Chapter 873: Strange world

Li Qi calmly watched the mysterious leader of the secret society, listening to his conjectures about the Universe.

There were actually quite a number of secret societies that held the belief of 'looking up at the heavens'.

It was also quite natural.

For example, when working, no one would start with the intention of failing, right?

Therefore, in the process of civilization's development, it was only natural to want to continue developing towards the heavens.

Li Qi listened to the other party's impassioned speech, nodding occasionally.

Li Qi now knew that everything that had happened was real, and these beings were by no means illusory, even if they lacked substantiality.

So, he would no longer ignore the excited emotions they produced, unlike before he reached the Fourth Rank.

Although, he could also understand that for these beings, the truth might be a bit too cruel.

After listening for a while, Li Qi seamlessly integrated into the secret society.

As for Gallarin, the leader of the secret society, he was merely conducting his daily sermons, lectures, and disseminating their research findings.

Even he knew that his research findings were in urgent need of empirical evidence, but observing the sky was simply too difficult, so for now, it could only remain at the theoretical deduction stage.

It wasn't until the sermon ended and all the believers left, satisfied, that he saw them off one by one and gave them his notebooks filled with mathematical formulas and rigorous logical deductions, before finally closing the door.

However, after closing the door, he realized that one believer had not left yet.

"Sir, are you still here? Do you have any questions?" Gallarin asked kindly, seeing the veiled believer.

He didn't doubt the believer who stayed, because those who could come here, though veiled, had all undergone strict screening, and... this person exuded an aura of a 'kindred spirit'.

He didn't know how to describe it, but he could feel that the other party showed intense curiosity, something those insects from The Orthodox Church couldn't do.

"Professor," Li Qi addressed the other party by his position within the 'secret society'.

Yes, though called a secret society, it was actually an academic organization disguised as a religion, and they used this title to respectfully address their leader.

According to their language, this word actually meant 'elder', 'mentor', or 'wise man', so Li Qi simply understood it as 'Professor'.

Although he had completely mastered the language of this world, he was still accustomed to understanding it through the language of the world.

"Apprentice, is there something else you wish to discuss by staying here?" Gallarin walked over to Li Qi and asked.

"Professor, you just talked about machines that fly into the sky. You said people could be launched up with cannons. I'd like to hear the specific technical details. Perhaps... we could try it," Li Qi said.

"Try it? You're going to conduct an experiment?!" Gallarin exclaimed in surprise.

This was no small expense, and if a member could conduct an experiment, that would naturally be ideal!

"Yes, if possible, I'd like to try it. I want to know some technical details," Li Qi said.

"Good! The Doctrinal Canon will support you. What do you want to know? Or should we start from the very basics?" Gallarin asked.

Although he was asking, he immediately began his demonstration with eagerness.

He pulled back some curtains that had not been opened before, revealing several blackboards. Illuminated by infrared lights, this was 'bright' to the natives here.

"Through my research, I have found the laws governing the firing of cannons with solid shot, hollow shot, and other projectiles, as well as the firing rules determined by experiments, the known relationships between projectile flight distance, firing angle, and powder charge, and also the influence of the gap between the projectile and the barrel wall, and other factors that cause projectile deviation."

"Although we have calculated that in a vacuum, any heavy object thrown in a non-vertical direction will form a parabola, and this fact is already a basic principle of artillery, the increasing air resistance with the increase in the velocity of the moving object causes a great change in the practical application of the parabolic theory in artillery."

As he spoke, he wrote and drew on the blackboard: "For example, according to my measurements on the battlefield and at the firing range, for cannons with an initial projectile velocity of 1400-1700 feet per second, their trajectory differs greatly from the theoretical parabola, so much so that firing at a launch angle of about 20 degrees can achieve the maximum flight distance, whereas according to the parabolic theory, this angle should be 45 degrees."

This leader of the Doctrinal Canon casually spoke of some terrifying things, such as battlefields and firing ranges.

