Hypocrite and Fairy
Mu Hongyuan nodded slightly, turned and sat down on the chair opposite him, gathered his skirt, and placed his hands on his knees.
The special advisor across from him picked up a piece of paper, glanced at it, and then spoke:
"Hello, Mrs. Tustin. I've come to inspect the 'advanced technology' you urgently requested. Are you prepared?"
This directness was unexpected by Mu Hongyuan. Based on her observations over the past few days, formal meetings between imperial nobles usually involved pleasantries, probing, push-and-pull maneuvers, and only then getting to the point. It required several rounds of etiquette exchanges, guessing at each other's power and status, and even subtle linguistic probing of family influence. It was far more complex than the palace intrigue dramas back home.
This special advisor skipped all the groundwork right from the start. Does he mean that foreign countries lack social niceties and only have genuine emotions?
"Yes, Mr. Leonhart, I am ready."
The person opposite him piled up the papers that Mu Hongyuan had submitted in advance, crossed his arms, and the black jade ring on his left hand gleamed.
"I have reviewed your technical report. There are a few details I would appreciate it if you could explain to me in person."
"Please speak," Mu Hongyuan said with a graceful slight gesture.
"One is where your technologies come from, whether they have been verified and experimentally reproduced, whether there are Scholars who vouch for them, and whether there are finished products. The other is that recently, these mechanical-like technologies and theories of 'electrical heresy' have emerged in large numbers. I suggest you remove the electrical part."
"May I ask about the origin of these similar technologies? To be honest, these technologies were actually given to me by someone from out of town." Mu Hongyuan became interested.
The special advisor glanced at Mu Hongyuan, showing no sign of being captivated by her stunning beauty.
"Oh, you mean that? Many Survivors are faster than you. The Imperial Central Command has recently received a lot of related information and technology. Moreover, the concept of electricity was proposed in this world three years ago by a guy named Franklin, and the theory was perfected, but it's been difficult to implement."
Upon hearing the word "Survivor," Mu Hongyuan's expression instantly turned blank. His fingers paused briefly on the armrest before returning to normal.
The special advisor continued, "Actually, your exploration progress is quite fast, but Survivors in many other cities are even faster. Many have already entered the Imperial Central Department and have even formed cooperation with other Survivors. Now, an invisible, healthy competitive relationship has formed among the faster Survivors, and everyone is vying for [World Influence]."
Finding no signs of the consultant's actions, Mu Hongyuan was slightly puzzled and looked down at the documents.
The letterhead bore a neat line of handwritten text: Letter of Appointment as Special Advisor to the Empire Academy of Sciences. Below that was a formal document, worded formally and stamped with all the necessary seals. Further down was the advisor's name.
[Leonhart Luosu]
"Scholar."
Without a doubt, Mu Hongyuan recognized who it was.
"Congratulations, Xiao Nanliang. You've successfully guessed who I am."
Su Luo clapped slightly, firstly feeling happy that Mu Hongyuan had guessed his identity correctly, and secondly feeling speechless at the stupid name Mu Hongyuan had given him, [Tustin Hanberg], which didn't reveal his identity but made him aware of his background.
To be honest, he was quite surprised to have just obtained the name of the special advisor of the Empire Academy of Sciences today and then be sent on an overseas mission to this nearby city, where he met Mu Hongyuan.
Even more surprisingly, with his Divine Power having been restored to level 16, he could clearly see that the [Fairy] had class.
I really don't know. After all, everyone in the World Channel assumes that Mu Hongyuan is the number one beauty in the World No. 9527). Her passive skill is probably Charm, and combined with her appearance and class name [Fairy], she seems very authoritative.
But that doesn't matter. Beauty is gender-neutral, and Mu Hongyuan is the unqualified goat in terms of beauty, unmatched by most.
"Watch your words." Mu Hongyuan frowned.
"Fine, you hypocrite."
Su Luo answered honestly, and then asked frankly:
"When I talk about you behind your back, should I use '[he]' or '[she]'?"
"So direct... Of course it's her, don't mention it to anyone else."
Mu Hongyuan rubbed his forehead slightly, skipping the topic and saying, "By the way, how did you get into the Empire Academy of Sciences? Are all the other Survivors this fast?"
"Your progress is neither fast nor slow. In any case, quite a few Survivor factions have indeed left their starting towns and moved into the provinces or even the upper echelons of the empire, mostly through various means."
Su Luo took a sip of tea and said calmly.
His ability to travel as a special advisor to the Empire Academy of Sciences naturally allowed him to expand his influence beyond the small city, even pushing aside several other Survivors there.
Upon exiting, I discovered that the Empire had recently been in great turmoil. Many Survivor could quickly rebuild their equipment or had suitable Talents didn't even bother to feign anything; they were directly using dump trucks to accelerate the changing times, employing all sorts of tricks and methods.
Some people gave speeches in provincial assemblies, inciting millions and advocating technological innovation and equality for all; some held sit-ins at the gates of the Church, demanding the Holy Light bless all believers and attempting to Negation omniscience and omnipotence; some even kidnapped the bishop's nephew, used the ransom to buy a factory, and even tried to enlighten [the Church and the imperial high command probably noticed the visitors from another world long ago, but they hadn't figured out their purpose and hadn't acted rashly.
"So, have you become Awakened?" Mu Hongyuan sensed Su Luo's aura and discovered that his basic three Attributes were even stronger than those of Judgment Knight.
The weakest Judgment Knights in the town Attribute of 15 or higher, while Su Luo's Spirit Attribute, she could only estimate, was at least 17, possibly higher.
"That's not true. It seems the Survivors can't awaken their powers right now." Su Luo shook her head.
Over the past three days, everyone has tried the Awakening Ritual, but all attempts have failed.
"In this world, the success rate of awakening for ordinary people is about 10%, and for nobles it's about 15%... I haven't found anyone who is confirmed to be Survivor but has successfully awakened."
Su Luo attempted to replicate the Awakening Ritual as accurately as possible outside the special room of the [Church], but failed. Even simply taking out and placing the items from the special room would result in failure.
The key to the Awakening Ritual lies in the blessing of the Holy Light, not in the technical details of the Ritual.
After taking over the small city, you can have a priest preside over the [Awakening Ritual]. The Holy Light does appear, but it always fails halfway through, just like other locals who failed to awaken.