Chapter 644 Birds

Thinking that the Agents involved in the investigation should rest for a day or two, Wayne didn't make much fuss after Inessa went out to purchase goods in the carriage driven by Whale Oil.

Seeing Doug feeding the birds, he also took the time to interact with the Peregrine Falcon. The exercises had advanced quite a bit compared to before. It was probably like this: first, he would have the Peregrine Falcon fly over from a distance, then Wayne would toss a small piece of meat high into the air just before it approached, allowing the Peregrine Falcon to snatch it with a ‘whoosh’ as it swooped past.

The Detective Agency now keeps so many birds that it could almost open a small zoo.

To be honest, after comparison, the Peregrine Falcon and the Owl are not very affectionate among them. Their temperament is somewhat like that of a ‘scholar’ with an unyielding spirit; they can cooperate according to instructions, but their pet-like qualities are average, only slightly better than brainless Pigeons.

The most dog-like is actually the Parrot; sometimes it will even rub its head against you for a pat. When it has nothing to do, it also likes to wander around on people, but the sound of it cracking nuts is a bit frightening. It can speak simple words but is often incoherent in daily conversation.

As for the Crows under Lina's name, who knows what those guys are thinking all day. Wayne just hopes they don't cause trouble.

Speaking of Crows… Wayne pointed to the flock of Crows standing on a nearby wooden perch, observing the Peregrine Falcon being trained. “Why does that one look a whole size larger than the other Crows? Is it the leader of the Crows?”

Doug’s expression was slightly helpless: “It’s a Raven, and it’s not from the same flock as these Crows. One time, Miss Lina was probably disturbed, so she let Peter drive the Crows back into their cages. I’m not sure what happened to it then, but it seems to have been disciplined. After its injuries healed, it never dared to run away again…”

“…”

Wayne didn't know how to comment on its experience, so he just nodded, “I see.”

The time after that was also spent leisurely. Aside from Lina helping "Slingshot" process extraordinary materials, the Wise Sage's aura that leaked out briefly scared the Peregrine Falcon, causing it to brake suddenly in mid-air and crash, leading to it being mocked and bullied by the Crows. Overall, it was still peaceful.

After the cultists' matter concluded, the new Agents' onboarding training was put back on the agenda. However, the last batch of reserve members Connal recruited in Kankakee City could arrive in Richmond at any time. Currently, dealing with gangs doesn't require highly specialized cooperation, so for now, only some standardized popular science content has been arranged. The rest will be done all at once when everyone has arrived.

Feeling that the Peregrine Falcon had performed quite well today, Wayne went to the kitchen with the Peregrine Falcon perched on one hand and the Parrot on his shoulder to ask Chef Parker for extra food for them.

Chef Parker, besides preparing dinner, was also making the allicin pills for everyone to take tonight. It’s unclear if this stuff really worked, but so far, none of the Agents bitten by rats have shown any signs of illness. The medicine hasn't been stopped yet; the plan is to have everyone take it for at least a week—even those not bitten need to take it as a preventative measure.

Ruihua and Airflow happened to still be in the dining hall, continuing to drink and chat with two new members.

When they heard Wayne tell the Chef that he needed to continue preparing that stuff, they felt as if the jerky in their hands no longer tasted good. “No way, boss, that stuff has to be eaten for a whole week?”

“It's at least a week,” Wayne turned back to correct him. “Or let's set a deadline. Whenever we deal with the Sailor Gang or that Ireland Violent Group, that’s when we’ll stop.”

Ruihua almost stood up on the spot: “Otherwise, boss, give me a list, and I’ll find a few companions tonight to take care of them? That stuff, when made into pills and swallowed, doesn’t feel like anything at first, but afterwards, for at least half a day, even talking carries the smell of garlic. It’s too much trouble…”

“No hurry, no hurry. No matter how unpalatable allicin is, it’s better than the plague or tetanus. If you’re sent to the hospital, be careful the doctor doesn’t use bloodletting therapy or something like that; that would be even more troublesome.”

