Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"Ready 365 times the phlogiston, pumping begins. The concentration is rising. You can stop at any time. But if you want to continue, we will try the whole process."

Chapter 480 Acceleration

On a secluded mountain peak, it was cold and deserted, and one could see the sea of clouds accumulating below.

Thor landed here. —After donning his diving suit, Shangluo took deep breaths of air.

Injecting a huge amount of phlogiston into this "small" tank, the density here is already quite high. He does not need to breathe additional phlogiston, just the air here.

Incidentally, the cylinder on his back was also filled with compressed air—again, no special formula was needed, just pressurization. After all, this place was full of phlogiston, so pressurization was just a matter of pumping air in. This compression wasn't meant to cause a qualitative change, it was simply for Shangluo to breathe.

After putting on the full set of equipment, Shangluo stood there dressed like a diver, except without fins.

"Are you ready?" asked Apollonia in front.

With the respirator in his mouth, he couldn't speak very well and could only nod.

"So, do you want me to help you? Although you can 'bounce out' by opening the furoshiki now, it's just like bungee jumping. Such an exciting activity, sometimes you need someone to help you. So, do you want to do it yourself? Or should I help you?"

He pointed at himself - he wasn't the type of guy who needed someone to push him when bungee jumping, he was going to jump down by himself no matter what.

"Hu." He took another deep breath, took one last step away from Apollonia, and then opened the bundle.

Sizzle, clatter, clatter

With a strange sound, Shangluo collapsed into a ball in an instant and disappeared in front of Apollonia.

"Ah~~ I'm the only one left. Let's see how it works. Ahem? Can you still hear me? Hello, hello, hello? Is the person dead?"

"what do you say?"

As soon as these three words were spoken, Apollonia knew that everything was alright—because she could hear them.

She was currently in the can, accelerating 365 times faster, and couldn't directly hear the sound of the outside world slowing down 365 times. Shangluo could still maintain the same speed outside, indicating that he had indeed succeeded.

"How do you feel now?"

"No. I'm in the wrong place! This thing pops out randomly!"

"Huh? Where are you then?"

"I'm at the shooting range! (Jinling Yayan), Captain Lu is here! Wen Yuan is here, and many Jinyiwei are here. There are some good guys among them, and the emperor is here too!"

Forbidden Army training ground, indoor shooting range.

"Your Majesty, this is the 'New Intermediate Power Automatic Machine Gun,' designed to meet the operational needs of the Storm Troops. It's currently known as the 'Prototype Shaoping 4-Year Storm Gun.'"

"Did all the experiments go well?"

"Preliminary tests have been successfully completed. Recoil, durability, and power are all within control. Especially regarding power, this intermediate rifle uses a 9mm intermediate-power bullet, capable of delivering suppressive fire nearly equivalent to a squad machine gun at a distance of 300 meters. When loaded with tungsten alloy armor-piercing rounds, the penetration power is sufficient to penetrate most light armored vehicles."

"It seems a bit heavy?" Zhu Xianxun reached out and weighed it.

"The weight is within the design specifications. For those mortals outside, it's indeed too heavy. But the soldiers of the Celestial Empire have been consuming spiritual roots since childhood, and after being selected, their physical constitutions have been strengthened to the most basic extent. Therefore, we can carry heavier and more difficult to control heavy weapons - for example, let those mortals outside practice shooting with this gun, and their knuckles will be cracked after just a few shots."

"Well, I'll give it a try."

He held the entire gun in his hand and made a firing gesture.

"It's definitely heavier than the weapons in the Heavenly Book, the ones from my hometown in Shangluo. Their storm rifles are usually 7.62mm or 5.56mm—it's not just about the weight, it's about the overall size."

"Back home in Shangluo, the people there all have mortal physiques and haven't eaten immortal roots. They probably can't hold it either. Also, the Torch Bullet Storm Gun, which is actually meant for Qigong practitioners, is expected to be sent in for inspection this month. It has a 20mm caliber, and each shot is a Torch Rocket. A mortal would probably have to hold it to fire a shot, and only a Qigong practitioner could hold it down."

"Bring it to me when the time comes. Okay, I'll try this one first. Give me the magazine."

He took the magazine from Lu Huaiyang and glanced at it: "Hmm? The bullets are very unique."

"Yes. Like the previous design standards, this gun uses a flush-head bullet. Each bullet is carefully crafted, so it is a 9mm intermediate-power bullet, but it takes up half the space of ordinary bullets, which means we can carry twice as many bullets."

“Are costs met?”

"It's also up to standard—of course, it's definitely not up to standard by mortal standards. This gun costs as much as a car. But it's not a big deal for us. Meticulous craftsmanship is the court's custom. After all, no matter how expensive weapons and ammunition are, they have a price, but human life is priceless. It's not easy for the court to train a citizen, so how can we let a barbarian exchange them for a bullet for nothing?"

