The Master of the Strange Realm

Chapter 2202 The Brave Man and the Sailor

"Interesting? Since you think humans are interesting, will you give up the plan to bring the Land of Steel?"

"Of course not. The Earth of Steel will definitely come. Then I can observe the transformed humans as I wish. I think it will be more interesting."

After passing through the door and returning to the antique shop, the Gear Man walked quickly back behind the counter, opened the secret compartment on his chest for the fourth time, and put the slightly smaller diamond into it. Jenkins did not comment on this behavior. He held the cat in his arms again, lowered his head and continued to look at the map of Nolan and the surrounding areas.

Of course, this way, when you lower your head, your chin can touch Chocolate's furry head, and Chocolate seems to like Jenkins doing this.

"What do you think of this era at the end of the eighteenth century?"

Jenkins, who lowered his head, suddenly asked.

"Very good. I must admit that even though I have seen human civilization go through many peaks, your era is definitely one of the most powerful eras I have ever seen. Although the extraordinary power is not obvious, but Relying on the power of machinery, human beings have also created a new era.”

It praised sincerely.

"Have you ever tried to calculate, if the current civilization wants to continue to progress, I mean make great progress, where will the direction be?"

“If we rule out the almost impossible possibility that [a great geographical discovery suddenly occurred in the material world, people discovered another completely different but equally prosperous, or even slightly backward civilization, and then sought development through competition and change], Then I think the only way forward is to let the land of steel come, so that civilization can continue to progress."

"The two possibilities you mentioned are both civilizational progress promoted by external forces."

Jenkins pointed out.

"Of course, when human civilization has advanced to this point, it has become corrupt inside. Without the influence of external forces, it is difficult to make changes on its own. This is the result of my calculation and simulation, and I quite believe in this result."

Jenkins remained silent because the other party was actually right. The changes brought about by Jenkins are also the effects of external forces on local civilization. After all, he is a foreigner, and the knowledge and historical lessons he brings also belong to external forces.

Perhaps without the Difference Engine and outsiders, the civilization of the material world could advance to a higher level just like the previous world. But now that there are two, the situation has become one of two external forces competing against each other. Civilization works.

Compared with the Difference Engine, Jenkins is gentler and more acceptable to people. He understands the context of history. The difference engine method completely subverts everything, so it is resisted by the civilization of the material world.

Although there is some suspicion of boasting, Jenkins is convinced that the changes he brought about are changes that are beneficial to civilization. Therefore, he believes that what he has done all along is the right thing, so he can strengthen his heart and be sure that he can win.

The Difference Engine couldn't convince Jenkins, but it still kept trying, and in fact Jenkins was trying to change the other person's mind. But both more or less understand that their opponent's ideas are as smelly and hard as stones in a country toilet, so it's hard to say whether they both think it's possible to win over the opponent through persuasion alone.

The Difference Engine and Jenkins walking around in this era together may be a farewell ceremony for one of the two to the world, but more often than not, the two are exchanging their own ideas with each other and trying to understand the opponent's cognition. But the more this happens, the more it reflects their differences, which are irreconcilable.

The inventor just now was the fourth target, and now there are only three untouched reds left on the map. Jenkins wanted to use the clock tower in front of the Civic Square in Nolan City as his final target, so he chose among the remaining two.

"Then let's go to the dock and have a look."

Jenkins pointed to the left side of the map. The red dot was located on the edge of the dock offshore. Judging from the clothing, the brass-colored statue looked like a typical middle-aged sailor.

He looked expressionless, with his hands folded over his chest as if he was examining something in front of him. He is tall and muscular, and because his sleeves are rolled up, the scar on his left arm can be seen.

"Don't ask me if I'm sure, I'm really sure."

Jenkins said again before the Gear Man could speak.

The gear man glanced at him and jumped into the map. Jenkins glanced at his father who was still in the antique shop, then jumped into the map with the cat in his arms.

It still fell from a high altitude. Although Nolan covers a large area, the mine to the east and the dock to the west have almost the same light rain. From the air, you can see the crowds of people on the stationary pier, and the docked ships are even more lively.

Such light rain does not affect the work at the pier, because there is no wind, so the ships will not rock. People only need to be careful not to slip. There is not much difference between here and sunny days.

Two people and a cat landed in the open space used to store cargo boxes on the dock. The stationary workers lined up to move the goods from the large ship nearby. Others were organizing canvas to cover the cargo boxes to prevent them from being soaked by rain. Got the goods.

"This way."

Still with the gear man leading the way, the two bypassed the sailors and workers on the dock and boarded the deck of the nearest cargo ship that was unloading. On the shore side of the deck, a middle-aged sailor who looks exactly like the bronze statue is supervising workers to move the goods piled here.

