Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

There was still a trace of blue paint on the wall, left by the train that had just flown in. Judging from the height of the paint, the train had completely left the track and, like the torpedo, had actually flown in.

"It's certainly powerful, but I didn't see any unusual phenomena from such a close distance, so it doesn't look like a big problem."

He stopped at the platform without removing his boots. His feet and hands were part of the armor, and while wearing them all would maximize their effectiveness, he only wore the parts for his hands and feet, which was more than enough for daily use.

"Hmm." There was an iron gate in front of them, at the end of the platform. It was obviously not the "King Kong Gate" that Zhu Xianxin had mentioned, but was merely a partition separating the platform from the interior, as the rails still extended further inside.

There was no one guarding this place, because the only way in was the fork in the road where Han Wu was before. If that place was guarded, no one could come in here either.

He walked onto the platform and to the end of it, unbolted the bolt and pushed open the creaking iron door - what appeared before his eyes was a golden light.

It is a color close to gold, but colder than gold, the golden color of unrusted bronze.

In the vast space, a golden door appeared before his eyes. It looked much smaller than he had imagined, and he had expected it to be some giant door that stretched from heaven to earth. But upon closer inspection, the door's dimensions seemed familiar.

[The dimensions of this gate are the same as those of the Meridian Gate.]

"Indeed, I was wondering why it looked familiar. I've seen it before."

[By the way, do you want to take that car down?]

“I feel like it might be difficult to get.”

They had already spotted the train, now completely "muddy" against the gate. The word "muddy" was used because the train had been completely flattened against the gate. It was no longer recognizable as a train; even the solid metal of the bogies had been crushed.

"How do I take this off? I can't even buckle it off, right?"

"Let me take a look. No, it seems surprisingly easy to remove. Have the former youngster try to pull it out."

The former young general flew out, pulling the metal lump outwards.

"Snap!" The metal pancake toppled to the ground, revealing the gleaming golden door beneath. It was perfectly intact, without a dent or even a scratch. Because the door wasn't meshed with the car, it could be lifted off with a flick of the wrist, easier than blowing a leaf off the hood.

"Hmm." He walked over to the car, which had been transformed into a discus. There was a noticeable circular crater in the middle of the car, and the structure inside the crater had abruptly vanished, as if someone had scooped a piece out of a watermelon with a spoon. If it were a watermelon, the scooped-out part would naturally be eaten. But the contents of this crater had vanished, as if they had evaporated.

The surface was smooth, and the twisted slices stacked together formed a mirror. Shangluo saw his own shattered reflection in it.

"Goodness!" He reached out and touched it. Besides being solid, the wrinkled edges were incredibly sharp, emitting a terrifyingly cold glow. After all, this wasn't cut by a knife, but by annihilation.

The door was right next to it. No damage at all.

He reached out and touched the diamond door; it was still flat. But even though it was metal, even smoother than a mirror, Shangluo couldn't see his own image on it—no image of anyone. It didn't seem to reflect light, just like the divine chrome armor in the Jinyiwei warehouse. Looking closely, the door also seemed to have fan-shaped patterns like dragon scales.

“So that’s how it is”

At the door, he called Zhu Xianxin.

"Really? Everything's normal? So you also saw the King Kong Gate, right?"

"Hmm. Is the Diamond Gate made of divine chrome?"

"Well," Zhu Xianxun thought for a moment, "it's actually the other way around. The Diamond Gate came first, and then the Divine Chrome. After we got the Divine Chrome material, we found that its material was the same as the Diamond Gate—as for the name, it was given later. Okay, as long as everything is normal, I knew the gate couldn't be blown open. Nothing can penetrate the Divine Chrome."

"Wait. Actually, it seems like it can be penetrated."

Zhu Xianxun is not at work today, but he is still sitting in his office.

The former young player floated in front of Zhu Xianxun. Shangluo pointed to the lower left corner of his palm: "Look, there is tape here."

"What pierced this?"

"Fire Snake. A hole was punched through it that day, and it hasn't healed yet. I taped it up, and it's been working fine so far. The former youngster said it doesn't hurt anymore, but the outer nail hasn't healed yet."

"The wound is indeed a snake bite."

"So, is there a way to fix it?"

"No, the divine chrome is made in the shape it was made in. It can't be repaired. Ask Daozu when you have time. Okay, just put some tape on it first. It's not a big deal anyway, and you're not leaking. This matter is more important now."

He opened the drawer and took out the yellow billiard ball.

"You came just in time. I was going to return the snake pill to you. I've finished researching it and there's no damage."

"Any results?"

