stonecrandall 083 Chaos
083 Chaos
The lights in the Amber Pavilion suddenly flickered, and the pendants of the crystal chandelier collided with each other, scattering a shower of tiny, shimmering lights.
The champagne tower wobbled, and the glasses slid down and crashed.
"An earthquake?" someone shouted from the crowd.
"No, it's an explosion!" someone screamed from the window.
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"...
A series of loud noises slowly approached from afar. People at the ball flocked to the windows. Looking out from the Amber Hall through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, the iron-carved school gate was closed and illuminated by a cold light.
"boom"
The final, deafening roar momentarily silenced everyone. In the blinding flash of light, the iron gate twisted and was flung into the air by the shockwave, rising twenty meters before crashing back down to the ground. Air raid sirens blared throughout the campus, and suddenly all the buildings lit up, shattering the tranquil darkness.
"Red Alert! Red Alert! Multiple explosions detected on campus, suspected external intrusion. All personnel immediately enter combat readiness." Norma's voice boomed through the loudspeakers, echoing throughout the campus. "Seal off all entrances. You have the right to fire on anyone of unknown identity."
The emergency plan was automatically activated. Security personnel inside the Amber Hall immediately went to the basement of the Amber Hall to retrieve weapons, loaded Frigga with bullets, and guided the VIPs to evacuate the venue according to the emergency plan formulated by Chu Zihang.
Chu Zihang took out a walkie-talkie and said, "All personnel, report the situation."
Intermittent, noisy conversations could be heard over the walkie-talkie. Explosions were reported in various locations, but none were large-scale, and no intruders had been detected yet.
The students, who had just been dancing gracefully in their formal attire, immediately adopted the disciplined bearing of trained soldiers and surged out in an orderly fashion. The maintenance crew parked their vehicles outside each building, opened the cargo compartments, and found neatly arranged automatic rifles on the weapon racks inside.
Ye Sheng and Ya Ji skillfully picked up the gun, with rings still on their left ring fingers.
In the library control room, Professor Schneider pushed Mans' wheelchair, Mans clutching Schneider's respirator, as the two hurriedly entered. Guderian and Manstein stood in front of the large screen, watching the screen filled with dots of light, each dot representing a student joining the alert.
"What's going on?" Schneider asked, panting.
"I don't know. There were no warning signs, just a sudden series of explosions. The explosion points were very strange." Manstein looked tense. "No buildings were destroyed, but all the open-air facilities on the ground were completely destroyed."
"What about Angers? Did he tell me he'd be on duty today so you could all go to the ball?" Schneider asked. "Did he go after the intruders himself?"
"Uh..." Guderian said awkwardly, "The principal said he had something come up and asked Manstein and me to cover for him."
"The problem started as soon as he left?" Schneider said in a low voice, his respirator making a hissing sound.
“He went to the Three Gorges,” Mans said. “My refit plan for the Moniach is complete, and he went there to negotiate the entry of some sensitive equipment.”
"What sensitive equipment?" Guderian asked.
"A few Storm torpedoes modified by the Equipment Department," Mans said proudly.
"What are you so proud of?" Schneider glared at Mance. "If you worked a normal job and didn't stay up late, I wouldn't have needed to push you here, and this whole thing wouldn't have happened!"
"Is it wrong to work hard..." Professor Mans said helplessly.
After the operation ended, Mans thought his glorious life was about to begin, but unexpectedly, everyone around him was criticizing him, and everything he did was wrong.
Sigh, jealousy.
Professor Schneider glanced at his watch; a full hour had passed, and the intruder remained undetected.
“This is not normal,” Schneider said. “The entrances and exits are monitored, and the students and Norma searched the entire campus but found no intruders, so there is only one possibility.”
"You mean..." Professor Mance tensed, "the intruder is in the ice cellar?"
The group fell silent. The success of the Kuimen operation was no secret. Although the operation report kept the items brought back confidential, it wouldn't be difficult for anyone seriously investigating to discover that Kassel College had captured the Dragon King.
"Manstein, you once said that your Word of Power is 'the Serpent.' Can you make the Night's Watch lift the 'Commandment' and use your Word of Power to search for intruders here?" Schneider asked tentatively.
"The principal gave me all the authority before he left," Manstein said, "but I'm not sure if that includes allowing him to lift the 'commandments'."
"You're his son, maybe he'll agree?" Guderian said.
"I'll give it a try," Manstein sighed. "I really don't want to call him."
-----------------
Taking advantage of the chaos, Zero entered through a side door of the Amber Pavilion. The hem of her white dress was stained with a little dust, and there was a faint scratch on the back of her left hand. She stood in the corner, gently dusted off the dust from her dress, and then stepped into the main hall.
A moment later, Mai Shude also came in, her cheongsam also covered in dust. She took out a handkerchief from her pocket, wiped it off, and then gestured to the men standing in the corner.
The few "retainers" gathered around Mai Shude, heads held high, expressions serious, behaving like presidential bodyguards.
"How many were bombed in total?" Zero walked up to Mai and asked in a low voice.
"The main gate and pillars, the plaza fountain, all the bronze statues, and the connecting corridor between the teaching buildings and the library," Mai counted on her fingers. "Except for the streetlights and utility poles, all the large items from Amber Building to the lake have been cleared out."
"That's enough. Let them clean up the rest themselves," Zero said.
"These people are quite professional," Mai leaned against the wall, watching the crowd in the hall busy moving tables and distributing walkie-talkies. "Maybe Lu Mingfei won't even need to lift a finger; they can handle that thing themselves."
Ling tiptoed and looked around the entire hall. She walked around the hall again, but couldn't find Lu Mingfei anywhere.
"Where is he?" Zero walked back, and Mai was already sitting in a chair, with a "retainer" beside her carrying a tray with champagne and desserts.
"I don't know, he kicked me out after we danced," Mai said. "Come and eat something, I'm exhausted from packing so much explosives."
"Message him," Zero said.
"Huh? Me? I know it's not appropriate to send it with Lu Mingfei's phone number, right? You're the official girlfriend, you should be the one sending it. I'm very discreet," Mai teased.
"I didn't bring my phone, and this outfit doesn't have any pockets." Zero stared coldly at Mai Shude.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Mai Shude stretched out her hand, and the "retainer" behind her handed her a cell phone.
Almost at the same moment, the students began to stir. Mai Shude and Zero were both startled and exchanged glances.
The "spirit" that had enveloped the entire Kassel College dissipated, and the Night Watchmen lifted the Word of Power and Commandments!