The Heavens: A Qing, the Yue Girl at the beginning

Nobles were reluctant to go out on rainy days, often saying that only the poor would go out in the rain to make a living.

The same applies to students at the Royal College of Mechanical Engineering in Marston. Attendance drops significantly on rainy days. The boys either gather in the meeting room to chat or browse through books in their respective dormitories, while the girls open their wardrobes and try on all sorts of outfits.

But today is an exception.

Today we have a very important lecture, "The History of the Evolution of Mechanics," which will be taught by Principal Roman himself. Of course, the students don't want to leave a bad impression on the principal by being absent.

However, Caesar, who arrived here earlier than anyone else, had nothing to do with this reason.

Nominally, he was there to attend class, but in reality, it was a job for him to earn money by working part-time—maintaining the two mobile armors that would be used for the teaching demonstration before the start of the highly anticipated "History of the Evolution of Mechanics" lecture.

Behind the trapezoidal lecture hall, shrouded in heavy curtains, he skillfully opened his toolbox, injected special lubricant into the joints, checked and replenished the pressure of the mercury vapor tank, calibrated the flow meter of the three-phase valve, cleaned the filter screen at the end of the condenser tube, and tested the ignition device of the combustion nozzle...

Caesar's brow furrowed slightly as his fingers traced the cold metal casing and warm tubing. For some reason, he had a feeling that something was off about the two suits of armor he was wearing today.

What should have been inanimate war machines now appeared to Caesar as two slumbering beasts, ready to break free and attack at any moment.

Is it psychological? Or did last night's overwhelming "miracle" make him overly sensitive?

As the time drew near, students entered the lecture hall one after another. Caesar quietly lifted a corner of the scarlet curtain and looked out.

The sight startled him slightly.

The venue was packed, which was to be expected.

But soon, Caesar also noticed something unusual.

The atmosphere was a bit off.

In the past, large lectures like these were always filled with a variety of restless emotions: casual conversations among the aristocratic children, whispers about the course content, yawns from the weariness of waking up early on a rainy day, and backs straightened up deliberately to impress the principal...

Intertwined, they form a chaotic yet genuine "popularity".

But today, there isn't.

The lecture hall was unusually quiet. The students sat neatly in their seats, their eyes fixed straight ahead, their posture almost uniformly upright. Their eyes… Caesar's heart sank slightly.

Those eyes that usually held arrogance, cowardice, calculation, melancholy, and confusion had all vanished. Everyone's gaze was clear as water, as if something within them had been completely soothed, bringing immense peace and certainty.

They rarely spoke to each other, but their occasional glances seemed to be engaged in a silent, tacit exchange, sharing the same unquestionable secret and the same unbreakable belief.

Caesar shivered for no apparent reason.

He seemed to have seen this expression on the faces of the resistance fighters in Ceylon before, but with an added touch of... certainty and peace.

He suddenly understood that this was a mental state that only occurs when a person deeply believes in an idea and is convinced of the action guidelines for implementing that idea, so that their will, physical perception, and objective reality are in a high degree of unity—a state of fulfillment and sublimation after eliminating internal contradictions and hesitations.

How could so many people enter this state overnight? Was it possible? Did the "miracle" at the prayer hall last night affect more than just him and Anne?

"He who has ears, let him hear; he who has a heart, let him remember!"

"You are no longer alone, for you will walk alongside the awakened people!"

The angel's magnificent and ethereal voice seemed to echo and resonate once again in the depths of Caesar's mind, surprising him secretly.

Just then, Principal Roman walked up to the podium. His gaze swept over the students seated below, showing no surprise, but rather a sense of satisfaction that said, "Just as I expected."

