Elegy from Another World

Having experienced that failed trial and the subsequent emotional outpouring, Tia felt as if a heavy shackle had been removed, and she was noticeably more relaxed. She no longer stretched herself to the breaking point like before, and began to truly integrate into life in Utopia, interacting and communicating more with the other residents. Although she still preferred to be by my side, it felt more like closeness and dependence than a stubborn pursuit.

Her creative talent did not diminish due to setbacks; instead, she found a healthier way to unleash it. One day, she excitedly told me that she had improved upon my previous design of an acid-spraying tentacle to create a flesh-and-blood machine capable of efficiently separating, purifying, and storing highly acidic solutions.

Curious, I asked her what she planned to do with the strong acid. Her answer surprised me: "Lady Liscia, I want to try to make the kind of weapon you remember—a pistol."

I frowned. "Tia, pistols require many specific materials, such as high-strength steel, stable gunpowder, and sensitive detonators like mercury fulminate. We simply don't have the industrial base for these here. Moreover, in this world with magic, perhaps developing magic-based energy weapons is a more realistic direction."

"The material issue might be solvable." Tia's eyes gleamed with stubbornness and wisdom. "I'd like to ask everyone for help in trying to improve the pleasure converter."

Although I thought the idea was a bit far-fetched, seeing her enthusiasm, I decided to respect her exploration and nodded: "Okay, you can give it a try."

For the next month or so, Utopia operated as usual, but I occasionally noticed that the energy reserves were being consumed abnormally. I guessed that it might be related to Tia's "wild ideas," but I didn't interfere too much and continued to focus on daily management and planning.

Until this day, I went to check on her progress out of curiosity, and what I saw shocked me - Tia was actually holding a finely crafted revolver that gleamed with a cold metallic glint in her hand!

"How...how did you do that?" I asked incredulously. "Where did you get the materials?"

Tia wore a tired yet excited smile: "It's through the pleasure converter, Lady Liscia! Now it can convert matter."

"A pleasure converter? It can convert matter?" I was even more shocked. "How is that possible? Based on my knowledge from my previous life, converting energy into matter requires an extremely large amount of energy. According to the mass-energy equivalence equation, even making a tiny coin requires energy comparable to a world-destroying weapon!"

Tia seemed to have anticipated my reaction. She smiled and explained, "Lady Liscia, what you're referring to is the theory of your original world, a world governed purely by physical laws. But this is different; this is a world of magic! Magic 'distorts' or rather 'simplifies' the rules in many ways. We didn't reverse engineer the entire pleasure converter—that's too complex, and the original administrator's technology was unfathomable. However, with everyone's help, we successfully added a 'matter reconstruction module' based on conversion magic to its output. It can directly convert energy into a stable material form according to a preset 'template.' The energy-to-matter exchange rate… is difficult to describe using units you're familiar with. You'd better examine your memories from this period through the symbiotic network yourself."

I connected to the symbiotic network with some skepticism and retrieved recent collective memories related to the project. Images and streams of knowledge flooded my mind; I saw Tia and several residents with in-depth knowledge of magical runes and energy structures working day and night, countless failed attempts, and the ecstatic moment when they finally succeeded in coupling the complex transformation array with the energy flow of the pleasure converter.

Data shows that the efficiency of this new module is indeed astonishing. On average, the energy converted from the "pleasure" generated by a person through tentacle interaction in a day can produce about 30 grams of a specific substance! Although it may not seem like much at once, with so many residents in Utopia, the cumulative effect over time, coupled with the ability to actively adjust energy production, results in a considerable total amount of resources that can be generated!

"Tia, you...you guys are truly amazing!" I exclaimed sincerely. This wasn't just about creating a gun; it was about opening a door to infinite possibilities for Utopia!

From that point on, Utopia's creativity exploded. We used this new technology to design and manufacture all sorts of weapons and equipment: shield generators based on magical principles, elemental amplifiers, portable healing devices; life-enhancing temperature clothing (that secretes comforting mucus), miniature levitation skateboards, second-generation cleaning tentacles, and more. Utopia's defenses and quality of life experienced a qualitative leap.

However, technological bottlenecks also emerged. When I tried to recall more complex machines, such as tanks, airplanes, or even more cutting-edge technological creations, I found that my memories of my past life were limited to their appearance and basic concepts, with a complete lack of understanding of crucial details such as their intricate internal structures, power systems, and control systems. Our material creations were confined to the scope that I (and the most knowledgeable inhabitants of the network) could clearly understand and conceive of.

At this moment, Tia made a bold suggestion: "Lady Liscia, it seems our knowledge base has reached a bottleneck. Utopia is safe, but it's also relatively closed off. Shouldn't we... consider going out into the world, learning and absorbing new knowledge and technology?"

I fell silent. Should I leave this utopia, into which I had poured my heart and soul, and become my true home, and step back into the outside world that had brought me countless pains and betrayals? The risks were self-evident.

But looking at Tia's expectant eyes, and recalling the enormous benefits brought by the technological breakthroughs recently, I have to admit she's right. Stagnation will only lead to falling behind, especially in this world full of unknowns and possibilities. We need a broader vision and richer knowledge to make utopia better, and also to prepare for potential real threats in the future.

After much deliberation, I finally made up my mind.

"You're right, Tia." I took a deep breath, my gaze hardening. "We should go out and see the world. For the future of Utopia, and for our own."