They've already fought their way through the Holy Grail War, and you still call them dragons?

It would be even better if I brought Oh Runji. It's freezing cold in Antarctica, so it's probably not easy to get some fruit.

When Lu Mingfei was alone in his own thoughts, the atmosphere around him suddenly became quiet. What was going on with this ominous feeling?

He looked around in panic and saw Captain Emiya looking domineering. On the other side, the head of Chaldea had a stiff face, and seemed to be stuck on some topic and didn't know how to explain.

"—A Heroic Spirit Summoning System? A dangerous weapon?" Pompey looked surprised and bewildered. "Why did Captain Emiya suddenly bring this up?"

There was a tremor in his voice, and he was obviously shocked that Emiya had discovered the Servant here right away.

Emiya's voice sounded calm yet profound. "I believe the consequences of the Holy Grail War are already known to the world. Therefore, the bottom line for our expedition is that the tragedy of that day must never be repeated. Director Pompey, you should understand what I mean, right?"

"Oh, the secret of our Chaldea has been discovered like this? Hahaha, you are worthy of being a godslayer, you are so meticulous." Pompey barely suppressed the shock of having the secret project guessed, and his expression gradually returned to his usual nonchalant style.

"But Captain Emiya—you mean someone like me? Would I be so enthusiastic about developing military weapons? You have to know that Chaldea, as a project invested by my Gattuso family, has squeezed out the original plan for the Sky Punishment Weapon!"

Pompey winked complacently, "To be honest, compared to some heroic spirit armies, I'm more interested in having a passionate date with beautiful women of all ages and styles!"

"?" Emiya thought to himself, "You're not a Grand Succubus, and you dare to fall in love with a Heroic Spirit? Interesting."

"..." Caesar on the side was dismissive of Pompey's words. The stud dad was always good at making jokes and avoiding the important issues.

In fact, it was Uncle Frost who put in a lot of effort in canceling the Sky Punishment Satellite Project. Pompey didn't contribute much except for talking twice.

But he managed to hold back and didn't publicly expose this bastard. He just spoke from Chaldea's perspective:

"Even if Chaldea completes mature Heroic Spirit summoning technology, it will never be developed for military use! Any attempt to develop weapons of mass destruction is a blasphemy against Chaldea's mission to ensure human prosperity!"

Caesar spoke righteously and with awe-inspiring justice.

However, he was ultimately just a young man who had taken over Chaldea not long ago, and was still in his college years with a clear and foolish look in his eyes. Although he showed extraordinary charm and organizational leadership skills due to his family education, he was still a little impulsive in character.

So Emiya immediately refuted him with a few words:

"Well, I want to ask you, how will you, Chaldea, utilize the Heroic Spirit Summoning technology to ensure peace and prosperity in the human world? Before this, Heroic Spirits were weapons of war witnessed by countless people during the Holy Grail War. What about you?"

"Since you, Chaldea, are under the supervision of the United Nations, you should be aware of the dangers of Heroic Spirits, right? How do you plan to save the world through Heroic Spirit Summoning?"

In fact, in the original FGO story, the Clock Tower also dismissed most of the Heroic Spirits summoned by Chaldea for similar reasons. However, the Clock Tower was eyeing the valuable "Director's Legacy" of Chaldea.

But now Emiya understands that Chaldea was the product of a conspiracy from the very beginning.

"this--"

Caesar really couldn't answer this question. He had just learned from Stallion Daddy about this secret Beta Plan, and he didn't know as much about the details as those old employees of Chaldea in the early days.

Emiya shifted his gaze from Caesar. This noble young man had no idea of ​​the core secret. "Director Pompey, please tell me. If you don't admit it, I will have to go find that Heroic Spirit myself."

"—Hey? No need to bother," a graceful female voice echoed from the other end of the corridor. "I'm already here. Chaldea has so many rooms. Choosing the right place for a private workshop and renovating it must have taken a lot of effort."

The person who came was Leonardo da Vinci.

Emiya: “…” He is indeed a big profiteer.

His eyes wandered among the crowd of Chaldea employees for a moment, and soon he noticed a pink-haired employee behind the crowd. Was that girl Mashu?

"——I think the adults in the expedition team don't need to be nervous. I think Chaldea's plan is very interesting." Leonardo da Vinci seemed to think that Pompeii's plan was attractive and became interested, so he decided to stay in Chaldea.

