The grid-connection project was in full swing.
From Ten Forest City in the West to Tamudul and Longwind Keep in the East, from Winter Fort Academy in the North to Cecil in the South, the main hubs of the Empire were undergoing the final test before the official start of the project. All levels of the Mana Net nodes under the main hubs were also preparing for the upcoming 'roll call'. The most exciting project in history, which had been going on for years, was finally ready for acceptance. Everyone who had participated in it was now tense, not wanting any accidents to happen.
And this exciting project did not only affect the real world. Another 'world' was also preparing for the upcoming grid-connection.
In the 'new world' constructed by the power of the soul, a brand new city spread out on the plains, sparkling under the sunlight. The appearance of this city was like the 'mirror image' of the imperial capital, Cecil City. Everywhere, one could see the outline of Cecil City in the real world. However, there were many differences in the details. It was newer, bigger, and had many buildings that didn't exist in the real world. It was like a more imaginative and forward-looking 'city model' that was built based on the real world, proudly standing tall on this vast land.
In the western part of the city, in a street that did not exist in the real world, there was an endless stream of people. The bustling street was filled with vehicles and pedestrians that Cecil had never seen in the real world. It even caused the entire street to be congested, and the order of the shops on both sides of the street became a little chaotic.
But suddenly, everything stopped. The crowd and vehicles on the street began to disperse quickly, and the lights of the shops along the street went out one by one. Then, the colorful buildings began to fade into grayish-white geometric patterns, and then into monotonous lines and noises. Everything disappeared in a few seconds, leaving behind an undefined blank land. The grasslands in the distant wilderness quickly spread over and began to backfill the undefined area.
A gentleman wearing a white researcher's robe and a monocle appeared out of thin air on the grayish-white land. He glanced at the area that was being reset and said casually to the air, "The urban planning simulation of the Western Phase VI project has ended. The congestion has not improved significantly. The road scale and the location of traffic signals need to be redesigned. I will compile a report on the specific situation later. "
Golden runes leaped in the air, and the response from the city planning department in the real world came, "Roger that. Thank you for your work."
"It's what I should do," Yuri said politely. He then glanced at the sky not far away. A huge countdown appeared there, reminding him that the time was approaching. "Then, this is the last simulation for today. The grid connection project will begin soon. Before the magic network returns to normal, the neural network will be temporarily disconnected from all conventional nodes."
"Understood. I wish you all the best. The connection is over. "
"Thank you. The connection is over. "
Yuri hung up the communication with the real world. The grassland that spread from the distance happened to fill up the last piece of undefined grayish-white land under his feet.
He turned around and prepared to return to the nearby city, but a familiar aura suddenly approached him, causing him to stop in his tracks.
Magnum's figure appeared in front of Yuri.
"I'm not late, right?" The loud man's eyes widened. "I came as soon as I received the notice. I didn't even have time to leave the homework for the students …"
"You should consider improving your teaching efficiency, not the efficiency of leaving homework." Yuri glanced at the guy who had lost his body in the real world but had recently continued to thrive in the real world through other means. He then nodded. "The time is just right. Including you, the technical team is all in place."
Magnum sighed in relief and nodded.
Behind Yuri and Magnum, on the other side of the "new city of dreams" that was built in imitation of the imperial capital, a huge white spider appeared out of thin air and slowly climbed up a hill outside the city.
…
On a high ground on the east side of the New Dream City, an old man in a black suit, holding a cane in his right hand and a quaint lantern in his left hand looked up at the white spider climbing on the hill not far away. He whispered to the air next to him, "This is Duwalter. Naretil has begun to monitor the central data of the neural network. It is expected to complete the protection of all nodes in five minutes."
A string of leaping golden runes appeared out of thin air beside the "human nature of god." Rebecca's voice came from it. "I got it. You should pay attention to the command from the dispatch center at all times."
Duwalter nodded. Just as he was about to say something, he heard Naretil's voice coming from the hill not far away. "I can climb faster!"