"Well, don't worry about the money. The court has plenty of it. It would be even better if I could use my own money."

As he spoke, he turned on the safety, aimed at the target, and held the trigger tightly.

"Malaka!" Apollonia was startled. "What's that noise over there? Why is it rumbling?"

"They're target shooting!"

"Then hide!"

"No, I have to stand there for six minutes before they can see me. I stand there for 365 seconds, which only means I'll stay there for one second. At least they can see my face. Never mind. I'll try to dodge and stay still. I'm afraid I'll be attacked with magic if I run out directly, so I'll at least say hello before leaving."

"Hmm?" Zhu Xianxun blinked suddenly as he held the trigger. Lowering the gun, he asked Lu Huaiyang beside him, "Is there something up ahead? I seem to see a shadow swaying back and forth."

"It really is!" Lu Huaiyang's eyes rolled. "Wow, it moves so fast! Whose magical movement technique is this! Fellow Daoist, leave your name!"

"."

"Master, I'm afraid he's not talking, is he fake?"

"Fellow Daoist? It's not too late to leave after leaving." He shouted, reaching his hand behind his back and hooking his finger at Wen Yuan.

Without saying a word, Wen Yuan raised the explosive gun in his hand and pulled the trigger, shooting out a dazzling torch light -

"Fuck!" Shangluo suddenly dodged to the side.

"What's going on over there?"

"Light gun! Wen Yuan fired a light gun at me, and the beam was at the speed of light! The speed of light remained the same to me! The speed of light didn't slow down at all! Holy shit, I almost got my ears blown off!"

"Eh? If it's at the speed of light, how did you dodge it?"

"

Chapter 481 Beam

"I don't need to be faster than the speed of light, I just need to be faster than he can pull the trigger. Huh???"

As he watched, he saw all the Jinyiwei pull out a talisman from their backs, and lightning burst out from the talisman. They used their sword fingers to wipe away the talisman, and in an instant, the talisman was burned to ash - the next moment, they pulled themselves out of their nearly static state.

Although still in slow motion, their movements have become visible to the naked eye and are constantly accelerating.

Several people protected Zhu Xianxin in the middle, while everyone else took out their Torch Explosive Guns. The burning beams from more than a dozen guns were aimed at Shangluo.

"I knew they had a backup plan! Damn, they're speeding up! They're almost in sync with me! No, it's not them getting faster, it's me who's getting slower! I feel like I'm running out of breath!"

"Then what are you going to do!"

"Wait a minute!" Shangluo stopped right where he was. "He's one of us!"

The figure slowly gathered in front of him, and the figure finally stopped shaking.

"Oh, who did I think it was?" Wen Yuan lowered the gun, and the others also closed the trigger of Ju Su and turned the safety back on.

"Shangluo, how long are you going to speed up? And why are you dressed like this? If you don't say anything, I can't tell."

The speeds of both sides haven't been synchronized yet, but at least they can communicate.

"What did you say? Speak faster???"

Wen Yuan didn't say anything. He took out his Feixin and sent a message to Shangluo: "I asked you to come out of the shooting range. I already recognized it was you."

"What just happened?" Zhu Xianxun looked around in confusion. He only saw the surrounding Jinyiwei suddenly accelerate, and then both sides began to speak in a high-speed divine language. He didn't understand a word. That is until a figure in a diving suit suddenly appeared in front of him, startling him and making him jump back. On second glance, he realized it was Shangluo.

"Why are you dressed like that?"

"Huff, huff. It's hard to explain. I still feel a little nauseous. I should decompress for a while. Do you have any water?"

Zhu Xianxun handed over a bottle of unopened spiritual liquid from the table. Shangluo opened the bottle, tilted his head back and drank it in one gulp.

"Ha~ Much better. So this is what happened."

The shooting was still going on in front, so he and Zhu Xianxun sat down nearby.

"Ah." After listening for a while, Zhu Xianxun understood. "So you were also testing the weapon. Is this body accelerating? You're right not to run. We have protective magic weapons on us, and we move faster than we react. If you rush over rashly, we'll explode. But can't you just stand still? I'll see you in six minutes. Bullets can't hit you anyway."

"First, I realized I couldn't stand still. I was always swaying when I stood, which probably made you dizzy. Then, there was that beam of light."

"Light beam?" Zhu Xianxun glanced at the explosive gun in Wen Yuan's hand. "You mean the torch beam? Oh, indeed, even if the speed of light is reduced, you may not be able to dodge it."

"Actually, it's not a question of whether it slows down or not. I found that it didn't slow down at all. I should have noticed from the beginning that everything around me was normal. There were no unusual phenomena. It didn't look like the speed of light had slowed down. It seems that this thing can only make me faster. But..."

"but what?"

"But I think I can see the difference between this and 'Great Harmony of Heaven and Earth.' 'Great Harmony of Heaven and Earth,' perhaps as a Taoist method, 'Great Harmony of Heaven and Earth' can truly 'transcend light'—oh, by the way, what kind of gun is this?"

