Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

[What happened? I see your call was suddenly disconnected.] Apollonia's message came in in time.

"I told her about the successful experiment of the 'Sword Pill' in Shangluo. She seemed to be happier than expected and wanted to come right away. Before I could say anything, she hung up the phone."

[Could it be that the condition has worsened? ]

"Let me ask." She stood up, walked from the troop transport compartment into the main body of the submarine, and then into the command room.

The control room was silent as always. There were no windows to observe the outside world, and navigation was entirely based on instruments. The only periscope was strictly prohibited from use while submerged.

"Colonel Marcus." Phaethon stood at the door and knocked gently.

In the captain's seat, Marcus stood up immediately.

He walked to the door of the command room and said, "Lord Phaethon, what do you want me to do?"

"Have you heard about Victoria's situation? Or have you heard about the others' situation?"

"My two brothers have also entered Cyberlania recently."

"Is that so? How are they doing?"

"Normally." Marcus shook his head. "If possible, we still want to stay in the sun. Of course, eternal life in Cyberlania is not a bad thing. At least we can wait quietly before achieving true eternal life."

"Is your brother here for some reason? I know you were in an accident."

"They also died of an accident. The two of them were drinking together and ended up having a stroke. You may not know that for us mortals, even if we are not restricted by natural disasters, it is difficult to live safely to our expected lifespan. Millions of people die of natural causes every year in the empire. Not all of them are Roman citizens, and only a small number of them are lucky enough to join Cybelenia. So compared to others, having the citizenship of the empire is at least lucky."

"Is that so? I thought it was caused by some natural disaster or some mysterious mechanism behind it."

"Mortals are so fragile, my lord." Marcus shook his head. "Even if there is no mysterious force behind them, people are dying in batches. Now the number of people checking in to Cyberlania every day has exceeded 200, including many of my family members."

As he spoke, he thought for a moment and said, "As for Her Majesty Victoria, I don't know much about her situation. Maybe as an emperor, she does have a heavier burden. But even if she doesn't have any burden, the possibility of her suddenly getting sick is not small. You have to know that the average life expectancy of workers in Nimes, London is less than 30 years old. Victoria's era was an era of rapid progress, but there are always some people in this world who are not as lucky as us, like Aurora. Even Her Majesty Victoria herself may be among these unfortunate people."

Chapter 954 Treatment

After a brief conversation, Phaethon returned to the troop transport bay.

"What's wrong? You seem to be worried?" Lu Liang was standing in the corridor. She was also a member of the action team. It was not the first time for the two of them to work together. They often met each other when they were in the motorcade.

But this is my first time working out here.

"Is there a problem with the navigation?"

"Ah?" Phaethon raised his head suddenly. "That's not the case. This time it's different. We are not diving without a beginning or an end. There are people guiding us to our destination."

The unspoken part is that as long as the navigation is fine, it's fine. Phaethon hasn't told everyone that the person in charge of navigation is a panda. Anyway, since we are already on the boat, there is no point in saying these things. It's better for everyone to enjoy this peaceful submarine trip happily.

"That's fine." Lu Liang nodded. "To be honest, I've always felt that these Roman things are not very reliable."

"You don't have to tell me. I've discovered it myself. Compared with the immortal way, Roman technology is really full of pitfalls. But you can rest assured that although there are many pitfalls, this one is not one of them. Our pilots are professional. The navigation safety rate of submarines has already exceeded that of land transportation."

Before he finished speaking, the whole boat suddenly shook.

"Huh???" Lu Liang quickly leaned against the wall and asked, "Hey, hey, hey, are you okay? Are you really okay?"

Before Phaethon could answer, the captain quickly broadcast:

"Hey, passengers. I'm the captain of this transport mission. We just encountered some minor ether tremors, which seems to be because we just entered a blessed place. We have reported it according to the relevant procedures, and the tremors will end soon. Please return to your seats, put away the small tables, and fasten your seat belts. We will collect your meals now, please understand."

"Ouch!" Wen Yuan's voice suddenly came from inside, "I was drinking Coke! Suddenly it was taken away from me, and I bit my tongue!"

"Tsk." Shang Luo closed the observation of the cabin. "His luck is still so bad. Okay, Apollonia, cut off all observations for now. We will reestablish contact when they surface."

What do you think about Victoria's situation?

"I've always thought that she might have become like this because of some heavy mysterious burden. But it seems that the possibility of illness cannot be ruled out."

[Or to compromise, she might have contracted some kind of magical disease, a disease unique to magicians. ]

“Are there any other diseases?”

