Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 27 Will I Meet Old Friends in Another World?

Although the name makes people want to complain, "The Count of Bentoshan" has nothing to do with elements such as "going to prison", "returning like lightning" and "Avengers". It mainly tells the story of how an illegitimate child struggles to survive in the turbulent family struggle, defeats all competitors, successfully inherits the title and marries his childhood sweetheart. It is very popular because it reveals many secrets of the aristocracy and satisfies the curiosity of the citizens and the middle class.

As for "The Three Gunners", the background is set in the magnificent Age of Exploration. When the colonial war just started, three young men in the kingdom's artillery line decided to retire together because they were tired of the numb fighting and killing. They boarded a ship to the East Continent and began their journey to pursue their dreams and freedom. It is said that the author himself was an officer of the East Continent United Forces and was stationed in the "Ocean City" Osier for eight years. He was particularly familiar with the customs and customs of foreign countries, and his description was vivid and yearning.

After listening to Metien's description, Alice, knowing that these two novels had nothing to do with the two classics in her memory, curled her lips and muttered, "Although the plots are completely different, the names are only one letter different. I'm sure this must be intentional by GI. It's really a bad taste to play neta in such an insignificant place."

Didn't they consider the feelings of the travelers? After finally finding traces of their hometown in the other world, they found out that it was just a prank by the game company. Toying with people's feelings like this will bring retribution.

"Uh, hahaha..." The pink-haired girl, who couldn't understand what she was complaining about, laughed dryly twice, then quietly slipped back to her desk and continued to review the exam materials.

Alice put two of the most popular novels in her arms and glanced at the bookshelf to see if there were any other references, but all she saw were popular science books or family magazines, so she lost interest. Just as she was about to leave, she caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye, which made her stop involuntarily, with a confused look in her eyes.

She stood blankly in front of the bookshelf for a few minutes, then asked without turning back, "Metien, can I borrow all the books here?"

"Sure." Metien, who was looking through the entry for "Hemostatic Herbs," said casually, "But be careful not to damage it."

This was the second time she emphasized the same thing. Obviously, the pink-haired girl refused to believe that Alice was once a "literary girl", or in other words, any primate with normal intelligence would not believe it.

……

Snapped.

The book on the left is called "The Journey of Marco Polo to the West", and its subtitle is "The World We Have Never Seen". Yes, the author's name is the traveler Marco Polo who once appeared in history textbooks and is very familiar to many high school liberal arts students.

Alice pretended not to hear the second half of the sentence. She tiptoed gently, took the two books that she cared about from the bookshelf, put them in her arms along with two popular novels, and walked to the door: "Then I will borrow these books, Metien, and return them to you after you finish reading. You have to review well."

She first opened "The Journey of Marco Polo to the Western Continent" and took a quick look. As a result, she found a familiar name in the preface on the title page: "...We live on this continent, but we know almost nothing about it. Although the call of the "Law of Exploration" has led humans to set foot on those mysterious canyons and deep swamps, there are still many secrets buried in the dust, waiting for us to discover, which are related to the origin of mankind and perhaps the veins of civilization. Mr. Darwin of the Royal Geographical Society organized this scientific expedition for this purpose and decided to systematically investigate the geographical environment and climate phenomena of the Western Continent, and entrusted me with the important task. When he personally visited me and persuaded me to become the leader of this scientific expedition, I felt that the passion and enthusiasm for adventure were still flowing in my veins, so I readily agreed... Thus, a journey around the Western Continent began..."

Then there were the sounds of receding footsteps.

Alice couldn't wait to return to her room and casually threw "The Count of Bentoshan" and "The Three Gunners" to the side of the bed, completely forgetting the purpose of borrowing books from Metien in the first place. Instead, she paid special attention to the other two books, placing them on the table one on the left and one on the right, looking at them left and right, with her hands folded across her chest, and her expression was extremely serious.

"Another GI neta?" Alice frowned. "But if it's really a neta, why not change the words a little like in The Count of Bentosan and The Three Gunners? Besides, did Marco Polo and Magellan in real history write such a book?"

The door is closed.

The book on the right is titled "Hometown Observations". Although the title does not reveal much, its author is also a historical figure familiar to most people on earth, that is, the famous navigator and explorer: Ferdinand Magellan.

"Darwin?" Alice murmured. "Could it be the Darwin I know?"

The problem is, these two people are not historical figures from the same era, so how could they be related?

"Okay, Sister Alice."

