Tivian North Suburb, inside the Crown University library.
At noon, in a secluded corner of the library, Dorothy was still sitting in her seat, diligently working on the design drawings for the internal combustion engine. Piled high in front of her were a large stack of books containing foundational knowledge.
"Miss Dorothea... what is this machine you're designing used for?" Sitting across from Dorothy, Naifnis asked with a curious expression, looking at the few part drawings in her hand. As an archaeology major, she was completely bewildered by these mechanical blueprints.
"It's hard to explain the use of this thing to you right now. You'll know once the physical object is built," Dorothy replied to Naifnis.
"I see... So Miss Dorothea, you're also a mechanic. Speaking of which, you mentioned you're also a student at Crown University, could it be that you're studying this subject?" Hearing Dorothy's words, Naifnis continued her response. She hadn't expected a high-ranking member of a secret society to be studying mechanics. Generally speaking, weren't identities like archaeologists, folklorists, or historians more fitting?
"These? I taught myself all of this, I didn't learn it in class," Dorothy replied calmly, and Naifnis's eyes widened in disbelief upon hearing her.
"Self-taught... So many books, Miss Dorothea, you actually taught yourself..."
"My extraordinary ability has the effect of accelerating learning speed. These books may seem like a lot, but in fact, they're nothing to me," Dorothy answered indifferently, continuing to draw with the tools in her hand. Hearing her words, Naifnis couldn't help but nod in understanding.
"An extraordinary ability that can accelerate learning efficiency... That's really great..."
Looking at the secret transmission in front of her, Naifnis said with emotion, thinking back to her own abilities that allowed her to see ghosts and interact with the dead. She truly felt that Dorothy's ability was quite good, at least it was much more convenient in daily life.
Naifnis thought this and then began to look at the drawings Dorothy had made, one by one, with curiosity, seemingly wanting to figure out what kind of machine it was, while Dorothy continued to immerse herself in drafting.
Inventing things to make money was an idea Dorothy had long ago, and among the series of inventions she envisioned, the internal combustion engine was a very crucial prerequisite technology. Fortunately, Dorothy herself was clear about the operating principle of the internal combustion engine from her previous life. After using the Knower's high-speed learning ability to supplement a considerable amount of foundational knowledge, recreating it was not difficult. The internal combustion engine Dorothy was currently inventing was a type of machine she reinvented based on the principles of her previous world, combined with the knowledge of this world.
The First Industrial Revolution was the Steam Revolution. This world's First Industrial Revolution has been going on for over fifty years now. In the development of these fifty-plus years, the accumulated experience and knowledge from various disciplines, and various industrial standards, are already sufficient to initiate the Second Industrial Revolution, which is the Electrical Revolution. What's missing now are a few key technological breakthroughs, which can then bring about significant changes to the entire world. The internal combustion engine is one of them, and the widespread application of electricity is another.
Dorothy was well aware of the immense wealth contained within the inventions of this series of revolutionary eras. She was now preparing to set up an alias as a great inventor.
Relying on these inventions, Dorothy could foresee inexhaustible wealth, and perhaps she would never have to worry about money again.
'Besides the internal combustion engine... there's also the reform and widespread application of electricity, alternating current... Light bulbs... telephones... I know the principles of these things. As long as I have the Knower's learning ability, there's no problem in figuring these things out. By then, perhaps I can single-handedly push this world to start the Second Industrial Revolution...'
While drawing the blueprints, Dorothy pondered this in her heart. Thinking that she might be able to change the entire world, she couldn't help but feel a little excited. She seemed to already see the scene a few years later, where cars, not carriages, ran on the streets of Tivian, all the streetlights became Light bulbs, utility poles stood everywhere, and public trams ran on the streets.
With this surge of excitement, Dorothy continued to draw the blueprints for the internal combustion engine she designed. This series of blueprints was now nearing completion. Once finished, Dorothy planned to have a Corpse Puppet take them to the city to find relevant factories and skilled workers to create a sample.
Just like that, Dorothy diligently drew her design blueprints. Her work in this area was progressing very smoothly. If all went according to plan, the complete design blueprint for the world's first internal combustion engine would be born this afternoon.
And just as Dorothy was excitedly proceeding with her design, in her mind, the voice belonging to the system suddenly and unexpectedly rang out.
'Officer, the current behavior of the self is of great significance and may attract the attention of powerful divinity... may cause serious unforeseeable consequences... Warning, the current behavior of the self is of great significance and may have attracted the attention of powerful divinity... may cause serious unforeseeable consequences.'
The system's emotionless warning voice echoed in Dorothy's mind. Hearing this voice, Dorothy was completely stunned for a moment. Her pen stopped on the paper, and she was utterly blank.
'What? Attention of powerful divinity?!'
Dorothy thought in shock, then she looked at the blueprints in front of her, her thoughts a tangled mess, and she was completely dumbfounded.
Frowning, Dorothy covered her forehead with her hand. Her eyes fixated on the many details on the blueprints before her. After staring for a long time, her expression became extremely complex. Finally, after a great deal of effort, Dorothy calmed her thoughts.
'What the hell? Inventing an internal combustion engine actually attracts the attention of powerful divinity? The reason... seems to be that the impact is too great...'
Dorothy pondered this in her heart. She knew about the system's warning function; the system had warned Dorothy when she was learning the large-area Time Slow Dragon Shout that it could attract divine attention. So, she wasn't surprised by the system's warning function itself just now, but she was surprised by the factor that triggered this function – inventing the internal combustion engine...
