In the continent of Talrond, in the dragon city of Argondol, in the magnificent palace where the Jury is located, the blue dragon Melita?? Pernia and Noretta the White Dragon walked through the extraordinarily spacious palace corridor towards the room where the Supreme Speaker of the Council was located.

The magnificent ancient palace towers over the land for thousands of years, and inside the palace is a familiar sight that Melita has seen since she was a child, and she sees the solemn golden columns supporting the intricate arch beams, the arches are staggered to form a structure like some kind of giant skeleton, the dome made of gray crystal is covered with the arches, and each roof is carved with intricate patterns, depicting memorable moments in the history of the dragons, and on both sides of the corridor, crystal translucent synthetic materials hang down the columns, Dots of light emerge in those crystal films, waiting for visitors to read and interact with them.

Probably due to the influence of the sacred rituals, there were few visitors in the palace of the Council, and there were only three or five staff members walking around in the huge corridors except for Melita, and there were more automatic service machines than people, and these "iron servants" with pale gold or light blue shells flew around, silently passing through the doors and columns along the energy lines on the floor, maintaining the complex and ancient technical facilities of the palace, or carrying out other orders from the "Omega", as if they were never idle.

Intricate, exquisite, solemn to the point of palpitation, advanced to the point of incredible.

Beneath this exquisite shell, however, is a quagmire of technology that has sunk.

Melita raised her head, looking at the complicated patterns on the dome and the energy pipelines hidden between the patterns, and couldn't help but mutter: "The biggest upgrade is just a change of patterns." ”

Technology goes to the limit, a wall is blocked in front of all researchers, all the knowledge and tools at hand can not shake this wall, so society comes to a standstill, civilization enters a bottleneck, no new theory is developed, no new principles are discovered, all scientific and technological progress is tinkering with existing technological products, and even tinkering in the end is difficult to achieve - they have reached the limit of civilization level in terms of technology and operating principles, and have reached the "perfect" state of the current technical level. Changing another screw is regression and destruction, so the only thing left that can be developed is art and aesthetics, and what the dragons can do is only to use patterns, reliefs, decorations and complex and exquisite shapes to reflect the renewal of products.

Eventually, the dragons, who once favored a rugged and pragmatic style, built these magnificent temples in their realm, which continues to this day.

The white dragon Noretta shook her head, with a faint and helpless smile on her face: "Sinking era, isn't it?" ”

"The outside world changes quickly, and the feeling of exuberance fascinates dragons," Melita whispered, "Almost every day there are people who rejoice in new things, and every day there are people who have to face new changes, whether they are good or bad, and change is always their theme." ”

"Before touching the fence, the sheep always thought that the yard was vast and boundless, and that you hadn't seen enough of the so-called new things and changes in the past season after season of civilization?"

Melita raised an eyebrow and glanced at her friend, "Norretta, I'm a young dragon, and my curiosity hasn't been satisfied." ”

Noretta, the white dragon, chuckled, "Probably—I hope that something that interests you will be of interest to the Supreme Speaker, but he's an old dragon whose curiosity has long since faded." ”

At the end of the hallway, the ornate alloy door sensed the approaching visitor, and the access control system immediately read the identity data of the two humanoid dragons, and with a pleasant sound, a series of beautiful streamers flowed through the door, and the entrance to the speaker's room opened.

In a large circular hall, a pale golden platform is placed in the center of the room, and a large number of crystal clear "crystal curtains" hang from the platform, and its surface is constantly refreshed with massive data and patterns, and on the platform, a huge golden dragon like a human house is quietly lying prone on a "throne" made of countless cables, pipes and fabrics.

Even by the standards of a dragon, he was quite old, his once beautiful scales tarnished, covering his massive body like inferior pieces of copper, with a large number of joints and metal cladding near his spine, connected to the cables that hung from the ceiling, traces of mechanical and biochemical transformation all over the surface of his old body, a bionic skin beneath the skin that flickered with light, and a cold, hard alloy skeleton attached to the claws.

Melita walked towards the semi-mechanized dragon elder and bent down in front of the platform, "Salute you, Speaker Andal. ”

The old golden dragon lowered its head, a mechanical prosthetic eye embedded in the skull retracted and adjusted its focus, but the eye of another slightly cloudy creature still shone with wisdom and warmth, and a gentle voice came from the surrounding talker: "Ah, Melita...... The best agent of the Mithril Vault, good boy, do you want to revoke the bonus penalty imposed on you? ”

Melita's eyes lit up: "Is it okay?!" ”

"No, you can't."

“……”

After a short and awkward silence, Melita returned to her normal state and took out the things that had allowed her to return to Tallund early this time: "Your Excellency, I have received a special commission, I hope you can see it for yourself, and I also have some reports on the recent changes in the Loren continent. ”

"Consignment? It's rare to see a request that can be delivered directly to me...... From the Elven Court, or some Elemental Lord? ”

"Gawain?? Cecil. ”

“…… Uh-huh," Speaker Andal was silent for a moment, and let out a chuckle, and the stack of manuscripts in Melita's hand floated into the air, spreading out one by one before the Speaker's eyes, "...... Hopefully this time it's not something to keep forever...... Oh? The content seems to be interesting. ”

The Speaker had scanned and read all of the manuscript's contents almost instantly, several connecting terminals near his spine flickering, and an auxiliary thinking unit near his skull had awakened, apparently intrigued, albeit slightly, by the contents of the manuscript.

