Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"Left is zero, right is fire! Thunder god, help me!"

With a loud "bang", the hammer head produced a shower of sparks and knocked off a large piece of paint on the generator.

A low humming sound began to rise, rising in pitch and volume. No one had pressed the reset button, but the generator had automatically switched to restart mode.

light is on.

"You three, do this." Under the dumbfounded gaze of the old fitter, Shangluo placed the talisman that had just fallen to the ground on the part where the paint had been knocked off:

"Use this yellow paper as a mark. Next time you don't behave, hit him! Hit him here. If one hit isn't enough, hit him a few more times. Hit him until he's back to normal. This is how you fix broken household appliances. Don't spoil them. If you spoil them, they'll break down."

"Is this okay?"

"Like causes lead to like results. I think that's fine." He put the hammer back into the toolbox. "I'm leaving now. Call me next time if you have any questions."

"Hey, wait! Xiao Shang, don't leave yet. I can't let you go for nothing. I have to treat you to a big meal anyway!"

The Golden Gate Building housed the Governor's Office, but the 14-story podium below housed the Golden Gate Hotel. It served as the Yangzhou Governor's Office's guesthouse and also served as the dining hall for the San Francisco Acropolis. Three free meals a day were provided with a voucher. However, this was limited to artisans and military households, as these were on official business trips to Yangzhou and were provided meals by the imperial court.

The food there is actually quite good, but Shangluo has never really liked it.

"The second floor is free, but you have to pay to eat on the third floor. Let's go, it's almost time for dinner, let's hurry up while there are fewer people. Come on, let's go together, let's all go."

"Burp~" After waving goodbye to the guard who was escorting him, Shangluo held the door and returned to the watch shop.

He was so full from the meal. He ate too many radishes and his stomach was still bloated.

That’s right, the so-called “big meal” is radish.

"Burp~~~" He burped again. "Why is it always radishes? The free meals on the second floor are at least stewed radishes with meat, but the meals on the third floor, which require payment, are all radishes, and in all colors. It's like a radish meeting."

When he opened the door, the room was pitch black because the light bulb was broken. He turned off the light bulb and was about to replace it with a new one he had brought from the Acropolis.

"Are you full? Very good, we can get going." A cold voice came from behind the door.

Before Shangluo could even shout, a sack was thrown over him from head to toe. His vision went dark.

Several people carried him to the back door, and Shangluo was stuffed into the trunk with a sack.

The car started up, and a strong roar came from the engine in the front. Then there was a dizzying moment -

"Think, thump."

When he came to his senses again, the wheels had gone over a few speed bumps. The car was out of the city, and he couldn't even tell the direction, or whether it had passed the Golden Gate Bridge.

Less than half a minute after leaving the house, the road conditions suddenly deteriorated. The wheels of the car, crushing gravel on the bumpy concrete road, occasionally sent the passengers practically flying. But the driver, seemingly in a hurry, just kept on accelerating.

Slowly, the smell changed. No longer the faint scent of city smog—the aroma of wheat seedlings seeped in through the closed car windows. It was the time when the wheat seedlings were filling, and if he took off his blindfold at this moment, he knew he would see endless green fields. Most of the New World was like this; every arable land was being properly cultivated. The dull roar of a compression-ignition tractor drifted in the distance, the sound of pesticides being sprayed in the wheat fields. Most of the gasoline saved elsewhere was being used here.

Besides wheat fields, there are radish fields. Yangzhou produces not only grain but also those big radishes.

After an unknown number of hours, the road suddenly deteriorated. A moment ago, even with its potholes, it was still cement, but now it was dirt. Even a military vehicle would have swayed like a tumbler on this road.

Fortunately, the car stopped not long after it left the main road.

"Get off the car, Mr. Shang." They finally said the first words in several hours.

A big man with a red neck opened the car door for him, helped him out of the car, and took off his blindfold.

He subconsciously closed his eyes to prevent the sudden return of light from piercing his eyes. But the surroundings were still pitch black.

Cold water dripped from above, dripping from the stalactites. In the dim light, Shangluo saw a wet flag stretched out among the stalactites: an English cross, a Scottish cross, and an Irish cross arranged in a Union Jack.

"That is."

Shangluo knew that this flag couldn't possibly exist at this moment. A country called "Great Britain" had never existed in this world. England, Scotland, and Ireland were all independent. London only flew the flag of England, and that flag clearly didn't originate from this era.

"It's the flag of the British Empire. The empire that should have existed, the Victorian era that should have existed. Not the big shack that smells of horse manure on the Thames. Our angels will help us rebuild the empire, and we will drink Darjeeling tea once again."

"You want to rebel? Do you know what you are doing?"

