Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

He shouted, and then he could control himself.

"Oh my goodness," Wen Yuan replied in the discussion group. "That's a scary feeling."

"You still feel something? What do you feel?"

"That's right. If someone points at you between the eyebrows, you'll feel it, right? The feeling I had just now was the same, only ten times stronger. I felt like ten people were pointing at me between the eyebrows, and I kept thinking something was flying towards me. I felt like something was pointing at me, and I even felt like the entire chariot was swaying forward."

"Yes, that's right." Shangluo replied, "This weapon is based on Roman technology. It can capture and lock onto targets."

"Shouldn't this be used on fighter jets? To capture the enemy and lock onto them."

"So the Romans used it on torpedoes. But it can't lock onto everything. For example, if it uses heat, then jet-powered fighters are easier to lock onto, while old propeller-driven fighters are less obvious on thermal imaging. We have to directly smash the markings to scan and lock onto them, otherwise it would be difficult."

"Hey~ I say~~" Wen Yuan suggested, "How about we knock a bottle on the back of someone's car?"

"."

"What a genius! Why didn't I think of that!" Apollonia jumped out, "This guy is good, this trick is not bad. What do you think?"

Before Shangluo could reply, Qi Yuan said, "No, we'll be caught."

"So as long as we don't get caught, it's fine, right?" Wen Yuan asked back, "I thought you were going to object."

"Why should I object? There's no rule in the rules that forbids us from smashing colorless and odorless liquid on other people's cars, right? There's no such rule at all. In other words, personal injury is not allowed, otherwise I would have given the other team a beating on the chin. What could be more important than winning?"

[Wow, this little girl is more rational than she looks. When she becomes rational, her courage is quite scary.]

"Well," Shangluo interjected, "I'm not saying it's impossible. I think we can try it, too. But I chose this plan because the Xuantan Tiger's markings are very obvious. To put it in an analogy, they're like jet engines, with all the heat ejected to the back, making them incredibly visible. We can actually lock onto them without even needing to knock a bottle of phlogiston. I'm knocking one on you because your tank can't be directly locked onto."

"Eh~~" Wen Yuan asked, "Don't you think the other teams should knock too?"

"So you mean one bottle per person? Do you think we should label them all?"

"That's right. Warfare is all about deception. To win, you have to use every possible tactic. Also, we have to be generous with our enemy's strength. You can't just focus on who seems to be the fastest right now. No one will know who is the fastest until the end."

"Hmm" Shangluo thought about it.

He thought of what Zhu Xianxin had mentioned to him - there was also a "Taiyi Jinhua" on the Wudang team's car, but it was not the same as Tiandi Datong, but another model, another technique.

"That makes sense. You, the dog-headed military strategist, are quite useful."

"Hehe, if you call me Dog-Head Military Advisor, I'll take it as a compliment. This is a military academy."

"So who's going to knock?" Qi Yuan asked. "I think we should. How about knocking when they get here? I think knocking someone else would be fine."

"No," Shangluo replied, "That blind guy Gao Shiyu is looking for this phlogiston mark. Hitting him directly is no different from throwing paint on him. He's not really blind. We have to choose the right time. But I also need to know the movements of the other teams. Where is the Lan Fang team?"

"It seems the training ground they arranged at Guoxing's place is even bigger than ours, believe it or not, because Guoxing can rent a professional track for them to use."

"Hehehe~~ Then I will~~" Shangluo smiled, "Although this may not seem very authentic. But since it doesn't violate the rules, I'll go there myself. I'll ask Gao Shiyu for a few more of these phlogiston bottles. You guys should smooth things over and don't let him get suspicious. As for the Coke, treat him to a few more. He's quite easy to talk to."

"Ah, you said I like to take advantage of loopholes. You see, the end of the game is to take advantage of loopholes. But it's true, it's not good to not take advantage of an advantage. So, are you going to do it yourself?"

