The atmosphere inside the meeting room was slightly strange.
This is a Blood Shell made by the Steffen people!
When that dark red crystalline shell was placed in the center of the meeting room, there seemed to be an invisible layer of pressure solidifying in the air.
The murmurs of discussion arose in the room, everyone had witnessed, or at least understood from the data, these legendary weapons of the Steffen Blood Beast Corps.
The sources of Blood Shells are very scarce. Whenever they are deployed, they cause massive destructive force, and the crystals shatter to pieces in the explosion. Therefore, even a single piece of wreckage would hold tremendous research value.
And if anyone attempts to steal the technology that falls under the jurisdiction of a special department of the Steffen people, they should prepare to be hunted down by soldier-mods, the transformed human warriors.
“Are you planning to study these things, the crystal sources the Steffen people use to cultivate Blood Beasts?” someone asked in a low voice.
“Exactly.” Ork Hill spoke amidst the whispers of the crowd. “The Empire will naturally not share its research data on such crystals with us. But for the future of our people, we should study them.“
“We aren’t going to become the prey of the Steffen Lion, are we?” someone said, covering their mouth in slight trepidation.
Two or three people in the meeting room turned their heads, their gazes lingering on Niva and Yang Zicang.
One person said, “As far as I know, there have been rumors recently that President Buchen stole the confidential research data of the Blood Shell from the Black Venom Consulting Kingdom? “
“I think we should move on to the data of this shell. ” Oquall Hill took over the conversation and said:
“Next, I will explain its surface hardness as well as various radiation and other data… “
The surrounding people withdrew their gazes from Yang Zicang.
The “middle-aged man ” in the red shirt gave a faint glance at the side of Yang Zicang’s face, with a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
On the piece of paper pressed against his body temperature inside his clothing pocket, a line of writing appeared.
—Has Yang Zicang discovered you?
As one who had altered the fates of the memoirs of sage recorder’s pages at high speed after coming ashore, who can make corresponding trajectory readings, the “middle-aged man ” with round eyes could naturally and easily perceive the text appearing on the paper.
During the lecture by the old engineering professor, the “middle-aged man ” was slightly closing his eyes. The writing on the paper began to shift and distort as wisps of faint energy drew near…
—So far, this guy has no suspicion.
—Aha, then I’m relieved. It seems that my hypnosis art attachment works even on people with around four rings of mental power. Oh, by the way, was your mission this time a success?
The red-shirted man slightly opened a slit through his tightly shut eyelids. The energy lines gently floating behind himself, and even behind the people beside and around him, were all captured fully in his sight.
“—It succeeded. He didn’t get close to Professor Fei’s research project and is now intently listening to me about the Steffen shell incident. “
……
In the small meeting room next door, as the old engineering professor was explaining.
Jia Zhi’an, along with the “Fog People ” from various Woodtao nations—an eclectic mix of uniforms and plain clothes—sat attentively across the small round table, watching the elderly man before them.
Only then did these few people here, upon hearing Jin Baiyun’s introduction, realize that the old man in front of them, President Kim · Fairman, was the original initiator of the Kimbe Heritage Project.
The resume of his past years was finally made known.
For decades, this old man had been quietly toiling in obscurity, searching for a new path in nuclear energy research, and now he finally felt a hint of consolation at having endured.
“What is called ‘the great vessel takes time to complete’—the phenomena of atomic fusion and fission have existed in the universe all along. We don’t need to invent them; we only need to discover them. “
Jin Baiyun chuckled and continued:
“Luckily, our President Kim · Fairman and his Kimbe team found a new path, giving us more options to face our doomsday. “
“Are you still manufacturing nuclear bombs? ” someone couldn’t help but ask.
“It took us many years of searching for some key materials just to get a little stockpile of them. “
Kim · Fairman’s old, deep voice rang out softly: “However, if any country makes the request, we can still allocate a few more nuclear warheads to look after their lands. “
“… ” Those around sighed all with oddly bittersweet pity, then nodded.
“Let’s start our meeting. “
Kim · Fairman didn’t want to keep dwelling on his own past.
A lady asked, “May I ask what project Mr. Jin Fei’erman is hoping to explore on the new scientific path of mathematics? “
The centenarian chancellor, still full of spirit despite his advanced age, said as everyone turned to look at him:
“Many of you are guests from Mist State, and should have all used computers before. “
“Computers… “
The people around the round table thought of something.
