We met Dr. Wang Nuo in a makeshift office at the Science Museum, which was divided into two rooms, the inner and the second, the middle door was not closed, and I saw that inside was a bedroom.

"I'm sorry to ......", noticing the direction of my gaze, Dr. Wang Nuo explained open-mindedly, "This exhibition is an important wish of mine, and I don't feel at ease about leaving many things to be done, such as the management of exhibits and manpower, and the backstage organization...... There were so many things to worry about, so I simply moved to the museum for the time being. To be honest, I was still sorting out some material when there was a riot in the exhibition hall...... Please sit casually and don't be inhibited. ”

I took a quick look: the most distinctive feature of this temporary office was that the four walls of the room were covered with tall bookshelves filled with books, and apart from a set of desks and chairs and a split leather sofa in the middle of the room, the largest feature was a wooden escalator.

After a brief greeting, we directly explained our intentions.

"St Hemdal and his Dream Machine?" Dr. Wang Nuo pondered for a moment, pushed the escalator, then climbed the escalator and removed a brown hardcover book from the top of one of the bookshelves.

Dr. Wang Nuo handed me the book: "This is the book. If I'm not mistaken, in chapters 1 and 10 of the book, you can find texts related to Ste Hemdal. ”

It was an English book with the title "The Lost person in the revolution" written on the cover, but I was not good at English, so I handed it over to Shen Tangzhi.

Shen Tangzhi quickly found the target chapter, and she recited it:

"At the end of the second chapter there is an 'encyclopedia of people', which reads as follows: St Hemdal (1735-1805), an inventor with obsessive-compulsive disorder, was extremely stubborn, the gods of fate did not favor him, his personality was unlikable and caused his potential allies to alienate him."

"Many of his inventions were always preempted (rumor has it that he and Cartwright began inventing the power loom at the same time), and the industrialists who stole his successes paid neither him nor honored."

"He was also a terrible businessman, and his increasingly eccentric behavior made his fate even more tragic. At the end of his life, Hemdar went from depravity to madness. ”

Shen Tangzhi flipped through the pages of the book and found another chapter:

"Chapter 11, Chapter Title: "Madness for Creation." The text reads as follows: Another unfortunate mad genius inventor is Sturt Hemdal, who has achieved only a little bit in his long career as an inventor (see Chapter 2 for an overview of his career). ”

"Although Hemdal is not likeable, all who know him say that he has a clear mind. However, in his twilight he often had unrealistic fantasies. Like what. At one point, he claimed to have invented a machine that could harness the energy of dreams to make real things. ”

His peers believe that these delusional fantasies are the result of previous work habits. He claimed many times that he would dream of new inventions, design them in his dreams at night, and then wake up in the morning to make them. ”

"But most people think that these wonderful statements are made up just to create a sense of mystery, while some point out that some of his inventions show strange properties that can only be seen in dreams."

At the same time, Hemdal's insanity developed into delusions, and his body quickly weakened. On his deathbed, he began to babble to his friends and colleagues, about the wonders of the land, about the 'land of dreams' that would make his ambitions come true. He could have been a genius, but these delusions were the last thing left over from his miserable life. ”

Shen Tangzhi turned a few pages back, raised his head and said to me, "Indeed, as Dr. Wang Nuo said, there is only one record of Ste Hemdal. ”

Dr. Wang Nuo sat with us on the sofa in the center of the room, and he pulled out a cigarette case from his shirt pocket: "Do you mind if we smoke, two ladies?" ”

Shen Tangzhi and Kirishima both shook their heads.

"Tobacco isn't healthy, but it can help you think – especially for an older person like me, who sometimes has to rely on a little bit of force to concentrate."

Lighting a cigarette, Dr. Wang continued: "This book is written about the unknown inventors of the first industrial revolution, most of whom were full of dreams, but their inventions did not meet the needs of the development of the productive forces at that time, so they were in a sad situation. For example, this St Hemdal, if he had been born in our time, he would have probably become an artist. ”

In fact, Dr. Wang Nuo did not know much about Hemdal, except that he was an unknown figure in the Industrial Revolution, and that his other works had been completely forgotten except that the dream machine had left a record.

