Chapter 266: Having Seen The Future
Eating a bowl of Duck Blood Vermicelli doesn’t count as stooping to associate with the wise. Rather, it’s understanding the sufferings of the common people.
The dishes of the “coolies,” like chicken and duck scraps, are all scraps from industrial production. The meat inside is very chewy. It’s the result of soaking in caustic soda. Of course, monosodium glutamate and salt were also added for marination.
As the attendant introduced the prosperous life of Jianye City to Xuan Chong, Xuan Chong’s gaze was fixed on the endless residential areas of the laborers on both riverbanks, the red brick buildings densely packed and continuous!
Xuan Chong silently recited in his heart: A red brick civilian building complex of this scale means the number of brick kilns is beyond imagination; and the number of brick kilns, in turn, can determine the scale of the steel mill.
In Dongtu, the common people believe that Jiangnan’s prosperity comes from the abundance of steam engines. Actually not so; the steam engine is indeed a productivity multiplier, capable of increasing basic productivity by twenty times; but its threshold is: it must organize the manpower scale of ten times the traditional family to operate the steam engine.
When promoting industry, people are actually a kind of resources too! A hundred years ago, the Industrial Revolution was just emerging, and the traditional old government office’s management limit for Jianye was around a few hundred thousand households; beyond this limit, it was hard to manage.
Up to now, border areas like the northwest of Xian Han and Dongtu still continue the old-style management.
And when the telegraph appeared, driven by steam engines, cotton cloth and printing presses began to fully control downward economically and ideologically; a great change unseen for a thousand years appeared. In Jianye’s latest census, the registered population directly broke through ten million.
Industrial progress has completely crushed the farming civilization over the nomadic peoples, and at the same time, the strength of the southern provinces has thoroughly surpassed the north!
Xuan Chong opened the newspaper on the ship; it was an old newspaper from a month ago, filled with all sorts of outrageous statements. Just flipping through it a bit, it would be enough for a major literary inquisition case even in the Qing court.
On it, a certain scholar from Jianye proclaimed this: “For thousands of years in China, the capital’s location has changed repeatedly. First Chang’an, then Luoyang, then Yanjing and Jiankang. Corresponding respectively to Guanzhong Plain, southern Yellow River area, northern Yellow River area, Jiangnan. The emperor’s aura has shifted to the southeast; this is Heaven’s Mandate!”
Xuan Chong paused, glanced at the name of this newspaper that knew how to stir things up, oh, it’s called Jiangnan Province News.
This Jiangnan Province was the staffing quota determined by Taizu during the founding period, divided into Jiangnan Left Route and Right Route; but in the end, with the imperial lineage shifting and the capital moving to Yanjing, it was no longer recognized. This province was divided into three provinces, with Songjiang Prefecture even split off.
Such a newspaper openly mocking the northern capital has been running for ten years.
…Its intentions are obvious…
The ship headed north, entered the river, and reached the prosperous center. On the river surface, there were ten-thousand-ton cargo ships sailing, and at the docks of passing cities, there were even black steam-powered cranes loading and unloading goods.
All of this seemed at least forty years more advanced than that place in Dongtu.
These forty years here were calculated by Xuan Chong based on the industrial development of his previous life.
According to this era’s economic model, it might be more than seventy or eighty years. And for other places to catch up to the Jiangnan region, unless a major catastrophe occurs, causing a large population exodus. Otherwise, Jiangnan will forever be number one in the East Asia region.
Currently under the universe, only the Europe Rhine River and Seine River basins have the potential to compete with Jiangnan. The European northwest plains have population and water networks, with rivers running north-south, not competing economically with east-west railways; railways have good economic benefits, making this a top heaven-sent place for industrial development.
The facts are indeed so; Europe is now already the center of half the western world.
Of course, Europe has a fatal flaw there: that island nation to the west is too close, posing a military threat to the Seine River basin, and the Rhine River area has cultural conflicts with the Seine River area, making this prime industrial development spot in Western Europe equivalent to the north-south split in the Three Kingdoms period.
All military analysis experts in Xian Han believe: The military conflict risk contained in Europe’s elite zones, though superficially covered by various peace treaties, but “peace treaties” in Xian Han terms are just a piece of paper. The two countries each maintain hundreds of thousands of native corps, guarding the “contracts.”
Whereas in the Jiangnan region, whether the northern Central Plains or the southern Lingyue area, all is peaceful.
