Chapter 426 Epilogue: Sunset and Rising Sun (4.5k) (1/2)

Chapter 426 Epilogue: Sunset and Rising Sun (4.5k)

1892, Germania

A British soldier waved a dirty flag in his hand, which was a simple white cloth temporarily removed from a medical stretcher. He walked through the war zone full of debris and debris with some fear.

Hans took a bite of the hard black bread in his hand, feeling a little nostalgic for the soft food his mother kept in the cupboard.

He saw that the company captain beside him did not give the order to fire, and other comrades hiding in the trench wiping their weapons raised their guns and aimed at him.

The soldier held a temporary white flag and carefully walked through the bodies that had been killed yesterday and had not yet been recovered, and walked to a small hillside so that everyone could see him.

As long as one person loses fire, he is dead.

Hans thought, so he unloaded the bullet in his hand and pointed his unloaded rifle at the soldiers near the center of the battlefield.

"The war is over!"

The British soldier planted the flag heavily on the ground and shouted loudly to the soldiers stationed in the trench on the other side.

His voice drifted away with the wind, just like the black clouds that rose up and disappeared into the sky, drifting away without a trace.

Hans rubbed his ears and looked at his comrades in the same trench who were still motionless at their posts, as if they didn't hear clearly, as if the other party hadn't said this.

He stood up and asked back in his own half-baked English.

"Hey! Is there really a truce?"

He learned this from a prisoner of war, who was actually a good man and taught them how to bandage their wounds to better stop bleeding.

Armistice, what a beautiful word, the war will no longer continue.

He can also go back to his own home and eat his mother’s delicious brown bread.

He climbed out of the trench and moved forward with stumbling steps...

————

1895, New London.

"Adams, how are you feeling?"

"Nothing...are you willing to sit in this position and replace me?"

Charlie Adams looked at the various investigation reports in front of him and began to miss the days when he was still a police inspector.

There should be a mature and stable government department here, in theory.

Most of those people died in the coronation seven years ago, and they were thrown into the furnace like expendables.

In a sense, it is also a physical ‘burden reduction’ for this extremely bloated government department.

"I am too old to sit in this position..."

Duke Charlie smiled as he held the coffee cup. Although he lost an arm, at least he survived the war.

"The hero who saved New London? Isn't it great that this honor falls on your head anyway?"

Adams shook his head. His friends preferred to live in less bright places, and their names would only appear in the top-secret files of the New London Archives Department.

"I can't stand it, and it's a collective honor, and it would be even better if this honor can bring us something other than work."

He flipped through the report in front of him and sighed.

Looking through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the slightly clearer sky in New London, environmental and engineering improvements were carried out after the war, and a large number of the properties of the nobles who died in that battle were nationalized.

With the help of Night Crow, they accurately and efficiently eradicate the cancer that is parasitic on the New London government... During this period, they must shrink the scope of the empire's control...

Any longer insisting on those areas will only turn a government that has experienced a round of indiscriminate bombing into

In the square not far away, there are still two 15-meter-high twisted steel towers, surrounded by protective fences to prevent pedestrians from accidentally entering the area and being accidentally injured by falling objects from high altitude.

The streets farther away have been renovated, and the laying of transportation rails and overhead cables have eliminated the need for steam engines that spit sulfur gas to operate in the city.

"Sir, this is the plan for urban electrification transformation!"

The assistant in neat administrative uniform walked in from the door and stood at attention and saluted after seeing Duke Charles standing in the room.

"Mr. Duke, I didn't know you were here."

Duke Charles shook his head, motioning for him to continue working, while he looked out the window.

Automated soldiers wearing heavy-duty exoskeletons patrolled the streets. Because of the loss of control of the flesh and blood turbine, all construction machinery based on the rune core was sent to the warehouse for storage.

They did not completely deal with all their enemies, and a small number of them fled to North America, where they established their own power on land with lower government jurisdiction.

Adams leaned back in his chair and looked at the darkening sky and the slowly but steadily turning on of the street lights.

The invention of the filament came from that friend from outside... They didn't want to waste more time developing light bulbs.

New London, which has completed its initial electrification, lights up dimly yellow at night, and unsafe gas pipelines are converted into dedicated energy supply pipelines.

————

1897, Xinxiang.

Underground Resistance Command.

"The gear from New London..."

The crowbar fell, and in the dim light, the resistance soldiers saw the long tube painted in military green lying quietly in a pile of dark yellow hay.

"I heard the war on Europa has stopped and those politicians have been thrown into the trash can..."

The resistance soldiers were talking in the hiding place, pulling out anti-armor weapons from the weapon boxes, and the reflected light fell on their faces, either Asian or European.

The collapse of New London and the armistice on Europa did not make the situation in North America better. This island far away from the civilized world is more like a better off-island prison.

All kinds of monsters are migrating to this four-hundred-year-old land...or fleeing.

