Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"I can't even feel the passage of time. That's the key." Karin replied, "Just like waking up from a big dream, I remember the events when I was the great elf of the spring quite clearly, but I very It is difficult to put these events in order. I even feel that the period of freedom is the longest time in my life. In fact, most of the fallen elves who are encapsulated into automata are like this. They were obsessed with their own memories, their own passions, their own accomplishments, and completely forgot about their own time. I think, like me, he only had his own eyes."

"audience?"

"Yes." Karin nodded, "This is a very complicated emotion. Elodeasha is my benefactor, and it is not an exaggeration to say that she is my master. But when I worked for her, I did not I feel humiliated. Because I have nothing else to focus on. She is the only audience who appreciates my sword skills. Whether it is a toaster or a washing machine, they are not so much enslaved as they are performing in a theater. Bread needs to be appreciated by the audience.”

"The concept of elves really has a sense of 'inhumanity'."

"Because it's not a human in the first place." Karin replied, "You can't expect something that's not a human to have a 'human feeling'. That feeling is actually really wonderful. A feeling where even time becomes unimportant, Eternal focus and trials, constantly polishing and improving in one’s craft.”

"until?"

"Until one day, I can swing my sword against Elodeasha. Yes, that's what I thought at the time. Unlike now, there was no hatred at that time, just a desire to defeat an insurmountable opponent. Sometimes I think, If I kill my only audience, then this performance will have to come to an end. But until I was awakened by you, I was unable to touch even a single corner of Elodeasha’s accomplishments.”

"So..." Shangluo pondered, "Your wish is to defeat your own audience? Then what is the wish of our 'Baking Assistant III'?"

"I don't know." Karin shook her head. "Each elf is different, has its own specializations, and has its own grand vision. From the perspective of a swordsman, it is difficult for me to understand the bread machine. What is the vision? Probably, it is to let everyone eat their own bread.”

"Here comes the bread!" A shout came from not far away. The bread has been baked quickly.

"What is this?" Shangluo looked at the tray in front of him. There were four small, cross-shaped balls in the tray. The small round ball glowed with maroon red light, exuding an alkali smell that lingered in the nose and the back of the tongue.

"Ah, it is indeed this." Phaethon replied, "He said it would be ready in 15 minutes, so I guessed it was this - this is a porridge, one of the 9999 Roman bread patterns. In short, It is a spherical alkaline bread. This spherical alkaline bread does not need to be left to ferment. Just knead high-gluten flour into balls and soak them in alkaline water, and then bake them in the alkaline water for ten minutes. It will make the bread balls turn a beautiful maroon color, and this, um~~" She sniffed:

"The wonderful smell of alkaline water, like the paste of plant ash. It's really nostalgic. It reminds me of the summer palace on the Black Sea, where fires often happen when the weather is hot."

Chapter 745 Chef

"Why is it a little weird, a little rushed, and a little smelly?"

"After you get used to it, you will find it a strange flavor. It smells a little bit smelly, but it tastes very delicious."

"Really?"

"Yes! It's really delicious. This is one of the 96 types of bread I'm most satisfied with, and it's also one of the 12 most commonly eaten in Pompey's house. Little Pompey eats alkaline water balls every Thursday night. "The Baking Assistant III on the side seems to be in a much healthier state of mind. But he did not look away as he did not see the distinguished guest eating the bread.

"Let me try it." Shangluo twisted a ball of alkaline water and put it in his mouth.

"Huh? This tastes interesting. It's a bit hard, but very chewy, and has a little basic salty taste. There is also a thin layer of shell on the outside, which becomes more and more delicious the more you chew it. No wonder little Pompeo likes to eat it. It feels even It’s not as good as Zhu Ling’s Wowotou, and it’s not much different. It takes only 15 minutes to make it. It’s really amazing.” As he ate, Shangluo felt a little hungry. Come to think of it, little Pompeo might have been resting at home while eating alkaline water balls.

After finishing one, Shangluo solemnly commented: "Mr. Baking Assistant III, your skills are as good as those of a chef!"

"Chef?"

"Yes, just like a chef. Although I haven't eaten bread much and don't know what kind of bread is the best, I can taste it as soon as I eat it. This skill can definitely make me a chef."

Phaethon added: "You can completely trust his vision. From the perspective of heaven and man, he said that the food is delicious, which means it is really of a high standard."

"It's true!" Baking Assistant III muttered, "This is the first time someone has praised me."

"Eh?" Shangluo said in surprise, "Your craftsmanship is so good, why doesn't anyone praise you?"

Phaethon shook his head: "Would you praise the bread machine at home if you have nothing to do?"

"I can. I also praised the printer and the TV. You don't know, their wages are really high."

"Mr. Shangluo!" Baking Assistant III interrupted him, "Your recognition is really a great honor for me! Can I make a request?"

"Ah, tell me."

"I want to use your comment as my name. From now on, I will be called 'Chef'. Can I use this name?"

"Okay chef." Shangluo handed over the plate, "Please give me another bowl!"

