Chapter 198 Summer’s Mourning (3)

In the autumn of 1900 AD, late at night, drizzle, the Port of Hamburg, Germany.

The lighthouse's gas lamp was like a sharp sword cutting through the darkness. When the sword's edge struck the pier, it cut out a thin and straight silhouette.

The young Count Meineke Cassel stood on the pier without an umbrella, but only raised the collar of his windbreaker to protect against the cold wind.

In the black shadow that he could not see, the new audience of this story had not yet officially appeared.

"Mingfei?"

Ange stared at the tall steel warrior beside him seriously, and after a while he asked a question.

The opponent's thick bright yellow metal armor is obviously not a product of this era, especially the giant "musket" with a ferocious caliber that he is holding. If he is hit by a bullet fired from it, his entire body will probably be shot directly. Exploded to pieces.

"Yes." The Iron Warrior nodded, then raised his palm and realized what was going on. A low, thunderous voice came from the breathing grille of his helmet: "Girl, cancel this state and replace it with my current state." Normal form."

Since power armor is equivalent to a second skin for the Astartes, and because of this, even the heavy Terminator type power armor will not affect the movement when worn on the body, so Lu Mingfei did not realize the source for a while. The young girl arranged for him to be in the state of the Weeper Champion.

There was no answer in the dark cold night, but Ange saw with his own eyes that the figure of the heavily armored soldier began to become blurry. When it became clear again, the big boy with a resolute look on his face that was completely inconsistent with his age came back to his eyes. appear before your eyes.

On the chest of the executive department trench coat, a tearful red heart logo was exactly the same as the painting on the shoulder armor of the soldier just now.

"Is this...what kind of magic?"

Angers smiled and wiped the cold rain from his beautiful, wrinkle-free face.

He also returned to his youth. At this time, he was only in his twenties and had just entered the world of mixed races with a doctorate from Cambridge University.

"It's not magic, it's the 'Word Spirit. Dream Tapir', which is currently not recorded in the Periodic Table of Word Spirits. This is just a reflection of your past memory, Principal Angers."

Lu Mingfei said lightly, looking through the darkness and staring at the freighter cut out of existence by the lighthouse's gas lights on the sea in the distance.

"That's it." Angers fumbled in his suit jacket for a while, then took out a pair of pince-nez bicles from his pocket and put them on the bridge of his nose.

He touched his cuffs out of habit, and the sharp Damascus folding knife followed him into the dreamland - although the predecessor of this alchemy folding knife was still in the possession of the young Count Meineke.

"I need to remind you again that this is just a reflection of your past memories, principal. Our behavior here can't change anything." Lu Mingfei reminded.

"Are you worried that I will have some irrational thoughts when I witness the grief of the past again?" Angers looked calm, "Then you are a bit underestimating the psychological endurance of the elderly."

"It's time for the story to begin."

——

The "Queen Mary" is eye-catchingly painted in white paint on the jet-black side of the freighter. This is a British ship with a poor reputation. It travels between the Far East and the Port of Hamburg, using the opium and porcelain trade as a cover to resell cultural relics.

When young Anger led Lu Mingfei onto the pier, there was already another figure standing behind the young Count Meineke.

"That's your grandfather's grandfather, his name is Lu Shanyan," Angers said, but his voice did not attract the attention of the two people in front of the dock, as if they did not hear him, "When I first saw him, he was dressed very well. Wearing a tight-fitting suit and hiding his pigtails in a top hat, he stepped off the train with Li Hongzhang, then the chief minister of the Qing Empire, and stayed at the Caesar Hotel."

Lu Shanyan's stature was about the same as Menieke's. He was wearing a dark poncho that covered his qing attire. Lu Mingfei glanced at the other person briefly, his eyes lingering on the metallic flash in Lu Shanyan's hand more than his appearance. After a while - they were two silver large-caliber revolvers. Obviously, this "grandfather" was not a Chinese who was weak and weak during the Qing Dynasty.

"He was an important member of the Westernization movement at that time. In the 16th year of Guangxu's reign, he was selected to be sent to the Tongwen Hall of the Capital. He had profound knowledge of European languages ​​and technology. A few years later, he met the young Meineke, and the two of them Became best friends.”

Angers continued to introduce his grandfather to Lu Mingfei in front of the narrator who told the story.

Lu Mingfei had no emotions or thoughts. At most, he had a glimmer of honor because his grandfather was a warrior who fought against aliens.

However, being placed in that world does not make him eligible to be sent to the Imperial College of Loyal Successors - the empire's military also has class distinctions. Only loyal nobles or orphans of military officers who have made meritorious service in fighting aliens or heretics will be sent to the Imperial College of Loyal Successors. Most will enter imperial institutions and become "civil servants", while the rest will go to the battlefield as military commissars or stormtroopers. The most elite trainees will be admitted to the Inquisition, and the girls may become battle sisters.

The conditions for becoming an Astartes are even more stringent. The Astartes Chapters in the Recruitment World usually select their soldiers strictly and cruelly from the famous families in the Recruitment World. The fleet-based Chapters directly challenge Passing by the most capable and cruel people on the planet;

Being a slave like Lu Mingfei and being chosen to become a loyal Astartes, in that dark universe, was a piece of shit luck accumulated over ten lifetimes.

In the distance, the dark "Queen Mary" sent out lights to communicate with the shining gas lights on the dock. The freighter anchored outside the port, rising and falling with the rolling waves. A group of sailors lowered the lifeboat and rowed towards the dock wearing ponchos.

