A Sloppy Ending

"Pan Jinlian's hand slipped, and it happened to strike Ximen Qing as he passed by below. Ximen Qing was just about to flare up with his pole in hand, but when he saw Pan Jinlian's enchanting and alluring figure, he froze."

"He thought..."

"Why did this pole fall down? Why does it only fall toward the ground instead of to the left or right, or fly up into the sky? Why is everything in the world attracted to the earth?"

"He hurried away from the street, and later, he discovered universal gravitation."

"Cao Cao was warming wine, with green plums arranged on a plate to the side. He raised his wine vessel, just about to say something, when he looked at the boiling liquid and suddenly froze."

"He thought..."

"Why can the boiling wine lift the lid above it? If one were to use a massive pot to boil a vast amount of wine, could it produce even greater force?"

"He set down his wine vessel and devoted himself to experiments, and later, he invented the Cao-style steam engine."

"Li Yuanba fiercely threw his hammer into the sky, just about to point upward and curse a few times, when he looked at the hammer flying upward and suddenly froze."

"He thought..."

"I throw the hammer upward, and it falls back down after a while. If I throw it with greater force, it will take longer to fall. So, if I were to throw it with immense, incredible force, would the hammer never fall back down?"

"He turned and left, and later, he calculated the first cosmic velocity."

"King Zhou of Shang was embracing Daji, just about to enjoy himself in the pool of wine and forest of meat, when he suddenly froze."

"He thought..."

"Why does the wine in the pool overflow when I enter it? Does this amount of overflow have anything to do with me?"

"He pushed Daji away, and later, he discovered..."

"Discovered what? Keep going, Theus."

"Yeah, yeah, hurry up and tell us, we're all waiting to hear it."

A group of people were gathered in a circle, staring eagerly at the young boy in the center.

Some stood with their arms crossed, while others sat directly on the ground—looking at their filthy clothes, it was hard to say which was cleaner, the people or the ground.

Several grimy wheelbarrows were tossed to the side; they were used for hauling coal. The steel monsters in the factory swallowed coal and spat out steam and black smoke, and if they were in a bad mood, they would also swallow a few workers' fingers, limbs, or lives.

The boy known as Theus grinned, revealing a mouthful of snow-white teeth that made the dirt on his face look a little less dull.

Every day during the lunch break, he would tell these strange and curious stories here. Gradually, quite a few workers gathered to listen. Everyone treated them as made-up tales, but slowly, some began to take an interest in the tongue-twisting terms within the stories.

"So, what exactly is this... universal gravitation? I remember you mentioning it several times, Theus. Damn it, I get dizzy just hearing these words."

A sturdy man leaned in, looking down at Theus.

Theus raised an eyebrow; he had some impression of this man named Kyle.

After all, in this era, industry had only just begun to sprout. Most of the workers were former farmers who had lost their land and were trading their lives for money in the factory. Their average life expectancy was not even thirty, and listening to Theus tell stories had become their only entertainment.

And it was hard not to notice Kyle, who was as sturdy as a bear.

"Good question! This universal gravitation is..."

Theus's eyes lit up, and he was just about to start explaining when he was suddenly interrupted by a shout from behind.

"Theus, come here. Master Carley is waiting for you." A supervisor was poking his head out from a small side door of the factory, looking toward them.

The people gathered in the circle turned their heads. Master Carley was the owner of this factory. Would he really come looking for a mud-legged boy like Theus? For a moment, all sorts of gazes fell upon Theus.

"Go on, Theus! Remember to come back and finish the story for us!"

"Yeah, and that what-you-call-it force!"

Pairs of dirty hands patted Theus on the shoulder, and Theus smiled back at them.

"Wait for me to come back. It won't take long. The next part is the most interesting."

Theus stepped toward the second floor of the factory where the offices were located. The fat-faced supervisor was standing at the door, nodding at Theus expressionlessly. After Theus entered, he closed the iron door.

The workers' gazes were blocked out. Theus stood inside the door for two seconds to adjust to the dim interior. The supervisor had already walked a few steps ahead to lead the way.

"Mr. Supervisor, may I ask what you need me for?"

"You'll know when you get there," the supervisor replied dismissively without looking back.

Theus frowned, though he had a few guesses in his mind.

He told stories to the workers every noon, and this naturally would attract some attention.

This was unavoidable, and in fact, it was partly encouraged by Theus himself. After all, he didn't want to remain an apprentice forever, letting his future and dreams be crushed by cold machines alongside his work.

Organizing worker gatherings would certainly bring him into the view of some big shots, but that was definitely not a good thing. No factory owner wanted someone under their command who could organize the workers.

And what Theus did was not just gathering people to tell stories.

In his previous life, he was an engineer, and the factory and machines before him appeared quite primitive and crude in his eyes. Thus, he had found some areas for improvement and used some clever methods to get them to the factory owner, Carley.

As expected, the factory owners of this era were never traditionalists; at the very least, they had not yet learned the meaning of arrogance. Before long, the machines he had improved began to spread throughout the entire factory.

Through his unremitting efforts, the corner of his fate had finally been pried open.

Theus knew that industrialization was destined to sweep across the world like a tide, and he now had a chance to change his destiny.

The supervisor stopped in front of a door, pulled it open, and gestured toward the inside with his chin.

Theus took a deep breath and walked in.

The door closed behind him once more, and Theus looked into the room.

Master Carlisle was wearing a sophisticated suit, an outfit he had never seen him wear in the factory, yet a fawning smile was plastered on his face as he looked toward the other side of the room.

Theus followed his gaze and saw someone sitting there wearing church robes... or was it a person?

A steel mask covered the skin, and gears along with various complex joints constructed the limbs.

It looked like a robot, yet upon closer inspection, one could see normal hands and feet beneath the metallic limbs.

What is this? Does the church have such freaks? Is that an exoskeleton on him? How could it be so intricate?

Theus was startled.

"Father, this is Theus. He is the one who improved the steam engine's drive bearing all by himself, with no one else involved," Carlisle said with a fawning expression.

A priest? Only then did Theus notice the church's holy emblem on the strange figure, and what he was fiddling with in his hands was the very bearing removed from the steam engine.

The strange figure's fingers transformed into a screwdriver and a pry bar, deftly dismantling the bearing's casing, and a hoarse voice sounded from beneath his hood.

"Did you design this?"

Theus felt a stir in his heart. Seeing the priest's skilled dismantling, it was clear he fully understood the logic behind his improvements. If he could demonstrate his capabilities, he would surely win the man's appreciation.

And judging by the factory owner's servile demeanor, this priest's status was likely quite high.

A golden opportunity! He might be able to use this to make contact with the higher echelons of the Empire.

Theus straightened his expression, nodded, and said, "Yes, Father. It was I who improved this bearing. Its efficiency can be increased by at least thirty percent, and its service life is also..."

Theus's words came to an abrupt halt.

A steel arm pierced through his chest. Theus looked up in disbelief, seeing the priest before him holding the church's candle holy emblem, slowly withdrawing his hand. The fingers that had just been dismantling the parts were now stained with his blood.

"Lackey of an evil god, you have defiled the sacred machinery!"

A hoarse voice echoed in the room. The priest seemed to say something more, but Theus could no longer hear it; his vision went black.

Theus, deceased.