Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"Five o'clock in the afternoon, Yingtian time. What, do you have plans?"

"Wait over there while I return to the meeting. Well, if everything goes well, Captain Lin, please pay attention to the upgrade push for Fetion in the next two days. I've created a fun feature for everyone called 'Forum'."

Chapter 255: Reform and Relief, Resolving the Dilemma

"By the way." Shangluo stood up and looked outside. The nose cone used by Ninghe to break the sound barrier prevented him from seeing anything.

"What do you want to see?"

"I've been thinking about how I've been on this ride so many times, but I've never seen a techno-barbarian. Can I see one here?"

Captain Lin glanced at the route map and said, "Below is the Baku oil field, and below that is a Slavic tribe. You can go to the cabin and take a look."

30 seconds later, Shangluo came back.

"You can't see anything. People on the ground can't even see clearly, they're smaller than ants. All you can see are a lot of big chimneys and a lot of oil extraction machines."

“Those are the facilities at the Baku oil fields.”

"What about the barbarians? Do the barbarians work there?"

"Barbarians have nothing to do with the oil fields. The oil fields and refineries are just built in their area. It's like the post office putting up an electric pole outside your house. It has nothing to do with the ant hole two meters underground. The ant hole is just an ant hole. The electric pole outside is a part of human civilization and has nothing to do with the ants."

"So this is what technological barbarians are like?"

"Well, strictly speaking, they're not technological barbarians, just ordinary barbarians. They don't even have technology. Sometimes you can see groups of white patches moving on the hillsides. They're sheep grazing. Their life is just herding sheep, and then scattering some grains on the hillside. Whether there's a harvest depends on the weather. Well, without technology, life is a lot simpler, which is not bad. Of course, if you ask me if I want to live a simple life, I definitely don't want to."

"That's right. What did the Romans do to them?"

"I've never heard of it. I occasionally chat with Roman crews at Constantinia Airport, and they say it's never mentioned. Rome's attitude towards them is also 'ignoring' them, treating them like spiders weaving a web in the room or ants crawling across the floor. But they still have to collect tithes, mainly in kind, such as taking one out of every 10 sheep."

"Where are the technological barbarians?"

"The real technological barbarians are further north, in places like Berlin. I've heard them talk about this quite often. The Romans often fought wars with them. But Rome usually didn't initiate the attack; it was always the barbarians who tried to charge at the Wall themselves. They were incredibly ferocious and would bite. I've heard they even ate people."

"Why does it sound like the Lion Camel Kingdom on Lion Camel Ridge?"

"Oh, that's a brilliant analogy." Captain Lin nodded. "If you think of these barbarians down there as common street monsters, then Berlin is the Lion City. And then there's the Great King, the Second Great King, and the Third Great King. The Great King is the Germans, the Second Great King is the Slavs, and the Third Great King is the Celts. Rome encircled them with three separate Great Walls."

"Well, to be fair, if I were trapped by the Great Wall, I would fight my way out." Shangluo sympathized with them a little, but that was all he said. "But there's no need to reason with barbarians."

"Well, there's no need to explain the truth, but we still have to be nice to the barbarians, otherwise they will cause trouble for the court."

"But according to what was said just now, the three kings are actually the most important?"

"Yes, that's why I said your example is very insightful. Of these three, the Celtic side often uses some uncanny power."

Shangluo knew this was referring to Elodeasha and the Wild Hunt in the wilderness. While the Celts weren't the masters of this power, they were certainly a significant source. The Changelings emerged from the Celts' shadows and had nearly severed one of the cornerstones of magic.

The war between Rome and the Wild Hunt is not over yet, and the Hunting God, who stalks the wilderness, is at the forefront of this conflict. Shangluo, though only fulfilling a portion of the Hunting God's duties, has already fought it all. Honestly, it was a terrifying experience. If Rome hadn't activated the "Final Plan," their group might not have been able to escape that perilous place.

