Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"How long has it been?" He looked at the photo taped to the hibernation capsule. In the photo were his daughter and wife.

"One month."

"There's only one Moon God. We've already encountered such a dangerous situation in just one month. When can we go home?"

Sitting on the edge of the hibernation capsule, he clutched his military cap and asked, "When can we go home?"

Suddenly, he looked up again: "Did everything go well while we were dormant?"

"The duty team has completed two rotations and everything is normal. Duty Team 2 is coming to report to you that they witnessed the outbreak of an Omega-level psychic event."

"So, what about that?" His eyes showed a hint of hope. "That might be able to help us save ourselves and get home."

"Everything is normal. The collection of the 'fruit' is underway. The duty team has used coercive means to ensure the subjugation of the natives and has armed them with template technology to a minimum extent. After imprisoning the native psykers in Carnegie City, the occupation of the surrounding settlements is progressing - all with your approval."

"This is necessary for us to return home. Just don't take their lives, at least not ourselves. We must be prepared to stay here for a long time."

"Currently, the only settlement called 'Insula' that has not pledged allegiance is here. We are already preparing to form a new expeditionary force. Furthermore, the source of this Omega-level psychic phenomenon is located there."

"As time goes by, problems will arise. Perhaps their gods have arrived. Send a punitive force immediately to test their attitude. Wake up all the crew members one by one. If necessary, we will have to take all necessary measures to control the situation."

He stretched out the hat, put it on his head, and looked at the photo in the hibernation capsule again: in the photo, his wife and daughter were smiling at him.

"Everything is to go home."

"Lord God! Not only have you demonstrated your divine power to us, but you have also opened up such a large area of water for us. Now we are cultivating more spores. How can we thank you enough!" The branches of the Tree of Life trembled with excitement.

"Well, as long as you can survive well."

"Let us offer you some more mushroom beast spores!"

"This is fine, this is fine." Those red fruits tasted really good, and it was no big deal if I ate a few more.

"But, Lord God, we have a doctrinal question for you."

Chapter 436 New Oracle

On behalf of everyone, the Life Tree asked Shangluo: "Is fire really evil?"

"No," Shangluo replied, "Sin belongs to man, just as purity belongs to water. Fire is not man, so of course it cannot be sinful."

"So, fire is dirty?"

"Not really. Dirty is relative to clean, just like you are covered with dust now. However, flames have no substance, so how can they cover the dust? So flames are not dirty either." Shangluo gave a clear answer.

"Ah! What a god!" Mingshu asked, "But if that's the case, why does the oracle say that fire is sinful and dirty?"

"There's only one answer—there's no such oracle. You don't have to consider fire taboo; you can use it however you want. I'm curious, how did you survive?"

"Our society is divided into three classes, just like the three gifts bestowed upon us by the serpents. These three classes represent three virtues, each with its own distinct function. The Law-Speakers possess the virtue of love and wisdom and rule our tribes. The leader of the Law-Speakers is the Shaman, who converses with the gods. The Law-Guardians possess the virtue of courage and bravery, fighting against external enemies at the risk of being burned by flames. The leader of the Law-Guardians is the Fire-Bearer, the only one who can authorize others to use fire to burn the wilderness and enemies. The third class is the Craftsmen, who possess the virtue of passion and create all tangible things. Their leader is the Poet, for poetry is the greatest creation a mortal can create."

"Wait a minute, do you use fire?"

"Yes, but we never use fire on ourselves. We use it to burn the wilderness and our enemies, but never on ourselves. Fire is precious, but also evil. If anyone tries to steal it for personal use, he is the greatest sinner. Such a person has no right to come here to see the gods - but God, you said that the taboo against fire does not exist?"

"I never said that. So, your son said he heard it from you. Where did you hear that from? Was this a resolution you made in some Iran Accord?"

"No, this is just the habit of the water tribe."

"Huh? Who exactly is that?"

"Yes"

"It can't be you, can it?"

"No, no, no. After the Water Tribe shamans arrived here, they reached a joint resolution. We decided to use this method to establish the Water Tribe's traditions. This is our interpretation of the Water Snake's behavior. We believe it must be looking for a way to destroy the Fire Snake."

"Then there's something wrong with your direction. If you keep going this way, you'll probably starve to death before the Water Snake returns—you're not going to starve to death, are you?"

"."

"I'm really starving!"

"My Lord God," the Life Tree lowered its voice. "Actually, this isn't entirely about ruling. It's also because we truly fear fire. The Fire Serpent burned the Tower of Babel, and we were truly... truly terrified of being burned."

"So you really won't eat anything that's touched fire?"

