Chapter 845 — Arriving in the Future

After observing for two seconds, he decided to greet the other properly; perhaps this would help bring the two sides closer and reduce some unnecessary danger in their future "collaboration": "Pleased to meet you, Nikishi Egg-Boss... sir, er, or madam? Forgive me—are you a male sphere or a female sphere?"

Gao Yang at once gave Magnum a deep look.

And Yuri, for yet another time, had failed to stop his old partner from speaking off the cuff.

In truth, he was not so eager to stop him either, and neither were the others—the Numinous Axis Cultists shared a subtle tacit understanding on this point.

They had worked together for many years and knew one another's tempers and characters inside out; often they were quite glad to see Magnum speak up of his own accord—this loud-voiced, forthright former War God priest could always say what everyone wanted to say but found awkward to voice directly, on any occasion whatsoever. In this way, only Magnum himself gave offense, while everyone else could fully enjoy the information that came from Magnum's opening his mouth.

Without a doubt, this was a good thing.

"You should address me as 'sir'!" Nikishi Egg-Boss's buzzing voice at once rose in pitch. Magnum had offended someone again—or perhaps offended a sphere—while the others smoothly obtained their answer. "Damned it, have you no eyes? This sphere has such distinct sexual characteristics..."

This time, even Gao Yang fell silent.

He felt that if this topic continued it would become all too bizarre.

"Let us stop here—you will have plenty of time later to grow closer," he said in a deep voice, instantly quieting everyone present. "Let us return to business. Nikishi, which room is available now?"

"An available room? The computing facilities on the second floor are all usable; the third floor still needs adjustment."

Gao Yang nodded (things had finally returned to the proper track): "Take us to the second floor, prepare a set of immersion pods, and activate demonstration sample number two."

"One moment."

Nikishi said simply, then drew slightly aside; using its invisible magnetic field, it directly activated a certain device nearby, and with a very faint humming, Yuri and the others saw a crescent-shaped lifting platform descend from near the Mind Hub.

Gao Yang was the first to walk toward the platform, and the others followed close behind.

This pyramid facility was not yet fully completed; many areas inside were still undergoing final arrangements, but some rooms had already been handed over and put into operation for equipment testing. Led by Nikishi Egg-Boss, the group entered the second floor of the facility and passed through a not particularly long corridor, until at last they arrived at a room that had been tidied neat and clean and brightly lit.

At the center of the spacious room stood an alloy column, and around it were neatly arrayed more than ten silver-white immersion pods; rune drag chains and devices shaped like artificial nerve cords connected those pods to the column at the center of the room, and upon that column, Yuri and the others once again sensed a magic fluctuation similar to that of the Mind Hub in the great hall.

Just as Gao Yang had said, every thought-link apparatus in this facility was connected to the great pillar at the center of the hall.

Gao Yang came to an immersion pod whose hatch already stood open, turned to glance at the Daystar Cultists, and smiled. "Does anyone want to try Cecil's 'Mind Network'?"

The Daystar Cultists exchanged looks; after several of them had traded glances, the first to step forward was Wendy.

"Ladies first," said the beautiful woman with a smile, walking over to the pod. "And I've been interested in Cecil's 'arcane technology' for a long time now. How do I use it? Lie down inside? Do I need to prepare any spells or incantations?"

"Just lie down, that's all. This is made for ordinary people, so naturally no spells or incantations are needed," Gao Yang said. "The experience lasts only ten minutes. You won't feel any fatigue."

Wendy nodded and, with Amber's help, lay down inside the immersion pod. Then, under the watchful eyes of the other Daystar Cultists, the hatch closed with a soft hiss, and the rune drag-chain connected to the apparatus and the many runes on the pod's base lit up one after another in an instant.

Magnum watched this scene with wide, intent eyes, and even as he followed the proceedings with concern, he could not help muttering, "At least in terms of comfort, this thing beats ours by a mile..."

"You don't have to worry about that sort of thing anymore," Yuri said, glancing at him. "Unless you can crawl back into your own body."

Magnum crossed his arms over his chest. "What if I could! What if I could!"

Apart from the two of them, almost everyone present said nothing, simply waiting intently for Wendy to finish her "experience"—and they did not have long to wait.

Ten minutes later, the pod's lid opened gently.

Wendy sat up from within, a trace of bewilderment about her from being cut off from the network. Her fellow cultists immediately crowded around, but faced with the curiosity written across the faces of the Numinous Axis Cult, her first reaction was to look at Gao Yang. "Can I watch a little longer? The story's only just begun..."

Yuri could not restrain his curiosity. "What did you see in there?"

"An immersive theater," Gao Yang said before Wendy could speak. "But since it's still in the testing stage, for now it can only reproduce relatively short fragments—Wendy, what you saw was all of it. But rest assured, it will be perfected very soon, and in the future there will be far more inside it, things far more captivating than an immersive theater."

At this he smiled faintly. "So now, do you think ordinary people would be willing to lie down in there and contribute their computing power?"

"Let me confirm one thing first," Wendy said. "This apparatus and everything it presents require no spellcaster to sustain them from the side? Unlike Illusion Axis City, it doesn't constantly drain the user's spiritual power, and there's no risk of spiritual contamination?"

Gao Yang nodded. "Of course."

"Then I have no questions at all—" Wendy said quickly. "If I were an ordinary person, I'd pay for the privilege!"