173: Physics prodigy

Shen Xiaochuan stood under the corridor to the east of the Main Hall.

He looked at the half-open door of the study; it was very quiet inside, and he could only hear the sound of a charcoal pencil writing on paper.

He walked over and gently pushed the door open.

Lolia was still sitting in yesterday's spot, with "Basic Physics" spread out in front of her.

The scrap paper had been replaced by a few new sheets of thick paper, covered in writing.

She was supporting her head with her left hand, holding a pen in her right hand to calculate problems, her brows tightly furrowed.

There was an extra coarse ceramic cup on the table, and the water inside had already gone cold.

Shen Xiaochuan didn't speak; he slowly crouched down and picked up a piece of paper from the floor.

An inclined plane was drawn on it, with the angle and force decomposition clearly marked, but she was stuck on the third step, having crossed it out several times.

He took a glance and flipped through the stack of papers beside her.

He discovered that she had only learned up to the first section of the third chapter yesterday, but today she had already reached the conservation of energy and was even trying to derive the relationship between work and kinetic energy.

"Have you been calculating this all morning?" he asked.

Lolia looked up abruptly, and her pen dropped.

"Lord Shen! I... I haven't neglected the workshop's work. I was just reading during my break."

"I know," he said, placing the paper back on the table. "Continue."

She didn't move, keeping her hand on the book as if afraid he would take it away.

Shen Xiaochuan pulled out a chair and sat down.

"I'll ask you fifteen questions. If you can answer them, you can spend two hours every morning reading from now on, and I'll approve your leave. If you can't, go back to smithing. How about it?"

She bit her lip. "Please ask."

"First question: A fifty-kilogram person jumps down from a height of three meters. How great is the impact force when landing? Do not consider air resistance."

Lolia lowered her head to write out the formula.

Her pen paused for a moment as she wrote down mgh = ½ mv², then used v² = 2as to find the deceleration distance, and finally used the impulse-momentum theorem to calculate the duration of the impact.

"Assuming he bends his knees to cushion for 0.5 seconds," she said, looking up, "the impact force is approximately three thousand Newtons."

Shen Xiaochuan nodded.

"Second question: Why is the efficiency of a steam engine not as good as an internal combustion engine?"

"Because..." she thought for a few seconds, "steam requires burning water into gas first, which consumes a lot of energy, and the pipes lose heat. Less than twenty percent actually converts into mechanical energy. An internal combustion engine explodes directly inside the cylinder to push the piston, resulting in less energy loss."

"Not bad," he said.

"Third question: Thunderstone crystals discharge electricity at night. Can we store heat during the day and generate electricity at night?"

"Yes," she answered quickly.

"Just like a red-hot iron block, we could use sunlight or waste heat during the day to heat a medium, such as a molten salt pool. At night, we could let the high-temperature medium pass through a heat exchanger to produce steam, which then drives a turbine. As long as it is well-sealed and insulated, it can provide continuous output."

Shen Xiaochuan's eyes lit up.

He continued to ask the remaining twelve questions, including circuits, levers, material strength, and so on.

Lolia answered every one on the spot; she got two wrong, but recalculated them after correcting herself.

By the time the last question was finished, it was almost dark outside.

A System notification rang in his mind: [Detected Believer Lolia has awakened C-grade talent "Physics Novice," learning speed is 2.5 times that of an average person, comprehension +70%, memory retention rate 98%.]

He didn't let on, just tidied up the draft paper on the table, pulled out a clean sheet, and picked up a charcoal pencil to draw a double-cylinder piston structure.

"Look," he said, pointing at the diagram, "this is the core of a steam engine. High-temperature steam enters the left cylinder, pushing the piston to the right, while the right cylinder exhausts. Then the valve switches, steam enters the right cylinder, pushing the piston back. This reciprocating motion can drive the wheels to turn."

Lolia leaned in to look, tracing the lines with her finger.

"The key is controlling the timing of the intake and exhaust?"

"Correct," he nodded.

"Just like smithing, one hammer blow after another; it cannot be chaotic. We can make a linkage valve assembly, using the crankshaft to provide feedback signals for automatic switching."

"Then how is the power transmitted out?" she asked.

"We can't rely on people moving pipes."

"Use gears," he said.

"You've seen transmission wheels when smithing. We can make a set of variable-speed gearboxes to turn the reciprocating motion of the pistons into rotation; it could power flour mills, water pumps, or even generators."

Her eyes lit up.

"If we equip it with a Thunderstone crystal arc frequency stabilization device, could we achieve continuous power supply at night?"

"Exactly." Shen Xiaochuan stood up.

"I plan to build the first practical steam engine unit within a month. The goal is to power a small Ore crusher, starting with a daily processing capacity of five hundred tons. Do you think it's feasible?"

"As long as there are enough Materials, I can draw the part diagrams," she said.

