After their minds were read, the entire court trembled with fear.

Chapter 187 The Reason Why the Bug Cannot Be Fixed

The old emperor pondered for a while.

The Hippo Kingdom is a completely unknown and unrecorded country. According to Shen Zhiyi, it seems to be from a place even more distant than Persia in the Western Regions.

As can be seen from the map, there are countless small countries on the other side of the world, practically shattered into pieces.

My hands are itching to hit someone.

But it's too far away, so it's pointless.

"Your Majesty, what are your plans regarding those people from the Hippo Kingdom, or...?"

"It would be too easy for them to die. Let the Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Rites go and talk to them."

[Wow, the old emperor is ruthless. Sending two stingy bastards over there will surely squeeze every last drop of value out of them.]

But can those two understand bird language?

The old emperor patted his forehead.

How could I have forgotten about that?

"Shen Zhiyi, why don't you go with them and broaden your horizons?"

Shen Zhiyi was dumbfounded again.

What kind of knowledge is this? What kind of knowledge is there to gain?

The old emperor didn't care about any of that and generously said, "If you come along, I'll give you three days off."

Shen Zhiyi, who hadn't had a rest for countless days, agreed without hesitation.

She can finally rest!

"I accept the decree!"

[Back in the day, you could get three days off just for joining in the fun; I'd be an idiot if I didn't agree.]

*

Since their last parting, the people from Hippopotamus Country have moved to a different place, and the quality of their food and lodging has drastically decreased.

Because he was locked up in jail.

Shen Zhiyi touched her elbow.

This place is chilly.

Just as I was about to unleash a torrent of complaints, someone handed me a cloak.

"Put it on. You're wearing such thin clothes here. Don't catch a cold and His Majesty will cause trouble for me and the Minister of Revenue."

Shen Zhiyi pouted, annoyed.

"Thank you, Ministers."

[This stingy guy is really something. If he won't speak properly, he should just shove his jade abacus into his mouth.]

With the cloak on, my body warmed up quickly.

Led by the prison guard, the three of them met the foreigners. Upon seeing Shen Zhiyi and her group, they burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably and babbling incoherently.

The Minister of Revenue touched his ear and shook his head, saying, "I don't understand."

The people of Hippo Kingdom were heartbroken and broke down in tears.

Shen Zhiyi was holding a pen, ready to take notes, when she heard the Minister of Revenue say this.

[What the heck? I don't understand. What are you doing here? You didn't even bring a translator.]

【Huh? Looks like I can leave work early! The old emperor asked me to come and take notes so I could show them to him, but we don't speak the language. Several of my ministers from the Ministry of Revenue said they could leave if they couldn't understand me. Great! Leaving get off work early is wonderful!】

The Minister of Revenue was dumbfounded.

Who said there was no translation?

You're the translator.

Shen Zhiyi, where did your curiosity go? Hurry up and translate what these inhuman creatures are saying.

Seeing that Shen Zhiyi's thoughts remained unresponsive, the Minister of Revenue had no choice but to—

A dead Taoist friend is not a poor Taoist.

He patted the Minister of Personnel next to him.

"Yanchen, what are these people saying? Please translate it quickly."

[Oh~ so the newly appointed Minister of Personnel is a translator, wow, that's amazing! He can actually understand what they're saying; he's quite the hidden talent.]

The newly appointed Minister of Personnel never expected that the Minister of Revenue would be in this situation.

The Minister of Revenue frantically tried to signal to him with his eyes, his old face contorted in pain.

The newly appointed Minister of Personnel was once again filled with despair.

Finally, forcing himself to speak, he said, "They said, they said why they were arrested, what serious crimes they had committed."

It's not fake, it really works.

The Minister of Revenue looked at the other Minister of Revenue with surprise, his eyes clearly conveying this message—

I didn't know you could do that, kid.

Newly appointed Minister of Personnel: Thank you for the invitation. I guessed it purely from his expression and actions.

Minister of Revenue: "Why are we arresting you? Because you went to places you shouldn't have gone. What else can we do?"

The people from Hippopotamus Kingdom: ? ? ?

"It's only because His Majesty has shown mercy that we're still alive, do you understand?"

The people from Hippopotamus Kingdom: ? ? ?

"What country are you from? Where are you from? What kind of business does your family run?"

Why is the Minister of Revenue saying all this? If you didn't know where he came from, how could he have entered Da Ye?

The Minister of Revenue subconsciously turned around to look at Shen Zhiyi, but was forcibly pulled back by the newly appointed Minister of Personnel.

The Minister of Revenue said in a low voice, "How could I not know? It was all because of that damned Persian guarantor that these people got in. Otherwise, how could they have gotten in?"

"Never mind, these things are not important. Persia itself probably doesn't even know that its homeland has been completely painted by these people."

The Minister of Revenue waved his hand, indicating that he had come with another mission.

He bent over, hands behind his back, and continued to ask the other person.

What do the countries over there mainly do?

What else can they do? Robbery, war, of course.

Minister of Revenue: ? ? ?

Is it this chaotic?

War is good, we can sell weapons.

"Ahem, how do the people in your country, uh, live?"

Nobles live like nobles, and slaves live like slaves.

Minister of Revenue: Hmph, are we still living in a slave society?

The nobles there are quite wealthy. Many goods from Da Ye are resold to the smaller, fragmented kingdoms to the west through the middle group of countries, profiting from the price difference – they act as middlemen.

Unfortunately, due to the chaos of war at the end of the previous dynasty, the borders were constantly lost, and that trade route was abandoned long after it had only been open for a short time. After the old emperor ascended the throne, he did manage to reclaim the territories lost by the previous dynasty, but that trade route has not yet been reopened. However, some merchants who were severely suppressed have risked crossing the vast desert to go out.

Shen Zhiyi looked at the world map displayed by the system and said in a deep voice.

This place is very similar to my hometown. When I first saw this map, I thought I had traveled back in time, but it's completely different from historical records.

[It's not entirely different, there are similarities, but also many differences. So, did I travel to a parallel world? If I stay here, will I be able to see another version of myself that looks exactly like me in the future of this world?]

A mechanical sound came from the system.

[Host, whether this place is a parallel world remains to be verified.]

Shen Zhiyi revealed a mischievous smile.

[Little System, you're an outsider too, aren't you?]

The system is sweating buckets!

Who knew that the host, who was so engrossed in having fun, actually had a brain?!

I know why you can't fix the bug.

Shen Zhiyi spoke with absolute certainty, and the system's eyes gleamed with excitement.

[Host, if you tell me the reason, I'll bring you your favorite Bao Shifu.]

Unable to resist the temptation, Shen Zhiyi agreed without the slightest hesitation.

【What else could it be? To this world, we're like viruses. The reason you can't fix the bug is because we've always been here.】