Wayne also wanted to confirm the clinical effect of allicin. “That stuff should still be quite effective for preventing external wound infections; you can't even buy it on the market. You need to learn to adapt.”

A chorus of wails answered him.

It was a rare day off, and the Agents had different ways of relaxing. Besides drinking and chatting, some were catching up on sleep or reading books and picture albums in their dorms. Some reportedly went shopping in the city, and there were even those who went fishing.

Wayne strolled around, let the two birds fly off with their food, and then returned to the archive room, which was used as an office, preparing to meticulously organize the ‘flashes of inspiration’ he still remembered after directly confronting the Wise Sage.

Spreading out paper and pen, Wayne pondered for a long time, and finally understood why there were so many extraordinary theories and schools of thought in this world.

Some of the extraordinary knowledge he gained from the Wise Sage at that time was equivalent to ‘enlightenment,’ similar to when learning to swim, suddenly at a certain moment, one grasps the ‘balance point’ of how to make oneself float up from the water. Regardless of whether one can truly achieve it, at least one knows which directions to lean towards and exert effort.

The other part, however, seemed like gaining a ‘basis’ for making certain judgments, much like a person who has seen ice cubes and drunk coffee. When encountering similar items again later, just by looking at the shape or smelling it, they know whether they have encountered the same thing. From then on, it becomes very difficult to confuse glass and ice, nor will they drink hot cocoa and mistake it for coffee.

Although it was understood in his mind, describing them in language or text was not something that could be made clear in a few sentences. Deviations were inevitable in the expression, and considering that different people might have different interpretations of the same text, and transcribing between different languages could easily lead to ambiguity and equivocation, some individuals were even likely to take the opportunity to insert their own biases.

Accumulated over thousands of years like this, the originally useful practical knowledge might be piled up into a mountain of garbage code. Future generations might not have the same experiences and insights, and without understanding the underlying principles, if some content has never been corrected, then it would inevitably be copied and followed, continuing to be used…

No wonder, even with Inessa and Lina helping to guide the way, in many situations they could often only “address matters as they arose,” saying things that sounded somewhat “superficial.”

This is like how the core point of “walking a tightrope” is actually just “maintaining balance.” Someone with a foundation might understand after simply hearing a few words, but if the actions aren't explained in detail, and the person isn't gradually taught the essentials starting from basic training, then simply telling a novice this and having them go straight to the stage, their falling might just be a matter of time.

So Wayne could only first record some vague concepts, such as “domains are not naturally formed, but are the result of ‘division’,” “all domains have ‘two sides of one coin’ characteristics, but characteristics are not flaws, they are not inherently opposed to each other, nor do they have superiority or inferiority, it all depends on how they are used,” and so on, trying to express the meaning precisely.

As for how he should break through to the intermediate stage, he now vaguely had a direction.

It felt a bit like an abstract version of the evolution of human transportation.

Being able to stand upright and move by oneself can only be considered the ‘basis’ of survival.

Learning to use tools like livestock or carriages for transportation on land, utilizing patterns more efficiently, is considered ‘getting started.’

To continue developing further, whether one wants to fly into the sky or dive into the sea, one needs to truly recognize the existence of ‘gravity.’

Otherwise, no matter how fast or wide a dot on paper moves, as long as it cannot escape the confines of a flat surface, the world it perceives will never transition from two dimensions to three dimensions.

Wayne chewed on his pen, pondering for a long while.

Theoretically, the three elements of force are magnitude, direction, and point of application. He himself had never successfully broken through, so there must be something he hadn't done correctly in an extraordinary sense.

Not to mention Inessa and Lina, but he certainly didn't believe that all the cultists above the intermediate level were straight-A students.

There should also be some path of “going with the flow” or “brute force” that works.

Just as birds, though they don't understand aerodynamics, can still instinctively comprehend what “wind” is.