Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"But things will be different once you become a celestial being," Wen Yuan said, putting his gun back into its holster. "After you become a celestial being, at least those below that level won't be able to do any effective damage to you. Even flying a bomber might not be of any use. Even if you don't know any other tricks, you can just rush in and stab them with your sword. It won't be a big deal. Planes still have to land to load bombs and refuel, right? You just need to wait at the airport and knock the pilot down."

"What you said, is this how the gods are used???"

"Um, I haven't seen it. But those who have seen the Celestial Beings fight, it seems that few of them can come back alive. Who knows how the Celestial Beings fight? Oh, I'm a little thirsty, don't you have any jelly yet?"

Shangluo glanced back and saw that Han Xingzhi already had four jellies in front of him, still slurping the last one. Seeing Shangluo looking at him, he felt a little embarrassed.

"Oh~~" He suddenly pointed behind him, "Here he comes, here he comes."

Shangluo looked back and saw that it was Titus who came with an insulated box in his hand.

Somehow, it reminded him of the unfortunate "Jack" he'd first met at the subway entrance. He'd also brought a drink slave and a similar insulated box. Now it seemed like that insulated box had been brought from Constantinople, as it was identical to the one Titus had.

Chapter 194 Too much forgetfulness

"Come." Titus put the insulated box on the ground. "I came to see you. Before I leave, there are some small gifts. Medals and other things will be presented later. We still have to investigate the case, so we will send them to you when the time comes. You can take these small gifts with you on the plane, or you can eat some now."

He opened the insulated box and put some crushed ice inside. Inside the crushed ice were small paper bowls containing a dozen or so ice cream cones topped with various jams and chopped nuts, including original, strawberry, grape, pistachio, and frankincense.

"Oh~~ Thank you!" Wen Yuan was thirsty when someone brought him a cold drink. He also felt the warmth of this world, the joy of being fed. The depression he had just felt was instantly dispelled.

The crushed ice came with a small wooden spoon. He took the grape flavored one and took a sip. "Oh! It's dense yet firm. It has a great texture and aroma. No wonder you recommended it so highly."

"Hmm?" Shangluo looked at Titus thoughtfully - this description was exactly the same as what he had eaten at that time.

Noticing that he was looking at him, Titus simply extended his hand and gestured for him to have a taste.

Shangluo walked up, picked one up and took a bite.

He put down his spoon. He was the only one present who had tasted it before, and he was the only one who knew that it tasted exactly like what he had tasted that night in Alexandria.

"This is?"

"This is the power of Constantinople. The moon is always high in the sky, and the ice cream here is actually edible. We wouldn't normally show it to outsiders, but since Your Excellency is now the King of Rome, we have to fulfill our obligation to inform everyone. Karin called too, and everything is fine there. That's Karina now. Karina has already packed up the family's bread and set off, but Karin's mother doesn't know about it yet."

"Are they still planning to keep it a secret?"

"Yes. Karin's mother doesn't know about this yet; she just thinks Karin is ill. When I explained the situation to the mayor, he was the only one present. He just asked me to convey his gratitude to you. You saved his two daughters, which completely exceeded his expectations. He had already prepared himself to lose one of them—he said this gratitude couldn't be made up for in words. Someday, he'll go to Yujing to express his gratitude."

"Oh~~ That's not necessary."

"He'll be upset if you don't let him repay his kindness. Let him go. You're the Lord of Nemi now. As the mayor of Nemi, it's only natural for him to report to you on the affairs of the territory."

"Okay. But I'm relieved to see that everything is fine over there."

"Alas," Titus sighed, "it's a shame one girl didn't make it home. We still have a lot to do. After I see you off, I have to get back to work."

"Do you mean?"

"Phaethon. You heard her voice, too. She's a very nice girl."

"what sound?"

"That's the lighthouse's system notification sound."

"Ah! That's it!"

[Lighthouse system alpha beta version, loading. Version number 0.85. 】

Shangluo still remembered this sentence. It was the voice of an intelligent young girl, even a little cute. But he didn't realize at the time that the Phaethon he knew was extremely aggressive from the beginning, with no room for negotiation.

