mtl008 Chapter 1138 Kong Zhiqian, this madman
Chapter 1138 Kong Zhiqian, this madman
Xuanwu Gate is the main northern gate of the imperial city, and also the last and most important barrier leading to the forbidden area of the imperial palace.
The defenses here are a hundred times more stringent than any other city gate.
The main drainage valve located below it is the core hub of the entire underground water network of Chang'an City.
Lin Zhen knew that if that madman Kong Zhiqian really had left behind some trump card, the most deadly move, it must be hidden here!
That night, the moon was dark and the wind was high.
Lin Zhen personally led Ghost Shadow, along with one hundred of the most elite "Night Owl" assassins and ten of the Ministry of Works' top mechanical masters, to silently infiltrate the underground of Xuanwu Gate.
The underground space here is much more spacious and complex than any other place we've been before. It's practically a giant underground labyrinth.
The passageways were interconnected, and the walls were covered with all sorts of pipes and valves, large and small. The nauseating stench in the air was even stronger.
Carrying torches, the group cautiously ventured forward, wading through the deep and shallow waters.
The atmosphere was depressing to the extreme.
Everyone knew that this would be the final and most dangerous battle.
"Your Highness, look!" A craftsman walking at the front suddenly pointed to the wall ahead and exclaimed.
Following the direction he pointed, everyone saw a huge, circular gate made from a single piece of black iron at the end of the passage ahead.
Above the gate is carved a ferocious, roaring demon's head.
At the very center of the gate is a complex coded dial consisting of nine concentric rings.
"This is it." A serious look flashed in Lin Zhen's eyes.
He knew that behind the sluice gate was the main valve that determined the fate of the entire city of Chang'an.
But to open this door, you must first crack this damn password.
“Master Li,” Lin Zhen turned to the oldest craftsman beside him, “come and take a look. Is there any way to break this?”
The old craftsman surnamed Li was the most senior and most skilled master mechanic in the Ministry of Works. He walked forward shakily, and by the firelight, carefully examined the keypad, his brow furrowed in worry.
After a long while, he shook his head, his voice tinged with despair.
"Your Highness...this...this is the 'Nine Palaces Interlocking Lock'! It's the legendary Lu Ban secret technique, lost for hundreds of years!"
"This lock has nine interlocking rings. Every time you turn one ring, the other eight rings change accordingly. The sheer number of combinations and the complexity of the variations are simply... more numerous than the stars in the sky! To break it, unless... unless a god descends to earth, it's simply impossible!"
“And,” his voice grew even more terrified, “this lock has one more insidious feature. It only gives you one chance! If you enter the wrong code, the internal mechanism will trigger a self-destruct device! At that moment, the entire gate, along with the main valve behind it, will be completely destroyed in an instant! We… all of us will…”
He didn't dare say what he was going to say next.
But everyone understood what he meant.
Only one chance!
If you're wrong, it means utter ruin!
Everyone's hearts sank to the bottom.
How the hell are we supposed to play this?
This is a dead end with no solution!
Kong Zhiqian, that bastard! He really went too far!
"Your Highness, we..." Ghost Shadow looked at Lin Zhen, his voice trembling slightly.
Lin Zhen did not speak.
His gaze was fixed intently on the complex cipher wheel.
His brain was working at an unprecedented, frantic pace.
Nine Palaces Interlocking Lock... Lu Ban's Secret Technique...
He knew that Master Li was right. From a purely mechanical perspective, this thing was indeed unsolvable.
but……
There is no truly unsolvable problem in this world.
Every puzzle has a key to unlock it.
The key to solving this mystery must also be related to that madman, Kong Zhiqian!
Why did he use the "Nine Palaces Interlocking Lock"?
Nine……
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Lin Zhen!
He remembered!
Kong Zhiqian's Diary!
In his diary filled with crazy ideas, he mentioned a number more than once!
--Nine!
