Chapter 176 Paternoster Elevator
The underground secret passage of the manor.
Part of the originally built palace has been demolished. The exit of the secret passage was originally just an ordinary cave, but now it has been expanded into a huge vertical cavity. A series of spiral downward roads lead all the way to the sea below. This space is divided into multiple platforms, and each platform has wide tunnels extending in different directions.
In the circular hole in the middle of the platform, a series of square open compartments connected together are moving slowly. Their speed is not fast, but they keep moving with no intention of stopping.
This is the Paternoster Elevator.
"Paternoster" means "Our Father" in Latin, the two words that open the Latin version of the Lord's Prayer. It was originally named so because the elevator appears in a circular form, which is like the prayer recited using the rosary beads, with some religious metaphors.
An elevator that loops forever without stopping. This doorless elevator was invented in 19th century England. Passengers can get on or off the elevator at any floor as they wish. Of course, this requires quick eyes and hands.
This was not a problem at all for the banshees. This machine that could go up and down quickly became popular among the banshees after it was installed. When it first started running, there were often banshees who would go up and never come down, riding it like a roller coaster, and finally being thrown into the sea by their angry compatriots.
Well, the biggest flaw of this type of elevator is that it is not safe enough. If you don't react quickly enough, there is a risk of getting stuck. Naturally, the banshees don't have to worry about this.
If you go around to the other side, you can see the source of the elevator's power. It is a noisy machine that happily sings songs that only it can understand, burning pollution and driving the elevator to rotate non-stop.
Zeus's steam factory has not used the Noisier for the time being. Whether this steam engine, which is suspected to be controlled by the evil god, is reliable still needs further observation. The place where the banshees gather is naturally the best choice. It poses no threat to the banshees, and no matter if it explodes suddenly or sprays out pollution, the banshees can react quickly and minimize the harm.
At this stage, the steam engines used in the factory are all those with machine souls. Zeus will go to appease them regularly. The research team led by Chloe has not yet found a way to appease the machine souls, so Zeus can only do it himself. Fortunately, the machine souls are very stable and they can run stably for several days every time he goes there.
Alexei held the blueprint and looked at the noisy person in front of him thoughtfully.
"In other words, the factory will soon be equipped with these Noisy Ones? Even if they have an unclear connection with the evil god?"
The banshee next to her has long brown hair. Her name is Una, who is in charge of the design and execution of Castel's architecture. Originally, architecture was just her hobby, but after preparations for war began, she was pulled over by Zeus and was responsible for the construction of the Webway project and the ground fortress.
Una glanced at the Noisy Ones, nodded, and whispered, "Yes, don't worry, but they are very stable, even more stable than ordinary steam engines. The Steel Spirit inside them seems to actively maintain the steam engines, which brings us great convenience."
The Spirit of Steel is a strange creature summoned by Chloe and the other two through a ritual. This strange and noisy existence was once considered an evil god, but now most people are no longer so afraid of it. Although it keeps nagging and no one knows what it is saying, it never brings any danger, so everyone just leaves it alone.
At most we can give it some sound insulation to prevent it from being too noisy.
"Well, since the Lord has decided so." Alexei sighed. He was naturally distrustful of these mechanical equipment. Fortunately, he no longer had to manage these things in the factory, otherwise he would not be able to sleep well.
"Ms. Una, did you call me here this time to discuss the connection between the underground passage and the surface fortifications?"
Ever since Zeus formulated the Webway plan, he has been dealing with the banshee named Una a lot.
In Zeus' division of labor, Alexi was responsible for leading Castel's construction team to build fortifications on the island, while the banshees were responsible for the underground network passages and outer fortresses. These fortifications and the underground network passages had to be connected, so that one fortification after another could be connected. Otherwise, those reinforced concrete houses would be nothing more than isolated islands.
It was not difficult to pour fortifications on the ground. Hughes had a complete set of construction plans, and most of the workers were literate. Una's digging work underground was also very simple. She just had to keep throwing rocks forward to turn them into mud, but it was very difficult to connect the two pieces together.
It was difficult for the banshees to accurately identify the direction when digging underground. Even if they could identify the direction, it was difficult to judge the depth. Moreover, the surface was not flat. The plains in the north were relatively good, but the hills in the south were simply a nightmare. Often, they would reach the ground after digging a few meters upwards, but when they dug upwards, they found themselves in the belly of a mountain.
Alexei was so worried about this that his hair started to fall out.
Una was not having a good time either. Although the banshees were digging quickly, their construction plans were much more complicated than those on the ground.
When constructing on the ground, no matter how difficult it is, it is all on the same plane. The network plan drawings given by Xius are 3D solid, with an additional Z-axis. This is really a big challenge for Una, who is doing civil engineering as a hobby.
Unfortunately, she didn't come here to solve this problem this time.
Una shook her head, her long brown hair swaying in the air. "That's not the case. The Lord asked you to postpone the construction of ground fortifications and expand the church first."
"Expand the church!?"
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Alexei's voice rose an octave, and he opened his eyes wide, trying to figure out if this was a bad joke, which scared Oona so much that she took a step back.
Only then did he remember the strange personality of the banshee in front of him. Although she was obviously a powerful supernatural creature, this banshee named Una always seemed timid. Only when she talked about engineering and architecture would her eyes light up and she would talk eloquently.
God have mercy on her, Una is just a little socially anxious, although this kind of personality is rare among banshees. After all, they are born with the ability of telepathy, and later they are connected to the mind link. Most banshees can chat with several people at the same time.
"This is true! Hughes went to the factory and will be back soon. Let me tell you first that he will come directly here later. Look, here he comes!"
Una raised her hand and pointed to a platform on the lower level, where there was a passage leading to the southeast. Alexei looked over there and just saw Zeus getting off the carriage.
(End of this chapter)