However, Li Qi actually knew that while Gallarin's hidden identity was the leader of a secret Doctrinal Canon, presiding over the mission to explore the heavens, his public identity was actually that of a great scholar, a special appointee of the national army, and an expert in artillery.

"According to my experiments and calculations, the results have quite accurately determined this amount of deviation, and based on this, the appropriate firing angle for each cannon when firing a certain charge to a certain distance has been determined. However, there are many other factors that affect the flight of a projectile. Firstly, there is the existence of a gap, meaning there is a difference between the projectile diameter and the bore diameter, because for ease of loading, the projectile diameter should be smaller than the bore diameter. This gap, firstly, allows the expanding gas to leak out when the charge explodes, in other words, it weakens the explosive force."

He prattled on about his professional knowledge, seemingly genuinely wanting the apprentice in front of him to learn how to determine the firing angle, and then use this knowledge to launch himself.

"There's also a point: this can prevent the projectile from flying correctly in the given direction, resulting in directional or elevation deviations. Secondly, the weight of the charge and its condition during firing are inevitably different. The projectile will also experience various deviations due to eccentricity caused by its center of gravity not aligning with its center of curvature. The magnitude of the deviation is determined by the relative position of the center of gravity and the center of curvature at the time of firing. I will write the formula here. In addition, there are many other factors that cause projectiles to produce different results even when they seem to be flying under the same conditions."

"If you want to send a person into the sky by launching them, precise measurements and calculations are required. I have a data correspondence table here that might help you."

"As long as the powder charge is one-third the weight of the projectile, and the barrel length is between 16 and 18 times the caliber, if fired directly, with the cannon barrel horizontal, the projectile will land approximately 300 yards away. If the firing angle is increased, the range can be increased to 3000 or 4000 yards, but at such a distance, the projectile loses any possibility of hitting the target, so a trade-off is still necessary."

His words were quite fragmented, his speaking speed very fast, and his hands continuously wrote formulas on the blackboard, drew parabolic trajectories, and explained the performance of various charges, the impact force the projectile had to withstand, and so on.

It was clear that he had been planning the matter of 'putting a person in an iron ball and launching them into the sky with a cannon' for a long time, and now that Li Qi proposed an experiment, he immediately seized the opportunity.

Li Qi listened carefully to his lecture.

Only after he had spoken to his heart's content did Li Qi suddenly say, "Then... Professor, what do you think about the obstruction from The Orthodox Church?"

"The Orthodox Church? You mean those stubborn fools who completely ignore the development of the times, only want to cling to old ways, and forbid anyone from venturing into the sky? We will defeat him sooner or later," Gallarin said fiercely.

"But... will defeating them really be beneficial?" Li Qi asked, "I heard... there are 'gods' in the sky. If we anger the gods..."

"Nonsense! If gods truly exist, and are truly that powerful, and don't want us to peer into the heavens, then why doesn't he conjure a wall to completely block the sky?" Gallarin retorted.

"But, Professor, look, there really is a wall," Li Qi pointed out the window.

Outside the window, there was a heavy 'mist'.

In the sky, a magnificent 'wall' intruded into view with chilling majesty; it was a behemoth, a dense dark shadow abruptly imprinted on the celestial landscape.

The city's gray high towers emitted blazing 'infrared rays'. The huge industrial waste dump reeked horribly, and piercing sirens blared incessantly. Even at this moment, thick smokestacks continued to spew out smoke and dust.

This terrifying mist, like a collision, enveloped the rough walls of buildings, scraping off paint and concrete, sending dust flying and scattering down.

Smoke billowed, and swirling, changing clouds carried the stench of decay year-round.

The thick black fog in the sky, those dust particles, formed this 'City of Fog', completely submerging the sky in haze.

These mists, generated by industrial civilization, were like a thick wall, blocking the Mortal's view of the sky.

If one were to say this was an obstruction set up by a god, perhaps there would be nothing wrong with that, right?

