Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 478 Forty Years Later
At six o'clock in the morning, the residential areas of the capital city slowly awaken to the long and steady chimes.

When Inee opened her eyes, the sky outside the window had just turned from darkness to light.

The soft sunlight spread across the marble floor, creating neat and quiet light spots.

Today is no ordinary day.

This is the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Red Tide Republic, and also the day she was invited to Red Tide City as a representative of the Academy of Sciences to attend the medal awarding ceremony.

Inee was born in the North. Her father was a captain in the Knights of Broken Edge. He was later incorporated into the Red Tide Order and became one of the first knights to lay down his weapons and join the organization.

Therefore, she was able to enter the complete education system, from basic school, workshop internship, to the preparatory class of the Academy of Sciences, step by step to where she is now.

She didn't think she was exceptionally gifted; she just understood a principle earlier than others: the world began to reward learning and patience.

Today, she is one of the academicians in the field of magical mechanics and has been selected as one of the recipients of the 40th anniversary medal.

On the other side of the bed, her husband John was still fast asleep.

John is an engineer at the Red Tide Heavy Industry Department, responsible for the stability design of large energy conduction structures.

His parents were among the first serfs to be freed in the Red Tide Territory and now live in a well-supplied apartment complex, occasionally arguing about their grandchildren's schoolwork.

Ini didn't wake him; she simply got up quietly.

Push open the window, and the city's outline unfolds in its entirety.

The streets are clean and straight, the traffic lights at intersections change in an orderly manner, and on the low-altitude rail, the early morning transport boats glide silently along their fixed routes.

The neighbors have already started their morning exercises; some are jogging, while others are doing basic physical stretches with their children in the open space.

She quickly washed up, changed into her dress, and walked into the living room, where she smelled a familiar fragrance.

Mother Mary was already up.

The woman, in her seventies, was standing in front of the kitchen counter, preparing fried eggs, bread, and hot milk, and even laid out her favorite jam.

"Why are you up so early?" Ini couldn't help but ask. "I can do it myself today."

Mary didn't turn her head, but just laughed and said, "I can't stay idle. Besides, today is a big day."

She turned around, her gaze lingering on her daughter for a moment as if confirming something, before nodding in satisfaction.

"I never thought that clumsy guy covered in mud back then would be standing on the award platform now."

Ini was taken aback by what she was told, then burst out laughing.

After breakfast, Mary began to pack her luggage.

"Did you bring your identification? Where's your Academy of Sciences badge? Where's your spare gloves? It's much colder in the North than here, don't forget your shawl."

Inee held her mother's hand and whispered, "I've brought everything."

She hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Aren't you coming to Red Tide City with me? Lord Louis has specially reserved a seat for your family."

Mary shook her head, a smile playing on her lips, but her eyes were slightly red.

"I'm too old to ride in an airship," she said softly. "Besides... you young people can go."

She looked at Inie, her expression suddenly becoming serious: "When we arrive in Red Tide City and meet Lord Louis, please say thank you on behalf of our whole family."

Tell the adults that without him, our family would probably just be a few nameless skeletons in the northern wilderness long ago.

Inee's throat tightened, and she nodded without saying anything more.

In the hearts of her mother's generation, Louis was never just the head of state of the republic.

"I will, Mother. I will tell the adults myself."

After saying goodbye to her mother, Inee pushed open the door to her home.

The morning air was slightly cool, but clean and calm.

She went down the stairs and met commune workers sweeping the street at the door.

The other person pushed the cleaning cart, moving at a leisurely pace.

The two nodded to each other.

Good morning, comrade.

"Good morning."

His tone was natural, without any deliberate enthusiasm or formality.

With plenty of time to spare, Ini didn't call a special bus, but instead walked across People's Square as usual.

The flagstones in the square had just been washed, but watermarks remained in the drainage ditches along the edges.

The workers who were doing their morning exercise had finished warming up. Some were jogging, while others were doing strength training on simple equipment. They would nod to her when they saw her.

A crowd had already gathered in front of the newspaper reading area in one corner of the square.

Inee noticed that the people gathered there were not only researchers in academic uniforms, but also many porters and technicians in work clothes.

Someone pointed to a passage on the page and whispered about improving the new conductive structure.

