Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"???" Zhu Xianxin was stunned for a moment, "What's going on?"

"It's lost contact, but only with us. There has been a signal in Japan, which has been communicating with New Antioch across the Pacific Ocean. The energy of the broadcast is unprecedentedly high, and it seems to come from a high-energy signal source. That signal source has been communicating with the automaton, and the Jinyiwei has no idea what that thing means now."

"Is there any code that the Royal Guards can't crack?"

"It's not a problem of cryptography, it's a problem of content. The computing power of the Great Difference Engine took only 4 seconds to crack the code. But what was read out is meaningless. Even the former young general from Shangluo, who is familiar with both human language and the heavenly book, can't understand it."

"So, the sender of the letter is not a human either?"

Yang Jing paused for a moment and replied, "Shangluo also made the same judgment. There is no evidence that Japan has the ability to send something that we can't even understand. Even if they are messing around on the typewriter, we can still calculate how many bowls of rice he ate yesterday - that's what Shangluo said."

"That's easy - it's not a human, right? If it's not a human, then it's none of my business. Well, I've run out of strawberry jam for my shaved ice. Can you please have the helicopter drop another can for me? Ah, shaved ice at -21°C tastes better than shaved ice at -19°C."

The message was passed back layer by layer, and Shangluo hung up the phone with a confused look on his face.

"What did you say?" Victoria asked.

"My senior brother said that since it's not a human matter, he won't care. Oh, by the way, Miss Victoria, can you please get out of my room?"

"No, I want to watch you eat the muffin. Ah~~" Victoria lay beside him, holding a plate in one hand. On the plate was a steaming muffin with syrup on it.

Victoria held a silver spoon with an ivory handle in her other hand. She had already handed the spoon to Shangluo's mouth. The aroma of muffins and syrup had already drifted into his nostrils.

Apollonia's soft snoring echoed faintly in the room. She was not awake yet.

"Ah~~ Come and eat it quickly, hot pancakes are the best."

"But. But why do I have to eat in bed?"

"Why? A good day should start with breakfast in bed."

"what?"

Victoria was stunned for a moment. "Ah, you don't know, right? Then let me tell you. We Romans eat breakfast in bed. We end a fulfilling day with a banquet in the evening and wake up in the morning to the aroma of steaming hot snacks. This is a happy life. Come on, eat quickly. I said yesterday that I must let you enjoy the happiness of the Romans today."

"But. But I haven't brushed my teeth yet."

"No way? Don't you have a morning maid at home? Don't you have a water maid?"

"Don't talk like furniture! Did you see anyone besides me and Phaethon after you came in?"

"Eh? I thought your servants went in and out through another passage and only came out when needed."

"Please, Miss Victoria, look at this room that you can see through. You don't think there's any folding space here, do you?"

"Yes, don't you have one in your house now? Don't you get up by yourself in the morning?"

"I'll do it!" The former young player shouted in a loud voice and flew out of the closet. He flew to the bathroom with his golden gloves and fiddled with them for a while, then came back with a toothbrush.

After handing the toothbrush to Shangluo, he turned around to get some water.

"Wow, you have such a high-level familiar here. You really don't need an ordinary maid."

"Familiar?" Shang Luo sat on the bed, brushing his teeth under Victoria's gaze. "Do you have such a thing? Do you have one?"

"I'm not a magician, so how can I have a familiar? Magic is something that only came into being in modern times. It's too fashionable. I only know that I have to be happy every day. Come on, have you brushed your teeth? Open your mouth, ah~~"

Shangluo took the water from the former young general and rinsed his mouth. Victoria had already handed the spoon to his mouth, so he had no choice but to open his mouth.

Chapter 1017 Evolution

"Hmm, it does taste good."

"It was made by Ms. Agatha. I loved the snacks she made when I was a child. Come on, open your mouth."

"Ah~~" Shangluo opened his mouth. He seemed to have gotten used to it.

Suddenly, the door opened: "Shangluo, why haven't you woken up yet? We are going to the imperial prison to get the report today. The steamed buns are ready, do you want to eat?"

She glanced inside the door.

"Sorry to bother you." She closed the door as if nothing had happened.

"Hey! Wait a minute, I'll be up soon!"