“A math project… are you trying to research computers? “
“That’s the intention. ” Jin Baiyun nodded, shifted his legs slightly, and said:
“As everyone knows, in our world, during the two great wars of the early 20th century, the intelligence departments of various countries pulled out all the stops to decipher each other’s encrypted messages. “
“Of course we do. We’ve watched plenty of movies on the subject alone. “
“Exactly, without the password to crack those encryption systems, manually computing them might take tens of millions of years. But a computer built on the concepts of 0 and 1 can break those intricate, impeccably ordered, and complex mathematical codes in a very short time. “
The few people around the table enthusiastically discussed it for a while, then various words like “computer “, “software “, “world’s richest person “, and “game ” kept popping up.
Seeing the people around the table so fervent about this project, the old scientist felt both touched and envious.
“How wonderful. You’ve actually touched those things. “
As the discussion gradually subsided, Jia Zhi’an thought about the future of the project for a moment and sighed:
“Speaking of which, I guess some related computer technologies have already been turned into various ‘Secret Boxes’ and kept under tight lock and key, right? “
“That’s a certainty. “
Jin Baiyun said, “So the project for our meeting this time is precisely to blaze a new trail and forge a new destiny for computer-related technology. “
“I’m afraid that’s rather difficult, ” someone nearby muttered under their breath.
Without having to give it much thought, everyone around the table could guess just how intensive the research and development related to computers—a new technology that opened up infinite possibilities—had been. It could be said that countless combinations and permutations of products have already been tested.
Even if it wasn’t the same world, in the era of the previous Crimson Aurora Era, on a continent inhabited by fellow humans as well as Fogfolk, it was impossible for those familiar creations not to emerge.
This was evident from the widespread stories of various “Fogfolk ” celebrities and their creations.
Therefore, in this world, there were absolutely numerous ancient families that preserved these related technologies within their lineages.
“We have to try within these intricate paths… “
A maiden by the table shook her head, saying, “Impossible, impossible. Not unless we have a vast amount of time and manpower to conduct experiments. “
“And one wrong step will cause the materials to breed nightmares, ” another man added.
“Are you all so lacking in confidence? ” Jin Baiyun looked over with a smile. “If this matter weren’t an error, breaking through the shackles of the era and stepping into a new future time might not actually succeed. Though it’s difficult, we must still have the confidence to try. “
Jia Zhi’an spread his hands and pursed his lips, saying, “It’s not just difficult, it’s extremely, extremely difficult~ “
“Actually, it’s not that difficult either. ” Kim·Fehrman’s voice made everyone around the table stop their sighs.
The older man lifted a wooden box from under the table and, under the gaze of those around him, opened the lid with a protective film, taking out a rough metal device the size of a suitcase, its surface covered in knobs, levers, and some iron discs.
“What is this?” The personnel leaned forward slightly, the air filled with curiosity and suspicion.
“As we all know, computers were once built upon binary systems—0 and 1, on and off. This is their rock-solid foundation.“
Everyone nodded in understanding; this was common knowledge.
The older man turned the device around to show it to everyone.
“We have no way to take the main path, nor can we brute-force verify everything by hitting walls. But if we go back to the very beginning, the era you call the ‘Turing machine’, there would be more materials and substitution methods available to us.“
“So, what is this thing?“
“A simple mechanical calculator?“
“Sort of.” The older man in a protective suit flipped a switch on the machine in his hand.
_”When a small bead falls into a low-voltage conduit, it is ‘1’. When blocked, it is ‘0’. We use a precision system of gears and lenses to control these ‘pearl switches’. Though its speed may be slower than even some modern mechanical systems, if we magnify it a hundredfold, a thousandfold, or even… ten thousandfold.
Everyone imagined that scene: a computer the size of a building, rolling small steel beads through various pipes.
The image had a kind of metallic, mesmerized quality.
“It’s a bit strange, but… it seems like I’ve never actually seen such a thing come into existence. “
“Can it really work? “
“I’m not sure, ” Jin Baiyun chuckled. “It’s still just at the conceptual stage, and I guess, even if it gets bigger, it can only perform mathematical calculations—like the earliest Turing machine. But that’s exactly why we want to give it a try. “
“What do you mean? “
“It’s like a magnetic head reading syllables on an infinitely long tape, where each unit is either open or closed—just a single cell. That’s the principle behind the original Turing machine. “
The others nodded thoughtfully.
Jia Zhi’an, who hadn’t understood a word, sighed helplessly. “Well, there’s no helping it. But if it lets people in the next era use calculators, then I guess it’s… “
“It’s for the military, ” someone nearby interjected, turning their head. “To let this era—or the continent we’re about to head into—use machines capable of encrypting and decrypting telegrams and codes. In an early-to-mid industrial age like this, such a calculator would already be a wonder that every nation would prioritize researching and acquiring. “
The people around the table suddenly looked up, pondering the thought.
“Encryption and decryption?! “
“This thing can pull off operations complex enough to crack codes at the level of WWII?! Oh yes, if that’s the direction of research… “
……
Zhao Anlong, half-asleep, listened as the old woman explained, in a thickly accented, non-native Mutao language, a surgical console whose nuances he couldn’t grasp.