Shangluo warned them sternly. There were no civilians in Yangzhou; almost everyone had an errand. Kidnapping an official was a dead end, a punishment that would be plundered and purged.

"Of course, we know what will happen. In the worst case, we will be ploughed and ploughed, and every one of us will be skinned and strawed. But you are the guest of the angels, and we must invite you. Please come forward, the angels and the senators are waiting for you."

Chapter 3 No Taboos

The elevator slowly descended, with people in front, behind, left and right, sandwiching Shangluo in the middle.

"Since they call themselves the 'British Empire', do they speak English?" Shangluo was a little curious.

About a minute later, the elevator stopped and the inner door opened, but the outer door remained closed, with only a small window opened. A face leaned out of the window and shouted:

“Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

Shangluo listened silently from behind, and he felt something was amiss. They were speaking English, sure, but their speech was slow, their words and sentences stiff. They didn't sound like native English speakers at all, perhaps even worse than him.

The halting conversation lasted two minutes. Judging by the standard of English in Shangluo, the two men who claimed to want to revive the "British Empire" had barely moved beyond the realm of introductory English conversation textbooks.

As for high-level terms such as "Yangzhou Camp" and "Jinyiwei" used in exchanging intelligence, they had to be transliterated, so Shangluo could understand them even if he didn't know English.

"Mr. Shang, I'm sorry for being a bit abrupt earlier. Let me introduce myself, my name is Franklin. Please come this way, the Senator is waiting for you." After finishing the conversation with the person at the window, Franklin switched to the standard Jinling accent. Shang Luo felt that this accent was much better than his own.

"It's okay, it's okay, I'm not in a hurry." He glanced down at his watch. He had no interest in helping these people restore the "British Empire," nor did he believe there were any miracles to witness down there. He just wanted to figure out whether these people were after money or their lives.

The iron gate opened, and the two of them turned several corners in the long corridor behind it. The walls here were damp, still retaining the surface of a cave. Water flowed down along the walls, flowing through the gutter at the base. The air was filled with a damp, musty smell, and the odor of varnished newly renovated wood.

The two stopped in front of a wooden door. The smell of paint came from the door, which was obviously not yet dry.

Before they could knock on the door, it opened from the inside out.

A gentleman in a tuxedo appeared behind the door. As soon as they met, he shook Shangluo's hand enthusiastically:

"Hello, hello. Are you Mr. Shang?" His expression was filled with excitement, and his mustache trembled with the movement of his mouth. Similarly, he spoke with a standard Jinling accent, much more elegant than Shangluo's.

He led Shangluo into the room, where a large desk sat opposite. But as if to appear more welcoming, he led Shangluo to the sofa in the corner, pressed his shoulders, and asked Shangluo to sit down. He then sat across from him.

"Let me introduce myself first. I'm Senator Jefferson from California. What would you like to drink? I heard coffee is popular in Yujing now."

"Tea will be fine. Thank you."

"While we're waiting for tea, let me discuss today's business with you." Jefferson smiled. "Everything is based on you. You are the angel's chosen one and our most distinguished guest. When this is over, you can choose whether to stay or go."

Shangluo thought for a moment and then asked, "So what exactly happened? How do your angels practice magic? And why did they find me?"

"That's a long story. We were originally looking for your father, a renowned clockmaker. But after investigation, we discovered that you are the true treasure. There's a Persian proverb: When it comes to craftsmanship, only the Ming have both eyes. The Romans are blind in one eye, and everyone else is blind. Do you know why?"

"why?"

"Because some of you have mastered the flow of 'Qi'. Clearly, Mr. Shangluo, you are one of them. You are the inheritor of those ancient skills, and you are born with extraordinary vision, able to see hidden things that ordinary people like us cannot see. I don't know how you do it, but I believe you can definitely help us."

"But why should I help you?"

"I knew it would happen." Jefferson looked him in the eye. "So, allow me to show you a little miracle."

He pointed to the table. There had always been a small, unassuming copper box there, which looked like a card box.

Jefferson opened the box—and sure enough, it contained cards. Like a magician, he presented the cards to Shangluo.

It was a set of exquisitely printed playing cards on coated paper. The upper left corner displayed the numbers and suits: spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs. But the design on the cards wasn't just an arrangement of symbols; it was a detailed image. The Ace of Spades had a sword, the Two of Spades had two swords, and so on, increasing in number to ten swords, all the way up to the Ten of Spades. J, Q, K also corresponded to the sword-wielding Knight, Queen, and King, respectively.

Hearts, diamonds and clubs also correspond to the Holy Grail, Coins and Wands respectively.