On the back seat of Grani's car, Shangluo held a steamed bread in his left hand and a muffin in his right hand, both of which were covered with oil paper bags.

He ate a mouthful of steamed bread on his left side and a mouthful of muffin on his right side. Phaethon sat at the other end, looking out the window, saying nothing.

[Ah~~ You slept so soundly. I feel like my sleep quality has improved since you put on the weights that limit your strength. Hey, why do you have such a good appetite today? ]

"Because two people made breakfast for him."

[Ah?] Apollonia, who was a little confused in her sleep, finally reacted, [Wow! This... This dessert, was it made in Victoria's small kitchen?]

"How do you know?" Shangluo asked.

"Because Phaethon only knows how to make food, and it's enough to keep people from starving to death."

"The glutinous rice she makes is also delicious. I think it tastes better than mine. Every time I cook, I always feel like I can't finish it. But when it's her turn to cook, I always finish it."

"Thank you so much." Phaethon turned around and said, "I hope you can finish all the food next time. I remember that Victoria's small kitchen is very famous."

"Ah? What do you say?"

"Because Spartans have a big appetite. Ms. Agatha is a typical Spartan, and let me see the date. Ah, today is the day for drinking black soup. Then you have to drink the black soup tonight, too."

"what?"

[A kind of Spartan. A kind of Spartan.] This indescribable food made Apollonia at a loss for how to describe it.

“It’s actually pig blood soup.”

"Pig blood soup is good." Shangluo replied, "I also like blood soup."

[It's not blood stew, it's just pouring pig blood into the pot and cooking it. It's not the way to eat the taste, it's to dye the soup black and red like blood. 】

"Wait, I think I've heard of this thing. Can this thing be eaten?"

"Yes," Phaethon replied, "I can cook it, and I eat it. Cooked pig blood mixed with pork can maximize the use of prey without wasting anything. This is generally the military diet of the Spartans."

"Ah, is this necessary?"

"It's not that you have to eat it. But since ancient times, all Spartan educations have to eat this. It becomes a habit after a while, so just think of it as a reminder of the bitter past. In Rome, eating this is more like a social activity. The fact that you can eat black soup means that you can endure hardships and are more like a Roman - the Romans have a certain pursuit of 'simplicity' in their bones. The more luxurious your life is, the simpler your food should be."

[Just like when you eat fried chicken, you can eat two leaves of vegetable as an indulgence, so that the guilt is much lighter. When the Romans felt that life was too extravagant, they would have some simple Spartan black soup to adjust. Victoria also ate this regularly. ]

"So she started talking about giving me a 'Roman experience' yesterday, so that's what's going on!"

"Do you want to eat?" Phaethon asked.

"I'm not that hypocritical. Just eat it. This is all for the patient's physical and mental health."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk."

【Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk. 】

"You two are asking me not to eat?"

"Nothing." Phaethon sneered, "If you like to eat her, you won't refuse me, right?"

[And mine! I'll give you one too. Do you want some?]

"I want to eat too?"

[That's great. Mr. Shangluo, I knew you wouldn't let anyone down! Right, Miss Phaethon? ]

"Don't worry." Phaethon did not respond directly to Apollonia's words, "Anyway, I won't waste food. Apollonia too."

[Of course. But recently, the temperature control function of the central air conditioner in our home seems to have a problem. Why is the temperature in each room the same? If this continues, the cooling effect will not be very good. ]

"So we have to replenish the refrigerant." Phaethon replied, "We have to replenish it well, a lot."

"Well," Shang Luo suddenly asked, "What did the Jinyiwei say? Is the interrogation over?"

"You might as well ask Wen Yuan."

"Oh yes, I should ask him."

Shangluo took out his cell phone and sent a message to Wen Yuan:

"Are you there?"

"Yes." Wen Yuan replied immediately.

"How's the situation over there? And yours."

"I stayed up all night, and now I'm fine."

"Wow, so you. Are you okay?"

"I'm in good condition. I just woke up. Oh, you misunderstood. Staying up all night means, of course, that the prisoner stayed up all night. I went to sleep in the lounge at around 2 o'clock, and now I'm very energetic. There are still enough manpower to interrogate one person."

"Are you free tonight?" Shangluo suddenly asked.

