Night falls at Blue Lake Estate.
Richard returned, and the servants in the estate showed no particular reaction, as they had no idea what Richard had been through during the day. They assud it was just an ordinary outing and return.
Only the butler, Galileo, was slightly excited, knowing that Richard’s trip was extraordinary and that his quick return was a good outco. He no longer worried about the estate being closed. However, seeing Richard’s solemn face, Galileo didn’t dare show too much excitent, quietly offering Richard a cup of hot tea before quietly withdrawing.
Back in his private bedroom, Galileo closed the door and let go of his emotions, leaning against the door with a long sigh, a bit of joy appearing on his face. He said, "Phew, it seems I can continue working as a butler."
After speaking, he seed to recall sothing and quickly ran to a desk in the bedroom, pulling out a ledger he had checked yesterday from a drawer on the side of the desk. He placed it on the desk and began reviewing it again by the light of an oil lamp.
Galileo decided to cherish the coming ti and beco a more competent butler.
Starting tomorrow, he planned to learn more characters from the oldest coachman among the servants. Although the old coachman could only recognize enough characters to understand signs and tombstones and not enough to write a letter, that would be sufficient. Things had to be taken step by step, so he would first learn the simple characters and then find a way to buy so books to self-study rhetoric, becoming a cultured person.
That way, as a butler, he would not always feel insecure.
Thinking of these things, Galileo, filled with excitent and anticipation, looked again at the well-morized ledger.
...
In the study.
Richard couldn’t share Galileo’s excitent; he wasn’t excited at all, feeling rather heavy-hearted.
He sat behind the desk for quite a while, slowly picking up the teacup, taking a sip of the half-cooled honey-sweet tea, and once again pondering about Long i’er.
Based on the conversation they had after their clash earlier that day, he was certain that Long i’er already suspected that his identity was not genuine.
This was quite normal, considering it would be hard to possess such strong power with the identity he had provided to the Truth Society—even without forgery, so deception had been involved.
In this situation, even if Long i’er claid he wouldn’t investigate him, it still posed a risk of exposure, which was sothing he had to guard against.
From so of Long i’er’s words and the attitude he displayed, it seed as if he wanted to recruit him. Even if he harbored ill intentions, he wanted to conscript him with absolute power.
Whether this was sincere or a ans of deception was hard to discern.
What couldn’t be denied was that his current identity did indeed have risks.
So, should he run away?
Moreover, one must realize a key point: facing Long i’er, his strongest card had already lost its expected effect. Even if he used nurous Destructive Gloves to attack recklessly, at best, it would be a stalemate, preventing the opponent from attacking him, instead of killing the opponent.
In such a case, staying and risking exposure before attempting to flee would be very dangerous.
From this perspective, he should leave.
Long i’er suggested taking him to Pompeii in three days, which inherently offered a perfect escape opportunity before departing for Pompeii. This would allow him to smoothly escape the Southern Free Federation, depart from the current scope of influence of the Truth Society, and evade to the Soma Alliance or other places—perhaps the North Wilderness, or even the Sika Kingdom.
However, leaving might be straightforward, but it also posed serious problems.
The nuclear material he currently collected from the Shambhala Mine was not a lot, and even after allowing the mine to operate at full capacity for half a month, the amount extracted barely reached the minimum threshold needed to produce a nuclear weapon.
It’s important to note that this is a theoretical value. In practice, many issues arise. Sotis, a singular deviation or mistake could lead to a certain amount of nuclear material becoming damaged or contaminated, making it unusable.
Therefore, the nuclear weapon research and manufacturing plan would inevitably have to be delayed.
Moreover, rely manufacturing one nuclear weapon for research doesn’t quite align with his research plan. According to his initial plan, he intended to manufacture three nuclear weapons of different yields for separate experints to eliminate variations and achieve more accurate data.
If a decision to leave is made now, this plan would inevitably be unachievable. Considering the scarcity of nuclear material, it would be difficult to find another place like the Shambhala Mine—at least within a year.
In addition, the nuclear weapon research and manufacturing plan was his most crucial project at the mont, into which he poured extensive efforts, directly affecting the path he intended to follow in the future, therefore changes couldn’t be made lightly.
By continuing the plan, studying the nuclear weapon allows him to grasp the state of microscopic particles in the current world, helping him to establish so foundational theories. This in turn will allow him to substantially decode the world’s truths, determining the correct path forward.
It’s akin to the story of Earth, where the apple fell on the physicist Newton.
It was because of this apple that Newton recognized the phenonon of gravity and proposed the three laws of classical chanics, leading to subsequent hundreds of years of advancent in physics.
So, is the apple important? Not at all, but without the apple’s cue, without this opportunity, greater efforts and more routes would have been needed to figure things out.
Similarly, the nuclear weapons in his research and manufacturing plan are tantamount to the apple in the story.
He must obtain this apple, throw it out, and see whether it falls to the ground or spirals skyward, only then can he understand the essence of the world. He would be able to further comprehend why this world possesses extraordinary power and why it’s so similar yet different from Earth.
Furthermore, this "apple," besides having significant implications for his research, is also a strategic weapon he anticipates, allowing him to gain the capability of overturning the table.
Originally, this need wasn’t too crucial, but after the Destructive Gloves failed to achieve the expected results on Long i’er, there was a change.
A weapon only truly has the power to overturn the table when it’s so powerful that no one can resist it. Originally, the Destructive Gloves fulfilled this role, but it is now becoming slightly outdated, needing a stronger existence for replacent, specifically the nuclear weapons.
Only by acquiring nuclear weapons could he no longer fear harassnt from the Truth Society or other organizations. His research could be conducted in peace, undistracted. Otherwise, even if he succeeded in escaping, he’d still need to worry about future retaliation from the Truth Society, and how to contend with enemies like Long i’er, or perhaps those even stronger.
In summary:
Staying is risky, comparable to operating in "enemy-occupied territory," and once exposed, it’s extrely dangerous. However, with risk cos reward, enabling the smooth continuation of his nuclear weapon research and manufacturing plan. Additionally, as Long i’er said, he could take this chance to observe Pompeii and discern the truth of this world.
Leaving also entails risk, but comparatively less. Yet, prolonged plans would be disrupted, needing adjustnt, with no certainty on when everything could be restored.
Simply put, it’s a choice between venture and caution, so which should he choose?
Sitting behind the desk, Richard’s eyes continued to dart back and forth, caught in hesitation.
After a long while, his gaze steadied, and he made his decision.
...
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