Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"You know me, I have a very high sense of morality. She is drunk now, I will never do anything."

[You see, I feel safe letting her follow you. ]

"???"

[Why are you so weird? I don't just trust him, I trust you more! Even Ms. Agatha, who just met you, made the judgment that Shangluo can be trusted based on a few words from others, and let Victoria go out with you without worry - I know you are really a very good person.]

"Thank you so much for your trust." He reached out and picked up Victoria. He hooked the car door open with his foot and gently placed Victoria on the back seat.

Victoria was sleeping soundly, like a baby. She was smiling in her sleep, with a little saliva flowing from the corner of her mouth.

[She smiled like a child. Only after pressing the pause note could she briefly return to the sweet sleep of a child. After a short nap, Victoria was back to full of energy! ]

"Just a normal Victoria, not the spirited Victoria. Now I understand why she envied me so much when we first met. Her illness was probably just beginning at that time."

[Yes. Her illness progressed faster after she saw you.]

"I am now beginning to worry about the other people in Rome. Apollonia, do you know what I am thinking now? This way of thinking is very similar to something I know."

[You mean, ai, right? ]

Shangluo nodded.

Indeed, many AIs will break down as they run longer. I've seen some AI videos where they're perfectly normal for the first five seconds. From the fifth second on, they'll collapse into a completely different state. Giving them a full lifespan is a real challenge. Victoria has indeed entered this state.

"Is this a Cyberman?"

【It is a cyber species that has not yet been fully born and is not very stable. With the advancement of technology, this problem should be able to be cured slowly. Moreover, Victoria's condition is caused by the curse on the emperor, and not everyone can be cursed. Other people's illnesses are not as "cute" as hers, nor are they so artistic-unless you think explosions can be considered art. Because similar collapses in other people are often much more intense than now. However, Victoria's condition itself is worth studying.

[She is now moody. Compared to humans, she is getting closer and closer to the gods of the spirit world.]

"That's true. I feel like this mental state is very similar to Karin's mother, like those gods in the spiritual world."

[If you can cure Victoria, maybe you can cure the gods, too—but I'm quite confident in the cure itself. Victoria's problem comes from her stone heart. If you can stabilize the crazy stone heart, then Victoria's problems can be solved.]

"Well, I hope so." Shangluo walked to the other side of the car door and was about to get in. When he took a step, he suddenly felt a little loose around his waist.

[Hey, be careful with your belt. ]

"I almost forgot." Shangluo fastened the belt that had just been loosened and got into the car from the other side. He still sat in the back seat.

[Hmm? I thought you were hiding in the front row.]

"If Victoria wakes up and sees me hiding in the front row, she'll probably be sad. She's sick, and I should take care of her more instead of hiding from her."

[You. If she were awake and heard this, she would probably cry. ]

"Ah~~Ghanaian pepper, Brazilian wood." Victoria was still smiling in her sleep, "Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme"

[Tsk, I have to say, it's pretty cute. ]

"I feel a greater sense of responsibility than being cute."

[Ah, you want to protect her smile, right? ]

"I would rather she play cards with me after she wakes up. It's best if she is healthy. If possible, I still want her to smile at me when she is more awake."

[In fact, Phaethon’s smile is also very cute. You may not have noticed, but Phaethon is completely different from you in front of other people. ]

"???" Shang Luo was stunned for a moment. "By the way, you let her get close to me, isn't it because Phaethon also has a similar disease?"

[No, that's two completely different things. The relationship between Phaethon and I is that of friends, but more of a family. So compared to emotions, I care more about her physical condition. The fate of the gods is unpredictable. Phaethon has this name, and she also bears the fate of this name - driving the sun chariot, being struck by lightning and falling into the sea. I am very sure that she is safe only with you. Because you are a good person, you are her friend. If she really can't resist her fate, you are so powerful that you will definitely be able to pull her back from the sea. You are a good person, you deserve good rewards. My thoughts are that simple.]

Chapter 1000 Appetite

At 6:30 in the evening, it is lunch time in the school cafeteria.

But classmate Lei Fu seemed to have no appetite. He stood at the school gate waiting for Shang Luo with his head down. It was not until Shang Luo stopped the car in front of him and got out that he saw Shang Luo himself.

"Ah, Senior. Logically, I should call you Senior."

"You're welcome, junior." He raised his head and suddenly felt something was wrong, "Ah, Xue.Tianjun?"

"Just call me junior brother. I am a human being, not a deity. You should call me by my true identity to show respect to me. You always call me Tianjun, as if I have nothing but my cultivation."

"Well, then, let's call you that." Shangluo's comfort did not make him feel better.

Because he had known for a long time that the imperial court, including Shangluo, had taken good care of him in this matter. As a person involved, it would be reasonable to at least question him repeatedly for a few weeks. Even if he was not sent to the imperial prison, he should at least be interviewed in the school. But throughout the whole incident, the Jinyiwei completely protected his privacy, and no one mentioned his involvement in this incident in any public occasion.

