Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"Where." He was about to ask "Where", but found that there was no need to ask.

Parked at the school gate was a stretched black sedan, about the same size as Phaethon's, and it even brought back bad memories. However, this car had much larger windows, appeared to have no armor plating, and lacked a second set of rear wheels. It was a sedan for peaceful places.

Chapter 401 Hiding Water

"what!"

Suddenly, a huge feline head popped out from the lathe, startling him. It looked exactly like Luo Luo back then.

After he said this, Zheng Shijie also noticed him.

He rolled down the window and waved at Shangluo.

"Are you still afraid of cats?"

"Why is your cat so big? No, this isn't a cat! This is a cheetah!"

"A cheetah is actually a big cat, a member of the subfamily Felinae. Don't you agree, Mimi~"

Although it was given the most common cat name, although it now placed its head obediently on Zheng Shijie's knees, and although it had a cute pink collar around its neck, it was about the size of a lion cub and could eat a child in one bite.

"Ah~~" Mimi yawned. Shangluo underestimated the size of that mouth, which could probably eat two children.

"Do you want to pet it? Cheetahs are part of the feline family, unlike lions and tigers. They're emotionally stable, just like cats."

Shangluo shook his head like a rattle. He now had a psychological trauma against big cats.

"Oh, it's obviously very cute. Don't you think so, Mimi?"

The car drove on for dozens of minutes until it arrived at the entrance of the Jinling Hotel. They were there to pick up Miss Yanqiu and her assistant Phaethon to go to the studio.

"Oh oh oh! Big cat!" Phaethon hugged Mimi's head as soon as he got in the car, and didn't even notice that Shangluo was next to him, leaving Yanqiu behind.

"It seems like her attitude towards cats is completely opposite to yours." Zheng Shijie touched his head. He looked at Faeton, then at Shangluo:

"Did her cat bite you?"

“???” Shangluo looked at him - this guy’s business sense was too accurate.

"Who said that? Luoluo is very well behaved and never bites anyone. Luoluo is so cute."

Ah~ah~ Sometimes ignorance is bliss. That's not cute, that's loving.

Although Phaethon showed some emotion while sealed, she had no memory of it. This might have been due to the fact that he had been soaking in the jar for so long that it had dissolved considerably.

[Her brain wasn't very clear after the soak, probably because the water got into her. But she still loves big cats.]

"Um"

【what's on your mind? 】

"I'm thinking about getting a cat."

"Huh?" Zheng Shijie was stunned for a moment.

"Shangluo, has your family ever had a cat? Have you ever considered getting a cat?"

"Huh? Wait, I need to ask Phaethon's opinion."

"I refuse." She pouted as she rubbed Mimi's head. "I only like to rub cats, not keep them. Keeping cats is troublesome."

"Ah," Shangluo shook his head, "I knew it was better to pet a cat than to raise one."

[If I remember correctly, her child Luo Luo needed dozens of employees to take care of him.]

"That much trouble?"

"Yes, yes." Zheng Shijie also nodded, "Our Mimi also has a team to take care of her."

"???" Shangluo finally realized what was going on. Zheng Shijie had been following the thoughts in his head for several times. He'd been bitten by Luo Luo, he wanted to keep a cat, and he knew Luo Luo had dozens of people supporting him. Zheng Shijie had vaguely seen all of this.

"Did he hear you?" he asked Apollonia.

[No. It's not that channel. He can't hear it. Ah! I see. It's not me! The voice he hears isn't mine, it's yours!]

"Huh? Can you hear me?"

"No, I can't hear it." Zheng Shijie continued this time, stroking his head. "I seem to be able to vaguely sense it. I can see it from your expression. I feel like I am empathizing with you."

Shangluo was silent for a moment, "Are you sure you took the Water Snake Pill?"

The car drove for a while and Shangluo also checked for a while.

[That's right! I asked the former general who was on vacation at home, and he said the Water Snake Pill was still on the table. But the Air Snake Pill was gone. The Escaped Air Pill was gone too.]

"Escaped energy. What did it say then?"

The sinners grieve over their betrayal of the gods. This is the Escaped Qi. The Escaped Qi's final gift to the myconids is the power of empathy. Born from the deepest sorrow, it is able to grant those myconids emotions.

"Goodness! Wasn't he eating something blue?"

He confirmed with Zheng Shijie once—

"That's right." Zheng Shijie nodded. "I'm absolutely sure that the snake pill I ate was blue. Did I eat the wrong thing? Will it be okay?"

"It's okay. The effect of building the foundation should be the same, but the additional effects are a little different. Strange, I also remember that you ate that one. Could it be..."

"What?"

"Could it be that the Water Snake Pill has hidden itself?"

The sinner hides himself out of fear. This is the water of hiding.

