dmims Chapter 11 Fingel
Chapter 11 Fingel
Fingel, however, seemed oblivious, turning his attention back to Lu Mingfei: "Junior, look, I'm a senior from Kassel, an eighth-year student. I'm experienced and have a wide network. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. Of course, consultations aren't free..."
He rubbed his fingers together, making a universally recognized gesture for asking for money.
"I...I have no money," Lu Mingfei said honestly.
"No money?" Fingel's eyes widened. "Dollar? Euros? Yuan? None of that?"
Lu Mingfei shook his head. He really didn't have a single penny of cash on him; Nono had said that they wouldn't need money in Casale.
"Well..." Fingel's eyes darted around, "How about this, you can owe me for now. Once you get to the college and receive your student stipend, you can pay me back. It's nothing, just one dollar! One dollar will do!"
He stretched out his dirty hand in front of Lu Mingfei: "One dollar! You can't go wrong with that! One dollar for my valuable experience, what a bargain!"
Lu Mingfei looked at Nuonuo, bewildered. Nuonuo rolled her eyes, pulled a dollar bill from her pocket, and tossed it to Fingel: "Take this and get lost."
"Thank you, Junior Sister Nuonuo!" Fingel took the money with a big smile, carefully smoothed it out, and then stuffed it into his jeans pocket—the pocket had a hole in it, and he had to cover it with his hand to prevent the money from falling out.
"Professor, look," he said, turning to Professor Schneider, "how thoughtful the junior is, knowing how to take care of her senior."
Professor Schneider gave him a cold look: "As an eighth-year student in the college, you still have no bottom line, Fingel."
"What's the bottom line?" Fingel, spouting nonsense, took a big bite of the hamburger from the paper bag and mumbled, "Does it taste like hamburger and cola?"
He munched on his hamburger as he sat down on the sofa next to Lu Mingfei, casually putting his arm around Lu Mingfei's shoulder: "Junior, let me tell you, Kassel is a good place, and a bad place. The good thing is, there are lots of beautiful women here—look at junior sister Nuonuo, how pretty she is. The bad thing is, there are lots of crazy people here—look at Professor Schneider, how serious he is."
Lu Mingfei felt nauseous from the smell emanating from him—a mixture of sweat, mildew, cheap perfume, and hamburger. He looked to Nuonuo for help, but Nuonuo crossed her arms, looking on with an expression of anticipation.
"Hey Fingel," Nono started, "you seem to have a lot of free time. Have you finished your thesis? I think you failed six courses, right? If you don't graduate soon, the college might have to consider kicking you out."
Fingel's face instantly fell: "Junior Sister Nuonuo, you don't hit someone in the face, and you don't insult someone by revealing their weaknesses. I didn't fail a course, it was... a strategic postponement of graduation. Look how dangerous the outside world is, with the dragons eyeing us covetously and economic crises lurking everywhere. I'm staying in the academy as a refuge, a strategic reserve!"
"Should we store them up as scrap?" Nono asked mercilessly.
"I don't like hearing that," Fingel said, taking another bite of his hamburger. "So what if it's junk? Junk can be recycled and reused. I'm just waiting for the right opportunity, waiting for... an opportunity to soar to new heights!"
As he said this, a fleeting glint of light flashed in his eyes—not a joke, not self-deprecation, but something deeply buried and not yet extinguished.
Lu Mingfei caught a glimpse of that light.
In that instant, he suddenly felt that this slovenly, shameless senior brother who looked like a homeless man might not be as simple as he appeared.
"By the way, junior," Fingel turned to Lu Mingfei, "what's your name?"
"Lu Mingfei".
"Lu Mingfei..." Fingel repeated, squinting his eyes, "This name... I feel like I've heard it somewhere before."
"He is Professor Lu Lincheng's son," Nono said.
Fingel's expression froze.
The hamburger fell from his hand and landed on his lap, but he didn't notice. He stared at Lu Mingfei, his eyes wide open, as if he had seen a ghost.
"Lu...Lu Lincheng?" His voice trembled. "That madman from Siberia...no, that legend?"
Professor Schneider said sternly, "Fingal, watch your words!"
Fingel ignored him, still staring intently at Lu Mingfei: "Are you really Lu Lincheng's son? Qiao Weini's son?"
Lu Mingfei felt uneasy under his gaze and nodded.
