Meanwhile, to the West of Daklan City.
A young man in a top hat alighted from a carriage and braved the wind and snow to enter West's mansion.
Keen West sat at his desk, a finely crafted pipe clenched between his teeth, reading several yellowed pages by the light of a gas lamp.
Ever since the inventor William Murdoch discovered that the spark from gas extracted from coal could be used for illumination, gas gradually replaced whale oil as the primary fuel for heating and lighting in the Blystone Kingdom.
Initially, people feared the brightness of gas lamps. Ladies disliked them, claiming their skin conditions would be too clearly visible. But just as the arrival of the Transcendence Era was irreversible, gas lamps gradually became widespread, starting with shops, theaters, and streetlights.
By now, they had become an essential fixture in every home.
A knock came from outside. He looked up at the door and said,
"Is that Sherlock? Come in."
"It's me. I've completed the investigation as you instructed." The young man walked in briskly, doffing his hat to Keen West.
"Have a seat." Keen West gestured to a wine bottle on the table and asked, "Would you like a glass of Ice Dew Wine? With aphid juice?"
"No, thank you."
His second attempt to promote it failed, Keen shook his head regretfully and asked, "What's the situation at the scene?"
"The sacrifice indeed took place at Jason Nats Haunted House. A total of seven cultist bodies were found at the ritual site. Five of them died from cold weapons while unconscious, as there were no signs of struggle. Two died from gunshot wounds, each with only one fatal bullet hole."
"There were indeed traces of a transcendent creature existing and dying at the ritual site; there were several obvious puddles of corrosive blood on the ground. Judging from the bullet trajectories and casings remaining at the scene, a fierce gunfight did take place. The casings came from two different guns: one was a small-caliber revolver, and the other should be a large-caliber firearm. Here is the analysis report for this sacrifice incident." The young man said, handing a stack of reports to Keen.
If Zhou Ning had seen this analysis report, he would have been extremely surprised. This young man had almost completely reconstructed all the details of what happened, simply by analyzing bullet marks, the positions of fallen casings, blood distribution, and other details.
"Hmm." Keen took it and flipped through a few pages, nodding thoughtfully, then asked, "What about that book? Has it been found?"
"No, it's the same as before; it disappeared after the ritual ended." The young man shrugged.
"Well, maybe it really grew legs and ran away." Keen gave a slight, bitter smile.
After seeing the young man off, Keen sat back down at his desk and began reading the report.
"To be able to kill a transcendent monster purely with firearms—a very formidable young man. As for his weapon..." He picked up his pipe, took a deep puff, and fell into thought.
As the uses of gas continued to be discovered and its civil use became widespread, the kingdom gradually began to value coal as a precious resource.
King Charles VI had mobilized the entire nation's resources to refit an ancient Alchemy warship, thousands of years old. Driven by steam engines and Alchemy formations, it was equipped with 24 Vulcan Cannons and 18 Invincible Cannons, capable of a speed of 21 knots. This largest steel monster in human history was now docked in the military harbor on the West side of the city.
The purpose was to conquer the Walrus People to the north and seize their abundant coal resources.
On the other hand, Meteorological Tide was becoming more frequent, and there were even rumors of elemental creatures attacking humans within the country.
Two years ago, the court's chief mage, Eran, made a prophecy: the gods are about to awaken, and the transcendent is about to fully revive. The entire world will welcome countless Chosen Ones who fear neither life nor Death, and their arrival will be both disaster and opportunity.
At the time, no one believed this prophecy, but now transcendent power was becoming increasingly active. The bottleneck that had troubled him for so long no longer existed, and perhaps it wouldn't be long before he would successfully advance to Sky Knight.
At the same time, in Daklan and throughout the entire Blystone Kingdom, more and more transcendent events were constantly emerging.
Recalling Eran's prophecy... Keen turned to look at the heavy snow outside the window, murmuring with a mixture of anticipation and fear in his tone:
"A new era has begun..."
...The next day, when Zhou Ning awoke from his sleep, the sky had already brightened.
He pulled out his pocket watch from a pile of clothes, opened it, and saw that the clock pointed exactly to seven in the morning.
"Excellent living habits!" Zhou Ning praised himself.
He got dressed and out of bed, finding that his roommate John had not yet returned. The silly dog named Bobby, who had occupied his bed, had already gotten off the bed and was wagging his tail, happily running around the dorm room.
According to the knowledge from the game, this type of dog is unique to the world of "Apocalypse." They are particularly active, highly sensitive to light elements, and are also called Sun Dogs. They naturally possess the ability to accurately tell time, and after training, a very small number of time-telling dogs can even predict the Weather.
But this dog named Bobby looked very idiotic; he didn't seem capable of predicting the Weather at all.