"Nine is the ultimate number. Only when nine times nine return to one can the beginning and the end be achieved."
"My great undertaking began in the year nine, and it will also end in the year nine!"
……
These seemingly nonsensical words, at this moment, were like bolts of lightning, cleaving through the fog in Lin Zhen's mind!
Nine!
The answer to this code must be hidden somewhere related to the number "nine"!
But what is it?
Nine city gates? Nine earth dragons? Nine heavens?
No, no...
These are all too obvious. Given Kong Zhiqian's abnormally arrogant personality, he would never set such a simple password.
There must be some details that I've overlooked!
Lin Zhen closed her eyes and forced herself to go through all the information about Kong Zhiqian and all the details of his life in her mind again.
From his birth, to his rise to fame, to his rebellion, and finally to his madness...
suddenly!
A single image was etched in his mind!
That was the first time he met the young Kong Zhiqian at the Kong family home in Qufu.
At that time, Kong Zhiqian was a spirited and handsome young man, hailed as a "once-in-a-millennium genius".
He recalled that at that time, the elders of the Kong family, in order to show off Kong Zhiqian's talent, asked him to compose a poem on the theme of "nine" in front of all the guests.
Kong Zhiqian blurted it out almost without thinking.
Lin Zhen still remembers that poem vividly to this day.
"The Nine-Turn Elixir's completion astonished heaven and earth,"
"The cry of a phoenix can be heard beyond the nine heavens."
"Deep within the nine netherworlds, dragons weep,"
"Nine lifetimes of reincarnation, all in vain."
……
This poem!
This poem is filled with arrogance, nihilism, and a sense of destruction!
Isn't this a perfect reflection of Kong Zhiqian's life?!
And this poem also contains four "nines" hidden within it!
Nine-Turn Elixir! Nine Heavens! Nine Netherworlds! Nine Lifetimes!
Could this be the key to unlocking this "Nine Palaces Interlocking Lock"?
Lin Zhen's heart started pounding wildly!
He knew it was just a guess. A bold guess without any basis.
He only has one chance.
If the gamble pays off, the entire city of Chang'an, millions of people, can survive.
He made the wrong gamble; he and everyone behind him will die without a burial place!
The entire city of Chang'an will fall completely!
He glanced behind him at his brothers, who, though weary, were still looking at him with eyes full of trust and expectation.
He thought again of the woman he loved, who was still waiting for him to return to the palace.
He took a deep breath.
A glint of unprecedented resolve flashed in his eyes!
He didn't hesitate any longer.
He stepped forward and walked to the huge, menacing black iron gate.
He reached out and placed his hand on the cold, complex cipher wheel.
Then, following the order of the poem, he began, turning the first circle.
"Nine-Turn Pill..."
He turned, to the position representing the character "丹".
A soft "click."
Then, the second one.
"Ninth Heaven..."
"Click."
The third.
"Nine Netherworlds..."
"Click."
……
Inside the ancestral hall, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Everyone's hearts were in their throats.
They watched Lin Zhen's every move, almost forgetting to breathe.
Time seemed to stretch out infinitely at that moment.
Finally, when Lin Zhen spun the last ring representing "Nine Generations".
Suddenly, the entire combination wheel emitted a dazzling white light!
Followed by.
"Rumble--"
The enormous, heavy iron gate, weighing tens of thousands of kilograms, slowly rose upwards!
It worked!
They succeeded!
"Your Highness! We succeeded! We succeeded!"
After a brief moment of stunned silence, the ghostly figure and the "Night Owls" behind it erupted in a deafening cheer of relief and triumph!
However, Lin Zhen felt no joy whatsoever.
His gaze passed through the slowly rising gate and looked into the bottomless darkness behind it.
His face showed no sign of relief; instead, it became more solemn than ever before!
Because he saw it.
Behind the gate, on top of that enormous main valve that resembles the mouth of a monster.
There was even someone tied up!
A person they all thought was already dead!
—Kong Zhiqian!