if ghosts from distant times have gathered here, surrounding the ever-burning lamp, privately talking about this new world.

In the darkness, the vermilion main door of the eighth courtyard was pushed open with a rumbling sound. The whispers of the ghosts suddenly stopped, and there was silence and a strange atmosphere filled the air.

Standing in front of the vermilion door is a man holding an exquisite mahogany palace lantern, which shines like a dream. He walks into the dark outer hall until he reaches the shining edge of the ever-lasting lantern, then he slowly stops, lowers the palace lantern, and bows his knees.

"Respectfully obey the orders of Lie Zongzi." The man holding the mahogany palace lantern lowered his head softly.

"'Moon' is missing, do you know?" Sitting in front of the white marble table, his voice was like a fine needle, a cold and sharp old voice.

"Due to many reasons, it is difficult to prohibit it. This matter is beyond my ability." The man apologized.

"What we are talking about is the next 'Frost Moon', not the 'Harvest Moon'. It's late today." The old man sitting in the middle, like a withered old tree said.

"When did it happen?" The man looked up.

"It happened not long ago tonight. Commander-in-Chief Lang Juxu has requested a report. Xuxu may have strayed into the final place of the Dragon King's rule due to an accident. The Commander-in-Chief said this: This is an unexpected thing, no one expected it."

"Accident? Hey, we are all in agreement with each other! I heard that the last person who ordered Sima Xuxu was that bitch." The withered old woman's wizened laughter trembled on the stone table, "It seems that she is becoming more and more bold, during the day It’s really interesting to conspire with the son of the secret party to put on a good show for us, don’t think of me as a fool.”

"Everyone, the most important thing is to solve the problem, and don't be too accountable. The matter is important, and there is no need to say anything else." The ghost in front of the white marble table raised his head slightly, and under the ever-burning lamp, those eyes as deep as the depths of the tomb were white. I saw that the person who met Lin Nian and Huo Yue was at an odd age. He was the head of the Sima family. "Xiao Sheng, go and bring him back. We will leave immediately."

"Yes." The man with his head bowed slightly straightened his body and held up the mahogany palace lantern again.

The mahogany palace lantern was as warm and red as a halo, reflecting Zhao Xiaosheng's beautiful face, but there was no emotion on his face.

ps: The semi-classical Chinese text in the second half was adapted by ChatGPT4.0 based on "Dream of Red Mansions" and my original lines. If you find it strange, just blame Chat (after all, my level of classical Chinese is not high, so I can only ask AI teacher Cao Xueqin for help.

Of course, it can also be understood that the orthodox old guys are not good at learning and have not learned the essence of modern authentic vernacular literature! Highlight the decay of the old guys! (no)