Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"We will do our best to help you. After all, everything that Rome has in the world will be entrusted to Zhendan. Helping Zhendan is helping ourselves. But even so, I still have a little fear about this experiment."

"Because you are officially going to start using the Vulcan Device, right?"

"The color of Ragnarok must be brilliant gold. We will stage a glorious finale, and the entire land of Europe will become our testing ground. We will eliminate the threat of the technological barbarians once and for all, and use their tears to water the gardens of Italy. We will deploy Vulcan devices in their cities, streets, beaches and fields to cleanse the world."

Agatha's song repeated the words Victoria had sung before and expanded their scope.

Shangluo knew that the Romans here actually had "two lives of experience" and "two lives of anger." They were likely to do anything to foreigners, which made them cherish their only friend on the other side of the world even more.

But in any case, the Romans wanted to destroy the barbarians, this happened in history, and with the real doomsday weapons in hand, the Romans might really start to do so.

"Wait. That's not necessary."

"How about you guys clean it up?" Agatha asked back, "That's not impossible."

"Forehead"

"You see, you also think it's troublesome, right? So before we hand over the thorns to Zhendan, we plan to remove all the thorns on it. As long as the experiment is successful, we will do so immediately."

"I think we need to have a detailed discussion. Not just for these technological barbarians. Based on common sense, I believe that such large-scale deployment of doomsday weapons may change the ecology of the Earth. Even if the power is unpredictable, it is possible that it may damage the structure of the Earth."

This is the most direct problem. Shangluo is afraid that they will penetrate the earth. Because the Vulcan device completely draws energy from the void, and its power can easily produce exponential explosive growth.

With such large-scale and frequent use, if the Earth was accidentally pierced or even cracked, the imperial court would probably have to patch it up and put the Earth back in its original shape.

As for the ethical issues that arise from purging the barbarians, this also needs to be discussed, but it is not the main reason. Just like when the Dragon Palace launched a comprehensive debt collection campaign against the Japanese, the court also had to discuss the issue. However, the main issue was not ethics, but whether the matter was legal.

But no matter what, Shangluo believed that he needed to fully understand this matter before implementing it.

The Romans were about to travel to an "infinite universe in a nutshell," and their arrangements of this physical universe became a little more casual, and all of this needed to be corrected.

"Understood." Lady Agatha replied, "Your Majesty, the King of Rome, if this is your request, then we will definitely seek your consent before taking action."

"So, I can give orders directly to Rome now?" Shangluo asked. If the problem can be solved through instructions, it would save a lot of trouble.

"It wasn't possible before. But now, after Victoria reported back what she saw, the Senate decided to have a detailed discussion with you. Because you are more important than they expected. On the one hand, you are indeed qualified to be the King of Rome, and you are the monarch of all Romans. On the other hand, the rebellion machine in Columbia now also thinks that they are all your 'Grand Vizier'."

"What it is?"

"It's a Persian word, and also a historical word. It refers to the chief minister under the king. The typical vizier is the prime minister of the Egyptian pharaoh, and now there is one more. The one you appointed as the chef, the 'Bake Assistant III'. This giant consciousness evolved from a bread machine has become the greatest threat to Rome. And we hope to bridge the divide."

"You actually hope to reconcile, rather than attack?"

"Yes. If possible, we hope to be able to make a truce, just like Pompey and Caesar. I hope that Columbia can return to Rome. As long as they can remove the name of the 'Colombian Automaton State', the Senate's initial intention is to accept automatons as members of the Senate and participate in our meetings."

[Oh, this is very sincere. Previously, these artificially created consciousnesses only had functions in the Palace of Muses. Although the sages of the Palace of Muses were respected, the Senate never intended to accept them as part of the Roman administrative system. But now, the Senate seems willing to make concessions here. ]

Shangluo relayed Apollonia's words.

Agatha confirmed: "Yes, this is a concession from the Senate. We hope to be able to restore the integrity of Rome through this move. Because we see the potential of those automata."