"Before the industrial age, I heard there was no such wall, but when the industrial age arrived, and we gained the ability to observe the sky, this wall suddenly appeared..." Li Qi said this, then looked at Gallarin.

However, Gallarin suddenly flew into a rage, roaring: "Are you saying this because you want to give up the experiment? Are you afraid at the thought of The Orthodox Church's retaliation?!"

"There are no gods in this world at all. These mists are emitted by factories. We can make these mists disappear simply by shutting down the factories. This is not a miracle at all, but our own power."

"If this wall is caused by Divine Power, then this god is not a god from the heavens, but the God of Civilization itself! If that's the case, then shouldn't we utilize this Divine Power even more?!"

Gallarin roared and admonished Li Qi, constantly tapping the blackboard.

Li Qi listened to this and nodded: "I understand, Professor."

"Good that you understand." Gallarin exhaled, forcing himself to calm down.

"Then, Professor, I shall take my leave now. The experiment still needs some preparations."

Li Qi said.

"Walk slowly," Gallarin said.

Li Qi nodded slightly, then left.

So, the next destination should be to find the people of The Orthodox Church.

After talking with them... then perhaps this world could be used to confirm the nature of the Demon of Death remnants, right?

Li Qi thought this as he walked down the dark street.

However, just at that moment, on the street, Li Qi suddenly felt an attack.

Around a dark corner, a monster was gnawing on a corpse, and Li Qi's arrival made the monster discover new prey, so he charged at Li Qi.

This was an infant-like monster. It looked like an infant, with skin that was white to transparent. Its large black eyes gleamed with an extremely intelligent look, and its huge mouth was completely rotten and damaged.

A terrifying and distorted life transformation.

This was a typical manifestation of the Desire Realm; the emotions of a large number of intelligent beings could distort the Desire Realm, even ordinary people living in the Desire Realm possessed this ability, and this monster was a typical example.

Li Qi stood still.

And the monster stopped two or three meters away from Li Qi.

He felt an... indescribable power.

"A product born purely from demonic thoughts, is it? Take me to the place where you were born, please. Thank you," Li Qi said, and then picked up the infant.

The infant then chirped and squeaked like a real infant, and indeed, with its tender fingers, began to point the way for Li Qi.

But Li Qi did not leave; instead, he walked over to the corpse.

It was a man; even the corpse reeked of strong alcohol. He had tattoos and wounds on his body, likely a local hooligan who got drunk, came to this alley, encountered a monster caused by mental distortion, and became a dead man.

Hmm, that can be left to the local law enforcement officers to handle.

Following the infant's guidance, Li Qi soon arrived by a river.

It was more of a stinking ditch than a river.

The stench of feces wafted, and in some places, strange steam drifted. Due to excessive pollutants, the water flow was quite viscous, and the river as a whole became sluggish and slow. From time to time, a patch of water would smoke, which was the result of the river water mixing with unknown chemical substances.

Chemical sewage, factory wastewater, domestic sewage, corpses, failed experimental waste, coal slag, all sorts of things flowed out from factories, laboratories, and sewers, randomly mixing into the black water it was now.

No one even knew the exact state of the river water at any given moment.

"Is this where you were born?" Li Qi looked at the river and placed the infant in the water.

The monster instantly dissipated, transforming into countless infant fragments that merged into the river.

"Women unemployed due to the cotton famine became outcasts of society, and still are... The number of young prostitutes is surprisingly high," Li Qi had already deduced the reason.

Therefore, this river, which traversed the city, was the disposal site for all the city's abandoned infants.

And as countless infants died, the distorted Desire Realm gave birth to the infant monster that just appeared.

Everyone said life was priceless, but was life truly priceless? When this question arose in the hearts of the 'Desire Realm beings', then the birth of such a monster was inevitable.

This was a world where a legend, if spread widely enough, would become true.

The moment Li Qi 'transcended' that monster, several people had already surrounded Li Qi.

"Transcendent, where is your license?" one of them asked.