Although Shangluo ultimately made a profit, and the others also made some money, having also experimented with some torch technology, it was a serious blow to Rome. Shangluo could guess that this had likely disrupted some of Rome's plans, bringing the conflicts between Constantinople and Antioch, and between the Empire and Columbia, to the fore.

This obviously made both sides a little confused, not only Constantinople, but also New Antioch. Otherwise, there would not be a sudden explosion of a rocket.

"I'm actually a little worried about Rome now. After all, I have quite a few colleagues and friends there." Captain Lin took a sip of tea. Maintenance work had become less complicated after returning to normal flight, but he didn't seem relaxed at all.

"Let me tell you, New Antioch is very powerful. It's the industrial heart of Rome. If a war breaks out, the outcome won't be easy to determine. That's why New Antioch wants to complete its first manned flight before us, because it would bring them enormous prestige. This is a battle for 'who can represent Rome?' Even before the two sides officially engage in battle, the war beneath the surface begins."

"So Rome's civil war will be fought as a cold war?"

"Cold War?" Captain Lin glanced back at him. "Why do you always come up with these powerful words? Where did they come from?"

"Just surfing the Internet. Once I connect the forum to everyone, we can all play together."

"That's right. The description of the Cold War is really apt. They won't fight for a while. Even a peacock needs to spread its tail. Spreading its tail is better than cockfighting. If they do fight, it shouldn't develop into a full-scale war all at once. The real tension should be gradually increasing. Speaking of which..." He asked Shangluo:

"While we were at the airport, I thought I heard something on the news. The Romans retreated behind the Great Wall? Is that true?"

After receiving Shangluo's reply, he nodded: "That's understandable. You have to clench your fingers before you punch. Anyway, we're not in a hurry here. If the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up."

"Speaking of which," Shangluo suddenly raised his head. "I have a question for you, Captain Lin—what do you think about helping Roma?"

He wanted to gather everyone's opinions on the matter. Although Daozu had put him in charge, he didn't need to consider other people's opinions. However, he only had one office, and even if he was going to do something big, he had to consider the objective conditions.

"My opinion? My opinion is none of our business."

This is true, Shangluo thinks so too.

"But what if there are some conditions? Like helping Rome is helpful to us?"

"That depends on how useful it is."

“It just costs extra money, right?”

"Yes, that's right." Captain Lin nodded. "I think my view is very objective. From my perspective, I can directly see how difficult it is for the Imperial Court, the Lan Fang, and other branches to break through the boundaries of science. It's not easy for us ourselves, so how can we have the energy to help them?"

"Then let me ask from another angle. What do you think if we can resolve this dilemma by combining reform with relief?"

Chapter 256 Surfing

"Of course that's no problem." Captain Lin had no objection. He also asked Captain Tao next to him, and both of them had the same reaction.

After thinking for a while, he gave Shangluo a clear answer:

"You asked me if I'm willing to help Roma. I definitely don't. I guess I'm just too bored. But if Roma is finished, I'm not so happy either. Roma is still acceptable, but dealing with a monster would be so annoying and troublesome. Take Colombia, for example. They're trying to get ahead of us. How intolerable is that?"

"So you don't want to open the window. But if you have to lift the roof without opening the window, then you will be willing to open the window, right?"

"Yeah. Just like I don't really care about rockets, but if someone gets ahead of me, then I won't be happy. Speaking of which, that window-opening, roof-lifting thing is pretty insightful. I think a lot of people around me have this kind of temper. They're usually pretty indifferent, but when they get angry, no one can stop them. What's that saying?"

"Surfing, you'll know after surfing. Wait for the forum, let's surf together~"

"By the way, have you seen the newspaper? I haven't read it yet." It took him a while to react.

The withdrawal was announced the following morning. He had come again to transport the black stone. He hadn't explained anything else to Zhu Xianxun, simply planning to discuss the details after receiving the stone. Although there was no funding, the Ninghe was free, so he asked Captain Lin to help with the transportation.

Calculating the time, it should have been in the newspaper by now, and it wouldn't be the first day. It's just that this matter is quite important, so it's probably still on the front page and won't be removed.

