Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"So this little hammer can actually 'break' defenses? Could it be a magical weapon too?"

"Yeah, probably. It might be able to break through the defense, but it doesn't seem to be working right now."

This was the third time Wen Yuan saw this guy take out a magic weapon casually.

"Why are you covered in magical instruments? Are you Tang Monk? Did Guanyin Bodhisattva give you a complete set of magical instruments before you left? I think it does look like you. There are monsters out there who want to eat your flesh. You are covered in treasures."

"The only thing that can solve the problem is the treasure. So why doesn't it work?"

The hammer was still the same hammer that had once severely wounded Apollonia. Until recently, even the slightest knock from it could shake Apollonia's little world.

How about trying again? He took out the small box containing Apollonia.

[Don't try! This hammer is perfectly normal.] Apollonia hurriedly called a halt.

"How can I know if it's normal if I don't try?"

[Don't you have any sense of touch? You can clearly hear it.]

After she said that, Shangluo remembered.

When he held the hammer before, he always felt itchy, and everything looked like a nail. But now, the hammer didn't feel quite right, and it always felt slippery. This feeling was very mysterious, because a hammer, such a simple object, obviously couldn't generate enough consciousness for him to perceive it.

But it does exist. This hammer has been "blessed" after all, and it feels different from other objects when held in your hand. And the most obvious difference is

"Wen Yuan." He handed the hammer to Wen Yuan next to him.

"You want me to smash it? Not really. Magical weapons usually recognize their masters, and strength has little to do with it. If you can't smash it, I probably can't smash it either."

"You can try. But you should think about it first."

This suggestion struck Wen Yuan as odd. This was just a small hammer, something one would make during metalworking practice. Such a simple part wasn't just for the Wutai Mountain instructors; even those from military families had learned the basics.

It was just an ordinary brass hammer, but he could do it. What was so special about this hammer?

He reached out and took it.

“????” Wen Yuan’s expression twisted, his reaction was even more surprised than when he fell into the trap.

"How is it? Is there anything wrong with this hammer?"

"The density of this hammer is not the density of brass. It is heavier than gold! This weight."

He tossed it in the air to get a more accurate gauge.

"I'm sure. This thing weighs more than any metal I know. This palm-sized hammer actually weighs four or five pounds. What on earth is it made of?"

"It's brass, carved out by me myself. But it's infused with some... some spiritual energy. You can call it that."

"What astonished me wasn't the spiritual energy itself. I've seen things with spiritual energy, and after gathering spiritual energy, they do become heavier—but when it's this heavy, the spiritual energy will definitely dissipate. Because the way of heaven is to reduce the excess and replenish the deficiency, the overloaded spiritual energy will definitely dissipate."

"So this is what spiritual energy is? Why does it sound familiar? Then what about me..."

"Your hammer doesn't actually emit spiritual energy. It's truly amazing, amazing. What is the function of this magical weapon?"

Shangluo thought for a moment and said, "This might be a good way to break the spell."

"So it's a magic weapon that can break spells, but it's useless against this stone statue? Then we may need a bigger one." He stared at the Spear of the Sun God in the white lion's mouth.

After a "communication" with the lion, the disheartened Luoluo opened his mouth. He had recognized that it was Phaethon, but he seemed even more pessimistic than Shangluo. Even the mane on his back drooped down, and he looked a whole circle smaller than before.

Shangluo, who took the spear, was silent for a while.

"what happened?"

"It's too light. It's indeed lighter than what I saw before. It seems that the spiritual energy inside has been almost consumed." Without saying anything more, he turned around and stabbed the stone statue with the Spear of the Sun God.

The stone statue remained motionless, just as it was when it was hit by the hammer.

The two looked at each other, neither of them having any good ideas.

The stone statue stood there quietly, detached from the darkness of space, its appearance displaying variations in light and dark. Like a painting anchored in time and space, everything about it was imprinted on the canvas, frozen there forever.

The two could only circle the statue, looking for any flaws.

"Hey, Shangluo, do you find she's quite pretty? Look at her strong nose, her long ponytail, and her teeth."

"Yakou? Where's your horse?"

"I'm not very familiar with people. I'm more familiar with horses."

"That's right. Your Wutaishan Training School is a school for the garrison. There are more horses than people."

Shangluo was glad that he could remain optimistic in such a situation. This was a good thing. If he had been like the white lion lying beside him, nothing would have been accomplished.

"Wait, Mount Wutai Training Institute? What is that?"

The two looked at each other.

Both of them read surprise, astonishment, and then fear on each other's faces:

"I lost my memory?!" Wen Yuan's fur stood on end. "Is the Wutaishan Training Center so important?"