But when I think about it carefully, it seems that the tone is the same.

[You know what? It's the same voice. Is there a time when Phaethon can be so good-tempered? She's always trying to prove herself in front of her father, always angry.]

"Have you seen Phaethon???"

"Uh" It's already like this, and it's not appropriate to say I've never met her. "I have met her. I knew her before. But it was a long time ago."

"Alas, we all hope that she can return home like Karin."

"Is she important to you?"

"She's like our daughter, or sister. To me, she should be a daughter, because she's about the same age as my daughter. We all know she's the son of Helios, but she never prides herself on being a demigod. She's a humble, righteous warrior who hates evil. We all like her very much, so we thought it would be great to hear her voice more often in the future. So we asked her to sign up for the Lighthouse system's voiceover, and the sound effects you heard before were synthesized by collecting her voice. We also made her badge, and my daughter has one in her collection, given to her by Phaethon himself."

【It’s over. Now the voice and appearance are still there.】

"So Phaethon is so popular here, isn't he?"

"Isn't this the Phaethon you saw?"

"Um, she seemed very angry at that time?"

Titus thought for a moment. "She doesn't seem to have a good relationship with her father, and it seems she and Helios have some ideological conflicts. She cares more about us than Helios does, which is why she's on our side. However, after his disappearance, we went to Rhodes Island to ask Helios himself, but received no response. We feel the situation is getting worse. In short, if you have any news, please inform us of Phaethon's whereabouts. Everyone at the Oracle misses her dearly."

"Ah this. Okay, I will."

Even so, Shangluo didn't know how to notify them. He himself had no way of saving Phaethon, and it seemed even Helios had no intention of coming to the rescue. They had witnessed Helios himself before in Alexandria, and Helios hadn't come down to inquire. He was simply carrying out his mission, driving his sun chariot to open the canopy of Alexandria.

Thinking back to the promise Helios had made to Shangluo before, guaranteeing that he could build his foundation, Shangluo felt that since Phaethon had taken the unfinished elixir in a fit of madness, causing himself to become a furnace, perhaps this was Helios's promise.

"It's entirely possible." Apollonia responded to his speculation. "This is why I don't like Helios. As the god of oaths, he has a very weak sense of humanity—he vowed to destroy all that shouldn't exist, to embrace all supernatural powers, even at the cost of giving up everything he has. This reminds me of the Taoist concept of 'Supreme Forgetfulness of Love,' which he made to the Styx. However, I don't think he's ever reached that state: forgetfulness of love presupposes gaining love. He must first have human feelings before giving them up. That's what it means to be truly detached. That stone-headed man lacked any humanity to begin with, even disregarding his own daughter. His wish isn't particularly noble. After all, he's giving up what he already has."

"Now that I put it that way, I actually think he's a very reliable person. It's really a good thing to cooperate with him. At least he will never breach his contract."

"Having said that, being his family member is the worst thing in the world. Well, I'm glad you and him are just partners. Unless he fulfills his contract, I don't want to see him again."

Chapter 195 Boarding

It was almost time to board the plane. At the right time, the Hercules flight attendant arrived at the apron. She took the shuttle bus to pick us up. After all, for a ticket costing a few hundred taels, any thoughtful service was not too much.

There was no need to go through any check-in procedures, let alone queue up. They did not enter the terminal of Constantinia Airport from beginning to end. They got on the bus and went directly to board the plane. Although this may cause risks in security procedures, it is obviously not a big problem for passengers who can afford such expensive tickets. The only thing they had to do was to show their tickets and personal documents on the shuttle bus.

Lu Huaiyang presented his military officer ID, while others including Shangluo presented their student IDs. The main purpose of presenting these was to prevent impersonation.

After confirmation, the flight attendant collected their tickets on the shuttle bus, placed the ticket stubs in small paper bags, and returned them one by one to their original places. All they had to do was complete, and all that was left was to enjoy the journey.