She put down the book in her hand with doubt, picked up the book "Yixu Township Observations" next to her, and flipped through it roughly. This time, she didn't see any familiar names. The content of the book mainly tells the various adventures that the author Magellan experienced during his overseas expeditions, and also mentioned the existence of an ancient city hidden in the deepest part of the chaotic sea, namely Yixu, the "hometown of the dead". He lived in that city for 30 years and witnessed the residents' worship of death and those strange and terrifying sacrificial rituals. It also mentioned the endless treasures buried in the deep sea and even the secret of eternal life.

Compared to a travelogue, it is more like an absurd and bizarre adventure novel.

At least Alice was enjoying the book, and after being immersed in it for more than half an hour, she suddenly woke up and realized that now was not the time to indulge in novels. She closed the book with a "snap", put her hand on the cover, and put on a serious and thoughtful expression.

Marco Polo, Magellan, and Darwin… If only one of them appeared, it could be considered a neta with the same name, but the appearance of all of them is too coincidental. Moreover, the content of these two books is the exploration of unknown geography, the difference is that one is land and the other is ocean, which also happens to fit the positioning of the two historical figures in the original world.

The content of "Hometown of the Dead" seems absurd, but Alice, who has long known that this is a fantasy world, understands that the so-called "hometown of the dead" may be real; and the "secrets buried in the dust" that Marco Polo pursued in the pioneering era also makes people particularly curious.

Moreover.

"Since this world has Marco Polo, Magellan, and Darwin, then are there also Newton, Shakespeare, Edison, Charles Dickens, and even that man whose name cannot even be mentioned?" Alice pinched her chin and pondered carefully: "Historical figures in the Earth world, are they equivalents in another world? This feeling of dislocation is quite interesting. I wonder if it is the game setting of GI Club or..."

She paused, feeling that this was unlikely.

If it is a game setting, why is such an interesting setting never mentioned in the promotion? Doesn't a certain Assassin series game often use historical figures as a gimmick to attract many passers-by players to experience the magic version of history? And the game command studio does have an injection of funds from Ubisoft.

Could it be another time traveler?

She was horrified when she thought about it.

Putting aside these messy thoughts, seeing familiar names in a strange world really made Alice feel like meeting old friends. Although her relationship with them was limited to nodding acquaintances, and she had forgotten everything after the exam... But it didn't matter, she was very happy anyway, and planned to flip through the history books carefully to see what kind of reputation her old friends had made in the other world.

By the way, a week has passed since Alice traveled through time, and she still hasn't learned much about the history of this world. She only knows that the era background is similar to the Victorian period on Earth in the 19th century, but there are many differences, such as so many messy churches and mysterious and strange religious groups... In terms of the basic qualities of a time traveler, this level of cognition is obviously unqualified, and now it happens to make up for her mistake.

As for the game I'm developing? Let's talk about it later. It won't be delayed. I can always catch up even if I stay up late at night.

After making up her mind, Alice went back to Metien's room. Without disturbing her from reviewing, she waved her hand carelessly: "Hi, Metien, here I am again! Do you have any history books? Lend them to me."

"Ah?" The pink-haired girl turned around and blinked blankly. She didn't know what Alice was doing. She was looking for popular novels just now, and now she was looking for history books. She was just like a moody girlfriend. Besides, with her personality, could she really be patient and carefully appreciate those boring history books?

But she was a kind little girl after all, so she didn't get angry at Alice's fickleness. She thought for a moment and replied, "Yes, but I can't lend it to you."

"Huh?" Alice cried out in disappointment, "Why?"

"Because they are all in Ling'er's room. We can't just go into his room without his permission."

"Ah this!"

Alice then remembered that Lingge seemed to be a university student majoring in history, and now he was a history teacher in a national school. He was a well-known figure in this field. She still remembered that when she first came here, he discussed the topic of "Two Hundred Years of Steam Holy War" with her.

"You can ask Ling Ge again after he comes back." Metien said confidently, "I think he will agree, because Ling Ge is a very gentle person and never refuses other people's requests."

Isn't it the same Lingge you and I know?
Alice curled her lips quietly, saying that the "Assassin" attribute was out of fashion a long time ago. Now everyone likes decisive and ruthless protagonists like her.

Since she couldn't borrow the book she wanted, she planned to go back to her room to continue her game development project, but at this moment, there was a low knock on the door downstairs - someone knocked on the door of the chapel.

Alice and Metien heard the knock on the door and looked at each other in confusion.

Could it be that they are believers who come here to pray?
　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)