"But I haven't made such large machinery before, and I'm worried there might be flaws in the design."

"Take it slow." He looked at her.

"Starting tomorrow, from 7 PM to 9 PM every night, I will teach you physics myself. Ask anytime if you don't understand. Also, don't push yourself too hard; study is study, but you still have to do the smithing."

"I understand," she said softly.

"As for the forging side... I can complete at most forty excellent grade Overlord spears a day. Any more will affect the quenching quality."

Shen Xiaochuan took note of this.

He walked to the window and looked toward the smoking workshop district in the west of the city.

More than a dozen furnaces ran day and night, but the output just wouldn't increase.

"How many excellent grade weapons does the whole city produce daily now?"

"Seventy-five," she replied.

"Besides me, there are two other masters who barely meet the standard; the others can only make common goods."

"Not enough people," he murmured.

"The craft isn't spreading."

"If only there were someone to teach," Lolia said softly.

"Many people are willing to learn, but no one can explain it clearly. Metal properties, heat control, number of forging strikes—it's all passed down by word of mouth from the old masters, and when something goes wrong, they don't even know where the mistake was."

Shen Xiaochuan turned back to look at her.

"Would you like to try compiling a textbook? Write down everything you know, add formulas and diagrams, and let the newcomers practice by following it."

"Can I do it?"

"You can," he said.

"You know more than most of the old masters now. Knowledge shouldn't be hidden. Whoever learns quickly can use it."

She lowered her head and touched the pages of the book, then suddenly said, "Lord Shen, can I come to attend the lectures every night?"

"I said, it starts at 7 PM." He glanced at the sky.

"It starts tonight. Go to the side room and tidy up now, then come to the Main Hall to eat later. From now on, you'll be considered management, and your meals will be upgraded."

"Ah?" She was stunned.

"Is this appropriate... People will gossip."

"If I say it's appropriate, it is," he said firmly.

"You are the first Technician in Skydome City who eats by using their brain; if you don't eat well, how will your brain function?"

She didn't refuse again, silently packed the books and paper into her cloth bag, bowed, and turned to leave.

Only Shen Xiaochuan was left in the room.

He stood still, looking at the yellowed "Basic Physics" at the corner of the table.

The cover was severely worn, evidently having been flipped through many times.

He raised his hand, and the Faith Mall interface appeared before his eyes.

The balance showed: 41,723,500 faith points.

He wasn't in a hurry to buy; he opened the categories and searched among "Skill Legacy," "Artisan Training," and "Group Enhancement Items."

He looked through them one by one; most required high-level permissions or special conditions to use.

Currently, only a few Elementary training scrolls were available, but they were ineffective and couldn't improve forging levels.

He continued to scroll down.

He saw an item marked as "Uncategorized": [Elementary Craft Instructor Talisman]

Description: Allows an ordinary person to gain teaching ability, enabling them to systematically teach the skills they have mastered to others, lasting for thirty days.

Price: 8,000,000 faith points.

Shen Xiaochuan stared at that line of text, motionless for a long time.

This item wasn't very useful on its own.

But if he let Lolia learn modern industrial knowledge first, and then used this talisman to teach others, it would be equivalent to building a technical school.

He didn't buy it, instead bookmarking the item, wanting to find a better way.

The sun set outside the window.

The shouting in the distance at the Training Ground stopped, and the sound of hammers striking came from the workshop district, one blow after another.

He closed the mall interface and took a deep breath.

A technological revolution isn't just about building a machine.

It needs people, people who can pass on knowledge.

Lolia was a starting point.

Very small, but bright enough.

He walked out of the study and crossed the front courtyard.

The night wind was a bit chilly, blowing the copper bell until it rang once.

He looked up at the northern sky, where a dark red floating island drifted—the Thunderstone Ore vein.

It was almost dark, and weak electric light began to flash on the surface of the Ore vein, flickering on and off.

He stood on the steps, gazing at the floating island, his hand in his pocket, his fingertips touching a copper gear pendant.

He knew what he had to do next.

He turned and walked toward the altar.

There was the official entrance to the Faith Mall, which was more stable and suitable for long-term browsing.

Passing the kitchen, he smelled the aroma of stewed meat.

He stopped, remembering he had promised to let Lolia come for dinner, so he called out to a maid: "Notify the kitchen to add another set of tableware tonight, at the east side of the Main Hall."

The maid agreed and left.

He continued walking forward, calculating expenses in his mind: armaments, city maintenance, scientific research... every item required spending faith points.

But he knew that some money could not be saved.

Especially the money to ignite the spark.

Walking to the altar, he raised his hand and pressed it onto the center of the stone tablet.

Golden patterns spread from his palm, and the entire altar lit up.

As the light rose, his voice was very soft, yet firm:

"Find a way to train blacksmiths in batches."