"The brave protectors of the country do eat it. They can overcome their fear of fire and eat things burned by it. But the shamans and craftsmen don't eat it. Fire is too scary. We can only hide behind the brave ones in cowardice to avoid the threat of fire. But if you ask us to change, we will definitely obey the command of the gods."

Shangluo shook his head. "This social structure is your own decision, and I won't interfere. However, I do have some concerns about your diet—eating this way can be fatal. There's absolutely no need for you to resort to trial and error. You're starving yourself while tending the fields. This is simply a sin."

"So what do you mean by that, how can we eat?"

"So." He thought for a moment, "What is the essence of this thing?"

"It's the spores of the mushroom beast."

"That's an egg—why throw it in some water and boil it? Isn't it nice to eat boiled eggs?"

"Boiled in water? Ah! The oracle said so!" The Life Tree swayed with joy.

[This is indeed said. That night, some people were discussing where to find delicious boiled fish and boiled beef in Beijing.]

"Then you guys can cook it. If you don't want to eat barbecue, you can just cook it, right?"

"But, God, we really can't cook it."

"You guys have to be so particular about this? Eat it if you want or not."

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant. I meant the gods! We don't have a pot! We know that kind of cooking utensil is called a pot among the gods, but we don't have a pot!"

"Dig a hole, line it with leaves, pour water in, and then throw red-hot rocks in to heat the water. Got it?"

The Life Tree fell silent.

The Life Tree erupted: "Oracle! It's the Oracle! Everyone! A new Oracle has arrived! From now on, everyone will eat boiled eggs! We have boiled eggs to eat!"

"But we don't have a pot!" everyone answered in unison. They understood the process clearly; after all, it was part of the "oracle."

"So a new oracle has come down! The oracle tells us to dig a hole and throw red-hot rocks in to boil! The god wants us to eat boiled eggs!"

"Oh!!!" Everyone cheered and then fell into confusion.

Where to dig the hole?

How to dig a hole?

How big and deep should the pit be dug?

But the problem was soon solved, for a large pit lay not far from them. Steam was rising from the bottom of the lake, burned into glass. A stream flowed along the crystal walls, becoming increasingly hot as it went. At the bottom of the pit, a pool of water could be vaguely seen, clearly hot water.

After half an hour.

"Oh my God! Hot boiled eggs, the first boiled egg, please try it."

The red fruit sat atop green leaves, still dripping with moisture and steaming. Undyed this time, the bright red fruit didn't melt after being heated, but instead became more elastic. When squeezed, it felt like a pissing beef ball, seemingly poised to burst.

"God, this is an auspicious gift derived from your miracle. We offer you our first boiled egg." The Life Tree stood by, "Please try it."

"Well, thanks." Shangluo took the bright red fruit from the juicy leaves. It was still a little hot.

He asked the heavenly soldiers to raise the barrier and took a bite himself.

"What's that smell?" Phaethon asked.

"Not to mention it's very springy, fresh, and sweet. It tastes like... Have you ever had golden eggs? They're made by spinning the eggs at high speed to even out the yolk and egg white before cooking. That's the texture. Yeah, there are a few over there, you can try them too, they're really good. I feel like I could eat them every day and never get tired of them."

Chapter 437 Feast

"That's right. Although their cooking skills are limited, the ingredients here are really good."

At the subsequent feast for the gods, Shangluo tasted the following in addition to the red fruit:

Pingzi - the skin is tough and nectar will flow out when squeezed, and it is used as a side dish.

Pomegranate seeds – pitless, sweet pomegranate seeds.

Noodle stem - the stem of the noodle tree, which can be eaten after peeling off the bark, and tastes similar to alkaline noodles.

Knife-flavored core - Depending on how it's picked, it has a completely different flavor. This time, it's salty and savory, and is crushed and used to mix with noodles.

Muhe—rice-like in texture, but about a meter in size—is eaten sliced. It's also eaten with a sauce like the knife-flavored core. They'd previously eaten it raw after drying it, but this was the first time they'd cooked it.

Although the variety is limited, the quality of each one is very good.

But on the other hand, it is really outrageous that you can starve yourself to this extent while having so many high-quality raw materials.

As he ate, Phaethon sighed, "Alas. I guess if you don't correct them, they'll start to compromise after another ten or eight years. I don't believe that after the first generation's asceticism, the next few generations will be able to continue to practice asceticism."

"If they keep going like this, it's doubtful they'll have another generation. Look at that eight-year-old kid, he's as skinny as an old man. But this does taste good. Hey, this guy next to you."

He touched Apollonia's shoulder with his arm: "Wouldn't you like to eat something?"

"No, I only eat barbecue."

"Oh, it's obvious that they're not doing it because of the rules, but because of psychological trauma. You'd better not roast it in front of them."