The shuttle bus stopped at the pier to transfer to a shuttle boat, which was Lan Fang Airlines' own boat, with the yellow and black hibiscus flower logo on it, which is also the common symbol of Lan Fang. From here on, everything was taken over by Lan Fang Airlines.

As they slowly approached the Hercules from the tender, Shangluo realized just how massive the aircraft was—a ship practically soaring through the sky. While its displacement was different, its 97.83-meter wingspan surpassed the length of many frigates. Frigates often have side heights flush with the dock, obscuring their bulk. The wingspan of this heavy seaplane, however, hovered high above the water, so high that passing beneath it felt as if it were blotting out the sun.

"This thing is really big."

It's indeed huge. Compared to other aircraft you've seen, its wingspan exceeds that of the An-225, but its payload and length differ, as it doesn't use jet engines. It's about the same length as a Boeing 747, with a similar fuselage volume, also two-story. However, because it's a seaplane, its fuselage is more rounded, so the cabin space is significantly larger than that of a Boeing 747. This is actually approaching the limit of the seaplane category. Any larger and it would be difficult to meet flight requirements, both economically and structurally.

"Do you think this thing will be economical?"

[Well, judging by the ridiculous ticket prices, it doesn't seem economical at all. But whatever, it's not you paying anyway, the Romans are paying.]

"I really need to take a break. Well, adjust my mindset at the same time." After getting on the plane, he planned to find a place to sit down and study the hunting knife over there.

The shuttle boat came to a steady stop at the boarding hatch. The flight attendant brought a small gangway and placed it between the shuttle boat and the hatch.

Considering the center of gravity, Shangluo was the first to disembark. He'd actually been carrying the Spear of the Apollo on his back, but the flight attendant hadn't asked him to put it elsewhere—after all, he'd already spent over 200,000 yuan, so a pole was just a minor issue.

Holding the handrail, Shangluo stepped onto the carpet in the cabin.

There was a red carpet at the door leading the way, but it did not extend into the cabin, but went all the way up.

"Oh~~" Shangluo Red Carpet kept looking up: there really was a spacious staircase in the cabin. It didn't feel like the cramped space of an airplane at all, but more like a real ship. His "first seat" was on the second floor, not far from the cockpit.

Walking along the red carpet, he found his seat: it wasn't one of those seats along the corridor, but a doorway. He opened the door to a sofa facing forward, flanked by two large swivel chairs. In the center of the room was a table covered with a white linen tablecloth and decorated with dew-drenched flowers. There were shoe cabinets and a wardrobe near the entrance, and the flight attendant had already prepared slippers for him—this was a layout straight out of a cruise ship, not something you'd expect from an airplane.

And this seemed to be just the living room. There was a door towards the back of the room, leading to a separate bathroom, though that probably wasn't where you could shower. He went in and took a look: it was indeed a bathroom, and it even had its own porthole.

Shangluo sat on the sofa. There were seatbelts on it, indicating this was indeed his seat. He looked around again—the room was wide enough to fit four or five rows of seats, and the width was as wide as the entire cabin of a typical airliner. The room was simply too large to be real. If it weren't for the seatbelts, he wouldn't have known it was an airplane.

After entering the door, he put the spear into the closet and sat down in the seat. The footsteps of others going up the stairs were also heard.

"Wow~~" Wen Yuan was stunned for a moment after entering the door. "So there really is such a big room. Where do I put my things?"

Shangluo pointed to the wardrobe and motioned him to put the rifle in the wardrobe.

Four students and one adult took their seats one by one, and the flight attendant followed in.

"Welcome aboard Lanfang Airlines. I'm the flight attendant for this flight, my last name is Huang." The flight attendant, wearing light makeup, arrived with a drink—orange juice with passion fruit pulp floating in it. A slice of lemon dangled from the rim of the glass, and inside was a straw and a small umbrella.

