The bitterly cold winter had finally left the Northern Kingdoms. The Month of Resuscitation had descended upon this land with a nationwide rainfall.
Cecil was like a never-ending industrial machine. The cold winter could not stop it from running, and the relatively warm spring was like a lubricating grease, allowing this huge machine to quickly recover its vitality. Day by day, it burst forth with surging power and quickly returned to full power.
On the north bank of the Whitewater River, in the northern development zone of Cecil, a chilly river breeze blew across the wet ground. Then, layers of wave-like shimmer surged on the surface, and the originally solid ground seemed to melt and soften in an instant.
A large black-painted engineering vehicle let out a low hum. The mechanical structure at the front of the vehicle raised two parallel long metal rails. The runes on the long rails inlaid with magic-conducting metals were flashing. The complex mechanical structure adjusted the position of the rune trigger, allowing the long rails to maintain a constant magical effect and continue to illuminate the softening ground in front of the vehicle.
A surveyor holding a special magic terminal was checking the data by the side. The light in front of the magic terminal swept across the ground that was being transformed by the Stone to Mud spell.
"Conversion rate 0.8, reaching the predetermined depth — lower pile!"
The lifting equipment rumbled. The reinforced concrete pillars that were prepared in advance and covered with runes at the bottom were hoisted to the predetermined position and were steadily immersed in the fluidized ground. As the predetermined line was completely submerged, the surveyor sent a signal to the mechanic operator operating the crane. The mechanic operator in charge of operating the black engineering vehicle casually turned on the on-board communicator at hand and reported loudly, "We're here.
"Car No. 1, prepare to reverse polarity, clear the surrounding area!" "The surrounding area is safe, car No. 1 can reverse polarity!"
The mechanical interlock made a clicking sound, and the rune combination was switched at the same time. In the low hum, the surface of the "radiation rail" glowed and the ground began to slowly harden.
The wind blew across the high platform beside the construction site. Grand Architect Gordon looked away from the blueprint in his hand and looked at the busy construction machinery and the workers not far away. There was a hint of emotion in his voice. "This is the first pillar this spring … It's going down very smoothly. I hope this is a good sign."
"'Omen' is a meaningless word." The silver-white metal ball floating beside Gordon emitted a metallic sound. "Some isolated events that don't have a logical connection can't predict the future. I prefer accurate mathematics and machines — at least they don't have so many variables. "
"I also like accurate numbers and machines. The former can make the drawings more useful, while the latter can speed up the progress of the project." Gordon smiled and looked at the master craftsman beside him. "Mr. Nicholas, I'm actually very curious. What is this facility for? To think that a 'great craftsman' like you would need to personally adjust the equipment … Of course, if it involves a confidentiality agreement, then I won't ask. "
"I can tell you the name. This is the future Imperial Computing Center. Of course, its name has not been decided yet." Nicholas Egg, the Imperial Master Craftsman, bobbed his body up and down slightly. A proud voice came from his round body. "It's full of high-precision things. Although theoretically, my mechanical scholars can also do it, His Majesty still asked me to assemble the core area myself. This is for the sake of safety."
"Computing center?" Gordon furrowed his brows. "Research mathematics? That's a strange name. "
"Sooner or later, you will know what it is for, Mr. Gordon," Nicholas Egg said. At the same time, he slowly raised his body. The silver-white metal ball floated high in the air, and the smiling face that had always been cheerful slowly rotated. On his smooth metal surface, the scene of the entire development zone was reflected near and far.
Large areas of construction sites were under construction, groups of rumbling machines, and busy workers were walking between the areas. The people of Cecil were embracing the spring when everything was revived.
…
A low buzzing sound came from the room on the upper floor of the Pivotal Tower. The high-power magic crystal antenna slowly rotated outside the window. The tip of one of the mechanical arms swept in the direction of Cecil City.
The crystal glass blocked the cold wind, and the heater in the tower was running at the lowest power. Wearing a light linen shirt, the tower keeper stirred the hot coffee in his cup as he came to the window.
A flock of birds flew past the tower, leaving a series of chirps in the clear sky. They went far away from the powerful magic net Pivotal Tower and did not leave anything annoying on the head of the sophisticated facility.
The tower keeper nodded with satisfaction. The new device applied last year had produced satisfactory results. It turned out that the smart people in the research institute and the Design Bureau had more ideas than an ordinary person like him. With the lowest level of "Animal Intimidation," the flock of birds could stay away from the tower. The energy consumption was lower than the shield, and there was no need to worry about the extra weight of the shield.
There was no need to clean up the pile of bird droppings under the antenna shaft, and there was no need to pick up the poor birds that died in the crystal array every now and then.
Grelin stood in front of the observation window and took a sip of the hot coffee. He then turned back to his workbench and was ready to check the operation of the Pivotal Tower as usual.
The printing device connected to the magic net terminal had spat out a long sheet of paper. On it were records of information that required special attention. Not all information was printed. Only specially marked information, failure receipts of key nodes, and orders from the central hub to the various tower keepers were automatically printed to prevent any omissions.
Of course, as the tower keeper of the Louen Hub, Grelin also had some "special treatment". He could not only watch the clear magic net radio program here, but also "receive" the latest Cecil Weekly and two other kinds of newspapers for entertainment through the printing device connected to the magic net terminal.
