Chapter 329 — Points of Doubt
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
Naturally, Gaoyang was only entertaining such a fine notion in his mind. He knew perfectly well that a dreamlike turn of events—"cultivate a lackey, send him to infiltrate an enemy organization, and three years later the mole suddenly discovers he has become a hidden shareholder of that very organization"—was not about to happen to him. By his estimation of Daniel, the old mage could at best penetrate as far as the bishops' council of the Sleepers, and that was already the limit.
And even then, only at the level of an ordinary Nightmare Bishop. The Nightmare Corona Cult was simply out of the question.
For according to the knowledge he possessed, the Sleepers could still be counted within the category of "human" up to the rank of bishop, but once one ascended to the level of the Nightmare Corona Cult or even the Pontiff, they had already established a certain connection with some indescribable existence—perhaps remnants of divine knowledge, perhaps something akin to the corpse-residue of the Great Stag Amon. Be it one or the other, it was the sort of thing one should stay as far away from as possible.
If his conjecture was correct, the situation with the other two Baptismal cults was much the same. Their Medius Pivot Cult and its pontiff (or whatever equivalent high-ranking figures) should likewise share a connection with certain remnants of the gods.
After all, these were heretics who had suddenly fallen into corruption upon learning the truth that "the gods are dead." How could one call oneself a cultist without a divine relic or two in hand?
Gaoyang went over the details of Daniel's operations at length and finally confirmed that everything had proceeded roughly according to his plan. If there was any deviation at all, it was that the old mage's efforts had gone even more smoothly than he had anticipated.
Clearly, an old believer who had toiled quietly within the Longmirk Order for nearly a decade appeared thoroughly reliable in the eyes of those Sleepers. No one could possibly imagine that such a devout follower—stationed far away in Typhon, utterly unconnected to the "Outer Wanderers," and with a spotless record besides—would suddenly have knowledge poured into him in a dream and, in the blink of an eye, turn into a double agent...
"The bishops' council has formed a new project group to deal specifically with the issues I reported. At present they are still in the stage of screening and deducing the vulnerabilities. Naturally, the more they screen, the more they will trust me," Daniel reported respectfully. "Every vulnerability is real; I have concealed not a single one. Once these vulnerabilities are all confirmed, I will be leading this team in the reconstruction of the mental network."
He paused, then continued: "As you instructed, I will gradually reveal the knowledge you have bestowed upon me over the course of this process, taking care to cloak and disguise it so that everything appears to be my own research."
Gaoyang nodded in satisfaction. "Very good. But mind one thing—caution, prudence, never rush ahead. They do trust you now, but that is because the sudden discovery of countless vulnerabilities in the network threw those bishops into a panic. If you appear too outstanding, their attention will shift from the vulnerabilities to you. You have been obscure within the Order for ten years; even if you have recently revealed extraordinary talent in the field of the mental network, you must not be too astonishing."
Daniel bowed his head deeply. "Rest assured, my lord. I will never let your great plan suffer the slightest interference."
Gaoyang gave a slight nod. "And the other task I gave you?"