Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1704 Quality Control
“Actually, if we capture them, they should be able to provide great assistance,” the priest replied. “After all, they are Egyptians from the past, and they possess powerful magic. If we resurrect them fully in the mortal world, I think they would be willing to serve the newly born Egypt—after all, serving one's homeland is the most natural thing to do. They did the same when they were alive.”

After all, it wasn't said that one couldn't fill their stomach while serving Egypt. Those who could be buried in the Valley of the Kings were either wealthy or noble, and these mummies were of exceptionally high quality. They must have held prominent positions in Egypt to receive the honor of being by the Pharaoh's side.

"Then why aren't they serving Egypt now?"

“They didn’t actually come back to life,” the priest replied. “I think you know the story of the priest who was stuffed with cotton because of poor quality control—I find it hard to understand what the artisans did back then. Because Egyptian magic believed that the body had to be ‘whole’ after death to gain life in the afterlife. If the skin on the face was ripped, it obviously didn’t meet the definition of ‘whole’.”

Shangluo covered his forehead: "I think... with the brain already ripped out, talking about 'intact' is pointless, right?"

"This is a matter of magic, and things done by magic aren't called 'taking.' It's just a process."

"What kind of treatment?"

The priest lowered his voice: "Actually, we have no choice. Looking back at the development of this technology and the various restorative measures taken to preserve the body, we can see that this project has faced enormous pressure from the very beginning—the brain is obviously very difficult to preserve because it is not like the internal organs in the abdomen that can be repeatedly washed. The preservative solution simply cannot penetrate the surface of the brain to effectively treat the entire brain. Moreover, if we want to remove the brain for treatment, we must open the skull, not just make a hole. This is obviously impossible."

"So," Shangluo asked in surprise, "you just won't do it if you can't do it?"

“Well, there’s nothing we priests can do. You can’t just say, ‘Because brains can’t be preserved, so you’ll have to make do’—no, you can’t say that. Even if you make it up and say that brains aren’t important at all, you can’t offend the deceased’s family. So in order for our work to continue, these explanations must match the procedures.”

Everyone knows that the brain is incredibly important. Eastern spiritual practices consider the brain to be the abode of the primordial spirit. This is because the most direct manifestation of this is that humans manipulate their bodies from the perspective of the brain. The brain is also the largest organ in the skull; few would consider the head unimportant.

But in order to keep going and to at least keep the rituals going, even if the priests were somewhat aware of what was going on, they had to continue the rituals according to the "ancient teachings".

Of course, there might be some mishaps in the end. But as long as it's packaged well, no one at the scene will find out. As for what happens after death—that's a matter for after death. If you can't do your job well, you can't even survive; who cares about what happens after death?

"Ah," Shangluo shook his head, "It feels like there's nothing new under the sun. This kind of thing has been repeated time and again in the thousands of years since then—so, these mummies didn't come back to life because they're incomplete?"

“Yes,” the priest nodded. “They are incomplete, which is why they wander and roam here. Ultimately, it is because a part of their bodies was stolen long ago—for some, their bodies and internal organs may have been scattered to various corners of the world. The other parts of their bodies yearn to return to Thebes, which is why they are the way they are now.”

"What a tragedy, what a tragedy." Shang Luo shook his head. "So that's why they can never find peace here?"

“I think so. And I can tell you that their disguise is not that good—after all, the quality control during production is not very strict.”

The craftsmanship of the priest of Amun was beyond question; Shangluo didn't even realize at first glance that he wasn't actually alive. But others might not have been so discerning.

“I’m terrified that they might suddenly reveal their true colors in public, or that they might go crazy in a crowd; that would be a huge problem.”

"Are they dangerous?" "Very dangerous, my lord," the priest said in a deep voice. "All these mummies who have managed to appear here without having vanished long ago must have had their souls weighed and passed the test—in other words, the Egyptian world order promised them immortality and resurrection. But now their situation is completely different from what they should have received; not only is their resurrection hopeless, but they have also been torn to pieces."

It's no wonder they had so much resentment to vent.

“I understand. So we will do our best to get them back to normal.”

“But my lord,” the priest shook his head, “some of them will probably never recover.”

"Do you mean?"

"I mean, Roman medicine used to grind mummies into powder for consumption or make them into pigments. These 'consumed' parts can probably never be recovered, and they will probably forever remain in a state of confusion."

"If that's the case, then I do have a way to help them."

Egypt is currently undergoing a period of massive construction. The entire city of Thebes will be teeming with people, and no ghosts will dare to wreak havoc in front of two million people. After all, at times like these, the presence of people is far more powerful than any ghostly aura.

And when their resentment is suppressed, that's when the problem can be solved.

“I will do my best to help them recover. But if they cannot recover, I don’t want them to stay here indefinitely.”

That's ultimately a matter of public order. What the court wants is for them to be truly convinced, just like Zhuge Liang's seven captures of Meng Huo. Without subduing the entire world, the supreme status of the royal domain cannot be guaranteed.

"So let them find a new life. Go to work."

"Wait a minute. I thought you meant to send a complete mummy to work?"

“Those who are incomplete need work even more,” Shangluo replied. “Those who haven’t fully recovered may not be very bright. But they can still do some basic work, like the things that are most memorable to them.”

"For example, planting wheat?"

“Yes, that’s fine.” Shangluo nodded. “Planting wheat, baking bread, moving stones. These things existed in ancient Egypt and are still needed in modern times. So, why not hire them? I think they have great magical power, and they’ll definitely be strong enough to do the work. Perhaps, these ‘returnees’ can find a new life here.”

(End of this chapter)