"Then I won't have dinner. Hmph."

"Then you'd better starve for a while. You can roast it slowly when we go to the mountains to spend the night."

"Yeah, that's right. Barbecue is an essential part of camping."

Shangluo was speechless for a moment: "I don't know how to call it camping if I bring Doudou all over the place to help."

"Aren't we staying outdoors? That's camping, of course. As for why the grill cleans itself after barbecue, it's all just nature's magic."

"Okay." Shangluo shook his head. He sometimes admired this little girl. If she said she wouldn't eat, she really wouldn't eat. If there was no barbecue, she would just starve. Even now, she hadn't even had a bite of boiled eggs. She was very picky about food.

Suddenly, a Water Tribe member came running over. He was stopped outside by the Heavenly Soldiers and was still shouting, "My Lord God! This is bad! There's an enemy attack! They're from the city of Carnegie."

"When you get back, do you want to put the others in and bake them?"

"That's fine. But someone's calling you over there."

"It's none of my business. Keep eating. It's just a Clash of Clans. If you start meddling in this, it'll never end."

"God!" someone was still shouting from behind, "They're coming! They're coming!"

Before he finished speaking, a cold light shot out from the side, heading straight for Shangluo's forehead - and then was stopped by the heavenly soldiers who were hiding in the air 10 meters away. The guy who launched the attack was immediately caught by two heavenly soldiers and dragged over, and was held in a large letter shape in the air.

"Ok?"

Only then did Shangluo put down the boiled egg in his hand.

The suspended mushroom-man was wearing camouflage uniforms, a rank insignia on his collar, two arrows painted on his armband, and even face paint, looking like a special forces soldier. However, the weapon he held was just a crossbow—but this crossbow was quite sophisticated, with a pulley and trigger, resembling a modern hunting crossbow.

But without exception, there was not a single piece of metal on him. This crossbow was simply shaped like a modern hunting crossbow, without using the corresponding materials.

"Goodness!" Phaethon slammed the table and stood up. "Someone really came in! This is no ordinary false god! Someone is trying to seize some territory!"

"Interesting." Shangluo took a deep breath. "It seems the nature of the matter is very clear. I originally thought that the attack on the village was at most an act of deception. I didn't expect these outsiders to have established such a deep presence here. And this isn't just a simple village conflict."

"What is this?" Apollonia asked, tilting her head.

"This is the army! They have a clear division of labor. This one is a scout, probably trying to carry out some sort of operation. This kind of organized attack with division of labor is no longer just a simple Clash of Clans. These outsiders are quite capable."

It's easy to imagine that if an army attacked, Insula Village would be powerless to resist. This was because there wasn't even a real armed force here, let alone an army. The so-called Fire Bearers were more like explorers and adventurers in society, not prepared to kill. At most, they were used to deal with tribal conflicts.

Tribal conflict is different from war. Tribal conflict often revolves around specific issues, such as water, food, and prey, and is usually an unplanned, sudden encounter. However, the military is different. The military is used to kill people, and this killing is organized and planned.

"We need to take care of this." Shangluo shook his head. "This isn't a matter of technical skill—some people, even if you give them assault rifles, will only engage in insignificant tribal conflicts. Others, even if you give them nothing more than wooden poles, will organize armies and fight. Armies aren't what we should have in this era."

Looking around, the mountains and fields here still mostly belonged to fungi and beasts, not humans. The era of primitive abundance hadn't yet passed, and the soil for a military didn't exist. Someone was forcing things to happen, as if someone had time-traveled back to the Stone Age. They didn't need to invent gunpowder, airplanes, tanks, or artillery; simply inventing "war" itself would be enough to change an era, because even that was in its infancy in ancient times.

Shangluo reached to his waist and put on gloves.

"Interesting. As expected, when we talk about the prehistoric world, someone will come to open up the wasteland. I can't bear to open it myself, so how can I let you guys do it? Where is the person? Take me there."

"They're coming! They've passed the village and are heading this way!"

Before he could finish his words, a huge, angular rock flew over their heads and hit the crystal lake, splashing a large amount of hot spring water.

Shangluo picked up the telescope——

"Huh???" He was stunned again, because the stone did not come from a "catapult", but from a...

A chariot, or perhaps a "tank," perhaps. Its frame was surrounded by four large wheels, each covered in lacquered wood panels. Behind the panels, a "gun crew" on the chariot, meticulously maneuvering a torsion-driven catapult, hurled stone projectiles. A whole team of "infantry" in camouflage uniforms, armed with even larger crossbows, coordinated the process.

Although the chariot only fired stones, it was mobile and could attack and defend. Although the infantry only had crossbows, they were indeed providing support for the chariot in battle.