"The result is... You gave us a new solution - encapsulation. It's a bit complicated, but just know it works. Are you still going to use that peach torpedo?"

"Of course, it still has to be used. But that peach doesn't seem reliable. Why did it just crash into the door?"

"It could be that it locked something inside the door. Can you ensure it won't lock again? If not, I suggest you consider cooperating with me."

"Huh?" Shangluo was stunned for a moment, "You want to help me?"

"The Yanshan Research Institute can help you create the Xuantan Tiger, and we can certainly help you here. Considering the importance of this matter, I'll do it myself. I'll visit your fleet tomorrow afternoon and tell them I'm your instructor."

"Wait! Wait! Is this unnecessary? What if someone recognizes you when you go there?"

"Shangluo." He looked Shangluo in the eyes. "Actually, I have a big discovery, a very important one, which is why I want to test it out in the field. Your car might be a good platform. After all, on the racetrack, there are all kinds of people showing off their skills, and there are also cars like the Xuantan Tiger equipped with Torso turbo propulsion. I'm wondering if the technology I have has potential."

"Do you mean."

Chapter 469 Taiyi Jinhua

"Encapsulation." He pointed at the snake pill. "It's too long to explain. I'll go back and try it out on site and you'll see. If it succeeds, you'll be the first person to witness it—I call this technique: [Taiyi Jinhua·Heaven and Earth Harmony]. An ultimate solution based on the Lingsha device."

"Wait! Why does this name sound scary?! What is it???"

"I felt the need to tell you. It's the entanglement and collision of spiritual energy and evil spirit. It shouldn't have been possible anyway, but—you gave me the inspiration, and we can encapsulate it. My test piece is being refined in the furnace right now, and the results will be out tomorrow. I'll examine it and then bring it to you for testing."

"Wait! That's not going to explode!"

"It's okay. If it was going to explode, it would have already exploded in my furnace. Oh, right."

He took out his Fetion card and dialed the number.

"Hello? Song Shanggong? It's me. Please ask her if she has any plans for tomorrow afternoon. A group meeting, right? Ask if it can be postponed. There's something important going on here. Tell her that [Heaven and Earth Harmony] is on the horizon."

After a while, someone else came on the other end of the phone:

"It's me. What's going on?"

"It went very smoothly. Shangluo agreed to it because I'm here. We'll go test it out on his car tomorrow afternoon. His platform is very good. As the designer, I think it'd be best for you to be there in person. That way you'll be more responsible."

"I understand. I'll go. I'll hang up first. I'll be back for dinner tonight."

After Zhu Xianxun hung up the phone, Shangluo asked:

"The person on the other end of the phone is..."

"Yes, it's her, my wife. Of course, now I'm the one who's at home all day long, while she's out. I've been away from the front lines of research for many years. Before, whether it was spiritual fluid or something else, I just confirmed the feasibility and ultimately handed it over to my friends. This time, it happens to be her research direction: evil spirits. But this time, it's not just evil spirits, but also spiritual energy."

"So, what do I need to prepare?"

"Talk to your car's spirit. Tomorrow I'm going to install a spiritual device based on [Heaven and Earth Unity] in your car. It should be able to improve your car's strength to a higher level. It's not just an improvement in individual performance, but a leap forward as a whole. Of course, you don't have to thank me."

"What do you mean by thank you?! I haven't even agreed yet! The competition is coming up soon, and we've already frozen the project. How can we add something so big to it now?"

"I strongly suggest you install a Lingsha device—because Wudang also installed one!"

"what???"

"Yes, Wudang installed one in their car. I won't go into the specifics of its function, but it's not [Heaven and Earth Harmony], it's something else. Telling it would be against the rules, and as someone who knows about it, I have to keep it a secret. Since they've installed one, I suggest you make sure to keep your balance. Otherwise, even if you're behind the Xuantan Tiger, you probably won't win."

"Did they get your help too?"

"It's with the help of another research institute. So this is simply a fight between gods. This is not a children's competition, this is a battle of magic. During the competition, there will be a real person on site to supervise and ensure that you don't have any safety accidents. Since it's a battle of magic, it requires all the help of the Eight Immortals. It's a miracle that you have come this far without the help of a powerful person."

He pointed at himself again and said, "I'm not a powerful person, but I am your senior brother. No matter what, it's not excessive for me to guide you as your senior brother."

"Then give it a try?"

"Yes, try it. But you have to hold the steering wheel yourself and fasten your seat belt. No matter what, you still have to drive this car."