"First, we will create the Fate Beta Project, a system for summoning Heroic Spirits. Through communication with the Throne of Heroes, we will control Servants as a fundamental force that will save the world across time and eradicate the factors that cause destruction."

"And accompanying this is Project Alpha, which secretly screens individuals from around the world who possess the qualifications for 'Spirit Particle Transfer'. These individuals are organized into a relatively elite Group A consisting of only a few individuals, and dozens of reserve personnel."

"Spirit particle transfer is the result of combining mystical technology and quantum mechanics research. It can transport candidates to various eras in the past, and then use the Servants summoned by the Guardian Heroic Spirit Summoning System as their auxiliary combat force."

"To put it together, Chaldea's first step in saving the world is to predict the future through the Earth model, discover future destructive events, and trace the past factors that caused the destruction."

"The second step is the transfer of spirit particles. We will deploy manpower and servants to the corresponding era to resolve the crisis, disintegrate the factors that destroy the world, and change the future of destruction."

Emiya nodded as Da Vinci pretty much explained the surface of the Chaldea plan.

Apparently, Pompeii relied on such a grand vision to attract her to stay. The content of this plan sounded naturally ambitious and epoch-making. Even the members of the inspection team around her and the new employees of Chaldea who were unaware of the inside story were amazed and recognized.

But Emiya knew the "plot".

Ultimately, Chaldea's mechanism of relying on Chaldeas + Spirit Transfer + Heroic Spirit Summoning is a degraded imitation of the planetary restraint force (English: Counter Guardian, literally means counterattack guardian) sending guardians.

The restraining force of the Type-Moon worldview is to act against any factors that destroy the world.

For example, if character A does something B, which becomes a factor in the destruction of the future world, then the restraining force will be activated, sending the guardian back to the past to erase A and change the destroyed future.

Let's take a closer look at the spirit particle transfer operation carried out by Chaldea in FGO to repair the singularity. Isn't it basically the same?

"So this is ah!"

Emiya's expression shifted from tense to a smile, and he feigned comprehension. "It's indeed a flawless, advanced, and groundbreaking plan! It seems I'm being overly sensitive. After all, I was a witness to the Holy Grail War, so I'm a bit sensitive to Heroic Spirit Summoning techniques. Is that understandable?"

"I understand! After all, Chaldea is also still experimenting. The implementation of a great plan is always accompanied by countless doubts and tests..."

Seeing Emiya gently put it down, Pompey, who was being tortured in the grim atmosphere, felt as if he had been pardoned.

"Yes, Director Pompey, if there is something wrong, correct it; if there is nothing wrong, encourage it!"

Emiya spoke in the tone of an old leader, no longer showing the tense attitude he had when they first met. He seemed to be about to lift something high and then put it down gently.

However, although he said this, he did not trust it in his heart.

The Great Holy Grail had been destroyed with the passing of the White King, and the conditions for summoning a complete Heroic Spirit as a Servant could no longer be fulfilled. The only one who could possibly revive the summoning of Heroic Spirits was the Black King, who was even more noble than the White King.

This was borne out by the events aboard the YAMAL. The degraded version of the Cyber ​​Holy Grail War, held aboard the YAMAL, saw a rampage after the arrival of the Black King's spiritual will, even affecting reality. The Servants also transformed from data into reality, indicating that the Black King also possessed the ability to pull beings from the Seat of Heroes.

Then look at Chaldea - their experiment with the Heroic Spirit Summoning System was actually successful, the Earth environment model of Chaldeas also appeared, and even the spirit particle transfer that it relied on was implemented.

Then the source of the above-mentioned conditions for success is only the light body that was the incarnation of the Black King's spiritual will, and part of the data that was taken away by Odin.

At this point, all the arguments were completed, and Emiya no longer had any hope. He had to treat this place as the enemy's base camp - no, it should be a base camp mixed with units that could potentially become friendly units.

Da Vinci, seemingly unaware of the dangers of Chaldea, could be a target...

"In that case, Director Pompeii, would you mind if the expedition team joins you in advancing these two projects? To save the world, we should all contribute our part!"

The words Emiya said again this time made Pompey realize that it was not Emiya who had dispelled his suspicion of Chaldea, but that he had chosen to step up the pressure and wanted to monitor and interfere with Chaldea more closely by intervening in the project!