"Anyway, thank you." He handed the coins in his wallet to Shangluo.

Shangluo took the wallet back, opened it and took a look.

He took out the coins and was about to return the wallet, but Lei Fu shook his head: "You can take this wallet too."

"why?"

"This wallet is a gift from her. When I first came to Yingtian, I was unfamiliar with the place and she took good care of me." He looked at the wallet with a look of nostalgia. But he also knew that it was an item involved in the case and that handing it over directly would make it easier for the Jinyiwei to handle the case. The court had taken good care of him and he could not cause trouble for the court anymore.

"Where are you from?"

“I’m from Jilin.”

"Jilin? That far?"

"Yeah." Lei Fu nodded. "This train ticket is really expensive. When I left, my family sold two acres of land to get enough money for my trip."

[Wow! I finally see you! You've been here for so long, and finally I see a poor person! I looked and it takes more than 40 hours to get here from Jilin by train, and the ticket price is so expensive.]

"Ah, this." Shang Luo hesitated. He felt that he had suddenly knocked down the other person's spiritual support. "Then how is your family doing? How much land do you have left?"

"There are probably more than 8,000 acres left."

"."

【.】

"Ah." He suddenly raised his head. "You may have misunderstood, junior. My family is a military household in Liaodong, and we have a lot of land. But these 8000 acres are not all mine, they belong to the farm. We formed a farm with several neighboring families, and bought seeds and farm machinery together. As for my family, it's only more than 2000 acres."

[You can’t say you only have 2000 acres anywhere, right?! In Rome, this is considered a manor owner! ]

"Wait, why did you say it was 'pooled' money?"

"Because farming is expensive. You have to buy fertilizer, seeds, and farm machinery. During the busy farming season, you have to hire drivers and arrange for trains to transport the grain. When it's time to pay the grain, it has to be delivered to the city, and the shipping costs are quite expensive. When I was in school, my family didn't have any spare money to help me with the travel expenses. So my dad asked me to take the land ownership book and sell the land in JL City for some change. Also, my dad likes to modify cars, which cost us a lot of money."

"I thought your family only had a few acres of land."

"Alas, there are only a few people in Liaodong. The families of the other Liaodong military households you see in school basically start with 500 acres. There are so few people in Liaodong that they can't even form a province, so the land they are allocated is much larger."

"By the way, don't all the fields of the military households belong to the imperial court?"

"It belongs to the court." He nodded. "In the beginning, the court only allocated a few hundred acres. But later, when I reclaimed the land myself, the court didn't care anymore, and it was all my own. I'm not sure, since my grandfather's generation, no new land has been reclaimed. I don't remember exactly how much of my family's land is not tradeable, but the silver my family paid every year was probably several hundred taels. If it wasn't for the bad luck when I was in school, it would have been easy to get a train ticket."

"Oh, I'm so rude. It turns out that you are a rich landowner. I thought everyone lived in a small box like me."

"I was a little uncomfortable living in the capital at first. The dormitory is not even as big as my doghouse. After living here for two days, I feel that this place is not bad. At least I don't need to drive to buy laundry detergent. There is a store at the door - ah, thank you. Chatting with you makes me feel much better. I say, junior brother, oh no, Shang Tianjun, you are very busy, right?" He said seriously, "I almost forgot your identity when I called you junior brother. You are so busy, do you still have time to enlighten me?"

"If I can't even take care of the people around me, how can I take care of others? We are classmates."

"Then I'll be frank. As for the matter of sugar," he thought for a moment and asked, "Will she die?"

"What if I said yes?"

"I've figured it out." He looked at Shangluo, "I can't live just for myself, nor can I live just for others. Neither giving up nor seeking death is appropriate. I have to face this matter calmly - I think I still have some questions to ask her. If she can't avoid being punished by the law, can I...can I see her?"

"Is it okay?" Shangluo asked Apollonia in the phone.

[From a procedural point of view, there is no problem. According to the rules, the family members should come to deliver the last meal for the deceased, and we can meet at that time.]

Shangluo nodded to him: "From the process point of view, it is possible. Of course, the premise is that she is willing."

Shangluo took out his cell phone and said, "I forgot about it when I left last time. Please add my contact information and I will inform you if there is any progress. After all, you are the party involved and you have the right to know."

The two added each other's contact information. Shangluo watched him enter the school gate, then he opened the car door and got in.

"You really are the same as before."

Victoria's voice suddenly appeared beside her.

"Huh? Are you awake?" Shang Luo, who had sat down firmly, glanced to the side. Victoria seemed to have woken up a long time ago. She was leaning against the back of the sofa, looking at the scenery outside the window.

"I woke up a long time ago. In fact, I woke up before you stopped the car. When I woke up, you were sitting next to me, your legs touching my head. I was glad that you didn't move away and still sat next to me. And when I was about to say something, you got out of the car. Then I saw that you were busy, so I didn't disturb you. I heard your conversation with him."

"I will forget what happened before."