"Did you take a photo before? I saw that your expression was quite serious."

"Huh? Was it filmed? Let me see."

He took the newspaper—

"What seriousness?" Shangluo looked at herself in the newspaper. "The sun was so strong I squinted. I don't know which reporter snapped that picture. There were flashes everywhere, and it hurt my eyes. And I had no idea what she was saying. She was speaking Latin. She just pulled me over to the platform, because 'those who understand will understand.'"

"It's because of your hair, right? Those who understand will understand."

"But are there really many people who understand it?" Shangluo asked.

"Hey, you've got me stumped. From my perspective as a Qigong practitioner, most of the people I know are familiar with the realms and manifestations of Qigong practitioners. We're all generally aware of the various advanced forms of the Roman Interior Guard. But I don't know much about others, probably because we live in different circles. I've had Qigong talent since I was young, so I was selected to be trained in Pontianak. All my classmates are also aware of this. Even if they don't eventually become Qigong practitioners, they will eventually pursue related careers."

"So there's a Qigong school in Nanyang?"

"Yes, Captain Tao next to me was also my classmate. He was a year older than me at the time."

The co-pilot this time was Captain Tao, whom Shangluo had just met for the first time. Hearing Captain Lin's introduction, he turned and said hello to Shangluo. Someone had to keep an eye on the situation, so he said nothing more and returned to gripping the joystick.

"No wonder there seem to be so many Qigong practitioners in Nanyang. How many are there?"

"About seven or eight every year," Captain Lin thought for a moment. "Every year, our school has about seven or eight students who advance to the Qigong level, and they do so at a very young age. Compared to the rest of Kinai, that's a pretty high percentage. After all, there are only less than 20 million people in the entire Southeast Asia."

"If Kinei also selects and trains people like Nanyang, wouldn't that add up to two or three hundred people every year?"

"Hey! That's not what I said, don't try to trick me! I know you like to trick me, so I'll tell you what I can tell you, but it's useless to ask me what I can't tell you."

"You misunderstood. I just wanted to ask what the general public thinks about Qi training."

This was crucial. What he was about to do next involved the "Ten Directions Pure Land." This would obviously drastically alter a person's life—this was magic, or immortality. While this was inherently a good thing, it would be problematic if the disparity between immortality and reality made life in the Pure Land unacceptable to many. So, he decided to ask others what they thought of "supernatural powers."

"If you're asking this question, everyone actually has a pretty good idea. There's hard qigong, right? And then there's the internal qigong of martial arts. Everyone knows martial artists possess a certain level of internal qigong, and Master Wang also considers hard qigong a part of his training. So everyone basically has an idea. While it's unlikely, even if you told everyone right now, 'I have a golden elixir! Eat it and you'll achieve immortality and become an immortal instantly!' No one would think it was too strange."

"Ah," Shangluo nodded, "That's all right, all right."

"But don't go too far off the mark. Everyone knows that taking elixirs can make you immortal. But if you suddenly say that doing 9999 push-ups can instantly make you immortal, I think everyone might think you're crazy. Is there something good you're asking?"

"Yeah. I haven't decided on a method yet, but I have an idea."

Shangluo knew that any sufficiently advanced technology would look no different from magic. But conversely, any magic could be disguised with advanced technology. In order to ensure a smoother transition for everyone entering the "Pure Land," and to give everyone an idea of what life in the Pure Land would be like, Shangluo believed one thing was necessary.

Just surfing.

The cyberspace established in Alexandria has the potential to develop into a cyberspace, but current technology isn't yet sufficient to allow everyone access. This aligns perfectly with what Shangluo is striving to do: connect everyone to the internet. Let's get everyone online first.

It will take some time to build and structure the Cyberspace. During this time, he hopes to allow everyone to experience the fun of "surfing the Internet" and the flow of information connecting people.

On this basis, Cyberspace is simply a concrete network, making it easy for internet users to accept it. On the other hand, if there were no internet, and everyone were suddenly thrown into a "pure land" filled with data, this would undoubtedly cause considerable panic, and could even turn a good thing into a bad one. For example, the Romans, including Victoria, felt that this was the beginning of their own demise.

