What Will We Use to Face the Darkness?
The main reason I wanted to observe Estelle was because this girl had so few expressions.
Li Mo was eager to see if she would show a micro-expression of three parts confusion, four parts tension, and five parts sudden enlightenment when doing the questions.
Helen, standing to the side, was very honest.
He frowns when he encounters a difficult problem, but grins like an idiot when he solves it.
In contrast, Estelle...
Even when observed intently, she showed no expression whatsoever.
Li Mo glanced at her draft paper discreetly.
There's nothing on it.
Estelle was never actually made!
They just managed to hold on!
Li Mo snapped out of her focused state and found it a bit funny.
This girl is a master of facial expression management.
She hadn't originally planned to... since they were all the same age.
However, on the other hand,
What did this young girl go through to develop such self-control? Or was she just born with a cold demeanor?
Estelle then looked up and said calmly, "Li Mo, I won't do it."
Li Mo dared not laugh, and said seriously, "It's alright, the question is very difficult, I'll teach you again."
Estelle wasn't particularly cheerful; she simply said, "Oh."
At 6:30.
"Young master, Miss Estelle, Miss Helen, dinner is ready. Please come and eat while it's hot."
Let's go, let's eat first.
The father was already seated in the main seat, waiting, and had brought a bottle of raspberry wine suitable for young babies.
The dishes on the table were also top-notch and plentiful:
Anna's rosemary and black pepper lamb chops, creamy mushroom soup, and buttered garlic potato wedges and apple and walnut Shala.
It looks and smells delicious; just looking at it makes your mouth water.
In his younger years, Li Mo was a picky eater.
Anna kept thinking of ways to make ordinary ingredients taste better.
He almost mastered the Maillard reaction and the principles of slow cooking at low temperatures to lock in juices almost without any instruction.
Don't let her young age of eighteen fool you; she's already a seasoned chef with over a decade of experience...
After everyone was seated...
Helen took a sip of soup and immediately exclaimed, "Oh my god, Anna, oh my god!"
Father Li En chuckled; their reactions were always quite amusing whenever guests came over to eat Anna's cooking.
Estelle picked up the knife and fork.
Her dining manners were impeccable.
Keep your back straight and your elbows off the table.
Cut off a small piece of lamb chop and put it in your mouth.
Estelle was taken aback.
--What does this taste like?
In all her life, she had never eaten food that was so hot and delicious that she almost swallowed her tongue.
"So, Estelle, is the food to your liking?" Li Mo asked casually.
Estelle swallowed the lamb chop and nodded coolly. "Hmm, not bad."
They said it was pretty good, but the child was actually practically crying with envy.
While maintaining her elegance, she subtly increased the frequency...
Eat meat, drink soup, and even have a bite of potato wedges.
Estelle's eyelashes trembled slightly.
--Oh my god, this is so delicious.
How can potatoes taste so good?
She thought to herself:
Eat more, Xiao Xi.
Perhaps many years from now, you'll still remember the dinner you had in Mondel Town tonight...
At the end of dinner.
Two moons, one red and one white, hang high in the sky.
The stars are twinkling tonight, and my heart is overflowing with love for you. I think of you night after night, filling my heart to the brim...
Li Mo beckoned everyone to head to the workshop, preparing for today's main event.
Several small items were placed on the workbench.
Estelle stepped forward to examine it and said, "This is the light bulb you were talking about? Charcoal made from cotton thread?"
"Yes, to be precise, it's called a carbonized cotton filament incandescent lamp."
Li Mo explained, "I talked about this at the salon this afternoon, remember? The heat Q is equal to the square of the current I multiplied by the resistance R and then multiplied by the time t the current flows."
Helen said, "Remember! The greater the resistance of an electric current, the more heat it generates!"
"Clever! Any object will emit light when heated to a certain temperature. Just like the iron in a blacksmith's furnace will turn red when heated to 800 degrees Celsius and emit white light when heated to 1,500 degrees Celsius. Carbonized cotton fibers have a high resistance and a melting point of over 3,000 degrees Celsius. When an electric current passes through them, they will be heated to incandescence and emit bright light."
