Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

He tilted his head and looked at Shangluo. The puffy flesh on his face drooped a little as he tilted his head - he looked full to begin with.

"I mean, do you feel fat again?"

"I feel like I'm getting fatter every day - I really don't know anything. I roughly understand the situation. Someone stole my facial information and stole a bottle of spiritual fluid, right? But it has nothing to do with me. This person is definitely not me. I was in class when the incident happened."

He first distanced himself from the issue because he also knew that this matter might turn into a big deal. At this time, the best option should be to immediately distance himself from suspicion.

Otherwise, it's hard to say what else he would face. Even if he was only listed as a target of investigation by the Imperial Guards, he would face endless questioning for the next few months. Although he would not be sent to the imperial prison, the Imperial Guards might come to his house every now and then to question him.

"I think the problem lies with this mask." Shangluo pointed at the fox mask, "I think this mask is definitely not made in the Central Plains."

"Why?" Wen Yuan was very surprised as to why Shangluo could eliminate such a large area at once.

"Because when we want to express foxes, we won't use this form. This fox mask is a distinct symbol. I am sure it comes from foreign countries."

"Is that so?" Wen Yuan was still a little skeptical, but since this was Shangluo's judgment, it should make some sense.

"I'm curious, why do you think this is a fox mask?"

"I didn't say that. You said it was a fox, but it looks like a spotted dog to me." He pointed at the camera of the vending machine, "If you don't believe me, just turn it back. You said it was a fox, so I said it was a fox. Because I have never seen this style before - you look like you have seen it before? Where did it come from?"

"Have you heard of Japan?"

"Ah, so this is something from Japan? I haven't seen it before. But logically speaking, Japan has been closed to the outside world for hundreds of years. They usually don't contact the outside world. But..." Wen Yuan suddenly thought about it, "If you are talking about Japan, there is actually another group of people who are very suspicious - the Ryukyu people."

"Ryukyu? Is there any connection between Ryukyu and Japan?"

"Not openly. But behind the scenes, yes. We in Ryukyu often see merchant ships from Satsuma. The Iruka Department Store in Ryukyu also has a lot of Japanese products, such as Japanese soda and so on - of course, those goods are all sold under the name of Ryukyu products."

"The court doesn't care?"

"There are so many such cases. Ryukyu is so small that they can't produce much on their own, and they can't even fill their tribute quota. Ryukyu has a very high status, so their tribute quota is almost the same as that of North Korea. The unused quota was distributed by Ryukyu."

"The court doesn't care about this?"

"This is Ryukyu's internal affairs," Wen Yuan replied. "Under normal circumstances, we do not interfere in the internal affairs of tributary states. Although Ryukyu took advantage of the rules and sent more goods, we purchased them at market prices anyway. And - in the tribute trade, some additional reservoirs are also needed to regulate it. This is the Ministry of Rites' business."

"Yeah," Shangluo nodded, "This is consistent with my impression of the court. After all, the court is actually quite conservative."

"To put it bluntly, we're just too lazy to spend money governing foreigners." Wen Yuan waved her hand. "The imperial court serves the people of the capital, not the people of the world. What happens outside the capital has nothing to do with us. So as long as it's an internal affair, the imperial court generally doesn't intervene."

"So, has this happened before? Someone sneaked in through Ryukyu's channels."

"Yes, but they are usually economic issues. As for what you said about this mask coming from Japan? We need to investigate it carefully."

"If it is found out, what can we do?" Shangluo asked.

"I can't make the decision on this matter. But if you let me say it, this is not Ryukyu's internal affairs. Punish them however they should, and it's not impossible to excommunicate Ryukyu directly. Isn't the emperor away now? You can make the decision."

"I don't care about this. What happens to Ryukyu is none of my business. I just need to deal with the matter at hand."

"Look, you don't care, right? So it's normal that others don't care either - but as long as you give the order, the cabinet should take care of it. So, what exactly worries you?"

"It's not just the murders that I'm worried about. I'm wondering what those people are going to do by stealing the spiritual fluid."

"Perhaps the Japanese also want to cultivate immortality?"

"No. First of all, this information is confidential. Very few people in our company know about it. It is unlikely that it would be transferred to Japan so quickly. Also, as far as I know, cultivating immortals is not popular in Japan."

"That's true. The Japanese believe in Buddhism. But we have to deal with it as soon as possible. Otherwise, if a murder case really happens, it will happen right in front of us."

"Want to investigate the case? That's not difficult." Phaethon said, "In this case, just let the Spear of Apollo appear - to investigate the case, use the Spear of Apollo. Is the money still there?"

"Let me look for it." The Jinyiwei next to him flipped through the diary and found the number of the banknote.

The red bottle of spirit liquid costs 200 coins. In addition to recovering the cost, the high price is also to prevent accidental touches.

These vending machines are the first batch of vending machines that accept paper money. Because apart from Doudou’s own monitoring, there is no such thing as a “money counting machine” in other places. All vending machines, no matter where they are, accept coins.

