Under the leadership of Selena, the Eternal Sleeper exploration team, which only had eight people left, began to move toward the center of the town.
The dream lantern swayed slowly in the seemingly eternal darkness, and the hazy light sprinkled on the silent street. Daniel and others were on full alert, paying attention to the surrounding streets to see if there would be any strange changes. Gwen silently followed the team, and his eyes fell on Selena Geer.
In the dream world, Patty liked to run; in the real world, Patty was weak but still tried to smile; and in front of him, this "Patty" who had a solemn expression and held a lantern. These three shadows hovered in his mind and overlapped with the scene in front of him, gradually forming a strange impression.
He seemed to see Selena Geer holding Patty's hand and walking in front of the team.
He shook his head and threw this unreliable association out of his mind. Then he looked up, and his eyes reflected a ray of light rising from the end of the street in the distance.
It was the morning glow.
Daniel and the others also stopped in their tracks. They watched in bewilderment as a brilliant ray of light suddenly cut through the darkness and appeared at the end of the town that seemed to have fallen into eternal night. The ray of light rapidly expanded in everyone's field of vision. In almost the blink of an eye, it turned into an endless golden-red morning glow, wantonly splashing on the roofs of the town. Then, the golden-red morning glow turned into pale golden sunlight, completely dispelling the dark shadows between the streets.
A gigantic sun slowly rose from the horizon. Its radiance was boundless, and the darkness receded.
"It's dawn …" Daniel looked at the magnificent scene of the rising sun in a daze, as if he was shocked by the magnificent scene. But he quickly reacted, and in an instant, a long staff appeared in his hand, and various spells to protect the mind were cast on the whole team in just a few seconds.
It was dawn! This was a scene that had never appeared in this phantom town — it was the third state in addition to the midnight before the bell rang, and the midnight after the bell rang!
In this place, all the phenomena that had never appeared only meant danger!
The other Eternal Sleepers also responded, preparing various offensive and defensive spells, or vigilantly watching the changes in the street. Soon, changes happened in front of everyone's eyes —
Abrupt figures appeared in the streets and alleys one by one.
It was like a phantom that suddenly woke up from a dream and entered the reality. The empty streets of the town a second ago were filled with countless shadows in the next second. These shadows quickly became solid and real in the next few breaths, and they turned into pedestrians coming and going, turning into countless residents of the town!
Those people were wearing classic costumes that were different from those in the real world. Their faces were numb and hollow. They were wandering on the street like zombies, but they soon 'woke up'. Their expressions were vivid, and their movements were agile. They walked and talked around Daniel and his companions, as if they had been living in the town since the beginning, as if there had never been anything weird or abnormal about the town!
Layers of dazzling light rippled in Archbishop Magnum's hands, and a powerful Psionic Storm almost left his hands. But at the moment when the spell was about to take shape, this seemingly hot-tempered archbishop abruptly cut off his own spell and stopped the others from taking action. "Wait a minute! Look at the situation! "
Archbishop Yuri was surrounded by complex golden runes, and he was about to cast an offensive spell. After Archbishop Magnum reminded him, he stopped casting the spell and looked around.
The people coming and going on the streets of the town did not seem to notice Daniel and the others at all. They were still busy with their own lives, hurrying along, and chatting with their friends and family. The team of Eternal Sleepers standing in the middle of the road was so eye-catching, but they seemed to be invisible in the eyes of all the residents.
Daniel could not help but break out in a cold sweat.
The phantom town had become "lively", but this bustling and lively street was even more creepy and terrifying than the deserted street shrouded in night!
"This is also the projection of Sandbox No. 1," Selena's voice suddenly sounded, breaking the silence. "These residents should only be moving according to the information recorded in the projection, like a large-scale illusion, and will not interact with us."
"This greatly inspired me to weave a nightmare," Archbishop Magnum muttered in a voice louder than an ordinary person's. "Why didn't I think of this scene before?"
"Let's move on." Selena shook her head. "Also, pay attention to the conversation of these phantom residents. Their daily conversation may reveal part of the current situation of Sandbox No. 1."
They continued to move toward the center of the town, cautiously moving on the streets of the town.
Everyone was trying their best not to come into contact with the "phantom residents". Although everyone was very curious about whether they could come into contact with these shadows and what would happen after they came into contact with them, those who could participate in the exploration mission had at least a basic level of caution. Under the premise that the situation was unclear, no one would dare to make such a bold attempt that might lead to some unknown consequences.
Gwen diverted part of his attention to carefully listen to the conversation of the phantom residents. He was also curious about the "life" in Sandbox No. 1.
Most of the conversations were of little value. Just like any normal, street chatter, the "residents" were talking about nothing more than the weather, harvest, household chores, daily necessities, and daily necessities.
The people in Sandbox No. 1 seemed to be living an ordinary life. They were born, grew old, died, married, and died in the virtual world. They had their own worries, their own wishes, their own lives, and their worries for the future.
The only difference from the real world was that they would mention the "Upper Narrator" from time to time in their conversations. They prayed to him, swore by him, and even used it as part of their daily colloquialisms.
They would say, "Even the upper narrators would be surprised," to describe the degree of absurdity of a matter. They would say, "The upper narrators would definitely know," which actually meant that they knew nothing about a matter — a matter that only God knew.
Gwen frowned slightly. His mind was in turmoil.
In a sense, the Eternal Sleepers had really created a miracle, a miracle that was even greater than the "Body of the False God" of the All End Society.
There were so many people, living real minds, and also "virtual personalities" created by the sandbox. They lived in such a simulated world. Generation after generation, they lived their own rich and colorful lives. They had their own joys, sorrows, and pursuits. After running for more than a thousand years, there was a flaw in this world.
