The driver nodded sharply in response: "Have you brought all your luggage?"
"I didn't bring any luggage; it's all in my pockets. Does your car have a schedule in Las Vegas? I'd like to take your car again when I return."
The driver stepped on the accelerator and fled to the next stop without even closing the door.
"Tsk, what's there to be afraid of?"
[Put yourself in their shoes. If there were a Jinyiwei sitting in my car, I would be scared too.]
"Don't worry about that for now. I have something very realistic that I have to do."
【What? 】
"I need to go to the bathroom, can you please step aside?"
【Avoid? Are you planning to throw me out?】
"No, I mean maybe you could look away? After all, it would be uncomfortable to have someone staring at you in this kind of situation."
【Why are you so troublesome? 】
"This isn't just about using the bathroom. We have to have some privacy, right?"
"Okay." Apollonia said helplessly, "Take out the music box and take a look, and you'll know."
His music box was in his pocket, and he reached out, took it out and opened the lid.
"Huh?" He paused. The contents of the box had changed. This music box had originally contained parts, what Senator Jefferson had called the "divine body." Shangluo still remembered what it looked like inside. It was a mind-numbing pile of non-standard parts, and there was a bullet hole in the casing from before that "hammer" struck.
Now, however, the music box was empty. But inside the pitch-black music box, something seemed to be gleaming with golden light. It was a golden ball the size of a fingernail, lying quietly inside.
"Hello? Where's your body? Not in the music box?"
No sound came, and Apollonia lost her response.
He tipped the music box over and the small ball fell onto his hand. The moment the ball touched his hand, his skin felt numb like an electric shock. He subconsciously swung his hand and the small ball, the size of a fingernail, flew out.
[Look, it's like this. Ahh ...
Apollonia had just uttered a few words when her voice vanished as the ball flew out, leaving behind a long, lingering "Ah—" that still lingered in his head.
The next moment, everything was silent.
It wasn't that there was no sound. Standing on the highway at the entrance to Las Vegas, all around was sand. There was the whistling wind, the cries of vultures, and the roar of passing engines. But the only sound was not Apollonia's.
At this moment, he felt like a kite with its string cut. Although he didn't experience any physical discomfort, the loss of control over his future made him feel like he was drowning.
Hot wind mixed with sand blew, and the hair without a crown was messy in the wind.
“That golden bean.”
He knew the key to the problem. After the golden bean was thrown away, Apollonia disappeared.
"Golden Beans, where are they?" He lowered his head to search. In the vast desert, even the road was covered in dust. The color of the golden beans was very similar to the desert in the sun, so they must be difficult to find.
He anxiously lowered his head to look for it. Fortunately, the golden bean was lying at his feet and had not rolled far away.
"Huh, not bad." He breathed a sigh of relief and bent down to reach out his hand.
This time he was prepared. The electric shock came from his fingertips that touched the gold beans again.
Apollonia's voice came back online.
[What are you doing?! I'm so scared! Why did you throw me out?!]
After the call was reconnected, Apollonia's voice was filled with anger - but there was also a hint of panic and fear in it, as if she was even more panicked than Shangluo.
"Who knew you could discharge electricity?"
[I don't have any discharge at all, that's just your psychology.]
"Yes, yes, it's my fault."
【.】
"Why don't you speak?"
Next time, please don't throw me away. You are the only one who can hear my words, no one else. If you throw me away again, what awaits the Infinite Divine Machine 'Apollonia' will not be infinite possibilities, but infinite confinement.
"Yeah." Shangluo nodded and said nothing more.
When he raised his head again, he felt the air flowing again, and the suffocating feeling of losing control of his destiny finally disappeared.
With one hand in his pocket, he kept his fingertips in contact with the "golden bean." There was indeed no electricity, but every time Apollonia spoke, he always felt an inexplicable sensation in his fingertips.
It felt like someone was pointing a finger at the center of his eyebrows. Even though there was no contact, a sore, swollen, foreign sensation arose there. Now, this foreign sensation originated from his fingertips, spreading upward along them, passing through his heart and traveling all the way up.
To be honest, it wasn't very comfortable, but it was something he could get used to in order to keep the call going.
"Where is the bathroom, anyway? Can you check?"
[I'm not a shady navigation system, how can I help you check? How about I help you with your divination? You draw a card first.]
