Old-time musicians

"Dong dong dong" the sound of trotting leather shoes on the ground was heard.

The conductor, who was about thirty years old and wearing a straight railway uniform and white gloves, quickly stood in front of Lu, followed by seven or eight crew members.

"Mr. Adair, there should be something wrong with the steam power system. The emergency braking has been completed. There are no indications of a dangerous accident yet."

The conductor's answer was clear and quick, but there was obvious panic in his look and tone.

How could he not know that the person sitting on the train today was Master Adair of the Theoline Railway Company?

Not only did he know, but he also knew that Young Master Adair was leaving his post at the branch and going to the imperial capital to take up the position of Director of Safety and Compliance Production of the head office.

Since this trip was confirmed to be included in his responsibility, the number of inspections he has organized in the past half month has exceeded the cumulative number in the first seven months of this year!

Safety hazard inspection, mechanical component inspection, flight attendant service optimization, personnel training and assessment... all risk points in railway accident cases have been reviewed. Continuous inspections have been focused on those that have shown signs of failure, and all parts and components are inspected regardless of whether they are due for inspection or not. The interior of the car was cleaned, food and tea were refreshed, and all cabin crew members canceled their vacations to review various business knowledge...

I just hope there won't be any trouble on this trip.

Halfway through this journey, there is a problem with the steam power system. Are you kidding me?

Heck, maybe you scanned all the blind spots and finally discovered that you forgot to add coal?

The car was quiet for a few seconds.

Lu's face was naturally angry. Although he knew that judging from the current statistical frequency of the entire empire's industrial system, small accidents were extremely common, but he had just rushed to the imperial capital with the title of "Safety and Compliance Production Director" , we bumped into each other on the spot...

The train suddenly lost power when it was running at full speed. Is this a joke? Just in case something unexpected happens...

All safety incidents appear to be accidental and accidental.

And when I was discussing the railway accident with my friends... As the person in charge, this was simply unacceptable emotionally.

The train conductor reported to Lu with a pretending to be relaxed professional smile, but he already had a bad face in his mind and scolded the guys under his command fifteen times.

"Why are you still standing there? Has the telegram been sent? It has been sent...then hurry up and find the cause and repair it!" The train conductor, who was already sweating on his forehead, quickly gave the order, and the surrounding staff members all said yes and quickly dispersed.

"This kind of unexpected incident is really mood-destroying." Lu sat down again.

"It's just a matter of probability... Where are you now?" Fan Ning glanced at the car window. Judging from the height of the sun, it was about four or five o'clock in the afternoon.

It doesn't matter to him, this kind of thing happened often even in the previous life.

Isn't it just a train breakdown and arriving at the station late... Without the baggage of a relevant position, my mind will naturally be peaceful.

Setting off so many days in advance, there was nothing he needed to rush to the imperial capital to do.

Lu replied: "The normal journey takes 7 hours and 46 minutes, which means it will arrive at the Santa Ramburg Railway Center Station at around 6 p.m. The train is about to enter the Santa Ramburg administrative area."

Fan Ning reached out and picked up "The Gentleman's Newspaper Collection of Ghost Stories" and read a few supernatural novels again. He raised his head and asked, "Is it possible... that there are mysterious elements involved?"

"You mean now?" Lu looked stunned for a moment, then reacted, "Oh, you mean the issue of the safety production accident rate in the Imperial City... Well, if it is a mysterious factor, how does it work? It seems difficult to understand... "

Sheeran tried to make a guess: "For example, secret organizations have invisibly affected people's behavior patterns, making them more prone to risk-preferential decision-making? This possibility is not impossible... Caroln, do you still remember us? During our short trip to the town of Gogol, we talked about recent common adventure accidents, including those who got stuck on the rocks while surfing, those who were seriously injured while skydiving, and the old police officer who mentioned that he died while exploring the cave."

Lu said: "If it is done by a secret organization, it will cause an unbalanced increase in production safety accidents in some areas. However, I have analyzed internal data. First of all, the increase in major dioceses is very balanced. Secondly, individually, the increase in accidents in factory units has been very balanced." The volume is also in line with its historical situation. In previous years, when the performance was good, the number of accidents was relatively smaller. In previous years, when the performance was poor, the number of new accidents was relatively more."

"——In other words, the increase in production safety accidents in the third quarter of 913 in the new calendar year of Saint Taranburg is in line with the laws of mathematical statistics! If there are mysterious factors involved, it means that this secret organization has almost evenly affected all the people in the imperial capital. Industrial enterprises, this... this is too scary.”

Fan Ning showed a look of deep thought, and he felt that Lu's analysis made sense.