"Okay." Shangluo nodded. "Then, let's give it a try. No matter what, it's never too much to become stronger. Sometimes I wonder if it's a bit shameless for me to drive with my celestial body, but it turns out they're not afraid of me at all."

"See you tomorrow then. Oh, and before you go, put this on."

He took out a jade token, a common Feixin token.

"this is"

"It's from Phaethon. She can now store and utilize spiritual energy, so I quickly made one for her to help her study and research. Forward my contact information to her later, and I'll add her to the Dan Xiu study group so she can familiarize herself with it first."

"Great!!!" Phaethon cheered, "I can go online now! I finally have my own phone!"

"Hey, hey, hey, keep your voice down." Shangluo glanced outside from the booth at the Golden Arches. "Someone heard us."

"Oh, I work here and I'm not aware of it. There's no one here at this hour. Wait, what's Yanqiu's number? I'll add her."

"Add everyone in this row." Shangluo listed them for her. "Yanqiu, and your prospective master. He said that cultivation depends on the individual. After adding his Feixin number, he will send you the study materials. There is also a group for alchemy practitioners. If you have any questions, ask in the group. Oh, by the way..."

"what?"

"Medicinal herbs." Shangluo reminded, "The most important thing about that group is buying medicinal herbs, because spiritual items can only be bought in specific places. The group has instructions. It also includes where to buy them and what to say when buying. You'll know once you join the group."

"Okay, let me see. Zhu Qi? Who is this?"

"Zhu Qi is him. He can't just use his real name, right? This guy likes to use pseudonyms everywhere he goes. Zhu Qi's pseudonym is used in the Imperial Guard, Zhu Da's pseudonym is used to make puppets, and it seems he has another pseudonym for his research."

"Oh~~ I'm so excited~~" She was so happy that she put the mop aside, "Hey, what is this snowman?"

"Snowman? Are there any pre-installed games? Are there also pre-installed forums?"

"The one with the pineapple pattern?"

"Yeah, that one. Looks like they're updating it over there too. Are you going back now?"

"Wait a moment, I'm going to the station to pick up Yanqiu. She's coming back today. Okay, send her a message first~"

"Ah, finally." Shangluo leaned back on the sofa after returning home. "Everything has been going on track lately, which is great. After the car race is over and I've proven myself, I can try to do something bigger. So later on I thought, it's really important to get an 'expert' to help me, so that I can immediately intimidate the others."

Phaethon was also very happy. How should I put it? I'll thank you on her behalf. She seemed to have forgotten to say it, as she was still scrolling through her phone.

"No thanks, it's my duty. Just consider it a gift from the company. Now that she has Fetion, it's more convenient for her to work. But this way, you can talk to her too, right?"

"We've already had a conversation inside, so I'm not in a rush. We can still have daily calls, but it's usually just the two of us, and now it looks like we'll have to add another person. Ah, I hope there won't be more. You know what I mean?"

There is another chapter to be posted tomorrow during the day. I will post it earlier.

Chapter 470 Party A

"Are you sure you want to add anything at this point?"

At noon, during a round of rallies with the team, Shangluo's proposal shocked Qi Yuan: "The race is only a few days away. Are you sure you want to do something like this now?"

She looked straight at Shangluo.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Tell me the reason now before anyone else comes. Otherwise, you might be questioned even more. Because if even I can't understand you, then I'm afraid no one else can understand you."

"Isn't there Xiao Han?"

"He's an exception. He wouldn't object if you poured Wangzai milk into the gas tank. But I have to consider everyone's opinions. So, tell me why."

"What if I say it's an imperial decree?"

"Huh? Stop joking, okay?"

"Ahem, it was actually Party A's request."

"Is it Party A? Then there's nothing we can do. How can we add it if there's nothing we can do?"

"Does this convince you???"

"Since we've accepted their sponsorship, we have to meet their reasonable demands. And I believe Party A won't mess around so easily; there must be a reason. And, I actually trust you, too, so I'm listening to your reasons, aren't I?"

"Ah," Shangluo shook his head. "No wonder you're the team manager. You really know how to run our business as a whole. I'm thinking of hiring you."

"What to do?"

"Well, let's talk about this later. I've always found working with you to be a hassle-free experience. Now that we're graduating, I'm actually a little reluctant to leave."

"Mr. Yuwen said the same thing. He said that without me as the class monitor, he would lose a great leader. Our class is also the best class he has ever taught. It's a pity that you didn't follow us from the first grade until now."

"By the way, where are you going to study? With your grades, you should be able to go wherever you want."

"Yes, so I chose Sunchon University."

"Where are you going? Are you going that far?"