"It includes the understanding of the productive forces and the relations of production, as well as the deduction of social change...... It's not very esoteric, but you say this is that Gawain?? What did Cecil sum up in the current era? ”

Melita bowed her head: "It should also include his experience during the time of the Gondor Empire. ”

"Hah...... The structure of the productive forces of the Gondor Empire is deformed, and their social system cannot produce such experience," Speaker Andal chuckled, his mechanical eyes flashing a faint red, "I'm a little interested, Gawain??" What did Cecil want the Treasury to do with this manuscript? ”

"That's exactly what I'm going to report......" Melita said, looking up and smiling.

Her report was very detailed, not only including Gao Wen?? Cecil's commission also includes her own observations and evaluations of the "pioneer hero", and finally, she mentions the current development of Cecil's empire and the continuation of that ancient plan of disobedience in the current era.

“…… To sum up, I think Gawain?? Cecil and the order he created may be a valuable variable, and we should pay more attention to it and raise the level of contact if necessary. ”

Speaker Andal was silent for a few seconds, his auxiliary thinking unit running at high speed, and exchanging a series of data with "Omega" that no one else could know, before finally speaking: "The current level of contact is high enough, there is no need to improve it for the time being, but what you call 'variable'...... There is indeed some value. ”

"That ......"

"But he's not necessarily the only variable, kid," Speaker Andal's voice continued, "There are reports from other agents that the human Typhon Empire is also undergoing massive changes, technological and cultural breakthroughs are underway, and the Elven Silver Empire is gradually 'thawing' and trying to start anew, although they are also stuck in a similar technological quagmire as ours, they are not 'locked' after all, and there is a possibility of breaking the seal." In addition, the Violet Kingdom, the Dwarven Royal Court, and the Gaoling Kingdom all have signs of social change or technological breakthroughs...... These can be used as variables. ”

Melita blinked, thought for a moment, and nodded, "...... I'm a little too focused on the Cecil Empire. ”

"This is your area of responsibility, and it is only natural to pay more attention, and ......" Speaker Andal's voice paused slightly, as if to consider the words, "Gawain?? Cecil's variable is indeed a little different, who guided him on that voyage, we have not yet investigated clearly, and the mystery hidden in this human body makes me quite curious. ”

"On this note, it seems that Gawain?? "Cecil himself did not know," said Melita, "I have spoken to him many times, and his memory of that secret voyage seems to have been erased by some factor, including all memories of it before and after the voyage, and all the people who had acted with him in those years had not left the slightest clue, not even who was with him. ”

"Hide from the eyes of the Mithril Treasure Vault, there are not too many 'people' in the world who can do it......" The old golden dragon's voice was low, calm and powerful, "Keep and Gawain?? Cecil's contact, this commission, the Mithril Treasury accepted. ”

Melita saluted respectfully, "Yes." ”

A part of the room flickered, a secret door in the corner of the room opened, and a robot servant flew out of it, taking the manuscripts that had been rearranged, and Speaker Andal nodded to Melita, "Melita, is there anything else?" ”

Melita was ready to leave, but she hesitated and stopped, and under the gaze of the old speaker's mechanical prosthetic eye, she finally couldn't help but speak: "Your Excellency the speaker, I met a genetically defective dragon in the Loren continent......"

"Oh? Have you gone to the Principality of the Holy Dragon? ”

"No, it's in Ansu - of course it's the Cecil Empire now," Melita exhaled, her words smoothing again, "It's a black dragon, her wings are halfway developed, but she has stopped developing due to genetic defects, and her body is also deformed to a certain extent, she left the Holy Dragon Duchy for some reason, and chose to live in human society, and it seems that she has lived for many years......"

Speaker Andal's gentle voice interrupted Melita's narration: "And then? ”

"Your Excellency, the black dragon is normal except for the deformity of her body, she has a sound mind, and her human form is very healthy enough to do all the work that does not require flying, so I am curious......"

The white dragon Noretta, who had never made a sound on the side, couldn't help but remind softly: "Melita, you have asked this topic before......"

However, Melita didn't seem to hear her friend's reminder, and still asked persistently, "I'm curious about the reason why the genetically defective people are banished, is it just because they were born with deformities?" The Holy Dragon Principality has been exiled for so many years in the coldest northern part of the Loren Continent, isn't there a time limit? ”

“…… The Dragon Empire never required the exiles to build a nest in the iceberg, the Senate only let them leave Talrond and settle in the northern tip of the Loren continent was their own decision, and as for the reason for the exile...... Genetic contamination is sufficient. ”

Melita tilted her head and stared at the majestic and aging ancient dragon, who had only a blank slate.

It took a full two minutes for Melita to look away from the mechanical prosthetic eye, and she lowered her head, "I see, Your Excellency. ”

Speaker Andal looked at the young junior in front of him, and the many devices connected to him in the room made a pleasant low sound, and his voice came from the talker: "Melita, you are young and vigorous, this is a very valuable quality in the dragons, I don't mind you asking some reckless questions because of this, but I hope that you will keep this curiosity alive for a long time, and may it stay with you for the rest of your life - but there are some things that you are destined to change now, and you should not know about them, I hope you can understand this." ”

Melita replied respectfully and sincerely: "Yes, Your Excellency the Speaker, I understand. ”

"Go back, rest, and then make some preparations for the Audience ceremony, God will dispel your weariness and pain, and when you are fully refreshed, return to your post."

"Yes, Your Excellency."