"Understood! My guest, I'm going to get you another one right now!" The chef walked away with the tray. This time he no longer ran away, but paced steadily in the messy warehouse, the tray not moving at all.

"He's really happy." Karin looked at the chef leaving. Envy was written on her face, "His vision should have been completed just now and then sublimated."

"It's that simple?"

"The elf's wishes are so humble sometimes. But he seems to be different now. He seems to be a bit like a chef. Although he is pretending, I can see that he seems to have ignited a new passion. He is Acting as your ideal self. This is the essence of passion, wanting to be what you want. Maybe in the future, this place will become less like a grassroots team - or maybe it will become a bigger grassroots team. "

Phaethon blinked: "So, did we just encounter something very important and he asked for silence from you?"

"Does it count?"

Karin sighed: "Of course. You helped me find my identity as Karin. You are such a good person. No wonder even Lord Phaethon is so focused on you."

"Ha." Phaethon sneered, "I'm not a bread machine."

"That's why this kind of focus is so precious. An elf's audience is often just one person. That one person is the entire world. Humans, on the other hand, can see the entire universe, but you focus solely on that one person. It's truly beautiful, so beautiful it's intoxicating."

"." Phaethon turned his head away, as if some defense had been broken through, causing some real damage.

【well. ] Someone sighed. Shangluo was about to ask, but he stopped speaking.

"Speaking of which." Karin suddenly asked, "Shangluo, have you discovered something - do you remember what ceremony you participated in at my house?"

"Ceremony?" Shangluo recalled. I went to Karin's house to break off the golden branches. The Golden Bough has an ancient tradition, and traditionally Lake Nemi would sacrifice strangers to the King of the Forest. But at the same time, the stranger who was offered also had the opportunity to break off the golden branch, kill the forest king, and replace him.

At that time, in order for Shangluo and his party to enter the ceremony as strangers, they had a sumptuous dinner at Karin's house.

"Did I eat food from a foreign country just now?"

"Well." Karin handed over the plate in her hand, "So, I'll give you this plate too."

"I said why don't you eat, so you are waiting here? Are you waiting for me to trigger the event?"

"Well, please trust my intuition. My intuition tells me that you can take us all the way to the BOSS room. Using a piece of food from a foreign country as an introduction event is the best thing."

"Then why don't you eat?"

"You need an outsider, just like entering the labyrinth of the Minotaur, you need to leave a thread to risk outside. I read some Cathay novels in the Great Library. Therefore, those who fight against each other must also leave an outsider to watch. Yes, right?

"Indeed." Phaethon picked up the Spear of the Sun, took a look at it, and put it down again. "Karin didn't have any sympathetic links at all. I have to say that your Heroic Pilgrimage is indeed very accomplished. Teaming up with you, It must be very easy, you will plan the task process very neatly, but you seem to have a line connected?"

"It's attached to Shangluo." Karin said without hesitation, "I said that my loyalty has long been dedicated to Shangluo."

"Tsk." Phaeton chewed the lye packet one by one without saying a word.

After chewing another one, she picked up the Spear of the Sun and looked at it: "Hey, that's weird, why didn't I connect with this incident? I'm obviously the captain, that's weird."

"Maybe Shangluo attracted the firepower." Karin shook her head and said, "He attracts scorching gazes too easily. But, is this not a bad thing?"

"Ha~" Phaethon laughed, "To a certain extent, it's really not a bad thing. After all, this guy is really strong and really difficult to beat. He is eighty, nine or seventy years old standing still. The two magical powers are automatically triggered, and it's him who Xiang Rui is talking about. Standing next to him will indeed make him more auspicious, after all, he will block all the firepower."

"Then, I wish us happy cooperation." Karin stretched out her hand.

"Pleasant to work with."

The two looked at each other and shook hands like Romans.

"Why do I feel weird?"

[You were sold by them. Spartan women are terrible. Let's take a boat back to Athens as soon as possible. 】

Chapter 746 Trigger

"How's it going? Has Shangluo's phone been connected?" Zhu Xianxian asked. After asking about Longlong from Yuxi Palace, Zhu Xianfen came out and called Shangluo immediately.

"No." Lu Huaiyang shook his head and said, "We kept calling outside, every 10 seconds, but there was no answer."

"What could possibly be the case?"

"First, he is performing an important mission and cannot be disturbed. Second, he happens to be in a certain signal shielding area. Third, he is trapped."

"Well" Zhu Xianxen pressed his forehead, "When I heard Longlong's identity from the Emperor, I knew there was going to be a problem. The Emperor said that Longlong, as an innate spiritual beast ascended from the panda, had a sense of danger. Very perceptive. Longlong’s decision to leave home must have been carefully considered.”

"Do you want to continue making outgoing calls?"

"Call another 5 minutes. If he still doesn't answer in 5 minutes, let the North Town forward selection camp be dispatched."

"By agreement we now have access to the Roman lamp fields."

