Free Web NovelChapter 268: Steam Core
Several pages had been copied from the New City system: [Technology Tree], [Policy Code], [Work Arrangements], [City Status].
Link kept experimenting with how to make use of them—after all, nothing in this world was truly useless.
Ordinary enough when displayed on an intelligent terminal, once copied into the system they became extraordinary.
Without any communication device, the system streamed Qiong’s updates and New City’s status straight into his mind. On the [City Status] page, he could see both ongoing and completed constructions, from the energy tower to his small clinic.
The energy tower page contained a wealth of details, including the status of key components.
The small clinic’s page, however, was completely blank except for one line: “Heat Rank 2.”
What was the difference between the energy tower and the clinic? Simple—the energy tower was a complex mechanical structure, while the clinic was just a building.
That gave him an idea.
He connected both a mechanical ticker and an electronic counter to the clinic. Then, opening the clinic’s page in his mind, he saw the mechanical ticker appear beneath “Heat Rank 2.”
The numbers were perfectly synced.
When the ticker recorded 1889, the page in his mind also displayed 1889.
Meanwhile, the electronic counter kept running—but did not appear on the page at all.
Link was ecstatic.
He attached a cutoff switch to the ticker and ran dozens of experiments. At last, he succeeded in remotely shutting it down through the page!
From there, he began to modify the clinic.
To avoid Suria noticing, he fabricated the devices inside the energy tower, only bringing them back after testing. He installed them whenever Su was at work.
Given Su’s freakishly sharp memory, there was no hiding it from her. So he simply brought home a set of half-used medical equipment—heart monitor and the like—using her health monitoring as his excuse. In truth, that was indeed part of his reason.
After all, she had no idea that he could now view her vitals remotely on his system page.
But this expedition had revealed a flaw: this mysterious, copied subsystem still obeyed the laws of reality?
Exm?
At twenty kilometers from New City, the page began to flicker like poor reception.
At forty kilometers, the “signal” was gone completely.
Apparently, when copying the system, he had also copied its communication distance limit. Nothing to be done about it now.
Without the signal, Link couldn’t eat or sleep well. Every sneeze, twitching eyelid, stray gust of wind, snowfall, or sunset made him worry if Su was in danger.fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
That was when he realized—it wasn’t just Su who depended on him. He depended on her just as much.
Their bond had become that deep without him even noticing.
On the way back, he hurried toward the city. Within forty kilometers, he broke from the search team and climbed a snowy peak.
At the summit, he regained the signal. Opening the remote clinic monitor, he saw Su’s vitals glowing yellow. In that instant, he felt as if struck by lightning—clear and trembling.
Had this been Stardew Valley, he would have broken through on the spot to late-stage Qi Refining, great perfection.
Of course, seeing was not believing.
Suria was the holder of the Crown of Mathematics. If she could crack the Thought Exchange Mode between Link and Wei, then tampering with a simple medical monitor would be child’s play.
Still, yellow meant alive.
That was enough. Forty kilometers wasn’t far—he could always rush back if needed. Su’s health was fragile, burdened with chronic illnesses and complications, but she had no sudden, lethal condition.
He didn’t rush back immediately. Remembering the joy with which the women had eaten vegetables last time, he stopped by a pizza shop.
There, he unearthed frozen-but-edible coconut jelly, dusty dragon fruit, and a whole sack of corn kernels. Corn was a treasure—whether in soup or sprinkled on pizza, it was a rare delicacy these days.
He stashed part of his haul in their secret base. If disaster ever struck New City, they could retreat here to regroup.
When he rejoined the search team, no one noticed his hours-long detour. They welcomed him back with cheers, some even slapping his shoulders in relief.
After all, in this endless snow, disappearing for a few hours was normal. That he had returned at all was proof of skill.
He had left as a rookie needing care, but returned as the team’s unshakable core.
From captain to newcomer, everyone wanted to book him for their next trip.
After all, a doctor who could fight, heal, tinker, and ski? Traveling with him was pure security.
And Link never failed anyone. Every obstacle was solved, every danger eased. Once they’d had him, no one wanted to leave without him again.
When the farewells ended, Link, an unofficial member, had no reports to file. He shouldered his pack and left.
He was eager to get home—but someone stepped into his path.
“Link, my great friend, spare me just one minute,” a stranger drawled, hands in his pockets. “Do you want to know how to reach heaven?”
Snow still fell thickly. Everyone was bundled tight, so Link couldn’t see his face.
“Let me guess—with a gun?” In a flash, a pistol appeared in Link’s hand, muzzle pressed against the man’s forehead. “New here, aren’t you? If you’re trying to rob me, you picked the wrong man!”
“No, no!” the stranger stammered. “I’m a preacher. I came to share the faith!”
“Preacher?” Link blinked. “Didn’t you just threaten to send me to God?”
“No, I meant real preaching,” the man groaned. “Our priest said each of us must recruit three members. I joined late, so most townsfolk are already taken. I had no choice but to wait here for explorers to return. I swear I mean no harm!”
“Fine, but next time say that first. Popping out like that—anyone would think you’re robbing them.” Link lowered his gun. “You’re lucky I’m rational, or you’d be dead.”