This vending machine can check banknotes and record the serial numbers of banknotes. The change bean will record every banknote inserted to ensure that no one buys by mistake. In fact, this vending machine can only sell when banknotes are inserted, because every bottle must be registered.

"These are the two." The guard took out two banknotes from the cash box and handed them to Shangluo. "I just checked and found that these banknotes are old. They have been out of the bank for more than half a year."

"It seems that the other party had planned this for a long time and even knew to prepare the banknotes in advance. When I look back and look through the past, there might be a surprise."

He handed the banknote to Phaethon and took out the Spear of Apollo:

"Let's check and see where this banknote came from."

"It would be best to find another piece of evidence." Phaethon looked at the quality of the banknote. "This banknote has been handled by too many people. It would be very troublesome to check them one by one. If we get another piece of evidence, the Spear of the Apollo can quickly find the relationship between the two."

Chapter 972 Positioning

"So we need to find a second piece of evidence?" Shangluo thought for a moment, "So what's the principle behind this?"

"The principle is to retrieve other things that intersect through the sympathetic connection between two things. So I said before that you diverge from one object. Unless it is a table lamp or something that will not move all year round, you will not look for anything else. Especially money, there are too many people who handle money. But if you draw a line between two points, then although the theoretical possibilities are still infinite, after all, the line can be divided infinitely. But——"

[But from the perspective of solving the case, it is acceptable.] Apollonia added, [So the elements of magic cannot be discussed in isolation from reality, otherwise it will become irrelevant and crazy talk - for example, if someone wants to find the perfect magic, analyze the trajectory of creation, etc., it may not be completed even if it is calculated until the end of the world. In actual use, it is enough to be usable. Theoretically, there are infinite possibilities. When you are really using it, just use your own logic to check it out.]

"That's right." Phaethon nodded. "She makes a lot of sense."

"I see. Then, what kind of evidence would be more appropriate?"

[You should ask Phaethon about this. I am not very familiar with the working principle of the Spear of Apollo.]

"In theory, magical things will be better." Phaethon replied, "The gravity of reality is too strong. If it is a completely secular thing, magic will hardly have an effect on it. And the stronger the magic, the better the effect. These two coins are completely secular things, so you must find a magical item to use detection on the other one. Otherwise, you might as well find Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes can solve cases purely physically."

"Then wouldn't it be best if I found that bottle of spiritual fluid?"

"Yes! You can find the bottle of spiritual fluid best. With money and things that can be bought with money, you can easily locate the person who bought the things with money."

"If I want to find that bottle of spiritual fluid, I have to find that person first! The spiritual fluid must be on that person. Are there any other magical objects here?"

"Hmm," Phaethon lowered his head and pondered. This was indeed a blind spot in his thinking.

“Isn’t it useful?”

"The essence of the Spear of the Sun God is to fulfill contracts. This kind of detection ability should theoretically be handled by Apollonia, because she can adjust the 'monitoring'."

[I didn’t bring any magical instruments.]

"She's referring to the Oracle's own series of large, immovable observation devices. There are some things she'll have to go back to the Oracle to understand."

"Forget it, forget it. It still depends on me." Shangluo looked around and said, "It's you."

He pointed at Lei Fu who was standing next to him.

"Me? What does it have to do with me?"

"Your facial information has been stolen, so we should start with you. Find out where you lost your face."

"Yeah, that's true." He nodded. "It seems a bit embarrassing in various ways. I'm a monk. Although I'm also a commoner, I'm still a capable person. It seems a bit embarrassing to have a hole in me."

"Okay, okay, I don't blame you. After all, you are also a victim, right? Come on."

"Let me check out the manual. Stand aside and come over when I ask you to. I'll explain the detailed procedures."

He explained, "In a moment, I'll pierce the two banknotes with the tip of this spear, and then you'll hold the spear. This way, I can determine the direction of the closest intersection between you and the banknote, and then we'll follow that direction to find it. Do you understand?"

"Understood." He gave a thumbs up and stood aside. As an excellent student in the Imperial College, he could understand this level of information very clearly.

According to the instructions, Shangluo threw the money on the ground first, and then stabbed it with a spear -

The invisible wave did not spread. The wave was like light distorted by a massive black hole, and it began to tilt in one direction as soon as it started from the Spear of the Sun God. The people present, even the Jinyiwei who could not use magic, could sense the direction of this force: it was pointing directly at Lei Fu who was standing next to him.

“????” Lei Fu also felt as if he was being targeted. “What do you mean? I haven’t touched it yet.”

He stood there, much larger than the others, and indeed looked like a massive black hole - but it was certainly not as simple as just being heavy.

[Ah] Apollonia looked over distractedly, [This is clear: the classmate in front of you is closer to these two coins than anyone else, so there is no need to use two points to locate him. His target is too obvious, so among the endless possibilities, the Spear of the Sun God directly locates him.]

