Chapter 115 Gallery, Collaboration, I am Fu Ze "Why do you think..."
After a night of hard work, the farce surrounding the Sparrow Feather scandal finally came to a complete end.
Those who had been surrounding the neighborhood, trying to get some inside information, dispersed, having found it pointless.
Having regained his freedom of movement, Fu Ze used the excuse of going out for a walk to head to the location mentioned in the text message the next day—a private art exhibition center under the Kangming Group.
This place is located in the northeast corner of the "Steel Cube," one of the four major landmarks in V City, a supermodernist building, and it occupies a very large area, covering three floors.
Upon detecting someone approaching, the gallery's main gate, composed of seemingly random metal lines, automatically slid to either side.
After the door opened, Fu Ze walked into the reception hall.
He was faced with three paths: left, center, and right.
Before Fu Ze could try to figure out which direction to go by referring to the map hanging on the wall, the left-hand door in the hall quietly opened, as if guiding Fu Ze.
"They've set the bar quite high," Fu Ze thought with a hint of sarcasm.
Behind the main entrance on the left is an art gallery, with a Bordeaux red carpet laid out in the center of the room, and various contemporary paintings hanging on the walls on both sides.
Judging from the signatures, some are works by established and well-known artists, while others are the creative ideas of fledgling young geniuses.
Although Fu Ze himself doesn't have much artistic talent, it doesn't prevent him from feeling the vibrant life force within this place.
While browsing these works, Fu Ze couldn't help but ponder another question—
Why did Dragon Ridge choose this location for the invitation?
According to Yuan Jianxing and his own indirect dealings with Longji, this person is indeed a very pragmatic one.
In other words, the dragon's spine must have a deeper meaning.
Thinking of this, Fu Ze turned around before entering the next door and solemnly looked at the paintings he had been browsing.
The painting still hangs there, silently conveying the thoughts and soul of its creator to the empty corridor.
After passing through countless doors and browsing through different themed pavilions and exhibitions, Fu Ze finally saw a second figure besides himself.
Judging from the other person's calm and composed demeanor, this person is indeed Longji.
When Fu Ze opened the door, Long Ji was standing in front of a classic painting called "The Creation of Adam," carefully examining it.
Hearing footsteps approaching from behind, he didn't turn around, but simply said to himself, "I've been thinking for a long time about how to start a conversation between us."
"In the end, I found that the simplest approach is the most suitable."
Before he could finish speaking, he turned around and looked directly at Fu Ze: "May I ask who you are?"
Standing five meters behind the dragon's spine, Fu Ze countered, "If I remember correctly, you were the one who sent me the invitation first. Is it appropriate for the host to question the guest's identity after accepting the invitation?"
"Of course I know who I'm inviting, but does the person being invited know?"
The Dragon Spine problem sounded rather strange, so Fu Ze chose to remain still and wait for the right moment to act.
His reaction seemed to be within Dragonspine's expectations.
Walking to the window, Longji gestured with his eyes towards the bustling street outside.
“If you go out now, every person who passes by and knows you will call you ‘Sparrow Feather’.”
"You enjoy the name of Que Ling and the life benefits of Que Ling, so in a broad sense, you are Que Ling."
For the first time, Longji turned his gaze to Fu Ze and said meaningfully, "As a Sparrow Feather, you accepted my invitation to Fu Ze. Isn't that offensive?"
Fu Ze interrupted Longji's sophistry: "Isn't it a bit pretentious of me to debate this kind of philosophical topic with you?"
“No, no, no, this is a very important issue.” Unaffected by Fu Ze’s attitude, Longji continued unhurriedly, “It’s so important that it will affect how I should cooperate with you in the future.”
cooperate?
Fu Ze felt as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.
"Do I need to count how much suffering you've endured because of the false information you spread?" Fu Ze clenched his teeth unconsciously as he spoke.
If it weren't for the rumor that "Snake Eyes had seen the [Key]," perhaps I could have contacted the person who possessed the [Key] through other channels, and then, in a gentler, or at least less brutal, way...
"If you were misled by my false information because you didn't know that the [Key] itself has no physical form, it means you know too little. If you couldn't overcome all the obstacles to find me and verify the truth, it means your abilities are limited." Dragonspine shrugged slightly, showing no remorse. "Why would I cooperate with someone who is unqualified both inside and out?"
Fu Ze sneered: "Thank you for your kind words. It seems I've passed the test now."
"It's passable," Dragonspine said without hesitation. "After all, if you were a little less afraid of death, you might have already achieved your goal on the cruise ship."
They achieved their goal on the cruise ship...?
Fu Ze's pupils suddenly contracted.
“You were looking for a [key] before, but now you’re looking for a [specific key].” Dragon Spine walked towards Fu Ze and stopped less than half a meter away from him.
"The weapon that caused the 'Charon Crossing'."
Before Longji finished speaking, Fu Ze felt the surrounding space-time distorting around Longji as the center.
Once his vision calmed down, the two of them had moved to the front of the "Genesis" painting.
