Chapter 384: Mechanical World

Olivia's eyebrow twitched slightly at Wu Chang's question, as if his words had pierced her with unbearable sharpness.

She walked to the side of the podium, one hand resting on the lectern, looking down at Wu Chang from above.

"Sir Xiao En, I hope you know what you're saying."

Wu Chang acted as if he hadn't noticed the warning in Olivia's tone, continuing on his own:

"Your Majesty, I certainly know what I'm saying."

"My partner Ravenston once said: eliminate all impossibilities, and whatever remains—no matter how implausible—must be the truth."

"Anyone who has seen the crime scene of Prime Minister Ron's death would find it hard to link his death to suicide, but after following the clues and eliminating every possible suspect, suicide became the only possibility."

Olivia pressed her lips tightly together, then forced out a smile. "That statement holds only if you truly eliminated all impossibilities."

Wu Chang carried a chair through the crowd frozen mid-applause, stepped over the red caution tape, placed the chair beneath the podium, directly facing Olivia.

He sat down, tilting his head up to look at Olivia, as if delivering a performance review.

"At first, when we investigated the prime minister's assassination, we found four clues at the crime scene: the sound on the phonograph record and the blood-written words on the wall pointed toward murder."

"The documents spread on Prime Minister Ron's desk gave us two directions: the Pine Tree Mine explosion and the workers' protest."

"Looking back now, we can see that from the very beginning, Prime Minister Ron intended to guide us toward investigating the Pine Tree Mine explosion."

Wu Chang paused, waiting for Olivia's reaction. Olivia said nothing, gesturing with her hand for him to continue.

Wu Chang went on:

"In Prime Minister Ron's plan, Ravenston was chosen from the start as the detective to investigate his death."

"In my view, if the Pine Tree Mine wanted to conceal the truth of its deep mines, there were countless ways to do it—but the person handling the cover-up left too many gaps. These gaps were kept just above a threshold, hard to notice at a glance, but if one already suspected something was wrong underground, Ravenston's skill would make discovering clues easy."

"This made the truth behind the Pine Tree Mine explosion—the starting point of all events—controllable."

"That is, the moment the police department called on Ravenston to investigate anomalies at the Pine Tree Mine became the moment everything began."

Olivia used her hand on the lectern as a pivot, stepped around to the back, leaned forward slightly, and asked:

"Sir Xiao En, what do you mean by 'the beginning'?"

Wu Chang raised an eyebrow and said bluntly:

"Of course, using the position of prime minister as bait to lure all parties into fighting for power, while using their conflicts to erode their public credibility, paving the way for your return to the pinnacle of power."

Wu Chang's bluntness left Olivia struggling to respond. She said: "Sir Xiao En, you'd better be prepared to answer for what you've said."

Wu Chang ignored her threat and said:

"As leader of the Conservative Party, Prime Minister Ron was regarded as a traitor by his own members since the anti-corn law, but he could not have been unaware of the ambitions of the Lord Chancellor and others."

"According to his plan, once we learned of the existence of the flesh-and-steam machine, a mere whisper would be enough to draw the Conservatives, who coveted industrial oversight, into providing assistance."

"But Prime Minister Ron miscalculated one thing."

Olivia cooperatively asked: "What did he miscalculate?"

Wu Chang sighed and said:

"Someone didn't follow his orders—didn't leave Stilran—but chose to continue their own plan alone."

"That person didn't know the exposure of the Pine Tree Mine was intentional; he feared Ravenston would trace the trail again, just like before, and find him. To buy time, he wiped out the entire family of Baron Philip."

"It was precisely this action that revealed the true mastermind behind the Pine Tree Mine wasn't the Liberal Party led by Glad, but the Steam Council lurking in the shadows of Grimlan."

Olivia's feigned smile slowly faded, replaced by a cold, expressionless face.

She seemed about to speak, but didn't interrupt Wu Chang, maintaining her posture of listening.

"The Steam Council only eliminated him at this point, confirming for me and Ravenston that Prime Minister Ron's investigation had not uncovered the deep secrets of the Pine Tree Mine, so he hadn't continued along his planned path to investigate the Liberal Party."

