Armor and Chip

The azure sky stretched endlessly, as pure as a gemstone, without a single cloud in sight. It seemed like an enormous blue curtain draped over the earth. The blazing midsummer sun scorched the land, pouring down its searing rays without mercy. Layers of vapor rose from the ground and slowly dispersed through the air. Looking into the distance, the land seemed twisted and distorted by the heat waves, as though the entire world had become unreal beneath this oppressive heat.

A carriage laden with supplies was slowly making its way toward a faintly visible castle in the distance. It was the carriage Green rode in.

Green had originally been sitting inside the carriage, but he wanted to see more of this world's scenery. Even understanding the geographical environment would be useful, so he climbed out and took over Old Green's work, allowing Old Green to rest inside the carriage.

Green looked over the barren surroundings. Under the scorching sun, the once-lush grass and trees showed traces of fatigue. Even their leaves had wilted.

Green gazed at the distant castle and studied it carefully. A castle resembling one from the Middle Ages stood upon the plain. Its walls, dozens of meters high, could effectively resist outside invaders. The enormous white stones that formed the castle reflected sunlight so brightly that it was almost blinding. There were also arrow slits along the walls, normally kept sealed shut.

Once war began and enemies invaded the castle, those arrow slits would be opened. The arrows fired by the archers within would show the invaders what it meant to hear death's call.

There was also a moat around the castle, with an endless stream of water flowing around it. This was an engineering project personally supervised by the baron, diverting a river originating in Annabull beside the castle through excavated channels. It could effectively prevent enemy forces from invading.

Leaning against the carriage rail, Green continued guiding the carriage forward. According to the memories in his soul, it would probably take another two or three hourglasses before the carriage returned to the castle.

During this time, Green had been organizing the memories within his soul.

After two hourglasses had passed, the previously winding, narrow path gradually widened. More and more small stones appeared on the ground, and it was no longer a primitive dirt road. Sitting atop the carriage, Green could clearly feel that the ride had become increasingly stable. It was no longer as unbearably bumpy as before.

Without needing Green's reminder, Old Green, who had traveled this road countless times, lifted the carriage curtain. He first glanced at Green, then turned to look at the distant castle.

"Don't go through the castle's main gate. Take the side path, go around the castle, and head straight back to our warehouse," Old Green said to Green.

The castle's warehouses were divided into inner and outer sections. The inner warehouse was the true core storage of the entire castle. The warehouse under Old Green's care mostly stored miscellaneous items from the castle and was not particularly important.

Green did not suggest going to take a look at the castle. He nodded in response to Old Green's words and adjusted the carriage's direction with the reins. What had been a straight route became a curved detour.

Green drove the carriage slowly along the castle moat. The guards standing atop the castle walls stared motionlessly ahead, paying no attention at all to Green's carriage.

Green was not surprised. Everyone in the castle knew Old Green, and the Klo Family's emblem was printed on Old Green's carriage. Even newly arrived guards would know from the emblem that the carriage had close ties to the Klo Family and would not offend it casually.

The open fields were quiet, with only the clip-clop of the carriage moving along. Occasionally, birds chirped.

Following the route in his memories, Green drove the carriage onward. At last, the warehouse where he and Old Green lived appeared before his eyes.

The place where Green and Old Green lived was some distance from the castle. Although it was also used as one of the castle's warehouses, it contained mostly useless odds and ends, with very few things of practical value.

This warehouse could also be said to be a comfortable post specially arranged by Baron Klo for Old Green. Once Old Green died, Green, as his adopted son, would probably take over management of the warehouse. By then, though, the treatment would likely not be nearly as good.

As Green silently considered this, a sense of crisis rose within him. Old Green had learned a Breathing Method in his youth, which had already damaged his vitality. Combined with the harm to his vitality caused by his injuries, he likely did not have many days left. Green needed to intensify his own training as well.

The urgency in his heart grew stronger, and Green increased the carriage's speed by thirty percent. He quickly drove the carriage to the stable.

The moment the carriage stopped, Old Green gripped the handrail and climbed out of the carriage compartment.

Without wasting words, Old Green simply told Green, "Unload the goods." Green then worked with Old Green to unload the many supplies from the carriage. Fortunately, they were only everyday necessities, so it did not take much strength to finish the task.

