HLM -Chapter 1419 The New Castle

Hearing the sound, Wang Bo was first puzzled, then quickly realized what was happening. He immediately switched lanes and stepped on the brakes.

A Chevrolet followed closely behind, almost getting clipped by his car. Fortunately, the driver was a local town resident who recognized Wang Bo’s car. Not only did he not get angry, but he also rolled down the window and asked, “Hey, Mayor, are you okay?”

“Thanks, just handling something urgent. It’s fine, I can manage,” Wang Bo leaned out politely to explain, then turned back with a delighted question: “Did our daughter just speak?”

Eva’s face was equally bright with excitement. “Yes, yes, she’s started learning to talk.”

Wang Bo was overjoyed—not only was he thrilled that his daughter could speak, but his first word was “Papa,” even if she pronounced it a bit unclearly.

He hugged Eva tightly and kissed her deeply. “Wonderful, darling! All thanks to your excellent teaching. But you didn’t have to teach her to say ‘Papa’ first; ‘Mama’ would have been fine too.”

Eva smiled slightly, not responding directly.

Caught up in his euphoria, Wang Bo didn’t notice her smile or grasp the subtle meaning behind it.

He continued to teach his daughter to say “Papa.” The little girl pouted at first but obediently repeated after him: “Mm, pa pa, mm, pa pa, mm, ba ba…”

“What a good girl,” Wang Bo exclaimed, ecstatic, picking her up and wanting to take a spin around the car with her.

However, space was limited. When he lifted his head, he bumped it against the car roof, seeing stars!

The little girl found it amusing. Meanwhile, she held her little doll, trying to teach it to say “sister,” but the doll’s mouth wasn’t flexible enough. Eva kept teaching her to say “Papa,” so now she could only say “Papa.”

Driving up the familiar mountain road, with familiar scenery and the cloud seas along the mountainside, Wang Bo felt immense joy. Seeing these familiar views made him even happier now that his daughter could say “Papa.”

Arriving at the gate, the castle now had a new main entrance. The old door had been made of a patchwork of wooden boards, which Wang Bo had removed when he first moved in. In other words, the castle hadn’t had a proper door for over five years.

Now the castle gate was made of solid oak, heavy yet beautiful, with cloud patterns painted on it to harmonize with the cloud seas on the mountainside.

A pressure-sensitive platform was installed at the entrance. When a car drove over it, the gate would slowly open.

Dale laughed upon seeing it. “Is someone inside welcoming us?”

Wang Bo shook his head. “No, the castle gate opens via a pressure sensor.”

This was a highly modern, technological method. Simply put, a lever mechanism underground is triggered when a car drives onto the platform. The ground presses down, the sensor detects the pressure, and the lever activates to open the gate.

The sensor is very sensitive; anyone over forty kilograms—or a vehicle—activates it.

Before entering, Wang Bo glanced back. The winter weather made the clouds denser, and looking around, the forest was lush and vibrant.

The car drove in, but they didn’t enter the inner courtyard directly—they had to pass through a second small gate.

The first gate served aesthetic and grand purposes; the second was for security. Each gate had a guard booth inside and outside. Only after the outside guard confirmed safety would the inner guard open the gate.

It could also open via laser scanning. Wang Bo’s license plate had been entered into the main control system. As his car drove past, a red light flashed and the iron gate slowly opened.

Beyond this was the inner courtyard.

Compared to before, the inner courtyard had changed dramatically. Essentially, it was the castle’s yard, fully redesigned.

Since New Zealand is in an earthquake zone, the marble floor had been removed and replaced with cement piers reinforced with multiple steel hooks and structural measures.

New drainage channels were installed underground, directing wastewater straight into Lake Hawea through thick reinforced walls.

The lake, like the ocean, had strong sewage-processing capabilities. Combined with abundant aquatic plants and wildlife in Lake Hawea, the castle’s wastewater posed no problem.

Unlike the modern technology at the gate, the inner courtyard retained its natural ecological beauty. Birch, maple, and Douglas fir trees were planted along the walls, keeping a natural look.

Previously, the courtyard was entirely marble—grand, but somewhat dull. Now it was transformed into a small garden, vibrant even in winter. Various paths crisscrossed the garden—some wide, some narrow—made of cobblestones, marble, or wooden planks.

The courtyard fountain was also renovated into a fountain area, with several jets shooting water in sequence.

Passing through the garden, they reached the castle itself, facing a white-marble-like staircase. It wasn’t real marble but a modern material resembling it. At night, it could light up to guide the way.

Terrence, the decoration company’s general manager, was waiting at the entrance. After they approached, he pulled out a small box containing pins, giving each person one.

“What’s this for?” the little girl asked curiously.

Terrence smiled. “This is a magic wand, little one.”

Dale, unwilling to be called “little one,” scoffed, “Ha, I almost believed you. That’s obviously a pin!”

Terrence said, “But it’s not an ordinary pin. It contains an identification chip and can pre-set your preferred temperature, humidity, lighting, music, artwork, and so on.”

“Where do you set it?”

“You tell us in advance, and someone programs it into the central computer. Then, anywhere in the castle, built-in sensors transmit the information to the computer, adjusting the environment to make you feel right at home.”

The castle’s modernization wasn’t just about contemporary decor. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have taken nearly two years.

Now, several kilometers of communication cables, mostly fiber optic, ran underground, connecting multiple servers running Windows NT inside and outside the house.

Each room could control lighting, music, and temperature via touch sensors. Once the parameters were input, they adjusted automatically.

Eva’s pin had already been configured. When they entered the living room, an elegant piano piece from The Marriage of Figaro began to play.

In the center of the living room hung a massive chandelier, like a giant wrapped ball.

As they entered, the ball slowly opened, revealing hundreds of individual lights in various sizes.

The lights were in different colors—mainly white, red, yellow, and blue. Nine larger lights rotated gently together.

Dale exclaimed, “This is the solar system! The nine planets!”