Chapter 294: Generosity and the Duke
Chapter 294: Generosity and the Duke
"Alright, that's enough."
With the meticulous assistance of the Necromancer, they successfully broke through the encirclement. Squinting at the bustling docks in the distance, Leon took the initiative to stop and said, "If we go any further, we might attract attention. Let's park the Power Armor here. Thanks for your help this time."
"..."
I really don't want to help, but do I have a choice?
Watching the Duke clamber out of the cockpit, the unfortunate Little Golden Retriever gritted his teeth and held back his words. Instead, he reluctantly turned the control stick and prepared to head back. However,
"Wait, don't take the Power Armor back."
"Huh?"
"The Power Armor's battery... I mean the energy module. This thing is useful to me. Help me remove it."
"But... without the energy module, I can't operate the Power Armor. How will I get back?"
"Take a boat. The dock is right over there, isn't it?"
"..."
"What's wrong? Do you have any other questions?"
"No... nothing..."
Facing the unreasonable request from his own Duke, the deputy commander of the Little Golden Retriever sighed inwardly. He reluctantly flipped a couple of switches, opening the energy module compartment of the Power Armor.
Then, amidst the all-too-familiar creaking and groaning sounds, he struggled to climb out of the cockpit, looking helpless as he stood by and watched the Duke pry open the energy module of the Power Armor.
"Hmm... There's a bit of energy fluid left, but thank you anyway."
"You're... welcome..."
Steven Lane nodded dryly, responding to the Duke's polite thanks. He patted his empty pockets, then felt a bit embarrassed and said, "Um... Duke, could you... could you lend me some money?"
"Huh?"
"Before I went on this mission, I was sleeping in the barracks. I didn't expect to be... brought here by you. So, I don't have any money on me. Could you lend me some money so I can hire a carriage at the dock and go home?"
"Well... alright..."
Although he didn't have much money either, Leon looked at the pitiful Little Golden Retriever in front of him and the energy module worth at least ten thousand gold wheels on the ground. He couldn't bring himself to refuse the request and reluctantly signaled Youha to throw his wallet over.
Hmm... But most of his salary was kept by Anna, leaving only a portion for necessary expenses. He had also purchased a lot of supplies and stored them in the Mirror World, leaving him with only four silver wheels and nine copper wheels in his wallet...
"Why don't you just take the boat instead?"
After checking his empty wallet, Leon tentatively suggested, "The dock is right over there. We can take the boat back to the capital city, then transfer to a public carriage, and it'll still get us to the city center."
"That... that's fine too..."
"Here you go, and you don't need to pay me back!"
Seeing that the Little Golden Retriever wasn't insisting on hiring a carriage, Leon, feeling embarrassed about his own financial situation, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He counted out seven copper wheels and handed them over with a smile, saying, "A ticket for the economy cabin on a passenger ship costs three copper wheels. You can take it all the way to the Bonker River Dock, then transfer to the 60-minute public carriage on the Old Town Line, and it'll cost you three more copper wheels to get to the city center. The carriages there support post-payment, so you can hire one directly to go home.
Or, if you want to go to the Lane Estate, you can get off one stop earlier, which will save you one copper wheel. After getting off, walk to the next stop, Westminster Church, and take the 2-copper-wheel carriage to the church's running carriage, which will also take you to Redwood Street. It's just right, seven copper wheels."
"..."
The Little Golden Retriever couldn't help but feel a twinge of sourness in his nose as he took the copper wheels from the Duke, who had not only calculated the travel expenses precisely but also provided a thoughtful money-saving guide.
...
"Thank... you..."
After expressing his gratitude to the generous Duke, the Little Golden Retriever, deeply moved to the point of tears, clutched the precious seven copper wheels and stumbled away. Meanwhile, Leon carried the battery down the alley, found a secluded spot, and took out the black fifteen-defense box containing Aethia 128.
Circular interface... So, the connector needed should also be circular...
After fumbling around the energy module of the power armor, Leon found the pipe secured in the slot. He removed the tube from the energy module and, following the method Aethia 128 had taught him, unscrewed the protective bolt and securely connected it to the interface at the back of the fifteen-defense box.
Soon, with a soft hum, the black frosted glass-like fifteen-defense box vibrated slightly. Inside, countless fine rods, each thinner than a hair, began to move in a peculiar but orderly fashion at high speed.
"Thank you for waking me up, Dad."
"..."
"Uh... you should still call me Mr. Leon..."
Hearing Aethia 128's pleasant childlike voice, Leon, feeling a bit awkward, rubbed his nose and corrected her:
"Before... well... just treat it as a joke, okay?"
Through the copper tube, the gear mechanism inside the fifteen-defense box, which was so dense it was almost impossible to count, began to reverse at a special rhythm. It then drove tens of thousands of rods and slot mechanisms to tap on the central sphere filled with tiny holes, conveying the information.
The core sphere, after twisting twice, performed a similar operation in reverse, driving the dense gear mechanism forward. It used the strike assembly to tap the copper tube, simulating the voice of a little girl, and gave its response.
"Although I judged that you didn't seem to be joking earlier, since you have a request, I am willing to comply, Mr. Leon."
"..."
Was that just "computation"? What kind of principle does this thing work on? Watching Aethia 128, who had understood and responded to his words in less than a second, Leon couldn't help but ask curiously:
"How exactly do you speak? What are all these parts in the box for?"
"The reason I can speak is quite simple. As a creature with a relatively simple vocal organ structure, the range of 60-80 sounds is the limit for most humans. However, the number of notches recorded on a single gear in my gear mechanism far exceeds this number.
Text content is relatively more complex. Your human writing can be roughly categorized into four major types: logographic, syllabic, phonetic, and symbolic, with characteristics that can combine. If we use 1, 2, 3, 4 to represent these categories, there are about 15 typical composite writing modes.
Each writing mode has an average of 250,000 to 670,000 valuable words, and the commonly used vocabulary ranges from 3,000 to 11,000, depending on individual and regional differences. We also need to consider pitch, tone, and corresponding emotions.
So, even after significantly simplifying the process, to output the corresponding characters and convey my meaning with the right emotion during a conversation, I still need to use 15 auxiliary gear mechanisms and 30 to 110 short arc levers each time..."
"Alright, alright, no need to explain further. Let's just forget I asked."
After listening for a long time but still being thoroughly confused, Leon wisely decided to let it go and turned to his most pressing questions.
"Aethia, I need to ask you."
Taking out the large box issued by the bureau, he stuffed Aethia 128 inside, then condensed the incantation silver into a dagger to make a hole in the box, and attached the copper tubes for "speaking" and "listening." Leon then asked:
"What's the situation with the Corlock Kingdom? What's happening with the Twin Branch of the Purification Bureau? Do you have any contact with the Aquarius Director?"
(End of Chapter)
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