The warehouse is at the back entrance of Xiyuan, behind Changchun Palace. Inside, there were layers upon layers of boxes on the shelves, with seals affixed to each box. One of the boxes has been opened and placed next to the door, with the writing clock inside.
The silver writing clock has Roman style, classic simplicity and coordination. There is no extra decoration, it is just a bell with a brass casing. But the cleverness lies elsewhere - the clock is extremely large and the movement inside is quite "full". The writing doll has no fancy decorations, and every joint is accurately reproduced.
"This clock was given to me by Rome when I was a child. Although it looks very ordinary, it can write as long as it is wound up."
"It seems like many clocks can write? I remember I repaired one myself in Yangzhou. Is there anything special about this one?"
"This one can write twenty-five characters."
"Huh?" He remembered that the one he had cultivated was already very expensive for being able to write four characters.
"Yes, twenty-five. It's the classic copybook: 'Sir, Qiu Yiji, transformed into three thousand, seventy scholars, you are a small student, eight or nine sons, good works of benevolence, you can know etiquette.'. Twenty-five The words are all written on square-sized pieces of paper, and every word is written clearly. Moreover, the writing style is relaxed, rigorous and fair. You can learn how to write these words by observing the trend of the writing style. So this is a movable, A copybook for teaching. I was still young at the time, so this was a gift to encourage me to study hard."
"Good guy, why are you leaving it here all the time?"
"Well, it's because my mother said that the little man above was a bit scary. I also thought it was strange at the time. This little man obviously didn't even have any facial features, but it did have a spooky feeling, and he was really good at writing. I After playing it once, I put it in the warehouse. I kept the key with me, but I couldn’t find it.”
"Can I have one?"
"Just take it away and then think about it yourself."
He reached out and took out the clock and put it in the handbag in the corner. The national gift from Rome was packed like a snack box.
"Ah, can I just take it away?" Upon hearing that this thing can write 25 words, Shangluo's long-term training was mobilized - he didn't dare to hold this thing with his bare hands, who knows if it will A part might get knocked off somewhere and get damaged. It would be easier if you knew where to repair it, but most of the time you have no way of knowing, so you can only take it apart and check it slowly, which is a nightmare experience.
"It doesn't matter. Although it is a national gift, it is still drying here. It is better to send it to a useful place. And Victoria knows you very well, right? She won't mind."
"I don't seem to know her very well."
"Hey, once we see each other, we will become familiar again. Come on." He pushed Shangluo's shoulders and coaxed him out. "If you really can't help it, you can go directly to Victoria."
Shangluo stood uneasily on the subway with the national gift in his handbag. He held the entire clock in his hands and leaned against the corner of the carriage with his legs rooted as if in a squatting position, fearing that it would be damaged by the people next to him.
Holding the clock in his arms, he walked all the way to the Golden Arch Restaurant at the entrance of the training institute, where Phaethon worked on Sunday afternoons.
"What?" she asked as she wiped the table with a rag.
"Look at this." He opened the bag and took out a corner.
"This is...fuck" Phaethon cried out, "Omega Core! Why are you holding it in your hand! Didn't Apollonia tell you what this is?"
[What is this? I didn’t do it. I haven't used it yet. 】
Shangluo relayed Apollonia's answer.
"Okay. Let me tell you, manager, wait a minute! An acquaintance here is ordering food. I'll go back to work right away!" She ran back to the inner room to put the rag back, washed her hands and sat in front of Shangluo, "Put it on the table. Let me see."
Shangluo held it and slowly placed it on the table.
Phaethon didn't check anything else, but first checked the little man above.
"That's right, that's it. This is a... a rather terrifying and powerful creation. Because this Vulcan core is a special type, the 'Omega Core', or the ultimate core. The letter Omega represents the end point. .Because its material is fine gold. That is divine chromium.”
"How did you tell?"
"Because this little clockwork man has no finishing touch. This is very important because it represents a limitation on the machine itself, which prevents it from displaying all the functions of a human being. Because the fine gold movement can ignore extreme conditions such as temperature. Most of the rules of physics, once fully operational, there is nothing that can stop it. Is this a gift from Rome to the Emperor of Cathay? This is indeed a very precious gift. Rome now only uses such a small one on its capital ships One, they were giving a battleship to the emperor who was still a child at the time. How about it? Do you want to try it? Take the key and have a look, I also want to try it myself. "
"Ah, the key is gone. Wait for me to get a new one when I go back."
"Huh???" Phaethon was stunned. "The key is not there? Why is it not there???"
"Because the emperor was still young at the time, he thought the key was more interesting than the clock, so he kept the key with him. He told me before that he planned to look for it, but he didn't seem to find it."
"It's over, this thing is useless."
"Is the key necessary?"
"Yes." Phaethon nodded, "Not just Omega-level movements, all Vulcan cores will be equipped with a key when used to wind up - the Vulcan core can indeed wind up on its own. Operation, but the matching clockwork is a self-locking mechanism designated by the Palace of Muses. All Vulcan cores, even if they have unlimited abilities, must be wound up, without any exception. And each clockwork and each The keys are paired one by one, and only the owner of the core can hold it. The owner can decide how long it will run this time - just wind it for as long as it takes. Not too much, not too little, just right."
"Is this to prevent rebellion?"
"Yes. The Muse Palace is far more cautious than Columbia. Although this is very troublesome. It can be wound for up to twenty-four hours at a time, and the larger the machine, the more troublesome it is to wind it. But this is a technological ethics. Self-locking design: Any Vulcan core cannot operate without its owner and must be wound up. No matter how powerful it is, if it is not wound up for one day, it will completely lose the qualification to run. This is an underlying design that cannot be changed. Part 1 The clockwork keys are matched one by one, and if they are lost, they are gone.”
"Ah, what should I do?"
"Go to the Palace of Muses in Alexandria. Only the Palace of Muses, which made this rule, provides lock-picking services, because there is an original key there, which can be used as a universal key to wind up all Vulcan cores, and can also derive new keys. . But the locksmith service is very expensive. Just look at your wallet. It costs a huge sum of 2,000 drachmas."
I'm going to take a little rest for the first update on Friday, and there will be the third update tomorrow.
(End of chapter)