But the inspection team does have reasons to do so, and Emiya's current approach is relatively mild.

If Emiya's attitude is bad, he can report everything to the United Nations (or the secret party of the Clock Tower Cathedral Church behind it) and order the spirit particle transfer experiment to stop.

If that happens, Chaldea's situation will become even more passive.

"Okay! As I said before, welcome the inspection team to come and give us guidance!" Pompey's optimistic expression seemed a bit forced.

Emiya's inexplicable advance knowledge of the Heroic Spirit Summoning System suggests an unexpected mole within Chaldea. It was previously known that Chaldea was rife with undercover agents from various factions, but after several years of personnel changes, they still haven't been completely cleared out.

Pompey couldn't figure out who had leaked the information, and whose interests had he touched with this little trick? Anyway, Emiya, you win...

The first confrontation between Chaldea and the foreign expedition team ended with a complete defeat for Pompeii.

----

Chaldea Cafeteria.

"Who touched my cake?"

After Lu Mingfei came back from the toilet, he found that the small after-meal cake he ordered was gone. He shouted angrily, attracting the attention of various staff in the hall.

Feeling the attention of so many high-ranking characters, he instantly lost his temper. He pretended nothing had happened, whistling and cutting his steak with a knife. Beside the steak, there were also braised pork knuckle, authentic pickled mustard greens, brightly colored seafood risotto, and fragrant abalone soup.

It must be said that the Gattuso family, who invested in Chaldea, are truly wealthy. They spared no expense in hiring a team of high-end chefs to prepare meals in the Antarctic mountains. Even the deputy director and director of Gattuso's rank have their own suites, where they can enjoy delicious food at any time. They probably wouldn't even consider the "common meals" in the cafeteria.

It seems that Captain Emiya, who confronted the Chaldea captain as soon as he arrived, is also at this level?

Tsk tsk, why not me? It must be the ugly capital that took my cake!

Lu Mingfei was filled with envy and jealousy in his heart, while reaching out to the plate of braised pork elbows.

All in vain.

"..."

When I looked up, I happened to meet the eyes of a man with messy hair but a body as strong as a bear.

The burly man chewing a big chicken drumstick in his mouth looked like a hyena running around following the scent, and in his other hand was Lu Mingfei's braised pork elbow!

"Thief!" Lu Mingfei wanted to scream, but the man moved incredibly fast and instantly pulled his hand over to cover Lu Mingfei's mouth.

"Hey, little brother, please forgive me!" The man could actually speak authentic Chinese. "My expenses this month are a bit high, and I've used up all the credit on my salary card. So I have no choice but to pick up some leftovers from the cafeteria. I thought no one wanted the food and drinks you put on the table, so I picked them up!"

Wow, how come there is an authentic Nanyang accent?

"...I just went to the bathroom!" Lu Mingfei laughed angrily. He immediately argued and retorted, "Besides, you saw no one was around, so I understand why you came over to take it. But I'm already here, and you still come over to steal!?"

The man wiped the grease off his beard, revealing an expression that said, "I can't do anything to you." He pulled out a few bills from his pocket and said, "Alright, alright. This is compensation for you, little brother. As promised, once you take it, I won't pursue the matter any further."

Lu Mingfei nodded and took the money. "No, didn't you say you had run out of money? You don't need this money?"

"Because meals in Chaldea are charged on the credit limit on your card, you can't use this money even if you have it!" The other party said as if it was a matter of course.

Chapter 303 The Waters of Chaldea Are Deep, You Can’t Grasp Them

"—can't use it?"

"Wow, this is a complete scam! According to my aunt, if you don't keep your promise, you will be struck by lightning, swallowed by a thousand needles, and then struck by lightning!"

Lu Mingfei opened his eyes wide and yelled, his aunt was right, you have to be on guard against scammers when you go out, didn’t this scammer just come to you on his own?

And his movements were quite efficient. It hadn't been more than half a day since he entered Chaldea, and he had already been targeted.

Lu Mingfei silently raised his assessment of Chaldea's risk factor by a few percentage points, and went back to hide his electronic devices, valuables, and magazines in the dormitory.

"I know you are in a hurry, but don't be in a hurry yet!"

The man wiped his hands and spat out the chicken bone. He smiled wryly, revealing two rows of white teeth.

