Chapter 824 - 823: The Ever-Blurring Boundary

A minute later, Pittman, who felt like he couldn’t watch any longer, patted Byron’s arm: "It’s okay to cry for a bit, but we still have work to do."

"When did I cry?" Byron glared at the little old man in front of him, "I just got a little emotional and couldn’t help but feel a bit sentimental!"

"Fine, fine, let’s just pretend I didn’t see anything," Pittman muttered as he handed Byron a handkerchief, "Hurry and wipe it off, don’t let your soldiers see it when you go outside."

"You wouldn’t understand without having raised a child..."

Pittman rolled his eyes: "Who hasn’t raised one? Didn’t I raise Amber—she was nearly ten years old before she learned to talk, and I didn’t have such a big reaction as you did."

Usually, when it comes to eloquence, Byron considers himself second to none, and even though Pittman is famous for his thick skin, Byron is confident he could outtalk the little old man. But at this moment, he clearly didn’t have the mood for bickering. This gray-haired knight merely stared with somewhat reddened eyes at the smiling Pea opposite him, his crow’s feet deeply wrinkled, "Wonderful... truly wonderful... anything uncomfortable?"

"At first... it was a little... tingly..." Pea said with some effort, but soon her voice became more fluent, even though it was synthesized from a voice device, it seemed to be filled increasingly with lively emotions, "Now... it’s much better..."

"That’s good, that’s good," Byron said repeatedly, then turned Pea around, looking at the metal neural cord quietly fitting against the back of his adopted daughter’s neck, "Will this feel heavy? Is it uncomfortable to wear for long periods?"

"Of course, it does have some weight," Pittman said, "After all, the weight-reduction runes require additional energy supply, and integrating the neural cord and brainwave interaction modules into such a small device is quite challenging, leaving no extra space for the weight-reduction runes— we will gradually improve this flaw in future models."

"I think... it’s fine," Pea gestured—although she could now make sounds, years of habit made her subconsciously use her hands while speaking, "Not too heavy, not tiring."

"Of course, although we couldn’t apply the weight-reduction runes, we used the lightest material possible. Overall, the weight is still acceptable," Pittman stroked the wisps of his beard on his chin, wearing a proud smile, "After all, this thing needs to be promoted to ordinary people, comfort and ease of use are very important standards."

Byron wore a radiant smile, rubbing his hands as he said, "Today is a day worth celebrating... I must go back and have a few drinks to toast..."

His words had scarcely ended when Pea beside him couldn’t help but frown, and a voice filled with complaints resonated from the Neural Thorn’s vocal device, "Dad, you drink too much! How many times have I told you to quit drinking, but you just won’t listen..."

Byron’s face immediately turned a bit awkward, he was about to speak, but Pea hadn’t finished:

"The first time to quit drinking was you yourself who said it, and you even patted your chest saying you’d definitely quit within a month, but now it’s been two years and you haven’t quit at all...

"You know you’re not young anymore, don’t you, your white hair already outnumbers the black! The newspapers say all about the harms of drinking too much, don’t you always say Mister Godwin is a scholar and his words are reasonable, why not listen a little..."

Byron’s face was utterly embarrassed, he just managed to say the word "I" when Pea began rattling off more:

"And lately, you’ve been going to bed without showering, I even have to nag you, and you don’t groom your beard, I have to prepare your clothes every day before you leave, I really don’t know how you manage your life out there, didn’t you say the army is disciplined?

"A couple of days ago, Uncle Philip came back, and you dragged him to drink alcohol, even saying you’d introduce Uncle Philip to some young ladies—I and several classmates were present at the time too! Dad, you don’t pay any attention to your image, just like when Miss Kelly came to our house, you greeted her in pajamas and scared her, she’s my tutor...

"And the time before that, you finally got some leave, but insisted on..."

"Stop stop stop... stop for a moment!" Byron finally found the opportunity, raising his voice to interrupt Pea’s nagging with a bewildered look at Pittman, "What’s going on... can this Neural Thorn influence Pea’s personality?!"

Pea glared at Byron and Pittman, her face saying "I have more to say and am begrudgingly listening to you now," while Pittman looked at Byron with a peculiar expression and hesitantly remarked, "I think... it’s not influencing her personality, she just always had this much to say..."

"Precisely," Pea interjected before Byron could speak, it was clear she had adjusted to Neural Thorn’s speed very quickly and now spoke fluently with it, "I have lots to say! I just couldn’t express it normally, writing is slow, gestures aren’t clear, and Dad you don’t pay attention..."

And then she began rattling off another long string, this time Byron didn’t even get a chance to interject.

Pittman looked at Byron with a mixture of astonishment, sympathy, and helplessness, while the nearby assistants and researchers were all intrigued—almost everyone here knew Pea, knew this child who suffered hardship yet was diligent and understanding. In their impression, Pea was always quiet and well-behaved, never caused trouble during experiments at the research institute, but clearly, the Neural Thorn had successfully revealed another side of Pea to everyone—

Though usually silent, her mind was brimming with words.

Bombarded by Pea’s repeated nags, Byron’s expression became particularly remarkable, torn between laughter and embarrassment, he glanced around and found almost everyone was watching the spectacle, their faces were adorned with smiles—harmless but rendering him especially awkward—Pittman even chuckled asking him: "Feeling a bit regret now?"