"Of course, mysterious factors always need to be taken into account." Lu said, "The Special Inspection Office has deployed a lot of investigation work, including tasks from major knowledgeable organizations and tasks from the Police Security Bureau. You will set foot on the Holy Land later. You can feel the atmosphere in the land of Taranburg.”

"Besides, there is indeed something a little strange, although it has almost nothing to do with the production accident..." Lu turned his head and took out a binder from his briefcase.

After opening it on the desktop, everyone saw that there were a lot of small-sized black and white photos inside.

Fan Ning stretched out his hand and pulled it randomly a few times, and then his pupils suddenly shrank.

These photos are all partial shots, and the surrounding environment seems to be home furnishings, but there is a candle in each photo!

The candles vary in height and thickness, and are placed in different positions. Some are on the table, some in candlesticks, and some are stored horizontally. But the only thing they have in common is their peculiar shape.

They appear to be made of two candles fused together, with their cross-sections forming two intersecting circles, and the candle wicks also being joined together in two strands.

"It's strange." Seeing everyone looking lost in thought, Lu explained the source of the photo, "This was taken when I arranged for Imperial City's men to investigate at the homes of some of the people involved in the railway accident."

"What I can tell you is that I am sure there is nothing wrong with the candle itself. It is just custom-made by an ordinary store... During the investigation, the person involved felt guilty about his work mistakes, but he could not explain the reason for it. He only explained that it was the current Santalan The trend of the fort was made by merchants when they saw business opportunities. After all, Tioleian often experienced some strange trends these days, and I still couldn’t figure out the popularity of ferns in the past few years..."

"This candle may be related to the Transcendental Club." Fan Ning thought about it for a moment before sharing it.

When he first investigated the clock factory, he discovered this kind of candle in the office of the experience officer "Elov".

Later, in some documents from the last century, he further learned that the Transcendental Club believed that the Yiyuan God's "contemplation of death" and "flow of mind" had a "twin relationship". One was "born in eternal death" and was stronger than the "desolate" phase. , a person who is "dead in eternity" and stronger than the "cocoon" phase. At that time, he had guessed whether this kind of candle would be their unique sacrificial item.

After Fan Ning's concise explanation, Lu expressed his gratitude for sharing the secret information, and then lowered his voice slightly: "I will try for a promotion related to 'Jhin' in the near future, which depends on the number of foreign coordinators in the Special Patrol Office." The approval time will help me gain an advantage in running for the House of Commons member in charge of the Industry, Energy and Transport Committee, which will help open up some new work situations."

The group of knowledgeable people controlled by the Special Patrol Office is divided into two categories: investigators and outside members.

Investigators are naturally the most comprehensive and core group in the Special Inspection Office, but external coordinators are also genuine and official insiders who fall within the scope of the Special Inspection Office.

The House of Commons controls the real power of the empire, and the big factory owner class controls the House of Commons. As an informed organization representing the interests of the authorities, people from the factory owner class are more likely to be recruited as investigators. At the same time, the Special Inspectorate will also allocate a small number of legal informed persons to each chaebol family.

"Of course, no matter what, the first thing I did when I arrived in the imperial capital was to start the investigation and rectification of the railway system. It is unrealistic to unilaterally criticize the quality of the practitioners. I first canceled the damn two-shift system of command officers. Change to 24 hours and three shifts, while optimizing the safety supervision process and promoting technological upgrading..."

The conductor had used the radio inside the carriage to inform all passengers. During this period, Roy also came to ask about the situation twice. However, more than an hour later, the train still stopped steadily among the fields.

In such a long journey, everyone's conversation would always end. Qiong changed several positions to enjoy the scenery outside the car window, but the monotony of stillness made her stretch out of boredom.

"What's going on? There's been no progress in the maintenance work of these guys until now." After Lu muttered, he stood up and left the carriage.

"It did take a long time." Fan Ning also stood up and moved around.

When he saw Kaplan still burying his head among a pile of music scores, sliding his palms back and forth and mumbling words, he finally sat across from the conductor's assistant.

"I'm curious, do you not sleep every night or rest during the day?" Fan Ning asked, looking at Kaplan's dark circles.

Kaplan raised his head and smiled: "I am studying the difference between academic conducting methods and those master conductors with strong personal styles...I always find that there is a difference between what my previous teachers taught me and what I saw at the performance site. "

He saw Fan Ning sitting across from him. It seemed that he had enough time now and could give him some guidance, so he hummed the melody of the overture from one of Meyer's operas and moved his palms slightly at the same time.