You call that rational? The man twitched. Your gun must be named Rational.
“I’m in a hurry. You still want to preach?”
“N-no. Please, go ahead.” He stepped aside quickly.
Link’s face darkened as he walked on. The man’s words lingered—“Most of the townsfolk have already been recruited…”
Trouble was brewing. New City’s growth was stirring unrest.
Sure enough, he saw more preachers on the road. Standing in the snow, hungry and shivering, they still radiated zeal. In a country with deep religious roots, faith spread like wildfire, especially in the apocalypse.
For the poor, it was solace. But for anyone with a clear mind, it was plain theft—from Qiong’s authority, and a wedge splitting New City.
He was stopped again, but this time he listened quietly and even handed over half a bottle of liquor as a donation.ƒrēewebnovel.com
“You’re the barkeep?! Forgive me, I didn’t recognize you. My son—you saved him. He still passed, but… you let me stay with him to the end. Thank you.”
“No need.”
Finally home, Link rushed straight to the monitoring probe. Su stood guiltily to the side, head bowed in admission.
Her math was unmatched, but her hands-on skills? Abysmal. The wires were clearly pulled out and tampered with.
“You… come here, let me check you.” Link gave her sugar water, then scanned her body with spiritual energy. Only after confirming she was safe did he relax.
But after restoring the monitor, her health status had turned pale red.
“Wow! Corn! And dragon fruit!” Su deliberately rummaged through the bag to change the subject.
Link scowled.
“I’ll get you a week off. No refusals. I found special antibiotics—we’re focusing on your health first.”
“Darling, I’ve finished my last project. All I have left is tidying blueprints. If I can’t work, I’ll truly die.” She tugged his sleeve with a pleading smile.
“I swear I’ll take care of myself this time. I’ll cooperate with treatment. I swear on four!”
“Even if you swear on five, it won’t happen.” Link’s voice was ice.
Su cradled a frozen dragon fruit, glaring stubbornly. He met her gaze stone-faced. Only when her expression turned pitiful did he casually roll a small metal sphere across the table.
“But I did find a little toy outside. If you agree to rest, it’s yours.”
“Mechanical Intelligence Core!” Su’s eyes widened, cheeks flushing as she stared at the rolling sphere like priceless treasure.
She didn’t even notice the dragon fruit drop from her hands.
Link had never seen her like this.
“Really! Darling, I love you!” She leapt to kiss him hard, then hugged the core to her chest and scurried to the bed to examine it with glee.
“But it’s broken… and what about your precious work? Didn’t you say you’d die without it?”
“Then I’m already dead! Get me another month off—no, just resign for me! Thanks!” she said without looking up, abandoning her blueprints for this new love.
What blueprints? Don’t know her. The old me is dead. Burn paper offerings if you must.
“Figures. It’s broken. All the working ones I turned in.” Link sighed.
He could have hidden a working core. He had harvested them himself; slipping one into his storage space would have gone unnoticed.
But in New City’s fragile state, every missing core meant one less intelligent factory, one fewer work robot. The loss could snowball into collapse. The downfall of Winterhome still haunted them all.
“I know, dear. Broken is better. You’re the best. Now, go downstairs and make me dinner, will you? Love you!”
Link… Are you shooing me away? My heart hurts. Never loving again!
Before leaving, he turned back. At that moment, Su was at her most radiant.
Head bowed, hands playing with the sphere, she glowed with joy greater than at any other point in her life. More than reaching the peak, more than any embrace. In that instant, Link knew: this woman belonged to no one. She belonged to mathematics alone.
Suria was overjoyed. She had never thought she’d hold one in her hands.
Though she was one of the Steam Core’s pioneers, for reasons beyond her, officials had barred their theorists from handling actual Mechanical Intelligence Cores. More than a year since its release, and this was her first chance to touch one.
Once Link left, she hurried to close the door.
She tossed aside the dragon fruit and reverently set the broken core on the desk.
“I thought I’d never get the chance.” She rubbed her hands until they were warm, then cupped the sphere’s ends with burning palms.
Murmuring a string of mathematical formulas—if Link were here, he would have recognized them as one of the Differential Engine’s central equations.
Now, fewer than four people in the world knew it.
As her incantation ended, the broken sphere silently split open. Countless fine metallic filaments unfurled like a ball of yarn, or a flower blooming in slow motion.
Steam Core. Hidden mode—activated.
So the politicians were right.
That was why they refused to let scientists touch the final product.
You suspect they left a back door?
Correct guess, darling.
“Oh, right. Remember to take your new medicine on time—or I’ll confiscate your toy.” Link suddenly pushed the door open, stuffing pills into the bedside cabinet with a smile. “Make your own dinner tonight. Another migrant convoy just arrived. Qiong needs me.”
He left casually.
Never once glancing at the strange Steam Core.
Su froze stiff, eyes tracking him out the door.
“Beep-beep~” The core, now an arachnid machine, chirped softly, brushing her nose with a filament to remind her it was still there.
Su with the Steam Core is a whole new level of adorable chaos. Link’s calm poker face in contrast just cracks me up. If you’re enjoying this ride, consider supporting on Patreon for early chapters—or drop a rating on NovelUpdates to help more readers discover this world!