"This is a welcome drink. Please enjoy it first. This flight will depart promptly at 12: and arrive at Longjiang Wharf in Yujing on Monday night. Tonight, we will land at Ceylon Island in the middle of the Tianzhu Sea and arrange a dinner at sea for you. Tomorrow morning, we will arrive at Changi Airport in Singapore for a second dinner. Tomorrow evening, there will be a farewell dinner with the captain in attendance, and then we will land back in Yujing. And here's the menu."

She handed a thick, hard-cover menu to the table. "Desserts, cold dishes, drinks, and light meals can be ordered at any time and delivered at any time. Main courses are at the back of the menu. Please take a look at the menu first. We will serve them to you at dinner time tonight."

Shangluo took the menu and flipped through it.

The section labeled "Light Meals" appeared to be delivered in a lunch box. This was probably a standard airplane meal, served throughout the plane, but available for delivery if desired. In fact, standard airplane meals were quite good. The most basic light meal consisted of a staple food and four dishes, offering four options from two different cuisines: Cantonese and Nanyang. He flipped through the "Meals" section.

"Dry-fried beef noodles?" Shangluo was stunned for a moment. "Can we eat dry-fried beef noodles here?"

He knew that dry fried beef noodles required careful cooking and was a classic Cantonese dish. Could this dish even be served as a full meal on an airplane? After all, full meals were a signature dish, especially for a luxury airline. It wasn't something you could just casually serve.

"Yes, but that's a main course, and it can only be served during dinner time. Because it has to be cooked fresh."

Chapter 196 Nanyang Vegetables

"Wow." Shangluo immediately understood why they put dry fried beef noodles in the main course instead of the light meals. Because on this plane, they actually cooked authentic dry fried beef noodles the right way, stir-frying them in the kitchen.

"There's a kitchen on this plane? Where is it?"

"We have a standard star-rated kitchen with certified external chefs providing catering services. The kitchen is located on the other side of the stairs. The menu changes according to the season and the chef. This season we offer Nanyang cuisine, one of the five major cuisines, and also some Cantonese dishes."

"Ah~~" Shangluo nodded. He had long been aware of the five major cuisines. Besides Sichuan, Shandong, Guangdong, and Huaihai, there was also a nationally renowned "Nanyang cuisine." Nanyang cuisine developed in Southeast Asia. Initially, it consisted of local dishes brought from various regions, but some modifications were made to suit the tropical climate. Later, thanks to the vigorous promotion of the Guoxing family, Nanyang cuisine gradually developed into the fifth major cuisine—in other words, like the other four, it was built on money.

However, Nanyang cuisine can be regarded as the fifth major cuisine, and it also has its own unique secrets -

"Nanyang cuisine is distinguished by its use of fresh spices," Captain Huang explained. Though his introduction was formulaic, it carried the sincerity characteristic of a dish from his homeland. "Most of the spices you've tasted in Kinai were shipped back from Nanyang. While shipping fresh spices isn't difficult today, throughout the development of various cuisines, Nanyang cuisine was the only one to utilize fresh, rather than dried, spices, resulting in its unique flavor."

"For example?" Shangluo asked, "For example, what are they?"

"For example, the peppers you often eat come in two types: black pepper and white pepper. However, Nanyang cuisine uses five types of pepper: green pepper, black pepper, red pepper, white pepper, and rose pepper."

"Is there any difference between these?"

"For Nanyang cuisine, there are big differences. First of all, except for rose pepper, the other four are actually different forms of pepper berries."

"Is pepper actually a berry?" Shangluo wondered. He'd always seen peppers that were shrunken and, from a distance, resembled some kind of bean. He'd always assumed peppers grew in pods like edamame.

"Yes, pepper is a berry. If you visit Pontianak, you'll find an entire street dedicated to ornamental peppers, which are bright red and beautiful. Pepper berries are green when they first emerge. Picking them while green produces the green peppercorns used in Southeast Asian cuisine. Green peppercorns only have their unique flavor when fresh, as their aromatic compounds are unstable and easily evaporate. Processing them while still green produces the black peppercorns you're familiar with, but black peppercorns have only been introduced to Kinai in recent decades. Later...

