Chapter Four: The Fork in the Road
[The new guy, don’t you agree?]
“Indeed,” Shang Luo replied instinctively.
[...]
“...”
Shang Luo froze in place, sensing something was amiss. It seemed as if something had just spoken. A strange feeling welled up inside him, yet it felt like an illusion. This was entirely different from the vague flashbacks he had experienced earlier with those generators—this time, the voice was clear and distinct. Moreover, he was certain it was not his own voice.
“Who are you?” he asked instinctively.
[...]
He could vaguely hear panting but received no reply.
“Mr. Shang Luo? What are you talking about?” Jefferson asked from nearby.
“Ah, never mind, I must have misheard.”
[No, no, no! You didn’t mishear! So you really can hear me! I thought it was just my illusion!]
Like a drowning man clutching at a lifeline, the voice suddenly burst out, fearful Shang Luo might not hear her. Before he could respond, she continued:
[Help me! I’ve had enough of these nonsense people. They only accept the results they want, and if it doesn’t work, they keep divining over and over. I’m so annoyed! You can hear my voice, right?! You can hear me, can’t you? Please do me a favor! Just think silently; you don’t need to speak.]
“Why should I help you? Are you some kind of monster?” Shang Luo thought silently.
[Before you is the Infinite Divine Machine “Apollonia.” The Creator of Fate, the Pioneer of the Future, the God Machine of Light and Prophecy, the wisest of all divine machines, the most eternal of all sages...]
“My house can’t accommodate so many people.”
[Alright, alright! I am Apollonia, Apollonia is me. A hapless soul in need of help, and you are the only one who can hear me. I need your help.]
“Wait, you haven’t explained why I should help you.”
[As you’ve seen, those coin-tossing tricks just now came from my power. But those fools only know how to play magician’s tricks—they don’t understand true miracles. For example, I can help you escape now. Believe it or not, they never intended for you to leave alive; there are killers all around outside. If you don’t believe me, find an excuse to go out. Or better yet—Shang Luo, use the “pee escape” technique!]
That phrase sounded strangely familiar, making him feel odd. Yet Shang Luo decided to try it, as he truly couldn’t trust those brutes.
He looked up and asked, “Excuse me, where is the restroom?”
Jefferson still smiled, “Oh, Mr. Shang, this will be over soon. How about I teach you how to use a miracle? Or I could divine your fate?”
“But I really need to use the restroom right now...”
“Please wait a moment. It will be over shortly.” Jefferson stood up, his expression turning displeased.
[What did I say earlier! He never wanted you to leave this room! Now do you believe me?]
“What should I do now?” Shang Luo consulted the mysterious voice calling itself “Apollonia.”
[Let’s start with a divination. Divination can determine your fate through observation, then we decide the path.]
“Alright.”
The cards were right in front of him. Shang Luo drew two.
Two jokers smiled at him—one was the big joker, the other the little joker.
“What does drawing the two jokers mean?”
[What else could it mean? A royal flush! Nothing is forbidden, just charge out!]
“Are there royal flushes in tarot cards???"
[I say there are, so there are. No taboos! No taboos! Just charge. Otherwise, are you planning to sit here and wait to die? There are more than twenty gunmen outside, and they are the real deal.]
“Alright... should I charge straight out, or prepare somehow?” Shang Luo wasn’t ready to die here.
[There’s a handgun in the first drawer to the left of the desk. Maybe bringing that will make you feel safer. Next to the gun is a music box—that’s my true form. Take both, then rush out immediately.]
---
“Mr. Shang Luo?” Jefferson called again. “Why are you standing still? Check if something’s wrong... Stop! Why are you walking inside?”
Without a word, Shang Luo moved toward the desk and reached for the first drawer on the left—
“Hey, what are you doing!” Jefferson, knowing well what was inside, rushed to stop him, but Shang Luo was closer. He opened the drawer, revealing a handgun.
A silver handgun.
A 0.50 caliber self-defense pistol “Gladius,” standard issue for the Roman army. Unlike other Roman weapons marked with unit emblems, this pistol bore no markings to identify its user.
The safety was off; the gun was ready to fire at a moment’s notice. As Shang Luo’s hand touched the pistol, it seemed to convey more information beyond itself...
A box-shaped white music box lay quietly beside the gun.
“You say ‘no taboos,’ right? So I absolutely won’t die?”
[Correct. Once fate is observed, it becomes fixed—just like when you guessed correctly fifteen times in a row before. Now you are free of taboos. Hey! What are you doing! Where are you pointing?]
He already had a good grasp of the gun's condition when he touched it. But the voice did not know this.
“Hmm... no taboos, huh.”
Facing Jefferson, Shang Luo gave a half-smile.
“You... what are you going to do?”
Shang Luo raised the gun, aimed it at his temple, and pulled the trigger.
“Click.” He heard the hammer strike. Usually, such mechanical sounds are drowned out by the gunpowder’s roar, but now it was crystal clear.
Jefferson heard it too, stunned.
“You just drew the big and little jokers... and said ‘no taboos.’” Jefferson’s voice trembled. “You can speak to angels? Is an angel granting you protection?”