I asked, "We've all seen the model of the Dream Maker, and it's definitely the weirdest thing in all the exhibits - do you have any thoughts on that model, Doctor?" ”

"You're right, it's a weird machine, even if it's a model, it's amazing enough." Dr. Wang Nuo smiled slightly, "The detail of that model is stunning, the gears and connecting rods the size of buttons and matchsticks, each one of them is tightly seamed - you know, it was made more than two centuries ago!" ”

I pondered my words and asked, "Doctor, what do you mean...... That piece was ahead of its time? ”

Dr. Wang Nuo nodded: "In some ways, I do have this kind of suspicion. At one point, I even thought it was a prank by someone who had deliberately mixed a modern artifact into my exhibits...... As for the purpose, it may be a simple spoof, or it may be to arouse public opinion. ”

I noticed the strangeness in Dr. Wang Nuo's words: "Doctor, you just said - 'blending in'? What do you mean? ”

"Yes, this exhibit was added to the exhibition under very strange circumstances. You know, the exhibits in this exhibition are all from the collections of the Louvre Museum and the British Museum in the United Kingdom, and originally, I got a total of 118 artifacts on the list, but when the workers opened the containers, loaded and unloaded, and we counted them, they found a total of 119 artifacts - one more thing for some reason. ”

"Is that the Dream Maker model?" I say.

"That's right, neither the Chinese nor the British side is on the list. It appears to have appeared out of thin air in the loading and unloading area of the Science Museum's warehouse, alongside other packaged exhibits. That's when I raised my suspicions that the model might be a modern fake. However, the results of the British experts showed the opposite, and there was no mistake in the era when the Dream Maker model was manufactured. ”

"They thought it might have come from a gift from a private collector, presumably some eccentric—something Britons are always proud of their eccentrics. They even joked that they intended to suggest that the queen reward the giver after finding him, because it was indeed a beautiful artifact, of great value for research, and that it might even refresh our understanding of the Victorian mechanical arts. ”

"It is precisely because of such an episode that I also went to check the information about this dream machine model."

Sure enough, the so-called "dream machine" is full of mysteries, and the information obtained from Dr. Wang Nuo makes me even more convinced that a series of strange things that have happened in Jinguan City recently must be inseparable from it.

"One last request, Doctor - I hope to be able to enter the exhibit hall again later today."

"Isn't your investigation over?"

I said the rhetoric that I had already prepared: "Actually, it's protection." I'm sure you've heard that the people who are causing the riots in the exhibition hall today are neo-Luddists, with obvious extreme tendencies, and their aim is to stop the exhibition. ”

Dr. Wang Nuo nodded: "I understand." ”

"We're here to support you until that emissary named Ron is captured by the police department."

"Thank you."

Dr. Wang Nuo held out his hand to me, and I shook hands with him and said goodbye.

Walking out of the Science Museum, Shen Tangzhi asked me, "What are you going to do next?" ”

"I think I've made it all clear."

"You're going to follow the girl in your hallucination?"

"After being in the hall, I realized that if we were to break through a series of mysterious events, we might need to follow some equally mysterious instructions. At twelve o'clock in the evening, let's head back to the museum and see what we will find. ”

I continued: "When it comes to the division of labor: I'm going to find a little support; Miss Kirishima, please take those children with you then—I have a hunch that they will be able to help in this incident; As for Section Chief Shen, you ......"

When I said this, I happened to see Shen Tangzhi's gaze, and her eyes clearly conveyed the message of "If you want to leave me alone, you will die", I quickly swallowed back the word "standby" on my lips, and changed my words:

"Section Chief Shen, you are responsible for helping us get the permission to operate on the police bureau's side, and then join us on time."

The corners of Shen Tangzhi's mouth raised slightly, which meant "count you as acquaintances".

We parted in the square in front of the Science Museum and began to split up.