……
Inside the small meeting room at Oqu·Hill’s.
The group, who had obtained some data sheets, stared at the figures on them.
Yang Zicang took a closer look and found the data on it to be very rudimentary compared to his own copy.
A person at the table leaned forward: “Can you tell us, do you really not know where the Steffen People obtained these crystals from? “
Ocker Hill slowly shook his head:
“There have always been certain ancient forces within Steffen. The states have searched all the continent’s mineral veins and found no other similar sources of crystals. Therefore, I speculate this may have been provided by some noble families. “
Yang Zicang was deep in thought when he suddenly sensed that Ocker Hill’s gaze seemed to sweep over him intentionally or unintentionally.
Nihua, chairing the meeting, interjected at the right moment:
“The Steffen Lion Empire was originally just a vast land, but within mere decades it rose to become the world’s leading power, precisely because they only needed to feed Blood Beasts to gain destructive force comparable to advanced weapons. “
“The Blood Beasts played an indispensable role in the Empire’s rise. “
“True indeed, but that kind of energy is truly too eerie… “
“Where in the world do the crystals in this shell come from… “
Amid the murmur of the crowd, Nihua turned to Yang Zicang: “President Buchen, I recall you stated in a public telegram that you possess a similar shell fragment, along with some crystal data. “
“That’s right. ” Yang Zicang nodded slightly.
“I wonder how much our data will differ compared to what you have? “
“The difference between the two sets of data is, to be honest, somewhat significant. ” Yang Zicang revealed a hint of helplessness. “This data doesn’t even include the details of the various patterns within the crystal. In reality, there’s a fractured core layer inside, with a material composition that differs slightly from the outside. “
“So there are differences of that nature. ” The people around nodded in understanding.
Ni Hua was stunned for a moment before lifting his head to say:
“Then, could you possibly share the information you have with us for collaborative research? “
All eyes instantly focused on Yang Zicang. He shifted the crossed arms to a subtly different position.
“That is something I will not do. Because I promised to keep it confidential. “
The middle-aged man with the surname Wei beside him, who had been half-lidded until then, suddenly opened his eyes wide before lapsing back into a listless expression, resting his elbows on the table.
Yang Zicang swept his gaze across everyone present.
He couldn’t be sure whether Ni Hua’s organization genuinely wanted his help with the old man’s research on the crystal, or if they were trying to exploit the opportunity to obtain the confidential data on Stephen’s Blood Shells.
The astute Professor Euclid Hill cast a glance at Ni Hua. He wasn’t fully aware of Ni Hua’s specific intentions, but it was only then that he somewhat understood the significance of the contributions President Yang Buchen had made to this continent recently, which Ni Hua had shown him. Perhaps the whole point was to have him invite this President into this research meeting.
He felt a slight surge of anger. But, thinking of the assistance this organization had provided to the Golden Beryl Legacy over the years, the old engineering professor’s face betrayed no trace of any other emotion.
Nihua wore a warm smile on his face: “President Buchen, how about we share this data with you and let you take the lead in the research? “
“Hah, regarding the specific data, I’m afraid I can’t disclose it. ” Yang Zicang’s voice was steady, “But I can tell you how those data were measured. “
“Is that really true? ” Nihua’s face lit up with joy.
“But it has to wait until after doomsday, ” Yang Zicang added, “because detecting the data requires me to use my special ability. “
Buruhua’s expression visibly froze, and everyone around the round table was shocked by the unexpected answer.
Those data were actually measured by the very person in front of them!
Suddenly, a telepathic voice echoed in Yang Zicang’s mind.
{I can tell you what this thing is, but you have to give me back my bed, Cuckoo. }
-｛Distributor April·Odyssey keenly noticed my fluctuating and startled emotions.｝
Yang Zicang’s expression stiffened slightly. This damn bird… it still hadn’t given up on its bed.
{Don’t bother answering me out loud. You won’t actually give me back my bed anyway. So I’ll never tell you. }
Just then, a middle-aged man in a red shirt standing beside Yang Zicang raised his hand with a smile:
“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m just making a hypothesis. What if this crystal is not a simple energy block, but rather… hah, a special biological egg? Wouldn’t it then not seem so mysterious? “
Professor Hugh Curcier, who had been keeping his hands on both sides of the shell, showed a faint expression, which then changed abruptly.
“Ah? ” Everyone in the small conference room looked at the crystal shell in unison.
Yang Zicang, also shocked for a moment, inexplicably felt Little Cuckoo’s angry presence vanish. He turned his head to look at the man beside him, carefully sizing him up.
The smiling “middle-aged ” Mr. Wei slightly tilted his head to the other side.
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