[You have it, too. For example, being possessed by a demon can be considered a disease unique to cultivators. It's probably more troublesome for magicians. Magicians may indeed have many martial arts and magical powers, but they probably don't have cultivation. The only people who truly have the power that can be called cultivation are a few demigods like Phaethon. Their ability to resist changes in the outside world is quite weak, and being hit by a truck is not impossible. Of course, there are more bizarre ways to die, such as various magical diseases. For example, the liver suddenly changes from damp and hot to damp and cold due to some special reasons, causing changes in blood flow.]

"What about Victoria?"

[I don't know, I'm not her doctor. But since she wants to see you, I think you can talk to her about these things yourself. It's possible that she really has some congenital diseases. Of course, I still think that even if she is sick, it should be a cool disease. ]

"What you said is wrong. If you are sick, you are sick. There is no such thing as cool or not. What a middle school brat."

Apollonia stuck out her tongue and skipped over the topic: [Anyway, just treat her well.]

"What are you talking about? I want to treat her, not talk to her about life and ideals. Compared to this, I doubt whether I can cure him."

[You don't have to worry about this. Your mystery is several levels higher than hers. Some of the most important and life-threatening issues for her may not matter to you. After all, you are a celestial being.]

"I hope so. It does seem to be the case, though—even if her heart is afflicted, it would be better if I could just replace it. That way, the problem would be completely gone. If the plan is right, maybe we could even strengthen her."

【She might be very grateful to you then. 】

"You little brat, if you have the ability, you will still be like this. Wait, you are not preparing something again, are you?"

[I promise, this has nothing to do with me. I can cover my eyes and not look.]

"Tsk." Shangluo shook his head. "Victoria knows you're watching. So don't worry, nothing will happen."

【Then shall I leave? 】

"Sit down. Make a phone call and ask what's going on over there?"

Stepping onto the wetland beside the pond, Wen Yuan finally felt relieved.

He still had some concerns about the safety of these Roman gadgets. However, at least they were being used on their own land this time, and there were people to pick them up at both ends, so they finally arrived safely—except for a slight shake at the end. However, that was not strictly a risk, just a normal fluctuation.

Looking around, he found that there was a crooked circle drawn around the entire pond. Maybe it was because the circle was not drawn neatly that it was a little bumpy in the end.

And when the circle was finished, there was actually a familiar figure sitting there.

"Longlong, why are you here?"

"Who are you?" Long Long looked up and asked, "Do I know you well?"

"I sent you bamboo 12 times! Don't you remember me?"

"Someone sends me bamboo every day. If you want business cooperation, please contact my agent Zhu Ling first. She will arrange it."

"Tsk, this guy, you really don't appreciate it. I even specially broke the bamboo for you..."

"Well." He looked at Wen Yuan, "If you have nothing to do, please make way. I'm looking for Lord Phaethon. Are you Phaethon?"

"I'm Wen Yuan! I just told you."

"Oh, okay, I remember. Your name is Wen Yuan. Please invite Lord Phaethon over. I have something important to give him. I won't feel at ease until I hand over Shang Tianjun's things to her."

"What is that?" Phaethon, who heard the noise, came over.

"Mr. Phaethon! Please accept this!" Longlong immediately opened his backpack and handed over a treasure bag.

"Well, keep it with me for now." Phaethon nodded. This is something very important to Fu Yuanshan, even if he doesn't plan to open it, it's better to keep it in a safe place.

After putting away the brocade bag, she looked around: "So, where is Senior Fu?"

"He's recuperating in the cave out front. Look, right over there. He's just had his fill and gone to bed."

Chapter 955 Submarine

The Jinyiwei who participated in the operation disembarked one by one. Although the hatch of the submarine could only accommodate one person in and out, the well-trained Jinyiwei quickly left the vehicle.

In the small pond, the command tower of the submarine occupied the entire water surface, while the hull was hidden in the indescribable space below the water surface.

After getting off the boat, Phaethon waved his hand, and the submarine began to dive and enter standby mode. The ripples dissipated, and everything in the pool returned to calm.

"Okay. Let's get started."

She held the Spear of the Sun God in one hand and the Magic Sword in the other. The power of the two worlds merged in her, giving her even greater power than in her heyday.

Especially, this is Qingcheng Mountain, a blessed place for Taoism. Phaethon could feel that the power in the magic sword seemed to have become stronger.

The other Jinyiwei were like her, all lighting up their magic swords and circular lights. Although the light was as warm as white jade, the 200 light sources still made the water surface appear white.

There is a halo of colorful rays of light in the back that surrounds and flows around him, blending seamlessly with the colorful rays of light in the sky.

This feeling was completely different from when using it in the city. The surging power made many people even float up - literally began to float.

Looking back, Phaethon raised his hand slightly to signal everyone to lift their feet off the ground and try not to make any noise.