"Next is red pepper. Red pepper is the ripened pepper berry. Compared to green and black pepper, it has a more stable and restrained flavor. Red pepper is processed to become the most common white pepper. White pepper has a very long history in Kinai. All major cuisines generally use white pepper, and the use of black pepper has only recently been added. Green and red pepper are currently only used in Nanyang cuisine. You will soon be able to taste the unique flavor of these fresh spices."

"What about rose pepper?" Shangluo asked.

"Rose pepper isn't strictly speaking pepper; it's a relative of pepper native to Brazil. It's only recently been consumed in Southeast Asia. Rose pepper is pink and lacks the pungent, spicy flavor of pepper, but it's beautiful and perfect for seasoning desserts. You'll see 'Pepper Ice Cream' on the menu, a new product from the past two years. It uses rose pepper, which has almost no spiciness. The pink berries adorning the white ice cream are beautiful, and the slight spiciness really brings out the creamy flavor of Haozhou's specialty. We highly recommend this new product."

"Hey~" Wen Yuan asked softly, "Why is it called rose pepper and not pink pepper? That name is so tongue-twisting."

Shangluo also paused. This was a reasonable question, and he had been planning to ask it as well.

"Stupid." Lu Liang took a look and said, "They are from Fujian. Try to pronounce pink peppercorns, pink peppercorns yourself."

"." He and Wen Yuan looked at each other and tried to pronounce it in their minds. They really couldn't pronounce it, just like Pink Phoenix and Bee Flower Conditioner.

"Ahem," Shangluo nodded. Regardless of the name, there were so many ways to eat pepper, and he began to flip through the menu with great interest.

At the forefront are the specially labeled "Four Heavenly Kings of Nanyang Cuisine." From the dining tables of the nationalities to the roadside stalls of Singapore, these four classic Nanyang dishes are sold everywhere.

Hainan Chicken Rice

Fujian Fried Noodles

Bak Kut Teh

Laksa (spicy coconut milk noodle soup)

Shangluo blinked. He had eaten Hainanese chicken rice.

"Is Hainanese chicken rice a Nanyang dish? Then why is it called Hainanese chicken rice?" Shangluo asked.

"Because Hainanese chicken rice is the chicken rice brought to Southeast Asia by Hainanese immigrants. Unlike the local Hainanese chicken rice, the 'Hainanese chicken rice' in Southeast Asia has different dipping sauces. We have four colors of dipping sauces: red, yellow, green, and soy sauce - each of the recommended dishes represents a part of Southeast Asia. Hainanese chicken rice comes from Hainan, and Fujian fried noodles are naturally from Fujian. They are fried noodles with broth and then stir-fried with seafood. The first two are specialties of Pontianak, while Bak Kut Teh is a specialty of Singapore, because Singapore's main product is immigrants from Guangdong. As for Laksa."

She thought for a moment. "Laksa is a modified version of a Nanyang dish, originally a dish of the indigenous people of Nanyang. It's a spicy coconut milk noodle soup. Many indigenous dishes have been modified and incorporated into the category of Nanyang cuisine. Guo Xing believes that these dishes represent the unique culture of Nanyang. People from all over the world brought dishes from all over the world to their new home in Nanyang. And you won't find dishes like these in Hainan, Fujian, or Guangdong. For example, Hainanese chicken rice is different from Hainan chicken rice, Fujian fried noodles are different from Fujian fried noodles, and although bak kut teh is also a Cantonese soup, it is seasoned with spices not found locally. As for laksa, the locals wouldn't eat such a mild dish. Of course, we recommend that you just choose one. These four are all filling staples, and there are more distinctive dishes later. For example, on the next page, we recommend this one - yes, this curry crab is the special of this season."

She looked up and saw four people pointing at this page:

"Wait. Do you want all four? All four of you? Okay, I'll take note." She didn't say anything, but just wrote down the four people's orders on the menu. "Do you want curry crab too? Okay, four servings of curry crab. It's good to be young, you can eat whatever you want."