Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

[No, I think "sleeping 8 hours a day" is not normal. Sometimes people sleep longer, sometimes they sleep shorter. The exact amount of sleep depends on the specific situation of the day. But no matter what the situation is, you should sleep hours without fail. Because what drives your sleep is no longer the instinctive needs of the body, but habit.]

"Hey, it's true."

Phaethon asked, "So this doesn't seem to be a big problem?"

"It's not a big problem for me, but it's a big problem for everyone. First of all..." Shangluo shook the small sandbag in his pocket, "First of all, I have this sandbag here. We can't let everyone wear this sandbag. If this situation spreads to everyone, countless people will definitely go crazy. Maybe they will be addicted to something for days, months, or even years."

"Ah, I have a picture in mind. Sometimes I will forget to eat and sleep when reading a book. If I really don't need to eat or sleep, then my reading session might last for several weeks."

"Oh, right." Shangluo asked, "How does Victoria stay stable? I see that her condition has been very serious before, and there is a risk of "escalation" at any time. But she seems to be able to stay normal in her own palace? Why?"

"That's right. Victoria's behavior is abnormal in the natural environment. It's mainly because her heart has begun to sublimate. The light from the highest heaven flows out of her body, so she often enters a semi-comatose and semi-conscious ecstatic state, just like being drunk - alcohol can make you feel spiritual, it really is like being drunk."

"What about inside her bedroom?"

"The principle is very simple. The balloon leaks because the air pressure inside and outside is inconsistent. If the air pressure inside and outside is the same, the gas will not overflow. If the external air pressure is higher, the gas can even be pressed into the balloon. Victoria's bedroom is such a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. The energy level there is increased, so Victoria will not show extraordinary qualities there. The same is true for her current palace."

"Ah!" Shang Luo clapped his hands fiercely. "In order to prevent everyone in the region from becoming as crazy about the supernatural as Victoria, we might as well raise the environmental energy level of the entire region."

"You're so smart! Victoria had a problem, so she hid in a specially created artificial environment. If you think there's a problem, you can modify the natural environment, right?"

"Why not?" Shangluo spread his hands. "That's just how things are in Heaven. I've read myths and there's something very confusing about this: there aren't just great gods in Heaven, there are also celestial maidens, powerful warriors, and the like. If everyone had magic, wouldn't Heaven be very difficult to manage? If we think of it this way: celestial maidens may have magic, but their magic can't be used in Heaven—that makes a lot more sense."

Phaethon confirmed again: "So what you mean is: someone needs hyperbaric oxygen chamber treatment now. Your choice is not to build a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, but to transform the entire environment into a hyperbaric oxygen chamber?"

"That's correct. But I think this may cause some problems: Victoria herself didn't go into detail, but I still remember it - where did she eat Fujian mapo tofu? She didn't even leave the house."

"I think this may be the result of her transformation of the bedroom."

"That's what I thought, too. So before we completely transform Kinai into a 'heavenly landform', we have to do a feasibility test. I don't want things like eating and sleeping to disturb people's minds. If that happens, there will probably be millions of people going crazy - you see, how important it is to investigate Victoria."

"Ah~~That makes sense~~" A strange voice came from the trunk.

“What’s that sound???” Phaethon turned back alertly.

"Oh no, you heard it wrong."

"I did hear someone's voice."

"Oh, maybe it's a kitten."

"Meow~~~Meow meow." A cat's meow that was so realistic that it could be mistaken for a real one came from the trunk.

Phaethon turned around suddenly and said, "Someone is imitating a cat's meow in the trunk! He imitates it really well!"

"No way! How did you know that? It was clearly the sound of a cat."

"Because this sentence has grammatical errors!"

"Meow?" The voice in the trunk also expressed confusion.

"Ah, I see." Fae said with a look of "seeing through you", "Yanqiu is in the trunk, right?"

"Oh, you found me." Yanqiu poked his head from the trunk into the car - the trunk and the car were connected.

"So he was so considerate today. Was it your suggestion?"

