The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Epilogue to Chapter 1032 – The Dream of Heaven (Part Two)
The smell of disinfectant was mixed with a peculiar metallic odor. Luo Yaoguo sat on the hospital bed, his fingers unconsciously stroking the sheets. The walls of this four-person ward were a peculiar pearly white, and a holographic projector on the ceiling was playing a promotional video for Yunshan University—in the video, students dressed in school uniforms resembling Ming Dynasty Taoist robes walked through a campus that blended classical and modern styles.

"drop--"

The smart monitor by the bedside suddenly beeped, and a gentle female voice said: "Luo Dingguo, your nano-repair progress has reached 87%, and the estimated time for full recovery is 36 hours."

Luo Dingguo, or Luo Yaoguo, was slightly taken aback, then remembered that "Dingguo" was his name in this life. After all, the name "Luo Yaoguo" already belonged to only one person in this "Heavenly World"!
Luo Dingguo snapped out of his daze and looked up at the corner of the ward, where a four-legged, two-armed robot was organizing medical equipment. Its mechanical arms moved nimbly, precisely placing tubes of medicine into a tray. What was most astonishing was its movement—its four mechanical legs glided silently across the ground, resembling a robotic centaur working in the hospital.

"Ding Guo, Ding Guo..."

A sweet female voice came from behind him, and Luo Yaoguo was stunned for a moment before he realized that she was calling him!

He turned around abruptly and saw a beautiful Western woman in her early twenties standing at the door of the ward, holding a stack of receipts and smiling at him. She was tall, with slightly wavy blonde hair, a pair of bright blue eyes that seemed to hold water, a high nose, and full lips. When she smiled, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, exuding a blend of intellectual elegance and playfulness.

"Natalie... Leshinskaya?"

The name immediately came to mind—a student from German Poland, and also Professor Hong Tianjue's graduate student. Moreover, their relationship seemed to go beyond just being classmates.
She was wearing a light green dress today, her blonde hair tied in a ponytail, shimmering like silk in the sunlight. As he approached, Luo Dingguo caught a faint scent of lavender on her.

"Dingguo, how are you feeling? Those nanobots are almost fixed up, right?" Natalie asked with a smile.

"Nanobots?" Luo Dingguo looked down at his arm, where the skin showed almost no visible scars. "You mean I have miniature robots inside me?"

Natalie placed the flowers in the smart vase by the bedside, and the petals immediately unfurled under the nourishing solution. "Of course," she said with an "it's normal" expression, "after the car accident, the hospital injected you with 100,000 medical nanobots, which are repairing the micro-damage to your bones." She gently tapped his chest, "especially here, where there's a minor fracture in your third rib."

Luo Dingguo suddenly felt a tightness in his throat. He subconsciously touched his ribs, but only felt smooth skin.

“Don’t worry,” Natalie smiled and took his hand. “The nanobots will automatically degrade after completing their mission and be excreted through metabolism.” Her fingers were warm and soft, and she looked at Luo Dingguo with a pair of affectionate eyes.

The ward door opened again, and "Dr. Li" pushed in an equipment cart. Surprisingly, two miniature drones followed behind him, with IV bags hanging from their bellies.

"Student Luo, one last full-body scan," Dr. Li said with a smile, patting the head of the "centaur" robot. The medical machine "centaur" immediately glided over, extending a disc-shaped scanner from its abdomen.

Luo Dingguo noticed the badge on Dr. Li's chest—"Nanomedical Center of Yunshan University Affiliated Hospital".

As the scanner's blue light swept across his body, a three-dimensional image of his body was displayed in real time on the screen on the wall. Luo Dingguo was shocked to see that his bones were covered with a layer of silvery light spots, which gathered like stars in the gaps between his bones.

“Look, this is what the nanorobots are doing,” Natalie said, pointing to the screen. “They’re secreting hydroxyapatite repair material, twenty times faster than natural healing.”

Dr. Li added from the side, "You're recovering very well, you can be discharged today."

Luo Dingguo suddenly remembered something: "Medical expenses"

Natalie gave him a strange look: "Of course, the car manufacturer is responsible for the car accident."

What? Car manufacturers are responsible for car accidents? Who made that rule? Car manufacturers can't be bankrupted?
“Stop spacing out,” Natalie gently squeezed his hand. “Pack your things, the discharge papers are all done.”