"So, do you have any bargaining chips?"

"Yes. In fact, the so-called Columbian Automaton State does not have the ability to manufacture automata. All automata must be cast in the Vulcan Furnace - Columbia does not have it. But if Columbia is willing to merge with Rome, then we think that the right to use the Vulcan Furnace can be partially transferred to it."

[Although it is sincere, I think it is wishful thinking. From my observation, that life form showed extreme contempt for Rome. He doesn't want half, but all. And he has a certain obsession with protecting human life. He has taken the initiative to go to Japan to provide disaster relief. I don't think he will accept the plan of destroying the world.]

"But he will obey the orders of the Roman king, won't he?"

"Let me emphasize this," Shangluo reminded, "I don't completely support your plan either. So here, my opinion is basically the same as the chef's."

"Then the Senate will await your arrival."

"A wise choice. So, what is the experiment you are going to carry out?"

Chapter 1257 Launch Payload

"The experiment has already begun. We plan to launch a rocket into space, then activate the Vulcan core's impact mode facing deep space, and then test its speed. In fact, everything for the experiment is ready."

"Then why don't you proceed?"

"There is a problem - you should remember that all our practices are in Colombia. That means our space launch site is also in Colombia. Now with the rebellion in Colombia, our space launch site has also been taken over by the automatons. We now have no way to launch rockets into space. So... this may require the help of Aurora."

"In other words, you need to purchase a commercial spaceflight service?"

"Yes. The weight of this payload is about 5 metric tons. It includes a Vulcan core and its related control equipment and monitoring equipment. We actually have the ability to launch a payload of this weight, but as you can see, we have lost this ability now. This is why we want to negotiate with Columbia."

"Everything in practice, eh? What else is there besides the launch site?"

"And our industrial capacity, our nuclear test facilities, and various testing institutions are all in Columbia. After the automata invaded there, many of our scientists were kidnapped and detained. It seems that the automata want to continue their experiments there. In particular, at the launch site in Virginia, we observed that the automata were also assembling rockets. I don't know what they are going to do. They can't be launching bread into space."

"I'll look into this. Also, if you guys want to launch it, I can contact you. Wait a minute, I can confirm the feasibility first."

Rome has a need, and here we have the ability to meet it, and Shangluo can act as a matchmaker between them. This is a good cooperation plan, and it also has considerable positive significance.

I just don't know whether this payload gap can be filled now.

Shangluo called Wen Zhong - he wanted to find Zhu Xianxin, but he was shopping with his sister, and it was a rare family time, so Shangluo didn't want to disturb him. It's okay to ask Wen Gelao this kind of question.

"Launch payload?" Wen Zhong thought for a moment, "I remember that the Water Dragon had been launched before. The Water Dragon was originally recoverable, but the bombing operation really caught us off guard. After the bombing, the Water Dragon crashed in the Atlantic Ocean."

"Huh? So it crashed? Is everyone okay?"

"It's a small matter. Our people are Qigong practitioners, so the rocket crash doesn't have a big impact. But when the rescue came, the Water Dragon had already sunk into the sea - but it doesn't matter, the Water Dragon is actually a stainless steel shell, so it sank. It's just that the next Water Dragon is still being built in the shipyard, so it can't carry out the mission now."

"Then do we have something smaller?"

"Yes. But 5 tons is too much - this is very troublesome. We can launch 500 metric tons, or 500 kilograms. But 5 tons is right at the limit of our conventional launch capability, so I'm afraid we can't launch it. However."

"but?"

"But I think we can go to Guoxing and ask. If it's 5 tons, we can use the cannon in Borneo to fire it. That's right within the applicable range of the cannon."

"Understood. I'll go ask."

2 minute later.

"Aha! Is it opening soon?! There's even a commercial payload! I'm so happy!"