Fingel fell silent. He lowered his head, staring at the hamburger on his lap, speechless for a long time. When he looked up again, the playful smile on his face had vanished, replaced by a complex emotion that Lu Mingfei couldn't decipher—shock, pity, and… a hint of fear?
"So that's how it is..." Fingel murmured. "No wonder... no wonder Professor Schneider was sent to pick me up in person, no wonder Junior Sister Nono was with me... it was you."
He stood up, patted Lu Mingfei on the shoulder with a firm pat: "Good luck, junior."
After saying that, he picked up the hamburger from his lap, dusted it off, took another bite, and then sauntered away, sitting down at the other end of the platform with his back to them.
The atmosphere suddenly became very strange.
Lu Mingfei looked at Nono, who also frowned, clearly surprised by Fingel's reaction. Professor Schneider's expression grew even more somber.
"Professor," Lu Mingfei asked in a low voice, "what about Senior Brother Fingel...?"
"A good-for-nothing who has repeated a year, don't bother with his words," Professor Schneider said coldly.
But Lu Mingfei could tell that things weren't that simple. Fingel's reaction when he heard his parents' names was highly unusual.
Just then, a steam whistle sounded from deep within the tunnel.
Deep, lingering, with a metallic, grating quality, it echoed through the empty underground platform.
Everyone stood up.
"The car is here," Ye Sheng said.
Lu Mingfei looked into the tunnel. In the darkness, two golden lights slowly approached, like the eyes of a giant beast. Then came the sound of wheels rubbing against the tracks, growing louder and louder, and the ground began to tremble slightly.
Finally, the train pulled into the station.
It was a black steam locomotive with a streamlined front and an entirely black body, except for the headlights and trim, which were dark gold. There were no markings on the body, only tiny runes engraved at the joints between the carriages, which shimmered faintly in the lamplight. White steam billowed from the locomotive, spreading throughout the platform, carrying the smell of burning coal and the greasy aroma of engine oil.
The carriages were a retro deep red, with wooden paneling, brass handles, and dark green velvet curtains hanging from the windows. The entire train looked as if it had traveled from the 19th century, creating an eerie contrast with the modern platform.
The train slowly came to a stop, and the doors opened automatically. A train attendant in a black uniform and white gloves stepped off the train and bowed respectfully: "Welcome aboard the CC1000 express train. Please show your tickets or identification."
Professor Schneider handed over several black cards. The attendant took them, scanned them with a handheld device, and nodded: "Identity verified. Please board; the train will depart in five minutes."
"Let's go." Professor Schneider got into the car first.
Lu Mingfei followed Nuonuo onto the train. The interior of the carriage was even more luxurious than the exterior—deep red velvet seats, mahogany dining tables, brass wall lamps, and thick, soft carpets. The air was filled with the mixed scents of cigars, leather, and old books, like the private club of some old aristocratic family.
They sat down in a private room. The room had four facing sofas with a small, fixed table in the middle. Lu Mingfei and Nuonuo sat on one side, while Professor Schneider and Ye Sheng sat opposite them. Aki went to the next private room to keep watch.
As soon as he sat down, Fingel also swayed and got into the car, and very consciously sat in the seat near the door of Lu Mingfei's private room—it was a regular seat, without the privacy of a private room, but it was also cheaper.
"Finger, you..." Ye Sheng wanted to say something.
"I know, I know, I'm not worthy to sit with such important people." Fingel waved his hand, took out a can of cola from the paper bag, and gulped down a few mouthfuls. "I'll be right here, I promise I won't eavesdrop. You guys talk."
As he spoke, he actually put on his headphones, started listening to music, and hummed a song out of tune.
Professor Schneider glanced at him and then ignored him.
The train gave a slight jolt and slowly started moving. The platform outside the window began to move backward, accelerating until it was quickly swallowed by the tunnel. Inside the carriage, only the rhythmic rubbing of the wheels against the rails and the faint humming of Fingel could be heard.
As Lu Mingfei watched the darkness rush past the window, a sense of unreality welled up inside him. Just over ten hours ago, he was still in that stuffy little room in China; now, he was sitting on a train heading to the Mysterious Academy, surrounded by assassins from the Execution Department, a red-haired senior, and a disheveled eighth-year student.
The wheel of fate has truly begun to turn.