Chapter 822 — A New Network Project

At the mention of technology, Windsor Mapel's expression immediately turned serious—she knew what the "magic-net terminal" Luo Yan referred to was: a machine that a respectable western merchant had secretly carried across the border at the risk of being hanged by the Cecilians. The merchant had hidden it among furs and spices to slip past Cecile's border inspection, and upon returning home had presented it to the emperor. That precious machine now lay in the laboratory of the Imperial Artificers' Association, where a technical team led by Daniel was analyzing it.

"We have taken it apart into its components and reconstructed its intricate and exquisite internal structure of runes and crystals. It may not be long before we can replicate an identical machine, but that would be meaningless," Windsor Mapel shook her head. "The Cecilians have embedded in that machine a set of very peculiar runes. It is not a conventional communication spell; it even bears characteristics of divine arts. At present no one can decipher their specific function and meaning. I am intensely curious as to where the Cecilians drew their inspiration to combine such a bizarre magical array...

"Master Daniel warned us that unless we thoroughly understand the meaning of every part of the runes, rashly imitating that device would be extremely dangerous—the Cecilians may have hidden traps within it, and they might be able to directly sever or even eavesdrop on the devices we replicate."

"Master Daniel is a wise man, and his warnings are always pertinent," Luo Yan nodded slowly. "Treat that machine with caution. Extract from it the parts we can use; as for the rest... we will figure them out in time."

"If only we could obtain the prototype of the magic-net terminal, or an original rubbing of the runes..." Windsor Mapel sighed. "The prototype has not undergone later simplification and optimization, and such things often reveal very clear technical thinking, which might help us unlock the secrets of those runes... Of course, that is only wishful thinking."

Luo Yan's expression was cold and stern, and he said not a word.

...

In the study of the Cecile Palace, draped with blue velvet tapestries, Gao Yang recounted in detail to Hedy and the others his experiences in the dream world, including the end of Sandbox Number One, the confrontation with the higher-level narrator, and the current state of the Evernight Sleeper after the incident concluded.

That uncanny and inexplicable "descent crisis" left everyone in the study wide-eyed (except Kamael, whose eyes flickered). The eerie unpredictability of the gods and the perilous urgency of the affair stirred everyone deeply, and what moved them even more was that all of it had happened just last night—

Last night the winds were calm and the Cecile night was peaceful, yet in some world beyond reality all had been overturned, and a descent crisis had even erupted within distant Typhon. This truly gave Hedy and the others a severe sense of unreality.

After somewhat digesting the immense volume of information brought by the Xuanmai Sect, Hedy quickly returned to a working state. She spoke as she thought: "The transfer work on the Evernight Sleeper's side should have already begun. I will immediately initiate coordination on the empire's side—before Aldernan reacts, we should have time to relocate those core personnel and technical materials..."

"Some of the technical materials will be sent ahead through the psychic network," Gao Dai said. "Though the Evernight Sleeper's headquarters is gone, their psychic network continues to operate, only it will enter the lowest-efficiency 'basic mode' and can no longer support Illusory Pivot City. Transmission of pure data, however, is no problem. Of course, for obvious reasons, the most core technical materials will not be sent over; the Evernight Sleeper will carry them until the train we dispatch brings them to safety."

Hedy frowned instinctively. "Even at a time like this..."

"A normal reaction—if they did not do so, I would instead worry about the intelligence of those core talents and the authenticity of those materials," Gao Rong said with a smile. "Rest assured, the Evernight Sleeper wields psychic power and has lurked within Typhon for many years; they are experts at survival and escape. There should be no need to worry that Augustus will dig them out and finish them off before they get away."

"Your Majesty," Kamael, floating at one side, spoke up, "since the Evernight Sleeper's psychic network is to enter basic mode, will our Origin Laboratory be affected?"

"In theory... it can continue operating, because the Origin Space itself never occupied Illusory Pivot City's computing power, and it is built upon the 'base layer' of the psychic network—a layer that will remain in operation under any circumstances," Gao Yang said after a moment's thought, delivering a remark that amounted to fleecing the flock until the last thread, but then he immediately changed tack. "However, I have already prepared to remodel and relocate the Origin Space—including a large-scale overhaul of the Evernight Sleeper's entire psychic network, to make it more subject to our control and more harmless. Now is obviously the most suitable opportunity, so I plan to temporarily shut down the current Origin Space. Kamael, where has our own 'immersion pod network' progressed to?"

"We have already successfully achieved networking under laboratory conditions and conducted simulated operation independent of the Evernight Sleeper's psychic network. We are now adjusting the overall stability of the network, improving its adaptability to the magic-net communication system, and making slight modifications to the immersion pods so that they bear a lighter load and are more suitable for untrained ordinary people—the custom unit sent to the Glenn Territory was a successful example, and we are studying a civilian version on its basis."

"Excellent. This is a key link in transforming the Long Night Order and building our own network," Gao Yang nodded in satisfaction, and gradually a smile appeared. "Since progress on this front is smooth... Kamael, I have a new project for you. It can be advanced in parallel with what you currently have on hand."

Kamael emitted a humming sound: "A new project?"

"'The Narrator Neural Network,'" Gao Yi said with a smile. "The cutting-edge communications system of the future will be built upon it."