"Cups, Swords, Pentacles, and Wands. This is the predecessor of modern playing cards, the Minor Arcana Tarot. Of course, the deck in front of you is indeed a playing card, as there is no Page card in it. It just uses elements of Tarot."

"You brought me here just to perform magic tricks for me?"

"It's not magic, it's divine power. Once you've witnessed the power of angels, you'll join us. Please take out a coin first."

Shangluo happened to have a coin in his pocket.

The silver dollar has a face value of one liang and was minted in the first year of Shaoping, that is, a new coin minted two years ago. The front side has one liang and the back side has the four characters "Shaoping Tongbao" engraved on it.

The silver dollar is the largest denomination coin, and it is equivalent to one tael of silver.

The denomination of one liang is actually quite large, as it is equivalent to 1000 wen. A bus ride costs only 2 wen, a subway ride costs 5 wen, a bottle of Coke costs 3 wen, and two steamed buns cost 5 wen, or li each.

Because the denomination was so large, one tael of silver was only used on important occasions, such as paying salaries, giving out red envelopes, and giving out New Year's money.

"It's a beautiful silver dollar. Let's use it. Please toss it once."

Shangluo said nothing. He tossed it into the air and caught it with both palms, one side facing up, the other side facing down. After the toss, he stared into Jefferson's eyes, wanting to see what tricks he would come up with next.

"Please confirm which side is facing up. Don't tell me. I'll guess." After saying that, he began to fiddle with the playing cards in his hand.

He would draw a few from here, a few from there, spread them out in a row, and then shuffle them back.

"Heads." Jefferson suddenly paused. He looked up at Shangluo and said, "Your coin is heads."

He opened his hand and found that the front side was facing up, with the denomination of one tael written on it.

"But what about after that? I can do this too. Just half."

"Then please come again." Jefferson made a "please" gesture.

Shangluo did as he was told. He threw and caught it once, and this time the touch was the same as before, also facing forward.

"Heads." Jefferson put down the cards in his hand and gave the answer much faster than before.

"." Shangluo was silent for a while.

He was indeed puzzled. It wasn't about probability; guessing correctly twice in a row wasn't a small probability event. He was puzzled by the fact that Mr. Jefferson seemed so certain that he would guess correctly every time. And he didn't hesitate at all.

He asked Jefferson, "Did you see that? Is there any mark on the back of this card?"

"It wasn't me who saw it, but the angels."

"How do you prove it?"

Jefferson smiled. "It's easy to prove—would you like to learn?"

"Huh?" Shangluo was stunned for a moment.

If he felt a little confused before, what surprised him most was that he could "learn".

He examined the playing cards before him, initially thinking they might be influenced by some kind of "qi." But he saw nothing. The cards looked normal. There was no qi flowing, and certainly no complex machine capable of producing some kind of "emotion."

Qi sensation obviously can't be learned. But can this be learned? Is this truly some kind of magic? It's hard to say whether it's magic, but it's definitely not a simple magic trick. The answer to a magic trick might surprise, but the answer can't be mysterious. Unless that answer leads to another unsolved mystery.

"It seems you're already starting to feel surprised. You might initially think this is just some kind of magician's trick? But of course not, this is a miracle. Miracles are like the sun, unconditionally shining on all who come under its rays. If I can do it, you can do it too."

This time, the cards were in Shangluo's hands. Jefferson didn't teach him anything, but just asked him to try to "read" the cards.

"Well, let's start guessing." Jefferson held his coin, eager to try, and waited for Shangluo to guess.

Shangluo had no idea what to do. With the cards in front of him, he wondered if he should shuffle them first.

He took the cards.

"Third-rate magician, why does he love tossing coins so much? Newcomer, you say so, don't you?" The girl's lazy voice came from the void, as if she was already accustomed to such tricks. She didn't seem to expect the "newcomer" to hear her, just saying it casually.

Chapter 4 Forked Road

【New here, you say. 】

"Indeed." Shangluo followed subconsciously.

【.】

"."

Shangluo froze in place, as if something was wrong. It seemed like something was talking just now?

An inexplicable feeling surged up, yet it seemed like an illusion. This was completely different from the previous experience with the generators—this time it wasn't a vague flashback, but a clear and distinct voice. And he was certain it wasn't his own voice.

"Who are you?" he asked subconsciously.

【.】

I could faintly hear panting, but no response.

"Mr. Xiaoshang? What are you talking about?" asked Jefferson next to him.

"Oh, it's okay, I heard it wrong."

[No, no, no, no! You didn't hear it wrong! It turns out you can really hear it! I thought it was just my imagination!]

Just like a drowning person grabbing a life-saving straw, the voice suddenly jumped out, afraid that Shangluo could not hear her. Without waiting for Shangluo to reply, she immediately continued: