Chapter 47: Preparation
Beneath the ground of Feilon City, in a room filled with darkness, a transparent jar filled with light blue liquid glowed faintly, just enough to illuminate Feilon, who sat silently in front of the jar wearing a gas mask.
Inside the jar, a human brain connected by numerous wires thrummed with energy. Feilon’s fingers moved rapidly over the nearby instruments, sending varying degrees of electric shocks coursing through the wires linked to the human brain. As the lights inside flickered, the recording device next to him began to output curves with a series of beeps.
“Great, it’s right here!”
Feilon’s magnetic voice rang out. He lowered his head to jot down the area being stimulated by the current, extending his left hand to put on a metallic glove. He silently looked at the brain in the jar and suddenly plunged his hand through the glass, gripping the fragile organ.
In the next moment, astonishingly, the glove emitted a tremor and electric currents similar to those from the instrument flowed through it. The brain quivered, and when Feilon pulled back his hand, it appeared he had grasped a phantom figure. He pulled it out from that small brain.
“The experiment is a success, Nana.”
Feilon lowered the phantom soul into a small metal jar, waiting for the device to close, when suddenly piercing screams echoed in the air. Feilon had reduced the experimental subject to just the brain, yet it remained alive, assisting Feilon in completing the hypothesis previously mentioned by Fisher.
By stimulating a specific area of the brain, it was indeed possible to produce the same effect, making it easier to extract the soul.
From the shadows behind him came indistinct murmurs and howls, and then a minotaur girl in a dress appeared behind Feilon.
“Has it been successful, Master Feilon?”
“Hmm, we can begin preparations.”
Feilon placed the brain, now oozing blue blood, back into the jar and glanced at the nameplate beneath it, “Harry”. After a few seconds of silence, he looked away, removed the metallic glove from his left hand, and held the metal jar in his palm.
“But how do we handle Fisher? You brought back the soldier who had contact with him, are you trying to conceal his whereabouts from others? But you should have seen his fight in the Training Grounds; his magic doesn’t seem very powerful. We could try to find soldiers or poison him…”
Feilon raised his hand, interrupting Nana’s words.
“I saw over a hundred Magic Runes on Fisher’s staff. He didn’t employ much magic against that dragon, which means he is already wary of us. Other means will not work on him.”
Feilon’s gaze was deep, seeming to ponder something.
“Furthermore, Fisher is one of the few talents in this age. With such an intelligent mind, I will not kill him until the very last moment. Let’s finish this matter first; after I am fully prepared, I will have a conversation with him.”
Moreover, he still hadn’t obtained the answer he wanted. That day in the theater, Feilon clearly saw the certainty in Fisher’s eyes regarding the answer. He was eager to know it.
“Yes, Master Feilon.”
“Thank you, Nana. I’ll need you to ensure everything goes flawlessly.”
“Yes.”
Nana silently reached out and held Feilon’s shoulder, gently helping to ease the muscles in his shoulder.
Before the jar, blue blood dripped down, falling onto the deep blue floor until it became indistinguishable.
“Nana! I’m back!”
Just having stepped down from Fisher’s carriage, Qiqi saw the minotaur girl standing at the entrance of the mansion, hands on her small belly, and ran over to leap into her arms.
“Welcome back, Qiqi! How was your day?”
Nana’s smile was warm as she stroked Qiqi’s long ears, allowing her to settle comfortably in her embrace.
“It was great! I saw Angela! She is a bit taller than me and bought me coffee. Even though her uncle was scary in the middle, Mr. Fisher helped me!”
“Is that so? That’s wonderful.” Nana stood up with a smile and called to Fisher, “Mr. Fisher, please come this way; we have prepared dinner.”
“Trouble for you.”
Fisher nodded and entered the room with Raphael and the others. The maids had already set the table with food, and Feilon was also seated there among over ten other children he had taken in.
“Mr. Fisher, thank you for today.”
“You’re welcome. I didn’t do much; I just brought Qiqi along on the way.”
“Hahaha, Qiqi, didn’t you say thank you to Mr. Fisher?”
“She definitely didn’t! Qiqi, you didn’t call us when you went out. We’re not friends anymore!”
