Chapter 375: Chapter 372: Gao Po Precision Instrument Factory
The man on the tall horse, making a spectacle of himself, was of course Bart.
The Mage accompanying the army seemed to have grown a bit more portly since his marriage, almost qualifying as "sturdy." He wore a gold-trimmed white robe and, in addition to the enchanted rings on one hand, had Spellcasting Materials Bags hanging from both his waist and his saddle.
Moreover, classical metal ornaments dangled from the horse’s tack. Rorschach used his Arcane Vision and saw no reaction from Magic Power—they were purely decorative.
Disregarding his status as a Mage, he was the kind of prize catch kidnappers dreamed of.
Rorschach thought for a moment, then reached out and tapped Ges on his shoulder. The bird’s eyes instantly lit up with a glow of intelligence.
The column had been marching along narrow paths, some of which were overgrown with vegetation from disuse. All in all, it was hardly suitable for large horses. Bart frequently checked his pocket watch and complained to the commander riding beside him, "I don’t think we’re going to reach the South Camp before sunset."
"If that’s the case, we’ll have to make camp on the spot. Fortunately, it’s winter, so we don’t need to worry about mosquitoes," the commander said reassuringly.
Suddenly, Bart’s scalp prickled. He glanced around suspiciously, seeing only a tangle of branches and leaves, but the Mage felt a persistent gaze fixed upon him. Bart activated his Arcane Vision as well, and just as he was about to scan his surroundings...
"Agh, my eyes!" Just as Bart was about to complete a 360-degree scan, a sudden gust of wind blew grit into his eyes.
The commander reacted as if facing a major threat, immediately ordering the column to halt and go on alert. He then sent scouts to investigate the forest. Unfortunately, there was nothing but the sound of a few birds chirping; nothing had happened.
"The wind must have just kicked up some grit that happened to fly into your eyes." After the search turned up nothing, the commander concluded it was a natural occurrence, recalled the scouts, and ordered the march to resume. He took out a small vial. "Are your eyes all right? I have some Atropa Belladonna Eye Drops here, prepared by a physician." Atropa belladonna was a southern plant whose sap could soothe the eyes.
"No, thank you. I still suspect an enemy is near..." Bart remained on guard for a while, only relaxing his hand, which was gripping a Scroll, after confirming there was nothing out of the ordinary. Although no enemy was found, he became much more cautious. He removed all the ornaments from his horse and even took off his pure-white cloak, replacing it with the same standard-issue uniform as the other Knights.
A strange bird cried out, and Bart shuddered. He tried to spot the bird that made the sound, but it had already vanished from the branches.
Rorschach held out his arm for the bird to land, withdrew his soul from it, and fed Ges a few small insects.
Now that Bart was being more discreet, Rorschach continued on his way, reassured. Since the army wasn’t taking the main road and Bart hadn’t told him about it, they likely had their reasons for secrecy, and it wasn’t Rorschach’s place to probe further. Bart probably couldn’t see through his bird avatar, but Rorschach couldn’t guarantee that the other Military Mages wouldn’t detect the anomaly.
The marching column wasn’t long, and it had no dedicated supply train, which suggested their operational range was limited. They were likely still within the Bayern Kingdom, where they could be resupplied locally.
Rorschach watched until the last soldier disappeared into the forest. He then revealed himself and mounted his horse. "That’s that. We’d better pick up the pace, too."
...
Rorschach arrived in Lansite at dusk, just as the sun was sinking below the horizon. He pushed open the gate of a small factory and stepped inside, the bird on his shoulder and the fading winter light following him in.
On paper, this factory belonged to Becken Gao Pei. He had shed his status as the "unlucky apprentice" and become its manager.
Of course, the "Gao Po Precision Instrument Factory" was just a name. Like the three other major factories, it truly belonged to its founder, Rorschach. From Munich to Wertzburg, no one would question that fact.