Afterward, Green removed the harness and led the horse into the stable. He performed the entire process with remarkable proficiency, without showing the slightest difference from his usual self.

Old Green sat nearby and watched as Green led the horse into the stable, then fetched a pile of hay and placed it in the trough. The horse, which had been exhausted for a long time, quickly began eating the hay.

After watching Green finish everything, Old Green stood up. "Green, come with me." Old Green did not explain why and merely walked ahead in silence.

Green hurried after him, taking two steps at a time. Led by Old Green, the two arrived at the warehouse entrance.

Green raised his eyes and looked at the warehouse gate guarded by Old Green. A huge horizontal lock split the gate in two at its center. Under the passage of time, the gate, originally made from fine wood and painted a vivid red, had become somewhat dull after long exposure to wind and rain. Rain streaks ran down its surface, crossing over one another and recording the passage of time.

Old Green took out the key to the warehouse gate from his pocket. With a click, the lock opened.

Old Green pushed the warehouse doors open with force. Under his strength, the doors gradually moved, producing an unceasing creak.

The warehouse doors opened fully, revealing what was stored inside. Most of it consisted of tables, chairs, and benches from the baron's estate, along with farming tools such as hammers and axes. Old Green ignored these things.

Old Green led Green deeper into the warehouse. The instant they entered, the damp, rotten smell of wood rushed into Green's nose, making him frown.

In Green's memories, this warehouse had merely been stored as a formality and was only opened a few times a year. Since Old Green had always kept the key, Green truly had no impression of what was placed deep within the warehouse.

After passing through the clutter, the light grew increasingly dim. Old Green, walking ahead, skillfully pulled out an oil lamp from the side and lit it. Its faint glow illuminated the depths of the warehouse, allowing Green to clearly see his surroundings.

The items in the depths of the warehouse were arranged completely differently from those outside. Everything had been sorted and stored by category. Although they were still merely miscellaneous goods, it was clear from their arrangement that their caretaker had put great care into them.

Old Green led Green through the warehouse, winding this way and that, until they finally stopped before an enormous sheet of cloth. Green examined it carefully. It was obvious that something was stored beneath it. The raised portions were proof enough.

Old Green placed the oil lamp aside, grabbed a corner of the cloth, and swung his arm with force. The entire cloth flew into the air, revealing the true appearance of what had been beneath it.

A suit of armor appeared before Green's eyes.

Under the faint, flickering light of the oil lamp, the armor reflected a hazy glow. The constantly shifting shadows made it seem as though the armor were alive.

At the sight of the armor, Old Green reached out and slowly stroked it, as though he had met a lover.

Green did not ask Old Green any questions. It was obvious that this armor was what Old Green had worn on the battlefield in the past. As someone who had once been a Knight Apprentice, Old Green certainly had the qualifications to own a suit of armor.

"Green, I am passing this armor down to you. Tomorrow, we begin formal training. Are you ready?" After reminiscing for a long time, Old Green suddenly looked at Green and spoke. His gaze was full of scrutiny, as though testing whether Green had truly prepared himself.

Facing Old Green's assessing gaze, Green straightened his back. His muscles tensed as he looked sharply and resolutely at Old Green. Then he said, "I'm ready."

Seeing Green's determined expression, Old Green smiled. Though he did not know why Green had changed so much today, having the drive to improve was a good thing.

Old Green opened a chest beside the armor. He took out a longsword that gleamed with cold light and a powerful metal bow, then handed them both to Green. "You aren't suited to wearing armor yet. Without the strength of the Knight Apprentice level, you can't bear the weight of this armor. First, train your swordsmanship and archery."

Seeing that Old Green was willing to teach him, Green hurriedly accepted the items.

The instant the longsword and metal bow entered his hands, Green's arms sank involuntarily under their weight. Recovering quickly, Green exerted himself and lifted both weapons back up.

Feeling the weight of the two items, Green's heart filled with joy. In his previous life, ordinary people would struggle just to lift something this heavy, much less use it in battle.

Yet in this world, these were merely weapons used by ordinary Knight Apprentices. Then how immense was the strength possessed by Formal Knights and knights of even higher ranks? Green's mind filled with fantasies about that unknown power.