"Of course. In a real business war, no, a real competition, the key figures must take part in it personally. I'll also be the one to do the wall-climbing work myself. Well, Guoxing took the pill, right? I'll ask Guoxing where he is and go give him a follow-up check."

Chapter 478 Intelligence

Gao Shiyu sat at the long table in the lounge.

"You want my torch bottle? Um. Are you thirsty?"

"Is this stuff drinkable?"

"Yes, I try it sometimes. It's minty."

"I wonder what a man who drinks milk does to a cow. But I'm not here to drink it."

"Then what are you doing here? I didn't say anything when you asked for a bottle last time. Why do you want another one?"

"it works."

"Okay." He untied another bottle from his waist. "If you say it's useful, then it's useful. Here's a bottle for you."

"Do you have five bottles?"

"Five bottles? You're drinking it like Wangzai milk, no, no."

He looked at Shangluo for a while and asked, "Do people often say this to you?"

"Huh? How did you figure that out?"

"Because you don't look surprised at all. Do you often ask others to borrow things? I see you seem to be very familiar with it. And the things you want seem to be unimportant, but very rare. For example, there are a lot of phlogiston, but you should know that this thing can't be given to anyone casually."

"Oh, am I a 'casual' person? Of course not. You can still trust my character, right? I will definitely not use it to do anything illegal."

"Okay. I have to keep it a secret, but I do have a ton of them. Can I ask what they can do for me?"

"thirsty."

"Alright." He put the bottle on the table. "I won't ask anymore. We'll know when the time comes. You must be planning something big in the competition. But I'm not worried. You can't win."

"Hmm~~ Not bad, very energetic."

"I didn't say it casually. I said this because I got important information about this competition. Do you know what this competition is about?"

Gao Shiyu lowered his voice and said again -

"Huh? Better than this?"

"That's why my sister didn't come today. She's responsible for preparing this. But I'm not completely sure, so we have to wait until Wudang arrives."

"Yes, I've received similar information." Zhang Baoling nodded. "We can probably, roughly, determine that the event of this competition will be cross-country."

Shangluo was still shocked when he heard the news again.

"Can Formula One racing be better than off-road racing?!!"

"Theoretically, it's not possible. But once you eliminate all impossibilities, it becomes possible. Furthermore, we and the Yanshan team unexpectedly reached the same conclusion. This shows that the credibility of this conclusion has increased significantly. Let me first explain what we have observed. We know that the Longjiang team hasn't reached the finals in a long time, and there must be some problems with your intelligence gathering."

"Yeah," Qi Yuan nodded. "After entering the finals, I suddenly found that there were more things to deal with, and many of them were beyond our familiar range. So, what did you see?"

"First of all, the finals won't be held exclusively in stadiums; there will definitely be road courses. We only have a few days left before the competition, but we haven't noticed any signs of traffic blockades in Yingtian City—unless the court intends to force us to drive directly into traffic on the highway."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Shangluo nodded. "Such a big move will definitely leave some clues."

"We also investigated other possibilities," Zhang Baoling continued. "We looked for other racetracks around Yingtian that could be used as venues, including tracks we've used in previous races. We found that none of them showed signs of having been used before—if they weren't using public roads or racetracks, then the only option was off-road."

"We really need to go off-road." Shangluo touched his chin. "So, is it legal for us to ask about this?"

"It is of course within the rules to guess the answer based on clues. After all, this is all information from public intelligence. It is not against the rules to inquire about public information."

"Does Lan Fang know about this?"

"I think they probably know it, too. Guoxing is also gathering intelligence, and our intelligence levels should be comparable—because at best, we can only collect public intelligence. Spreading private information is against the law. And the upper limit of public intelligence is actually here. It can't be increased much more. After all, this isn't a test in the exam room. This is a race car, and the noise is enormous. Aside from some last-minute changes, we can probably guess most of it."

"By the way, does this itself count as part of the exam?"

"Of course not." Zhang Baoling nodded. "This exam is about developing problem-solving skills, not deliberately torturing us. So as long as we can solve the problem, that's fine. When faced with a real problem, no one would tie their own hands and feet, right? Of course, everyone would use their own unique abilities. Therefore, the rules are only there to ensure the greatest degree of fairness, not to make things difficult for us."