Although Xian Han has all sorts of contradictions internally, there is absolutely no risk of war.
Just as Xuan Chong was sighing with emotion over the abundance of manpower in Jiangnan. At the Jiangyin dock, over a thousand workers were laboring in the scorching summer sun.
The conveyor belt kept rolling, continuously transporting goods, but occasionally there were instabilities on the conveyor belt, requiring workers to use shovels to divert the goods.
Xuan Chong fell silent; this work was really hard-earned.
Compared to the series of ports in the north, this port’s transportation is semi-automated, with conveyor belts and containers, seemingly saving manpower, but not for the laborers, rather saving expenditure for the merchants and gentry.
As the “manpower required per unit cargo volume” decreases, the “port throughput per unit time” increases synchronously.
So the workload for workers at dock posts hasn’t actually decreased. On the contrary, because their hands and feet have to keep up with the conveyor belt, it’s mentally more tense.
In the blazing sun, someone collapsed, and was quickly dragged to the side; but the heatstroke victim wasn’t dragged to a pavilion, but sent to the riverbank and doused with a bucket of cold water.
Xuan Chong frowned, thinking to himself: “For heatstroke, one shouldn’t stimulate with such cold; should recover slowly under the shade of trees.”
However, just as he thought this, Xuan Chong heard through the sound-transmitting threads the inhuman scolding from the watering supervisor: “You wretch, don’t play dead! Awake yet? You missed work, today’s wages don’t count for you; if you miss once more this month, then get out! Someone else will do it if you don’t!”
Hearing this, Xuan Chong reflexively exhaled, sitting at the boat head, couldn’t help pointing at the dock 1200 meters away, stammering: “This, this?”
However, seeing that worker beg for mercy and guarantee: “Just now I accidentally fainted, it won’t happen next time.”
Xuan Chong gritted his teeth, beginning to understand the bitterness of this era. —Xian Han inherited thousands of years of development, with a complete governance system, making the hot-blooded Han men on this land hold their breath and bend their waists to bear the heavy load.
But Xuan Chong couldn’t hold this breath; that supervisor was preparing to return to his own ice block room, but bypassing a container, suddenly a force from the container sucked him in, the container then sealed shut, baking under the fierce sun, the temperature inside like an oven.
Half an hour later, after this guy fainted, when the ship docked, Xuan Chong opened the container; five minutes later, this heatstroke supervisor was discovered. Nearby workers carried him out.
However, after doing it, Xuan Chong somewhat regretted, because he shouldn’t abuse his ability. In this current position, does he have no responsibility?
…I reflect on myself three times a day…
Inside Jianye City, on wide roads, trolleybuses traveled along the main road artery. That is, a bus with an antenna on top connecting to the circuit.
Xuan Chong looked carefully at this. This thing is a rarity; in his previous life, it only existed in big cities like Nanjing and Shanghai. Not that it represents any trendy technology, but precisely after internal combustion engine vehicles matured later, this thing became useless. Only those cities that were already developed in the Republic era preserved such early Industrial Age relics.
In Dongtu City, freight is still gas trucks, and for travel, people use either bicycles or rickshaws.
Just as Xuan Chong was about to look for the bus stop, he was pulled back by Liu Yuanling; soon, a convoy of sixteen black sedans stopped and picked him up.
Along the way, green belts flashed by quickly; through the glass, Xuan Chong scanned the city with torque, at least in this area where he was, the city had no skyscrapers, but its appearance was already very modern.
Quite like the Nanjing and Shanghai in Republic-era dramas.
…However, next came shuttling from modern times to the future…
Soon the convoy turned into an underground tunnel. As they went along, it deviated from the main tunnel. After going five kilometers deep into what seemed a normal mountain cave tunnel, the side of the tunnel that looked like a rock wall was actually a layer of cloth matching the rock color.
Inside the cloth, a metal gate opened, and the convoy entered an underground passage unknown to ordinary people.
Liu Yuanling, who came along as attendant, introduced after entering the tunnel: This is the “Qilin Nest”; the technology here is two generations more advanced than the outside world.
Xuan Chong glanced at the surveillance cameras arranged every thirty meters in the tunnel, paused, and kept nodding.
Xuan Chong extended torque continuously, exploring this underground tunnel all the way to the underground center; then using the protractor to calculate, determined the endpoint was five kilometers underground.