Compared with the penal colonies like Australia, where birds do not lay eggs, North America is obviously a more livable place...A place with wealth, a governor, and an old order is a hotbed.

"This is the latest action plan... We are going to attack these equipment storage points..."

The resistance soldiers held the tattered pamphlet, which was almost the only correct guidance they had during the resistance.

No signature.

They crossed the Mississippi River and climbed the Rocky Mountains, just one step away from success.

Farming the desolate land together, hiding under the feet of giants.

They fight against automatons in the mountains and forests, against corrupted humans in urban agglomerations, and on isolated islands outside the civilized world.

"The New World will never be a breeding ground for those monsters, no way."

Germans, Hans, French, English, Aryans, Slavs, they hold the same flag and charge towards the monster.

The rifle is loaded and the weapon loaded.

The light of the light bulb reflected in their determined eyes, and the bright red armbands and flags shone in the basement.

Enter Xinxiang and plant the flag of the new world in this hotbed of crime.

————

1900, Shanghai.

An old teahouse on the street.

Raindrops fell from the light gray sky, hitting the old streets paved with bluestones. Pedestrians walked faster in the rain.

Under the dim sky, the refreshing coolness hits, making people feel a bit tired.

The teahouses next to the street are doing brisk business, and passers-by would be best served with a sip of hot tea at this time.

"Hey, Old Li Tou, have you heard that there are wars everywhere..."

The old man raised his teacup, drank it in one gulp while it was still warm, and then filled another cup for himself.

"There's also a war in North America, ha, there's a war everywhere... Huo, my incompetent guy from the military aircraft department got me a map... He told me it's nearby."

Children's affairs are a rare topic for old people of this age to talk about. In their eyes, the world is just like when they were young.

"Yes, those people don't know what they are doing..."

An old man picked up a piece of fried food and put it into his mouth, narrowing his eyes in appreciation.

"Alas, your son has become a master! My apprentice, alas, I don't know how long he can continue his craftsmanship at this time!"

"With your craftsmanship, I won't miss you if the talisman is still there, hahaha..."

The old man who originally spoke agreed, with a trace of sadness on his brows.

"I don't know what these people are doing when they come to our place. Wasn't Lao Zhangtou, the talisman practitioner, invited to go there a few days ago..."

Two old men in cloth clothes exchanged cups and glasses, listening to the sound of rain falling on the eaves outside the window.

In the teahouse, a man wearing a neat engineer's uniform sat down. He chose this place simply because it was less likely to attract curious glances from others.

The man took off his wide hat, put away the paper umbrella in his hand, and spoke to the waiter in relatively fluent Chinese.

"Like the third child."

"Hey, sir, okay..."

The waiter's face was full of smiles. These people had recently come here to eat, making the diners in their small teahouse busier than usual.

Even though it has been more than ten years since the founding of Tomorrow, Fan people are still rare to ordinary people like them. Many people come here to sit for a while just to take a look at him.

The owner of the teahouse even sent him more banknotes in the past two days... The government said that he should slowly exchange silver coins with pen and paper, or he could take the banknotes to the government bank to exchange for silver...

Following the shout, the waiter walked up to the table with the tray and put down the 'third child'.

Fried dough sticks, sesame seed cakes, and tofu curd.

He hesitated, his eyes falling on the other person, and he realized that he had not known the other person's name for so long.

"Nigus, Nikus Tesla."

Negus gently blew a sip of the milky white liquid that had condensed into a thin film. The clear bean aroma was alluring.

“I have a friend from this land and I wanted to come and see his hometown.”

————

2025, Equatorial Launch Station, Planetary Council Headquarters.

A lady with a neat ponytail walked through the aisles of the Council. The warm and welcoming white light fell from the glass dome into the aisles and fell on the blue and white planetary logo.

"Miss Victoria, I heard that today is your speech?"

The long ponytail behind Victoria turned slightly, looking at the man approaching from the side passage, he politely saluted Victoria with British etiquette.

"Pan-Asian Alliance technical dispatcher, Liang, because there have been many aerospace technology exchange projects recently."

"Technical dispatcher of the New European Union, Victoria. I am the only staff member here with the surname Victoria."

"You don't mind if I take up a few minutes of your time."

Liang glanced at his watch. There were still ninety-five minutes until the speech started.

"Do you know what restarting the Runic Automata project means to us?"

She nodded and looked towards the passage leading to the hall.

Objects that have influenced the course of history are neatly placed inside. It is also the council's only exhibition hall open to the public...or rather a museum.

"Of course, we still have some time to communicate before we start... Shall we go to the tourist exhibition hall next door?"

An old photo, two soldiers hugging each other, with a whitish flag fluttering in the wind.

The First World War ended, and the war almost destroyed all infrastructure.

A tattered red flag, that was the first flag of the North American Federation's resistance army planted on the White House, overthrowing the governor system and establishing a new republic.

They finally signed the North American Joint Agreement and formed a common federal defense zone.