"Hmm," Shangluo glanced at the [Tian Dao Shadow Puppet] in the garage, "We don't have to worry about that. What about you guys?"

"We don't have to worry," Zhang Baoling replied. "Everything is fine with our car."

"It's going to be a bit of a hassle for us. The Xuantan Tiger isn't designed for off-road racing, and it has a very large intake volume. The debris in the engine will increase our workload and reduce its accuracy. But we're already preparing, and we'll have a plan when the time comes. Now that this situation is confirmed, things are going to get even more complicated. Ah, it's over, we're going to lose."

Qi Yuan was responsible for the subsequent content. Shangluo went to the side to rest first, because one person could handle the technical details.

"How is it?" he asked Qi Yuan after the meeting.

"I always feel like that Xiao Gao isn't being very honest. He says he's almost finished, but he doesn't look like he's finished. I don't know where he's going to end up."

"You'd better not believe what that little blind man says. He has the confidence of a sixth-grade boy and the strategy of a first-grade student. Don't listen to what he says, just watch what he does. If this is a cross-country race, do you have any defenses?"

"It's simple. Our suspension is naturally adapted to off-road tracks. Even uneven terrain can be handled with the independent suspension on each wheel. But it seems a bit absurd. How can we possibly go off-road? Racing cars aren't off-road vehicles. The chassis are all lower than a slipper. If we really follow this, I'm afraid we'll be the only ones who can run."

Shangluo shook his head. "Anyway, regardless of anything else, we should just improve our skills step by step. I still have a trick up my sleeve."

Chapter 479 Follow-up consultation

"Do we have any backup plan?"

"I have one last trick up my sleeve. I don't know why, but I feel a sense of threat. Each of these guys is a tough bunch. Even though they appear to be on good terms with us, they all want to win, and I absolutely cannot lose. We need to be more prepared, twice as prepared as they appear. I'm going to go back and work on some technical issues."

"It's actually about the challenge of immortal arts, right?"

Shangluo nodded. "If we succeed this time, we'll be able to establish an asymmetric advantage over everyone. It depends on whether we can pull it off. But before that, I have a promise."

"Ah, Shangluo, sit down quickly."

Shangluo and Zheng Shijie met in the teahouse on the third floor of Jinling Hotel. Zheng Shijie was traveling light this time, without anyone else, as this required confidentiality.

He had taken the snake pill, and the full extent of the situation had yet to be fully ascertained. He had indeed gained advantages unavailable elsewhere, but as previously stated: no one knew what would happen next. Therefore, the follow-up visit to Shangluo was crucial.

"So, let's start now?" Shangluo said straight to the point.

"Are we starting now? Shouldn't we observe, smell, and ask first?"

"We'll know after taking his pulse." He pulled out his phone, unplugged a light silver thread, and tied it around Zheng Shijie's wrist. The teahouse offered good privacy, and since the tea had already been served, no one would be looking in here for the time being.

"Apollonia, run a diagnostic on him and see what's going on."

[Hmm] With the help of silk thread to diagnose his pulse, Apollonia obtained his physiological indicators.

[Physiologically, everything is normal; he's very healthy now. Comparing this with previous examination results reveals that Zheng Shijie's condition is indeed improving. He never had any illnesses to begin with, and now he's practically entering the 'strong' state of Qi training. Ordinary illnesses are unlikely to harm him, or rather, those injuries are unlikely to spread under the suppression of Qi. Snake venom can be suppressed, trauma can be suppressed, cold toxins, heat toxins, and so on. He's in this state now. However...]

"but what?"

But it always feels too smooth? It always feels so typical. You know, everyone's physique is different. He cleared his meridians like a textbook, even going through a very typical process of expelling impurities from his pores—Wen Yuan and the others didn't go through that process at all. Each of their breakthroughs was different, and their strengths varied somewhat. Specifically, each of them had their own strengths and weaknesses. But Zheng Shijie's situation remained completely unchanged.