Estelle understood the logic and nodded.
Li Mo said, "Come on, let's divide the work among the four of us and assemble one on the spot."
"Helen is skillful; she'll use tweezers to secure the ends of the carbonized cotton filaments to the two copper wires at the bottom of the glass bulb, being careful not to break them. Anna will light the alcohol lamp; after I evacuate the gas, she'll melt and seal the evacuation tube at the bottom of the bulb, then apply a layer of rosin glue for reinforcement. As for Estelle... you'll be in charge of the main control; connect these two copper wires to the switch terminals. Once we've finished the bulb, you can turn it on."
The three responded that they had received the message.
The workshop immediately sprang into action.
Working together as a team makes the work easier.
soon,
A transparent glass light bulb then appeared on the scene.
Li Mo said, "Alright, Anna, go start the generator. Estelle, listen to my commands."
Anna already had work experience, so she began to rotate the handle at a steady speed.
The meshing of gears drives the rotor coil to rotate between the magnetic poles.
Estelle gripped the knife switch, ready to receive instructions at any moment.
Li Mo smiled and, unhurriedly, blew out the kerosene lamp in the room.
In the darkness, only the afterglow of the two moons could be seen.
In this world,
Humanity's means of dealing with darkness are pitifully limited.
For thousands of years.
Whether it was the pine resin torches or animal fat candles used by ordinary people.
Or the whale oil lamps and kerosene lamps that are widely used today.
Essentially, they all rely on combustion to produce light.
Where there is fire, there will inevitably be black smoke.
Accompanied by flickering shadows and an unease that could extinguish at any moment...
But now.
Everything will change.
What will we use to face the darkness?
Li Mo will provide a new answer today.
He spoke softly in the darkness, "Estelle, turn on the switch."
Upon hearing this, Estelle immediately pressed the copper guillotine switch downwards.
In that very instant.
Light bulb--
Light up!
It was initially dark red.
As Anna swayed, it gradually stabilized.
The dark red color gradually turned orange.
Then, it finally transformed into a dazzling, warm white light!
In an instant, the light illuminated the entire workshop as if it were daytime!
For the first time, everyone could see the dust particles floating in the air so clearly.
Helen even covered her mouth in a panic.
Anna murmured to herself, "It's even brighter than last time, and so stable..."
Estelle's hand was still on the knife switch.
Her pupils, no matter how hard she tried to suppress them, still trembled slightly.
Who would have thought that Li Mo's so-called everyday use would actually result in the creation of a miniature sun!
She instantly remembered how to use this thing...
With it, will the kingdom's mines no longer need to risk gas explosions by lighting open flames?
With it, the capital's ports and military shipyards can operate efficiently even in the dead of night.
There are so many more possibilities...
Estelle couldn't help but look at Li Mo.
Look at the boy standing in the light.
He smiled, seemingly unconcerned about the results he had achieved.
Instead, I looked out the window at the streets of Mondel Town, shrouded in the heavy darkness of night.
The streets in the distance were pitch black.
A few kerosene streetlights shone weakly, flickering listlessly.
Li Mo said as if talking to himself:
"This is just the beginning. If we use a modified 20-horsepower steam engine to power it, and then run insulated copper cables along the eaves and wooden poles, connecting hundreds or thousands of these light bulbs in parallel..."
Helen followed Li Mo's gaze to the window. "What will happen then?"
Li Mo laughed, "Once the factory's insulated copper wire and glass bulbs are in mass production, we'll first erect four iron towers at the central crossroads of Mondel Town, hang dozens of high-powered incandescent bulbs on them, and at night, just pull down the main switch and let everyone in town come out and see what true, dazzling light looks like!"
The workshop was very quiet.
The three girls simultaneously imagined that scene.
He looks absolutely stunning!
Estelle tilted her head back and gazed silently at Li Mo.
suddenly,
A strange thought occurred to her:
The Great Sage's talk of the turning point in the battle... could it be... not referring to the Crimson Corona?