Just then, his phone suddenly rang with a "ding" – "You have received a transfer of 28888 yuan."

Natalie laughed and said, "Your lost wages and nutrition expenses have arrived."

She picked up his luggage—which was actually quite simple, just a few changes of clothes and a laptop—and then took his hand and walked out of the ward.

Outside the inpatient department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Yunshan University, Luo Dingguo stood with Natalie for a while.

The streets are bustling with people and lined with tall buildings, but the most eye-catching sights are the cars that drive around on their own on the road—without drivers or steering wheels, they seem to have come to life and drive on the road as if they were sentient beings.

Not long after, a boxy minivan drove up by itself and came to a smooth stop in front of them. The doors slid open automatically, and the trunk popped open with a click.

Natalie put her luggage in the trunk, then pulled Luo Dingguo into the back seat.

"Wheat, let's go home," she said casually.

Immediately, a soft, electronic female voice came from the car's audio system, exactly the same as Natalie's voice: "Yes, Master."

Luo Dingguo: "..."

This "smart" car took to the streets on its own without needing a driver—at this point, Luo Dingguo finally remembered why the car manufacturer had to pay for his accident. It turned out that the car that hit him was also a fully autonomous vehicle! Theoretically, this shouldn't have happened. Autonomous vehicles equipped with artificial intelligence and numerous advanced sensors can avoid all traffic accidents. If a few accidents are unavoidable—then of course it's the car manufacturer's fault!
The sights along Yunshan Second Road left Luo Dingguo breathless.

The self-driving minivans drove fast and steadily, while the buildings on both sides presented a unique blend of Chinese and Western styles—with upturned eaves and corners under full glass curtain walls, and people wearing smart devices entering and exiting the ornate archways.

"Look over there." Natalie pointed to a building on the right, where a huge holographic projection on the exterior wall was playing an advertisement on a loop: Genetic Beauty, Customized Perfection!

In the image, a woman's face flows like liquid, changing from single eyelids to double eyelids, from a flat nose to a high nose bridge, and from dark skin to fair skin.
Just one injection, and beauty lasts forever!

Proudly presented by Putian Medical Aesthetics Center, Fujian!

Luo Dingguo unconsciously touched his face. Natalie, seeing this, smiled and said, "What? Want to try? I can help you make an appointment, students get a 30% discount."

"No, no need," Luo Dingguo quickly shook his head. The billboards on the street were dazzling: Nanomedicine, the gateway to immortality!
Pacific Bank – Your lifelong partner in wealth management.

Meituan Waimai – manned or unmanned delivery, mission accomplished.

Genetic eugenics program – customizing the perfect offspring.

While waiting at a red light at an intersection, Luo Dingguo noticed that most of the pedestrians on the crosswalk were good-looking and well-proportioned. What was even stranger was that many of them had unnatural eye colors—purple, amber, and even silver pupils.

“Genetically modified eye color,” Natalie explained, following his gaze. “It became popular last year. My eyes…” She suddenly leaned closer, her long eyelashes almost touching his cheek. “It’s natural.”

Luo Dingguo's heart suddenly raced when he smelled the gardenia fragrance in her hair.

The "mini van" drove past a shop called "New Human Medical," whose window displayed price lists for various gene modification projects: Basal Metabolic Optimization: 30 yuan per day; Muscle Enhancement Package: 50 yuan per day; Intelligence Enhancement Plan: 200 million yuan per day; Gene Life Extension Program - Negotiable.

"Are all of these legal?" Luo Dingguo couldn't help but ask.

Natalie shrugged. "Of course, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the German Empire passed the Genetic Optimization Act twenty years ago." She pointed to herself. "I was one of the first legally genetically optimized babies in German Poland."

Luo Dingguo stared at her in shock: "So you..."

"An IQ of 135, a metabolism 15% faster than average, theoretically allowing for a lifespan of 150 years," Natalie said casually, as if discussing the weather. Then, in a seductive voice, she added to Luo Dingguo, "I also age very slowly. If you marry me, you'll almost always have beautiful women by your side for the rest of your life."

As the car entered a bustling commercial street, the buildings on both sides suddenly became antique in style. The most eye-catching feature was a gatehouse modeled after the one in Tianjing (Nanjing), inscribed with "Celestial Empire Traditional Culture Street".

