Chapter 644: The Progress of Civilization (Part II)

"The process of obtaining this box was actually very complicated."

Xia De said slowly, *click—* opening the locks on both sides of the box. He was not afraid of a self-destruct device inside the briefcase; at worst, he could use 【Breath of Time】 to reverse it.

"I suspect this must be a very, very important item. For example... the troop distribution map of the southern border of Deraerion."

"Or perhaps the construction blueprints for the kingdom's most advanced warships, or the smelting methods for special alloys."

Ajielina also guessed.

"Or perhaps the personal privacy of the kingdom's political dignitaries, or a detailed list of bribes received by civil servants in various departments."

Lei Qianya said casually, and the three of them looked together at the black leather briefcase on Xia De's lap.

"In this era, there shouldn't be anything more important than these, worth so many top-tier agents risking their lives to steal, right?"

Xia De thought to himself.

【Outsider, do you really think these are the most important things?】

"She" asked softly. In the slightly cramped carriage, the feeling of someone speaking right by his ear was very strange.

"Civilization is the most important, but how could civilization be packed into a briefcase?"

Xia De responded in his heart, then opened the lid. Just as he had thought, the inside was filled with paper materials—document bags, official papers, letters, blueprints, and other messy things piled together; there were even two books.

This made the briefcase look less like a collection of classified secrets and more like the luggage of some professor on a business trip.

"What is this?"

He muttered curiously, picked up the first document, and by the light of the gas lamp on the bridge outside the window, read the title of the document:

"Design Principles and Schematic Draft of the Second Generation Simple Mechanical Integral Calculator — Data Storage Area Section"

Lei Qianya and Ajielina both looked at Xia De curiously, because Xia De's eyes widened suddenly, and even the two palms holding the document began to tremble.

"Huh? This is..."

He held the document in his hand, stunned for a long while, before hurriedly rummaging through the other documents in the briefcase, flipping through the schematics and theoretical books, and finally throwing all the papers back into the box, quite incredulously patting his own cheeks with his hands.

"Oh, I know the kingdom is researching this; I heard it's a classified project."

Lei Qianya asked.

"Sister, is this a more important document than army distributions, warship parameters, and political secrets?"

Ajielina asked curiously while holding the cat.

"Yes, all are important. This is the prototype construction diagram of a Difference Engine... 'Difference Engine' is the name I gave it; it should be a large-scale mechanical gear calculator."

Xia De nodded and looked at the night view outside the window. Having mobilized so much manpower and resources, and with this layout having begun at least since the spring of 1853, he finally understood what Kasenrike was plotting.

Originally, he had thought that no matter what was in the box, the operation itself could be considered a failure given that so many people had died and so many secrets had been exposed to MI6.

But now he understood—completely understood—that Kasenrike did not care about the losses of this operation at all, because as long as this box successfully fell into the hands of the Anru royal family, then it was a victory.

"This is..."

He took a deep breath:

"The progress of civilization."

The starlight outside the window shone on Xia De's face. The well-traveled Outsider understood even better what the data in his hands meant for this civilization that was walking along the path of machinery and steam:

"This is the prototype of the next generation of civilization..."

He couldn't help but want to praise the Gray Gloves, and want to praise that kingdom located in the south of the Old Continent. This box was worth paying any price to seize.

"I don't understand; it's just a calculator. Calculators that can quickly perform addition and subtraction have already appeared, but those are only used to assist in calculations."

Ajielina shook her head, and the cat looked at Xia De curiously; it had never seen Xia De show such an expression.

"No, Ajielina, no, it's not like that."

He cautiously closed the box, then pressed his arms down on it, and said softly:

"Think about it: when a calculator achieves multiplication, division, and integration, and subsequently achieves more complex operations and control instructions, what can the 0 and 1 that represent 'on' and 'off' become?"

Extremely miniaturized steam engines, which even the technology level of the Outsider's hometown could not achieve, had already appeared here. He didn't mind using a richer imagination to envision the extent to which this civilization, which had embarked on another technological path, could develop.

"Representing what?"

Lei Qianya asked curiously.

"Representing the beginning of the next industrial wave."

Narrowing his eyes slightly, the value of the briefcase in his hand was far beyond what his 200 pounds could compare to.

A simple look had already made him understand that the prototype of this high-level computational auxiliary machine had actually been designed. Although it was only the most basic operational machinery, once people discovered the qualitative change brought about by miniaturization and integration, the data in this box would become priceless.

"Imagine that on the assembly line of a steam factory, the results output by the computational machinery push levers and arms, replacing workers to perform repetitive pressing tasks. Imagine that when the steam network spreading across the world connects to this kind of machinery, converting input steam pressure into input numbers, and through the reasonable allocation of the computational machinery, converting the output numbers back into thrust to control air valves using mechanical principles; imagine..."