"I can't have divinations for everything, right? Do I have to consult a fortune teller before I step out with my left foot or my right foot? And what fortune teller would consult his own fortune all day long? Wouldn't that shorten his lifespan?"
[Is there still such a thing? 】
"You don't know? If you don't know, forget it."
Your opinion is important. Perhaps my constant bad luck stems from my constant attempts to peer into my own destiny. It's better to save it for crucial moments. Overusing it too often isn't a good thing. Just like Odin, who knew Ragnarok was coming, tried to avert the gods' doom, but his struggle only brought Ragnarok ever closer.
"So if I always divine the location of the toilet."
"I don't know why, but I have a feeling you might predict the strange outcome of 'never finding a public restroom.'"
"Isn't that a curse? If I can never find a public restroom, won't my movements be limited to my own home and other people's homes?!"
"That's right. So, divination that can't change the outcome is no different from a curse. You're right. It's best not to use divination for trivial matters like the one you take when leaving the house. You never know when it might surprise you. Find it yourself."
Chapter 18 Golden Arches
"If I look for it myself... Ah! I found it!"
[So fast? Where? Why didn't I see it?]
——"Welcome."
The clerk wearing the Golden Arches logo put down his mop.
"Excuse me, can I use the restroom?"
After receiving an affirmative answer, he put his coat on the back of the chair.
"Thank you!" Shangluo didn't have time to say anything else. This roadside Golden Arches store was a lifesaver.
No matter what time of year, the toilets at McDonald's are always trustworthy.
After leaving the coat containing Apollonia outside, he finally had the opportunity to take care of his "personal business".
Three minutes later, Shangluo returned to his seat.
Have you washed your hands?
"I told you you can run away if you haven't washed yourself yet? I've washed myself, don't worry. By the way, do you want something to eat?"
“No?” Apollonia replied unhappily, clearly annoyed by not being able to eat.
"Wait, are you mad? Does this mean you could eat before?"
[Can you please stop trying to get me to tell you something? Are you a member of the Imperial Guard? Why are you trying to get me to tell you something so easily?]
"Okay, okay, I won't bother you anymore. I'll just go get something to eat." He put on his coat and walked to the counter.
"Well, let me see, it's the same menu as in San Francisco." But upon closer inspection, there were actually some surprises on it.
"There's century egg and lean pork congee? Isn't this a menu item only available in Kinai?"
"It's flown in," the waiter replied. The waiter who had just been sweeping the floor was now standing behind the counter. "The menu in Las Vegas is different from the rest of the New World. We get our products directly from Kinai."
"That's true. After all, this place isn't under the imperial court's jurisdiction. Are you also sent from outside? How's business here?"
"Business is okay. But this one isn't so good. There are a lot of Golden Arches in Las Vegas, and the ones inside are busier. This one is closer to the outside, and those locals who come in by car won't spend their money here. What do you want to eat?"
"Let me see." He felt much better when he learned that the long-lost menu here was the same as that in Kinai.
Looking up, he saw that they were indeed the ones he was very familiar with, but there was no Poor Man’s Set Meal that Shangluo loved so much in his previous life.
"Preserved egg and lean pork porridge, then a cup of lemon black tea and a fried chicken burger."
"Okay. Please sit over there. I'll take it back to you in a moment."
Everything was the same as before. Shangluo felt more comfortable than ever before. This place was even closer to his hometown across the ocean than San Francisco.
As I walked back to my seat, a low roar was heard in the sky.
[Well, the early morning airship has arrived. Are airships more popular here?]
"People who aren't in a rush will still choose an airship. It's spacious, and you don't have to tuck your legs behind the seat. Planes are noisy, and the wings block the view. Airships are more stable, and the scenery is better. There's even a kitchen on board for on-site cooking, while planes are limited to instant food. If I had the choice, I'd probably choose an airship. The return trip takes three days, but it's as luxurious as a cruise ship."
As they spoke, the aroma of preserved egg and lean pork congee wafted over. It was a long-missed freshness—San Francisco, despite its abundant supplies, was always lackluster in seasoning. The cafeterias there seemed to care little about whether their customers enjoyed the food or not, simply piling on the dry goods.
Compared with the radish stewed with meat that is the same all year round, even the preserved egg and lean meat porridge is considered fresh.