For people who liked to read, newspapers were a better pastime than radio programs.
All these did not exist from the beginning but were things that were perfected little by little after the Pivotal Tower was built. In the foreseeable future, they would continue to be perfected.
Grelin sat down at the workbench, pulled the paper hook of the printer, and took out the long sheet of paper from the machine. He then carefully cut it according to the content. He picked out a few newspapers, folded them neatly, and put them aside. The newspapers were public property of the tower keepers. He did not want them to be stained before his colleagues came to change shifts.
Holding back the idea of reading the newspapers first, Grelin first carefully checked the reports of the various nodes and confirmed the real-time status of the equipment. He then picked up the newspaper that he put aside and casually flipped through it.
"Winter Is Over, Spring Production Begins in the Imperial Provinces. Cecil Will Embrace This Spring."
"It's already started. I don't know if the factories in the city will hire temporary workers this spring. Storm is old enough. I should write a letter to my family and ask him to be an apprentice in the factory. Maybe he can learn some skills. It's still difficult to send five children to school at the same time. Although the city has reduced the tuition fee, it's still five mouths to feed.
With all kinds of thoughts running through his mind, the lighthouse keeper slowly took a piece of paper from the side, picked up a pen, and began to write a letter to his wife in the city.
As a scribe, he was more used to the touch of the pen tip on the paper. It was more reliable than the "alphabet palette" of the magic network terminal.
But when he wrote the name of his child, he suddenly hesitated.
Storm was the oldest child in the family. He was old enough to work in the factory. But he had always been interested in mathematics, and now he liked runes. The teacher in the night school had always said that he was very talented as a runemaster. But that was beyond the scope of the generic school. He had to go to a specialized school for further study.
The other children were still young and were at a good age to learn things. They should all go to school. But … Storm really liked mathematics and runes.
Unknowingly, Grimm's pen slowly stopped.
He had been the tower keeper for two years. He had watched the changes in the Louen area and read the news from all over the country. He had forwarded the latest mobilization order from the government office and the latest news.
Ansu 738, on the first day of the month of harvest in the first year of the empire, the real-time video and broadcast announcement of Emperor Gwen's coronation were transmitted to the entire southern territory from the Louen hub. He and his colleagues had witnessed the moment when the country was reborn in the flames of war.
Therefore, he saw more and understood more than others. He knew how important it was to go to school in this era, and he also knew that the real modern knowledge could only be learned in school. He could not teach his children advanced mathematics and mechanical principles like his father taught him how to read.
He also knew that Emperor Gawain Cecil had always been working hard to rid every commoner of ignorance, working hard to give all children the opportunity to go to school. He had even established a large number of free schools for this purpose, so that every family in the Southern Territory could have at least one child to go to school for free, with free board and lodging.
But he had five children.
The relatively generous salary of the tower keeper was a little tight in front of five children, especially when he wanted to send all five of them to school.
Unknowingly, the tip of the fountain pen had landed on the paper, but because it did not move for a long time, a patch of black ink had seeped out. When Gerrin noticed this, a few letters had already been tainted by the ink and could not be seen clearly.
He sighed. Just as he was about to rewrite, the printer beside him suddenly started to turn and spit out a short paragraph of new content.
Grelin immediately put down the pen and paper, pulled the printer's paper hook, and removed the message that had just been delivered. Then, he carefully read the content.
He first saw the sword and plough emblem at the top of the page, and the words "Louen City" behind the emblem. He realized that this was a notice from the city hall. Then, he was surprised to see his name in the notice.
To the Louen Hub Tower Keeper, Grelin:
According to the city hall's evaluation, the "Hub Tower Improvement Proposal" you submitted in Ansu's Month of Fire 737 is of great value and has contributed to the subsequent improvement plans. According to the "Regulations on Special Contributions and Rewards of City Hall Employees," a reward of 125 gold pounds will be issued together with this month's salary. This notice is hereby given.
Note: Due to the adjustment of the statistics department's functions and the restructuring of the Imperial City Hall's system, the reward has been delayed until today.
Have a good day.
— Cecil, City Hall, Year 2, Month of Recovery 2nd.
Gren read the content on the paper again, and then read it again.
125 gold pounds. That was a huge sum of money.
He had a puzzled expression on his face before realization dawned on him. Finally, he smiled in hindsight, stood up happily, and paced around his work room.
He picked up the coffee on the table — it was completely cold — and downed it in one gulp. Then, he picked up the notice and read it again before sitting back down in his chair.
After picking up a new piece of paper, he took a deep breath and wrote smoothly on it.
"My dear Sarah, I have a bonus.
"I want to send the children to school. They're all of school age …
"Tell Storm the good news. He can now study runes or real magical engineering. He can even go to the Imperial Academy if he can pass the exam there. I heard they have the best … "
After signing off and carefully checking every letter, Grelin nodded and placed the letter on the metal platform next to the magic terminal.
There was no need for a postman or delivery. Ordinary letters could be handed directly to the Magic Net, and soon, a copy of the letter would appear in the public Magic Net Center in Louen City. If everything went well, it would be delivered to his wife within a few hours.
After doing all of this, Grelin let out a long sigh and went to the window.
In the distant wilderness, a machine was driving towards the farmland. After the spring rain, the land seemed to be turning green soon.
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