Yes, Madam Prime Minister

Page 357

She recognized all the characters on the menu that Ronan had just pointed to: "Centennial Old Fire Donkey Whip Soup." She recognized the characters for "donkey" and "whip" individually, but she had absolutely no idea what it meant when put together.

The restaurant wasn't a large establishment; although it was spacious, the tables were quite close together. Before Ronan could even reply, people at the neighboring tables couldn't help but burst into laughter.

But then he immediately shut up, pretending he hadn't heard anything, because the fabrics of Ronan and the other two's clothes were very fine, and they might not be ordinary people.

Donkey penis soup is always simmering in a big pot, so you blanch a few slices of cold-cut cooked donkey meat, then ladle a bowl of soup and other ingredients over it, add some salt, stir it, sprinkle some chopped green onions, and it's the first dish served.

It has a spice flavor with a hint of medicinal flavor, and almost no fishy or gamey taste. The soup is very sticky, like fish maw soup, but it doesn't make your mouth feel sticky and hard to swallow. Instead, it's very smooth. The donkey penis is soft, chewy, and bouncy. After chewing a few times, it slides down smoothly.

In the dead of winter, a sip of soup and a bite of meat can instantly energize you.

"What is this?" Dinia asked again.

Ronan answered her in French.

Dinya's eyes widened immediately, and she dropped the spoon she was holding; she would never eat that stuff.

Kang Guizong just smiled, took a sip, and said, "I didn't expect it to taste the same as it did thirty years ago. It's not easy to find."

There are many century-old shops in Chang'an, but not many can maintain their original flavor for ten years.

Mortals are too short-lived, and even extraordinary people mostly don't live past a hundred years. Their successors either become complacent and cut back on details they deem unnecessary, or they presumptuously try to keep up with the times, ultimately losing those essential things.

As Kang Guizong watched the hunched-over, gray-haired shop owner bustling about, he knew that perhaps there wouldn't be another thirty years.

The second dish served was boiled mutton, which had very little seasoning and just a hint of saltiness.

Lamb has a certain gamey smell. If lamb doesn't have any gamey smell at all, is it still lamb? Lamb should have just the right amount of gamey smell to be delicious. At least, that's always been Ronan's opinion.

The boiled mutton was delicious, but the quality of the meat was a bit lacking; it wasn't as good as the mutton I had at the Sultan's Palace.

The third dish served was dumplings, with thin skins, generous fillings, lots of oil and meat, and most importantly, a dish of vinegar.

Dinya also loves pork dumplings, but she doesn't dip them in vinegar; that's heresy, that's what she's doing.

The last one is nothing special, just the staple food: flatbread.

After finishing their meal, the three of them got down to business.

We arrived at a pond near the suburbs. Hundreds of years ago, this was a large artificial lake with water from an outside river, and its banks were covered with lush grass and trees. Now, it is just an abandoned pond. The old water channel has long been blocked, and the surrounding area is full of silt and weeds. If we go back a few hundred years and enter the industrial age, this place will probably become a garbage dump.

"Right down there?" Ronan asked.

Kang Guizong shook his head. "No, the fastest way is to dig down here to our destination."

"Didi, get ready to combine," Ronan said.

Next, we'll have to use our supernatural powers. Dinia's ability to conceal her aura is too poor; if we don't combine, we'll be exposed. There are still a few bald monks in Chang'an with considerable strength, so to avoid trouble, we must combine.

Ronan merged into Dinia's body and was responsible for casting the Aura Concealment Technique, while Kang Guizong jumped into the pool first.

The excavation operation has begun.

At the same time, a girl dressed as a boy came to a noodle shop and said, "One bowl of knife-cut noodles, here's the money, go to the mutton shop next door and cut me three catties of mutton."

After saying that, the girl dressed as a boy looked in the direction of the abandoned pond.

This awakening is really interesting. They have been in this world for almost two thousand years and have not found any parallel universes. So, it is not that there is another Ronan in a parallel universe, but that Ronan has another parallel universe.

But what's the underlying principle? And who exactly is Ronan?

Chapter 828 A Bored Man, River and Pebbles, Things Are Actually Very Simple

Before jumping, Dinia wrapped herself in a thick layer of dense mycelium, while Kang Guizong used a transparent bubble membrane to isolate the inside from the outside.

After digging for several hours, they finally reached the spot: a huge, thick, square stone gate with rounded corners.

In fact, the straight-line distance between the stone gate and the place where they entered the water was no more than 100 meters. The reason why it took several hours was entirely to avoid making a commotion and to ensure that there was basically no abnormality visible on the surface of the water, so as not to attract unnecessary attention. After all, although this pond was abandoned and no one lived around it, it was still within the jurisdiction of Chang'an City, not in some desolate wilderness. Just a few hundred meters away from the pond, there was a dilapidated house where beggars lived.

Otherwise, with their strength, it would only take three steps: first, to lift the pond with a single move; second, to create a hole several tens of meters long; and third, to open the stone door.

