What kind of feeling would you have when you are alone,moving straight through absolute darkness?
What kind of mental journey would you experience when you are both confused and persistent,eager to explore and satisfy your curiosity?
Ryan,who had fallen into hypnosis,was delving into the river of memories,searching for light.Suddenly,an ancient yet majestic voice from behind stopped him in his tracks.
He spun around abruptly,and a dazzling white light flashed.
Then,before he knew what had happened,Ryan's vision went black.
When he opened his eyes again,the surrounding environment had completely changed.
The sky was gray,with a heavy,overcast pressure.The air had a distinct smell,and the place around him seemed to be an empty factory?!
The sounds of mechanical tools filled his ears continuously.Confused,he got up,and then the shrill whistle of a train pierced his eardrums once more.
"What the f~Fantastic!Em...What the fuss.I must be dreaming!"
He quickly got to his feet and patted the dirt off his body.The moment Ryan turned around,a pair of turbid and somewhat complex eyes stared at him deeply and coldly.
It was an old woman leaning on a cane.Her hair was long and disheveled.On her forehead,there were even a few loops of what looked like a headband...made of colorful cloth strips.
"Young man!Where...are you from?Your clothes are so different from mine.Are you not from around here either?If F =ma and F =qE,then does ma =qE?Can you solve this formula further?"
"((๏~๏)/???)"
Ryan scratched his head in complete bewilderment.Embarrassed,he was left speechless.
Where was this?Why was he being forced to discuss such a mind -boggling formula with an old lady here?
He was pushed back a big step.Ryan's back hit the rusty iron railing hard,and the cold touch made him shiver in fright.
Shrouded in the gray mist,the wrinkled old lady in front of him looked extremely eerie and out of place.
Following the direction of her emaciated finger,the scrawled words on the floor were clearly -F =ma +qE.
He let out an awkward,dry laugh.
Not quite understanding but showing respect,Ryan said,"Ma'am,I don't even bother to analyze the K -line charts on Wall Street.Now you want me to...solve this?"
As he spoke,he quickly scanned the surroundings with his peripheral vision.
Ryan's attention was once again completely drawn to the environment around him.
Tall brick chimneys were continuously spewing out sulfur -smelling black smoke.In the distance,the dull roar of a steam hammer pounding on metal could be heard from time to time.
The air was filled with the pungent smell of a mixture of coal cinders and machine oil.
One thing was for sure,this place!It definitely couldn't be the hotel next to the Sanxingdui Museum where he was staying!!!
Just then,the old lady suddenly reached out her left hand and tightly grabbed Ryan's wrist.Her strength was surprisingly great.
Staring fixedly at the sports shoes on Ryan's feet with her cloudy eyes,the old lady coldly affirmed again,"You're not from this era.There's purple soil on your soles,and there's the smell of the Dong people's Soul -redeeming Incense...You've been there!"
Hearing this,Ryan's body stiffened abruptly.The strange ceremony he experienced in the Dong village three days ago vividly flashed through his mind at this moment.
The burning red string,the paper tube filled with insects,and the dense tattoos on Wu Ruiyuan's arm.
Before Ryan could say anything,the old lady had already lifted the faded wool shawl on her body,revealing a string of dark -cyan tattoos on her neck.
Recognizing at a glance that these symbols were similar to the patterns on Wu Ruiyuan's arm,he belatedly realized.
He realized that the patterns and symbols on those tattoos were likely enlarged versions of the Dong people's inscriptions!
"Come with me."
Before the shocked Ryan could catch his breath,the old lady struck the floor hard with her cane.As soon as she finished speaking,several wisps of blue flames burst out from the cracks in the floor.
Watching curiously as the wisps of flames piled up higher and distorted,a narrow alley unexpectedly appeared in front of Ryan.
Swallowing hard with some difficulty,knowing that his refusal at this moment was meaningless,although he felt a bit uncertain and scared,he still summoned up his courage and followed.
Walking along the alley,he didn't feel the burning of the flames at all.At the end of the street,he actually saw a blacksmith's shop with a bronze gear sign hanging!
He walked over quickly,full of confusion.He could even see a strange green light through the crack of the blacksmith's shop door.Ryan was sure that he must be dreaming.
Because everything in front of him was not scientific!Thinking that anything could happen in a dream,he followed the old lady and stepped into the shop.
He curiously examined the strange -shaped mechanical parts hanging all over the wall.
A yellowed "Steam Engine Schematic Diagram"still made him notice something was wrong.
Because he actually saw densely packed spells on the piston connecting rods!!!And on the surface of the cylinder,there were carvings of the patterns of the Sanxingdui Divine Tree?!
"This is crazy.I only know that Watt improved the steam engine,but I never knew that before that,it -actually had something to do with spells!!!"
He grabbed his head in a bit of a breakdown.Ryan could only watch as the old lady walked to a cabinet,took out a wooden box from inside.
Looking at the congenital Taiji Eight -Trigram Diagram drawn with cinnabar on the box lid,his mind went blank.
Through the opened box,a rusty pocket watch was suddenly presented in front of him.
Gently stroking the dial with her withered fingers,the old lady seemed to be lost in memories as she slowly said,"On September 10,1839,in Birmingham.There was a huge explosion at the Whitney Brothers'factory that day.More than six hundred workers were instantly reduced to ashes.But look -"
As she spoke,the old lady gently pressed,and the lid of the pocket watch popped open easily.
At this moment,Ryan couldn't help but gasp in horror.
Because he saw that on the inner side of the glass watch cover,there were many densely packed blood beads condensed!!!And in each blood bead,a distorted and ferocious face could be clearly reflected!
"They're crying out.Those bastards engraved the Dong people's soul -redeeming spells into the boiler and used the souls of the living as fuel!Now they're going to -"
The old lady,who was getting more and more excited,suddenly had a shrill voice.Just as she was about to continue in her excited state.
A "Bang!"sound completely broke the deadlock between the two of them.