"Well, it's still the original recipe, and it still tastes familiar." The waiter had already placed his plate on the table, which contained not only century egg and lean meat porridge, but also lemon black tea and a hamburger.
As usual, the plate was lined with paper, bearing a poster similar to that found in the Jinnei region: Emperor Taizu, pursued by Yuan soldiers, collapsed from hunger on the roadside. Suddenly, a kind old woman appeared and offered him a meal: two toasted buns with vegetables and meat. A man could eat just one, hence the name "Han Bao Bao." Emperor Taizu ate the Han Bao Bao and, with a single blow, defeated the Yuan soldiers.
As for why the Hanbaobao was later renamed the hamburger, that was a story about the banquet hosted by Emperor Taizu after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and it is on another piece of paper.
"Tsk, is it a hamburger now? I remember when I saw it before, it was Emperor Taizu eating French fries and drinking Coke. How come Emperor Taizu always has people offering him food wherever he goes?"
"Your Emperor Taizu is so popular. The Roman emperor would get beaten up with eggs when he went out. Do you want to eat? Ah, I'm a little hungry for some reason."
Shangluo opened his mouth wide and took in all the layers of the burger in one bite. After all these years, the burger was still just as big. Even with two layers, it was hard to swallow in one bite. The three-layer burger required pinching with the hands to eat.
"Hmm~~That's the taste."
One shouldn't talk while eating, as only Apollonia could hear what he said.
"The aroma of this sauce is a familiar taste. It's a cheap industrial product, but it has staple food and meat, and it gives you the reassuring feeling of having eaten your fill."
He swallowed the burger in his mouth with tea and breathed a sigh of relief. "Ah, I'm alive again. Then, let's get to work. Time is limited, so we can eat while we do it. I need to read some information before I can make a decision."
He put down half his burger and borrowed a guide map of Las Vegas from the waiter. The various attractions in the city - mainly the "amusement facilities" with various characteristics - were all listed in the atlas.
Along the central axis of Las Vegas Boulevard, hotels from around the world have opened. There are Roman neoclassical architecture, Yangzhou Mayan Revivalist buildings, and miniature replicas of Egyptian pyramids and sphinxes. There are six racetracks alone, all clustered together, and even in the off-season, they're always packed. The free guidebooks themselves are impressive, with thumbnails of each iconic building.
Decent is the hallmark of Las Vegas.
This is both a gambler's paradise and a gambler's hell. Some find physical heaven here, while others find physical hell here. The desert can produce such strange flowers, and it can also bury all sorts of secrets. Once buried, everyone will be respectable.
"Where did they take you last time?"
[I don't know. I'm too lazy to care about them, so I made them that little closed-loop divination gadget. The cards are on you, and you can use them to divine the success of this trip later. Or you can use something else.]
"Isn't that just a perfunctory answer for them?"
"Yes and no. Everything from the post to the reply was true. The cards truly provided them with answers from the Akashic Records. I simply didn't bother interpreting them. As for you, I can interpret yours. And it's not just the cards; any place I'm looking at can be interpreted as a sign. For example, after you finish your tea, just look at the tea leaves at the bottom of the cup."
Chapter 19 Efficacy
"Hmm." Shangluo had actually read about the method of tea divination in a magazine. This "Western secret technique" always seemed very effective.
However, this cup of black tea poured from the beverage machine was almost empty, but there were only a tiny amount of tea leaves left, which was not enough for divination.
[I miscalculated. There's no use for these tea leaves. Take out your cards, and let's do some divination.]
Shangluo checked his waist bag to see if everything was there. Before the Jinyiwei arrived, he had only enough time to take his valuables: his wallet, his ID, and two items related to Apollonia: a music box and playing cards.
All of this was contained in a small waist bag slung across his shoulder. Apart from that, there was nothing else.
However, I have more than fifty taels of banknotes and silver dollars in cash on hand, so I don’t have to worry about not having enough food for the time being.
"Then, let's begin divination."
He glanced in the clerk's direction. The clerk was looking back at him, but only smiled. Really, there was nothing awkward about this. There was nothing unusual about pulling out tarot cards for a divination in Las Vegas.
Shangluo opened the small box containing the cards.
"Hmm???" There was nothing inside. Yet, it still felt heavy.
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