"The process of acquiring this box was actually very complicated," Xia De said slowly, clicking open the clasps on both sides of the briefcase. He wasn't afraid of a self-destruct device inside the briefcase; at worst, he could use the Breath of Years to reverse time.
"I suspect this must be a very, very important item. For example... a map of the military deployment on Delarion's southern border."
"For example, the construction blueprints of the kingdom's most advanced warships or the smelting methods for special alloys," Angelina guessed.
"For example, the personal privacy of the kingdom's political figures or detailed lists of bribes received by civil servants in various departments..." Leia said casually, and the three of them looked at the black leather briefcase on Xia De's lap.
"In this era, there shouldn't be anything more important or worth so many top agents stealing than these, right?" Xia De thought to himself.
"Outsider, do you really think these are the most important?" "She" asked softly. In the slightly cramped carriage, the feeling of someone speaking close to his ear was very strange.
"Civilization is the most important, but how could civilization fit into a briefcase?" Xia De replied in his mind, then opened the lid of the box. As he expected, it was all paper materials inside: document bags, official papers, letters, blueprints, and all sorts of miscellaneous items piled together, even two books.
This made the briefcase seem less like a secret and more like the luggage of an Old Professor on a business trip.
"What is this?" he muttered curiously, picking up the first document. Under the gaslight from the bridge outside the window, he read out the title of the document:
"Preliminary Draft of the Design Principles and Schematic Diagram of the Second-Generation Simple Mechanical Integral Calculator—Data Storage Section."
Leia and Angelina both looked at Xia De curiously, because Xia De's eyes suddenly widened, and even his hands holding the document trembled.
"Huh? This is..." He held the document in his hand, stunned for a long while, before somewhat frantically rummaging through the other documents in the briefcase, searching through the schematic diagrams and theoretical books. Finally, he threw all the papers back into the box, and with a sense of disbelief, slapped his own cheek.
"Oh, I heard the kingdom was researching this. It's said to be a classified project," Leia asked.
"Sister, are these documents more important than military deployments, ship parameters, and political secrets?" The little princess holding the cat asked curiously.
"Yes, they are all important. This is the prototype structure diagram of the Difference Engine—the Difference Engine is the name I gave it; it should be a large-scale mechanized gear calculator." Xia De nodded, looking at the night view outside the window. With so much manpower and resources mobilized, and this layout starting at least in the spring of 1853, he finally understood what Carson Rick was plotting.
He had originally thought that no matter what was in the box, with so many people dying in this operation and so many secrets exposed to MI6, the operation itself was already a failure.
But he understood now, fully understood: Carson Rick didn't care about the losses of this operation, because as long as this box successfully fell into the hands of the Anjou Royal Family, it would be a victory.
"This is..." He took a deep breath: "The progress of civilization."
The starlight from outside the window shone on Xia De's face. As a well-informed Outsider, he understood even more what the information in his hand meant for this civilization, which was advancing along the path of machinery and steam:
"This is the embryonic form of the next generation of civilization." He couldn't help but want to praise Gray Gloves, to praise the kingdom located in the southern part of the Old Continent. This box was worth any cost to acquire.
"I don't understand. This is just a calculator. Calculators that can quickly perform addition and subtraction have already appeared, but they are only for auxiliary calculations," Angelina shook her head. The cat looked at Xia De curiously; it had never seen Xia De show such an expression.
"No, Angelina, no, it's not like that." He carefully closed the box, then pressed his arms on top of it, and said softly:
"Think about it: when calculators achieve multiplication, division, and integration, and then more complex calculations and control instructions, what can the 0s and 1s that represent on and off become?"
Here, there were already extremely miniaturized steam engines that even the technology of the Outsider's hometown couldn't achieve. He didn't mind using a richer imagination to envision how far this civilization, which had embarked on another technological path, could develop.
"What do they represent?" Leia asked curiously.
"They represent the beginning of the next industrial wave." Xia De narrowed his eyes slightly. The value of the briefcase in his hand was far beyond the 200 pounds he had paid.
A simple glance had already made him realize that the prototype of this advanced computational auxiliary machine had actually been designed. Although it was only the most basic computing machine, when people discovered the qualitative change brought by miniaturization and integration, the information in this box would become priceless.
"Imagine, on the assembly line of a steam factory, the results output by computing machines push levers and gripping arms, replacing workers in repetitive pressing tasks. Imagine, when the steam network extending throughout the world connects these machines, converting input steam pressure into input numbers, and through the rational distribution of the computing machines, converting the output numbers back into thrust to control valves using mechanical principles; imagine..."