"No need." Victoria looked over. She had just woken up and was back to the way she was when they first met. She was like the blue sky at eight o'clock in the morning, clear and with a bit of a chilly morning breeze.

Chapter 1001 Jinling Hotel

It was hard to imagine that just a few minutes ago, she had hugged Shangluo's waist from behind.

"That fat brother just said something very good." Victoria looked at Shangluo, "No matter what, I have to face this matter calmly. Although I don't know how long it will take for my inner order to disappear, I can tell you frankly - everything I do is out of my own will. In other words, if it's something I don't want to do, I won't do it even in my dreams or even if I'm drunk."

"you mean"

"To be honest, your body is indeed very attractive. Of course, from a rational point of view, you are not the kind of 'woman for all men, man for all women'. I am afraid that only the real god of wine Dionysus and the beautiful boys around the gods can have such a face. Your attraction lies on the other side - you are very healthy, you shine like the sun. For me, who is plagued by chronic diseases, it is hard not to be attracted by your physical condition. This kind of attraction is mixed with envy, admiration and love, mixed with various complex emotions that belong to my age group."

[Ah, it appears. It appears. Victoria, the rational person, has always been like this in front of others.]

"But." Victoria looked into his eyes, "I just realized that even if we completely put aside the pure physical attraction, your personality is also attracting me. What should I do? I will make a mistake."

"Ah?" Shangluo was stunned. "Then what should I do?"

"It's not about what you want to do, it's about what you want to do with me. I find that even the most rational me can hardly resist the attraction of pure flesh and noble personality. I can explain this matter so objectively from the perspective of an outsider, probably because I just woke up and my mind is fresh."

"Does this cause you any trouble?"

"Yes." Victoria nodded. "It will make me miss the world."

"Ah? Is there something wrong with that?"

"If the king doesn't move, how can the other pieces follow? - There's a sentence in a strange chess manual that I heard from somewhere. Specifically, if I can't abandon the mortal world and set an example by entering Cypernia, how can I convince other Romans? If I don't do this, I can't prove that this path is correct and inevitable."

"Wait a minute." Shangluo suddenly thought, "Since you want to destroy yourself, why do you want me to heal you?"

"Because the real tragedy is destroying beautiful things for people to see. Destroying my sick and weak body will only make my entry into Cyberlania look like a medical treatment. Only if I am complete and perfect, and choose to enter Cyberlania perfectly, can this play end successfully."

Ah, it appears. This is the magic of story. This is Greek drama. If there is anything the Greeks were really good at, this is it.

"I think I understand, but it also seems impolite." Shang Luo pressed his forehead, "Is this the only solution?"

"That's the plan, and that's the path," Victoria replied. "However, the specific means can be changed. That's why I said that I learned a lot from what the fat brother said just now. I chose to face my own heart: I want to find a way to live in the same world with you. I want to be able to watch over you well for the rest of my life."

Fat brother. This name has made Shangluo a little nervous since the beginning. But what Victoria is talking about now makes him feel even more scared: "Why does it sound like you want to take me away!"

[Yeah, this is a cyber ghost girl! ]

"I'm not saying I want to take him away. I'm saying," she looked at Shang Luo, "I'm saying I want to face this problem head-on: maybe there really is a way to let me stay. Originally I didn't care about this body, and in order to set an example for the entire empire, I'd just abandon it. But after getting to know you completely, I think the affairs of the entire empire can be put aside. You are more important."

[So I said that her personal will has always been there! You are still skeptical. This is the same logic as trying to pardon those people's crimes just to make you laugh.]

"Why do I suddenly feel a little pampered?" Shang Lu patted his head. "Anyway, I feel honored that you think so."

"Of course." Victoria nodded. "It is my honor to receive your acceptance and kindness. But you don't need to put too much pressure on me. Through this relationship, perhaps we can inspire each other to move towards a higher path. Perhaps, I can really achieve my personal vision and the goals of the empire at the same time."

"That would certainly be the best."

"Ah." She suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. "I feel much better after getting it all out. I think this is a good start."

"I'm just a little scared. Your rationality makes me feel a little overwhelmed."

"Which part?"

"Well, being pampered is not part of my personal career plan."

"I'm telling the truth," Victoria replied, "so you can relax. If you have any problems in Zhendan, the Roman Empire will always accept you. Of course, although this will make me happy, I sincerely hope that this will not happen."

"That's true," Shangluo nodded.

"Oh, by the way, what are we having for dinner tonight?" she asked.

"Eat, yes, what are we having for dinner tonight?" Shangluo was still a little scared.

[Your heartbeat is getting faster again, and you seem quite excited. Indeed, not everyone can experience the feeling of being loved by the emperor. Let me see, Phaethon is still ordering food.]

Shangluo told Victoria what happened at the Jinling Hotel.

"Jinling Hotel. I think I ate there once. It seems that they also entertained guests there during official visits. Isn't that too formal? Next time we can go somewhere more casual. I think McDonald's is a good choice."

"What about next time?"