"Wait, Xia De, can this really be achieved?"

Lei Qianya asked, knitting her beautiful brows. Xia De nodded very seriously:

"Then let's make it simpler. Compared to simple mechanical calculators that can only perform addition and subtraction, this kind of mechanical calculator capable of multiplication, division, and even integration will raise the development speed of industries like metallurgy, mechanical manufacturing, shipbuilding, and weapon design by more than one level... Of course, the premise is that large-scale steam computers can be manufactured."

What he held were only principles and prototypes. Although they looked quite professional, the titles of those documents also stated that these were only temporary concepts and models.

"Oh, yes, it is very valuable!"

The Fire-Leaper Larus III placed great importance on the education of the Cavendish family, and Lei Qianya and Ajielina were both young ladies who had received high-level systematic education. Although they still didn't quite understand Xia De's initial "crazy idea," they both understood the significance of large-scale computational auxiliary machinery.

"What an eye for talent; the Kasenrike people really have an eye for talent."

Xia De couldn't help but praise, but he still knew his own position:

"So how should this briefcase be handled? This time, don't throw it into my basement again."

"Of course not."

Lei Qianya said, thought for a moment, and then asked:

"Since it was obtained from the Gray Gloves, can you still return it?"

"Of course I can."

Xia De nodded. The "last words" left by Professor Higgins' soul mentioned the handover method for tomorrow.

So Lei Qianya took the briefcase:

"I will organize manpower tonight to copy all the data in this briefcase. Afterward, I will have people investigate the specific origin of this data; the loss of such data cannot be without any traces. As for the originals in the box, Xia De, you return them to the Gray Gloves."

"Hmm? Why?"

Xia De asked in surprise.

"I have heard of this research; it is a project in cooperation between the kingdom and the Church of Creation. At the same time, the Church of Creation is also cooperating with Kasenrike on similar topics. Now it seems that this cooperation is not fully shared, and Deraerion's progress is a bit faster."

Lei Qianya curled her lips:

"After the people I find identify these documents, I will extract one or two key pages and replace them with other content. Since you gave it the name 'Difference Engine,' I will forge a few more letters in the name of the Deraerion secret mechanical expert 'John Watson' to make Kasenrike truly convinced that this is the Difference Engine... This will be very interesting. In this way, this box of documents can not only help Kasenrike's research but also confuse them. I'm not doing a bad thing here; it should be considered doing a good thing... It's good for both countries."

Xia De nodded; he didn't care whose hands these documents fell into:

"Then what about the copies? Are you going to keep them for your own research?"

"Of course not. How could I compete with the research progress of the Church and the Kingdom? Since the important documents lost by the Kingdom have been found, naturally, I must let Father know that this is my credit."

Although this was found by Xia De, Xia De didn't want to get involved in such dangerous matters, so throwing it to Lei Qianya was fine.

"I will handle it well; this is very valuable."

The princess smiled, then suddenly looked at Xia De. He was very familiar with this look of hers.

Sure enough, the red-haired princess reached out to hook Xia De's chin, then leaned over and kissed him:

"Very good."

"Sister, can you use this credit to exchange for me not having to marry someone I don't like?"

The little princess holding the cat asked cautiously. Lei Qianya looked at her, and that look made Ajielina seem a bit afraid.

"Rest assured, Ajielina, as long as you are always willing to listen to me, you will not be used as a political tool to be married off to anyone."

Lei Qianya turned her head slightly to look at her sister. Her tone was not as gentle as when she was talking to Xia De. Xia De could only see half of her face illuminated by the gas lamp on the bridge outside the window, and he had to admit that if one didn't count those witches, Lei Qianya should be one of the most exquisitely featured young ladies Xia De had ever met.

"Okay, Sister."

The sixteen-year-old princess nodded and looked at Xia De again:

"Detective, you will help me too, right?"

"Yes."

Xia De nodded with a smile. Compared to the dangers and troubles he faced, this little princess's trouble was not difficult:

"Lei Qianya, I need to pass the briefcase out tomorrow morning."

"No problem, I will send someone to return the briefcase to you tomorrow morning. Xia De, this time, you really brought back good things."

Xia De shook his head and didn't say anything more. Only, he truly felt that he had touched the progress of civilization at this moment. In this world possessing steam gears and mystical elements, Ringed Shushi were running around and fighting for different goals, while the civilization of ordinary people had not stagnated because of this.

This era was more vibrant and more interesting than he had thought. ===== CHAPTER 645 =====