Chu Zihang had no idea what sort of backroom deal Gustave had struck with Principal Anjou, but when the chef returned, the triumphant, canary-eating grin on his face spoke volumes.
"Second-generation dragon, deep in Central America. Mission kicks off the day after tomorrow," Gustave announced, his voice buzzing with the thrill of impending action and a hefty paycheck. Having delivered the critical intelligence, he vanished back into the gate to begin his own preparations.
Second generation. Central America.
Chu Zihang mentally cataloged each piece of information. This time, he wouldn't be returning to the ship. He needed every available second to immerse himself in the legendary library of Cassel College, absorbing every scrap of draconic lore he could find before the mission began.
That night, Chu Zihang made his home in the vast, echoing halls of the academy's library. With summer vacation in full swing, the usually crowded study carrels were nearly empty, creating an atmosphere of scholarly solitude.
Suddenly, a figure slid into the chair opposite him with the unsubtle stealth of a cartoon spy. It was Finger, leaning forward with an air of conspiratorial importance.
"Psst! Hey, junior!" he whispered dramatically. "I've got some seriously hot intel bubbling up. Care to hear what your incredibly well-connected senior has managed to dig up?"
Chu Zihang, with the practiced indifference of someone who had already dealt with Finger's antics, pointedly ignored him and returned his gaze to the ancient, leather-bound tome on dragon anatomy spread before him.
"Oh, come on, don't be like that!" Finger wheedled, his voice growing a tad desperate. "Just one little chat over dinner? Are you absolutely certain you don't want to know about the storm brewing on the horizon?"
Realizing that Finger's persistence was a force of nature in itself, Chu Zihang closed his book with a slow, deliberate snap that echoed in the quiet hall. He fixed his overeager classmate with an intimidating glare. "Fine. Tell me your earth-shattering news."
"Hehehe, I knew you'd see the value in my information!" Finger beamed, puffing out his chest. "You should know, my dear junior, that I, your senior brother Finger, have built a formidable reputation across this entire campus for my unparalleled access to… insider knowledge."
As Finger launched into another rambling monologue about his own supposed greatness, Chu Zihang simply gathered his book and stood up, ready to walk away.
"Wait, wait, don't go! I'll get right to it!" Finger panicked, practically leaping from his seat to block Chu Zihang's path. He dropped the verbose introduction entirely. "I heard through my private channels that something big was found in Central America. You know the old Mayan pyramids, right?" He paused for dramatic effect, hoping to hook his audience.
Chu Zihang's expression remained as cold and unmoving as a glacier. His silence screamed, Get on with the performance. My patience is wearing thin.
"Right, so, my sources say a creature—suspected to be a second-generation specimen—has been located deep inside one of those pyramid complexes. Preliminary scans suggest it's a direct subordinate of the Bronze and Fire King," Finger whispered, his voice dripping with theatrical gravity. "To handle this thing, Principal Anjou is personally overseeing the op, and get this—he's hired outside help."
Finger leaned in even closer. "The same foreign mercenary who completely trashed the school's defense systems a few days before you showed up. They say the guy is an absolute monster. The school apparently paid a king's ransom to get him on board."
Having finally delivered his payload of gossip, Finger leaned back, looking immensely proud of himself.
"This all sounds like highly classified institutional intelligence," Chu Zihang stated, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. "How, exactly, did you come by it?"
"Through my own special channels, of course!" Finger preened, practically wagging a metaphorical tail, awaiting the inevitable awe and envy.
"I'll add an extra serving of pickled pork knuckle to your dinner tonight," Chu Zihang offered flatly. His research into his hallmate had revealed that the proud German's greatest weakness was traditional sauerkraut and pork.
Finger's face immediately turned sheepish. "Okay, the truth is, Professor Schneider asked me to tell you," he confessed, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "You need to pack your gear. We're leaving for the Mayan pyramids first thing tomorrow morning."