"Ladies and gentlemen," the principal's voice echoed through the lecture hall through the loudspeaker, "over the past half semester, we have reviewed the long history of mankind from the creation of the first gear to the establishment of mechanical civilization. It can be said that the mechanical revolution ignited the hope of this era; the powerful double-flow steam engine propelled trains and large ships; and the precise flywheel clock overcame the effects of gravity, improving the accuracy of timekeeping to the second level. But these cannot be called true mechanical masterpieces."

He glanced around the audience, his gaze intense: "You should all know what a true masterpiece is."

"Motorized armor!" came the unanimous reply from the audience.

"Yes! Motorized armor! It is indeed motorized armor, and only motorized armor can be called the pinnacle of mechanical craftsmanship!" Principal Roman suddenly pulled back the scarlet curtain behind him.

Behind the scenes was a massive mechanical cross-section, with thousands of parts drawn with fine lines of various colors, down to every screw and gear. The cross-section itself was a masterpiece of painting, but what it was meant to reveal was even more astonishing—the Yenisei-made "God's Wrath II" mobile armor.

The principal began to recount the history of the God's Wrath II, its designer, "The Mithril Demon" Petrov, and its earth-shattering first battle that determined the course of the Yenisei Civil War.

"...One against thirty, the knight wearing the God's Wrath II armor fought to the death, but in the end he detonated the power core. The red mercury flames illuminated the ice field of Yenisei, burning everything flammable within a fifty-meter diameter, including Prince Nicholas, who was protected by the God's Wrath I armor."

The principal paused deliberately, allowing the shock to ferment in the silence.

"Afterwards, people were puzzled as to how the self-destruction of the God's Wrath II could have such great power... It wasn't until several years later, when the God's Wrath II began to be equipped by the God's Wrath Knights, that this secret was revealed. The God's Wrath II has two power cores, making it the world's first mobile armor with two power cores. And when it exploded, its power was more than five times that of the God's Wrath I."

He scanned the entire room with a sharp gaze: "So, based on this principle, can we consider—since the explosion of a dual-powered core can destroy powerful armor and the target it protects, why can't we directly manufacture this destructive power into a weapon that is easier to use and cheaper to produce?"

The audience was completely silent; all the students held their breath, as if listening to a divine pronouncement.

“Today, I will demonstrate to you several new weapons based on similar concepts, but more ‘targeted’ and ‘widespread’!” Principal Roman snapped his fingers.

A screeching sound of metal scraping came from behind the podium as a railcar loaded with goods made its way onto the stage and slowly came to a stop.

Lifting the canvas revealed several small spheres covered with winding copper pipes, a complex device connecting a fuel tank and a spray gun, several short, thick metal pipes with handles, and several cylindrical devices with pressure valves.

“These,” the principal said, pointing to the weapons, “are prototypes that we rushed to make overnight based on some… ‘sudden inspiration’. We’re temporarily calling them—the ‘Iron Fist’ man-portable armor-piercing projectile, the ‘flamethrower’, and… the ‘thermobaric warhead’.”

He picked up an "iron fist," inserted the small ball into the groove at the back, and explained, "Look, its principle is very simple. An external power core, under overload conditions and 300% steam pressure, explosively drives the leaking red mercury vapor, causing it to expand rapidly. This provides an astonishing initial velocity to its mounted, split-type, oversized, shaped-charge armor-piercing warhead, without the recoil of ordinary artillery! Even a civilian with basic training could potentially use it to destroy a mobile armored vehicle worth a fortune from the side or rear!"

He then pointed to the flamethrower: "And this one, using a dual-power core in parallel pressurization, sprays burning red mercury mixed with a viscous agent hundreds of meters high! The armor can defend against bullets and shell fragments, but the continuous spray of extremely high temperatures of thousands of degrees will turn the knight inside into a roast duck!"

Finally, the principal patted the cylindrical thermobaric warhead: "As for this... it simulates part of the principle of the God's Wrath II dual-core explosion. Through two explosions, the first disperses the fuel cloud, and the second detonates, evacuating all oxygen within the range and generating extreme high temperature and pressure..."