After a short paragraph, he said: "You see, this is the standard positioning of the academic school. The human body is divided into two halves on average, with the waist as the bottom, the head as the top, the left and right shoulders as the width, and the four directions of up, down, left and right are clearly defined. , both the left and right hands move laterally within their respective ranges, and the midline meets the head and cannot cross... I spent a lot of training to keep myself within the rules, but I felt more and more constrained. I also tried to learn from the masters and make decisions based on the ups and downs of my emotions. All kinds of dramatic movements, but then the music will get out of control..."

"Do you think this is because I still haven't mastered my basic skills?"

"Please give me the six dotted and line patterns in three time signatures." Fan Ning was indeed a little bored at the moment. He neither listened to music nor practiced piano. He leaned leisurely on the sofa and prepared to take a look at Kaplan's music. Basic skills.

Kaplan did as he was told and played dotted swings and linear swings of 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 in order.

The so-called dotted swing method means that the beat points within a set of beats are more prominent, and the movement trajectories of the gestures during the period are rigid straight lines. This is suitable for some passages with cheerful styles and bright rhythms, such as marches.

On the contrary, the linear swing rule is that the shooting points are relatively less prominent, and the movement trajectory of the gestures is a soft and irregular curve, which is suitable for some soft, soothing, lyrical or sad passages.

"You practiced very solidly." Fan Ning commented. "The hitting line, reflection line and hitting point are clear and stable. The point swing is sharp and angular, and the line swing is smooth and relaxed... As long as these two basic forms are used well and combined Well, the mood control of most pieces of music is adequate.”

Kaplan smiled at first, but the next moment his face suddenly turned pale. He clenched his fists and tightened his body. Big beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, as if his whole body was suffering from huge pain.

"Are you okay?" Seeing his reaction, Fan Ning's expression changed.

I have never known the mystery of the "cocoon". My spiritual sense can only detect subtle abnormalities at the level of the spiritual body, and is not sensitive to the levels under the protection of the etheric body.

Kaplan reluctantly raised his hand and waved it, indicating not to worry, then took out a small bottle from his trouser pocket, poured a small light green pill into the palm of his hand, and swallowed it with the water next to it.

Fan Ning frowned. In just a few seconds, his spiritual sense had already seen the heterogeneous light and shadow of the small pill. It seemed to be an extraordinary medicine.

After a few minutes, Kaplan's tense body gradually relaxed. He took the hot towel handed by the attendant, wiped the sweat off his forehead and neck, and then squeezed out a smile: "Professor Fan Ning, look, If my basic skills are acceptable, can you arrange some time in your busy schedule to--"

"Are you sick?" Fan Ning interrupted him, "It seems to be serious. Are you sure you are still doing such intense work and research?"

Kaplan rolled up his sleeves, revealing his arms covered with large purple bruises.

"Leukemia." The assistant commander's voice was calm. "The diagnosis was in June last year. The doctor judged that the expected survival time was 3 months. Later, through various connections and spending some money, I found a pharmacist who should be similar. For people like you, he gave me some special medicine. If I'm lucky, I can live for two years. The medicine is very effective and I can maintain a normal life during this period."

Fan Ning frowned and counted the time subconsciously.

"However, starting from the second half of this year, the pain in bones and muscles has gradually become normal. It is still within the tolerance range, and it occasionally worsens. It is necessary to increase the dosage and take additional medicine to relieve it."

Fanning thought of the conversation he had with Kaplan after the rehearsal on the day he first assumed the permanent conductorship: "So the second reason why you didn't finish last time was this?"

Kaplan was silent for a while, tracing the notes on the table with his fingers. After a while, he said, "Tell me, is a person's life just a huge prank?"

Fan Ning's eyes flickered for a long time, and he was about to say something more——

"Open the car door." Lu on the other side said even more angrily, "The morning's work report was well compiled. If there is an accident, with this kind of troubleshooting efficiency, what on earth are you busy with down there?"

Only then did Fan Ning realize that it had gotten dark at some point.

The steam power failure lasted from four or five o'clock until past seven o'clock.

The two flight attendants rushed to answer the claim and opened the door of Car No. 1.

Lou strode down the steps and jumped off the train.

Fan Ning also took a few steps forward, stood at the door of the carriage, and leaned his head forward slightly, ready to take a look at the situation.

There were no lighting facilities in this rural field, and there was still fog. The technicians who were inspecting the railway tracks immediately shined a beam of light at Lu's feet. Several others had already gotten under the car, and several beams of strong light were rotating in between. shine.

After watching for a few seconds, Fan Ning suddenly felt as if an electric current was flowing through his body, and his scalp instantly became numb.

There seemed to be a pair of eyes staring at me in the dark night in the distance that was so thick that it couldn't be dissolved!