"I don't trust those Roman gadgets. It will only take less than half an hour to transfer the White Star from Sunchon and go there at 30 times the speed of sound. It is also safer - I don't want to get more people on those Roman gadgets." ”

"Understood, now." Suddenly, Lu Huaiyang received a new message from his earphones, and he was stunned for a moment.

"What happened? We got in touch?"

"Shangluo was not contacted. But Longlong's phone is back online and can be connected."

"Tsk, the rescuer hasn't been found, but there is news about the one who is about to be rescued. Okay, after contacting Longlong, let him see where Shangluo is. Send it to me, good guy, the five-digit number is better than mine. It’s still close to the front. If you don’t go to Yuxi Palace and ask, I don’t know about this number.”

"I'll go get them on the phone right now."

"Dial it and turn it around, I'll call it myself."

While eating the second plate of alkaline water balls, Shangluo's waist suddenly shook.

"Is your phone ringing?" Phaethon asked.

"No, it's the rumble call that was given to me just now - huh? It's from my senior brother." He quickly put down the lye water ball and answered the phone.

"Hey?"

"Hey?"

Both sides of the phone were stunned for a moment.

"Shangluo? Why is it you???" Zhu Xianxian said in surprise, "Isn't this Longlong's number? Are you next to Longlong?"

"I haven't found it yet. I just found his mobile phone. His whereabouts are probably known. I'm going to set out to find him at night."

"What about your own mobile phone? I just called you at least 50 times, why didn't you answer it?"

"Phone?" Shangluo picked up the phone and took a look——

"Eh? Ahhh! Sorry, I silenced my phone! There are 59 missed calls!"

"." Zhu Xianfen was silent for a while, "As long as you're fine, I'm going to send someone to get you if you scare me. It's nothing, it's just a phone call for a while, it doesn't cost any money anyway, just come back and help me refine the elixir." ”

"No problem, I'll take a bite."

"It's not for you to eat." Zhu Xianfen replied, "I have some insights now. I think there is something wrong with the past methods, so I may need to retreat for a while. I will wait for you to come back and then retreat, so that I can Leave some things to you.”

"Retreat?" Shangluo couldn't believe that these words came out of Zhu Xianxun's mouth. It would be more appropriate for these words to come from the mouth of the "Emperor Wanshou".

"You think it's strange, right? I also think it's not what the Son of Heaven should do. But I think it's necessary. I still have a long way to go before I can become a 'sage', but at least I have to start making achievements now. Fire virtue opens the world, and the mountains move the gods. Carefully cultivate the land, and feed my people. I whip the grass and taste the grass, and exhaust my body and soul - this is what I should do. I think the time is almost right. So as soon as you come back, I will start."

"Wait a minute. Senior brother, what is the main thing you want me to do?" Shangluo asked.

"I'm going to give you the trigger of the 'Unity of Heaven and Earth'. When I come out, you can give it to me again. Because anyone can handle the affairs of the cabinet, but when I am away, someone must control Yuan Shu for me. "

"Trigger? Is it something I guessed?"

"You should be more familiar with this thing than me. After all, it hasn't been long since I got that leather box, but you should have known that there would be such a leather box. So this is very important, very important. I can only rest assured if it is in your hands. After all, you have nothing to do with everyone. It’s not that I favor one over the other. I’m the closest to Zhu Ling, right? It’s because you have nothing to do with anyone, and you won’t follow your own preferences. to use it.”

"Well, that's true." Shangluo nodded, "If you want to say that I have any advantages or characteristics, it is that I have never had any conflicts of interest with anyone."

"So, when you come back - do you need help over there? The phone couldn't get through just now, which made me a little worried. Do you want to have a backup plan?"

"We don't need help for the time being. We can handle it here. But it's true that we have a backup plan. Do you have any plans?"

"If something happens, you must at least have a way to notify me to rescue you. I will have people on standby. As long as you can notify me, I will handle the rest."

"Wait a minute, let me discuss it here and then call you back."

After a brief exchange, Shangluo ended the call.

"What should I say?" He looked at the two people next to him, "Senior brother suggested that we keep a back-up. Who should we keep?"

"Leave me alone," Karin replied. "I'm just out of the whole thing. If anything happens, I'll come out and report."

"Then I'll give this to you." Shangluo handed over Longlong's mobile phone, "I'll use it to contact you if I need anything - by the way, can you use it?"

"???" Karin tilted her head, "Of course I won't. I'm not a Cathay alchemist."

"Then this is for you." Shangluo handed over a red jar, "I don't know how long it will take effect on you, but I'll drink it when you need it."

"Okay. Your reporting methods are really complicated. Do you have anything else to do? When will we leave for Metropolis?"

"Let me check the time. I have to go have a meal with little Pompeo first, and then go down with Karin and then split up. Wait for me at the Central Subway Station. I'll be there after dinner."

Empire State Building, Columbia's headquarters. The administrative center of the entire Colombia is in this building, with the Governor's Palace on the top floor.

"Welcome, welcome to my home." Little Pompeo greeted Shangluo at the door, "Has your investigation yielded any results?"

"No problem, we have a clue. We will continue the operation tonight."