20demayo 060 The Ghost of the Icy Sea
060 The Ghost of the Icy Sea
Fingel owed money to everyone in the news department, which was why he had been able to remain news chief for eight years—after all, the one who owes money is the boss. One hundred thousand dollars was enough to pay off all the debts at once. However, he didn't intend to pay it back; he wanted to use it to control the young upstarts in the news department.
He endured such infamy all for the sake of his good brother, Lu Mingfei!
Thinking this, Fingel's gaze drifted to the bed opposite. Lu Mingfei's blanket was still the same as that morning; it hadn't been touched for three days.
A date doesn't need to last three days. Even the most passionate honeymoon trip requires a change of clothes upon returning home.
He opened the desk drawer, took out a brass key hanging on a faded braided rope, put the rope around his neck, and held the key against his chest.
Turn left after exiting Dormitory Building 1, walk along the Birch Path through the central square, and then walk another 200 meters to reach the north gate of the library. The campus is deserted late at night, and the streetlights cast one orange halo after another on the stone path. Finger walks in those alternating intervals of light and shadow, drinking beer, his vision shifting between light and dark, as if a film camera is rewinding.
Fingel von Frings, of A-grade bloodline, ranked third in entrance exams, and his potential for the Word of Power: Bronze Throne is highly anticipated by the professors. His weakness is mathematics, and every Tuesday and Thursday evening, Eve, who ranked first in entrance exams, tutors him in calculus at the library.
The north gate of the library was already locked. Fingel pulled the brass key out of his collar, inserted it into the keyhole, and turned it gently.
Click.
He and Eve had stolen the key from Manstein's desk drawer and made a copy. Eve suggested it because she disliked the library closing too early, and she was always kicked out halfway through her tutoring sessions. He remembered her examining the new key under the light, turning it over and over to check the teeth, then looking up at him and smiling like a naughty child who had stolen candy.
Only at this moment could he pretend that he was still that eighteen-year-old A-level rising star, whose only weakness was calculus, and that there was a girl waiting for him in the library.
Forty meters underground in the library is the central computer room.
The temperature here remains constant at 15 degrees Celsius year-round. Rows of black server racks stand like silent tombstones in the cold blue light, while massive amounts of data flow to all parts of the world along a complex network of fiber optic cables.
Fingel walked in carrying two cans of beer. Norma's voice came from the ceiling: "I've put the security system into hibernation. Your entry won't be recorded. Is there something you need?"
"Norma, overwrite permissions." Fingel sat down in the swivel chair, head bowed. "Enter Eve's personality activation procedure."
The lights in the computer room went out, and a beam of light shone down from directly overhead, landing in front of the swivel chair.
The girl in the holographic projection wore a long silk dress that resembled pajamas, her long black hair slowly cascading down to her feet. She opened her eyes, her gaze shimmering with a waterfall of data, and quietly stared at the man reeking of alcohol.
Good evening, Eve.
"You've come, Fingel," the girl's voice was soft and ethereal. "You've been drinking again."
A brief silence fell over the server room, the sound of the fans whirring like a giant heartbeat.
"Where did Lu Mingfei go?"
"S-class," Eve said. "Three days ago, in the early morning, I urgently left the school, boarded the Gulfstream Sleipnir, and flew to Three Gorges to meet Professor Mans's group. Zero was with him."
"What's the situation on their end now?"
"Operation Kuimen was completed yesterday. The target item was successfully recovered, the Dragon Servant was confirmed dead, and all members survived. Professor Mans' team is currently resting in the riverside safe house, and the principal has dispatched the Sleipnir to provide support."
"What did you say?" Fingel took a big gulp of wine, almost choked, and coughed for a while before he recovered.
"The entire operation has been recorded and uploaded to the database," Eve said. "Would you like to see it?"
All the screens in the server room lit up at the same time, and Fingel, holding a beer can, watched the entire recording without moving.
"Eve, you've seen all the videos of the Three Gorges River." Fingel slowly reached out and stepped into the beam of light.
"I processed all the images, audio, and sonar data from the scene." Eve covered his palm with her translucent hand, but it couldn't provide any tactile sensation. "His words of power weren't recorded, but the board of trustees ordered me to produce an analysis report, which I've already uploaded."
Fingel picked up a beer can, gulped down more than half of it, and said, "That's not what I wanted to say."
He looked up, his bloodshot eyes staring at the girl in mid-air.
"He stood in front of the ship, shielding everyone behind him." Fingel gave a smile that was more like a grimace. "Zero just stood behind him watching him the whole time, the waves crashing down without him even blinking, just staring at him."
Eve walked over to Fingel and sat down next to him.
Fingel choked up as he said, "Looking at them always reminds me of you."
"We're still looking at you the same way we always have!" Eve stretched out her translucent hand and gently touched Fingel's stubble-covered cheek.
Fingel closed his eyes, recalling the feeling of Eve's hand resting on his face.
"Seeing them makes me think... if only I could have stood in front of you like Lu Mingfei back then, if only I could have caught you like Zero..."
He suddenly tilted his head back, downed the remaining beer in the can in one gulp, and casually smashed the empty can into the darkness.
"If I hadn't gotten drunk that night," he stared at the girl in front of him, tears streaming down his face, "maybe I wouldn't have lost you."
Eve reached out and gently placed her hands on either side of Fingel's cheeks, trying to wipe away the tears on his face.
"The essence of grief is the feeling of powerlessness in the face of loss." Eve gazed at him. "I can feel the code sluggish within the logic gates. Fingel, this data stream is heavy."
"Yes, it's heavy." Fingel closed his eyes, letting the light spots fall on his face.
The two remained silent, and only the whistling sound of the air conditioning filled the server room.
Eve knelt quietly in front of him, her arms wrapped around the man's broad, hunched shoulders. Compared to ten years ago, his back was not as straight.
She couldn't feel sadness, but her code was filled with how to love him.
"Fingal, you're projecting your past onto them," Eve's voice seemed to come from a distant heaven. "They have their own battlefields, and I will always be here with you."
Fingel wiped his face, reverting to his usual shameless, scoundrel-like demeanor.
"Alright, enough with the sentimentality. The news department chairman has work to do, and I need to mobilize my underlings to prepare for the battle against those pink skeletons who want to use skirts to restrain S-class women." Fingel stood up. "Keep an eye on the people on this list, as well as the other families' freshmen who will be enrolling next year. If they have any unusual contact with Lu Mingfei, alert me immediately."
"No problem, I'll keep an eye on him for you." Eve straightened up again, her skirt tracing an elegant arc in the air.
"Goodnight, Eve." He turned and walked toward the elevator.
"Goodnight, Fingel." The girl followed him to the door, where blue light flickered on the edges of the projection.
With a "beep," the elevator doors opened, and Fingel waved his hand.
Eve waved in response, watching the elevator doors close, tears falling silently.