"Be good. Once the serious matters are handled, if there is time tonight, I will let you attend to me a bit, but staying the night is not guaranteed."
Shenhe had been unusually clingy lately, so even if Su Han wanted to stay, he still had to take her into consideration.
"It is a deal. This servant will go take care of things right away and try to be back before evening."
Hearing Su Han's reply, the little secretary immediately regained her smile, no longer looking as aggrieved as before.
What she wanted was not much. As long as Lord Su Han showed her favor from time to time, that was enough. After all, her status was what it was.
Being able to reach this point was already thanks to Lady Ningguang's mercy, so Baiwen naturally knew better than to overstep.
With something to look forward to, the little secretary even walked with lighter steps.
Su Han watched her leave, then headed upstairs.
...
Inside the room.
Ningguang had already adapted to working with transponder snails. While listening to reports from the other side, she gave new instructions.
"That will be all. Tell those people that making money is fine, but do not cross the bottom line."
"Yes, my lady."
The call was soon disconnected.
Seeing Su Han arrive, Ningguang dropped her earlier seriousness and smiled as she said, "What wind blew you here today?"
"Are you jealous?"
Su Han raised an eyebrow and, without ceremony, stepped forward to hug her, then even sat down in Ningguang's seat.
This display of dominance did not make the wealthy lady angry. After being embraced, Ningguang even adjusted her position slightly, trying to make Su Han hold her more comfortably.
"We talk on the transponder snail every day but never see each other. Who knows where you have gone."
There was a hint of sourness in Ningguang's tone. The last time this man came over, she had even kindly sent one of her carefully cultivated confidants to attend to him.
And what happened after that.
From then on, every single day there were only transponder snails, and he never came to see her.
Just thinking about it made her angry.
Seeing that the woman in his arms really was upset, Su Han quickly comforted her. "I have not been idle. Today I not only went to Guili New City, I also brought you two pieces of good news."
"Is it about the transponder snails?"
Ningguang guessed the answer immediately and became excited.
After all, if the breeding issue of transponder snails could be solved, the 'Heavenly Net' plan she had previously devised could finally be implemented.
"Yes, you guessed right. Sucrose's research is progressing very quickly. The newly hatched transponder snails will be ready for use after a bit more time. Do you want to hear the second piece of good news?"
Seeing that Ningguang was no longer angry, Su Han immediately felt the urge to tease her.
Who knew that Ningguang saw through his mischievous thoughts with just a glance. Her eyes turned slightly, and she immediately leaned back and kissed him once. The speed was so fast that Su Han did not even have time to react.
"Now you can say it, right?"
"You really are…"
Su Han laughed in spite of himself. He had planned to use this chance to steal a lingering kiss, but she had already seen through his intentions.
Playing games with a smart woman really was no fun.
"I have already given you the reward. Whether you say it or not is up to you."
Ningguang smiled like a fox, clearly pleased with herself.
Based on her understanding of Su Han, he would not keep silent. This man might be greedy for beauty, but when it came to keeping promises, there was nothing to criticize.
"Fine, fine, I will talk."
Su Han looked helpless and directly chose to concede.
"Actually, the second piece of good news is also related to transponder snails, but this time it comes from the adepti. This surprise requires someone's cooperation."
"Cooperation?"
Ningguang was a bit puzzled. Other than making calls, transponder snails did not seem to have any other abilities.
Could it be that the adepti had added new functions to them?
Su Han gestured toward Baixiao, then handed her a transponder snail and gave a few instructions. Ningguang then saw the little secretary run out.
"What are you planning to do?"
"You will know in a moment. Baishi, close all the curtains."
The only remaining little secretary in the room quickly got to work. As the gauze curtains fell, the room immediately grew dim.
Ningguang did not understand his intention and waited for Su Han's next move.
He placed the transponder snail on the table, its eyes facing the wall.
"Next comes the moment to witness a miracle."
Su Han activated the transponder snail. Light immediately shone from its eyes. When the beams landed on the wall, an incredible scene unfolded.
A moving image appeared before Ningguang.
"This is not the outside of the Jade Chamber!"
Ningguang sprang to her feet. She had never imagined that transponder snails could transmit images in real time.
Outside, in the plaza.
Holding the transponder snail, Baixiao immediately replied upon hearing Lady Ningguang's voice. "My lady, this is the outside of the Jade Chamber. What instructions do you have?"
"Walk around a bit, then place the transponder snail in a fixed spot."
"Yes."
The image continued to move. In the end, Baixiao placed the transponder snail on a table.
In the distance were Millelith soldiers in training. Through the transponder snail, Ningguang could not only hear the sounds of their drills but also see the training itself.
This was truly astonishing.
"Su Han, how many of these transponder snails are there?"
"There are a bit more than ten, but only about half of them can actually be used."
Transponder snails were used in pairs, and at present there was no technology to combine the signals of multiple snails. Moreover, this world did not have televisions or display screens.
These were all technical problems.
"Even so, that is enough. What do you think about using this kind of transponder snail?"
"It is simple. Look at what Liyue currently needs. If you want to monitor a certain location, you just need to disguise the transponder snail properly. As for sound, you can choose to mute the other side and use it purely for surveillance."
In Su Han's view, this type of transponder snail was essentially a surveillance camera. Using it purely as a visual telephone would be a real waste.
Especially since present-day Liyue did not yet have anything like surveillance cameras.
"You are right. Monitoring certain places, keeping an eye on the Northland Bank's comings and goings, gathering intelligence, there are far more uses than I initially thought. Very well, we will proceed as you suggest. There are currently several pairs, so we will place one set at the Northland Bank. As for the rest, we can discuss them gradually."
Ningguang's comprehension was extremely strong. As soon as Su Han explained the usage, she immediately drew further inferences, and even as she spoke, a novel idea formed in her mind.
Since transponder snails could transmit images, if someone were invited to give a lecture, could countless people watch it at the same time?
With that thought, Ningguang could not help asking, "Su Han, I am considering something."
"What is it?"
"Do you think we should reserve one set specifically for training? Since we can see the Millelith training outside from here, does that not mean that if we reverse it, when you give a lecture here, the people outside could all see it?"
"Live broadcast lectures?"
Su Han's expression turned strange as he silently exclaimed in amazement.
They had only just figured out how to use it for surveillance, and now she was already moving on to live broadcasts. Still, he had to admit that this method was extremely effective.
After all, he did not have time every day to personally supervise the Millelith's training. Even when he did manage to lecture, only a limited number of people could receive guidance, and once the crowd grew too large, those at the back could barely see anything.
But live broadcast lectures were completely different.
A huge screen could be set up to allow thousands of people to watch at once, and the recordings could even be made into images that looped repeatedly.
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