"Speaking of which, brother, are you from Shenzhou? Guigui, your punishment for breaking a promise is too scary. Swallowing a thousand needles is some kind of inhumane torture?"

"Stop talking nonsense. Who the hell are you? Tell me your name! And why can't I use this money? What's going on? Tell me everything, or I'll tell Captain Emiya!"

Lu Mingfei picked up the empty steak plate and slammed it on the table, as if he were sitting in a government office, banging a gavel. He was also a keen observer, knowing that the highest-ranking official in Chaldea was the director, and since the director had been confronted by Emiya from the start, the only official higher than the director was Emiya.

As long as you use the supreme leader's order as a token of authority, no one dares to ignore it!

"Oh my god, why are you still reporting me like a little kid?! Okay, okay, I'm afraid of you. I'm Fingel, a member of Chaldea's Team A. Besides Team A training, I do some research when I'm free."

Finkel seemed to be intimidated by the "backer" that Lu Mingfei brought up, and hurriedly revealed his own background.

"...? You're in Group A? Just you?"

This time it was Lu Mingfei's turn to be confused. He had heard from the inspection team and the people from Chaldea just now that everyone in Group A was a carefully selected elite, and in the outside world they would be considered a well-known secret party S-level... although he had no idea what the secret party was.

He should be similar to Senior Brother Chu, a senior student in the Spiral Hall. It seems that Senior Brother Chu is also planning to run for Group A?

...Let's put all that aside for now. This Finkel in front of us, with messy hair, untidy clothes, and a shabby look, how can he be an elite?

Either this burly physique is understandable, perhaps it is because Fingel has an amazing skeleton and is born with a tall and strong physique, which makes Chaldea think that he is qualified to become a high-level cattle and horse that is above the ordinary world?

"...Little brother, why do I feel like there's something wrong with your eyes? Are you making fun of me?" Finkel muttered.

"That's not true! Just call me Lu Mingfei. If you don't want me to report it, then be smart and give me some information! For example, the money issue!"

"Alright! Even though I, Fingel, am the worst off in Group A, Brother Lu, if you need intelligence, you can definitely come to me! Hehe!"

Finger rubbed his hands, and the lazy aura on his body disappeared without a trace. Lu Mingfei even saw a glimmer of brilliance in his eyes——

In fact, this can be regarded as returning to his old job. Finkel never expected that the news department skills he developed at Kassel College could shine here and even be developed and promoted.

"Actually, there's no need to worry about the money. It's just that it can't be used for the time being. You know, Chaldea is isolated from the outside world due to various taboos. Apart from the annual inspection team and annual leave, there is no external communication. As a result, the money outside is not very useful."

Lu Mingfei thought for a moment, "So I have to wait until my annual leave before I can use foreign currency, and in Chaldea I can only use the balance on my salary card?"

"That's right, Brother Lu, if you're in a hurry, you can use it when you go home for the New Year at the end of this year. So you understand, my money is not worth a piece of waste paper, and you have earned my reputation as an 'information dealer' for nothing!"

"Good guy!" Lu Mingfei was speechless. It was obviously Finkel who stole the food first, but he managed to make it appear that he was the one who made the profit.

Although he had made a lot of money from e-sports over the years and didn't care about Fingel's small compensation at all, he was aware of Chaldea's unique salary limit and had to plan and limit his spending to some extent.

Thinking of this, Lu Mingfei decided to pack up the leftovers and take them away.

——I guess he is the only one in the whole restaurant who can do such a low thing, but this habit is also a replica of my aunt's habit that she has been doing for decades. She seems to be frugal on the surface, but in fact she likes to take advantage of small things regardless of the occasion.

"Hey hey hey! Brother Lu, why did you decide to leave just like that?" Finkel was obviously surprised.

Why aren't you playing by the rules? I've already shared my intelligence channels, so why don't you show some appreciation and give me some coins so I can get started as an intelligence dealer!

"What else?" Lu Mingfei said, scooping abalone soup into his mouth one spoonful at a time and began to drink it frantically... I give up, everything else is easy, but this kind of soupy thing is not easy to pack.

"...Tsk, brother, you really are a bit slow-witted! Look at the wind, the wind! Now is the best time to wage an intelligence war. Standing on the wind, even a pig can take off! If you miss this opportunity, even if you are a dragon, you still can't fly!"

Finkel persuaded earnestly.