“Exactly right.” Shang Luo took deliberate steps forward and picked up the deck of cards.
“Borrowing your cards.”
He walked toward the door. Jefferson, still standing there muttering to himself, did not stop him.
...
Outside, the door creaked open. Shang Luo stepped out slowly.
Sure enough, twenty-four gunmen waited—no more, no less. They squatted in the corners, leaving a clear path between them.
Shang Luo exited and quietly closed the door behind him.
“Thank you for your efforts.” He nodded to them and swaggered through the middle as if he belonged there.
Among the twenty-plus men, a few saluted back, most clutched their guns and leaned against the wall without moving. No one tried to stop him or even watched as he passed; after all, Senator Jefferson had not given any orders.
After a few steps, he reached a T-junction in the tunnel, with paths left and right.
“Hm, men left, women right, so I’ll go left.”
Turning left, he immediately bumped into Franklin, who had escorted him in earlier.
Franklin carried an orange box and was startled to see Shang Luo where he shouldn’t be.
“How did you get out? Hey, I’m talking to you! Come back!” He tilted his head, peering from behind the box, shouting, but Shang Luo ignored him and strolled casually down the corridor, the cards in his left pocket, the music box in his right, as if on a leisurely walk.
“Hey, hey!” Franklin shouted twice, then dropped the orange box and hurried to the senator’s office door.
“Someone! Catch him! Bring him back!”
The twenty-four gunmen glanced at him but remained unmoved, quietly holding their weapons.
“Hey! Don’t you realize you just let the most important person escape? Do you want to die?”
“Stop yelling.” Jefferson opened the door and stood in the doorway. “They don’t understand your official language. These soldiers recruited from London are different; they only speak English.”
“Senator, he’s fled! Tell these men to catch him!”
“You can’t stop him,” Jefferson shook his head. “The angel protects him. You just can’t stop him. Let him go; at least save us some dignity.”
---
“Senator, we barely managed to bring him here. Are you really going to watch him leave just like that? It’s ridiculous!”
“Fine.” Jefferson sighed. “At this point, you still can’t accept fate. Humans always struggle in vain.”
He cleared his throat and ordered the pursuit in English.
...
[You frightened him just now.] Apollonia’s voice sounded, but there was no echo in the narrow corridor.
Shang Luo was certain the voice physically did not exist.
“But I wasn’t scared. I don’t gamble with death lightly. The gun told me it jammed—I was just scaring him. I can’t just believe everything you say without question.”
[No wonder you can talk to me... You can sense simple consciousness in simple machines. Here with me, you should be able to sense the ‘Infinite.’]
“Infinite? What’s that?”
[Nothing. Just escape quickly; someone’s coming after you.] Apollonia warned.
Heavy footsteps sounded behind him. The underground base wasn’t large; finding him was only a matter of time.
“You said no taboos still work? Now there’s a fork ahead; can I go either way?”
[You can be more flexible, but fate might view ‘no taboos’ differently than you. It guarantees your survival, but whether your body remains intact...]
“Strange... I can’t tell if you’re lying. I can usually sense emotions from other machines. So are you really sure that drawing the royal flush means no taboos?”
[First, I’m not a machine; understand that. I am the Creator of Fate, the Pioneer of the Future...]
“Stop, stop. You’re so powerful; these fools only use you to guess coin tosses? Shouldn’t they ask how to cast fireball or ascend instead?”
[How do you know they haven’t?]
“Hmm???”
Her reply made Shang Luo stumble slightly, but there was no time to care about others—he had to focus on himself.
He turned left—a corridor ended with an iron door. According to fire safety regulations, the door bore a green exit sign.
“You’re pretty reliable after all. Can I just walk straight to the exit?”
At the door, he reached out to open it—but it didn’t budge. Not locked, but completely rusted shut.
“Hey! This door smells musty; it hasn’t been opened for at least five years! Are you sure this is the right way?”
[Don’t worry, absolutely reliable.]
Footsteps grew closer behind him, even the sound of a bullet being chambered.
“Hey, Miss Apollonia, if you have a plan, say it quickly, or I’m done for today.”
[Fate is determined once observed. If I’m not mistaken... 5, 4, 3.]
Shang Luo sensed something, crouched in a corner, covering his head defensively.
With a “boom,” a breaching charge blew off the lock and the entire iron door.
A squad of matte-scaled armored soldiers burst through, each holding a compact Type 12 Taihe 0.9 caliber submachine gun.
The guns had no suppressors but were fitted with a horn—only by hearing the gunshot can one know the Imperial Guards have arrived.
An officer, not armored but wearing a Flying Fish uniform, strode in. He was so broad-shouldered that he stretched the loose uniform, with a embroidered spring sword hanging from his belt—a standard Imperial Guard outfit. Regulations mandated that a military academy cadet in Flying Fish uniform and spring sword be present for the Imperial Guards to conduct business.
This tradition was deliberately preserved and exaggerated—only then could one know it was the Imperial Guards at the door.
The officer raised a larger handheld megaphone, shouting down the corridor:
“Imperial Guards conducting an investigation! All unauthorized persons retreat! Surrender the hostage or there will be no survivors! Repeat, surrender the hostage or there will be no survivors!”