Chapter 540 — Technology Extends Forward
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
Inside the laboratory of mind-link technology, the old druid Pi Yun still lay quietly in that silver-white seat.
The runes on the underside of the seat were blinking on and off in regular rhythm; over the artificial nerve cords connecting the base to the array of neural contacts floated a faint layer of pale blue luminescence, and from deep within the apparatus came a low humming—the sound of resonance trembling between the rune substrate boards. The old druid seated within kept his eyes tightly shut, looking as though he had sunk into the deepest of slumbers.
"He's already connected to the network," Gao Dai said. "He's communicating with our contact inside right now."
"Connection stable, frequency alignment normal," said Kamael, floating beside an operating console not far from the pod, his eyes on the fitfully flickering runes across its surface. "No sign of exposure for the moment."
"Vital signs steady, neural stress normal." "Emergency cut-off device functioning." "Continuous monitoring of brain activity underway."
A stream of reports came from every corner of the laboratory, and with each one, everyone around the linking apparatus breathed a little easier.
Amber could not help muttering, "Phew—I really thought the old man was going to die up there."
Even if this fellow was forever bickering at Pi Yun and showing him not a shred of respect, Gao Yang could tell that Amber did care a good deal about Pi Yun, who was almost like a foster father to him.
Gao Yang turned to Jennie, who stood quietly nearby. "The rune system of the Sleepers can also be optimized and reorganized through rune logic, can it not?"
"Y-yes," Jennie answered quickly. "Though we ran into some difficulties at first when recalculating the interference values, in the end we found that the Sleepers' rune system still follows the laws of rune logic, and that the inverter array technique can also be applied to this linking apparatus..."
"The Sleepers... their dark divine arts are similar to druidic spells, also transformed from divine arts," Gao Yang remarked thoughtfully. "Ye gods... the veils over you grow thinner and thinner..."
"Testing period concluded. Preparing to transmit prompt information... Prompt information sent, brainwave feedback received from the test subject... Disconnecting neural cords."
The technician in charge of the linking apparatus suddenly spoke, cutting off Gao Yang's soliloquy. Then, accompanied by a resonance that gradually sank into silence, the rune glow beneath that silver-white seat slowly dimmed.
Pi Yun lay still in the seat for a moment, then suddenly opened his eyes and immediately gasped in great gulps of air, as though he had just remembered how to breathe; from that aged frame came a sound like a battered old bellows, and only after a full dozen seconds or more did he steady himself and let out a long breath. "Hoo... it feels good to be back in my body..."
"The first time one leaves the mind network, one does tend to experience rather severe dizziness and a sense of weightlessness," Gao Yang said with a nod as an assistant stepped forward to help the old druid out of the seat. Then his expression turned grave. "But before anything else, for the sake of rigor and safety, we must first confirm one thing..."
Kamael left the monitoring console and floated over beside the linking apparatus.
Gao Yang looked into the old druid's eyes. "Prove that you are still Pi Yun, and not some Sleeper who slipped in through the network."
"Good-luck ointment, two silver a bottle! Discontinued amulets, buy two get one free! Divinations half price for the first three! Free naming service!"
Half the people present covered their faces and turned away, and Kamael's brightness instantly dimmed by thirty percent. Only Gao Yang stepped forward and took Pi Yun's hand. "Welcome back to Cecil. Any discomfort besides the dizziness?"