624 Cheers to Friendship (2/2)
Would the Net of Aether demand a lot out of the basic facilities? Of course. Not only would it require plenty of complementary mechanical terminals, it would also require a lot of checkpoints and all sorts of technical skills. Otherwise, the Net of Aether would not even be able to extend out of Avalon. The complexity and size of the workload was so immense that it was like a nightmare, even to Newton. At this point in time, his heart was only filled with regrets.
”I have been duped! I have been duped! Clearly, this has always been Ye Qingxuan's motive! Didn't he spend so much effort to find me just because I am able to do this? Who else in this world is more suitable than me to be doing this? Who else has the ability to do so? Before I snatched over that piece of incomplete page, Ye Qingxuan did ask me to think carefully. There will be no turning back once I have seen it.”
At that time, he had thought that Ye Qingxuan was merely trying to scare him. It seemed that he has really fallen into a trap. Now, he was only left with two choices, 'do' or 'not to do'. If he chose not to do this, there was no way Ye Qingxuan would allow him to continue living in this world. It was not that Newton was trying to wriggle his way out of something he had promised but this project was just too insane. Any leaking of information could easily bring about disastrous consequences.
If Newton was Ye Qingxuan, he would not let him live either. Newton did not wish to die yet. Really. There were still many things that he wanted to accomplish, such as continuing the mechanical engineering course of study that his teachers had pioneered. He needed to prove the value of this new path. He firmly believed that this was the key to the future of mankind. Therefore, he had no choice but to submit.
But if he really did it… then he and Ye Qingxuan would become the top heretics of the Church, possibly even placed above Hyakume! Why was 'redemption' so terrifying? Was it because of how much damage it could cause, as much as piercing through the armors of knights? Or was it because of the theory that all deterrence would be lost with prior mental preparation?
No… it was because of how applicable it was to everyone! When it came to redemption, everyone was equal. Once it has been created, even a farmer would be able to use it to kill the king!
What made the Net of Aether even more terrifying was that… it would create musicians! All the musicians would be pushed down the altar, being stripped of their godly status to become ordinary people, transforming from 'magicians' to the engineers of the Net of Aether. That miraculous power would be shared with everyone. The moment it appeared, everyone that desired power would be groveling in front of Ye Qingxuan. He would be the only one that could determine who deserved power.
This was just too… insane! This was why Ye Qingxuan refused to return 'Genesis' to the Sacred City, even if the latter threatened to stop him from advancing to a scepter. The Net of Aether alone would have been able to help him advance to scepter anyway. Not only that, the element of the Net of Aether would ensure that he would become one of the top few scepters. In addition, he could also ensure that Saint Haydn's inheritance would remain in the Net of Aether.
This has been Ye Qingxuan's plan all along. At this moment, Newton fell into silence as he was in deep thoughts. His facial expressions changed ever so minutely, from fear to depression… he was experiencing all sorts of emotions. Due to his own curiosity, he has fallen into Ye Qingxuan's trap. Right now, when the truth has been revealed, strangely enough, he did not feel upset. Instead… he looked forward to this day.
He was fully aware of the consequences of Ye Qingxuan's actions but what was so bad about that? No, it would be great! In fact, things could not have worked out better for him. Ye Qingxuan had chosen him and given him chisels and shovels so that he could dig a nice grave for the musicians.
At this thought, he was so excited that there were goosebumps all over his body. He slowly raised his head to look at Ye Qingxuan and nodded, ”I'll do it!”
”Fantastic.” Ye Qingxuan nodded and smiled happily. He picked up the wine glass on the table, ”Cheers to our friendship!”
Pui! Damned his so-called friendship.
Newton could not be bothered with the nonsense that Ye Qingxuan was spouting. Ye Qingxuan quickly finished his whisky before wiping the corners of his mouth with his handkerchief, ”Thank you for your hospitality. The alcohol was pretty good.”
”Once you are done, scram.” Newton tore a piece of cloth to wrap up his palm that has yet to recover fully. He pointed at the door, ”Don't come and bother me unless you have a good reason to. I will write you a list of items that I need. You only have to worry about paying.”
”No problem.” Ye Qingxuan shrugged his shoulders and took his hat off the rack before bidding farewell politely. He looked like a complete gentleman. Just as he was about to leave, Ye Qingxuan stopped and turned back to look at him, ”Hey, Newton.”
Newton could not be bothered to look at him. His back continued to face him as he tidied up the drafts on the table. From today onwards, he would be changing to yet another laboratory. When he heard Ye Qingxuan's voice, he was somewhat irritated, ”Anything else?”
Ye Qingxuan was silent for a moment before asking, ”Although this may sound funny to you but Newton, was there ever a moment when you felt sorry about the incident with Charles? Any moment.”
After a period of silence, Newton replied coldly, ”No.”
”Is that so?” Ye Qingxuan laughed in a self-deprecating manner, ”It was all my own wishful thinking then. My apologies.”
The door closed and the sound of footsteps grew faint.
Newton was the only one left under the dim lighting.
He tried to tidy up the mess on his table but for some reason, it only got worse. Finally, he swept everything off the table in a fit of frustration. He sat on the chair with his head hung low. ”Damned it…” he muttered under his breath.