People in Terra, governing a weird little country

One is Terra in Kal'tsit's eyes.

One is the previous civilization - human civilization - that shouted "Even if everything is destroyed, the glory of mankind will last forever", and handed over the choice of doomsday to an unknown compatriot.

One is Ernst’s hometown which he can no longer return to.

Terra's previous civilization did call itself "human beings", but to Ernst, they were still a specious existence.

When the affairs of the world are entrusted to an ordinary man, Ernst, a human being who is not a "human", truly feels the weight of that.

The weight of civilization is as light as a breath like "No", and as heavy as a mountain like an "answer".

Ernst recalled the sentence that was not on the list. That simple sentence of comfort.

[Don't blame yourself, my compatriots. The decision you make here will be respected by all mankind.]

They have been waiting for this answer. No matter what the answer is or who makes it, the former civilization is waiting for this requiem.

It’s definitely not “Don’t answer that, human!”

But "Please answer, human."

Chapter 343 Wait and See

Kjerag, Tukarim, Kjerag Grand Hotel.

The Duke of Caister strolls through the hotel gardens.

Kjerag's natural environment means that it is impossible to build a spectacle like the Central Garden of San Marceau in Lateran. But the snowy land also has its own flowers, a kind of flower called "Yela" by the local people.

It is said that this flower is the favorite plant of the great god Yelagund. Because Yelagund often appears in the form of a woman in the traditional texts of Kjerag, Manjuin would use this flower to decorate the statue of Yelagund during the annual harvest festival and holy hunting ceremony, which is equivalent to putting makeup on the god.

After the construction of the Kjerag Hotel, a lot of "Yela" were transplanted in the attached garden. The small plain flowers emit a light and simple fragrance, which is not strong, giving people a feeling of purity.

I have to say that the Duke of Caster really likes this kind of flower.

People are always interested in things that are very different from themselves.

However, her interest was not destined to last long, and she came to the garden not just to relax.

When the man in the gray top hat and heavy leather boots stepped into this area, Duke Caister knew that today's short rest was over.

She turned around, waved, and said to Rita Scamander who was about to leave:

"Rita, stay and listen."

The blonde White Wolf Daughter paused and shook her head slightly towards Duke Kaster:

"Your Excellency the Duke, this is not something a soldier like me should inquire about."

"Don't say that. Your father and I are old friends. Why should we be so distant with each other?"

The Duke of Caister said again:

"Stay."

Although her words could not be final, Rita also had some concerns.

The Duke of Caster just mentioned her father, the Earl of White Wolf, who was also a die-hard supporter of the Lion King. However, compared to the Duke of Cumberland who fought with the Lion King to the end, his father chose to retreat at the critical moment.

This is a rather euphemistic way of saying it. If one looks at it from the perspective of the Aslan faction, there is no doubt that Earl White Wolf is a deserter.

Rita understood her father's dilemma. Between family and loyalty, he chose family. So he handed over power, retired from the army, gave up all honors, and returned to his fiefdom almost alone. This was all to protect his family. At that time, when the outcome was still unclear, this choice undoubtedly required great courage and political wisdom.

But sometimes, you can't quit just because you want to.

The White Wolf Earl has been in the army for generations, and his ancestor once tore a Sarkaz blood demon prince apart with his own hands. His influence in the army cannot be underestimated. And influence cannot be wiped out just by saying "retire from the army".

Until now, there are still many nobles who are keeping a close eye on the movements of the Scamanderros family. Among these nobles, there are people from Wellington, people from Windermere, and of course people from the Duke of Caster.

It was difficult for her to determine whether the Duke of Caster's words "old friend" were just a polite remark or a hint of ulterior motive.

An enemy is also an old friend, isn't he?

It was a great irony that the Duke of Caister had sent the daughter of the Count of White Wolf to serve as her bodyguard as the captain of the Storm Commando. Who knew what other tricks she would play?

Rita clenched her fists somewhat unwillingly, but finally walked back to her seat in silence and stood behind the Duke of Caister.

Duke Caister nodded in satisfaction and said as he walked:

"Tell me, how is the investigation going? Are there any new developments?"

"On the day of the Star Picking Operation, an experiment was indeed conducted in the dome laboratory on the Matterhorn. A cordon was set up around the area, and guards from the Perlochi and Shivaash families patrolled to prevent anyone from approaching. It was said that they were worried that something unexpected would happen during the experiment and affect the surrounding area."

The Duke of Caister bowed slightly.

This is a reasonable move.

Breaking through the isolation layer is a feat that many people have tried, but no one has succeeded. No one can say for sure what is outside the isolation layer, and whether piercing the "star pod" will cause the stars in the sky to fall to the earth. Evacuating the surrounding people in advance is a normal safety measure.

This is not what she cares about:

"Since the experiment was carried out, what are the results?"

"You came to report to me yesterday that the scientists from Colombia had hurried back to their country."

"But Ernst said that the experimental results need to be sorted and analyzed before they can be made public."

“Who’s doing the analysis?”

The Duke of Caster smiled and made a joke,

“Is it the smartest beast of burden that Enthiotis marketed, Kjerag?”

The man in the gray hat smiled knowingly, and the corners of Rita's mouth rose for a moment, then quickly suppressed them again.

Of course, they also knew the story of Enthiotis and the smartest beast of burden. The Kjerag people learned some of the Casimir people's tricks from somewhere and wanted to hold a beast of burden competition in Kjerag. The most talked about thing in the past month was this "smartest beast of burden". It was said that "he" could also do arithmetic and could calculate addition and subtraction within 100 within ten seconds.

It's amazing, many Victorians can't do this!

Of course, most people think this is just a joke. Can a beast of burden pretend to be a learned and wise man by wearing a pair of glasses on his nose? Do you think he can tell how many teeth he is showing when he shows them?

