Upon hearing this, Xia Junao stood up and saluted, saying, "It has been passed down from generation to generation that Mr. Lin can lead us out of this difficult situation. Junao was initially skeptical, but after observing Mr. Lin's achievements and observing his words and deeds, Junao is now convinced that Mr. Lin is a great talent."

Lin Hai waved his hand and said, "It's none of your business. I'm not trying to play tricks on you. I'm just expressing my feelings. Honestly, it's Chen Yu who's really putting me in such a difficult situation."

"You mean the Crown Prince of the Chen Dynasty?"

"Former Crown Prince of the Chen Dynasty."

"oh?"

"Originally, after unifying the southwest, I planned to invite everyone to a meeting. After all, everyone knows the details of the situation. Xin Yueping was stubborn, but I can't expect everyone to be so stubborn. But then, Chen Yu, completely clueless, insisted on fighting this war, forcing me to divert too much of my budget. Now, we have to build Dawn City and the Abyss blockade. Finances are already tight. As the emperor, I might be frugal, but at least I can set an example."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Xia Junao remained silent. The ruler of the Great Liang Empire wore a serious expression, looking down at the teacup in his hand. Seeing this, Lin Hai also stopped talking and began to observe the teacup in his hand.

You see, at first glance, this celadon teacup doesn't look anything special. Lin Hai was just curious why Xia Junao would use such an elegant and simple tea set in such a luxurious carriage. But after a closer look, he realized that although the teacup was made of ceramic, it was only slightly thicker than an A4 sheet of paper. It felt delicate and smooth to the touch, even surpassing the jade produced in southern Cambodia...

After a long moment, Xia Junao put down his teacup and broke the silence: "I was distracted when you mentioned the Abyss. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay, I'm not idle either."

Lin Hai smiled and pointed at the teapot on the charcoal stove and said, "At least I finished your tea."

"It's okay, you can add water."

"You can add more water when you finish it."

"That person is dead?"

"Everyone is destined to die."

"Even if the water is gone, there's still some in the kettle. Even if there's no more in the kettle, there's still plenty of water in the rivers and lakes out there. But if everyone dies, I'm afraid there won't be anyone left in this world."

Xia Junao said meaningfully.

"You have no confidence?"

Lin Hai did not respond to his metaphor, but asked directly.

"Mr. Lin, your question is indeed a bit hurtful. As an emperor, I cannot be without confidence, but since you asked, I will tell you the truth. I really don't have much confidence."

Xia Junao stood up and added some water to the teapot, then sat down and continued, "You are the first person to get on this carriage besides me.

Since I built this carriage, I haven't let anyone on it. Even carrying food and water up there is something I do all by myself. It's not for anything else, but I'm worried about what might happen if something about the Abyss gets leaked. I don't know what that would cause, but it's definitely something I can't control.

So I stay in this car all year round. After all, this car has three layers of shielding, which can ensure that I will not be disturbed and give me enough time to think. This is better than that idiot Xin Yueping, who actually built an iron cage in his bedroom... You know, when the Eagle Guard first reported this news to me, I even thought Xin Yueping had some special hobby..."

"Do you play chess?"

Lin Hai asked suddenly.

"Mr. Lin, would you like to play chess? I have all kinds of chess pieces on my cart, including one called 'checkers'. I heard it was left there by you when you came here."

"Checkers... that's all. I think it's what I left behind. After all, other than this, I'm not very good at anything else."

"What about checkers?"

“I’m just not good at it.”

"I see. How about we talk about something else?"

"No, I don't really want to play chess. I just want to ask you, if both sides suffer heavy casualties during a game of chess, would you care?"

"Do you care about winning or losing?"

"No, do you care about casualties?"

"Since we're playing chess, I naturally don't care."

Upon hearing this, Xia Junao quickly asked, "Are you saying that we are all pawns?"

"Not completely. I'm still thinking about it. I just feel like there are a lot of questions that need to be answered."

"Tell me about it."

"First of all, the Abyss isn't very large, right? It's only about the size of a county. And you know there are people inside who would beat anyone who strayed in and drag the bodies away. This means there are people inside, or at least something capable of doing this, right?"

"Yes."

"So, if there are humans inside for ten millennia, how do they reproduce? Why has no one ever emerged, intermarrying or exchanging supplies? If there aren't humans inside but machines, even I've never heard of a machine remaining immortal for ten millennia. And who's powering and maintaining these machines?"

"We've thought about this, but we can't find the answer."

"Besides, you know about the gunpowder thing."

"I know. Didn't you try to make gunpowder again but still failed?" Xia Junao nodded.

"Yes, then I went to make explosives, and they actually succeeded in blowing up the city. Logically, explosives should be usable."

"I've heard about this, but I haven't yet congratulated Mr. Lin on successfully obtaining this weapon."

“It’s no longer useful now.”

"Can't use it, you mean?"

“That’s what it means.”

Lin Hai looked at Xia Junao, then at the steaming tea, and said, "Do you understand?"

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!