These were the words of the Water Snake at the time. The Water Snake, versed in the native magic of that world, possessed the power to evade form through magic. Using mystical powers to conceal oneself seemed to be a specialty of every magical power in the world. Sun Wukong used magic to evade the Three Calamities, the powerful sorcerer Merlin also appeared and disappeared with uncanny force, and Baal, number one among Solomon's 72 demons, mastered the power of evasion and transformation.

This ability to conceal itself is the source of magic's mystique and a common trait. The Hiding Water seems quite remarkable in this regard, even extending to the snake pills it creates.

"So, this is the situation." Shangluo explained the situation to Zheng Shijie, omitting some details. "It seems unlikely that you ate the Water Snake Pill. It transformed into a different color at that time, pushing the Air Snake Pill out. My family's Tianyi Guiren said that the Water Snake Pill is still on the shelf, untouched."

"Huh? Then why is it Air Snake Pill?"

Shangluo shook his head, not saying it directly, but he had a vague idea—the air snake was the one he communicated with the most of the other snakes, and perhaps also the one with the most complete personality and the deepest remorse. Offering the snake elixir was part of his repentance, the only way to ease his sorrow. In comparison, the water snake, born of fear, seemed to fear being eaten.

"Generally speaking, there's no problem," Shangluo replied. "And the Qi Snake Pill seems to be very actively fulfilling its mission. I see that you've already mastered some of its properties? You seem to be empathizing with me?"

"I don't think this is a good idea." Zheng Shijie shook his head. "I always feel bad for empathizing with you and guessing what you're thinking. Oh, by the way, how about you wear sunglasses? I can't read your emotions because I can't see your eyes."

"You know what, this trick of yours is quite useful."

After just now's confirmation, the compassion and empathy brought by the Air Serpent Pill seem somewhat limited—it's not magic, merely an intuition, so subtle emotions that are difficult to detect intuitively can't be seen. However, it's incredibly easy to activate; simply seeing it is enough. This is a kind of mind-reading, not mind-reading, but expert-level empathy.

As the leader of Lan Fang, Zheng Shijie often faces the scene of talking to others. This is very useful for him.

Yanqiu, who was standing by, seemed to understand something. She opened her handbag and immediately put on her sunglasses.

Chapter 402 Audition

"Why do I feel like I've made a killing? Hey, why are you guys all wearing sunglasses?"

"The sun is a bit strong today." Shangluo made a canopy with his hands and looked out the car window. "By the way, Miss Yanqiu, you are really well prepared. You even brought three pairs of sunglasses."

"Because I change my outfits so often, I brought a few extra. Do you want more?"

"Actually, you don't need sunglasses, just glasses. I can't seem to read it without seeing the whole face."

"Really?" Yanqiu took out another pair of plain glasses.

"Wow, you even have this?" Zheng Shijie was stunned. "Professional. So professional. Miss Yanqiu is indeed a professional entertainer. She is so well prepared. Come on, put them on first, otherwise I won't feel safe."

Shangluo returned the sunglasses—honestly, the car was already darkened, and wearing sunglasses on top of them made it impossible to see anything. He felt uneasy because he couldn't see the cheetah named Mimi.

The glasses Yanqiu handed over were a very simple design, with a round brass frame and two flat crystal lenses. The standard style listed in the encyclopedia entry for "glasses" looked like this. There were always three or four people wearing the same style on the street, if not seven or eight. It was impossible to tell them apart.

"How about this?" He put on his glasses and looked at Zheng Shijie.

"I really can't tell. You know what, even though it's just a pair of glasses, my whole appearance is different after I put them on."

I'm still a little worried. I'll have to test him by reciting a passage: Cantonese people eat Fujianese. Cantonese people eat Fujianese. Cantonese people eat Fujianese. Cantonese people eat Fujianese.

"Pfft——" Shangluo's sense of humor has always been a little low, and he laughed.

"What are you laughing at?" Zheng Shijie looked at him in confusion.

[Got it, hen, hen, got it, hen, hen, got it.]

"Hahahaha!" Shangluo couldn't hold it in anymore.

"What are you laughing at again? Is there something very happy?" Zheng Shijie felt more and more confused.

It's okay, he really can't see it anymore. That feeling of empathy isn't working right now—it seems really weak, perhaps because he hasn't fully digested it yet, or perhaps because his realm isn't high enough. Once his realm is elevated, this empathy will probably improve, and he'll be able to control it more freely.

"Haha~~ It's okay, it's okay." Shangluo coughed and calmed himself down. "I suddenly thought of something funny. Um, is my appearance okay?"

"Very good. You'll look healthier dressed like this when you're on camera. You used to have a bit of, shall we say, a certain sharpness. But with the glasses on, you've become more approachable and more neutral. Very good, very good."

It seems his business intuition can still be triggered; it's become a passive skill. Perhaps it's because he already had a good eye for it, and now it's been strengthened. He seems to now empathize with unspecified "elementary school and preschool children," seeing things from their perspective.

"Hey? Why do you smell like food?" Zheng Shijie asked.

