Wang Ling and Yi Minkang stared blankly at the little clay figurine. Then they looked at Dr Ding, who had his eyes closed, and couldn’t help feeling confused.
They found that after not seeing each other for a while, their old friend, whom they respected very much, had become unscientific!
Soon, the little clay figurine stopped waving as if it had lost its vitality. It stood motionless on the table. Dr Ding also opened his eyes and looked sideways at the couple.
He smiled and asked, “Are you surprised?”
Yi Minkang and his wife looked at each other. Then Wang Ling said, “It is more than just surprised. It is astonishment!”
“Old Ding, can you tell us what type of nation Roland is? Also, this little clay figurine… is it made of some new material?”
Wang Ling had found an explanation for this unscientific phenomenon.
Dr Ding couldn’t help laughing. He looked at the couple and seemed to see himself when he first arrived in Roland.
What made him better than them was that he had known Val since he was young and knew she had magical abilities. This meant he was mentally prepared and didn’t doubt life.
He stroked his beard and handed the piece of soil, which he had transformed into the clay figurine, to Wang Ling.
Wang Ling took it very solemnly.
Mecha design also involved the application of various new materials, so she had some knowledge of this. She carefully took the ‘new material’ handed to her by Dr Ding.
She looked closely at the little figurine in her hand.
No matter whether it was the smell, feel or appearance, it looked like a little man made of ordinary clay.
However, she just saw with her own eyes that this little thing changed from a cube into a little man without anyone operating it and even waved to them!
This must be some amazing new material!
The moment Dr Ding saw her expression, he knew what she was thinking and couldn’t help laughing. “Don’t look at it. It is just an ordinary piece of soil.”
Under Wang Ling’s questioning gaze, he said, “I’m not lying to you. This is just a piece of soil dug out from the ground. Except for some trace elements, it is no different from the soil of other planets.”
Wang Ling still had an expression of ‘Are you kidding me?’ However, Yi Minkang had received treatment from Si Sheng and once regarded Si Sheng as a god.
After all, just an hour or two ago, he was so weak that he could die at any time. Now he was on another planet countless light years away and his illness had been cured.
He thought for a moment before he whispered, “Old Ding, is this… magic?”
Wang Ling couldn’t help looking at him. “Old Kang, what nonsense are you talking about?”
Yi Minkang also felt a bit ashamed as a scientist. But he soon said, “Isn’t this like the magic in fairy tales?”
He couldn’t explain everything he saw apart from magic. If this was really the power of science, then Roland’s civilization would be much more advanced than all the nations today. This was also unreasonable.
According to the information he previously investigated, Escher Star had suffered a natural disaster a hundred years ago. This civilization, which had just joined the Interstellar Alliance, was occupied by alien beasts. Out of the hundreds of countries on the planet, only the Roland Empire was left.
Therefore, this planet was assigned to the Roland Empire.
The Escher people might call these strange beasts by the name ‘interstellar beasts’, but Yi Minkang had checked almost all the information related to the strange beasts and couldn’t find the origin of these interstellar beasts.
Over the past one hundred years, the Roland Empire had been struggling to survive in the battle against interstellar beasts. This was very consistent with the vitality and optimistic persevering spirit shown in Sprouting and the Toast Song.
In short, the Roland Empire shouldn’t have the spare capacity to develop science and technology. This nation even needed assistance and subsidies from the interstellar Alliance.
Since he had some understanding of this nation, Yi Minkang was full of confusion when he came here. Perhaps Dr Ding could give him the correct answer to resolve his confusion.
“That’s right. Everything you see belongs to the power of magic.”
Dr Ding didn’t keep it a secret, but said softly, “The Roland Empire, or the civilization of Escher Star, is a rare magic civilization.”
“Power of magic?”
“Magic civilization?”
The couple were stunned. It was the first time they had heard of this concept, but it seemed easy to understand.
“Then we belonged to… a technological civilization?” Wang Ling asked after drawing inferences from one example.
“Correct.”
Dr Ding continued, “We don’t know as much about the universe as we think we do. Even for civilizations that have been included in the Interstellar Alliance, we actually know very little.”
He looked at the small clay figurine in Wang Ling’s hand and spoke earnestly.
“Perhaps magic civilizations like Roland still exist in the Interstellar Alliance, but they might be buried before they can shine, just like Roland.”
“They have been hidden under the light of technology and are unknown to us.”
After all, the entire Interstellar Alliance had 266 nations. There were also some forces that hadn’t joined the Interstellar Alliance. Were these countless civilizations all technological civilizations?
Before stepping into the starry sky and joining the Interstellar Alliance, had they given birth to other magical and brilliant civilizations?
Just like Roland, possessing a power that even science couldn’t explain?
Yi Minkang and Wang Ling were speechless for a long time. If someone had said these words to them before today, they might not have taken it seriously. But now, they had witnessed too many miracles.
Finally, Wang Ling looked at the clay figurine in her hand and couldn’t help asking, “So just now… were you controlling this piece of clay?”
“That’s right.”
The mysterious look on Dr Ding’s face disappeared, replaced by a look of complacency.
“After I came to Roland, I awakened my earth talent. This means I have gained the power to manipulate the earth element.”
He also explained to the two scientists the concepts of the ten elements in Roland’s magic civilization, namely metal, wood, water, fire, earth, light, darkness, wind, thunder and sound.
In Roland’s magical civilization, everything was made up of these ten elements. These ten elements elves possessed corresponding powers.
The so-called talent referred to whether one had affinity with the corresponding elemental elves and how strong this affinity was.
The couple were fascinated by what they heard. They had a deeper understanding of the world and were shocked by the energy brought about by elemental cultivation.
“The people of Roland can prolong their lifespan by practicing elemental magic. Just like what you can see, I became younger after becoming a half star elementalist.”
“This is so shocking!” Wang Ling couldn’t help sighing.
She and her husband were both ordinary, short-lived humans with a lifespan of only around a hundred years. They were those that lowered the average lifespan of interstellar life.
“Old Ding, can Xiao Ling and I also practice?” Yi Minkang couldn’t help asking.
It was hard for anyone to resist the temptation to extend their lifespan, especially when it didn’t sound harmful.
Dr Ding shook his head. “There is no way to know for sure.”
He explained, “Even in Roland, elementalists are very rare. They account for less than 0.1% of the total population.”
“I am just a coincidence. Maybe it was luck or maybe my ancestors have the bloodline of Escher Star…”
He had also been observing secretly these days. To his regret, he found that no one else in the institute had awakened their elemental talents.
However, even the natives of Roland found it difficult to awaken their talents. Thus, it was hard to say for sure.
“Don’t be discouraged,” Dr Ding said. “I can teach you Roland’s basic cultivation techniques, body tempering and meditation.”
“Out of these two basic techniques, one can strengthen the body and the other can keep the mind clear. Meditation is really important, especially for scientists like us.”
“Once you practice them, you will realize their benefits.”
Now everyone in the research institute was practicing it, even if it was a bit forced.
Roland’s emperor really valued their physical health. They also intended to pursue sustainable development, so the people in the institute appreciated it.
The couple nodded solemnly, and Wang Ling carefully returned the piece of soil to Dr Ding.
Dr Ding continued, “You might’ve known before that the Roland Empire is still in a difficult situation. So in addition to the power of magic, they are exploring the help of technology.”
“The scientific and technological field of the Roland Empire can be said to be very barren and is waiting for us to build and improve it.”
Dr Ding looked at them and encouraged them. “This will be a big project. Accordingly, we can also let go and research to let the magic civilization feel the charm of our technological civilization!”
“I know that you are pure scientific researchers like me and don’t like those messy things. Roland is undoubtedly a pure land for us!”
“Believe me. You will love this place!”
Yi Minkang and his wife looked at each other and nodded to Dr Ding.
Through Dr Ding’s words, they gained an initial impression of the Roland Empire.
This was a magical civilization with miraculous powers. The field of science and technology was barren, so those who came here were pioneers and builders.
They knew how difficult it would be just thinking about it, but at the same time, it made them excited.
“Old Ding, we understand. Thank you for your explanation and teachings.”
Yi Minkang said sincerely, “Even if it is just for His Majesty Roland’s life-saving grace, we will try our best to make our own contribution.”
After this round of questions and answers, Yi Minkang and Wang Ling felt that they wouldn’t be surprised no matter what miraculous things they encountered in Roland.
After all, this was a magical civilization and couldn’t be explained by science. But…
Once the shuttle stopped at the entrance of the research institute and they were about to go down to take a look, they saw a light screen pop up on Dr Ding’s communicator and the image of a small robot appeared in front of them.
“Old Ding, Old Ding, I made something new! Come to my military factory and take a look when you have time!”
The eagerness to show off was so lifelike, just like a real human being.
But…
Why did this look so similar to the guide AI of the virtual cabin?
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