Along the way, Xuan Chong also saw some strange things, such as on the side of the passage, Xuan Chong discovered a shield machine! That’s right, a 21st-century third-generation shield machine type.
Liu Yuanling seemed to sense Xuan Chong’s gaze and explained synchronously: This is drilling equipment. —She knew Liu Haoxing’s hometown Dongtu needed such equipment.
However, Xuan Chong asked a patrolling mechanical dog in the tunnel: “Everything here is from the future?” The mechanical dog’s head sensors were rotating continuously.
Liu Yuanling smiled mysteriously: “In this underground base, there are a total of six thousand people; most are researching the manufacturing of future equipment.”
Xuan Chong grasped the key point and asked: “These researchers are very certain that what they’re studying is future technology?”
Liu Yuanling: The Qilin Lord can see the future, reach future, exchange for the future.
However, at this point, she reacted! This Liu Haoxing is coming in for the first time; how come when seeing these products, he doesn’t seem surprised, but rather his eyes flicker with “familiarity”?
Here, Xuan Chong stared at the light rail tracks, seeing the familiar logo “China Railway Construction.” Xuan Chong: “Not the future, but taken from another spacetime, right?”
…Technology cheat…
After an hour of underground tunnel travel, Xuan Chong arrived at the underground base, passed through an arch into a subway station, and came to a hall.
Xuan Chong looked up and could see robots on the surrounding slide rails using mechanical arms to replace trash cans; of course, on the side there were windows one by one, based on the previous situation, he could guess inside were some automated equipment.
Not long after, forty-eight more people entered the base; Xuan Chong paused slightly, realizing they were martial cultivators. Their skeletons were very upright.
From their conversation, it could be understood that today’s gathering was to receive “cultivation” values. Xuan Chong slightly sensed that each of them had a “field energy,” similar to the field energy emitted by the hovering airships when cloaking.
Of course, these youths’ internal energy differed from Xuan Chong’s; their internal energy had some “abnormality,” seeming to interfere with metabolism.
These youths with accomplished internal cultivation were generally around 1.78 meters tall, weighing 65 kilograms, yet consumed 6000 kcal of food daily! When circulating energy, body temperature would instantly spike to 50 degrees Celsius. And precisely, true qi emission would export a large amount of body temperature.
These internally accomplished youths emitted vigorous internal force between their hands and feet.
In comparison, Xuan Chong’s internal energy was currently very mild; with his control over the past half month, the true qi operated very stably along fixed circuits, not interfering with bodily metabolism in daily life at all.
Of course, when Xuan Chong used his brain to think, true qi would rapidly consume fat, causing overheating.
Xuan Chong didn’t know the difference between his internal energy and these youths’; actually, the difference was huge. Xuan Chong’s was returning to simplicity, freely controllable, belonging to the innate level.
As more people entered, Xuan Chong also circulated his true qi to blend in.
When martial cultivators circulate true qi, they emit a unique magnetic field, resonating with others’ fields.
Of course, Xuan Chong’s breathed true qi showed no characteristics of any sect’s cultivation method, arousing others’ curiosity.
These sect disciples sensed each other’s true qi mutually, then cupped fists to inquire. Xuan Chong introduced himself: “I am called Xuan Chong; what is the matter we’re here for?”
This sentence made the many martial cultivators who entered exchange glances, their eyes seeming to say “You know nothing, how did you get recruited here?”
A handsome and elegant youth: “I am Lu Changfeng; are you also here to participate in the ‘mecha armor’ matching?”
Mecha armor matching? Xuan Chong was puzzled.
Just as Xuan Chong wanted to ask more, two people entered from the special door in the center. And as the door opened, these sect disciples acted as if seeing an elder.
One of them was Qin Tianyi, who called herself an “art student.” As for the other, a burly man two meters tall.
“These are Star Performers; let’s step back.” Lu Changfeng, who spoke to him earlier, reminded Xuan Chong.
Xuan Chong used torque threads to transmit sound to him: “What Star Performer? (Synchronously using torque threads around him to complete volume cancellation.)”
Lu Changfeng looked at Xuan Chong in surprise: “They are the qilin seed here; you came here and don’t know?”
Xuan Chong was embarrassed, wanting to say something when suddenly Tianyi’s voice came from beside him: “Why not come ask me?”