"Yeah." Yanqiu stared at Phaethon, "I really want to see you two date! Please! Just consider it as fulfilling my wish! Even if it's for my sake, please give me some candy!"

Chapter 1061 Nasi Lemak

Three people were sitting at the table, but only two were eating.

"Miss Yanqiu, don't you want to eat something too?"

"Hey, eat it, eat it. It's so sweet."

"Is it sweet? This is too spicy. Although it tastes really good." Phaethon took a bite of the nasi lemak in front of him, "It is exactly the same as the one I had at Jinling Hotel before."

"After all, they ordered the nasi lemak for takeout," Yanqiu replied. "The takeout ordered from Jinling Hotel is different from that from other places, because people in the industry know that Jinling Hotel will only seek help from other hotels when it encounters a very difficult problem. At the same time, this can also be regarded as advertising, because Jinling Hotel will recommend guests to go directly to other restaurants next time."

"But after eating it twice, I still can't understand why Victoria thinks this is 'Fujian mapo tofu'. I can't believe she still wants to eat it."

After tasting this nasi lemak for the second time, Phaethon still found it hard to accept the taste.

The "nasi lemak" itself was really good, because it was steamed with coconut milk, and every bite was full of coconut fragrance. The dried fish and peanuts that went with it were also very appetizing. But the spicy sauce that came with the rice was too horrible for her.

"Is this spicy?" Yanqiu looked at Shangluo next to her, "Is this spicy?"

"Not bad." Shangluo took another bite, "So how is this 'Sanba sauce' made?"

"It's actually shrimp paste chili sauce. The shrimp is made into shrimp paste and mixed with chopped fresh chilies and some dried spices."

"I think it's pretty good. The shrimp paste has a strong salty and fragrant base flavor, and the spiciness is stimulated by fresh chili peppers, dried chili peppers and other spices. It's spicy in a very layered way. It seems to have a bit of sour taste?"

"It might be lime. Sometimes they add a little lime before serving to remove the fishy smell and enhance the flavor."

“It’s a very good dish. Although the method is simple, the shrimp paste is very Southeast Asian and fresh. I would be happy to eat it once a week.”

"Ah," Phaethon took a sip of the coconut juice beside him, "It tastes really good, but it's too spicy. You know, the Romans love shrimp paste, fish sauce and the like, and they are not against spices, such as the kebab barbecue in Anatolia. But this is too spicy! This fresh pepper has a pungent spicy taste, my mouth hurts so much, and I can't calm down even if I drink a beverage."

"Really?" Yanqiu moved closer, "You don't mind if I smell it?"

"Smell it." Phaethon pushed the plate towards her.

Yanqiu didn't put her nose directly close to it, but instead sniffed it a little as if she were smelling chemical reagents.

"It tastes really good. Don't be fooled by this being a roadside stall. The owner is very famous. Not only is he a great soccer player, but his nasi lemak is also very authentic."

"Hmm," Shang Luo shook his head. "Now that you put it that way, it's even harder for me to understand why Victoria would always remember this dish. I say, Phaethon, can your taste represent that of the Romans?"

"I think I'm pretty hardy, and I have a strong tolerance for different flavors. But this is really spicy for me. And Victoria, for one, is even more so. Roman cuisine is mainly stews, and court cuisine is more restrained in the use of spices, with absolutely no hint of spiciness. Didn't you see she didn't actually eat it last time? She ended up packing it up and taking it away—taking the leftovers away is a Roman tradition; after a banquet, guests are required to pack some away to show their satisfaction with the meal. She might not actually eat it when she gets home."

"Then Victoria's room can't be haunted."

"It's hard to say." Phaethon replied, "Do you remember the ice cream you ate?"

"Which silhouette slices are you talking about?"

"Rome is full of these semi-autonomous silhouettes. There are gatekeepers, ice cream makers, and some soda mixers - you may not know that being preserved as a slice like this is actually a privilege, just like your own wax museum or photo, except this one moves."

"But those things don't exist in reality. How did Victoria eat them?"

"I think there may be only one." Phaethon lowered his voice, "Victoria went out for a night tour."