Her voice was not loud, but it was enough to spread throughout the entire area.
"Ahem … Just maintain your current efficiency." Duwalter coughed subconsciously. "There are still three hours before the network connection. We have plenty of time."
"Yes, there is no need to rush. The key is to monitor and protect all the network nodes." Rebecca's voice came from the golden runes. "Your mission is very important. You must ensure that the neural network is safe during the magic network connection process."
"… Oh."
Naretil nodded and continued to climb up the hill at her current speed. Around her huge spider body, countless invisible threads had begun to appear in the air. An invisible net was quickly woven, protecting the slightly immature neural network layer by layer to prepare for the impact that might come when the physical network in the real world changed.
…
In Saint Sunil City, in the Silver Castle, the symbol of the old royal family, a tower was gradually being activated.
It was the main hub of Saint Sunil. Geographically, it was also the 'center' of the magic network in the entire Cecil Empire. In the upcoming network connection, this hub would play a very important role in coordination and pressure.
Cohen Loren and Count Bahrain stood side by side on another tower near the tower. Through the window, they looked at the tower that had gathered the most advanced technology of the empire slowly waking up from its slumber. They could not help but feel excited and nervous.
Different from the other hubs, this tower in the Silver Castle was not completely new. In fact, it was remodeled from the previous main tower of the Silver Castle, and the main structure was a part of this royal fortress. The craftsmen of Saint Sunil and the technical consultants from the Southern Capital took almost a year to complete this project. Now, the set of complicated and precise mechanical supports and crystal arrays were slowly operating above the old 'King's Eye', which was originally where the members of the Moen Royal Family looked at the Captical Empire.
This' renovation of the old 'did not mean that the quality of the Saint Sunil hub was worse than other places. In fact, it was the opposite. The Silver Castle was the heart of the old Ansu, and the Moen Royal Family had spent a lot of money to strengthen every corner of this fortress with magic blessings and precise materials. Without considering the cost, the magic technology of the old days was not inferior to the magic engineering industry of today. The sturdiness and anti-aging ability of the main tower were completely comparable to the new hubs made of reinforced concrete, or even better.
Looking at such a symbolic building that represented ancient royal authority being transformed into one of the pillars of the dynasty's magic network in the new era, this was what made the two former Ansu nobles feel the most emotional.
"After this tower operates, Saint Sunil will also be reborn …" Count Bahrain broke the silence. He looked a little thinner than the year before, and his eyes were more stable than before. "The economy and culture should have a certain degree of development …"
"This tower is a signal. It will tell those who only know how to drink in their houses to give up unrealistic nostalgia and let them forget the old days as soon as possible and adapt to this new era." Cohen Lorren nodded. "As for the economy and culture … I'm the same as you, Count Bahrain. I'm optimistic."
Both of them smiled faintly.
Ever since the establishment of the dynasty, the political and economic center of this country had shifted from Saint Sunil to Cecil City in the south. The Captical City of the past inevitably experienced a certain degree of decline. Although the normal functions of the city and the basic business and industrial order had been restored, it was easy to imagine the difference between a city going from the capital to an ordinary municipality.
There was a difference in economy, a difference in cultural status, and a difference in the mentality of the citizens.
Bringing this once glorious ancient city back to life was always the most important thing in the hearts of the officials in the Saint Sunil Government Office. It was even a kind of obsession.
"It's almost time." Count Bahrain looked at the mechanical clock on the wall nearby and suddenly said softly, "Get ready."
Cohen Lorren turned around and saw that the Mana Net terminals in the room were running smoothly. Lights were flashing on many of the control panels with runes on them. Magicite technicians and runemasters were waiting in formation beside the machines, as though they were soldiers waiting to be deployed.
He suddenly felt like a general who was about to go out to battle.
A few minutes later, the magic network terminal in the middle of the room activated by itself. The figure of the dynasty's head of the Magic Technology Department, Rebecca, appeared in the holographic projection. No one had ever seen such a serious expression on her face.