Pulling open the stone door, one finds not a spacious area, but a passageway.

Buried dozens of meters below the riverbed, and after who knows how many years, it is still almost intact. This is something that conventional human construction cannot accomplish.

Although the tunnel is intact, it is filled with water and can only be swam in.

Fortunately, for people at their level, they have long transcended the level of ordinary life, and breathing is no longer a matter of importance; they can simply keep moving forward.

Not long after, the passageway was no longer filled with water, but was dark and damp.

After walking for a while, the passageway became dry, and soon they arrived at a stone gate.

Dinia shed its outer shell, revealing its true form. At the same time, Ronan emerged from Dinia's back, and Kang Guizong also eliminated the bubble wrap layer.

After a brief assessment, Dinia said, "Behind the stone door, there's only earth and rocks; it's a dead end."

“That’s right, this stone gate is the end,” Kang Guizong replied.

Some alternate dimensions can be entered by finding the entrance, while others, no matter how powerful you are, cannot be entered without the correct method.

The one in front of you is the latter.

Kang Guizong looked at Luo Nan.

"You can't get in?" Ronan asked with a smile.

Kang Guizong remained calm. "I've already said it, I'm just an ordinary person with good luck. You are the one destined to be extraordinary."

Ronan didn't take it seriously. "There's a place called fate where people skip stones across the water every day. Most of the stones are submerged, but some stones can create huge splashes, and some can even stir up a small tributary. This isn't destiny, but rather a change in fate."

He never believed that anything was predetermined.

He may be special, but he didn't get to where he is today because of that.

"Can you stop talking nonsense?"

Dinia said somewhat impatiently.

These two men, one hundreds of years old and the other a father of several children, acted like two energetic young boys, always arguing whenever they had a spare moment, spouting meaningless nonsense.

Ronan placed his right hand on the stone door, leaned his body, straightened his right leg, hooked his left foot over so his toes touched the ground, and put his left hand on his hip, striking a very pretentious pose. "I..." Before he could finish speaking, Ronan suddenly tilted his body, not because he lost his balance, but because the stone door suddenly became ethereal, forming a void entrance. His hand, which was supporting him on the stone door, sank into it, and he almost stumbled and fell straight in.

"It seems that even among pebbles, Mr. Ronan is different from the rest," Kang Guizong said, his tone clearly sarcastic, mocking Ronan's description of the river pebbles.

What is just a stone gate to others is an entrance that Ronan can open.

The three then passed through the illusory entrance and entered an alternate dimension.

It was a huge, spacious cabin, but the lights seemed to be malfunctioning. The light coming from the ceiling was a somewhat dim, cool color. The layout of the surroundings was full of technological features, which vaguely reminded Ronan of the time he and Dinia entered the underground tower where Gardener Tyr was many years ago. That place was also full of technological features back then.

For Ronan, it was a strange sense of science fiction; for Dinya, it was a structure she couldn't comprehend.

As for Kang Guizong, who knows?

"Now, what should we do?" Ronan asked Kang Guizong.

"I don't know." Kang Guizong, with his handsome face, gave a three-word answer that was extremely provocative.

Ronan let out a long sigh of relief. "If you weren't still useful, I would have killed you right now."

"What use am I?" Kang Guizong retorted.

“Use your fence-sitting skills to send us to another time and space,” Ronan replied.

Dinya stared blankly for several seconds. She knew Kang Guizong was suspicious, and she was sure Ronan had a solution, but she didn't expect Kang Guizong to be planning to send them to another time and space.

"I find it hard to agree that I'm a fence-sitter," Kang Guizong replied, still maintaining his nonchalant demeanor.

Just then, there was a loud bang, followed by a crash, like the lid exploding and landing on the ground. The source of the sound was in the darkness far away, where it was impossible to see clearly.

The three of them immediately turned their attention to that direction, and then they heard footsteps approaching them little by little.

It wasn't until a human silhouette appeared, and gradually revealed its true form in the dim light, that the situation became clear.

It was clearly a humanoid mechanical creation, with stiff movements, and its outer skin was torn, revealing some mechanical parts.

"It is wrong to enter someone else's territory without permission." The mechanical creation spoke in a deep and serious female voice, but the tone changed immediately the next second, and a young girl's loud voice said, "Go get me a bottle of Willow Grove wine and a plate of mutton dumplings."

What, what's going on here?

Soon, Ronan realized that the mechanical creation in front of him was just a tool used by the other party to transmit sound.

If nothing unexpected happens, the person speaking to them now is Wen Jin, the other advanced AI bio-robot Kate mentioned.

"Come out and wait for me by that pond."

Wen Jin said something else, and the mechanical creation in front of Ronan and the others lost all its power, then fell to the ground with a thud, looking completely lifeless.

At this moment, Ronan looked at Kang Guizong and said, "You and she aren't actually on the same side."