"Smell?" Shangluo sniffed. "Ah, I drank quite a bit of Wangzai milk this morning."

He is still full from drinking so much.

"Excellent!" Zheng Shijie clapped his hands. "I'm such a good judge of people! You're perfect for this job."

"Aren't we shooting a commercial for children's products? Are children's products..."

"Ah, I knew it."

Arriving at the studio, as soon as he walked in, he saw a mountain of Wangzai milk. The entire studio was littered with it, both opened and unopened, in bulk gift boxes, and most of the cameras were holding a can, while others were handing out Wangzai milk.

"Good afternoon, everyone!" Zheng Shijie waved to everyone at the door. Although it was just an ordinary advertisement, because the person shooting the advertisement was very important, he was present in person.

"Hello, Boss!"

Meeting Guoxing on a regular basis is actually more difficult than meeting Zhu Xianxun. Zhu Xianxun at least makes a couple of appearances every month, on the first and fifteenth day of the month, and he rarely leaves the Yingtian metropolitan area year-round. No one knows where Guoxing is; he might be eating fried noodles in Pontian in the morning, bak kut teh in Xingzhou at noon, and then taking the Ninghe Express to Yingtian or Shuntian in the afternoon, enjoying two different roast ducks in one day: Yingtian and Shuntian.

And who knew that as the Son of Heaven, Zhu Xianxun would never do anything beyond the rules. Jiang Taigong had already made it clear in the Six Strategies that the world belonged to everyone, not just him—but Lan Fang was indeed the property of the imperial family, and he could control it within his share.

However, few expected Guoxing to be a money-spending prodigy, and the Zheng family wasn't some upstart. But if he achieved good results, Guoxing would be happy to offer him a salary commensurate with his achievements.

As soon as he arrived, the whole studio was in an uproar.

"Wow, it's such a big fuss when you shoot a commercial." Phaethon exclaimed.

"Oh, right." Zheng Shijie suddenly remembered as he was walking backstage, "Ms. Phaethon, if I remember correctly, when you were in Rome, you were in charge of the Bone Storage Group?"

"Well, I occasionally travel on business on behalf of my father, that's all."

"She's amazing!" Yanqiu replied. "Ever since I hired her as my assistant, my work efficiency has doubled. In just an hour, she can sort through more information than I could finish in a whole day. She also helps me plan my itinerary and prepares my meals based on nutritional balance. And after that, she still goes to work at McDonald's. She's like Superman!"

"Really?" Zheng Shijie was also stunned for a moment. "In our place, this is a job that requires a whole team of people. Miss Phaethon is quite proactive. Have you always been a loner?"

"That's true. Phaethon has always been a solitary person, she doesn't need an assistant or anything like that. She's always taken care of herself."

"Ha~" Shangluo thought to himself, "A man went to the New World alone with only a few security personnel, right? That's true."

"Well, it's not her fault that she failed at your hands. She's never faced an opponent as formidable as you before."

"By the way," he asked Phaethon, "how do you plan your itinerary later?"

"Yanqiu has already made all the arrangements, so I don't need to worry about it. After all, she's a professional. But you...you said you wanted to audition at the last minute, so she asked me to help you."

"Eh? Shouldn't we focus on her?"

"No, no, no, you're mistaken." Zheng Shijie was still walking ahead. She whispered, "Miss Yanqiu said that her Lingqi daily chemical products are a new product line, and they're just testing the waters. It's different here. Didn't you see the pyramid of Wangzai milk bottles at the door when you walked in? The crew transferred from Pontianak just arrived this morning, and this large studio was also finalized at the last minute. This is not just an audition. They plan to bring your image to thousands of households. The carrier is Wangzai milk. I remember you like it. We might have to reshoot many times later, so you can drink it to your heart's content."

I'll take a break on the weekend and update three times tomorrow.

Chapter 403 Cognition

"Hello, hello, hello." The director shook Shangluo's arm, "His Excellency Chi Shijun is indeed as energetic as the rumors. I can only see you through the light of the national surname."

"Hello." Shangluo noticed that everyone from Lan Fang seemed to have one thing in common—they all liked to shake hands. But unlike the Roman handshake, this one was a wrist shake, with no hand-to-hand contact. This kind of handshake had a rule in Kinmen: no handshakes between strangers. A handshake was only done when two people truly knew each other, but Shangluo didn't know the director before him.

There seem to be subtle differences in etiquette between the two sides, a result of physical distance and other differences in living habits. Considering the distance from Pontianak to Yingtian is nearly 4000 kilometers, almost as long as the Heihe-Tengchong line, the two sides have maintained smooth communication to this day thanks to the absolute hegemony brought about by the Ming-Luo mutual imperial system. Consequently, exchanges between Kinai and Nanyang have never been interrupted, creating few barriers.

But Shangluo also noticed some details that were even more wonderful than "barriers".