Chapter 439: The Capitalist's Gift
"The Relic Research Institute has had some great progress, but some of our breakthroughs can't be shown through finished products at the moment," Linda said as she led Charles into the exhibition hall.
The number of items enclosed in glass cases inside the exhibition hall had increased significantly.
"It's fine. I'm just here to take a casual look. I don't think I'm going to understand if you explain the technicalities to me," Charles said.
"No, some of your suggestions have been extremely helpful, and the institute has achieved its recent breakthroughs, all thanks to your pointers. Some researchers even want you to come here often and give us more pointers," Linda replied.
Charles turned to a box nearby and picked up the hairless mouse with a human ear on its back. He played with it for a bit before putting it back.
"Haha, that sounds great. Anyway, introduce me to the items here, then," Charles said.
Linda nodded and said, "Well, this is Material No. 6. It is very lightweight and has strong malleability. It can be used to make a variety of items, such as cups, stools, and various shells.
"Material No. 6 was produced by the joint effort of Experimental Subject No. 34 and Experimental Subject No. 21. The raw materials were provided by one of our auxiliary factories next door."
Charles pinched it. Plastic? No, it's harder than plastic. Perhaps even more versatile than plastic.
"Wait, are you saying that the institute is combining the special abilities of the experimental subjects?" Charles asked. Linda's words had attracted both his attention and curiosity.
"Yes, the experimental subjects absorb unique relics, which means their special abilities are unique and bizarre as well. Some special abilities seem useless and weak at first impression, but they bring about unexpected results upon being combined with other special abilities."
Charles nodded in understanding. It turned out that the denizens of the Subterranean Sea were incredibly smart and capable of extrapolating many things after just a few pointers.
Humans truly were adaptable creatures, and Charles reckoned that a technological revolution centered on relic experiments and fusions would soon begin on the Subterranean Sea. Charles couldn't even begin to imagine what the Subterranean Sea would look like by then.
"Not bad. Is there anything particularly special?" Charles asked with interest.
Linda stepped forward and stood in front of Charles with her hands in her pockets.
"Rather than checking these products, there's one thing you have to handle as soon as possible, Captain," Linda said.
"What is it?"
"Someone has been waiting for you for quite a while now, and I think you should meet him instead of looking around here," Linda replied.
A chubby man clad in an outfit decked out with jewelry walked into the exhibition hall just then. Upon seeing Charles staring at him, the chubby man grinned, revealing a mouthful of gold teeth.
"We finally meet, Governor Charles. The four months I've spent drifting at sea haven't been in vain."
"Four months? I can see that you're not from the Northern Seas."
"Governor Charles truly is a clever and observant man. Indeed, I'm not from the Northern Seas," the gold-toothed chubby man replied with his effortless compliment.
"Hurry up and tell me what you want. I have no time to waste," Charles urged.
"I came all the way here from afar to express our sincerity in cooperating with you, Governor."
"Cooperate on what?" Charles asked.
The gold-toothed chubby man's grin widened as he explained, "We want to cooperate with you in harnessing the full potential of the Ascendants you've imprisoned. Actually, I've done what you've been doing, but what I've produced could only be sold as slaves.
"They could only be used as hard labor, unlike your Ascendants, who could be used in the production of a variety of materials and technology with much potential."
He said he spent four months at sea just to come here. Does that mean he learned the existence of the Ascendants as early as four months ago? Charles frowned slightly, and his wariness toward the gold-toothed chubby man shot through the roof.
The gold-toothed chubby man seemed to have sensed Charles' sudden hostility toward him, and he smiled, explaining, "Rest assured, Governor. I've come with good intentions.
"In addition, you have an extraordinary relationship with the Governors of Elizarles Shorles and World's Crown. The Divine Light Order is standing behind you as well. I dare say that throughout the Subterranean Seano one would force you into any sort of unfair agreement."
Charles examined the gold-toothed chubby man from top to bottom before saying, "You've said so much, but you still haven't introduced yourself to me."
"My name is Gordon, and I'm the Vice President of the Royal Treasure Chamber of Commerce. It's a pleasure to meet you, Governor," Gordon took off his round hat and bowed deeply toward Charles.
"You're from a Chamber of Commerce? Tell me why you want to work with me," Charles said.
He seemed to have heard of the Royal Treasure Chamber of Commerce; they had quite a reputation in the Southern and Western Seas. However, Charles generally sailed in the Northern Seas, so he didn't know much about them.
"It seems you want to use the products produced by those so-called Ascendants to strengthen your island, but in my humble opinion, Governor, you seem to have neglected a few things," Gordon said.
Charles didn't take any offense and stood quietly, waiting for Gordon's explanation.
Despite having received no response from Charles, Gordon calmly continued, "You need more factories, up-to-par technical management, and enough labor to scale up your operations."
"Forgive my frankness, but even though your island is arguably the best throughout the Subterranean Sea, it is just a tad bit too small to support your increasing scale of operationsboth in land mass and labor force.
"I reckon that even if you send every denizen of Hope Island to work in the factories, you'll still have a labor shortage. However, that is exactly what I have."
Charles realized it just thenGordon wasn't here in his capacity as the Vice President of the Royal Treasure Chamber of Commerce. He was here as a capitalist.
The greedy Gordon had sniffed out the potential profits that could be made from Charles' operations and had come here to invest.
Charles shook his head. "I'm not in a hurry at all, and I'm going to take it slow in building the factories. If I don't have enough land to build massive factories, then I'm just going to settle for smaller ones.
"Anyway, you're already here, so I'm going to make it clear to you that I understand the potential of my operations more than you do. I have a vested interest in them, and I'm not going to give away a chunk of that for no reason."
Gordon didn't look flustered at all in the face of Charles' straightforward reply. He let out a chuckle as he said, "Of course, of course. We have no intention of taking the Governor for a fool.
"I came here to show my sincerity, so please come with me, Governor. I have something to show you."
Charles pondered briefly before following Gordon out of the institute. Actually, Charles didn't detest the existence of capitalists. He understood that capitalists would emerge inevitably as soon as society reached a certain level of development.
Charles also believed that capitalists could be put to good use.
Gordon soon brought Charles to a huge warehouse, and Charles finally saw Gordon's "sincerity."
A huge mechanical beast the size of a house stood right in front of Charles. It was made entirely of densely packed bronze gears, and the chimney extending beyond the ceiling proved that it was steam powered.
"What is this?" Charles asked.
Gordon grinned and pointed at the mechanical beast's round brass keyboard, asking, "Why don't you ask it for yourself, Governor?"
Charles cast a doubtful gaze at Gordon, but he stepped forward and typed on the brass keyboard. What are you?
A perforated white paper jutted out from under the keyboard and rolled into the bronze gears. A cacophony of clicking echoed soon afterward as the beast's gears turned and interacted with each other.
Rhythmic clicks and clacks rang out as a sheet of paper with text written on it emerged from the gears.
Hello, I am Dolphin One.
Charles' pupils constricted upon reading the written texts. He realized just then that the mechanical beast wasn't a mere difference engine designed to automatically process calculations for various functions; that would just be a simple mechanical calculator.
He was staring at an analytical engine!
A true mechanical computer without a CPU or a hard disk, yet capable of executing programs, was standing right in front of Charles!
Charles was born in the 21st century, so he was aware of the boundless potential contained within the huge mechanical beast before him.
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