Chapter 782 — The Town After the Bell Tolled

After a few brief attempts, Gao Yang confirmed that Daniel's situation was indeed different from his own.

It was not merely that their surroundings differed markedly; more importantly, Daniel did not seem to be in a state where he could disengage from the network at any moment, as Gao Yang was.

After several failed attempts to disconnect, Daniel reported his condition with a trace of unease: "...My Lord, I cannot sense the boundary of the real world. The hazy, illusory mist here seems not only to have cut off my five senses within the dream world, but also to have interfered with my bearings relative to the real world. Without bearings on reality, I cannot disengage from the network."

Interference, is it...

Gao Cen gave no reply, only analyzed silently in his mind.

The fact that he could connect to Daniel's consciousness meant the other's mind was still within the network—only some unknown "force" had screened it off. And that hazy, illusory mist the other had mentioned... possessing the property of blocking the five senses and interfering with bearings on reality—perhaps it was the manifestation of this screening force on Daniel's side.

But this interference and screening force clearly had no effect on Gao Yang, an outlander wanderer who had slipped into the network as a freeloader.

Could this peculiar "exemption" be used to help Daniel break free?

Gao Heng was certain of this much: he would at least have to find Daniel's "position" and make contact with the other before he could verify it.

Within the mental network, one could "locate" another's coordinates, and this locating technique was itself the fruit of joint development by Gao Yang and Daniel—indeed, it was partly thanks to this achievement that Daniel had advanced smoothly from Nightmare Mentor to the rank of Bishop.

Now, the eerie "screening" state in which Daniel and the others found themselves seemed to interfere with the network's locating function as well. When Gao Yang tried to search for Daniel's position, all he "saw" was a void of chaotic shadow.

But just as Gao You's mental network had left behind a great many secret ports and exploitable loopholes in its login and communication layers, so too had he and Daniel stuffed nearly a dozen "back channels" into this locating system—channels that amounted to an entirely separate covert locating mechanism, beyond the mental network's surveillance, and unknown to anyone save Gao Yang and Daniel themselves.

With the notion of testing certain conjectures, Gao Yi closed his eyes slightly and quietly activated a network link that had never once been used. In a haze of dim darkness, a faintly glimmering "web" surfaced in his mind's eye and overlapped with this eerie little town.

A flickering point of light promptly appeared not far off—that was Daniel's mind.

Gao Yang felt quite calm, wearing the composure of one whose expectations had been confirmed.

As expected, the power of Sandbox No. 1 had no effect on the various "secret ports" and "secret links" he and Daniel had set up.

Because these secret ports and links were known to no outsider—the Sleepers did not know of them, the mental network did not know of them—and so Sandbox No. 1, built by the Sleepers and rooted in the mental network... naturally did not know of them either.

It was just as Gao Yang had thought: a virtual system cannot simulate things beyond the system itself. However powerful the "anomalies" bred within Sandbox No. 1 might be, they could not lay claim to what they did not understand.

This was likely also why he himself was unaffected by the many eerie powers of Sandbox No. 1: he was an "outlander wanderer" who had freeloaded his way into the network, whose very soul did not belong to this world—to Sandbox No. 1 he must be the most indescribable, incomprehensible "thing" of all; indeed... Sandbox No. 1 should be architecturally incapable of perceiving his existence at all.

Just like those Sleeper priests who had accompanied Gao Cen all this time yet remained utterly ignorant of the latter's existence.

But this should hold only for the present circumstances. Once the power of Sandbox No. 1 exceeded the sandbox itself and became some kind of godlike entity, whether such a limitation would still apply was another matter entirely.

As thoughts churned and conjectures and plans took shape one after another, Gao Yang had already strolled past the silent, deserted streets of the little town and arrived deep in a lane near the plaza.

This was where the locating system indicated Daniel was.

Yet the place was utterly empty—not a single soul in sight.

Gao Yi closed his eyes slightly. Within that illusory locating grid, the point of light representing Daniel flickered right before him, its signal clear and steady.

"My Lord," Daniel's voice sounded in his mind at the same moment, "I sense that you are already nearby, but I cannot see you..."

"Nor can I see you. But since you can sense my aura, it seems the 'screening' of Sandbox No. 1 has no small holes in it," Gao You said mildly in his mind. "It seems unable to screen out the series of 'deep channels' we established. You should be able to use them to disengage from the network.

"Try it first, but do not actually disengage—this little town seems to hold many more oddities. Let us explore a while longer.

"And I am also somewhat concerned about where the other 'deleted' people have all gone."

"Yes, My Lord," Daniel replied respectfully, then fell silent, beginning to try using those "deep channels" capable of bypassing the surface layer of the mental network to reestablish contact with the real world. Some ten-odd seconds later, his voice came again, carrying a trace of relief and reverence: "My Lord, it is just as you said! After activating the deep channels, I have sensed the boundary of reality once more. I should be able to disengage from my current state without difficulty."

"Good," Gao Yan nodded. "Then the next step is to find your true position..."

As he spoke, he looked around, trying to spot whatever was out of place.

Daniel's "position" was here—of that there was no doubt. Sandbox No. 1 could not screen out those secret links residing in the "deep channels," so the locating system ought to be functioning properly. Yet he could not see the man... Sensory interference? A parallel space? Or else...

Mid-thought, his gaze swept over the ground nearby, and a small puddle of water caught his eye.

His heart stirred, and he could not help recalling those reflections in the water he had seen in the plaza.

He went to the puddle and saw in its mirror-calm surface the reflection of the surrounding streets—just like the reflections in the plaza, in that reflected image the illusory town had lit its warm, bright streetlamps, and every household had kindled its lights.

Gao You crouched by the puddle, recalling the occult knowledge at his command, and felt a flash of understanding.

He reached out and lightly touched the calm surface. Fine ripples spread outward through the reflection; the town's shadow swayed and trembled before him. When the water gradually stilled, he saw that the town in the reflection had extinguished its lights and lay quietly shrouded in boundless darkness.

Gao Yang stood up, hearing faint laughter and chatter drift from the dwellings behind him. From the tops of the nearby iron-black lampposts spilled bright, warm light that lit the street and stretched his shadow long across the pavement.

This was the town after the bell had tolled.

He had passed straight through some kind of "veil" and come to the "other side" of this little town!

Gao Yang also caught sight of Daniel.

The old mage stood quietly beneath a streetlamp some distance away, his back bent, his eyes gazing blankly ahead as though lost in thought, and he showed no reaction whatsoever to Gao Song's appearance.