The morning mist had yet to disperse when police sirens tore through the tranquility of the Seine Riverbank. Three police cordons were set up outside the Louvre’s glass pyramid, and police helicopters hovered at low altitude, their downdrafts sending reporters’ berets flying.
The morning in the French countryside was a bit chilly. Erin, wrapped in a camel-colored cashmere coat, leaned against a bench in the Tuileries Garden, her fingertips swiping across a tablet screen. Although she was well-versed in Classical Alchemy, she was also very fond of modern electronic devices. They were two distinct forms of creation, each with its own merits.
On the live news broadcast, the Minister of Culture was wiping cold sweat from his brow. "This is the darkest day in the history of French civilization. Over 480,000 precious artifacts have vanished without a trace. Among them were approximately 30,000 Chinese artifacts, including the Bronze Gilded Buddha Tower from the Yuanming Garden, the Sui Dynasty Han Baiyu Buddha Statue, and the Dunhuang Silk Painting, ’Amitabha’s Western Pure Land Transformation Map’..."
A reporter asked, "You specifically mentioned Chinese artifacts. Does this imply that an Extraordinary Being from that great Eastern nation was responsible? There are rumors that the mysterious Armored Warriors are Chinese."
The Minister of Culture quickly waved his hands. "That’s not what I meant. We have always had friendly cooperation and exchange with China..."
Erin couldn’t help but smile. The mysterious Armored Warriors had always wanted to hide their identities, but it seemed useless. Many people guessed they were Chinese; they just lacked proof.
But she had it. She had seen for herself how handsome Li Xiang was.
Of course, she wasn’t about to report him. ’He’s my partner, after all,’ she thought, feeling secretly honored.
’Besides, how could I bring myself to report such a handsome, charming, and powerful superhero?’
"Am I getting lovesick?" Erin shook her head with a wry smile, gazing at the man training his Body Techniques not far away, her beautiful cobalt-blue eyes showing a hint of fascination.
Erin fed half a croissant to a gray pigeon pecking at her feet, her gaze sweeping over the live broadcast, which showed the completely empty Eastern exhibit cases. On the floor tiles, it seemed a few flecks of Cinnabar from Dunhuang had been left behind.
’What a truly bright and sunny morning. Good food, a handsome man with an exotic Eastern charm, and my curse is about to be broken with his help...’
Li Xiang practiced his Breathing Technique and its corresponding movements every day, almost without fail. Since he couldn’t do farm work at Erin’s place, he used Body Techniques instead.
Once he had worked up a light sweat, Li Xiang walked over to Erin.
Erin snapped her fingers, and an Alchemy Puppet brought breakfast: three croissants with an iris-and-honey pattern, five slices of bread, a plate of bacon, a plate of grilled sausages, a plate of gherkins, an omelet with Black Truffle and cheese, a small jar of honey, a bowl of thick tomato soup, and a steaming cup of coffee with latte art.
This was a portion for one, prepared for Li Xiang.
Li Xiang didn’t stand on ceremony and sat down to eat. The rest of the breakfast was fine, but the plate of gherkins earned his effusive praise for being crisp, appetizing, and a perfect counter to the richness. "Erin, I never imagined you had such delicious pickles in France."
"The puppets didn’t make these; I pickled them myself, you know," Erin said with a beaming smile. "These little gherkins are very popular here in France."
In fact, pickled vegetables are also quite popular in Europe, like French cornichons and German sweet-and-sour cabbage, for example.
It’s said that last century, France even held a world-class pickled vegetable competition, which chose the three most popular types. They came to be known as the three great wonders of the pickling world.
In addition to the two mentioned above, the other award-winning entry was Fuling Pickled Mustard from China’s Sichuan Province.
Besides Fuling Pickled Mustard, China has many, many other kinds of pickled vegetables, each with its own regional character; it’s just that most of them have never made it outside the country.
The two chatted as they ate. When the morning’s news came up, Erin gave Li Xiang a deep look and said, "My dear Li, tonight is not a good time to make a move."
The clever Erin naturally had no trouble guessing that Li Xiang would definitely not let the other major museums in Paris off the hook. However, the news today showed that Paris was on high alert and had dispatched a large number of police to guard the museums.
Li Xiang frowned slightly.
Erin smiled and said in a low voice, "Li, you could actually go on the weekend."
"Hmm?" Li Xiang asked, surprised. "Why?"
"They take the weekend off!" Erin shrugged.
"What the hell? A case this big, and they take time off? They’ll at least leave some people on duty, right?" Li Xiang thought Erin was pulling his leg.
"It’s true. If you don’t believe me, just wait and see. Even if they do leave some staff, it’ll be a relatively small number. For the valiant Armored Warriors, that’s as good as no one at all."
Li Xiang: "..."
Of course, he wasn’t afraid, but there was no need for a head-on confrontation.
"Dear Li," the aristocratic young woman leaned in, her voice low, "why don’t you accompany me to Aachen Cathedral first?"
The scent of rose perfume mixed with the fresh aroma of pinewood wafted from the young noblewoman, along with the faint, sweet scent of a maiden. Her long eyelashes cast shadows like butterfly wings on her delicate, pink cheeks. "You did promise me this."
Li Xiang nodded. Afterward, Erin invited him into the castle’s secret chamber. Huddled over a map, the two of them formulated a plan. As the saying goes, one should always plan before acting, and Erin already had a meticulous plan in place.
「That night, the two of them set out.」
Li Xiang, clad in the Giant Whale Saint Armor, carried Erin in his arms, bridal style. Streaking forward at an Extreme Speed of Mach 12, he made Erin scream with excitement. This was hundreds of millions of times more thrilling than the most intense roller coaster.
It was tens of thousands of times more thrilling than skydiving—a truly unprecedented experience.
The moonlit fields below turned into a flowing silver carpet. Erin’s golden hair flew in the wind, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around the man’s neck. Even through the Armor, she could feel the firm lines of his muscles, making her feel waves of Dizziness.
However, the thrill and joy were short-lived. In less than two minutes, Li Xiang came to a stop.
"What’s wrong?" Erin asked, surprised and uncertain. ’Does the valiant Armored Warrior last for such a short time?’ she wondered.
Li Xiang put the reluctant Erin down and said, "We’re here!"
"Huh?" Erin was simply stunned. She looked in the direction Li Xiang was gesturing, and sure enough, the spire of Aachen Cathedral was close at hand.
"My god, that’s over four hundred kilometers! All the way from France to Germany! We crossed the border!" ’If I had taken my Alchemy Carriage,’ Erin mused, ’it would have taken at least four or five hours.’
Little did she know, Li Xiang’s Extreme Speed was Mach 12, equivalent to 4,080 meters per second, or 244.8 kilometers per minute. So, wasn’t a journey of over four hundred kilometers bound to take about two minutes?
The land areas of France and Germany are actually among the largest in Western Europe, at 550,000 and 357,000 square kilometers, respectively, excluding overseas territories. This is roughly equivalent to one of China’s larger provinces. For example, Li Xiang’s home, Sichuan Province, is 486,000 square kilometers.
For mere France and Germany, Li Xiang could truly reach any point within them in under ten minutes. The only limiting factor was the possibility of getting lost.
Fortunately, they had done enough homework before setting out, and Aachen Cathedral was an iconic German landmark and a famous pilgrimage site.
An earthy yellow light blossomed around Li Xiang, enveloping Erin. He used Earth Escape to infiltrate Aachen Cathedral, and the two of them quickly found Charlemagne’s Sarcophagus.