“Exactly!”
With so many children, the entire room was quite noisy, like countless amplified horns screeching without restraint. However, Feilon seemed very tolerant, not reprimanding them but gently guiding them.
“Maintain decorum at the dinner table; it’s too excessive to be so loud in front of Mr. Fisher. Pochi, stop fidgeting.”
The children pouted and made faces at each other, then obediently picked up their utensils to eat dinner.
After a relatively quiet dinner, Feilon did not send the children back but allowed them to play temporarily in the living room to aid digestion, so they began to wrestle with their toys.
Ral watched with envy, looking to Fisher for confirmation before she dashed over.
“Oh no, that little dragon is back! Quick, hide the toys!”
“Pochi, it’s fine to lend her some toys for a bit!”
“Qiqi, you traitor!”
Noises erupted from that side, and Feilon sat beside Fisher, watching the peaceful scene for a long time before he sighed softly.
“Every time I see them, I feel like I am seeing my childhood and my brothers. They always liked using apple tree branches as knight swords, and I, being the youngest, was always the knight’s horse. Of course, this rotated, so each one of us had been brave and selfless knights. Hahaha.”
His magnetic yet calm voice recounted past memories, the intonation rising and falling, yet inevitably revealing a sense of disquiet.
“Really? I don’t remember much from my childhood; I only recall attending a church school that taught the Genesis.”
“Oh, but you don’t seem to think highly of the church, so why did you go?”
“Because the nun teaching Genesis was a busty young blonde girl who taught us directly how to write it.”
Seeing Fisher expressionlessly recount such surprising things, Feilon blinked momentarily before bursting into laughter.
“Seems like Mr. Fisher was destined to be from Saint Nali since childhood. Hahaha.”
In truth, it was because the church school had a free library, free bread and jam, and warm blankets in the dormitory.
“Father, today I learned a new poem by Ms. Laura from Mr. Fisher! It’s a love story about swallows and dragons!”
Qiqi joyfully ran into Feilon’s arms, sharing the events of the day. Feilon gently stroked her ears and then said,
“Ah, such poetry is still too early for you, but the skills of writing are universal. As your emotions grow richer, your writing will become more and more proficient.”
“Alright, Qiqi, it’s getting late.” Feilon’s hand on her became softer, making her squint comfortably, “You need to take your younger siblings back to sleep. You’ve had a long day and need a good rest.”
“Mm, Qiqi is the best!”
Qiqi climbed down from Feilon’s arms, and Nana had already begun instructing the playing children to go back.
“Qiqi, hurry back to sleep!”
In front of Nana, several children realized Qiqi was still there and called out to her.
“Ah, I’m coming!” Qiqi stuck her tongue out at them, then said goodnight to Feilon before running over. Halfway, she seemed to remember something and turned, her face slightly flushed, quietly saying to Fisher,
“Goodnight, Mr. Fisher.”
“Goodnight, Qiqi.”
After hearing Fisher’s reply, she joined the other children, chattering as they followed Nana back to rest.
The door closed, blocking their figures, leaving only their increasingly distant voices echoing from the corridor outside.
Ral sat on the ground clutching a toy, feeling unhappy since no one would play with her, so she returned to Mill and the others. In the room, only Fisher and the now-standing Feilon remained.
He also prepared to rest, and as he picked up his suit jacket, he suddenly turned to Fisher and said,
“Thank you for today, Mr. Fisher. By the way, do you enjoy drinking?”
“Honestly, I’m ashamed to say I’m good at pouring drinks.”
Actually, Fisher could handle his liquor, but it was better not to drink here.
“Haha, that’s fine. Trying it occasionally is okay. There will be a wine gathering here tomorrow afternoon, right in the courtyard outside, for which I’ve prepared a lot of good wine. I heard the Royal Academy serves champagne at academic conferences; it’s the perfect opportunity for us to talk about other academic topics over fine wine.”
Fisher studied Feilon for a long time, then smiled and replied,
“Thank you for the invitation. Goodnight, Mr. Feilon.”
Please follow and vote, thank you everyone.
(*`*)
(The End)