【Hmm?】Aware of what Shangluo was going to do, Apollonia paid attention.

"Ah? What do you mean?" Wen Yuan asked back.

"Just asking if you're free."

"You didn't ask me what I was free for, so how would I know?"

"Oh," Shangluo thought for a moment, "Wait, is Xiaohan here?"

"He's here. His uncle is here too, so he's staying up late with his uncle. Oh, he's in the lounge to sleep."

"Give him the phone."

"Hello? Big brother? Don't worry, everything is done. I didn't sleep the whole night."

"I'm busy. I'm so tired." Han Xingzhi suddenly realized, "Ah! I'm free! Brother, are you going to treat me to a meal? Do you want to invite Wen Yuan to come along?"

"Well, since you have invited me so kindly, I can't refuse. Then you go and have a rest. I will call you in the afternoon. We will go out for dinner together to celebrate our success."

"Okay, okay." Han Xing hung up the phone with interest.

"Oh, there's really nothing I can do." Shang Luo touched his forehead. "I'm afraid I'm not free today. I have an appointment tonight. Otherwise, Victoria's test, no, Victoria's invitation, I'll eat it next time. I've already eaten it this morning. I also have an invitation from a friend tonight. Then Miss Phaethon, how about we reminisce about the good and the bad tomorrow? Apollonia will be the day after tomorrow, and Victoria will be next time."

[Ah~~Okay, okay, you have evolved and started time management, right? 】

"It's okay, it's okay." Phaethon was still looking out the window. "Give me a day, right? You're in luck. Apollonia, can you get me some mandrake? Mr. Shangluo has been a little weak lately, and he may need some medicinal food to nourish himself."

"I know what, I might have to work overtime? By the way, how about those toasters? Has the code been cracked?"

Chapter 1018 Motive

"Oh my." At the gate of the Jinyiwei Yamen, Lu Huaiyang, who came to pick up Shangluo, stood at the gate with his hands behind his back. He saw Shangluo's face at a glance:

"After not seeing you for a night, our Shang Tianjun looks radiant. Did you sleep well last night?"

"Ah, I slept well."

"Well, what about the Roman emperor's?" Lu Huaiyang asked, "Although it's a private visit, we still have to ask about it on our territory. Do you have any objection?"

"No problem, no problem. She just went out to play by herself. She is in her own palace."

"They brought so many people with them. Did you fill out the report?"

"They filled it out themselves. There is a machine for filling out forms in the palace."

"Okay, I'll send someone to Jiangning Public Security Bureau to get the form and file it, and the matter will be over. The good thing about those Romans is that they abide by the rules and don't cause us any trouble. We won't get annoyed if such guests stay for a while longer. But some people have already caused us a lot of trouble."

Lu Huaiyang shook his head. There are two troubles, one inside and one outside. The outside is the Columbian Automaton Country. In theory, it is Rome's business, but in order to prevent it from spreading to the entire earth and becoming an uncontrollable disaster, the Heavenly Court needs to control them.

The good news is that after a brief inquiry, Shangluo can confirm that they have no malicious intent for the time being - at least not in an absolute sense. But whether their actions will cause more terrible consequences than malicious intent remains to be further tested.

But before that, there was a provocateur right in front of them. Their motives, methods, and sources were unclear, and they hid such a large group of people under the noses of the entire court.

This is simply plucking hair from a tiger's butt. If this problem is not solved, and someone repeats it next time, hiding North Korea, Lan Fang, or even Qiongzhou Island, it will be a big trouble. The trouble will increase one after another.

"Now the question is - can we pinpoint the exact time? If we can, we can find the correlation."

"Not yet." Lu Huaiyang replied, "This seems to be related to the direct order she received. She also guarded against it with all her might even after using the divine search technique. If we force a breakthrough, it might turn her into a fool. It would be very troublesome for her to ask anything later or to use this person again. So we will decide whether to conduct a destructive search based on the situation."

"She actually has the willpower to resist the divine search technique? She has clearly wasted her power."

"The reason is still unclear. Maybe he has received training. However, the level of the Soul Searching Technique can be adjusted, and we haven't adjusted it to the maximum level yet. The current level can only ensure that 'no irreversible consequences will be caused'."

"I didn't expect the Royal Guards to be so kind and righteous?"