Such superb technology …
Couldn't they have done something useful?
If this group of technology geeks used half of their death-defying skills to do something like artificial intelligence, they might be able to restore the minds of the iron men of the Kingdom of Gondor!
Gwen had a strong urge to complain in his heart. The team had reached the end of the street and came to the edge of the square in the center of the town.
Sure enough, the small church with its grayish-white exterior and tall spire was standing quietly in the square.
The spire of the church was bathed in the brilliant sunlight, and the outer walls were shining under the sun. In front of the wall painting that symbolized the Upper Narrator, there were residents stopping to pay their respects.
An old priest in a simple gray robe stood in front of the open door of the church, smiling as he looked at the people coming and going in the square. Some residents stopped by him, listening to the old priest tell the truth about the Upper Narrator. Everything looked so harmonious and beautiful.
It almost made people forget that this was a strange projection in the "imaginary zone", forget that this was a phantom town full of twisted and dangerous forces, forget that they were in an exploration team with a mission …
Archbishop Yuri was suddenly awakened from his trance. He saw a lantern swaying in front of him. Selena Geerfen's voice rang in his ears. "Don't relax. Remember, this is just a projection. Everything here is fake."
Gwen looked at the Eternal Sleepers in front of him in confusion. He muttered in his heart, "What happened just now? Some force is trying to erode them again? Why don't I feel it? "
Not far away, the old priest at the door of the church looked up and smiled at the Eternal Sleepers who were on high alert as if they were facing a great enemy. He said in a gentle tone, "Why resist? Isn't this a very beautiful world? "
As soon as the high priest finished speaking, the busy townsfolk in the nearby streets and in the square in front of the church, as well as the projections that had turned a blind eye to Daniel and the rest, suddenly stopped in their tracks. It was as though they were puppets that had come to a standstill in an instant.
The next second, they slowly turned their heads in unison and their eyes fell on the few uninvited guests in the square.
All the residents of the town quietly cast their gazes over. At this moment, even Gawain felt his hair stand on end!
The Eternal Sleepers were, of course, facing a great enemy. Only Selena calmly met the gaze of the old priest. After a few seconds, she slowly said, "Sure enough … you have a soul that is close to the real one. You are a projection formed by the mind of the master of this town? "
The old priest's expression was indifferent as he slowly shook his head. "I don't understand what you are talking about. I just think that you should try to stay here for a few more days. It is lucky to be protected by the upper level narrators. Why go back to the dangerous void?"
Gawain frowned slightly. Dangerous nothingness? What does that mean?
Is it referring to the 'imaginary zone' outside this town? Or … is it the current state of Sandbox No.1?
Yuri's eyes fell behind the old priest not far away and fell on the church with the open door. After carefully sensing the information structure of this area, he lowered his voice and said, "That church is the exit. It should be connected to the phantom town on the surface and the backbone of the mental network."
Magnum snorted. "I guess that guy is not going to let us swagger in."
Selena slowly raised the soul lantern in her hand and stepped toward the church not far away. "I'm curious. Can your upper level narrators really bless your soul here?"
"The upper level narrators are everywhere …" The old priest slowly opened his hands. "Wherever the Lord's people stand, the Lord is there …"
Layers upon layers of halos appeared behind the old man, and an enormous pressure suddenly descended. The entire square of the church resounded with the ethereal, holy, and powerful sound of sacred music — —
Except for Gwen, who could not be observed, everyone on the scene more or less felt that their minds were being pulled away and their consciousness of resistance was disintegrating.
In this projected town, in the depths of the imaginary zone outside Sandbox No.1, an upper level narrator, who could only be described as a phantom, had cast a real divine spell with the blessing of some kind of 'faith'.
Selena and Gwen, who was in a state of psychological invisibility, had a slight change of expression at the same time. Selena took a step forward, and the soul lantern in her hand bloomed brighter than ever before, hitting the halos behind the old man and resisting the power that was constantly pulling people's minds away.
Golden runes floated around Yuri and expanded into layers of barriers that could protect everyone. At the same time, the archbishop shouted without looking back, "Magnum! You can do something you're good at now! "
Magnum, who was short and red-haired, waved his hands. "Psionic Storm!"
For a moment, the entire square was filled with layers of light tides that seemed both real and illusory. The tides then suddenly turned into a brilliant storm. The powerful mental power washed away everything in Gawain's sight, washing away the waves of 'Phantom residents' who had begun to swarm over with fanatical expressions on their faces.
In this projected town supported by psionic power, Psionic Storm, which was supposed to be a relatively secret spell, set off a real 'storm'!
A large number of ferocious-looking projected residents quickly melted in the storm like wax figures in a raging fire and were torn to pieces. Gwen heard the angry roar of the old priest in front of the church. After showing his fangs, the old priest no longer maintained the previous gentle and polite facade. A crazy, twisted mind was his true form!
More and more projected residents rushed out from the streets and alleys, swarming towards the exploration team in the center of the square. The owl priests who were guarding the team all cast their psionic spells, constantly reducing the number of enemies. Gwen heard Archbishop Magnum's thunderous roar again. "Psionic Storm!"
A new storm struck, and the stone floor of the square was blown apart by the 'real storm.' The 'projected residents' that kept surging over were reduced to ashes one by one. The howling of the storm even drowned out the magnificent sacred music above the cathedral. The discomfort of having one's mind being stripped away and their consciousness of resistance fading rapidly weakened.
Then, Archbishop Magnum raised his hands again, and his voice was louder than the thunder in the storm.
"Heart-Spirit-Windstorm!"
"Heart-Spirit-Windstorm!!"
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