Gwen stood by and listened to the conversation between Daniel and Selena. Suddenly, he could not help but think of his experience in Kant's Hill a few years ago.
The dream that gradually invaded reality, the reality that was gradually distorted, and a nightmare creature that almost entered the real world …
In this world full of extraordinary power, dreams were often not simple dreams. The boundary between reality and illusion had always been blurred.
What Selena and her church brethren were most worried about now was that the thing in the sandbox would go out of control and enter reality, and that thing … was probably not something that could be dealt with by sending an army.
This bunch of nerds who were obsessed with cutting-edge technology had finally tricked themselves and everyone else in the field they were good at.
"Something brewed in the sandbox …" Daniel's tone became serious. He repeated these words softly, but his eyes could not help but sweep across the eerily quiet church and the gray-robed old man who was standing quietly with confusion in his eyes. "I hope it's not …"
The old mage did not voice his concerns, but judging from the deep and solemn eyes of Selena and Archbishop Yuri, it was obvious that they had associated something with this church and the belief of the Upper Narrators that it represented. However, in this eerie place, out of the common sense of occultism, no one said anything that should not be said.
"We need to report what happened here to His Holiness the Pope," Archbishop Yuri said after a moment of silence. "Also, this town needs to be preserved. In the future, we need to gather more people to conduct a more detailed investigation."
Selena nodded slightly and said thoughtfully, "Also, regarding the religion that believes in the Upper Narrators, their customs and legends also need to be analyzed in depth. Logically speaking, no customs and legends are born out of thin air. They are very likely to hint at the changes that happened inside Sandbox No. 1 when it went out of control."
She gently shook the lantern to remove the psychological suggestion for the gray-robed old man. Then she looked away from the pulpit and looked at the entrance of the church. "Let's leave this place for now."
Daniel and Archbishop Yuri nodded in response. The four high-ranking priests wearing owl masks also bowed their heads and accepted the order. The group walked toward the exit of the church. The gray-robed old man, who gradually woke up from his confusion, quietly looked in the direction where the uninvited guests left. After a long time, he revealed a smile and reached out his hand to make a gesture of covering something with his palm. He said gently, "Have a safe journey. The higher-ups will bless all of you …"
Gwen stood beside the pulpit and casually glanced at the gray-robed old man. He stepped forward and followed the footsteps of Selena and the others, returning to the street outside.
In the small town, the night was still going on. The dark and gloomy sky shrouded the earth. In the houses that were scattered about, the warm and soft lights were still bright. Rays of light that carried a deathly silence and an eerie aura leaked out from the gaps between the curtains and wooden boards, outlining bizarre shadows on the streets.
This made Gwen could not help but have a strange association: the whole town was like a vague dream, full of strangeness and strangeness. But the people in it could only realize this occasionally when they were awake. They were so shocked that they broke out in a cold sweat.
Then … those 'testers' who were sent into the sandbox and experienced thousands of years and dozens of reincarnations in the sandbox, did they accidentally 'wake up' for a moment and then realize a trace of the truth of this dream world? After realizing this trace of truth, how did they view the 'higher-ups' who created this sandbox world?
The old man in the church, his counterpart in Sandbox No. 1, was a lost tester? Or … was he a 'resident' born by the sandbox in order to maintain its operation?
"On the day the bell rings, those who stay on the street will encounter the sacred 'delete' …" Selena said as if talking to herself. "But it seems that we are not affected. We just can't be sure if the 'delete' will really happen in the real Sandbox No. 1 and those 'residents' who live in the sandbox. "
"I'm more curious about what the so-called 'delete' corresponds to," Daniel nodded and said. "When I go back, I will check the early records of the operation of Sandbox No. 1. Maybe I can find some clues."
Archbishop Yuri came to the center of the square. He was still in charge of the navigation and teleportation of the entire team. Layers of pale golden runes appeared around him. The gentle archbishop of the Eternal Sleeper kept the runes running and said loudly, "Monitoring team, get ready to remove the shield. We will perform the 'dream jump' in two minutes."
A voice came from the runes. "Roger, monitoring team. Remove the shield in one minute. Activate the dream jump authority in two minutes."
Daniel and Selena walked into the range of the runes. The other four high-ranking priests wearing owl masks quickly got into position. Gwen swaggered to their side, ready to return to the City of Dreams with the team.
Just like when they came, although the priests could not feel the presence of Gwen, they still subconsciously adjusted their positions, leaving a seemingly normal space for one person to stand.
But one of them was a little slow to step aside.
Gwen could not help but look at the high-ranking priest in the owl mask. In the last few seconds before the pale golden runes were about to take shape, he suddenly felt a little strange.
Four people?
"There's one more person!" Gwen's eyes suddenly sharpened as he reminded them loudly.
Daniel reacted very quickly. Without hesitation, he subconsciously raised his hand and forcibly interrupted Archbishop Yuri's dream jump spell. He warned loudly, "There's one more person!"
The pale golden runes shattered in an instant, and the dream jump that was about to take shape was abruptly interrupted. Archbishop Yuri was first stunned for a moment, then he heard Daniel's warning. As a senior archbishop, he immediately reacted. He cast a follow-up spell to stabilize the dream shield around him, and quickly ordered the monitoring team behind him, "There's a risk of a Class II leak. Seal the port of this area!"
The psychedelic light of the lantern floated in the air, and the light rippled in all directions like a solid water wave. It was as if an invisible breeze blew through the soul, and everyone felt refreshed. A sentence that they had not heard for seven hundred years came into Gwen's ears, "… Protect your mind, I'll sweep away the shadow!"