Lu Changfeng’s expression changed; he knew Tianyi’s terror well, reflected on himself and hadn’t said any taboo words; but unexpectedly, Tianyi still sent the sound over, winking at Xuan Chong to say nothing.
Back then, someone quietly discussed Tianyi’s secrets, but just after a short while, the loose-tongued one suddenly stopped, his whole body pierced painfully by sound waves! Even the eardrum structure was damaged, requiring repair.
Of course, for Qin Tianyi to act, obviously the discussion topic wasn’t very friendly.
Qin Tianyi’s behavior follows this world’s ritual law rules; her position cannot be desecrated. She releases positive emotions like a spring, but only to those “doing proper things”; for those not doing proper things, she switches to cold iceberg mode.
Xuan Chong here was very surprised: he had clearly blocked all spatial propagation, yet she still heard it.
Xuan Chong looked at her; in dense torque perception, sound waves around her formed a strange annular oscillation layer.
Tianyi explained: “Sound is not just classical physics medium vibration propagation theory; in the shockwave energy conduction process, quantum effect is also involved (everything has quantum effect, photosynthesis has it, fluid dynamics has it. Just like Newton’s theorems, omnipresent, just not occurring.)”
Tianyi saw Xuan Chong seemed not to understand this physics common sense, so understood. Then continued: “As long as sound is produced in the space you’re in, I can know it. Even the sound of solar wind in the starry sky, I can hear. After the 25th century, people ‘hear’ sounds from various stars in the universe through this principle.”
Nearby, Lu Changfeng saw the Star Performer speaking mildly to Xuan Chong, immediately understood, and retreated alone.
In this world, martial dao true qi is just personal cultivation, but dragon seed is heaven-mandated.
Xuan Chong curiously perceived the sound waves beside Tianyi, trying to summarize the wave function formula!
…Sports student…
While Xuan Chong and Tianyi were having a mismatched conversation, another person nearby familiarly said to Xuan Chong: “Oh, we both have surname Liu, um, call me Dayang. I am a sports student.”
Nearby, Tianyi heard Xu Xi (Liu Dayang’s name in Wei School) reveal himself as a “sports student,” slightly shaking her head.
Because when she previously said she was an art student, she clearly noticed Xuan Chong’s distant coldness; Tianyi inferred Xuan Chong was from the third dynasty, i.e., the elite from the restarted competitive education after the ocean shelter era ended.
Xuan Chong was obviously a “math and physics” system student; this type of student in certain highly competitive tech eras has the “patching the sky” pride.
Perhaps Xuan Chong doesn’t show this “pride” to others, but it’s too obvious when facing her (Tianyi).
However, what happened next made her lips twitch.
After hearing this classmate who called himself a sports student, Xuan Chong was slightly stunned.
Then, as if confirming this guy’s sturdy build, Xuan Chong greeted very enthusiastically: “Um, both surname Liu, I am Liu Haoxing, first time here, don’t understand many things; can you introduce to me?”
Xu Xi: “Naturally, we are all classmates.”
With a few words to Xu Xi, Xuan Chong was almost ready to swear brotherhood, praising: “If one day I fall into a fire, still counting on brother to pull me out.”
Here, Xuan Chong quickly got familiar with Xu Xi. Xu Xi generously revealed that his currently awakened golden finger is called “human body modeling.”
Using himself as the base template, he can obtain massive body data, then directly load this data onto other targets!
Xuan Chong: “Can be crudely understood as directly adding points to others, adding agility, stamina, power; by the way, intelligence can be added too, motor memory is also a kind of ‘data.’ Coming here to receive cultivation is actually coming to him for ‘attribute points.'”
Xuan Chong thought a bit, also confessed his own transmigration situation, namely ruler, protractor, compass, can plan torque.
Liu Dayang stared at Xuan Chong, further introducing himself: “That, my name in school is Xu Xi.”
Xuan Chong paused, immediately responding: “My name in school is Xuan Chong.”
Qin Tianyi opened her mouth, found no one asking her. Thus, sulked.
Between men, two or three sentences involving their professions quickly reveal if they can “work together.”
Qin Tianyi here coldly glanced at those two, then heard nearby martial dao cultivators whispering to each other via sound transmission, thus turned impatiently: “You all stay here.”
Then directly followed behind Xuan Chong and Xu Xi.
These young heroes waiting nearby to receive cultivation looked at the three with considerable awe.
