The sound of snoring sounded slowly, Arthur looked at Maxwell who was asleep on the round table with a disgusted face, probably too tired, in a comfortable environment, he fell asleep directly, his body was still wet, I don't know if it was saliva or rain, it was dripping.

This historic round table has seen a lot, stained with blood and scarred, this may be the first time it has been soaked in saliva, Arthur can't stand it anymore, and motions for someone to take him down to rest.

The old guy was lifted up like a dead man, and from time to time he uttered meaningless dreams from his mouth.

"He's passionate about it. ”

Nikolai looked at Maxwell who was being carried down, the old guy had gray hair, the wrinkles on his face were like dead trees, he was almost old enough to be Nikolai's grandfather, but he faced the wind and rain with the young guys.

Human beings are very old, which is not something that can be explained by being old and strong, but Maxwell loves it, and loves it so much that he can even get young again at this moment.

"Yes, he was a person who had personally experienced the Dunling Project, thought he could bring about innovation, but in the end it ended miserably, he thought that this was the case in his life, but in his later years he suddenly found a turning point. ”

Arthur spoke slowly, remembering the past.

"Maxwell has been retired for a long time, and he lives in seclusion in the countryside outside the old Dunling, where you can see the clear sky and the air is fresh, and it is like heaven compared to the old Dunling. At that time, we discussed and prepared to conduct a new round of electricity experiments on the wreckage of the Dunling Project, and after some consideration, we found him.

At that time, his life was good, he planted a small vegetable garden, and he drank and had fun every day, and I was envious of it, and then I personally asked him if he would be interested in coming back to join these, in fact, I was not sure whether he would come back, after all, retirement life is so good, and Maxwell is already so old, he should spend his old age in peace. ”

But he came back. ”

Nikolai said that Maxwell had been working here since he joined the purification agency, and had mentored the new Nikolai.

"Yes, actually, I said this to Maxwell, and he didn't speak, just remained silent, I thought he refused, and left, but when I got on the train, suddenly someone knocked on the window. ”

Someone brought hot water, and Arthur drank a little to warm his body.

"It's Maxwell, this old guy is slamming the window hard and yelling at me through the glass, 'You're talking about developing electricity!'

He was excited, facing the wind, riding a horse under his crotch, chasing the train like a young man, but unfortunately there was no woman to be married on the train, but a group of soldiers with weapons in hand, and if I hadn't stopped in time, he would have been shot by the guards.

It was then that I realized that he was not rejecting me, but that because of the peaceful life, the rusty brain had just turned around, and I realized it later. He didn't look like an old fellow at all, jumped to his feet, grabbed the train, and stumbled in.

His face was glowing, and he opened his hands as if to hug me, but then, before he could say anything, he fell, he was old enough, and the fierce exercise just now almost killed him. ”

Nikolai had a complicated expression, probably not expecting the ending to be so outrageous.

"What do you think? Maxwell came in and gave me a big hug, and then without breathing, he sat down and discussed with me about the implementation? How could it be that he was old enough, and if I hadn't come to him, he would have spent his old age like a silly old man with his flowers. ”

Arthur gripped the cup with both hands, feeling the warmth as his eyes rested on the papers on the round table, sketching out one deadly weapon after another.

"He was so young just now, but now he is back to the same old man, tormented by a damn chronic disease, and he falls to the ground gasping in pain......

Nikolai, I was wondering what was holding him up, and making him young in an instant, and making him desperate to catch up...... He was still wearing a craftsman's outfit and a hammer and scissors in his pockets, and he probably chased after him without even locking the door.

I thought about it for a long time, and I found that there are many names for this thing, obsessions, ideals, beliefs, etc., there are too many, and they support us, generation after generation. ”

Arthur turned his head to look at Nikolai, who was in full spirit.

"Maxwell, I, Merlin, in fact we are all supported by this kind of thing, it is only the flesh that grows old, not the will, it is just sadly trapped in the flesh and blood that is constantly aging, like a cage. ”

"You're talking as if you're going to die next, and you're going to be entrusted with a mission before you die. Nikolai said.

"It's not enough to die, but it's a great task, you are the new generation of researchers of the Perpetual Motion Pump, Merlin, Maxwell's successor, in a few years or decades, this is the world of you young people. Arthur said.

"It's a very difficult road, and it may be the ultimate fate of every trailblazer. Arthur sighed and took a sip of the water that began to warm up.

"In fact, there were many reasons for the failure of the Dunling project, not only technical problems, but also interference from the outside world, when the steam engine had only appeared for a few decades, and the rich merchants and nobles poured all their financial resources into this steam technology, and thanks to their enthusiasm, Invig's power has been soaring.

But such a rapid advance was quickly countered. ”

"They reject new things, right?" Although he was only a scientist, Nikolai never lacked his acumen in these areas.

"Yes, Invig is fully mechanized, and the boilers of steam are burning in every city and spreading to other countries, but even now, the whole Western world is not fully mechanized, and those Vikings are still sailing on the sails. ”

Arthur explained this.

"At that time, the development of new energy was undoubtedly to reform the existing foundation, or even subvert it, and they invested so much money, some people were willing to accept it, and innovate together, some people refused, and felt that this thing was not credible, in fact, it was also true, an idea that only existed in the mind, and compared with the machinery that has begun to run now, everyone will choose the more stable ones. ”

"It's a hard road," Arthur said and laughed, "but I'm supposed to retire by then, not my worries." ”

Nikolai had no intention of joking, and there were some things he had always wanted to ask, so it was better to say them today.

