The fairy maid cheers for her deceased master today.

Although fairies exist in this world.

But Axe had long observed that the general historical trends of the world were quite consistent. At least in Europe.

It makes sense. If, according to the Holy Church, the world has always faced the threat of alien species... and if fairies have helped humanity fight against alien species since ancient times, then the effects of fairies and alien species cancel each other out, and human development will basically remain on its original track.

Although it seems incredible, perhaps this is just the inertia of history.

Aside from some differences in the details.

For example, British etiquette and customs are different from those in normal history; and humans now rely on fairy magic in addition to science.

In any case, this is still the peak of the Industrial Revolution in this otherworldly Britain.

This indicates that there are many factories.

With more factories comes more severe pollution, and the emission of coal smoke further delays the dissipation of the fog, sometimes even until 1 or 3 p.m.

However, the silverware theft occurred at four o'clock, so it couldn't have been caused by normal fog.

Therefore, at this moment, looking at the fog that had not yet dissipated in the morning, X stood at the location of the theft and loosened his tie, his dark gray coat rustling in the wind.

Before transmigrating, Ex almost never wore bow ties or neckties; he simply couldn't get used to wearing them.

Elena also tossed off her wig, revealing pointed ears. Angel, meanwhile, jumped up and down, ripping off her wide-brimmed hat, her silver hair flowing like mercury.

"Finally free!" the fairy cheered, her blue eyes shining in the mist.

"Looks like this is it." AX crouched down, running his fingers along the tire tracks on the ground. "The place where the silverware disappeared. But the previous tire tracks should have been completely covered up."

Axe stood up again, his gaze sweeping across the riverbank. A thin mist, writhing like a living thing, obscured the distant scenery.

The fog wasn't too thick; you could still see everything if you just squinted and observed for a while.

"You still haven't told me, Sir. How do you create a thick fog?" Elena asked.

"I can think of more than two solutions right now."

The first method is to use dry ice. Prepare dry ice and then use it on-site.

Based on Ax's knowledge before his transmigration, as well as the original owner's memories, Britain already possessed the technology to make dry ice; it was technically feasible. The Royal Society certainly had the relevant knowledge.

The only problem is that it can't be mass-produced. It's still in the laboratory preparation stage.

Moreover... the current production capacity is far from sufficient to create a dense fog covering a large area of ​​streets. The laboratory simply cannot produce that much dry ice.

Even if it could be manufactured, transportation and storage would be extremely difficult. Without sufficiently effective refrigeration equipment, dry ice simply cannot be preserved.

The second method is steam condensation.

The system is designed with multiple nozzles to spray high-temperature steam into the air. The steam condenses rapidly upon contact with the cold air, forming mist.

With so many steam pipes on the streets of London, this method is quite feasible.

However, there's also a problem—after a large amount of steam is consumed, the steam company will definitely find the flow rate extremely abnormal. This will prompt them to investigate the problem… This requires checking the records at the London Steam Company.

As he pondered, he looked towards the shore again.

Several thick iron pipes protrude from the ground, extending into the depths of the mist. Further away, overhead steam pipes, like giant black pythons, coil between the buildings.

"The main steam pipes?" Irene noticed X's gaze and asked疑惑地, "You suspect there's a problem with the steam pipes?"

"It's just a suspicion." Ax approached the pipe and touched the wall. "Is it vibrating?"

Axe immediately noticed that several men in overalls were peeking out from behind the bushes not far away.

They were inspecting a pipe, the clanging of their tools echoing through the room.

What a coincidence! It also saved us time going to the steam company.

"What's going on?" Ex immediately went over and stopped a worker.

The worker wiped his sweat, a look of dissatisfaction on his face: "The steam pressure is unstable, affecting the entire area. My wife can't even take a hot shower!"

Of course, it's not like you can't wash at all. However, according to the original owner's memories, steam baths are quite popular now.

"When did it start?"

"About three days ago. The pipeline malfunctioned after a heavy fog three days ago. We still haven't found the cause of the problem."

"What about two months ago? The pipes were working perfectly fine?" Ex asked, guiding the question.

"Two months ago... actually, the steam pipes were working perfectly fine for the previous few months."

X and Elena exchanged a glance. X sighed subconsciously.

If everything in the pipeline is normal, it means that the prisoner was neither using dry ice to generate fog nor using the condensation method.

Then Elena dispelled the magic.

What else could there be besides science and magic?

Angel, however, started wandering around again, then suddenly tugged at X's sleeve: "Master, those pipes over there look different?"

Ax looked over in that direction, then pointed to several iron pipes of slightly different color in the distance and asked the worker:

"Why do those pipes look different from the others?"

The worker squinted and looked around: "Those are old pipes, long abandoned. What, are you here for an inspection too?"

"More or less," Ex said vaguely. "Could you show us around?"

"Hey, I'm busy. Today's work is very important; the company has given a strict order: we must find the problem..."

But before the worker could finish speaking, he saw X hand him a silver coin.

The worker immediately flashed his brightest smile: "Of course, sir. Inspecting the pipes is my duty. This way, please."

Angel couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle.

But the worker was clearly shameless and readily led the way.

Several people followed the workers along the riverbank. In the light mist, the outlines of more pipes could be vaguely seen. Some were buried underground, some were erected in the air, like a huge net covering the area.

"This area is in central London, so there have been many pipeline renovations. In the past, several steam companies were fighting over the pipeline laying sites... they even got into fights."

So that's how they fight for territory!

The worker quickly stopped in front of a broken section of an overhead pipeline: "It's been cut off and sealed off here. The rest of the pipeline is abandoned."

This is an old building, with several pipes running side by side on its exterior walls. Some are new, some are old.

According to the worker, the rusty old pipes had been abandoned and were no longer in use.

Ex noticed something else. At the joints of several old pipes, there were relatively fresh scratches, as if they had been recently dismantled.

But it's not obvious.

The old pipes, which spanned several buildings, were then drilled back underground. However, according to the workers, the underground section was also sealed off to ensure that no one would misuse the old pipes.

"How was it sealed off?" Elena asked.

"Completely seal it off. You know Portland cement, right? Just pour it in."

Elena shook her head and said to Ex, "It seems there's nothing wrong with these old pipes."

Ax didn't answer, but instead placed his hand on the old, grounded pipe.

Instantly, with the help of the Pure Poetry System, several equivalent exchange equations appeared in my mind.

Steam pipe (cast iron straight section produced in 1850) + old brass gate valve (retired from a textile mill in 1839) = high-pressure steam nozzle (core injection component adapted to the steam engine power system)

Steam pipe (seamless steel pipe from 1850) + old wrought iron horseshoes (leftover materials from a blacksmith's shop in 1837) = steam locomotive brake shoe bracket (a core component for railway transportation safety)

Steam pipe (welded elbow from 1850) + old steel handsaw blade (scrap woodworking part from 1836) = light mortar breech bolt (key component of army field suppression weapons)

[Steam pipe (cast iron tee from 1850) + old bronze nautical compass casing (retired from a merchant ship in 1835) = metal telescope barrel bracket for military binoculars (stabilizing parts for reconnaissance equipment)]

Since there is no specific idea, the equivalent commutation formula is also random.

But X wasn't prepared to perform alchemical magic in front of others.

As a player, he instinctively took full advantage of the formula's characteristics—it would reveal some time information about consumables. Sometimes it was the manufacturing date, sometimes the obsolescence date, and so on.

That's right, it's quite obvious that the old pipes in front of us were actually manufactured in 1850.

So these seemingly old pipes... are actually quite new pipes in essence!

These pipes have been completely replaced.