"Shanyan, don't you think our pairing is strange?" Meineke suddenly asked.

"What's weird?" Lu Shanyan asked calmly.

"The weapon was used backwards." Menek slowly pulled out the long knife hidden in his windbreaker. The cold light from the blade was as cold as the bright moon in the sky on a winter night, and then he put it back.

The natural pattern on the blade is clearly visible. It is an Ottoman Turkish Empire-style Atkan long sword. Usually this kind of sword is only appreciated by European wealthy families, but it is cast by alchemy technology and is destined to cut out the enemy. A fatal wound that spurted blood.

"One day we in China will make and equip our own muskets and cannons. When we are strong, no one will buy the opium you produce anymore," Lu Shanyan said.

"Don't call me an opium dealer," Meineke protested.

Lu Shanyan smiled faintly. He just wanted to have fun with Meniek in this cold and lonely night. In the darkness behind them, there were two Maxim heavy machine guns facing in this direction.

"Are they aliens?" Lu Mingfei focused his attention on the small rowing boat.

"The 'spoiler' behavior of informing the fixed development direction of the plot in advance is very annoying." Angers did not answer.

The boat docked. The leading sailor was strong and had a thick black braid tied around his muscular neck. He jumped onto the pier and did not use a rope to fix the boat. He just pulled the iron of the bow tightly with his hands. ring to prevent it from being pushed away by the tide.

"We are all old friends. Check the goods quickly. If everything is correct, we will pay according to the agreed price." Lu Shanyan said in Chinese. He heard that the owner behind the "Queen Mary" was Chinese, but no one knew it. his identity.

The sailor holding the bow of the ship shook his head. Different from those who had traded in the past, this sailor had a square face, but deep-set eye sockets, and his pupils flickered like residual lamps. He was a stranger to Lu Shanyan; what surprised him It was the other party's lips that were tightly sealed together with blackened linen. This cruel technique made it impossible for him to speak.

He couldn't help but tighten his grip on the large-caliber revolver in his hand.

Four sailors carried a dark box from the ship to the shore. The box was sealed with a mottled seal. On the seal was the crest of the Cassel family and the transaction number 19010666, which meant that they purchased it from the Far East. Item 666 - The number is quite unlucky, because in Europe at the time, "666" was the exclusive number of the devil Satan, not a symbol of "you are awesome" in DOTA.

"It's your turn."

Meineke turned his head and looked at Angers, turning a blind eye to Lu Mingfei beside him, as if he didn't exist at all.

Ang pointed his head forward and naturally reintegrated into the dream of a hundred years ago. He took out the folding knife from his sleeve, pushed the blade away, and slowly cut along the gap in the lid of the box with a simple and neat technique.

He took the kerosene lamp from Meineke and pushed the box open a gap - although he told Lu Mingfei not to underestimate the mental endurance of the elderly, when he saw the "things" in the box again with his own eyes At this time, the expression on the young face changed - long-lost, lonely, angry... Just like a hundred years ago, he was trying to restrain his anger, but this time he was restraining his anger to avoid being carried away and stabbing the folding knife into the box.

He took a deep breath, closed the lid of the box again, and nodded to Meineke.

"As agreed before, all the fifty thousand marks will be paid in silver coins." Meineke clapped his hands, and several strong companions came over carrying heavy boxes filled with silver coins.

However, the leading sailor shook his head, as if he had no interest in this huge sum of money. He took out a letter he had already written and handed it to Lu Shanyan, then bowed respectfully, and then boarded the The rowboat sped back towards the Queen Mary.

At this time, only Lu Shanyan understood Chinese. He read the letter quickly, his face a little gloomy.

"The letter says that the goods are free of charge. This is a cursed thing, and anyone who touches it will die." He said coldly, "The letter ended with: 'Goodbye, I will never have a chance to trade with you again. .'"

"It sounds like we got an advantage." Meineke grinned, "But why do I feel a little chilly all over?"

The Queen Mary's whistle blew longly. After the trading boat was hoisted on board, the freighter gave up the opportunity to enter the port and drove towards the dark sea at high speed on this stormy night. Meineke raised his head and saw the lighthouse's beam pointing toward the sky, and the billowing clouds were no different from the undulating eerie sea.

"It seems that they are quite afraid of this unlucky thing." Meineke approached and patted the large box made of Indian ebony. "Why did these people make this box look like a coffin?" .”

"Because what's inside is a coffin."

Angers said expressionlessly, reopening the lid of the box under the gaze of those illusory and real partners.

Everyone gasped. This box made of Indian ebony wood contained a black Chinese-style coffin. After time and history, the silver paint on the surface was slightly mottled, and part of the wood was eaten by insects. Gone, but the silver-painted lotus flowers on its surface are still clearly visible. One can imagine how finely crafted this coffin was.

The young Count Meineke spat into the ground and said in broken Chinese: "Coffin, coffin, promotion and fortune!"

"Oh, the alien is inside." Lu Mingfei glanced at the coffin and whispered to himself.

"..."

His voice attracted everyone's attention. The curtain of the dream seemed to be lifted, and Lu Mingfei, the listener of the story, also participated in the story.

The first person to look over was Lu Shanyan. His obvious Chinese accent attracted his attention. He looked at Lu Mingfei up and down, then looked at Angers aside and asked in German:

"Is he the one you brought?"

"Yes, his name is Lu Mingfei. He is from our ethnic group and is also my proudest student."

A smile appeared on Ange's face. He walked to Lu Mingfei's side and solemnly introduced the two secret party members with high courtesy.