After running for a while, perhaps tired, Bobby walked with a swagger, leaned his back against the dorm wall, and stuck out his butt. A moment later, he left a steaming pile of dog poop on the wall.
Zhou Ning:...Why did it feel so inexplicably inspiring?
This world of "Apocalypse" is truly ruthless. A dog not only has to learn the technical skill of telling time but also must never forget to defecate on the wall.
Even dogs are working this hard; how can I still be content with an easy life?
Charge!
Wait, that's my wall! You just wait for me! Zhou Ning grabbed a broom.
When this silly dog saw Zhou Ning approaching menacingly, perhaps out of guilt, it actually turned its head, stuck out its tongue, and gulped down the evidence with a *woof* sound. After destroying the evidence, it charged at Zhou Ning, wagging its tail excitedly.
Zhou Ning:...Get lost!
After scolding the silly dog by twisting its ear, Zhou Ning quickly washed up and then opened his wardrobe to choose clothes. In this world, there were strict rules: non-nobles could not wear colored clothes, so the wardrobe was full of black or white garments.
After choosing for a while, he put on a white shirt and a black vest. After getting dressed, he put on a soft felt hat and looked at his reflection in the mirror, giving himself a thumbs-up: perfect score.
His previous self had a very regular routine: the first thing in the morning was a jog around campus, followed by breakfast at a diner called 'The Pig and Whistle.' Afterwards, he would return to the dormitory to change clothes before heading to the Alchemy Building. As a senior student with excellent grades in Alchemy, Wayne Strowell had long served as Professor Wesley's assistant, helping him prepare lesson plans and Alchemy supplies, and occasionally even teaching classes for him.
In return, his previous self had limited access to the school's Alchemy materials and equipment, as well as a monthly stipend of 5 vikta, equivalent to 50 currency.
To celebrate his first day after transmigration, he'd skip the exercise for now, but he could keep this assistant job for the time being. Firstly, he was poor, genuinely poor. He currently had a total savings of 15 vikta, seven of which he'd scavenged yesterday, but most of it couldn't be touched because he had to pay 10 currency in tuition every week after school started, and he could easily run out of funds and become an uneducated youth.
Also, the simulator still needed to be 'Krypton Gold' (to spend money on in-game purchases). After transmigrating yesterday, Zhou Ning still had 11 transmigration coins, allowing for 2 more transmigrations. He asked the system, and currently, recharging one transmigration coin actually cost 10 vikta, equivalent to two months' stipend. A single transmigration even required a monstrous 50 vikta!
Thinking of this, Zhou Ning's heart ached even more. Damn you, Tony Stark! You swindled me out of 10 months' salary! And you still dared to act all high and mighty with me!
Besides alleviating financial pressure, another reason was to, like his previous self, freeload the school's Alchemy materials and equipment.
According to official settings, main professions and most sub-profession skills could be learned through professional knowledge books or NPC instruction, while life-skill sub-professions and skills were more demanding. Not only were professional knowledge books relatively rare, but they also required extensive practice to learn.
For example, Enchanting, or Alchemy.
The famous saying in "Apocalypse," "Alchemy impoverishes three generations, Enchanting ruins a lifetime," comes from this.
Although Zhou Ning temporarily didn't have a combat-oriented main profession, freeloading the school's Alchemy materials and equipment could not only quickly accumulate experience but also improve skill levels, killing two birds with one stone.
After getting dressed, Zhou Ning left the dormitory.
Unlike before transmigration, Vik University's student apartments were co-ed. Even though the Weather was cold, there were still many young girls dressed lightly walking around. They didn't avoid Zhou Ning; instead, they smiled and greeted him:
"Good morning, Senior Wayne."
"Senior Wayne, aren't you going to exercise today?"
This body's popularity with women was unexpectedly good. With the bonus of 'Expert Flirting Specialization,' Zhou Ning had the illusion of a tiger entering a flock of sheep, greeting people all the way to the dormitory door.
Phew, comfortable... Facing the morning sun, he performed several rounds of Ripple Breathing Technique, and found that both his Strength and Agility now had a green plus sign next to them, slowly increasing. Perhaps in a few days, they would naturally grow.
It's truly an amazing skill, Zhou Ning couldn't help but exclaim.
Opposite the dormitory was a man-made grove, usually the best place for outdoor activities. At this moment, many people were gathered outside the grove, as if something had happened inside.
Zhou Ning walked over curiously and heard two boys discussing:
"I heard there was a murder in the grove yesterday."
"It's true. They say a sophomore girl died."
"It seems she died terribly; her internal organs were even pulled out."
Upon hearing the last sentence, Zhou Ning couldn't help but frown.
He moved his feet and walked towards the grove.