Laughing aside, the question still needs to be answered. The gray hat said:

"Your Excellency the Duke, the analysis of the experimental results may just be a cover."

"We all know that the Kjerag people definitely don't have that kind of analytical ability, and the Colombians left in a hurry. Seven days, for a scientific experiment, may pass in the blink of an eye. But it is more than enough for the Colombians to return to Colombia."

Kaister raised his eyebrows:

"Are you trying to say that those scientists took away the real [results]?"

"Not at all."

Gray Hat Road,

"Ernst will definitely release some information, such as data outside the isolation layer. Although these data are difficult to verify or disprove at this stage, they should be true. Otherwise, the lie will be exposed with just one poke."

“But the real gains will probably only be announced to their partners.”

Duke Caister nodded thoughtfully, as if sighing:

"Why didn't he tell me?"

The man in the gray hat, whose mouth was hidden by the scarf, curled up in disdain.

Why? Why? Look at how you are always like this.

Putting aside other things, even if Ernst really came to you first, would you invest in the Star Picking Project, which has no visible benefits and may even lose money?

Even the tip of the grey hat's tail knew that this was impossible.

Exploring the starry sky is indeed romantic, but the Duke is obviously more interested in exploring human nature. Only in this exploration, she set an example, took the lead, and soared to 90,000 miles.

Well, Gray Hat could only say these words that slandered his own boss in his heart.

He did not answer the Duke of Caster's question, which had no correct answer, but said directly:

"Ernst's cooperation with the Colombians may be much deeper than we thought. I believe you should have received the news that Wilson, the vice president of Colombia, gave a speech that morning that was almost identical to Ernst's speech."

"They both used the same manuscript."

"President Wilson's domestic support rate has greatly increased due to this speech, which the media called a "groundbreaking speech", and has surpassed his competitors. Like Ernst, he also needs to produce some results as an explanation."

Duke Caister understood: "This achievement is what those scientists brought back."

"That's a good idea, Duke." The man in the gray hat nodded.

The Duke of Caster sat down at the tea table and took a sip of tea with a smile. The man in the gray hat bowed slightly and left. At this moment, the silver-haired old man in Filin turned his head and looked at Rita, who was silent, and asked:

"Rita, what do you think?"

Rita pursed her lips when her name was called and said:

“I don’t think it’s important.”

"What's not important?"

"It doesn't matter what results there are. It doesn't even matter if there are any results," Rita said. "The exploration itself is the greatest significance."

Duke Caister was slightly stunned, but shook his head helplessly and couldn't help laughing.

"What's so funny?"

Rita was a little dissatisfied.

"Your Excellency, am I wrong?"

"We knew that the starry sky had no rules at all when astrology was just developing thousands of years ago. A few hundred years later, we realized that the starry sky above our heads was actually a layer of [star pods]. However, it was not until today that some of us were able to get close to that sky. The Iberians explored the oceans, and the Colombians opened up wasteland. They all expanded our horizons. Isn't exploration itself meaningful?"

"It's really... an interesting idea." Duke Caister affirmed, "It reminds me of the adventure stories I read when I was a child."

“The hero and his team went through numerous hardships and suffered many hardships before finally defeating the legendary dragon Drake and taking the treasure he was guarding. They opened the treasure chest with great expectations, but only got a piece of paper.”

“The journey you take with your friends is the greatest treasure.”

Looking at Rita's gradually reacting, somewhat ugly expression, Duke Caister said:

"Child, you are still too young and too naive."

"The Iberians explored the oceans to dominate, and the Colombians explored the wasteland to avoid us (Victoria) in the core circle. It is true that exploration itself has meaning."

She paused, and uttered the word that turned all the previous words into nonsense.

"But politics doesn't matter right or wrong, it only matters gains and losses."

"We'll have to wait and see what Ernst and the Colombians will come up with."

Chapter 344: Saria, We Love You

"In fact, space is not far away from us. If I remember correctly, it is only about 100 kilometers away."

"If you had a car that went upwards, it would take just over an hour to reach space."

On the way back to Columbia, Christen recalled the knowledge about the universe that Ernst had revealed to her.

At that time, they were not ready for the star-picking plan, the initial experiments had not yet begun, and the method of breaking through the isolation layer had not yet been found. Everything was still unknown. No one could tell whether the Dome Research Station, a huge project that almost made Justin cry, would be able to pay off.

But by then, Ernst had revealed some information to her that should not be known to anyone else.

Whether it was true or not, Kristen could not wait to ask Ernst questions. At first, Ernst could barely answer some of the questions, but when Kristen asked some questions related to physics, celestial movement, what the universe is, how it came about, and why it existed, he could only remain silent in some awkwardness.

Christen felt a little regretful because she could see that Ernst was indeed not a professional in this field and that he knew that information mostly through hearsay. The source of the information might be Levi or Yelagund, but there would be no point in asking him again.

So, Christen sighed:

"But it took us thousands or even tens of thousands of years to walk these 100 kilometers."

It is not easy for humans to explore space, especially in an environment like Terra. Struggles are fierce, wars are frequent, conflicts are intensifying, and those in power are not very human. All these internal factors, plus an equally unknown isolation layer, are enough to keep Terra stuck in this narrow land for thousands of years.

Admittedly, Christen was not the first explorer, but there were only a handful of explorers before her. Compared with them, Christen might be the most promising one.

Because she has supporters, supporters like Ernst, helpers like Nasti, and geographical advantages like the Matterhorn.

Except for the wrong timing, she was exactly the same in terms of location and people.

She was very grateful to these people. Although everyone had their own purposes, there was no good thing in the world without reason.

Therefore, she felt somewhat guilty about hiding this from Ernst.

Looking at the USB drive in her hand, Kristen bit her lip lightly.