Chapter One: A Hasty Conclusion

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"That moment when Pan Jinlian’s hand slipped, the rod happened to strike Ximen Qing passing below. Ximen Qing was about to lose his temper, holding the rod, but upon seeing Pan Jinlian’s enchanting and alluring figure, he was stunned."

"He wondered..."

"Why did the rod fall down? Why did it fall toward the ground, not sideways or flying into the sky? Why is everything in the world attracted by the earth?"

"He hurriedly left the street, and later, he discovered gravity."

...

"Then Cao Cao was brewing wine, with green plums placed on a plate beside him. He raised his wine vessel, about to speak, but as he watched the boiling wine, he suddenly froze."

"He thought..."

"Why can the boiling wine lift the lid above it? If I used a huge pot to boil a great deal of wine, would it produce a greater force?"

"He set down the wine vessel, focused on experiments, and later invented the Cao steam engine."

...

"Then Li Yuanba fiercely threw his hammer into the sky, intending to curse the heavens; but watching the hammer fly upwards, he suddenly froze."

"He thought..."

"I throw the hammer up, it falls back after a while. If I throw it with greater force, it falls later. Then, if I throw it with an extremely great force, would the hammer never fall?"

"He turned and walked away, and later calculated the first cosmic velocity."

...

"Then King Zhou of Shang embraced Daji, intending to revel in the wine pool and meat forest, but suddenly froze."

"He thought..."

"Why does the wine overflow when I enter the pool? Does the amount of overflow relate to me?"

"He pushed Daji aside, and later discovered..."

"Discovered what? Tell us, Xius."

"Yes, yes, hurry up, everyone’s waiting."

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

Some stood with arms crossed, others sat on the ground — their clothes as dirty as the soil beneath them.

Several grimy wheelbarrows lay discarded nearby; they were used to transport coal. The factory’s steel machines swallowed coal, exhaled steam and black smoke, and when in a foul mood, swallowed workers’ fingers, limbs, or even lives.

The boy called Xius grinned, revealing a set of pearly white teeth, which brightened the mud-streaked face.

Every noon during breaks, he would tell strange and curious stories here, gradually attracting many workers to listen. Most took them as nonsense tales, but some began to take an interest in the complicated terms within.

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"So, what exactly is gravity? Xius, you’ve told this story several times already. Damn, these words make my head spin," a burly man approached, lowering his gaze to Xius.

Xius raised an eyebrow; this man was named Kyle, someone he recognized.

After all, in this era, industry was just beginning to sprout. Most workers were former farmers who had lost their land and now exchanged their lives for wages in factories, with an average lifespan under thirty. Listening to Xius’s stories was their sole entertainment.

And Kyle, as sturdy as a bear, was hard to overlook.

"Good question! Gravity is..." Xius’s eyes brightened, ready to explain, but a sudden shout from behind interrupted him.

"Xius, come here, Master Carly is waiting for you," called a supervisor from the factory’s side door.

The circle of workers turned their heads. Master Carly was the factory owner. Why would he summon a lowly worker like Xius? All eyes fixed on him.

"Go quickly, Xius, remember to come back and finish your story!"

"Yeah, and that force thing!"

Dirty hands patted Xius on the back, and he smiled in return:

"I’ll be back soon. The most interesting part is about to start."

Xius strode toward the factory’s second floor, where the office was located. The supervisor, a man with a face full of fat, stood expressionless by the door and nodded slightly as Xius entered, then shut the iron door behind him.

The workers’ gazes were blocked outside. Xius paused for two seconds to adjust to the dim interior. The supervisor had already taken a few steps ahead, leading the way.

"Sir, may I ask what you need of me?"

"You’ll find out soon enough," the supervisor replied curtly without looking back.

Xius frowned, harboring several guesses.

He told stories to workers every noon, which naturally drew attention.

This was unavoidable, partly fueled by Xius himself; after all, he didn’t want to remain an apprentice, letting cold machines shatter his future and dreams.

Organizing workers might quickly put him under the scrutiny of powerful figures, but no factory owner wished for workers to unite.

Yet, Xius’s actions went beyond storytelling.

In his previous life, he had been an engineer, and the factory and machinery before him appeared primitive and crude.

He identified areas for improvement and cleverly presented these ideas to Master Carly.

Indeed, factory owners of this era were never conservative; at least, they had not yet developed arrogance.

Soon, the machinery he improved spread throughout the factory.

Through relentless effort, his fate began to shift.

Xius knew industrialization would inevitably sweep the world like a tide, and he had a chance to change his destiny.

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The supervisor stopped before a door, pushed it open, and gestured inside.

Xius took a deep breath and stepped in.

The door closed behind him again. Xius looked around the room.

Master Carly wore a refined suit, a sight never seen in the factory before. His face bore a flattering smile as he looked toward the other side of the room.

Following his gaze, Xius saw a figure clad in church robes... but was this even a person?

A steel mask covered the skin, gears and complex joints formed the limbs.

Like a robot, yet upon closer inspection, beneath the metal limbs were normal hands and feet.

What was this? Such a creature belonged to the church? Was it an exoskeleton? So intricate?

Xius was startled.

"Father Priest, this is Xius. He single-handedly improved the steam engine’s transmission bearing without any assistance," Carly said obsequiously.

Priest? Xius then noticed the church emblem on the strange figure and the bearing he was holding — one removed from a steam engine.

The strange figure’s fingers transformed into a screwdriver and pry bar, deftly opening the bearing’s casing. A hoarse voice came from beneath the hood.

"Did you design this?"

Xius’s heart skipped a beat. The priest’s skilled dismantling revealed full understanding of his improvements. If he displayed his abilities, he might gain the visitor’s admiration.

Judging by Master Carly’s servile demeanor, the priest’s status was likely high.

A great opportunity! Perhaps this was his chance to connect with the empire’s upper echelons.

Xius composed himself and nodded.

"Yes, Father Priest. I improved this bearing; its efficiency increased by at least thirty percent, and its lifespan also..."

His words abruptly ceased.

A steel arm pierced his chest. Xius looked up in disbelief, seeing the priest clutching the church’s sacred candle emblem, slowly withdrawing his hand. The fingers that had just disassembled parts were now stained with Xius’s blood.

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

The hoarse voice echoed in the room. The priest seemed to say more, but Xius could no longer hear. Darkness enveloped his vision.

Xius was dead.