"It's very important. You were born into a military household, so you should have been attending school there since you were six. You also wanted me to sign your practical report."

"Yes! Practical report. I have a practical report to write. But where should I submit it? I... I can't remember where it is. Wutaishan Training Institute, right? Where is it?"

"It's in Nanjing. To the west is the Stone City, to the south is Jinjikou. The school gate is right at the Wutaishan subway station. It's three stops from the Palace Museum and four stops from the Grand Palace. Next door is the Wutaishan Training School. When we were kids, we always went to the Forbidden City on spring outings. There's a giant rubbing of the Egyptian Sphinx inside. Do you remember it?"

"I can't remember it." Wen Yuan held her head and said, "What happened to me?"

A huge fear gripped the two of them. Fear stemmed from the unknown, and the most terrifying thing was being slowly swallowed by the unknown. This wasn't something that could be solved with optimism.

[Don't worry, this is probably related to phlogiston. I can handle anything related to phlogiston. Check on Wen Yuan's situation.]

"So what do you remember?" Shangluo asked him. "Tell me about your recent situation. For example, why did you come to Yangzhou? Was it because of the Las Vegas case?"

"No, the imperial court determined that the New World might pose a threat, so they established the Yangzhou Camp. We're on an imperial mission to investigate. Las Vegas is part of that investigation."

"I see. What about you? What's the most important thing to you right now?"

"The practical report needs to be handed in to Lu Liang, our team leader. She's always chasing me for homework. I can't beat her. She can kick me three times a second."

"It's already this late, why are you still remembering your homework?"

It looks like his phlogiston is dissolving, and his sense of self is crumbling. If you notice, he might be a little dimmer than before. I suggest you find a way out first. You can also go to Helios to fulfill the contract; he will definitely keep his word. Try infusing the Spear of the Past with phlogiston; its lighting function should still be there.

Chapter 46 Shake people

It's a good idea to ask Helios for the debt directly. It's not like he can't call.

"The plan has changed." He grabbed Wen Yuan's shoulder and said, "Listen, let's get out first. Forget about the chance or anything like that, there will be new opportunities. Maybe there is a way out now."

"Sorry. Actually, you can stay here, right?"

"Why are you still talking about this now? I'm full of treasures. I have all the opportunities I need. If you cut off a piece of my flesh and eat it, you can achieve immortality. If you get stuck here, the debt of gratitude I owe you will be even greater. Luo Luo! Do you want to leave together?"

He did not forget to call the white lion, but Lolo just lay there motionless.

"I'm sorry, we'll leave first." Shang Luoping raised his spear and pointed towards the elevator:

"Apolonia! Light the lamp!"

【The lights are coming~~~】

The spear tip began to vibrate, even producing recoil. A massive amount of phlogiston flowed from the box Apollonia was inhabiting, and a ball of light brighter than a soldering point erupted, like the sun's energy concentrated into a tiny point.

The darkness rolled aside, leaving an iron gate three meters away. Behind the iron gate was a staircase, which had been locked before.

"I remember the stairs here are blocked. Let's go left. There's an elevator on the left. We can take it up."

Holding a large flashlight, Shangluo led the way. Wen Yuan, already somewhat dazed, placed a hand on his shoulder. The massive flashlight shone with a fiery light, bright and cold, yet capable of illuminating a dark area at least three meters away.

With a "bang", Shangluo stopped.

"What's going on?" Wen Yuan poked her head out from behind—the stone statue of the Three-Faced God suddenly appeared in front of her, its eyes tightly closed, silently gazing at everything in the darkness. It was exactly the same statue as before.

"Hey Shangluo, are we walking back?"

Shangluo swallowed, but his throat was tense.

"No, the White Lion isn't here. This is another one. Ignore it, let's keep going. The elevator is just ahead."

He turned left and headed in the direction of the elevator he remembered.

"Boom".

The spear struck the statue again. The elevator in my memory was gone, replaced by a new three-way intersection. The statue stood there quietly, as if it had always been there.

The Trimurti appears at every crossroads, guiding both the living and the dead. She symbolizes both luck and fate. Following her path, shepherds can return home, and those destined for death will know where they should go. It seems the previous calculations were correct; we can't get out. If we go any further, we'll probably reach our destination. Should I turn off the lights? It's dangerous to leave them on there.

"Damn it. Why??? Why did we suddenly encounter such a powerful enemy?!"