Byron opened his mouth, glancing at Pea, who stood beside him, noticeably cheerful after finally expressing the thoughts she’d kept bottled up. His awkward expression eventually turned into a slight smile.

"Regret my ass," he said with a laugh. "I think this is just fine."

Pea immediately widened her eyes and looked over: "Dad, you just swore! How many times has Uncle Philip told you to mind your manners? Even if you don’t consider your status, you should be mindful of your influence on me... Luckily, I haven’t been influenced by you, or else..."

Byron: "..."

After the new round of bombarding finally ended, Byron, a bit dazed, looked at Pittman: "Then... can we leave now?"

"Yes, there are no more test items for today," Pittman said, holding back his laughter. "The practical effect of the Neural Thorn needs to be confirmed in subsequent use. For the next half month, pay attention to Pea’s adaptability to the Neural Thorn, her sleep, and any allergic reactions on the skin near the cranial base contact points. Also, bring the Neural Thorn back to us for a check every ten days to confirm the activity changes of the artificial nerve cord. Besides that, there’s nothing more to be concerned about. Pea can wear it often to see if there are any inconveniences in daily life."

Byron and Pea listened carefully, mentally noting Pittman’s instructions. After a few seconds of silence, Byron suddenly said, "...I’m just about to head north. The formal order has come down, and I’m leaving in three days."

Winter is nearing its end, and the task of developing the northern coast and establishing the Imperial Navy will begin in spring. Byron was already aware of this beforehand, and recently, the order personally signed by the Empire’s Sovereign finally reached him.

This wasn’t a secret mission. News about constructing Northport and developing the northern parts of the Dark Mountain Range had even appeared in newspapers and radio programs a few days ago. Pea was also long aware of it. She pursed her lips, looked up at Byron, but the speech device only emitted a low, unhappy hum.

"Pea is older now, she can take care of herself," Pittman looked at this special father-daughter pair, as if seeing years ago when Cecil Castle was just the "Cecil pioneering camp," seeing that middle-aged Knight who suddenly found himself with an adopted daughter and was flustered, seeing that silent and obedient yet tense and uneasy little girl, years of time flashed before him. The old Druid, having gone through much in life, shook his head with a smile. "We’ll look after her as well."

"Then I’ll thank you in advance," Byron said, suddenly exhaling as he smiled wryly. "Why am I suddenly getting all sentimental? Usually, I’m not this emotional when heading out..."

"Today is the first time your daughter calls you ’dad.’ Every father feels this way," Pittman looked at Byron with the air of someone who’s been there. "Don’t worry, one day when she starts getting annoyed with you, saying you don’t shower, your clothes are untidy, and you can’t keep up with the younger generation, only pointing out your flaws all day, you won’t have so many sentiments then..."

Byron thought for a moment, awkwardly glancing at Pea: "But I feel she’s already quite dismissive of me."

Pittman: "..."

"Plus, you’re being so detailed, is it because you have a lot of experience?"

Pittman: "...If there’s nothing else, just hurry and leave. Don’t disturb this old man from his experiments!"

Soon, Byron left with Pea, leaving only Pittman and the technicians he led in the laboratory.

The assistants began organizing the recently used equipment and compiling the detailed process of Pea using the Neural Thorn into data for future use. Pittman shook his head and walked towards a cabinet with crystal glass partitions.

Inside the cabinet, several other spare Neural Thorn devices sat quietly on holders, reflecting the cold metallic light under the cabinet’s illumination.

A slight sound of a sliding gate came from not far away, and Kamel, glowing with a faint blue arcane magic, floated into the room.

"I just saw Byron and Pea in the corridor," Kamel said while floating toward Pittman. "Pea was wearing the Neural Thorn—looks like it’s working normally?"

"Very smoothly," Pittman smiled. "And you missed a very exciting part."

"For me, the project’s success itself is exciting enough," Kamel buzzed, also glancing at the cabinet beside Pittman and at the Neural Thorn devices inside. "Three sets of finished products left... It should be time to move to the next step."

"Combining the Neural Thorn with the Type II Magic Guide Terminal to create a Magic Guide Sorcerer that can truly cast spells..." Pittman’s expression became unusually serious, as if talking to himself. "To this point, the boundary between Transcendent and ordinary people almost disappears..."

"Ordinary people will not only release specific spells by pressing machine buttons but will also be able to sense magic power like real Mages, using their own will and spirit to guide Transcendent power. This will be a fundamental breakthrough, something we’ve always wanted to achieve..." Kamel’s tone was tinged with emotion. "By that time, ’Transcendent’ might no longer be called ’Transcendent’ anymore. It will truly become a force every mortal has the right to touch."

"The Oblivion Association and the Eternal Sleepers took seven hundred years to complete its prerequisite technology—even though that wasn’t their original intention, but at this point, we might as well thank them," Pittman chuckled. "Brain-machine connection is the hardest part for ordinary people to sense magic power and control spells. The Neural Thorn has solved this problem; the work ahead becomes much simpler."

"Let’s begin," the blue light on Kamel’s body gradually brightened, his tone rising, becoming particularly pleased and filled with energy. "There’s so much left for us to do."

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