"Actually...... I would love to know who came up with the Tunling Project. ”

It's a somewhat grandiose, romantic project, but at a time when steam technology is advancing at a rapid pace, some people are resolutely turning the other way around, believing it to be the wrong path and devoting themselves to the journey of forging new paths.

Nikolai wanted to know who made such a decision, and he was so long-term that even though the Dunling Project failed, it still affects it decades later.

Arthur thought back to it for a moment, remembering that he had not yet reached his current position at the beginning of the Dunling Project, and struggled to remember the name, he continued.

"A few years ago, the technical director of perpetual motion pumps, Michael Faraday. ”

Arthur suddenly remembered the strange Stuart family, looked at Nikolai again, and said with some amusement.

"This is like a legacy, when he failed, Maxwell took his place, and now the task is in your hands. ”

Nikolai didn't speak, but slowly raised his head, and above it was a glass dome, and countless rains washed over the mirrors, and there were flashes of thunder, which were brilliant in the light.

......

Lorenzo struggled to get out of bed, the damn rainy season had dimmed the already small light of the old Dunling, it was already morning, but it was as dim as sunset, and the street lights had not been extinguished, like falling stars.

Last night comforted Higg, Lorenzo cooked for this and simply made something to eat, and shared it with Higg, but she almost woke up Madame vanloude during the process, and if she saw the two of them doing this without sleep in the middle of the night, she would definitely scold.

When I walked to the table, my mind was heavy, as if I hadn't woken up.

Higg talked to him a lot, and he got to know his roommate better, and in some ways, Lorenzo even felt that Higg was worse than himself.

Lorenzo can't go back to that beautiful past, but at least the Filenzo is still there, the Basilica of Santa Naro is still there, and the Sanctuary of Stasis is there, although it is currently a base camp for potential enemies, but at least they still exist, and if Lorenzo's longing really can't be suppressed one day, he still has the opportunity to go back and take a look, although things are not human, but at least there are still those few afterimages.

But Higg was different, he could never go back, he couldn't even remember what his hometown looked like, he could only linger in the foggy old Dun Ling.

Lorenzo thought about pulling a cigarette out of the tin box, and he wondered if he should continue exploring the Memory Palace.

There are no lights in the room, it looks gray and blue, and the rain has stopped, but from time to time there will be slender rain falling, the sky is still gloomy, and the gray and black clouds seem to be thousands of crows gathered together, they are shrouded and circling, as if they are accumulating the next round of rainstorm.

The thought didn't last long, and Lorenzo slipped the cigarette back into the tin box and put it in his arms.

He didn't know what would happen when he entered the memory palace, but he could scare Hercule a lot, but fortunately, Hercule had seen the world and didn't shoot himself with a single shot.

But now that he was at 121A Cork Street, Lorenzo didn't think that Madame vanloude and Higg's mental capacity could be so good, and at least they had to find a secret and safe place to use them.

So where to go? Find Hercule, or find a sewer to get into, but with the current amount of rain in Old Dunling, it is estimated that it has turned into a torrent.

After getting dressed and hesitating for a moment, Lorenzo brought a few more weapons, a folding knife and a short-handled shotgun pinned to his waist, a cane with a sword hidden in his hand, and a gray felt hat and put it on his head.

Walked out of the room, went downstairs lightly, and without waking anyone, Lorenzo turned into the kitchen and ate whatever he wanted.

Although he didn't know where to go next, Lorenzo felt that it was better to leave the house first, but how to leave became a problem.

Shrike had warned himself before that the purification agency was watching over him, and the Protestant Order would not sit idly by, and there might be a witcher waiting for him in some corner of the street.

Lorenzo would be followed and watched as soon as he left, and he used to be able to get out of the way, but because of the continuous rain, there were a lot fewer pedestrians on the streets of Old Dunling, and Lorenzo would become very conspicuous on the streets.

He stood at the door, picked up an umbrella in his hand, and hesitated, but then there was the sound of horses' hooves, and he made a splash in the stagnant water.

Lorenzo woke up very early, at this time the city had just woken up, he had a strange feeling, it seemed that he had come to find him, and then the black shadow stopped in front of the door of 121A Cork Street, and Lorenzo's face was a little strange.

The man hurriedly stepped out of the carriage, and although he had some impressions of this place, he was a little uneasy to be disturbed by being disturbed so early, not to mention that it was Lorenzo's neurotic who was disturbed.

The girl followed him, she also looked a little awake, walking staggeringly, still clutching the black letter in her hand.

Oscar Wilde hesitated, he reached out to knock on the door, but thought about it and took it back, and looked back at Seleuc beside him.

"He's not so angry, is he?"

Oscar obviously knew a lot of things, including knowing what kind of monster Lorenzo was, and before dawn, he kicked open Stuart's door, knowing that there was at least a group of normal people living inside, and that behind this door were not normal people.

Seleu looked at him and sighed, and he didn't know if Oscar was pretending, or if he was really such a person, he couldn't be serious when facing business, and he looked like a deep sea, so that Seleuc had to mention all his caution when dealing with him, but once he left these, he became very unreliable, and judged the two of them at will.

She pushed Oscar away and strode up herself, as if she was going to kick the door open.

But just as Seleucus was about to unscrew the doorknob, the door opened by itself, she didn't react for a while, and was directly knocked open by the door, but when she was about to fall, Lorenzo helped him, and then skillfully took out the shotgun from his arms and put it on the head of the ecstatic Oscar.

"So, if you came to me so early, you didn't invite me to breakfast, did you?"

Lorenzo looked at the sneaky two and asked with a puzzled expression, but it didn't last long, and considering the ubiquitous look, Lorenzo got out of the way and motioned for the two to enter the house.