He shouldn't be a low-level sailor on the ship, but Jenkins couldn't tell what position he held just by looking at him.

"What's the goal this time?"

Jenkins asked, looking around.

"Without fear."

"That is, the heart of the brave?"

"You could say the same thing."

As he spoke, the noisy sounds around him gradually started to sound, and the still people continued to move. Only the middle-aged sailor still stood there with his hands folded in front of his chest, as if he was still affected by the frozen time.

After briefly sizing him up, Jenkins raised his eyebrows in surprise:

"The goal this time is really interesting."

He said to the gear man:

"It's actually the giver."

Although he is a gifter, he is only level 0, so he is just getting started. Although the gift of a gifter will not weaken with age, if you become a gifter at this age, there is a high probability that there will be no development prospects in the future. From Jenkins' point of view, this middle-aged man was lucky to be able to reach two levels before dying normally in his sixties.

Therefore, even though he is a gifter, it is actually completely okay to treat him as a normal person, because the difference between the two is actually not big. Jenkins was very curious about the other party’s story, so he stepped forward and asked:

"Are you the Giver?"

The sailor glanced at the stranger who appeared on the deck:

"Yes."

All targets in the deception have a very high initial friendliness towards Jenkins.

"How did you become the Giver?"

Jenkins asked again.

The sailor looked at him carefully, and then looked back at the workers carrying the goods:

"The old captain of the ship I followed introduced me to a club called the 'Old Captains' Association'. Some of the people in that club were benefactors, forming a secret society. I was invited to join because I was literate. After knowing the risks, I read some... very strange things for a long time. After five or six years, I finally became a grantor."

Judging from this information, this is probably not a large-scale false god sect or a historical organization with inheritance. It is probably a subordinate organization created by a higher-level benefactor. Otherwise, it wouldn't take so many years to cultivate a gifter.

"What does your club exist for? It doesn't exist just for the sake of existence, right?"

Jenkins asked again, but this time the sailor didn't answer immediately. He seemed to hesitate for a while:

"Those of us sailors who often go to sea cannot avoid encountering some strange things at sea. As you probably know, the Zhengshen Church protects you on land, but you can only rely on yourself at sea. The purpose of the existence of the association is not to Help us improve our survival rate, but hope we can bring back some valuable items when we encounter strange things.”

He paused, as if thinking of a bad memory:

"By bringing the items back, we can gain more power through the association. Even if we can't bring them back, we can still learn about things on the sea through mutual communication. This is a good organization."

This introduction almost confirmed Jenkins' guess about this small organization. To be honest, this kind of organization doesn't look as strong as Mr. Hood's party. Jenkins is not included in Mr. Hood's party. The others are also genuine gifters, people who have truly "got started" and are climbing the ladder. As for these captains and sailors, they had only seen the door at best. It is estimated that the organizer of the society did not have much knowledge.

The information revealed in the sailor's words does not indicate that he is brave or not brave. But based on the four experiences just now, these target people usually lack the qualities represented by the items that Jenkins wants to obtain.

So he planned to test it further:

"So after becoming a Gifter, has your life changed? Has it given you more development opportunities because of the power you gained?"

"Although power is good, it also comes at a price."

The middle-aged sailor gave up the action of crossing his arms in front of his chest:

“I didn’t know anything before, so I had no fear. Even if I heard an inexplicable sound at night at sea, I just thought it was the sea breeze; if I saw a strange black shadow in the storm, I just thought it was a fishing boat blown away; When I encounter the altars of indigenous people on isolated islands overseas, I just think it is some ancient animal worship custom.

But now that I understand that the world is not as simple as imagined, everything has changed. I'm afraid of the night, because I'm worried that the strange noises come from monsters sleeping on the bottom of the sea; I'm afraid of storms, because I'm worried that the cause of the storm is the evil thing sealed in the boundless sea; I don't dare to contact any tribe in the ocean, because I'm worried that they worship the ancients Evil god. "

Chapter 2203 The hesitation of life

The sailor spoke with a touch of melancholy in his words:

"I used to be like a simple child, so I was fearless because of my ignorance; now I have grown up and know the dangers of this world, so I see everything differently."

"Are you scared?"

Jenkins asked.

"No, this is not fear, this is caution, this is... fear."

In fact, it is fear.

"I have lived for more than thirty years before I knew the dangers of this world. Now think about it, it is a miracle that I have been able to live in ignorance until now since I boarded the ship at the age of sixteen. But people at sea can never rely on miracles, so I knew I was going to die in an accident sooner or later."

"You don't plan to go to sea again?"

"Actually, it's time for sailors of my age to get off the ship and give opportunities to young people."

This is just a nice way of saying it. In fact, it’s because I’m afraid of the ocean and I don’t dare to go to sea.