I made a phone call to Lao Dao for the first time, this old boy has recently taken a few money-making jobs, and his life is very nourishing, and at the same time, he is also very boring.

As soon as he heard me say that he was investigating the matter of "Mechanical Dream", Lao Dao couldn't wait: "Damn, why did you kid call Lao Tzu now?" This kind of thing, you should have called your brother and me a long time ago! ”

I told him the time and place of the meeting, and then asked, "I remember that you used to be unprofitable...... So positive now? ”

"Phew! Brotherhood is worth more than a thousand gold, you know? Besides, is Lao Tzu the kind of superficial person? ”

"You're not thinking about anything, are you? Then I'll pour cold water on you first - it is estimated that there will be no treasures to be found this time, something like Azure Jade Dew, it is not just a matter of picking it up all over the street......"

"That's right...... Uh, Aji, I suddenly remembered that there seems to be a case on my side that has not yet been resolved, and the deadline on the contract is approaching, so I have to sort out the materials in the evening......"

"!"

I hung up my phone directly.

……

At ten o'clock in the evening, the old knife still appeared with a strange smile on his face, and almost at the same time, Kirishima Xun and the three children with phobias also arrived.

The last person to arrive was Shen Tangzhi.

Shen Tangzhi parked the car, closed the door, and walked over quickly, frowning slightly: "Jiguang, when I was on the road, I dialed Dr. Wang Nuo's mobile phone, but found that it was turned off...... You say, will something happen? ”

I was about to answer, but the old knife plucked out his ears and said first: "I've been waiting for you for a long time, Section Chief Shen, you've arrived at the door of the museum, what else is there to discuss, just go in and have a look?" ”

As we approached the museum, we felt something was wrong: the door was closed, but the side door opened with a push, and the guardhouse next to the door was pitch black, and the keyhole was pried open.

The old knife himself is a master of picking locks, and he only used a flashlight to shine at the keyhole and already came to a conclusion.

The guardhouse was empty.

I said, "Looks like someone got ahead of the game, probably our old friend......

Shen Tangzhi immediately understood: "Those Ludd elements? ”

I nodded: "I got into it with Lao Dao to find out the situation, Section Chief Shen, you and Miss Kirishima will hide here with the children, and wait until we finish taking care of those guys." ”

I shone the three children with a flashlight, Shen Xiaoke was a little scared, Du Min still looked like "the world has nothing to do with me", and Xu Liang said stiffly: "We will protect ourselves." ”

Kirishima had a different opinion: "Mr. Yoshimitsu, why don't you let me act with you?" In case something happens, I can help. ”

"Yes, that's why I left you to protect Section Chief Shen and them."

"Shen Chan, she's actually—ouch!"

Halfway through her speech, Kirishima suddenly exhaled in pain, and Shen Tangzhi held one of her arms: "Be careful, look at you, I almost twisted my foot." ”

Kirishima said, "Ah, yes, yes, I almost sprained it." ”

Lao Dao and I glanced at each other, and both felt that these two were a little strange.

Shen Tangzhi glared slightly, and urged: "Why are you two still standing stupidly?" Action! ”

"Then be careful."

"Well, it's pretty good."

Now that there were signs of trespassing, Knife and I were ready for violence, we both turned off our flashlights, Knife held his pistol in his hand, and I pulled out a slinger stick, which was still the trophy of the brief battle that was fought by Kirishima during the day.

I've been to the Science Museum during the day, so I know at least the first floor of the building.

Although the lights in the museum are turned off, there are exit lights installed on the walls around the museum every 30 meters or so, and the faint green light keeps us from falling into complete darkness.

So, even though there was no flashlight, it didn't have much impact on me and Lao Dao.

I concluded that the gangsters must have been targeting the artifacts in the exhibit hall, and most likely, Ron was also looking for the Dream Maker model, and I had to stop him before he could get his hands on it.

However, on the floor of the museum's main hall, we found seven people who had been knocked unconscious and tied up into rice dumplings, including five security guards, as well as Dr. Wang Nuo and one of his female assistants.