"Me?" For the first time, genuine surprise broke through Chu Zihang's stoic facade. "I'm not even an officially enrolled student yet. Why would I be allowed to participate in a dragon-slaying mission? Especially one targeting a second-generation?"
"That's right, junior! You, me, the whole shebang!" Finger confirmed, nodding enthusiastically. "From what I can piece together, the administration has so much faith in this mercenary that they're treating this almost like a field trip. They seem one hundred percent confident he can handle it."
Having missed Gustave's demonstration against the campus defenses, Finger remained privately skeptical. His years at Cassel had taught him that overconfidence was a killer. He still remembered the mission to slay a third-generation dragon; despite months of meticulous planning and having the element of surprise, the academy had suffered horrific casualties.
The memory sent a shiver down his spine. If a third-generation had cost them so much, what hope did they have against a second? Was this foreign mercenary truly that powerful?
The next morning, Chu Zihang finished packing and opened his dorm room door to find Finger already waiting in the hall, beaming with an energy so unnatural it felt like the sun had risen in the west.
"Let's get a move on, junior!" Finger said, slapping him amicably on the shoulder.
Chu Zihang gave a curt nod, adjusted the straps of his backpack, and fell into step beside him.
Their destination deep within the Mayan territories of Central America required a multi-stage journey. First, helicopters would lift them from the campus to a private airfield. From there, a long-range transport plane would fly them across the ocean, where they would switch back to helicopters for the final approach to the pyramid complex.
When they arrived at the school's airfield, Principal Anjou was already there, overseeing the final preparations alongside Professor Schneider and several other faculty members Chu Zihang didn't recognize.
"The one who looks like he's perpetually sucking on a lemon is Professor Manstein, Head of Student Discipline," Finger whispered helpfully. "And the distinguished gentleman next to him is Professor Guderian, Chairman of the Curriculum Committee…"
"We'll be departing as soon as the equipment department arrives," Anjou announced, spotting the two students.
"Yes, Principal! Absolutely, sir!" Finger's face lit up like a firework as he bobbed his head and gave a series of unnecessary little bows.
In stark contrast, Chu Zihang simply offered a quiet, "Understood, Principal."
Two CH-53 Sea Stallion heavy transport helicopters, some of the U.S. military's most advanced hardware, sat waiting on the tarmac. The casual use of such high-level equipment was yet another sign that Cassel College operated on a level far beyond any normal educational institution.
Before long, a convoy of armored trucks rumbled onto the airfield. This was the equipment department, delivering an arsenal that looked capable of leveling a small city.
As the team approached, Principal Anjou visibly flinched. "The equipment personnel and their cargo will travel in a separate aircraft," he declared immediately.
"The guys in the equipment department are a bunch of brilliant, but slightly unhinged, lunatics," Finger explained nervously to Chu Zihang. "They have a nasty habit of adding 'enhancements'—usually explosive—to everything they touch. Pro-tip for future missions: always triple-check any gear they give you. You never know when it might decide to spontaneously detonate."
Once everyone was assembled, the expedition team split between the two CH-53s and lifted off. After a short flight, they touched down at a heavily fortified military airport where a colossal C-5 Galaxy transport aircraft dwarfed everything else on the runway.
This was an even greater display of logistical might than the C-130 Hercules Chu Zihang might have expected. The C-5 was the largest strategic airlifter in the entire United States Air Force. If CH-53s were impressive, a C-5 Galaxy was downright unbelievable. At this rate, Chu Zihang wouldn't be surprised if a squadron of F-22 Raptors appeared to serve as their escort.
"Whoa," Finger breathed, staring in awe at the behemoth. "They really broke out the big guns for this one. They must be planning to haul some seriously heavy-duty hardware."
With their schedule being brutally tight, the delegation moved directly from the helicopters into the waiting aircraft. As Chu Zihang stepped into the cavernous cargo hold, his eyes were immediately drawn to several enormous shapes shrouded under military-grade camouflage tarps. He couldn't tell what they were, but their immense size and weight suggested that whatever lay beneath was more than capable of giving even the most fearsome dragon a very, very bad day.