Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1562 The Great Lighthouse

“I’ve noted down what you just said. In short, gather as much publicly available intelligence as possible and inform me of any developments they want us to know through private channels. The embassy is too slow; yours will be faster.”

“Oh~~” Victoria’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Does this mean I’m doing embassy work?”

"Yes. Because the embassy and the border gate are both in Songjiang Prefecture, they cannot enter Yingtian without permission. Therefore, their information is always delayed."

How untimely?

“Let me put it this way,” he gestured to the television across the desk, “I think sometimes I can watch TV faster myself. What they say might not even be as comprehensive as what’s on TV. Our operations in Aurora are entirely under Aurora’s surveillance, based entirely on open intelligence—meaning what information we get depends on the efficiency of those people at the embassy. Their efficiency is so low! So low! I can’t stand it anymore. What you just mentioned, that must have happened last week, right?”

"Oh, actually it was last month."

“It’s been a month! Such an important matter, and they haven’t even mentioned it to me. So Victoria, you know what I mean? You’re much more important than the embassy. You can ask Shangluo later. If there’s anything he wants to say that he can’t tell me directly, you can relay it to him. That would be perfect.”

“Oh~~~” Victoria nodded. “So, does that mean I’m doing work at the embassy?”

“You’ve asked that question twice now,” Agassiz said, looking at her. “Do you have anything to say?”

Victoria spread her hands: "Funding! Give me funding. I'm doing embassy work, so you have to give me embassy funding."

“Funding?” Agassiz paused, “Listen, you’re the emperor, you’re working for your own empire. Do you really have to draw a salary from your own job?”

“What you just said is that you’re the one in control, not me. That’s why I need funding. When I was a kid, you would give me a drachma for making my own bed.”

Is that the same thing?

"How can this not be the same thing? I think it is the same thing."

"Is Shangluo short of money?"

Victoria fell silent. She didn't know how to answer.

Ms. Agatha spoke up directly: "Yes, he is short of money. In fact, Shangluo does not receive a salary directly from his work, but his work is very expensive, so he does sometimes struggle with funding."

"And then you went after your own father, right?" Agassiz covered his forehead. "I knew this day would come. You started persecuting your own father for someone else's son."

“Oh, Father, Father,” Victoria shook his shoulders as if shaking a money tree, “Please promise me, please promise me. I promise I will work hard, I will definitely work hard.”

"Next stop."

“Oh,” Victoria stood in front of the table, pouting, “I’m the emperor, it’s so embarrassing for me to stand here.”

“You said it yourself, that I am the ruler, therefore I am the master,” Agassiz turned the tables.

"Oh," Victoria could only stand there speechless.

“Alright, listen up.” After thinking for a moment, Agassiz put down his pen. “Since you’ve asked me for funding for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it’s not unreasonable for me to evaluate you based on that funding, is it? I’ve allocated the funds, so you have to be responsible for them. It’s an equal exchange.”

"Understood. So what do I need to do?"

"500 words. Every day."

"500 words?! My teacher never assigns me that many words of homework."

"I'm referring to the Chinese script, not the alphabet."

"500 characters in the Aurora script?! Why didn't you let me write 4000 characters?!?"

"This is a job, you asked for it yourself. Will you take it or not?"

"Can we discuss this?"

"We use job titles in our work. Since you're the one who wants to talk to me about work, then let's talk about work."

"Yes! Your Majesty the Co-Emperor Agassocles."

“Very good.” He nodded. “500 words a day, reporting what you have seen and heard. I will ask Shangluo to sign it, to confirm that this information is reasonable and legal, and not something you just saw while wandering around. Then I will have Agatha sign it, to confirm that you wrote it yourself and that you did not have it written by an automated machine. After that, send it to my email address. I will read it and give my comments every day, and then send it back to you the next day.”

"I'm suffocating! I can't breathe!"

"This is a job. Whether you do it or not is up to you."

"I want cash! Transfer it directly to me, don't give it to Aunt Agatha."

"Sure. This is your job, so of course I'll pay you your salary directly, and you can use it as you see fit."

“Agas (Agasocles’ nickname),” Agatha said, looking at her brother. “Don’t add to my workload—don’t give her money; that’s my order.”

"The past is the past, the present is the present. I think we can give her the money now. As long as you keep an eye on her, that's fine."

"Why can't you give me money?"

"Is this something I can say?" Agatha asked.

"Yes, tell her."

Agatha looked at Victoria: "If you take the money with you while sleepwalking and eat foreign food, it will be very difficult to bring you back from that world. But since you and your father insist that you take the money yourself, I will increase my precautions regarding this matter in my work. I will also discuss the importance of this matter with Shangluo."

“Very good. My family, you have always been my source of motivation—now, if you don’t mind, please go to your own rooms to rest. I have a dimensional meeting to attend, and I need to make sure I’m the only one in the room.”

“Go on, Victoria, don’t disturb your father’s work.”

“There’s one more thing,” Agassiz reminded him. “Tell Shangluo not to go see Dr. Shang for now. He’s attending a meeting with me, and we have some very important things to discuss. Let him go get some ice cream first—he should have made an appointment in advance so we can schedule a time for him.”

“So that’s how it is.” Sitting at the entrance of the Library of Alexandria, Shangluo ate ice cream. “I never thought I’d need an appointment to see my dad.”

“Wow, your father is amazing.” Karin, sitting on the other side of the bench, was also eating ice cream. “My father isn’t as amazing as yours. He’s the kind of person who has to make a reservation to get good wine. By the way, who is your father?”

"The one whose surname is Shang."

"Wait a minute. Isn't his surname Luo?"

“Learn more, Karin.”