"Are you saying that your fear of Snake Dan actually sealed his fate?"

It's hard to say for now. And this isn't necessarily a bad thing for a cultivator; after all, having a clue is better than groping blindly. But you're different. You're the leader, and sharing such a predetermined fate isn't what you're after. His most defining characteristic is... his zhenqi has become cold and sinister.

"So it can generate attributes?"

I suspect he actually developed the legendary 'spiritual roots'—and they're Qi spiritual roots. But as you know, Wen Yuan and the others never mentioned any spiritual roots. If these spiritual roots, induced by medicinal power and endowed with special properties, became the norm, then these naturally cultivated cultivators would probably be considered exceptional geniuses with 'heavenly spiritual roots.'

“Is this how it should be?”

Apollonia hesitated for a moment. "I can't say for sure. We need to observe. But if he truly has Qi spiritual roots, that would be a lot of fun. I'm afraid he'll really have to find Qi-attributed techniques, or Qi-generating Wood techniques to practice. This would simply put him at a distance from the traditional path of immortality."

"He seems to be enjoying it?"

After all, he couldn't cultivate before, so this actually solved the problem of creating something from nothing. As for whether he would be confined by the framework of spiritual roots in the future, that would depend on his luck.

"Well, I'll tell him the truth."

After explaining all this to Zheng Shijie, he remained quite calm.

He asked Shangluo, "Can I achieve immortality?"

"Theoretically, even if you truly determined the so-called 'Heavenly Spiritual Root', the chances of success are slim. For now, Guoxing, just keep this body healthy, and our entire civilization will continue to advance. But I have a suggestion: it's best not to delve too deeply into the power of this snake pill. I suggest you practice general techniques instead. Because once you become trapped by the word 'qi', the earth will come to destroy you. On the other hand, others, without revealing their attributes, are invulnerable."

Zheng Shijie nodded, agreeing with him.

"Well, then, I'll be busy. I have a lot of things to do. Take care of yourself, Guoxing."

"Are you ready?" Apollonia confirmed with him atop the Tower of Babel. "If anything is dangerous, this is the most dangerous. You're about to try something that will literally send everyone on board away. It's a mind-blowing experience."

After confirming Zheng Shijie's situation, he became even more convinced of the necessity of "cultivation." He didn't want to be bound by a fixed attribute, even if it was "the unity of heaven and earth." Another path was already laid out before him.

When the crew of Ω39 broke away, they suddenly decelerated from a state of 365 times acceleration, and their physical condition could not keep up with this sudden change.

Then the person was gone. It happened so quickly that the person didn't even have time to react.

"Are you ready if you have to repeat the process now?"

"I know. It's okay."

"Well, first of all, we have to be clear: you can't eat the Creation Pill, and you can't use it to protect yourself. This is because it essentially allows people to enter a transcendent state, not maintain the status quo. This looks very similar to 'Heaven and Earth Harmony', but there seem to be differences in the details. Heaven and Earth Harmony aims for a comprehensive improvement in the Golden Core Stage, while this is merely an acceleration - it's more like magic."

"So, I'm not too keen on using that Tiandi Datong (Great Unity of Heaven and Earth)," Shangluo replied. "There are some issues with the Guoxing plan. It does compress spiritual energy, but it seems to allow me to enter the pre-set path prematurely. The Jindan stage might not be limited to just one experience. If I define my own path ahead of time, I'm afraid I might regret it later. I don't want just one or two attributes. I'm an adult now, and I want them all."

After saying this, he glanced at the bottle Zhu Xianxun had given him, which still contained a few "Heaven and Earth Great Harmony" pills. "Let's keep these for emergency use—for the rest, we'd better rely on ourselves. And who knows, our acceleration might be more stable."

"Well, let's get started. Put on this outfit first."

Phlogiston stealth combat suit, this is the suit he wore when he was implementing the Golden Bough Plan.