"This is the highest dispatch center. Now, the main hubs will start to call the secondary hubs in order. Report back in fifteen minutes."
…
In the command center of the Magic Technology Research Institute, bright magic crystal lights illuminated the huge hall. A large number of technicians sat beside the monitoring equipment, carrying out the process that had been rehearsed countless times in advance.
Rebecca sat on a chair at the very front of the room. Several magic network terminals were operating in front of her, projecting the scenes of the main hubs' control rooms that were connected through a single line from all over the dynasty.
"The Western Region's roll call has ended. All nodes are normal."
"The Eastern Region's Tamudule's roll call has ended. All nodes are normal."
"The Eastern Region's Longwind Fortress's roll call has ended. All nodes are normal."
"The Northern Region's Winter Fort Academy's roll call has ended."
Within the predetermined time, all the roll call had been completed smoothly. The main hubs and their subordinate secondary nodes that were distributed throughout the Empire established connections one after another. A massive network was gradually taking shape.
Gawain was sitting in a chair not far behind Rebecca, feeling a little nervous.
According to his original plan, he did not intend to have the Magic Net of the entire Empire complete the 'overall merger' in one operation. He had planned to divide the Empire into several regions and let the networks of each region slowly form one by one. Then, he would connect the branch networks to the main network one by one. The entire project would take many times longer, but everything would be more assured and have a higher tolerance for risk.
However, the problem was that he did not have that much time. Especially after experiencing the calamity caused by the Eternal Sleeper, and realizing that the 'countdown' of the gods was getting closer and closer, the sense of urgency in his heart grew stronger and stronger. Thus, he had no choice but to choose this plan that took less time and was more difficult.
To be honest, even with the pressure brought by the sense of urgency, Gwen had actually hesitated for a long time before this plan. It was the appearance of 'Naretil' that made him finally make up his mind. With a god of the past entering the network, he would have more confidence when the network was connected. Naretil was the most effective 'insurance' he could think of. With this insurance, he dared to face the risk of the entire Magic Net being connected.
While Gwen was thinking, Rebecca's work was also proceeding in an orderly manner.
All the main hubs had been checked, and now it was time for the most crucial step.
"This is the highest dispatch center. We are now announcing the order:
"Other than the Saint Sunil Main Hub, all the main hubs will execute the standby command after 120 seconds.
"The Saint Sunil Main Hub will enter the connection state directly after turning on. The first channel will point to Cecil.
"Other than the Saint Sunil Main Hub, all the other main hubs will wait for 60 seconds before calling the Saint Sunil and establishing a connection.
"Ten Forest City, Winter Fort Academy, Tamudul, Eternal Wind …
"The order is the same as the previous document. I'll repeat it again.
"Ten Forest City, Winter Fort Academy …"
Gwen looked at Rebecca, who was meticulously giving out orders, and took a light breath. His fingers subconsciously tapped on the armrest of his chair.
"Attention, the countdown begins!"
The crowd in the hall became exceptionally quiet. Only the buzzing and clicking of the various equipment and Rebecca's voice could be heard.
Then, every few seconds, a controller in front of the control panel would report loudly.
"Received Saint Sunil's signal, strength as expected … Connected to the western node group of the Saint Sunil Plains."
"Received Ten Forest City's signal …"
Gwen looked at the front of the hall. There was the largest magic network terminal there, and on the large holographic projection, the map of the entire Cecil Empire was displayed.
On the map, spots of light lit up in order, and the originally dim land seemed to be illuminated by groups of stars.
Very quickly, those bright spots covered most of the empire's land, waiting for the final closure.
"Received Solin Castle's signal, strength …"
On the projected map, the last spot of light lit up in the Solin area, and the entire empire was covered in a layer of bright light.
However, all of this lasted less than two seconds.
A sharp, strange shriek that made one's soul tremble suddenly rang out from every single magic net terminal in the hall. All the lights in the hall started to flicker violently.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