"Instead, he followed the trail of the mine bandits to investigate another clue left at the crime scene: the workers' movement."

"But unfortunately, the bandits we were tracking belonged to Your Majesty. When you realized our investigation had veered off course, you influenced Connor through the bandits and subtly leaked Pine Tree Mine information to the Conservatives."

"Your supported Connor, combined with the Conservatives' supported Nestor, was enough to sway opinions inside the Lantern Newspaper, redirecting our next target back to the Liberal Party—the Sloan Textile Factory."

Here, Wu Chang took out Xavier's cane from his personal space, planted it before him, the side bearing the Steam Council's emblem facing Olivia.

He looked directly into Olivia's eyes and said:

"In your and Prime Minister Ron's plan, the Steam Council was always part of it; once you discovered someone hadn't left, you incorporated him into your sphere of manipulation."

"During the Sloan Textile Factory incident, we demonstrated our ability to oppose the Liberal Party; you merely needed to send someone to subtly sway Henry into abandoning the Steam Council and turning to cooperate with us."

"Henry's betrayal would certainly provoke Xavier into action, triggering the Great Stink ahead of schedule."

"Then everything would return to the path you and Prime Minister Ron had planned: you dispatched your transcendent subordinates to deliver evidence of the Conservatives' creation of the Great Malaria to Connor, then used the Lantern Newspaper and us to force both the Conservatives and the Liberals to exit the stage simultaneously."

"By the time our investigation into Prime Minister Ron's assassination reached this point, every suspect had been eliminated one by one; every eliminated suspect, regardless of their connection to the assassination, had lost utterly because of our investigation."

"Only you have been winning all along."

On Olivia's expressionless face, a smile suddenly reappeared. She stepped out from behind the lectern and walked to the center of the stage.

"According to your deduction, since the beneficiary behind every event is you, the killer of Prime Minister Ron should be you."

Wu Chang nodded. "For a time, I thought so—until I discovered that Prime Minister Ron was the secret patron of the Steam Council."

"Xavier always called himself 'Member One' not because the Steam Council had a unique naming system, but because he wasn't the chairman—the true chairman of the Steam Council was Prime Minister Ron himself."

Hearing this, Olivia could no longer hide the shock in her eyes. She asked:

"How do you know this? Xavier could never have told you."

Wu Chang crossed his legs, clasped his hands on his knees, assuming the posture of a victor.

"It seems Ravenston is a trustworthy companion—if he were your spy planted beside me, reporting my movements to you in real time, you wouldn't have asked this question."

"I often tell Ravenston I'm an inspiration-based detective; finding clues and making deductions doesn't rely on concrete evidence."

Olivia shook her head slightly, looking at Wu Chang with a hint of resignation. "So this is just your guess?"

Wu Chang denied it: "My inspiration differs slightly from the vague intuition you understand."

"For instance, my inspiration lets me see that even before the transcendent steam machine was invented, you and Ron had already treated Xavier as an advisor; when Ravenston led the raid on the Steam Council headquarters, you deliberately kept him in the workshop with a complex question to protect him."

Olivia's face showed disbelief, identical to the expression Ravenston had worn the first time he saw Wu Chang use inspiration.

"If you hadn't been in the New World these past five years, I'd have thought you were secretly watching Ron."

"Sir Xiao En, tell me, what else did your inspiration show you?"

Wu Chang said: "I saw Prime Minister Ron, using Xavier, continuously researching the Steam Rule and the Difference Engine."

"I also saw that before Prime Minister Ron acted, he told Xavier the plan had gone out of control, and ordered him to go to the New World first, returning only after two months."

"He wanted to send Xavier away, and once two months passed and Stilan had settled, you could step in as Prime Minister Ron's collaborator, take over Xavier, and keep him working for you."

"Even before his death, Prime Minister Ron was still thinking of you—or rather, of the plan he shared with you. I believe more strongly that he used his own death to trigger everything you had buried."

"Only if he truly died could I and Raventon trace his death and expose all the actions of the Liberal Party, the Conservative Party, the Charter Movement, and other organizations. Let the people realize that only by following Your Majesty's leadership can Stilan move toward the future."