"But are you willing?"

"What is there to be unwilling to do? Life is the most important thing."

The middle-aged sailor is different from the previous ones. He has rich life experience and experience, which cannot be easily convinced by Jenkins with a few words.

"I don't plan to go to sea again. I never want to be exposed to the secrets contained in the ocean. After this, I plan to buy a house in the suburbs of Nolan, and then find a way to get married and train my son to read and write. He can't Like me, I have become a sailor. I have saved a lot of savings over the years, and I have some contacts at the dock. I can run a small shop in the future and sell both legal and illegal goods..."

He introduced his next life plans to Jenkins. The middle-aged sailor must have already thought of these plans. His plan is very good, and if he were not facing the current situation, Jenkins would definitely support his approach. What the middle-aged sailors want to do is to make their lives more stable, and they are determined to let the next generation break through the current class. Even Jenkins can't think of a better plan than this.

Therefore, what Jenkins wants to do at this time seems like a bad thing, allowing a sailor who has decided to settle down to set sail again, which undoubtedly encourages him to die. The sailor is right. The risk of venturing in the ocean outside the main continent of the material world, where the Righteous Church's power is relatively thin, is really not that great.

"Being fearless" itself conflicts with the identity of the gifter, because the gifter cannot be without fear. Even if "fearless" is used as a description, and it does not mean that they are not afraid of anything, it is difficult for the bestowers to have such a character.

The more you know, the more you fear the world. This is a choice that normal people would make. But there is no impassable situation in the treacherous environment, so there must be some way to convince the sailors to be "unafraid" again.

"Why did you become a sailor?"

Jenkins asked.

"To have food to eat."

replied the sailor.

This answer was so realistic that Jenkins thought it was the plot of a novel about young people yearning for adventure.

"But when you were young, didn't you have the idea of ​​conquering the ocean and becoming a great adventurer?"

Jenkins asked again.

"That's something that young people with less easily excited minds would think about. I'm no longer young. This kind of ridiculous idea didn't exist more than ten years ago."

The sailor shook his head.

"Do you really have no intention of continuing your life as a sailor?"

Jenkins asked again without giving up.

"Do you think I'm crazy? Why take risks when you have a better life? We only have one life, and we should cherish our lives."

Jenkins would have a hard time disagreeing with him.

"Meow~"

Seeing that Jenkins was in trouble, the cat, who was determined to be well-behaved, immediately comforted him. It rubbed the side of Jenkins' face with its furry little face bag, and then let out a soft, pleasant meow.

"Do not worry about me."

Jenkins also responded to his own cat, happy that Chocolate was so understanding.

He looked at the sailor again, hoping to get some ideas from his appearance. But doing so was a complete waste of time. Jenkins, who had no good ideas, could only ask more details about the other party’s life:

"Can the captain agree to your withdrawal from the fleet?"

"We talked about this a few months ago. I have found a replacement for my job as bosun. The captain is really reluctant to let me go, but we have been good friends for many years, and he understands my thoughts, so he They let me off the boat...but there are still some problems at the club."

The sailor hesitated to speak. This middle-aged man seemed to have no agenda. He was just worried about his own life, not any major world events.

"What's wrong with the club?"

Jenkins asked immediately, sensing an opportunity.

"The club spent a lot of money to train me to be a gifter, and I know this myself. Now that I have to quit without making almost any contribution, the owner of the club will probably be unhappy. I have asked the members of the club Regarding the opinions of others, they all think that I am ungrateful and timid, and that I am not worthy of being a sailor..."

Jenkins waited for himself to express his opinion, so he did not rush to speak.

"What they say makes sense. Even those gangsters who are at the bottom of the city also know the principle of repaying a favor. I have received benefits from the club, but my contribution is not enough to offset these benefits. My own savings It is even more impossible to use it as compensation, so even if the captain agrees to let me off the ship, the club will definitely make trouble for me. After all, once this kind of precedent is set, more problems will arise in the future. I understand this truth. "

"Then what are you going to do? Are you still going to stay in Nolan? Or are you leaving here and going to live in another country? I think the club you are talking about is not capable of hunting you down all over the world for such a thing. "

“But I don’t know anyone in a foreign place, and the other people in the club are familiar with the dock city where I can stay. I don’t want to leave my hometown. Nolan is my hometown. Wandering sailors always have a hometown. I think I can always think of some ways. I don’t mind my life being monitored. Although I no longer go to sea, I can probably contribute to the club by staying on shore... I hope so.”

This is a person who is full of expectations for the future, but also full of confusion. He may not have received a good education, but his knowledge and vision are enough to make up for the lack of education.

For such a person, it is difficult to try to change his mind, but Jenkins knows that he must do this and must drag him out of the peaceful life he longs for.