From the beginning, Shangluo has been very concerned about the rifles in their hands.

"Isn't this an assault rifle? The imperial court has assault rifles?"

"Yes, but not many." Zhu Xianxun replied, "We call this a Storm Gun. It's used by the Storm Team for assaults. They were previously equipped in Yangzhou. This type is for the Imperial Guard."

“Isn’t this a bit big?”

"I knew you'd find it a little big. It's a little different from your place, isn't it?"

"It's more than just different."

At first glance, it looked significantly larger than a typical assault rifle and seemed quite heavy. The muzzle-fire noise wasn't crisp at all, but rather a muffled rumble, almost like a cannon. The bullets that reached the other end of the range were even deeply embedded in the concrete wall. If used to fire at a vehicle, a single shot at the fuel tank would likely destroy the entire vehicle, even an armored vehicle. Even the side armor of a tank might be a good option. After all, the noise certainly resembled that of an anti-material rifle.

"this is"

"Storm Gun. I just mentioned it," Zhu Xianxi replied. "After all, it's different from your side. We've all eaten spiritual roots, and we place more emphasis on firepower, so the weapons we use appear to have stronger firepower. We can also carry a lot more weight. Of course, this is just a transitional period. We've already started developing weapons for the Celestial Army. But guns and the like are not important."

"I think this gun is already very powerful."

"Yes, it's powerful, but not very important. The court has always believed that individual firearms can be used for a makeshift purpose. It's the artillery that really kills the enemy on the battlefield, isn't it? The infantry is just used to accompany the chariots in battle. So we tried for a long time before deciding on this new rifle. This time, if we have to change it, we will change it all at once, and all the royal armies will change it. We guess we will change it later when the world is prosperous."

"So this is, makeshift?"

"Yes." Zhu Xianxun nodded. "By the standards of the Royal Army, it's passable, as the weight could be reduced. But more important than the guns are the cannons and the vehicles that carry them. If you're interested, you can go and observe them during Wen Yuan and his team's military exercises."

"Well, actually he dragged me over to participate in the competition."

"That's perfect, you can experience it for yourself. Oh, right." Zhu Xianxi suddenly remembered, "Speaking of which, Wen Yuan is a driver in your team, right?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"He can't go. He was going to tell you when he got back. Since you're here, I'll tell it for you."

"Well, I'm really sorry." Wen Yuan on the side lowered her head.

"Is there any reason?"

"The reason is very simple," Zhu Xianxi replied. "As a member of the Imperial Guard, he saw the questions this afternoon. This is the duty of the Imperial Guard—tsk, I forgot about that. By the time he saw the questions, it was already too late. So, as the organizer, to avoid suspicion, he can't drive himself. Also, he's forbidden from contacting you until the start of the competition."

"Wow, wow, wow~~ I've been doing all this testing for them like a hard laborer, just wanting to have a good time during the finals. But they stopped me at the last minute. I also want to cross the finish line in the racetrack."

"Stop howling." Zhu Xianxi shook his head. "If you really want to cross the finish line, go back and blow up a few more tanks during the autumn drills. That's where you should be.

Chapter 482 Learning

"Ah! I hate it so much, I hate it so much. I really want to go drive."

"Let me remind you." Zhu Xianxi shook his head. "If you have anything to tell Shangluo, tell him now. You can't talk to him privately for the next few days, and you can't say a word in the discussion group."

"Now? Okay." He grabbed Shangluo's hand, "Take care."

"Well, take care. I'll drive well on my own."

He had actually wanted to tell Wen Yuan about it, and perhaps let him take over. With the introduction of Tiandi Datong and other technological advancements, this car might not be suitable for people outside of Shangluo. But he couldn't bring himself to ask, which dampened Wen Yuan's enthusiasm.

But now that it's official business, let's just do it as official business.

"And what happened before." He looked at Shangluo, "We agreed that you would also come to our competition. Is that okay?"

"Of course, no problem. I'll definitely be there when the time comes. But, won't there be any confidentiality issues like this?"

"No." Zhu Xianxi shook his head. "The battlefield isn't a test. We won't set up many rigid test questions or other conditions. We will try our best to simulate the actual arena and simulate a real chariot race. Well, although chariot battles are unlikely to happen, the battlefield environment is still relatively realistic."

"Will there be infantry then?"

"No. That's why it's not very realistic. But the coordination between infantry and tanks is a flower formation, which is too dangerous. Letting a group of students run around in front of the tanks, what if they get crushed? The environment inside the tanks is relatively stable and safer, and it's less likely to go wrong on the battlefield. If they really want to use a flower formation, it's only during the formal 'Autumn Drills'."

"Well, that's true." Sometimes because Wen Yuan and the others are too professional, Shangluo sometimes forgets that they are still students.