Dragon Spine said regretfully, "That was the first time I used the power of the [Key], and I didn't control the range well. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been so many casualties, and a trace of power wouldn't have been leaked and tainted by the snake eyes."
Standing so close to this masterpiece that appears in textbooks, Fu Ze had no interest in appreciating it at all.
There was a barely perceptible tremor in his voice: "But back then, the black hole was created at sea..."
Dragon Spine readily admitted, "It was me too."
Why do you possess two different [Key] abilities?
"Aren't you one too?" Dragon Spine smiled meaningfully.
Fu Ze felt something was off. Although it was true that the dragon spine was looking at him, it seemed more like it was looking at another person through the body in front of it.
"Death in lieu of life. A very clever passive ability. Although it seems to serve no purpose other than prolonging life, it truly leaves the enemy helpless." For the first time, Longji showed admiration for Fu Ze. "A person who can set up such a safety net with almost no knowledge must be a smart person."
Fu Ze readily accepted the praise and used it as an opportunity to regain his rhythm.
He raised his hand to tidy the hair at his temples—a gesture he had agreed upon with Yuan Jianxing—and said unhurriedly, "But have you ever considered that I might not cooperate with you?"
Despite the lack of any markings, Fu Ze knew that a powerful tranquilizer gun was already aimed at the dragon's spine.
"Impossible." Dragon Spine denied it immediately without the slightest hesitation.
"reason?"
“I… got some interesting information.” Dragon Spine took out a folded piece of printed paper from his chest pocket and held it between three fingers. “It was extracted from that [key] and obtained after the code was cracked. It’s some rather interesting information.”
“This content has a specific recipient—” he murmured, “Fu Ze.”
Upon hearing this, Fu Ze suddenly felt a splitting headache.
The power he had gained from the snake's eye was now surging wildly, brutally cutting through his nerves like the sharpest scalpel.
He tried to use Sparrow Feather's [Key] ability to repair it, but no matter what he did, he couldn't keep up with the speed of that destructive force.
Rather than calling it destruction, Fu Ze felt that this behavior was more like a reminder.
Remind him that he must see the contents of that letter.
"That's why I asked you in the first place, 'Who are you?'" Dragon Spine looked at the pale-faced Fu Ze without any pity. "I can't let the wrong person open someone else's letter without permission."
As he spoke, a flame suddenly rose from his fingertips, completely enveloping the letter.
However, the paper remained unharmed amidst the interplay of blue and white.
Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that a very thin layer of moisture completely protected it.
Clearly, Dragonspine not only possesses a vast number of [Key] abilities, but also wields them with unparalleled skill.
"By the way, even if you find an opportunity to replace me, you won't be able to obtain this information." Dragonspine shook the paper in its hand. "Because the [key] containing this information is no longer with me."
At this moment, a million questions collided in Fu Ze's mind.
For example, who left you the information?
For example, why is the information written inside the "key"?
For example, why is this key on the dragon's spine, and where is it now?
"Opportunities are fleeting." Dragon Spine didn't give Fu Ze much time to think.
As if lighting a cigarette, he handed the paper, which was engulfed in flames, to Fu Ze.
Let's go back to the original question—
Who are you?
Although still dissatisfied with Dragon Spine's attitude, Fu Ze now had crucial information in their hands, and with his headache worsening, he forced himself to answer:
"I am Fu Ze."
"Oh?" Dragon Spine's voice rose slightly at the end. "Why do you think you are Fu Ze?"
Perhaps because of the scorching heat of the flames, the sound of the dragon's spine sounded distorted and inaccurate to Fu Ze's ears.
Fu Ze stared at the blurry face behind the flickering flames, his temples throbbing.
As he breathed in the increasingly hot and scorching air, he felt his throat becoming drier and drier, as if it were about to crack.
"Why...?" he repeated, as if asking himself, "It's the experience and the memories, isn't it?"
"All my experiences so far, good, bad, boring... have contributed to shaping my personality. What I've experienced, how I view those experiences, and what I do under their influence—these three things combined make up who I am."
“Wan Chuanqiu wouldn’t travel thousands of miles to break into Snake Eyes’ prison, but Fu Ze would; Bogdan wouldn’t agree to teach the son of the coffee shop owner next door how to shoot, but Fu Ze would; Que Ling… oh no, Li Wei wouldn’t spend a fortune for that Demon Lizard 757, but Fu Ze would.”
"So, appearance... can be changed, but as long as these experiences and memories remain, whenever I see a similar scene, the same feelings will still well up inside me—sweet, bitter, sour, indignant—and in the end, I will still make the same choice that Fu Ze would make..."
“Then I am Fu Ze.” Fu Ze’s gaze was intense. “Fu Ze is me.”
This explanation seemed to have exhausted almost all of his strength.
Fine beads of cold sweat clung to the tiny hairs on his skin, both of which were bathed in a sunset-like glow by the flames.
Longji nodded knowingly.
The flames that had been clinging to the paper went out instantly, leaving only a faint trace of heat to prove that the intense heat had indeed been there.
He handed the paper to Fu Ze.
"please."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com