Old Green, standing nearby, watched Green repeatedly handle the two weapons and smiled as well. "All right, stop fiddling with them. Go make dinner. I'm starving."

Hearing Old Green's words, Green suppressed the joy in his heart. Carrying the two weapons, he ran toward the kitchen.

This world, resembling medieval Europe, did not have any particularly high-end ingredients.

Green took out two loaves of white bread purchased from the market. Together with some honey sauce and chunks of meat, they made up dinner.

There were only Green and Old Green at the table. Green wolfed down the food before him, holding honey sauce in one hand and roasted meat in the other, constantly stuffing both into his mouth.

Ever since crossing over, Green had been thinking constantly. Though he had not done physical labor, his mental exertion had been considerable. Compared to Green, Old Green ate much more slowly.

After finishing the meal, Green could not help sighing at his good fortune. He had truly started with an incredible hand. Though this meal looked ordinary enough, in this world of low productivity, white bread was already the finest food available to ordinary people. Only on the founding day of the Lodin Kingdom did all merchants offer discounts, allowing commoners to afford white bread. As for honey sauce and roasted meat, they were foods ordinary people could not even imagine.

After finishing the food, Green picked up the napkin beside him and wiped away the crumbs remaining at the corners of his mouth.

[Ding. Sufficient energy intake detected. The Superintelligent Chip has activated.]

A voice directly rang out in Green's mind.

The sudden voice made Green instinctively look around.

After looking around, he found that aside from Old Green, who was lowering his head and enjoying his food, there was no one else present. Only then did Green realize that the voice had appeared directly in his mind.

[Superintelligent Chip... Isn't that the designation of the quantum chip implanted in me in my previous life? Could it be...]

Thinking of the experiment conducted by that group of mad scientists in his previous life, as well as the chip's specific functions, Green's heart filled with anticipation.

The chip crossed over with me too. At first, Green still found it hard to believe. His formerly calm emotions were shattered, his heartbeat accelerated, and his breathing quickened.

Old Green also noticed Green's abnormality. "Green, what happened? Why are you so nervous?"

Green hurriedly said that nothing was wrong. He was simply nervous because training would begin tomorrow. Then he immediately told Old Green that he needed to prepare for tomorrow's training and would return to his room to rest first.

After returning to his room and sitting on his bed, Green immediately called up the chip's operating interface in his mind.

[Superintelligence, begin initial setup.]

[Initial setup has begun. Please name the chip.]

A female voice sounded in Green's mind again, similar to one of those twenty-first-century AI assistants like Xiao Ai.

Green could not help complaining.

"This voice system was scraped from the market, wasn't it? The first chip was made so sloppily. No wonder the experiment failed back then." Green had every reason to suspect that his quantum chip implantation had failed because that amateur crew had not understood the experiment at all.

"Truth." After venting for a moment, Green unhesitatingly spoke the name he had considered for a long time in his previous life.

"Naming successful. Truth is at your service. You will become the smartest person in this world. Remember to leave a good review." Green ignored the chip's playful remark.

He began studying the chip's various functions. According to the information he remembered about it, as a first-generation quantum chip designed to meet the special requirements of his previous life, it possessed two highly optimized abilities.

They were storage and analysis. In terms of storage, the quantum chip bound itself to human genes and modified a certain cell in the body. After modification, a single cellular storage unit could store all knowledge accumulated by humanity over nearly a thousand years. In terms of analysis, it greatly enhanced logical analysis and high-precision data processing, equivalent to a supercomputer equipped with top-tier artificial intelligence.

[Truth, can I browse knowledge related to humanity now?]

Green was testing it. According to the chip's manufacturing process, it should have already stored humanity's knowledge upon completion. If that knowledge had crossed over with it, it would be an enormous treasure.

[Scanning storage space. No knowledge found.]

The final result still disappointed Green. Hearing the chip's voice in his mind, he sighed.

Forget it. The fact that the quantum chip crossed over with me is already an immense blessing. Asking for more would be greedy. After comforting himself, Green opened the storage space and began entering his own knowledge. As one of the world's top scientists in his previous life, the knowledge in his mind was also a precious treasure.

Green extinguished the lamp and lay on his bed, but he did not rest. Instead, he continued recording knowledge.

Tonight would be a sleepless night.