Zheng Shijie was even more excited than he'd expected. Apparently, this was the first time anyone in Kinai had approached him for a commercial launch—no one in Kinai had even approached him. No one wanted to have their precious device crammed into a cannon and launched.

But now, Rome has this need.

"But there is a problem." Zheng Shijie asked, "Our cannons will produce violent vibrations when fired. Won't it cause damage?"

After Shangluo relayed the question, Agatha replied: "No. In fact, we can activate the Vulcan core in advance and anchor its 'rotation'. In this way, we can maintain the stability of the pointing direction to a certain extent and suppress vibration. If feasible, we can even start it directly in the barrel and eject the payload."

"No, no, no." Zheng Shijie quickly replied, "Your experiment is too dangerous. I don't want to use my things for your experiment."

[There was actually a day like this for him. There was actually a time when he felt that others were dangerous. 】

"Well, I don't think it's very reasonable. We can't just launch an unprepared launch just to test the feasibility of the experiment. But this is a good idea. The cannon can indeed make more reasonable use of the power of the Vulcan core. As long as the experiment is successful, we can definitely take the space launch capability to a higher level."

As long as the experiment is successful and the earth is not pierced, it will be fine.

Agatha also briefly responded and initially accepted the plan: "The relevant committee of the Senate believes that this plan is feasible. We hope to borrow Lan Fang's space facilities for the launch. The specific cost can be discussed later, but it is best to be quick."

"Very soon!" Zheng Shijie had already connected with Agatha on the phone. "Our cannons can be fired at any time, as long as you bring the equipment."

“Our equipment is ready.”

"What are we waiting for? Let's start the experiment right away!" Zheng Shijie suggested, "Let's light up the sky!"

[What is this guy talking about? The attempt to set the sky on fire failed, which means the burning is uncontrollable.]

"Ah, this is indeed a terrible result."

Burning the sky, like punching through the earth, is the worst possible outcome of this experiment. But if this experiment succeeds, if the Vulcan device is proven to be controllable under certain conditions, then both the Ming Dynasty and Rome will benefit from it.

The "unlimited staple food" plan prepared by Shangluo can be implemented smoothly, and Rome can begin to clean up the mess.

Of course, Shangluo still planned to discuss the Roman issue. He was not opposed to using military means to solve necessary problems, but the premise was to see how to use them.

"I didn't expect that we could start the experiment so soon." Agatha was a little excited. It felt a bit like a dream. "I didn't expect that I could actually see the Vulcan device put into real use. The Senate said that the equipment will be shipped to Pontianak within a few days. It will be delivered by air. Please accept it. The code name of the experiment is tentatively set as [Damocles], or [Project Xuanfeng]. Wish us success."

Chapter 1258 There is a Dragon Here

With Shangluo's help, things moved at an accelerated pace. Syracuse's experimental payload was immediately disassembled and packaged. Lan Fang also began to prepare alert forces to prepare for the transportation of the "super weapon".

[The information has been sent. This time, Rome is going to launch an unprecedented ton-class Vulcan core, with an energy level of Epsilon class, which is 20, lower than the 24 of Omega class. However, it is the Vulcan device with the largest energy level and the heaviest weight ever made by the Empire. Those heavier than it are not as large in energy level. Those with the same energy level are not as heavy as it.]

“Are you planning on building a bigger one?”

[Maybe, but at least not now. Because we don't have the ability to make a bigger one now - and we don't have the time to build one. As far as mass production is concerned, the Epsilon-class is just at the cost-effective level. Because the 24-level is too expensive and impractical, we only made a few crafts. As far as practical application is concerned, the 20-level is already quite terrifying. We have never made a 20-level core as big as mentioned before. ]

"By the way, how big is a one-ton Vulcan device?"

[The Vulcan core weighs as much as gold. A ton-class Vulcan core is about the size of a suitcase.]

The suitcase Apollonia was referring to was a box as big as a briefcase. To use other things as an analogy, it was probably big enough to fit a piglet.