"It's not certain yet." Phaethon added, "It's possible that he is the one with the highest level of cultivation among those involved, so the magic is directed directly at him."

"We'll know if it is true or not after further testing."

After all, Shangluo was not looking for the source of the money, but to find out who used the money to illegally purchase the spiritual liquid - in theory, this is not considered stealing, because it was spent. But the spiritual liquid itself is not a commodity, it is a highly confidential military material, just placed here for everyone to use. So even if you spend money, it is not considered a purchase, because only commodities can be purchased.

What Shangluo wants to find out is who the person wearing the fox mask is.

"Wait, I don't think this makes sense! Why do I still feel that there is a strong force locked on me?" Lei Fu asked in confusion. As a monk, although he could not see the flow of magic, he could also feel this strong direction that seemed to see through him.

But he really didn't do it. He was in class at the time of the crime.

"The specific reason will be known after adding the second factor." Shangluo made way, "Come on, hold it, and then we will know who is the culprit behind all this."

【Judging from the strong fluctuations, the target may be quite close. It may be very close. Very, very close.】

"Hmm?" Shangluo asked, "What do you mean?"

[This means that even if it wasn't him, the perpetrator might have a very close relationship with him. After all, facial information is not so easy to steal.]

"You mean his girlfriend?"

[I don't know. But if he shakes it, I'm sure he'll know. I don't want to assume someone is guilty, but... this possibility is indeed very high.]

Chapter 973 Miss Teng

Lei Fu did not hesitate. He was first afraid of being in trouble with the Royal Guards, and secondly, he was afraid of missing classes and thus delaying graduation. He just wanted to finish this matter as soon as possible.

He stretched out his hand and grasped the Spear of the Sun God.

An invisible red line stretched into the distance—and then it began to sway.

"what's the situation?"

[The target is moving! The target knows that it has been locked, the target is moving! ]

"Sure enough, there is something fishy. Get out of the way." Phaethon pushed Lei Fu aside. She exchanged glances with Shang Luo, and after getting Shang Luo's permission, she drew out the Spear of the Sun God. As she drew out the spear, the golden color of her hair continued to spread upwards until her entire hair turned golden. Along with it came a majestic, heavenly sense of power.

Grabbing the Spear of the Sun God, she rushed out in a flash and disappeared in an instant.

"Ah, this..." Lei Fu was pushed by Phaethon. He didn't use much strength, but his legs were a little weak. Because he was the first witness of the whole process.

With just a slight push, his legs went weak and he sat down on the ground.

"It's her. Is it really her?" he murmured.

"Why? Did you see it?"

Lei Fu nodded blankly: "I saw it. I can see that the end of the line is connected to her, and she can see me too!"

[That's right. In this case, the Spear of the Sun God will establish a sympathetic link, so they can see each other. Although it was only a glance, it gave him a great psychological impact in many ways. ]

Wen Yuan, who was standing nearby, also understood the situation.

He walked to Lei Fu's side and said, "Please come with us. We need you to make a statement. It seems that this matter is indeed closely related to the people around you."

"Her name is Sugar."

"Sugar? I still have lollipops." Wen Yuan tilted her head, "Tell me your name."

"Her full name is Sandang." Lei Fu looked up and answered, "That's her name. That's what I usually call her."

"What's the last name?" Wen Yuan continued to take notes.

"My last name is Teng."

"Teng?" Wen Yuan did some searching. "Teng is ranked after the thousandth of the Hundred Family Surnames. It's not completely uncommon. But it's a bit strange to appear here."

"Are you suspecting this is a pseudonym?" Shangluo asked.

"No. Usually, people don't use very special surnames as pseudonyms, because special surnames are easy to remember. Fuji's surname is too special. It's hard to forget once you hear it. No one would use it as a pseudonym. I think this is probably the real name."

"Let's search it. I think we can find it in the student records."

"Let me try. The information of the students in the Imperial College has long been uploaded to Jianmu, so it can be retrieved." Wen Yuan paused for a while, "Wait! There is no one named Teng in the Imperial College! Hey, hey, hey, are you telling the truth?"

"It's true! That's what she said! She is a student in our school! She even took classes with me."

"Ah," Wen Yuan covered her forehead, "This is trouble."

"Will I be arrested?"

"Don't worry." Wen Yuan waved her hand. "We can't ask you to find out the other person's identity before you can have a relationship. If you are not directly involved in this matter, then it has nothing to do with you. But for the relevant situation, please go to the headquarters of Jinyiwei and make a record with us. It won't take long, you can come back this afternoon."

"Okay." Lei Fu stood up and nodded.

In every sense, he knew that the best option now was to cooperate with the Jinyiwei's investigation. Not to mention that he really knew nothing now. Even if he knew something, it would be useless if he didn't cooperate, because there was nothing that the Jinyiwei couldn't catch.

"The person is gone." Phaethon suddenly sent a message back.