"Night tour? What's that?"

"A spell that uses magical powers to traverse the spirit world is part of the magician's practice. It is hard to imagine that Victoria would automatically enter this state. As a Roman emperor, she should be isolated from magic."

"Can't she practice magic?"

"Yes, she should stay away from any magic, because she cannot favor any of the Three Great Ones, and she must rule as a mortal. As far as I know, Victoria has not learned any magic, and she has almost no contact with the true mysticism except for some theological theories."

“Isn’t theology different from mysticism?”

"It's different. To make an inappropriate analogy, theology and mysticism both study cabbage from the perspectives of biology and agronomy. Victoria only studies cabbage in the biological sense, not how to grow cabbage. In other words, her understanding of mysterious things is generally limited to general knowledge, and she studies this part mainly to protect herself so as not to violate some unknown taboos."

"So she chose to come to us without much opposition, right?"

“I’m afraid so. The fact that she could go out at night from her own house shows that things in Constantinople are out of control to some extent—she has even seen things she has never seen before. I don’t know what happened in Constantinople, but things in Rome are always bad, and it can’t be good.”

"Now, do you really not need our help?"

"Wait for Victoria to speak," Phaethon replied. "Although Rome may really need help now, if Victoria herself does not speak, you should just pretend you don't know. Rather than this, you should focus on the principle behind this matter. If the soul can leave the body while sleeping, that would be too scary. The essence of night wandering is the soul leaving the body, which is very dangerous no matter where it is, and it may even lead to eternal sleep."

"Thinking about it this way, if the entire country is filled with spiritual energy, it's actually not much different from being filled with demonic energy. By then, who knows, some stone might suddenly become a spirit. It's not impossible for a vending machine to become a spirit by then."

"Ha, that's what I was thinking just now. What if the stone turns into a monkey and hits you?"

Chapter 1062 Night Tour

"My personal opinion is that you don't need to care about it. As long as the spirits born and raised by nature don't do evil, they are living beings in the world. As long as they don't harm others, they can be regarded as just some extra decorations in the house. There is no need to care about them."

"There may be some guys who are too strong."

"Do you think there will be a true 'natural saint', like Sun Wukong? I think there is something wrong with the operation of the Heavenly Court. If I were to do it, I would definitely make the monkeys happy. After all, we don't eat monkey brains. There are official positions in heaven, and asking the heavens to let the monkeys drink is just a matter of adding an extra pair of chopsticks. I think the fact that the Heavenly Court let the monkeys visit the Peach Garden was their fault."

“You’re still very open-minded.”

"Because we are strong, I am not worried." Shangluo replied, "Let's look at it from another angle - it would be a problem if a natural saint like the stone monkey was born in the lower world, because it is out of control. If we transform the entire country into the landscape of heaven, then it is nothing more than the monkey star among the star officials, or the monkey among the six Dings and six Jias, or the monkey generals and monkey river gods. The heaven is very tolerant, even if they don't look like humans, they can still be high officials."

【For example, Tianyi Guiren? 】

"That's right." Shang Luo nodded and said, "Look, we have handled the relationship with Tianyi Guiren quite well. Tianyi Guiren has not caused any trouble to the court and has been working hard. We also regard Tianyi Guiren as one of our own. So after all, the key is how to handle this matter. I think there is something wrong with the Heavenly Court. If it were me, I would definitely not force the monkey to rebel. Besides, the stone monkey is not a balloon, and it will not become bigger by inflating it. It's not that easy. Once the spiritual energy increases, a natural saint will appear. There is no such good thing in this world."

"Well, that's true." Phaethon nodded. "Now that you think about it, why do I feel like I'm scolding the Romans?"

"The Romans did a few things right - very few. They were all wrong. I think the Romans need to be taught a lesson by monkeys so that they know how to deal with the world properly. How can they deal with the problems of the world if they don't even want to live?"

"Are you going to say that to Victoria after this?"

"No." Shang Luo still shook his head. "In short, this is still Rome's internal affairs and has nothing to do with us. I just sigh that sometimes it is always difficult for people to stand in the right place and do the right thing. Besides, even if I want to help, I don't have time now. Let's talk about it after we repair the Great Wall."