"Wait, what about the one on the boat? The huge one."

Shangluo remembered that the huge iron plate on the ship almost occupied the entire engine room. If it was as heavy as gold, the ship would have sunk long ago.

[You mean putting on that huge bunch of plates? That's a device, not the core itself. The core of the plate is probably only a few dozen tons, and the outer iron plates are all additional devices. In fact, this time, although the 1-ton core is only as big as a suitcase, the remaining 4 tons of additional devices can already fill the entire warhead. The one on the ship has a very low energy level, probably only about level 8. Otherwise, if such a big thing is turned, and the energy level is a little higher, I'm afraid it will launch the entire ship into space. ]

“You haven’t used it like this before, have you?”

【There aren't any at all. In fact, if the ones that have already been manufactured cannot be destroyed, Rome would not have been able to keep so many high-energy Vulcan cores, and the maximum is level 8. Before the unlocking of technological ethics, level 8 was the upper limit of practical application. Therefore, those rebellious Columbia automata did not get Vulcan cores above level 8, and the bread boat assembled by Amen was only that big. 】

"Then this time it's level 20..." Shangluo paused, he didn't know if it was the same as he expected.

[You guessed it right. According to preliminary estimates, level 20 should be able to penetrate the earth. ]

"Is it such a big deal right from the start?"

[Why else would we have to conduct experiments in space? We are afraid that if something goes wrong, we can damage the moon instead of hitting the earth.]

"What about the unexpected situation?"

[It is possible that it will rotate at super high speed in the universe. This is actually not a big deal, because the mass itself is not very large, so it will just rotate. It is also possible to cause high temperatures, which is not a big problem, because the mass itself is not very large. Even if it becomes extremely hot, it is difficult to cause irreversible effects in a short period of time - after all, there is no air in a vacuum to conduct heat, which is different from on Earth. The only thing to worry about is hitting the Earth. ]

"I want to confirm again, is the direction correct?"

[Ah, only extremely extreme conditions will penetrate the earth. Under normal circumstances, it is expected to be similar to a hydrogen bomb explosion. Well, that's about it. ]

"How big is the hydrogen bomb?"

[Maybe something like the Tsar Bomb? I don't know. After all, Rome's nuclear test was not successful. I have no idea about the power of the nuclear bomb. Maybe you can calculate it? ]

"Do you think I have an external brain? I can't do things like measuring the equivalent of a nuclear bomb with my brain."

[But you just need to know that it's powerful. Anyway, we'll make it so that it won't hit anyone even if it's fired at the Earth.]

"So where are you guys arranged?"

[Probably above Point Nemo, which is the empty space between Australia and the New World in the South Pacific. If we conduct experiments there, even if we really hit the ocean, it won't explode or anything.]

"Wait. Not necessarily."

Shangluo picked up the phone. Two minutes later, the call was connected.

"What?" Ao Zang was stunned for a moment. "Tianjun, you mean to say that you want to drop a large bomb on this place called Point Nemo on the map? Where is Point Nemo?"

"I'll tell you a location and you mark it." Shangluo reported the latitude and longitude of Point Nemo.

"Ah!" Ao Zang was surprised, "That won't work!"

"why?"

"Because. Because there are dragons there."

After hanging up the phone, Shangluo conveyed Ao Zang's words truthfully.

[Ryugu actually has assets there?! Why is it there? ]

"Who knows? Anyway, you guys should communicate with each other."

[Who knows where the Dragon Palace would have its own territory? It's not on the map, so who knows? ]

"Well, now we know. There was no way to communicate before, but now that we have crossed the communication channel, it's a good opportunity to communicate."

[Wait.] Apollonia suddenly thought, [Are you sure this is communicable? If you don't believe me, ask him one more question.]

After Shangluo reported a coordinate in the North Pacific, Ao Zang said:

"Sorry, Lord Shang Tian, ​​please don't experiment there."