"The people's support for you, amplified by the First Law of Esotericism, will become the final piece of the Difference Engine, fully realizing your plan."

Snap. Snap. Snap.

This time, it was Olivia who applauded Wu Chang.

Olivia laughed bitterly. "I'm starting to regret bringing you back from the New World. Your inspiration is far more terrifying than Zhu Li ever thought."

"If you already knew all our plans before today, why didn't you stop me—or join my plan willingly?"

Since seeing the phantom's resentment, Wu Chang had known Olivia would eventually pull off something big. Olivia and Xavier were both World Sons, both masters of the Steam Rule, and with Prime Minister Ron having long had Xavier research the Difference Engine, deducing Olivia's plan was utterly simple.

But since he had no conflict with Olivia, he saw no reason to interfere—so he simply sat back and watched the show.

After finishing his report, Wu Chang stood from his chair, held up two fingers, and said:

"I waited until now to reveal everything because I wish to ask you two questions at this precise moment."

"I can't guess the answers to these two questions. I want you to tell me the truth."

Olivia asked skeptically: "Even your inspiration can't see them?"

Wu Chang replied as if it were obvious: "Inspiration isn't omnipotent. What do you think inspiration is?"

Olivia:...

She felt that among all people in the world, only Wu Chang had no right to say that.

She suppressed the urge to retort, adjusted her expression, and reclaimed her royal dignity.

"Since you didn't interfere with me, speak. What do you want to know?"

Wu Chang placed his left hand behind his back, and curled his right index finger forward.

"First: What is your relationship with Prime Minister Ron? Why did he go to such lengths for you—even sacrificing his life?"

"Second: You and Prime Minister Ron were able to lay plans in advance. Especially you—you remained unusually calm, effortlessly in control, as if you had foreseen everything happening today from long ago."

"That kind of power couldn't come from the Steam Rule within you—it must come from the Difference Engine."

"I suspect that you and Prime Minister Ron created the prototype of the Difference Engine long ago, and gained some answer from it. I want to know: What was that answer?"

Olivia's gaze showed admiration. She liked Wu Chang more and more—not as a woman likes a man, but as a queen likes a loyal subject.

If Wu Chang had been willing to assist her from the start, her plan would have progressed far more smoothly. Perhaps Ron wouldn't have had to die.

"The two questions you asked are, in fact, one question."

Olivia walked toward the Difference Engine at the center of the Crystal Palace. Wu Chang followed two paces behind. Their relationship still seemed that of queen and knight.

Olivia asked: "Do you know the term 'World Son'?"

Wu Chang nodded: "I've heard of it."

Olivia said: "There is more than one World Son. Each carries a destined mission."

"I always doubted this—until I took charge of the Esoteric Library of the Mystic Knights. Based on old Anderson's hypothesis, I crafted a supernatural artifact capable of connecting to the World Will—and I discovered my own mission."

"Even now, with matured Esoteric Steam Engines, Xavier can only design the prototype of the Difference Engine. Yet five years ago, using relics left by the Mystic Knights and partial guidance from Xavier, I somehow manufactured the core of the Difference Engine."

"Only you and Ron witnessed the birth of the Difference Engine's core."

"It was because of the Difference Engine that Ron believed we could build the perfect world he envisioned—and thus willingly sacrificed himself."

As she spoke, Olivia reached the Difference Engine. The palace-like doors opened, and thick mist surged forth, swirling around her.

Wu Chang, standing close to the Difference Engine, understood why Olivia had been able to create its core.

The Omniscient Crystal told him: within the Difference Engine, it sensed the aura of the Primordial Spirit Pivot.

To craft a Difference Engine purely through knowledge, like Xavier did, was indeed extremely difficult.

Even as a World Son and a genius in machinery, he had spent five years only designing its prototype.

The Difference Engine's core, like the Esoteric Steam Engine core Wu Chang had once obtained, was the most vital component—just by adding a casing, it could produce at least eighty percent of its full effect.

Theoretically, Olivia's chance of manufacturing the Difference Engine five years ago was comparable to a monkey typing out Hamlet on a printer.