"If the Great Wall that Guoxing mentioned can be repaired, it should indeed be able to suppress the world. After all, it is probably a wonder that has never been seen in human history. Oh, by the way, Miss Yanqiu, do you know?"

"Ah? Don't ask me." Yan Qiu shook her head. "I'm here to eat candy. Just pretend I don't exist. I'll just answer some questions about Miss Victoria. As for things related to aerospace, ah. I really don't want to talk about it now."

"Hmm?" Phaethon blinked. "Do you have any special relationship with 'space'? Wait. How did you convince Shangluo to let you take the photo?"

[Wow!] Apollonia was surprised. [How did you connect these two things? You are so skilled! What kind of thinking path is this?]

"Yes, yes, yes!" Yan Qiu said happily, "This is what I want to see. Ah~ It has a sweet and sour taste, so delicious."

[Ah, indeed. Why didn't I think of that? This is really just a case of being too concerned. Wow, the entertainers are really professional in this regard.]

"Of course, I've read many scripts. The next plot is that Miss Phaethon will also ask to go along!"

"Where?"

"Go to the moon." Shangluo said helplessly, "It's all exposed, right?"

"You shouldn't have kept it from me." Phaethon looked at him, "Aren't you a key employee of our company?"

"Yes, yes, yes. I am a key employee, chairman, security guard, and part-time chef in the kitchen at 135. Miss Phaethon, there are only two of us in our company."

"So you have to tell me what it is."

"To the moon, literally." Shangluo replied, "If nothing unexpected happens - I mean nothing unexpected in every sense of the word, we will go to the moon in a few months."

"???" Phaethon was stunned for a moment, then he was relieved, "Sure enough, this seems like something you would do."

"What?" Shang Luo asked in surprise, "How come you accepted it so quickly?"

"You're all going to build the Great Wall in orbit, so there's nothing wrong with going to the moon to take a look, right? Are you going to the moon just to take a look?"

"And to invite a moon rabbit back to make mooncakes - ha, how is that possible? Just to take a look and shoot a commercial. After all, under the current conditions, there is nothing else I can do except take a stroll."

"But can you really go?" Yan Qiu asked, "Given your current physical condition, you can no longer use normal spells, right?"

"You're right." Shang Luo nodded. "In fact, this is what I'm worried about. If it weren't for Guo Xing's strong request, if it weren't for the importance of the space program, I wouldn't want to take the risk. For other celestial beings, participating in this program may be easier, but it's different for me. Now I can't even use such a basic spell as the Curse Jujube Spell. Every move I make has the power of a heavenly calamity. This is certainly very powerful, but it's not practical. I can't just go to the moon to fight the moon rabbit."

"So, why don't you just not go to Shangluo?"

"Ah~~" Yanqiu was anxious, "You are breaking the rules! I went only because Shangluo agreed to go. If he didn't go, how could I dare to go to the moon to shoot a commercial."

"Are you sure you want him to accompany you?" Phaethon lowered his voice, "Ms. Yanqiu, I'm afraid you don't know yet. Although you may have heard something from our conversation just now, you probably don't know the details yet - now, all of Shangluo's spells have been transformed into other states because of the heavenly calamity. He can't save anyone now."

"Ah, this." Yanqiu looked at Shangluo, "Is this true?"

"Yes." Shangluo nodded, "To be honest, that's the truth. Are you still going?"

"Then of course I will go! It is by going on adventures with heroes who carry blades that the best stories are born. Only a sword that hurts oneself can hurt others, and the power of darkness is hidden in the body. This is really cool!"

"Okay, okay." Phaethon covered his forehead. "I'll go too. At least I can use some magic properly. I really don't feel at ease if you go. Can the spaceship still carry people?"

"Only three."

"Who's the third one? Let him go."

"No, the third one is the pilot. Yanqiu and I don't know how to fly a rocket."

"Then I'll do it."

Chapter 1063 Zheng Yin

"What? You three are going? Wait."