Chapter 796 — Surprised?

At the same moment Magnan vanished, the Mind Storm swept across the council hall, tearing through that splendid golden round table and every chair, crashing head-on down upon the heads of the remaining few Mingshu Church members who had not managed to log off in time, driving nearly all of these Mingshu Church members—who had kept their composure and wished to remain on site—out of the network.

After a bout of utter chaos, all that remained in the golden council chamber was wreckage. The aftercurrent of the Mind Storm swirled beneath the ceiling; the surrounding pillars painted with intricate patterns were scarred and battered, the floor shattered, the dome split open, and that splendid giant round table had lost all its RGB lights...

Apart from Gaoyang, only three "people" remained in the hall: one was Megal III, floating in the air and still seemingly frozen stiff; one was Selina Gerfen, sitting not far away with a blank expression; and one was Yuri Charwen, seated at Gaoyang's left.

The latter sat there pale-faced, bearing many wounds, and did not look to be in good shape.

As for Daniel... in order not to reveal anything unusual, in order to keep himself hidden, the old mage had in an instant summoned all his acting skill and, like everyone else, "fled" the network in "terror."

Drawing on the high-level permissions he held and his own powerful mental resistance, Gaoyang withstood the assault of the Mind Storm. He was utterly bewildered inside, but his expression remained calm and dignified. After straightening his clothes a little, he looked up at Selina: "Why didn't you leave?"

Selina gazed deeply at Gaoyang. "...I can only exist within the network. Leaving here would be meaningless."

Gaoyang nodded, then looked toward Megal III in midair: "And you? Why didn't you leave?"

That cluster of starlight finally resumed its swelling, shrinking, and writhing, and from it came the voice of the Changming Pope: "...I am very curious about you."

Gaoyang finally looked at the Yaoheng Church member beside him, who did not appear to be in good condition, and asked with concern: "Are you all right?"

"...I'm fine."

"Why did you stay behind as well?"

Yuri's expression was stiff, his tone strange, as though he would rather not speak but had no choice: "...I have a rather high resistance... to Magnum's mindstorm."

From the sound of it, he was not at all pleased about being able to withstand Magnum's mindstorm.

But Gao Yang was pleased. He had not been this mischievous in a long while.

And after his little mischief, his persona had not collapsed but held firm, leaving others with an impression of unfathomable depth.

It was good for maintaining a healthy state of mind.

He sat upright in his chair as though he were the master of this place, sketching in his mind the image his "Otherworld Drifter" ought to project while sweeping his gaze once around the great hall, and only then did he speak with a smile: "A remarkable place. Judged purely by technical prowess, you are quite impressive.

"What is the next item on the agenda? Shall we continue?

"Do we need to wait for the others to return?"

Selina watched Gao Yang sitting there so calmly, her expression unchanged for a long while, and only after a dozen seconds or so did she exhale and, looking into Gao Yang's eyes, say: "You really do seem very much like Gao Yang Cecil."

"In a sense, I am Gao Yang Cecil as well," Gao Yang nodded and said offhandedly. "On that subject, if the chance arises, you might have a talk with Beiyila."

He met Selina's gaze without flinching, his eyes utterly calm.

He knew that this "Lantern-Bearing Saintess" was inextricably linked to Gao Yang Cecil's mysterious voyage seven hundred years ago. She might have known from the very beginning that something from outside had taken possession of Gao Yang Cecil's shell (though the term "Otherworld Drifter" had not yet appeared in those days), and she might know many details that even Gao Yang himself did not. But all these questions could be set aside for now; when there was time in the future, they could be explored at leisure.

"Beiyila..." Selina frowned slightly and repeated the name in a low voice. "She seems to have survived in some form..."

"Yes, that is hardly a secret. She is a citizen of the Cecil Empire now," Gao Yang nodded.

After another moment of silence, Selina raised the lantern in her hand slightly, and as an unseen force swept across the whole space, layer upon layer of rippling light washed through the devastated conference hall. The data destroyed by the mindstorm was swiftly restored, and the pillars, the dome, the floor, and the round table all returned to their original state in the blink of an eye.

Watching this, Gao Yang could not help saying with a helpless smile: "Actually, I only wanted to give you a surprise."

"...The surprise we got, but not the delight," came the voice of Megor III, which seemed to have aged a great deal all at once. "We always believed we had kept a good distance from you, believed we were at least safe within this network, but..."

"Frankly, your security measures did give me a bit of trouble, especially after you rebuilt the network's mental barrier and adopted all sorts of new security technologies—it became much more troublesome," Gao Yang said glibly, while quietly patching up Daniel's disguise again. "Fortunately, I know a thing or two about technology, and your mental barrier... was not all that difficult for me to break through."

Megor III was silent for several seconds, then asked cautiously: "When did you enter... this place?"

Gao Yang thought for a moment, then deliberately answered vaguely: "Sometimes, I move alongside you."

Silence. An even more awkward silence.

Just as the awkwardness grew unbearable, Megor III finally spoke.

"Call the others back. Let us continue... the meeting.

"Tell Magnum to calm down before he comes in."