The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 767 He is willing to call it a human
The Antipodean Islands of the South Pacific (Australia and New Zealand) remind us of our childhood wonder and questions about the world. Only a few days ago, I had hoped that this ethereal fortress, floating in the sea, would become a fixed point on our voyage home. But now I realize that, like every place our imagination lingers, it is actually just a shadow - something that can never be grasped by those who move forward.

— Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle

Qi Meng woke up from a nightmare.

A ray of sunlight streamed in through the west-facing window, illuminating his face. He instinctively reached out to block it, but the sunlight flowed through his fingers like a stream, onto the floor. The cabin was quiet and warm. The teapot on the stove was still steaming, brewing Longjing tea or cornflower tea, and the faint fragrance of tea filled the air.

He glanced at the sofa beside him. The old man was fast asleep. The TV was still showing the scene of the Liu siblings killing each other. A giant python was spewing flames at the chaotic crowd. A taciturn javelin thrower - let's call him the Undead Knight - was hiding in the dark, preparing to launch a sneak attack on the giant snake that had killed countless people.

"Boring as hell."

He muttered and yawned, "How long have I been sleeping?"
At least three hours of sleep.

The movie hasn't finished yet.

It is no wonder that "Emperor Guangde", which was jointly filmed by many directors of the empire, took a total of five years to complete and cost 5 million imperial yuan. It is considered the most expensive film in the history of world cinema and has a pivotal position in the history of Qi cinema.

It is said that the filming of this film received great assistance from the military. In the history of world cinema, this film has become one of the films with the largest number of extras (more than 40 people). This magnificent masterpiece, which lasts ten and a half hours, perfectly presents the Guangde Emperor's long forty-year reign with its grand scenes and epic lens language, and depicts the vast historical picture of the Qi State in the first half of the seventeenth century. Because it reproduced that period of history extremely faithfully, it was completely banned by the Senate at the time ten years after its release.

"Boring as hell."

Qi Meng repeated it, waved his hand to turn off the movie, stood up, took out a blanket from the house, covered the old man with it, poured himself a cup of tea, and leaned against the window to look into the distance.

The old man hasn't woken up yet.

He put down the teacup, took out weapons and equipment from his backpack, first added a small energy block to the submachine gun to recharge the weapon, then put on the power armor, and after making sure he was ready, he gently pushed open the door.

The cold wind blew in the face, hitting people, but fortunately the power armor had good thermal insulation performance and kept them warm.

He walked out of the hut and looked around. Everything was the same as before, quiet and desolate.

There were few people on the streets. Occasionally, you could see a dog (?) limping by the sewer searching for food. When the dog came closer, Qi Meng realized that it was not a dog at all, but a robot with a half-conscious mind. There was a circle of wires exposed at the joints of its limbs. It had lost the ability to walk and had to revert to its original form and start crawling on all fours.

"Even the projected ads don't go here. There are very few people living in this village."

Qi Meng cursed.

The village before him was one of the countless abandoned villages in Da Qi, where even scavengers were reluctant to come. Yet, in this little-known village, the villagers had participated in the construction of Tianxin City and in the war that determined the fate of the empire.

Over the long years, one or several important figures may have come out of here. This village has witnessed the rise of Da Qi and is also experiencing the decline of the empire.

Everything is heading towards irreversible decline.

The village that once had a population of tens of thousands now has only a few hundred people left. The only ones left in the village are the indigenous elders hiding in the shadows and the first-generation robots that were about to be scrapped.

The first generation of robots was manufactured in the early 20th century and had serious defects. It is said that it once killed more than a dozen owners in succession due to programming problems, which caused the media to exclaim and regard that year as the first year of the official awakening of artificial intelligence.

The idea of artificial intelligence awakening is, of course, nonsense; artificial insanity is more apt. Anyway, millions of robots were recalled by Vine Company. Some later found their way onto the black market, reportedly for ridiculously low prices. "I don't want to stay here any longer."

Qi Meng muttered to himself, looked around, and after making sure there was no danger, he turned back to the hut. At this time, a cloud of dust rose from the mountain behind him.

Qi Meng raised his mouth slightly and stared at the barren mountains a few miles away.

"The bounty hunters are after us again?"

He stopped looking and turned and walked into the cabin.

"There are quite a lot of them this time." When Qi Meng was talking to himself, suddenly there were noisy voices and the sound of drone propellers turning around him. In addition, Qi Meng could also hear the click of guns being loaded.

The deserted village that was deserted just now was now filled with hundreds of Kunpeng aircraft. The hatch of the front Kunpeng aircraft opened, and a soldier in black combat uniform raised his gun and aimed while shouting:
"Lay down your weapons and surrender immediately!"

Qi Meng didn't even look and fired two shots in the direction of the voice, but unfortunately neither hit the target.

He turned and hid in the cabin, panting.

"Young man, your kidneys are not very good." The old lady woke up and sat on a small chair next to the sofa.

"You're in trouble. Judging from the commotion, all the detectives in Chu are probably here."

Qi Meng disagreed and said, "It wasn't me who led them here. I was just passing by..."

A man who looked like an officer walked out from among the soldiers, looked Qi Meng up and down, and after a while, he said:

"I heard there's a criminal who killed a lot of bounty hunters on the road and is now in our territory. Is that you?"

The wooden door of the hut was banged on, and a police officer who claimed to be from Nandu shouted to people in the house in both Qi and Oceania.

"Open the door! You have nowhere to escape. Don't resist. Surrender! I'm Chief Inspector Guo, sent out by the Elders Council. I'm here to rescue you."

Qi Meng jumped up from the sofa and reached for the backpack beside him. He methodically loaded the submachine gun with bullets while muttering:
"You've come to me so soon? I thought we'd have to wait until tomorrow noon at least."

The old lady stood up to open the door, but she didn't know when she saw a small pistol in her hand behind her back.

"Young people, they have always been very efficient in catching people."

Qi Meng sneered, "One country, one voice. There's no doubt about that. Authoritarianism is highly efficient."

Qi Meng was worried that the window had been locked by a sniper, so he asked the old man to step back a few steps and stay away from the door lock.

(End of this chapter)