"So-called change must be sweeping and devastating!" Quoting Petrov, Principal Roman swung his arm sharply. "Now, let's see how powerful these new weapons are when facing real mobile armor!" "Theory needs the test of practice!"

He smiled and snapped his fingers, signaling Caesar to bring up the two armored vehicles. He announced, "'Iron Man Warrior' and 'Wheel King' will each be equipped with a 'Iron Fist' recoilless rifle and an experimental flamethrower, operated by two brave individuals, to attack several abandoned armored moving targets set up at the test site..."

"And as the highest reward for courage and the spirit of exploration," he announced, his voice echoing in the silent lecture hall, "if you can successfully master the God's Wrath II and effectively demonstrate the power of the new weapon, I will not only elevate your grade in this course to the highest level, but you will also be eligible to compete for next year's 'Principal's Scholarship' and gain... the opportunity to further engage with 'real' and 'core' technologies!"

Caesar raised his head slightly.

……

"Look at this mobilization efficiency."

In the quaint campus, under the lush laurel trees, Xia Mi strolled leisurely in the rain. Gazing at the scene inside the lecture hall through the full-frequency vacuum snake, she clicked her tongue and said, "In just one night, the 'seeds' were sown. 'Dream transmission' truly lives up to its reputation as the most classic method."

"In a sense, hybrids naturally have an extra backdoor in their mental program that can be hacked, making it easy to create 'spiritual vision' and embed it into the other person's deep memories, making it hard to forget," Zhao Qing said calmly. "Thus forming a mental imprint."

"Odin's most basic 'Halloween' mask, which he gave Deadpool, utilizes this principle..."

"While we haven't seen weapons like the 'Iron Fist,' flamethrowers, and thermobaric bombs in New Rome, Charlemagne, or Vienna, the Papal States' Minerva apparatus may have already invented them and put them into production," she added. "However, the difference in their level of sophistication and specific lethality data is absolutely far greater."

"It has to be said that mercury, with its calorific value of over 5 GJ/kg and equally outstanding specific heat capacity and coefficient of expansion, is so powerful that it has caused the development of the local industrial system to skip many details. It has raised the upper limit, but it has also made it seem... crude, leaving a lot of unexplored space."

"Similarly, the technological system of the Great Xia Federation is quite interesting, such as the Kui Longma..."

Zhao Qing paused, then pulled out a complete military deployment map: "With a deep mountain tunnel a dozen kilometers away from Marston as the target of attack and defense, the Cross Guard will engage in battle with the main force of the Xia Kingdom. The estimated number of participants on both sides is as high as 120,000."

"The commander of the Xia army is Chu Shunhua, the Duke of the Regent State, who is known as the 'Great Xia Dragon Sparrow' and is the eldest half-brother of the current Xia Emperor. Logically speaking, this Chu family of mixed blood corresponds to the family of Chu Zihang and Chu Tianjiao. In this timeline, the Chu family has been the royal family of Great Xia for thousands of years."

"There's a rumor circulating that Chu Shunhua's parents foresaw the rise of the West and decided to 'create' a child who could control his destiny. The leader of the witches, 'Hoshimi,' infused the child with a strange, dark power, while the emperor infused him with the dynasty's fortune. The resulting child was Chu Shunhua."

"That sounds interesting."

Xia Mi asked, "What about the tunnel?"

"In order to attack the East and open the gates of Xia Kingdom, Marston has disguised himself as a neutral country for many years, while secretly digging and excavating tunnels to help trains cross the Caucasus Mountains. With a continuous supply of freight logistics support, the army has steadily advanced and gradually encroached on the border fortress of Longcheng, and then conquered it."

"Chu Shunhua clearly discovered this, understood the enemy's plan, and decided to eliminate it at all costs."

"Four years after the outbreak of the Ceylon War, the true forces of East and West are about to clash and fight a bloody battle near Marston..."

