Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 499 Support from the North

"Yes, but we'll have to wait until we get out of here. Hmm, you seem to be alright now, I think I'll have to stay a few more days."

"What happened to you? Were you wounded in the fighting on the front lines?"

A hint of embarrassment appeared on Yami's face.

"No, no, I was brought in here because I ate some mushrooms that my friend cooked and got food poisoning. My lord just put you in my room."

Yami said weakly.

Hunter looked him up and down a few times, then frowned slightly.

Making friends is fine, but working together is another matter. This person's demeanor doesn't seem like that of someone with extensive knowledge. Hunter considered for a moment before asking.

Are you a scholar too?

"No, I work at a food stall... uh, I'm in charge of collecting money? I'm not really the owner, since we pool our money together."

"What is a food stall? Is it some kind of academic organization?"

"Uh, it's just a regular food stall, a stall that sells fried fish and chips. My fried fish tastes amazing, although I don't actually fry it, I just collect the money."

"So, will our future jobs be selling fried fish?"

"No, the lord said we should do research and development."

Hunter took a deep breath and calmed himself down: "I understand. Since it's the lord's request, there must be a reason. What's your name? What are your special skills?"

"My name is Yami. My special skill is counting? Uh, I mean, I'm pretty fast at doing calculations."

"Counting? Sure, I'll find you some suitable work. What kind of research and development does Your Lordship want? Has the requirements report been completed? Where is my workshop?"

Yami hesitated for a moment before cautiously speaking, "Um... the lord said that I should lead the research, and you... uh, you have to pass the advanced class assessment first."

Silence fell over the ward.

Sensing the increasingly oppressive atmosphere in the room, Yami quickly reassured her, "Don't worry, the advanced class assessment is very easy. Just study the courses casually; they're very simple. I even studied while collecting money at the stall."

Hunter's facial expressions were quite fascinating, ranging from shock to secret to anger to loss and finally to numbness, just like a theatrical performance.

"The lord must have his reasons for doing this. Well, it seems I'd better show off my skills!"

"And studying is what I'm best at!"

Confidence gradually returned to Hunter's face.

Although he was a nobleman, he was almost completely clueless about social interactions; his only talent was learning.

Within the Dawn Society, he was a recognized genius, and his achievements always drew admiration. His position at the highest level of the Allied Forces, where he spent his days by Viscount Frey's side, was not solely due to family connections.

As for the young man in front of him
To be honest, Hunter didn't consider him a rival.

Although they are colleagues, the gap between them is simply too great.

Scientific research is a very demanding field; you either know it or you don't. Your Lordship has entrusted me with the important task of research and development, which should be a test for me.

How to conduct research with Yami, who knows nothing about technology, was the first major challenge I faced.

The so-called advanced course is probably just talk; after all, even Yami says it's not difficult. The real test is yet to come.

Thinking this way, Hunter was filled with fighting spirit.

"Do you have any advanced course books? I'd like to take a look." "Yes," Yami pointed to a cabinet in the corner of the room. "They're over there. There are also some miscellaneous books on functions and geometry, which are quite simple. You're so smart, you can easily pass them with just a quick look."

“Of course.” Hunter walked over with his head held high.

“This Hunter’s experiences are truly fascinating.” Hughes put down the report in his hand and looked at Richard across the desk with great interest.

"There's nothing we can do; he's a scholar."

“Scholars, especially those who have studied industrial-related knowledge, have a fairly high probability of developing Castells syndrome. After arriving on the island and seeing all of this with their own eyes, they are very prone to cognitive collapse. Hunter’s situation is relatively good.”

Richard sighed.

“Every time he faints from a shock, he can regain his senses on his own. I don’t need to go into the sea of ​​ignorance to rescue him. In fact, even without treatment, he can basically recover on his own.”

Hughes narrowed his eyes and slowly tapped the table with his finger: "Won't there be a problem? Some of the extraordinary ones."

"No, my lord."

Richard shook his head.

"The wall of reality near Castel is more solid than elsewhere, or more precisely, more solid in random directions."

"Wait, what does 'random direction' mean?"

"It's just that certain directions aren't as stable; for example, the explosive force of an explosion is always greater in those areas than elsewhere."

"I understand, please continue." Hughes's eye twitched. Has the worship of the Guardians of the Church become so severe that it's directly altering the stability of the Wall of Reality?

"Well, in short, cognitive shifts are less likely to occur in Castells, which also means that Castells syndrome generally doesn't cause much trouble. It usually gets better after a period of rest. I think Hunter may have been affected by this."

"Moreover, Castel has other wills, such as the machine spirits of various steam engines, including those in the stellar reactor. I suspect that in the future, the entire Castel may develop a soul. I mean, although machine spirits rarely respond, they are very perceptive."

“If Hunter had other problems, they would never have accepted him, but I sensed that Hunter had successfully resonated with the machine spirits on the island.”

"Won't these machine spirits betray Castel?"

"Of course, these machine spirits are as loyal as steel. They have approved of Hunter, which means that Hunter is definitely not a problem."

Hughes scratched his head.

Something feels off.

But thinking about it carefully, it doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with it.
"Forget about that. Who's in charge of supporting the resistance in the North now? Call him in."

“Oh, that’s easy.” Richard walked straight to the window, ignoring Hughes’s puzzled look, and shouted down towards the church, “Nini, come up here quickly, the lord is looking for you!”

The next moment, he was flattened on the ground and scattered into a pile of threads.

Nini flicked her snake tail and disgustedly rubbed the silk threads onto the carpet in Hughes's office.

"My lord, did you call me?"

Hughes glanced at Nini, who was clad in heavy armor, then at the window that had been smashed and chipped away, and sighed.

"You'll pay for the window repairs."

“No problem.” Nini used her tail to gather the broken bricks and stones on the ground, then used her petrified mud to casually smear it back onto the wall.

(End of this chapter)