The Truth Brief was printed every morning and put on the shelves in the early morning.

Nine-year compulsory education has completely ended the era of ignorance; literacy is no longer the privilege of a few, but the starting point for every citizen. As Inee passed by one of them, she saw the activity room inside through the open window.

Several elderly people were discussing the chess game around the board, while on the other side, someone wearing reading glasses was carefully flipping through a basic arithmetic textbook. On the wall was a course schedule for the "Senior Citizens Literacy Refresher Course".

They no longer go to church to pray for their fate, nor do they need to bow their heads to any idols.

A retired veteran set up a breakfast stall on a street corner.

On the heating stove, the inexpensive sausages sizzled.

He worked skillfully, handing the freshly baked bread to customers in line, occasionally chatting with acquaintances.

There are no knights running rampant here, nor are there harsh exploitations.

He only needed to pay a very low stall fee to the commune on time to operate his business with peace of mind and enjoy the old-age and medical security provided by the Republic.

This is the world he fought for.

The group of teenagers, carrying their schoolbags, walked towards the school in class order. The procession was quiet but full of energy.

"I want to work as an engineer at the Hamilton Steam Center in the future!"

"I want to go to the Southern Commune to study high-yield wheat!"

They argued heatedly, but no one mentioned noble titles or knighthoods.

The definition of a hero is no longer limited to the battlefield.

Inee knew very well that all this prosperity was not a gift from God.

Louis spent forty years weaving the scattered refugees into a tight-knit class collective.

He replaced the capricious imperial power with a strict and stable rule of law.

A standardized education system has replaced the monopoly of bloodline and birth.

People learn to walk with their heads held high, without fear of the powerful and wealthy, but simply with reverence for the truth itself.

This sense of self-respect in civilization is the most precious asset that Louis left to the world.

…………

Ini arrived at the capital's central airport and stood in front of the observation window of the Truth heavy airship.

Outside the porthole, the huge silver airbags gleamed softly in the morning sun.

The airship took off smoothly, the sound of the wind isolated by the thick soundproofing layer, leaving only the low vibration of the engines.

The old capital city appears prosperous and intact when viewed from above, with its streets unfolding like a chessboard.

But in Innie's heart, this place was always just the central hub of management, not the place where her soul resided.

The true center is Red Tide City in the North. Although it is not the capital due to its geographical location, everyone knows that it is the true starting point of the Republic.

Lord Louis had ordered that the original rooftop house and the simple alchemy workshop be preserved.

This is to remind future generations that modern life didn't fall from the sky.

As the airship flew north, the outline of the land gradually became clearer below the clouds.

Inee's gaze fell upon a vast plain, and her heart tightened slightly.

Forty years ago, it was a place known as the "Dark Gold Wasteland".

The traces of the old emperor's tyranny had not completely disappeared; the land resembled scorched slag, barren of everything.

Now the landscape has been completely reconstructed, with vast expanses of white leaves slowly rotating on the ground, reflecting light amidst the clouds and mist.

Those are thousands upon thousands of magical wind turbines arranged along the wind direction, transforming the invisible airflow into stable energy pulses, which are then transmitted to the surrounding towns and workshops through an underground transmission network.

Ine's fingertips tightened unconsciously.

Twelve years ago, she was one of the senior leaders of this project that improves people's lives.

Those nights of calculation, experimentation, and repeated revisions have now transformed into this orderly, white ocean beneath our feet.

This is her way of repaying the land and the Red Tide Republic.

The airship passed through the perpetual sea of ​​clouds in the North.

Suddenly, the clouds parted, and a huge knight statue burst forth from the sky.

This figure, forged from meteorite iron, symbolizes the knightly will to sacrifice himself to save the world.

The longsword pointed diagonally to the sky, and the lines of the cloak froze in the wind and snow, yet seemed to still flutter.

Forty years of trials and tribulations have not made it bow down.

There were no announcements inside the cabin, but the conversations naturally stopped at that moment, and the passengers all stood up and stood at attention.

The elderly stroked the sun badges on their chests, while the young men straightened their backs, their gazes passing over the portholes and looking towards the city.

Inee's vision blurred for a moment, then she raised her hand to her chest and took a deep breath.

Red Tide City is just ahead.

(End of this chapter)