"I see." Xia Mi said thoughtfully.

"At that time, it will be a good opportunity for my student version of the 'Holy War Army' to make its debut," Zhao Qing said calmly. "Otherwise, judging from the equipment level of the Xia Army, no matter how strong their fighting spirit and willingness to sacrifice, it will be difficult for them to defeat the Crusader Guard, which has a large number of long-range artillery and the Blazing Iron Cavalry..."

Of course, she wouldn't stand idly by and watch the Easterners be slaughtered indiscriminately by the invaders in battle; she would definitely send in a "divine intervention."

"Sister Qing, you observed Caesar all night and explored the mysteries of dreams. You must have discovered something new, right?"

Xiao Shi chimed in from the side, "Is the purpose of sending him to lead the change not as simple as it was said before? Is there also a spiritual aspect to it? Is it related to the change of that 'key'?"

“That’s right,” Zhao Qing nodded. “I’m verifying an important hypothesis: what role does obsession, this defilement of ignorance, play in the spiral of cause and effect in destiny?”

"If we consider a key variable describing fate as an interaction force, it must also have fundamental constants like G for gravity and k for electromagnetism, several factors that determine its magnitude, and it cannot be separated from the framework of the spacetime coordinate system."

“If the subjective probabilities of a series of events do not change with the order of observation, then these events are considered commutative. de Finetti cleverly proved that this assumption is mathematically equivalent.”

"Based on the relevant morphisms and functors, we can initially deduce special structures such as black holes, singularities, and wormholes..."

"It can even be described from multiple perspectives, possessing templates with different applicability, such as classical mechanics, relativity, and quantum field theory..."

"Of course, we must first discuss and clarify the most basic classic version. The Buddhist system of cause and effect, karma, and karmic retribution provides an excellent reference. After all, the creation of alchemical labyrinths such as the Nibelungen is equivalent to the application and transformation of the impure world. However, it is necessary to standardize it and give an approximate formula..."

"You mean to change the value and some attribute of Caesar's inner obsession, thereby affecting the favor he receives from the world's fate, in order to conduct a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the entire system?" Xiao Shi asked.

"more or less."

Zhao Qing thought for a moment: "In addition, I have also noticed that he has two blessings, or contracts, from different sources. We need to test the conditions under which they are fulfilled in order to trace deeper information."

"Is this related to the properties of the 'key'?" Xia Mi blinked.

“It has a lot to do with it,” Zhao Qing replied. “Unless you are really lucky enough to be chosen by some so-called world will or god, becoming a ‘protagonist’ requires the combination of multiple important conditions.”

"According to my in-depth research, at least 70% of Caesar's specialness comes from these two contracts, 25% from his unique bloodline, including the 'devil's' eyes with purple pupils, and only about 50% from his ego, his true self, and his disregard for death and the futility of worldly affairs."

“Even so, in a sense, the final personal trait is the most decisive factor.” Xia Mi sighed softly, seemingly having thought of something. “But his feelings for his sister are still very deep.”

"That's the key point."

Zhao Qing's expression was solemn: "Obsessions can be divided into three: greed, anger, and ignorance. They can also be represented by three colors: black, white, and red. Blackening is the result of loneliness and despair; whitening is the result of yearning for purity; and redning is the result of burning oneself out."

"To reach the end of these three routes, to be tainted by obsession in the mortal world, and to come into contact with the weaving of the threads of fate, one must choose at least one."

Of course, it's impossible for someone with a deep-seated obsession to interfere with and influence world-class destiny; there must be some unimaginable method of transformation hidden within.

When a supreme being with an extremely high "status" and the ability to see through the illusions of all things loses control of their emotions, they unleash boundless power. If it were a child on the street, they could only roll on the ground and wail, which would have no effect whatsoever.

"Loneliness? Despair?" Xia Mi was slightly surprised.

These are two words she is extremely familiar with.

...(End of chapter)