"Wait, Xia De, can this really be achieved?" Leia asked, frowning prettily. Xia De nodded very seriously:
"Then to put it simply, compared to simple mechanical calculators that can only do addition and subtraction, this type of mechanical calculator that can perform multiplication, division, and even integration will accelerate the development of industries like metallurgy, mechanical manufacturing, shipbuilding, and weapon design by more than one level... Of course, the premise is that large-scale steam computers can be manufactured."
What he held was only the principle and prototype. Although it looked quite decent, the titles of those documents also stated that these were only temporary ideas and models.
"Oh, yes, very valuable!" Larus III, the Fire-Leaper, placed great importance on the education of the Cavendish Family. Leia and Angelina were also girls who had received advanced systematic education. Although they still didn't quite understand Xia De's initial "crazy idea," they both understood the significance of large-scale computational auxiliary machinery.
"What great foresight, the Carson Rick people really have great foresight," Xia De couldn't help but praise, but he also knew his position: "So what should we do with this briefcase? This time, don't throw it in my basement again."
"Of course not," Leia said, then thought for a moment and asked, "Since you got it from Gray Gloves, can you still return it?"
"Of course I can." Xia De nodded. The "last words" left by Professor Higgins's soul mentioned the handover method for tomorrow.
So Leia took the briefcase: "Tonight, I'll organize people to copy all the information in this briefcase. Afterward, I'll have someone investigate the specific origin of this information; the loss of such data cannot be without any trace. As for the original documents in the box, Xia De, you return them to Gray Gloves."
"Huh? Why?" Xia De asked in surprise.
"I've heard of this research; it's a collaborative project between the kingdom and the Creation Church. At the same time, the Creation Church is also cooperating with Carson Rick on similar topics. Now it seems that this cooperation is not fully shared, and Delarion's progress is a bit faster." Leia curled the corner of her mouth: "After the people I find authenticate these documents, I will extract one or two key pages from them and replace them with other content. Since you named it 'Difference Engine,' I will then forge a few more letters in the name of Delarion's secret mechanical expert, 'John Watson,' to truly convince Carson Rick that this is the Difference Engine... This will be very interesting. This way, this box of documents can both help Carson Rick's research and also mislead them. I'm not doing anything bad here; it should be considered doing good... good for both countries."
Xia De nodded; he didn't care whose hands these documents fell into: "Then what about the copies? Are you keeping them for your own research?"
"Of course not. How could I compete with the research progress of the Church and the Kingdom? Since important documents lost by the Kingdom have been found, I naturally need to let my father, the King, know that this is my contribution." Although it was Xia De who found it, Xia De didn't want to get involved in such dangerous matters, so giving it to Leia was also good.
"I will handle it well; this is very valuable," the princess said with a smile, then suddenly looked at Xia De with an expression Xia De was very familiar with.
As expected, the red-haired princess reached out and hooked Xia De's chin, then leaned in and kissed him: "Very good."
"Sister, can you use this credit to ensure I don't have to marry someone I don't like?" The little princess holding the cat asked cautiously. Leia looked at her, and her gaze seemed to make Angelina a little scared.
"Don't worry, Angelina, as long as you are always willing to listen to me, you will not be treated as a political tool and married to anyone." Leia turned her head slightly to look at her sister, her tone less gentle than when she spoke to Xia De. Xia De could only see half of her face illuminated by the gaslight from the bridge outside the window. He had to admit that, if one didn't count the witches, Leia should be one of the most exquisitely beautiful girls Xia De had ever met.
"Okay, Sister." The sixteen-year-old princess nodded and then glanced at Xia De again: "Detective, you'll help me too, right?"
"Yes," Xia De said with a smile, nodding. Compared to the dangers and troubles he faced, this little princess's troubles were not difficult: "Leia, I need to pass the briefcase on tomorrow morning."
"No problem, I'll have someone return the briefcase to you tomorrow morning. Xia De, this time, you really brought something good." Xia De shook his head, saying nothing more. He truly felt that he was touching the progress of civilization at this moment. In this world with steam gears and elements of mysticism, Ring術士 were running and fighting for different goals, and the civilization of ordinary people did not stagnate because of it.
This era was more vibrant and interesting than he had imagined.
PS: Someone guessed it early this morning, so I'll just add an update. Please vote, please vote.