She might have had the potential to build it—but for her to actually build it was nearly impossible.

But if Olivia had found, among the Mystic Knights' treasures, some artifact containing the Primordial Spirit Pivot—and accidentally activated its Primordial Spirit Pivot—then her creating the Difference Engine core five years early suddenly became perfectly reasonable.

Olivia fell silent. Her gaze turned to behind them.

"Zhu Li, come here. You must want to know the answer we found too."

Zhu Li stepped out from the mist and stopped not far from Wu Chang. She whispered:

"I'm sorry—I didn't mean to hide."

Wu Chang nodded in response: "I know."

He had sensed Zhu Li's presence from the start. He had detailed his investigation so thoroughly during his conversation with Olivia precisely because he was speaking to Zhu Li, who stood beside them.

Even his two questions were asked on Zhu Li's behalf.

Olivia looked at Zhu Li with gentle eyes.

"Do you remember our first meeting? At that time, I was trapped under heavy control—my clothing, my hobbies, even my expressions—all dictated by them."

"I was about to become queen—even my name 'Olivia' was forbidden, because they thought it too ordinary to lead Stilan back to its golden age."

Zhu Li's expression softened with memory. "I remember—it was in the garden of Stilan Palace. I met you, having escaped the palace, throwing a tantrum."

"I only spoke to you on a whim. I never imagined we'd end up here."

Olivia said in a solemn tone:

"Although you were merely acting on a whim back then, the words we spoke were no joke."

"You told me then that you would help me protect my name, help me claim the throne, and cast off all restraints."

"In exchange, I promised you I would become a great king, protect the subjects, and free them from suffering."

"I have always remembered the promise I made to you, so the question I asked the Difference Engine was how to let everyone live happily in the world, without hurting one another, without falling into suffering because of their own circumstances, forever content."

The moment Olivia said this, Wu Chang recalled the Omniscient Crystal's assessment of the Difference Engine, and immediately felt something was wrong.

At this point Zhu Li still did not know the severity of the question; encouraged by Olivia's tone, she believed Olivia had found the perfect solution.

So Olivia had not forgotten their pact, and had been working toward it all along.

And she herself had once believed Olivia was lost in the pursuit of power and had forgotten about becoming a great king.

Excitement mingled with guilt, she asked:

"What answer did you get?"

Olivia looked toward the Difference Engine and said: "The answer is machinery."

"Machinery?" Zhu Li looked toward Wu Chang in confusion, unable to grasp Olivia's meaning.

Wu Chang shook his head, indicating he had not understood either.

Olivia said:

"You see, a massive machine like the Difference Engine is composed of parts numbering in the hundreds of thousands—important parts, such as the Difference Engine's core, and unimportant ordinary gears that can be swapped out at will."

"The differences between them are vast, yet they coordinate with one another, without rejection, as a single whole, allowing the complex machine to operate smoothly."

"If we view the machine as a whole as society, and each part as a different group within society, and have people act like parts—each person recognizing that whether they are important or not is merely a difference in their division of labor within the machine; setting that aside, their identity is all the same: parts."

"No matter how important a part may be, it needs the ordinary parts around it to cooperate in order to perform its function. When everyone possesses this awareness, society will be like a machine—only achieving for one another, never harming one another, and never feeling pain because they are not important enough."

This time it was Wu Chang's turn to be surprised; he had assumed Olivia was about to do something drastic, but upon hearing it, her theory actually seemed to have some merit.

He asked: "Your Majesty, the society you describe does sound like it could reduce much strife, but the human heart is complex, not as pure as machine parts. How do you plan to carry out your scheme?"

Olivia looked at Wu Chang with approval. "We only need to combine the power of the Difference Engine, erase the complex parts of the human heart you mentioned, reduce people's excess self-awareness, and implant a fixed collective consciousness—then we can achieve the world Ron and I hoped for."

"A perfect world of absolute order, full of peace, where people will not feel suffering."

Wu Chang breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. Now that was more like it—he had thought the Omniscient Crystal had misjudged, but it turned out he had been overthinking.

(End of chapter)