Rorschach no longer concerned himself with convoluted details like equity shares or monetary figures. He only cared about whether these factories could bring his ideas to life, how much material they could procure and produce, and how many people’s livelihoods—and even lives—they could control.
The factory floor before him was still relatively sparse. All the machine tools were a size smaller than those at the Kempson Steel Factory, as this place specialized in precision work. As its name suggested, the small factory’s products were no longer limited to timepieces. Especially now that the (reluctantly) studious Gao Pei had learned systematic mechanical theory and the basics of classical mechanics, he was confident he could produce prototypes of any instrument Rorschach proposed.
The pressure gauges, timers, and flow meters used by Basif and the Kempson Steel Factory were all produced here. There were even prototype thermocouples. However, the metals in this world were different from those in Rorschach’s previous life. While the principles remained the same, it would take a long process of constant experimentation and data accumulation before they could be put into practical use.
The master craftsmen from the other clockmaking shops were watching this factory closely. They heard that Gao Pei, a fledgling who had just finished his apprenticeship, was earning the same wages as a master craftsman, and they were green with envy. This "upstart who’d landed a factory," Becken Gao Pei, was also offering high wages to recruit people, poaching talent from their workshops.
In response, the old masters loudly cursed him for breaking the industry’s rules, yet simultaneously sent their own children and apprentices to work in his factory, repeatedly instructing them to be on their best behavior in front of Rorschach.
Seeing Rorschach arrive, Gao Pei immediately rose from his workbench to greet him. The other apprentices shot a quick glance his way before immediately burying their heads back in their work, doing their utmost to project an air of professionalism, as if deaf to the world around them—this, too, was part of "being on their best behavior."
Rorschach was quite satisfied with the atmosphere. He glanced around the room before heading toward a sealed workshop, with the factory manager accompanying him.
The only reinforced workshop in the factory was also guarded by Golems. Two Earth Golems, clad in steel plates and armed with heavy hammers, automatically parted to make way for their master.
Inside were items related to alchemy. Several sets of "Sky Knight" equipment, each with subtle variations, were arranged on racks, along with sealed parts for computational units.
"Assembled?"
"Yes." Gao Pei unveiled the machines for Rorschach. In the center of the workshop stood two Analytical Engines. They were based on a design from the Munich Institute of Technology—a masterpiece, of course, born from the Bayerns reverse-engineering Istani blueprints. They had simplified the components and reduced the size, resulting in a wardrobe-sized "miniature" mechanical computer.
Compared to the computational units, which were as intricate as timepieces, the structures of these two machines were far more repetitive, and the operations they could perform were much simpler.
Many of the parts had been machined by the craftsmen in the outer workshop, but they had no idea what they were for. Gao Pei was responsible for all the assembly. Rorschach only trusted this one craftsman, who was bound by a Secret Contract.
The Mage cast the Ethereal Membrane Space Compression Technique. The two machines lifted off the ground, spinning as they shrank before Gao Pei’s reverent eyes until they were no bigger than the palm of one’s hand, resembling exquisite music boxes.
"Congratulations, Master. Your Magic has grown even more profound," Gao Pei said with a fawning smile.
"Hm?"
"Last month, when you shrank that... that Knight’s equipment, the compression ratio wasn’t this great." He gestured to compare the sizes.
’He’s even using terms like "compression ratio,"’ Rorschach thought, amused. ’So his studies weren’t a complete waste.’ He chuckled. "Look at you, putting your new vocabulary to use."
Thinking he had successfully pleased Rorschach, Gao Pei chuckled along happily.
But the Mage’s smile suddenly took on a sinister edge. "Becken Gao Pei, you must never say such things to another Caster. A Mage’s skill in Casting is like a woman’s age—to mention it so casually is a grave offense."
With that warning, Rorschach handed him two prepared Scrolls. Both were for Arcane Vision. "These will be a great help when you assemble the alchemical instruments, since not all the circuits are exposed on the surface." After giving his instructions, Rorschach strode briskly out of the instrument factory.