After they took off, just like other spells - as if nature wanted to make up for the irrationality brought about by magic, clouds gathered from all directions and gathered under everyone's feet, so that no one was standing on the ground out of thin air.

Phaethon, who stood at the front, was the strongest among all. Although she was not a Jinyiwei, she had regained the Spear of the Apollo and had gained the same fighting power as the Celestial Being.

She carried the Spear of the Sun God on her shoulder, and with her other hand she held the magic sword with the blade tucked behind her arm. A golden glow like the setting sun surrounded her body, and her hair also turned closer to its original golden color.

The power had indeed returned. Although she had not truly returned to her immortal demigod body, as long as she held the Spear of the Solar God, she could be as strong as before.

She looked at her hand - it felt the same as always, yet different.

She could feel that there was a constant flow of power from the Spear of the Sun God. Although the power would dissipate as soon as it was out of her hands, the power was definitely there.

At the same time, her desires were not suppressed by her demigod body. She could feel the abundant energy, but she also realized that she could still sleep after all. She still wanted to eat, not just drink grape juice.

If sleep is not so easy to feel, then the feeling brought by diet is the most intuitive.

In the past, although no one actually prevented her from eating meat, and she could ritually eat meat from sacrifices and hunts, the meat did not arouse her appetite.

Every day, she only needs to drink blood-red grape juice to maintain her physiological state, which is used as a substitute for the real ambrosia to replenish the divine blood (Ichor) running in the body of the god.

As for what it feels like to eat meat - it's actually the same as eating a panda. You can eat it or not. To a demigod, food is bland and tasteless, with only the mellow taste of grape juice being able to be appreciated.

She didn't even need to go to the bathroom because her body simply didn't metabolize normally.

But now it was different. There was the aroma of hot pot in the air. In addition to the smell of soy sauce and chili oil, there was also the fragrance of bamboo shoots. As soon as she smelled the aroma, she would intuitively feel that it was "very nourishing". Her appetite also came along with it.

"So, I held the Spear of the Sun God for too long, and it turned into a divine artifact. Well, the way it is now isn't bad at all."

This state of affairs truly satisfied her. She was able to gain power without turning into a divine weapon.

She had woken up from the dream and knew clearly that the previous state, in various senses, had some metaphors of "powerful living dead" in it - no food, no sleep, no metabolism, this was indeed not the life that a living person should have. But it was powerful.

The current situation is pure strength. It is the strength of being a human being.

“I don’t even want to go back now.”

She shook her head. She even felt that the Spear of the Sun God had a sense of alienation from her. Because in terms of her personal state, she could clearly realize that if she kept holding the Spear of the Sun God, her body would probably return to its previous state in a few years.

[Your blood pressure is rising.] Apollonia's voice suddenly appeared in my ears, [Did you find anything?]

"I discovered that the Spear of the Sun God is pulling me toward the List of Gods."

[Huh? What do you mean? ]

"I discovered that if I use the terms Yin God and Yang God to define my previous state, it is obviously different from that of a living person - it is somewhat similar to those bound gods in the Investiture of the Gods. I wonder if I continue to use the Spear of the Sun God, will I be unable to leave this artifact in a few years?"

[Is this actually happening? This is the first time. Do you need a break? ]

"No. I can handle things here - and if I don't hold it, how can I fight Senior Fu?"

At this level, she could see a little more than before - for example, she could sense that some human power was always looking over here, from the direction Longlong had just pointed out.

"Let's go." She looked back and began to move forward by following the cloud. The distance from the ground was not high, and the consumption was not very large. She did this just to eliminate the sound.

Long Long, carrying a satchel, walked in front. Somehow, Phaethon felt that the satchel fit him perfectly. It was hard to imagine any animal other than humans being suitable for carrying a satchel.

If you look closely, it may be because pandas also have hands, so the action logic of pandas using packages is the same as that of humans, so there does not seem to be any sense of incongruity.

"How far is it?" she asked the rumble in front of her.

"It's very close. It's right in front. You can see the intersection soon."

"I do have a question for you - you are a spirit beast, right? As a symbol of benevolence, what do you think of your current behavior?"

As a symbol of benevolence, Longlong did not seem to feel "unkind" for what he did. After all, this behavior was actually a stab in the back of Fu Yuanshan.

"You've guessed right about one thing. That is, spirit animals are different from humans. Humans are the most intelligent creatures. As a spirit animal, my spirituality and my symbol complement each other."

Chapter 956: Demigod Body

Long Long continued, "In other words, my actions are also benevolent. As for why I can do this now, well," he thought for a moment, "In fact, many times, my actions are based on a premonition. I can feel that this is the most benevolent."