“If I were in cahoots with her, wouldn’t it be easier to just contact her directly?” Kang Guizong retorted.

"I thought you were pretending not to know her, but now it seems you really don't." Ronan was a little confused.

Kang Guizong said calmly, "I can only say that you, like your other self, always like to complicate things. Actually, the situation is very simple. First of all, you two cannot coexist, and he cannot kill you, or rather, he cannot kill Miss Dinia. Once you become enemies, he can win but cannot kill you, which will lead to endless troubles. In view of this situation, I have a suggestion: send you to his original timeline. If you can come back, then you will have the ability to defeat him and kill him. If you cannot come back, then he will no longer have to worry about your threat."

"It's a pity that he adopted my suggestion but didn't trust me, and you are one too."

Chapter 829 Logic: If it's already broken, it won't get any worse; I need to find another version of myself.

Ronan understood, but he still didn't trust Kang Guizong.

Dinia is still sorting out the logic behind it.

First, we must acknowledge that Kang Guizong is right; Ronan's strength is still far from sufficient.

Secondly, the conflict between the two Ronans is irreconcilable.

Under these two conditions.

The other "Ronan" can't kill her; if she doesn't die, Ronan won't die either. The other "Ronan" can only deal with others, but as the same person, he knows that Ronan is someone who will never accept any threats. If he does that, it will only bring endless retaliation, and from then on, he won't be able to accomplish anything. The final result will be a complete lose-lose situation.

Of course, the reverse is also true. If Ronan were to use underhanded tactics to sabotage the cause or target others, he would face endless retaliation from another "Ronan." Ronan and Dinia might not die, but others might.

In short, if things don't change, and neither of them dares to act rashly under these circumstances, the two Ronans will be "imprisoned" with each other, both prisoners and jailers. They won't be able to do anything, and in the end, they will perish together with the world.

Kang Guizong's suggestion was to give Ronan a high-risk opportunity to transport Ronan and Dinia to another parallel universe where "Ronan" originally existed, so that they could learn more about "Ronan" and improve their strength as a means of victory.

This results in four possible scenarios.

First, Ronan and Dinah cannot return; they disappeared along with another timeline.

Secondly, Ronan and Dinah will arrive much later, but it will be too late. Another "Ronan" will have already accomplished what he wanted to do, and even gone further.

Third, Ronan and Dinah returned in time, but still lost and suffered heavy losses, making it impossible for them to interfere with or influence the other "Ronan" for quite some time.

Fourth, Ronan and Dinah returned in time, defeated and killed the other "Ronan".

This is the only scenario in which they win.

“Whether we trust him or not doesn’t affect our choice, does it? He accepted the plan, and so did I,” Ronan said to Kang Guizong. “Besides, it’s normal not to trust someone whose purpose is unknown.”

"My purpose? My purpose is to hope that there will be less conflict and more peace in the world, so that this world can continue to exist for a long time." After Kang Guizong finished speaking, he had already flashed into the tunnel.

Rondinia reunited and entered the tunnel.

Soon, the three of them emerged from the passageway. Entering was troublesome, but leaving was quick. In just a few minutes, they were back in Chang'an.

After waiting for more than an hour, I finally met Wenjin.

With her hair adorned in two buns embroidered with flowers, a few strands of hair framing her forehead, a red dot between her brows, willow-leaf eyebrows, and almond-shaped eyes, she looked every bit the cute and playful young girl from Seris.

"Speak, what do you want from me?" Wen Jin went straight to the point.

Kang Guizong pointed at Ronan, "Raise his magic power cap to the seventh level."

Wen Jin chuckled, "Then I can only apologize. Although I consider myself the most knowledgeable person about this world, especially about the soul, and I can use the device left behind by Luo to enhance people, I can't do that level yet."

“That’s right, you can’t do it,” Kang Guizong affirmed.

Instantly, Wen Jin frowned. "What do you mean? Are you messing with me?" She was furious. She considered herself to be the most educated of all artificial intelligences. She could be humble, but she wouldn't allow others to belittle her.

Kang Guizong didn't care about the other party's change in attitude and just kept talking about his own idea: "My idea is that you first carry out some enhancements, and then I will take the lead and you will assist in sending them to another parallel space-time to obtain power from the celestial system."

Wen Jin looked puzzled. "Are you an idiot? Directly obtaining power from that system will cause irreversible and serious damage. That system will collapse faster."

"If I said that someone has already done that, would it be irrelevant?" Kang Guizong's tone remained calm.

Since we've already started going downhill, will stepping on the gas again have any impact?

"How could there be such an idiot in the world?" Wen Jin could hardly believe it.

Ronan had a general idea of ​​what was going on; clearly, it was another "self" who had done it.

Wen Jin was a beat slow to realize what was going on, and then burst into laughter, "Hahaha, so it was you, you idiot!"

“Without a doubt, that wasn’t me.” Ronan remained calm.