'According to the system, causing a large-scale and profound impact on the world will trigger divine attention, and the gods will cast their gaze upon the one causing the impact. A super large-area Time Slow with a radius exceeding ten kilometers is like this... Inventing an internal combustion engine also seems to be like this... And it seems that inventing the internal combustion engine is even more serious, directly indicating the attention of powerful divinity.
'Indeed... As an important technology of the Second Industrial Revolution, once invented and widely used, the internal combustion engine will bring about significant changes to the entire society. If other inventions follow suit, the Second Industrial Revolution will be secured... Such a world-changing social upheaval will certainly attract the attention of the gods...'
Dorothy thought this way about why the gods would pay attention to the invention of the internal combustion engine.
'But in that case, it becomes a bit difficult... If I invent the internal combustion engine now, the gods will immediately lock onto me, and I have no idea what consequences it might lead to... I cannot possibly guess the attitude of the gods. I am only a Black Rank now. If the gods have any negative intentions towards me, I am completely powerless to resist...'
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Dorothy pondered this, feeling extremely conflicted at this moment. Inventing the internal combustion engine was a long-planned money-making scheme for her. Now that it was actually invented, it might attract the attention of the gods. For a while, Dorothy didn't know what to do and began to furrow her brows, leaning against the chair in silent thought.
'Phew... Forget it, since things have come to this, there's no point dwelling on it. Before I figure out the attitude of the gods, I should put the invention aside for now. I'm tired of staying in the library anyway, let's go to town for a cup of coffee.'
Dorothy thought this and then looked at Naifnis across from her.
"Hey, Senior Nefelnis, stop looking for now, let's go take a brea... hmm?"
Dorothy was about to call Naifnis to go for coffee together, but just as she raised her head, she couldn't help but frown slightly. The reason was simple: Naifnis's state was a bit strange at the moment.
Across the table from Dorothy, Naifnis was currently staring blankly, looking expressionlessly at a drawing in her hand. Dorothy recognized it; it was one of her internal combustion engine component design drawings.
Naifnis held the drawing, her eyes fixed intently on every line, every shape, every number on it. Her concentration was abnormally intense. After staring at one drawing with wide eyes, she immediately picked up another drawing and began to look at it.
Seeing Naifnis in this state, Dorothy's heart skipped a beat. She knew what was happening: Naifnis had been affected by Spirit Sight!
'Neff looked at my internal combustion engine design drawing and was affected by Spirit Sight?!'
As this absurd thought emerged, Dorothy herself was startled. It took her several seconds to react, and then she immediately moved to stop Naifnis. She walked over and directly snatched the drawing from Naifnis's hand.
"Stop looking!"
"Give it to me... Give it to me... Miss Dorothea, please give it to me... I want to continue witnessing... the heart of steel... the great power of iron and fire..."
Naifnis muttered incoherently, trying to snatch the drawing back from Dorothy's hand. Dorothy knew this was a characteristic of Spirit Sight addiction.
Facing this situation, Dorothy immediately used Naifnis's previous prayer to clear the Spirit Sight for her. After the Spirit Sight was cleared, Naifnis, who had been struggling with Dorothy for the drawing, suddenly froze. After several seconds of stunned, her eyes became clear.
"Huh... What... happened to me?"
The recovered Naifnis touched her forehead and shook her head as she spoke, while Dorothy in front of her answered silently.
"You looked at my drawing, and it had Spirit Sight on it... You didn't pray while looking at it like before, so you were affected by Spirit Sight. I just prayed to Aka and asked Captain to clear the Spirit Sight for you."
"Huh... Is that so? So... So Miss Dorothea is designing a mystical mechanical device? That's why the drawing had Spirit Sight... I'm so sorry, I've never heard of mechanical knowledge having Spirit Sight before, so I thought the knowledge on these drawings was ordinary knowledge without Spirit Sight. That's why I didn't remember to pray while reading, and I accidentally got engrossed in the Spirit Sight..."
Touching her head, Naifnis said with considerable embarrassment, while Dorothy, listening to her words, had a solemn expression on her face at this moment.
'Ah... I didn't expect that this kind of knowledge... would actually have Spirit Sight...'
Dorothy thought silently in her heart. She had never anticipated that her attempt to invent the internal combustion engine and initiate the Second Industrial Revolution would not only cause the invention itself to be noticed by the gods, but the internal combustion engine blueprint would also carry Spirit Sight. For this world, the technology of the internal combustion engine... was actually classified as secret knowledge...
The current situation once again overturned Dorothy's thoughts. She had previously made a judgment that the boundary distinguishing secret knowledge from secular knowledge was whether it carried Spirit Sight.
The knowledge with Spirit Sight that Dorothy had encountered before was always things like lost history... bizarre literature... divine sacrificial texts, and so on. In Dorothy's eyes, mechanics, physics, mathematics... these types of sciences had always belonged to the realm of secular knowledge. She had encountered knowledge and even physical objects related to internal combustion engines in her previous life, and easily assumed that a scientific product like the internal combustion engine should belong to the "secular" category.
However, the current situation told Dorothy that the reality in this world was far from that simple. The distinction between secular and secret might not be as she imagined.
This world has gods, this world is built on Spirituality as its foundation, the essence of this world is completely different from the world of her previous life...
Dorothy pondered silently, and then tried to extract the knowledge of the internal combustion engine she had invented from her mind. As a result, she extracted 4 points of "Stone" and 3 points of "enlightenment".
The internal combustion engine blueprint designed by Dorothy... seemed to be considered a secret transmission from the realm of "Stone".