"Because of bad luck. If we were in the open, we could easily escape the Trinity's darkness. But here in the basement, almost every road leads to a three-way intersection. Furthermore, there's no sunlight here, as it's more than ten meters below the ground. Compared to the sunlight, my light is a mere glow, unable to illuminate this darkness. I can only wander between the three forks in the road. It seems our path ends here."

"Wait, your phlogiston is the same as sunlight?"

[Same. From a mystical perspective, my light is equivalent to sunlight.]

"So what exactly is phlogiston?"

Phlogiston is light. But not light in the usual sense—I want to ask you, what is spiritual energy? Why in this world are there immortal radishes prepared for humans? Why, of all things, can one be used to strengthen the human body? Why can the true meaning of the Great Dao be contained within the human body? Why does the sky have five elements, and humans have five internal organs? Why does the sky have six laws, and humans have six internal organs? Why does the sky have seven stars, and humans have seven orifices? Why does the sky have eight winds, and humans have eight joints? Because humans are universally connected to nature, and humans are the primates of all creation. If you believe this connection exists, if you believe you are the primates of all creation, then phlogiston is light.

"What if I don't believe it?"

Then phlogiston would not exist, and my whole world would cease to exist. Just like if you don't speak to me, no one else can hear me. Phaethon is not a human being.

"I understand. If phlogiston is light." He slowly pointed the spear toward the sky, and the ceiling was illuminated.

"Wen Yuan!"

"Is there a chance?"

"Can you see the aura? The ball of light at the end of the spear, can you see the aura?"

"Yes, I can see the spiritual energy gushing out. Aren't you using it as a flashlight?"

"Ha! That's the point, Apollonia."

He asked Apollonia, "You calculated that I would die, but I don't think so. If your world were independent, I would definitely die in this situation. But we are not the only two in this extraordinary world. Wen Yuan can also see phlogiston, and he thinks it is spiritual energy! So what did you tell me before? How can I harm Shen Ji?"

[Only a divine machine can harm another divine machine? In other words, we can introduce interference from other divine machines to break the deadlock!]

"We can send spiritual energy to shake people! Even if they don't believe you, they believe in the existence of other divine machines. As long as there is still one person in this world who believes in the existence of divine machines, we are not alone."

But it's only indirect communication. Yes, I can use phlogiston to shake people. I just need to convert the code. As long as it's converted into a code that others can understand, it will be fine. Yes, send a telegram! But how do I send a spiritual telegram? Who can receive a spiritual telegram?

"Wait a minute." He grabbed Wen Yuan's shoulders from behind. "We're saved! We can send a signal to get help! Think about how to get help! You Jinyiwei have a code word, right? Like the one about '15 chicken nuggets with two packets of Sichuan spicy sauce and two packets of sweet and sour sauce'."

"Yes, yes, that's certainly possible. But you'll have to call the McDonald's."

"We can send a telegram! Think about it, do you remember how to send a telegram? Send us the message. It has to be a code that the Jinyiwei can understand."

"I remember! Yes, there seems to be one! But my brain just got drained, so I forgot what it meant. But my muscles still remember. Wait a minute."

He pressed his hand against the wall. "Are you ready? Send the rhythm of my knocking as a telegram."

"Apollonia, did you hear that?"

[No problem, go ahead.]

Wen Yuan began to tap the wall with his knuckles. As an outstanding student at the Wutaishan Training Institute, telegraphing was a required course. He treated the wall like a telegraph machine, tapping out the message with his fingers.

He called out, "0.000,000, 92, upper 6, C-type coordination, enter according to Kunwei needle, Zhen." "Enter? What entry?"

Apollonia was stunned for a moment.

[Holy shit! There's a reply! I got a signal! 'Xuan Huang 11, Shang Liu, Class C coordination, press Kun Wei needle to enter, Da Li 12. Zhen.' What does that mean? What a mess! Why is it all code? Ask him quickly, how should I reply?]

Shangluo hurriedly repeated it to him.

"Wait. I need to think about it." Wen Yuan slammed his head. "Your response is all muscle memory. I can't help it if it's wrong."

He continued to knock on the wall. He only knocked four times.

Then I sent it. The content is: 'Xuan Huang eleven, upper six, C-type coordination, press Kun Wei needle to enter the field, Da Li twelve. Zhen.' What does it mean? Why did he repeat it?

Before he could finish his words, a low buzzing sound suddenly emanated from overhead. The frequency of the sound was extremely low, like the roar of a prehistoric beast, and the entire world resonated with it.

"Ah!!!" Wen Yuan slammed her hand against the wall. "I remember now! 'Zhen' means to repeat correctly!"

"What are you repeating? What does it mean to press the Kunwei needle to enter the field?"