“Hey, what can I do? From age 5 to 21, I was an executioner for a crazy elf. I never went to school a single day. I even had to start learning to read again, and I couldn’t even explain to the other people in the library why I couldn’t read.”

"Wait, are you the older one?"

"Can't you see?"

"Oh, you're becoming more and more like a human being."

"Thank you so much, at least I look like a human being now."

“No, no, no, I’m serious. You weren’t really human at first, and neither was Karin. Now you’re both slowly starting to act like humans.” “Perhaps the void in our lives is gradually being filled—it’s really easy for two people to work together, especially when we don’t have to pay for food.”

"So, Karin is resting at home?"

“No.” Karin shook her head. “The roof at home is broken, and she went back to help her father fix it, so she asked us to fill in for her for two days.”

Wow, actually

"You're not going to tell me you're going to help my father fix the roof, are you?"

"No, no, no, what I mean is, you've actually moved to Cybernia now, haven't you? Why is your family still living there?"

“Because that’s Lake Nemi, the most sacred place, where our ancestors lived. My father wanted to stay there forever.”

"A noble choice. But it may have unpredictable effects on his lifespan."

“I know. But my father believes the spirit world has caused irreparable damage to our family. So he’s not really keen on going here—and with his attachment to the land, I don’t think I can persuade him at all.”

"Then, is there anything I can do to help?"

Karin shook her head: "Unless we order a custom mold. But that's very expensive. It would require reconstructing and remodeling our land, then moving it here. We're just a small country knight with a tiny fief. Even if you bought our entire estate, we couldn't afford the cost of the remodeling. It's very expensive, after all, our family... Wait a minute!!!! Shangluo, your surname is Shang, right?"

"Yes, my surname isn't Luo."

"Who is Dr. Shang Yang?"

“This is my father. People generally don’t call him by his name, it’s not polite. His courtesy name is ‘Bu Huan’, that’s what people usually call him—just in case you don’t know: a courtesy name is a secondary name, usually chosen by oneself, and is different from the name given by the family.”

"Oh! So, is it impolite for me to call you Shangluo?"

"No, no. Before I tell you what my courtesy name is, you can just call me Shangluo. Actually, I haven't given myself a courtesy name yet, and it seems there's no need for it."

"Shangluo, could you please talk to your father? Could you possibly have my house's feng shui chart altered? He... he's the chief feng shui chart maker!"

"Was he really that good?"

"Mithraism believes that our world was not created by a true God, but by a Great Creator. The Mithraic God is omniscient, but for some reason, he has not manifested his absolute power—this power belongs to the Great Creator. Therefore, the Great Creator is the one who truly holds power in this world. He can decide whether objects exist! This is incredible!"

"It's not that great." A third person suddenly appeared behind them. Like a god in this world, he was silent and omnipresent, holding an ice cream in his hand.

The chief physiognomist of Project Lighthouse, Shang Yang, courtesy name Buhuan, was a commander of the 14th Thousand-Household Unit of the Left Guard of Wugong and the head of the Ordnance Department of the Second Equipment Department of the Ministry of Works. Generally speaking, he and Lu Huaiyang were at the same level, but the secret-level officials he had contact with were a whole level higher than Lu Huaiyang.

"Oh, you're already eating? I'd also like to recommend you try this ice cream flavor."

He walked to the bench, looked at Shangluo on his left and Karin on his right:

"Gentlemen, if you don't mind, could you make room for me?"

Silently, the two of them moved to the left and the right, making way for each other.

"Here, you don't mind having two, do you?"

Shangluo nodded—then shook his head. He wanted to eat two, but at that moment he didn't know if shaking his head meant he didn't mind or didn't want to eat.

He simply reached out and grabbed them, one ice cream cone in his left hand and one in his right. The love from his friends and family made his tongue feel a little numb. Although they were delicious, they were just too cold.

"Excuse me, gentlemen!" Karin suddenly stood up. "Please take your time and have a good chat."

"Okay, go ahead." He sat down in the empty seat and leaned back. "I didn't expect you to come looking for me on your own initiative."

"Weren't you going to a meeting with Emperor Agassiz?"

"Yes, I'm in a meeting. I'm speaking to you through an avatar."

"Won't this interfere with your work?"

"will not."

"Wow, I've really underestimated you all this time."

"Me too, I underestimated you." Shang Yang looked at the sky. "How many is this now?"

"what?"

"Don't play dumb. This is the first one? I admit I was a little shocked when I learned that you had some connection with the Roman emperor. But when I found out that you could talk to the elves of the Great Library for 29 minutes, I was amazed."

“Karin is an exception.”

"Oh, that girl's name is Karin. Hey, who's the one you're going to be filming a movie with?"

"It's Yanqiu."

"Oh, I see, I see. So, you're planning to use a clone, just like I am now?"

"No, no, no, I don't need a clone."

"So how exactly do you manage your time? Do you have any experience you can share with this humble old father in front of you?"

"Sincerity. I can say nothing more."

"What sincerity. So, she said she wanted to design her home and then have a custom mold made and sent to Cyprus?"

That's what she said, but what we're saying is...

“I approve it. The task force will be at her house tomorrow.”

"Wow, this must be expensive!"

"In order to make my lovely son more 'sincere,' I had no choice but to use my little bit of power to satisfy his little girlfriend's request."

"what"

"You're welcome."

Actually, I came here this time because...

"You've come to fight Amun-Zeus? Too early. He's just moved, and we're still looking for him. I suggest you deal with the Elf King's problem first; your Night Watch Bureau hasn't been doing so well lately."

"OK."

"Alright, I've taken care of everything that needed to be taken care of. Next time, remember to let me know in advance if you need anything, don't just show up without calling. If there's nothing else, you can go back now."

(End of this chapter)