Gwen could not help but look in the direction of the voice. Selena Geer was standing in the middle of everyone, holding a lantern in one hand. Her face was gentle and quiet, but her brows were slightly furrowed, and her eyes were as deep as water.
The attention of the three archbishops quickly fell on the four high-ranking priests wearing owl masks.
It was only at this moment that the people at the scene seemed to suddenly remember that there were only six people in the team when they set off, including three archbishops and three high-ranking priests. It was also at this moment that they seemed to suddenly realize that there was one more person wearing a mask!
The four priests stood together. Their masks hid their true expressions, but judging from their tense limbs and slightly accelerated breathing, they were highly nervous and on full alert.
Under the gaze of the archbishops, they began to look at each other, as if they were trying to find out who was the "extra person".
Selena maintained the "refreshing" effect of the lantern and said in a serious and low voice, "Try to recall, when was the abnormality?"
"After checking the cabin," Daniel thought for a moment and said, "I can't remember how many people came out at that time, but I remember that there were four voices that made the report at that time!"
Yuri's tone was even more nervous and alert. "After entering the church, I clearly saw four figures, but I didn't notice anything unusual at that time."
His words made everyone on the scene realize the seriousness of the problem.
Including Daniel, there were a total of three archbishops of the Eternal Rest here!
Each of the archbishops was strong in the field of mind and soul, and was an expert in detecting small abnormalities in dreams. But in this "phantom town" formed by the data overflowing from Sandbox No. 1, the three of them did not notice that there was an extra person in the team from the beginning to the end!
This was a mind interference that could affect the high-ranking priests and even the legendary masters!
Although they immediately woke up from this "confused" state after being reminded, it was still very scary.
"Now, let's start the investigation." Selena's eyes swept across the four high-ranking priests, and the light of the lantern in her hand gradually mixed with a trace of dusk-like turbidity. "Open your mind and accept the investigation."
The light began to sweep across the four high-ranking priests, and Gwen's eyes fell on them.
The figure of one of the priests suddenly trembled, like a phantom projection with bad signal.
A faint golden rune immediately condensed in Archbishop Yuri's hand, and the priest's body trembled as he instantly transformed into a hazy phantom, quickly becoming transparent in the air.
The beam of light condensed from the pale golden runes swept through the phantoms. Gawain could vaguely hear an indistinct shriek. The next moment, the shriek dissipated along with the hazy phantoms.
Daniel looked at Yuri and asked, "Is it destroyed?"
Yuri had a strange look on his face. "It should be destroyed … but the 'feeling' is very strange. It's not like any mind that I've destroyed before … It's like a 'half-finished product.'"
Just as Daniel was about to ask something, everyone heard a voice at the same time —
From the small chapel behind them, a sigh that sounded both helpless and mocking could be heard. "Sigh …"
With this sigh, the small church with its grayish-white outer walls quickly became transparent and illusory before everyone's eyes, and gradually dissipated in the air.
The lights of the houses in the town also went out one by one with the disappearance of the small church, and the street lamps on both sides of the road dimmed one after another.
The whole town returned to the state when Gwen, Daniel, and the others had just entered.
However, in everyone's eyes, this place was several times more strange and dangerous than before.
The lantern in Selena's hand was still emitting a mixed yellow light. Even though the suspected "extra" had been eliminated by Archbishop Yuri, she still shone the lantern on everyone at the scene. After everyone had been checked and confirmed that there were no more problems, she looked slightly relieved, nodded, and said, "Let's leave quickly. This place is strange, we shouldn't stay for long."
Archbishop Yuri then began to continue setting up the dreamland jump ritual, and informed the monitoring team at the back to lift the alarm.
Gwen also stood in the middle of these Eternal Sleepers again. This time, he was particularly serious about confirming the number of people around to make sure that there were no extra people.
The pale golden runes gradually took shape and closed.
Before the dreamland jump began, Archbishop Yuri couldn't help but look around again, and his gaze finally landed on Daniel. "There aren't any extra people, right?"
Gwen looked around, looked down at himself, and nodded at Daniel. "The number of people is normal, there aren't any extra people."
Daniel also nodded at Archbishop Yuri. "The number of people is normal, there aren't any extra people."
"… I need to go back and have a good rest," Archbishop Yuri said with a wry smile as he activated the dreamland jump. "I keep feeling like there's an invisible person standing beside me."
…
In a flash of light, the team returned to the square of Dream City.
"Archbishop Daniel, it seems to be the right decision to let you become a member of the Supreme Bishops." After the teleportation, Selena Geer immediately looked at Daniel. "Your alertness and vigilance have allowed us to avoid a danger with unpredictable consequences."
"It's standard practice for security personnel to check all parameters and items after the end of every mission," Daniel said with a reserved smile. "That 'extra person' is actually not that secretive. As long as we check, we will find it — it just weakens our desire to 'check.' And I happen to have formed an unchangeable habit in this regard."
"In short, this has given us a wake-up call, and also allowed us to accumulate some experience in dealing with Sandbox No. 1. These experiences will come in handy in the next exploration," Archbishop Yuri said with a sigh. "That's all for today."
One by one, the figures disappeared from the square.
Gwen and Daniel were the last to leave.
"Keep in touch, I will keep an eye on this matter." Gwen nodded slightly and was ready to leave. "If there are any more explorations, be sure to report it."
"Yes, Lord."
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