Beneath the archway, a group of young people dressed in Hanfu were performing a historical drama titled "The Taiping Army's Great Victory Over the Qing Dynasty" using holographic projection. Ironically, the actors were wielding replicas of ancient swords while wearing smart glasses, clearly recreating the battlefield using augmented reality technology.

“We have cultural events every Saturday,” Natalie said, “and next month we’ll be commemorating the 170th anniversary of the Northern Expedition.”

“We’re here.” Natalie’s voice brought him back to reality.

The minivan stopped in front of an apartment building that blends the style of Jiangnan gardens with modern glass curtain walls. An electronic screen at the entrance displayed: Yunshan University Scholar Apartment, biometric system activated.
Natalie took his hand and led him to the door, whereupon the scanner immediately emitted a beam of blue light.

"Identities confirmed: Luo Dingguo, Master's student in the Department of History, Yunshan University; Natalie Lesinska, Master's student in the Department of History, Yunshan University. Welcome home."

As the elevator ascended smoothly, Luo Dingguo looked down at the entire city through the glass curtain wall. In the distance, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Victory Monument shone brightly in the setting sun, and the dragon flag atop the monument fluttered in the wind.

The elevator stopped on the 28th floor, and the doors slid open silently.

Natalie took Luo Dingguo's hand and led him towards room 2801. The apartment door lock was a facial recognition system; the scanner lit up with a blue light, and a mechanical female voice announced, "Identity confirmed: Luo Dingguo, Natalie Lesinska. Welcome home."

As soon as the door opened, the indoor smart system automatically activated. The curtains slowly drew back, revealing the Guangzhou sunset view outside the window; the air conditioner adjusted to the most comfortable temperature; the coffee machine in the kitchen started running, and the rich aroma of coffee immediately filled the air.

Luo Dingguo stood at the door, stunned.

This is a small academic apartment, but it is exquisitely decorated. In the living room, there is a solid wood desk piled with books and a holographic projection device. On the wall hang several reproductions of ancient paintings from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom period, one of which is "Portrait of Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King".

What shocked him most was that there were obvious signs of two people living in the apartment.

Two cups of coffee sat on the coffee table, one half-empty with a faint lipstick stain on the rim; on the floor next to the sofa, a pair of pink plush slippers and a pair of blue men's slippers lay side by side; on the refrigerator door in the open kitchen, several sticky notes were pasted on, which read: "Dingguo, milk is on the second shelf—Natalie."

"I have class tonight, don't wait for me to eat. —Dingguo"

Luo Dingguo stiffly turned to look at Natalie: "We...live together?"

Natalie blinked, looking completely matter-of-fact. "Of course!" She tilted her head, revealing a sly smile. "What? Did the car accident damage your brain? We've been living together for six months."

Luo Dingguo: "."

Natalie chuckled and walked towards her room. "You rest for a bit, I'm going to change my clothes." She turned back and winked. "I'll cook dinner tonight, something nourishing for you."

Luo Dingguo stood there, feeling that this "heavenly world" was quite kind to him. Although his family was of modest means, he had good teachers and helpful friends by his side.
Luo Dingguo walked into his room—or rather, "his" room.

The room wasn't large, but it was very tidy. There was a single bed, a bookshelf, and a desk. On the desk was a laptop, and next to it were several open books: "A Naval History of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom," "The Rise of the American Empire," and "Genetic Optimization and Social Stratification."

He walked to the bookshelf, his gaze sweeping over the rows of books. Most were history books, but on the top shelf was a framed photograph. He took it down and saw a picture of a young "him" and Natalie standing intimately together inside Yunshan University.

He put down the photo frame and opened his desk drawer. Inside were several notebooks, the top one of which had the following title on its first page: "The 'Descent' of King Luo Wu and Evidence of the Existence of Parallel Worlds - Luo Dingguo".

Turning to the first page, densely packed notes come into view: A preliminary exploration of the truth behind the "descent" of King Luo Wu (whose given name was Yao Guo).
An analysis of King Wu of Luo (whose given name was Yaoguo)'s ability to foresee the future.
Does another parallel universe exist? Where did King Luo Wu come from?

Analysis of the scientific principles of time travel.
Luo Dingguo's fingers trembled slightly. The handwriting in these notes was exactly the same as his.

What exactly is Luo Dingguo researching?

(End of this chapter)