A few tattered pamphlets, but the handwriting on them is still clearly visible.

The "Resistance Guide", which was translated into dozens of languages ​​and handed over to resistance forces in various regions of the world, gave them enough tactical guidance.

A dark gray transformer, with Faraday and Tesla marked next to it.

Electricity, the energy that changed everything, pushed their civilization forward a step.

A clear photo, with large chimneys bunched up, and the sign engraved with 'Shanghai, 1907, the first large-scale experimental power supply station. ’

When the world was in ruins, Asia, which suffered less losses from the war, was the best development area. The first large-scale experimental power supply station was built here.

Stepping forward, Victoria had a premonition of what they were going to see... The council member who was chatting with her seemed to realize that her last name was a little special.

"It's okay, keep going forward."

A photo, two metal lumps biting each other, with only '1888' on the label.

The disaster of automata, the disaster of eternal life.

After that, the automata technology was completely sealed, and the second Renaissance movement focused on people, separating people from machines... The academic community also advocated building machines that can be operated by humans, rather than complete automata.

She had seen it countless times in the archives. These scrap steels had been dismantled in 1945, leaving only a small part of them as a memorial in the central square.

Commemorate the past stories.

But the past still bound her family tightly like an unbreakable shackle.

Forward.

The knight raised his sword and pointed to the west, which was the direction where the sun set.

‘A great knight’

She followed the knight’s sword and saw the statue placed deep in the Council’s exhibition hall, with countless pairs of steel-cast hands holding up a ray of sunlight.

‘1945, obtained by dismantling scrap steel. ’

“I think automaton technology will be the focus of our external exploration. Human physical fitness cannot withstand the harsh environment of outer space, but in the experiment, the adaptability of automatons to harsh environments far exceeds that of humans...”

She was very worried that someone would think that she, as a descendant of Victoria, had ulterior motives, but no one did, including the reporters who listened to her quietly.

She took a deep breath and continued.

“We should look forward. Restarting the automaton project means that we can explore the outside world with higher efficiency. The current rocket capacity has reached a limit.”

“For this reason, our London Institute of Industry has decided to open all the sealed technical files to various regional defense alliances, and hope to establish a new one so that we can better deal with possible crises and risks in the future...”

The plan to restart the in-depth research of rune automata had been submitted to the departments of various political entities before her arrival, and the final vote was just a process.

She really didn’t know what decisions these political entities had made.

There was no applause. Everyone focused their attention on the proxy votes. Reporters held their breath and looked at the seats where the delegations were sitting.

"The Pan-Asian Alliance supports it."

"The New European Union supports it."

"The North American Federation supports it."

"The Middle East Alliance supports it."

"The South American Federation supports it."

"The African Covenant agrees."

The green flash lit up and passed unanimously.

Civilization has stepped out of the shackles of the past and faced the risks that technology may bring.

The applause came like a tide. Victoria did not feel a trace of joy in her heart, but a sense of relief.

She remembered the scene she saw in the depths of the museum, the countless hands...

The countless hands cast in steel did not crave the sun, they were trying their best to send a handful of soil to the sun.

A ray of sunlight from the dome fell on the moist soil, and the tender seedlings sprouted green buds in the steel nursery.

The iron-like soul left in time, and civilization will sprout again at dawn.

(I thought it would be better to have 4,000 words at the end of this volume, after all, it would be more comfortable to read if I had more, so this chapter is two in one.)

(Then I revised it and wrote it to 4,500 words, anyway, it’s fine as long as it’s fun to read!)

(There were many problems when writing this volume, and as I was writing, I found that I should have laid out more content in some places, so that the subsequent plots would be more coherent and smooth... Anyway, thinking about it, there is actually a lot to write... Ah, it’s a pity to think about it this way)

(But at least the story is finished... Although it’s incomplete, although it’s not complete, the story is out... Yeah)

(This volume is quite a failure, but not that much of a failure, maybe it’s in the quantum state between failure and success.)

(But anyway, this volume is finished, although there are too many characters... Really too many, and it becomes complicated... Actually, I originally estimated that this volume would have a hundred chapters, cough cough)

(Adams and Duke Charles represent the progressive conservatives in New London, who advocate maintaining a stable forward course.)

(Night Crows don't care as long as the ruling party is human, but they will stand here to clean up the enemies of humans. And Nicholas doesn't care about them at all, he just hopes to have a friendly ’s research environment, but the overdevelopment of mechanical technology in New London has greatly affected his research. )

(The Queen represents the faction that pursues immortality, mainly the nobles. After the truth about immortality is announced, she is naturally hostile to the common people.)

(Then I will take a day off tomorrow as usual to sort out the outline of the next volume and take a break...Update on December 8!)

(The next volume, I have thought of the title: Are we playing the same game?)

(Hands on hips!)

(Finally, I recommend a new book, Tomato: Although you are a villain, you put down the knife first!)