"Eh? I think you seem to have a lot of deep thoughts." Captain Lin felt more and more that Shangluo was thinking about something important. "Can you reveal it in advance?"

"I told you to wait for the update. As long as the update is released, everything will be fine. First it's the forum, and then there will be more fun stuff later. I'll push it out as soon as possible. Have you played Tetris yet?"

"Hey, I played it. It was pushed to me in the freeloader group the other day. It's pretty fun. We can even connect with each other in the group. If we're close enough, we can just find a Xuanxiu."

"You have a local area network, and Eggman's upload of scores is only asynchronous. Wait! Once we get this Black Stone back, everyone can play Tetris on the internet—on the Internet."

Chapter 257 Soda

"You're finally back." The familiar office, the familiar desk and Taichang flag. Zhu Xianxun was still sitting behind his desk, but the window was gone.

"Well, can you give me my window back, Mr. Shang?"

"Ahh. Uh."

Zhu Xianxun pressed his forehead: "So you can't take it out, right?"

He had actually expected this. If the window had been removed, it would have been a hole, but after that, there was a wall.

A terrifying question to think about is what is behind the wall.

He didn't know if the familiar garden would still be visible outside the window after he opened the wall, nor did he know where the wall came from.

But it's not a big problem.

"Well, it's not a big problem actually. I asked Daozu, and he also said it's not a big problem. It's just that the lighting hasn't been good these past two days, and I'm almost nearsighted."

"Oh, this." Shangluo felt a little sorry. Lighting wasn't a big problem; even if the windows couldn't be opened now, they could certainly be opened in the future. But if Zhu Xianxin became nearsighted, that would be a problem; there was no cure.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"What are you apologizing for? It's just a small thing. I was just so scared that I quickly made a few eye-brightening pills. So children like you must protect your eyesight. This pill is very bitter."

[Is this a bitter question?] Apollonia couldn't hold it in any longer. [Myopia can actually be cured?]

"After all, he is the head of the alchemy sect." Shangluo sometimes forgets that the person in front of him has extremely high attainments in alchemy, and even the Taoist ancestors would praise him. Last time I provided him with the formula, he almost figured out the process in a day and a night. When I was doing the "evil spirit treatment", he also provided the treatment plan. This person is really strong.

"Oh, right." Zhu Xianxun suddenly remembered. He turned around and opened the refrigerator. The refrigerator was placed where the stationery cabinet used to be. Now there was a small refrigerator in it, and a slightly smaller stationery cabinet.

"After you took away my cabinet, I thought about upgrading the equipment. After all, I've only been here four or five years, and many of the furnishings remain untouched. So this time, I followed my habit and put in a refrigerator. Well, if there wasn't something missing, Shang Gong wouldn't have agreed to let me buy such an expensive appliance. You're a good collector~ You're a good collector. Do you want to try it?"

He opened the small refrigerator and took out a can.

"Oh, no thanks, I just had dinner."

"Hey~" Zhu Xianxi smiled slightly, "I suggest you try it. It's good stuff."

Good stuff? Shangluo noticed that the jar was golden, with no other decorations, not even a label.

The can is short and chunky, like the capacity of Wangzai milk, quite small. It is enough for a child to drink half full, but just enough for an adult to drink a mouthful.

I took the can and it was indeed perfectly chilled. After swirling it around a bit, I could still feel the fizz of carbonated soda.

"what is this?"

"You drink some first. Come on, cheers. I'll drink first." Zhu Xianxun took an identical can and took a sip himself:

"Ah~~ It feels so good."

Seeing his happy expression, Shangluo also opened it and took a small sip.

no taste?

At first, there is really no taste, only a hint of sweetness, and the feeling of bubbles bursting on the tongue. But when you taste it carefully, it seems to have a

I think I smell radish.

It did smell like radish. Then, the cool air turned into a refreshing coolness that penetrated my heart and lungs, traveling along my throat and into my Dantian Qihai.