Chapter 1005 — Analysis
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
A breeze swept across the vast, boundless green land, and within the wind echoed whispers no human ear could discern; even though the reality outside was already blanketed in snow and ice, here in the neural network rooted in the world of the mind, bright spring still lingered long among the plains and river valleys.
At the center of the endless "Mind Plain," beside a cluster of rolling hills, a colossal city stood quietly. Above the city hung a vast ring-shaped magical array of pale gold, composed of countless rapidly refreshing runes, and between the city and that array one could see several golden streams of light piercing heaven and earth like pillars—these streams represented the information hubs connecting to the real world, each ending at a large structure within the city, and these structures were the transfer stations through which the "residents" of the Illusory Pivot City entered and left the Xuan Yuan City.
At the city's central district, corresponding to the location of the Xuan Yao City's royal quarter in the real world, the largest stream of light connected to the pyramid facility on the surface. Just then the stream above the facility trembled faintly, and somewhere in the plaza beside the pyramid, a figure abruptly emerged from thin air.
It was a middle-aged gentleman wearing a monocle, refined and scholarly in bearing.
Yuri roused himself from the momentary dizziness of network connection and gave his neck a slight roll—there was of course nothing behind his neck, but the "neural afterecho" left by lying in the immersion pod and touching those cold metal contacts still lingered in his perception. He glanced left and right at the crowd flowing through the plaza, then walked toward a figure not far off who was waiting for him, and as the "neural afterecho" in his mind gradually faded, he raised a hand in greeting: "Magnum!"
"I've been waiting here a whole century for you!" Magnum's great voice burst next to Yuri's ear the very next moment—the latter even suspected half the plaza could hear it—"What in the real world kept you tied up?"
Yuri rubbed his ear reflexively and looked with some displeasure at his old partner standing before him: "You've truly been away from the real world too long—have you forgotten how many troublesome things there can delay a man's schedule? Out there is no convenient neural network where everything's at hand; doing anything takes time..."
Magnum began looking impatient halfway through and waved a hand to cut Yuri off: "All right, I get it, I get it. I'll ask Pi Yun about it later—I know he's got some kind of miracle cure for constipation..."
Yuri was stunned for a moment, then the next second nearly abandoned entirely the refined, scholarly grace he worked so hard to maintain day to day: "Damn it! That's not what I meant!"
Magnum waved his hand carelessly: "I know, I know. I was middle-aged once too, before I died... all right, all right, I'll stop."
The big-voiced fellow cut the topic off neatly before his old partner's temper reached its threshold, leaving Yuri—who kept a gentleman's bearing before all his students and researchers—flushed red with no recourse but to glare at Magnum for a long while before withdrawing his gaze in annoyance: "Open the passage—I didn't come here to bicker with you."
Magnum shrugged, gave a casual wave in midair, and spoke to the air: "Duvalt—we're here."
Invisible ripples stirred abruptly; within the seemingly calm and continuous mind-space, a "habitat" hidden beneath the data layer was silently opened, and a brief, secret passage appeared within the Illusory Pivot City. Rings of light bloomed around Magnum and Yuri, and the two then vanished on the spot as if "deleted" by something.