Embers of Embers

Chapter 1 Prologue Old Dunling
931 in the Inlveg calendar.
The city fell into a dark sleep, and the huge Zeppelin airship above the night sky was slowly swimming like a giant whale, and the cyclops-like lights were cast from it, moving and observing in the sleeping city.
Lorenzo stood in a corner of the street, smoking a cigarette in his mouth.The tobacco was mixed with refreshing herbs, which made him extremely clear-headed even late at night, and even made him a little excited.
With this faint excitement, the cane tapped the ground lightly, according to the rhythm in the impression, and tapped briskly.
He is waiting for someone. Generally speaking, he likes to think while waiting for someone. He can think about anything as long as his brain is not idle.
Raising his head and looking at the dim street lights, his thoughts gradually drifted away.
……
According to the concept of parallel universes, all incredible things will happen on a huge scale, or under this concept, these things are destined to happen.
For example, in a certain world, the speed of light can be surpassed, the rings of Saturn are giant donuts, Tesla is a great magician who controls thunder, Hawking is a bronze dragon who controls time, and King Arthur is really a girl .
So, everything is possible.
For another example, in a modern world, human beings set off the first industrial revolution. Rumbling steam engines slowly pushed huge steel objects, railways covered every inch of human space, productivity was liberated, and the economy continued to rise. , the perfect era is coming with raging steam.
... Logically speaking, the plot should be like this, but just like the concept of parallel universes, there will always be things that are beyond common sense.
So what if... the arrival of the electrical age is delayed?
Just like countless assumptions about the story, what if the historical line that everyone is familiar with changes slightly?
The second industrial revolution kicked off after this, but what the hell is that the world did not enter the electrical age. Just like when Newton was lying under the tree, the most critical apple in the history of physics was about to fall on his head. This unlucky person The child rolled over, and humanity briefly lost the formula for gravity.
The same is true for this world. When they realized that boiling water can drive all things, this damn era went off the path of normal historical development.
Electrical technology has failed to dominate this torrent of steam and has not been utilized on a large scale. It only exists in a few places. Internal combustion engines with higher thermal energy conversion efficiency have not been discovered by the world.
Larger and larger steam engines were built, they became more complex, and eventually they became the hub of the city, the hub of the world.
They are bulky and inefficient, but when the majestic steel body appears in sight, everyone will be in awe.
Lorenzo lived in such an era, an era where sanity and madness coexisted.
Steel and steam, mystery and the unknown.
The sharp roar of steam interrupted his thoughts. He looked to one side. Hot white gas erupted from the manhole cover near the street. Then, under the cold evening wind, it condensed into countless water droplets and dispersed. Finally, it dispersed. A gray mist covered the entire city.
This is a hell of a time, and this is a hell of a city.
The lunatics from the Mechanical Institute hollowed out the underground of the city and built the largest steam engine in history there. For this purpose, they also dug several kilometers of underground channels to lead the Thames River into the iron furnace, where it burned day and night. Machine factories that drive the entire city.
The complex underground system is their emission facility. Every day, thousands of tons of water vapor rushes to the streets through purification cycles, and then turns into pattering rain.
So it's gloomy here all day long, with no sunlight.
He looked down at his pocket watch and saw that the time was almost up. At this moment, the sound of rapid breathing and running came from the end of the street.
It looked like the person I was waiting for was on time.
Lorenzo threw away the cigarette butt, reached under his heavy windbreaker, and took out his beloved Winchester.
Just like the concept of parallel universes, in this hellish era there is also a person known as the Great Detective... Of course the Great Detective is what he calls himself.He is not a person with a good reputation, and he is not a master of reasoning. He is just a second-rate detective who likes to use force to coerce suspects.
Those who knew him called him Lorenzo Holmes.
The footsteps were getting closer and closer, right next to his ears, and he looked ecstatic.
"Welcome to Old Dunling! My friend!"
The second-rate detective rushed out of the street corner and laughed heartily at the running figure. Then in the astonished eyes of the black shadow, he kindly pulled the trigger in his hand, and Winchester made that roaring sound in the night. Loud noise.
In the dazzling gunfire, the black shadow was knocked to the ground before he could react, and scarlet blood flowed into the sewer along the cracks in the stone bricks.
As the gunfire dissipated, patrolmen holding rifles surrounded the place soon. The lights on the Zeppelin above the night sky illuminated the place as if it were daytime, but at this moment, there was nothing here except the cold body.
(End of this chapter)