Chapter 796 — Surprised?

What was Daniel thinking? What could he possibly be thinking?

Right now he only felt that the world was changing rather quickly, that the situation before him was deeply troubled, and he was a little panicked—but it was no use, because his master was sitting right across from him, watching. And yet he had no idea what he ought to do next. How was it that a perfectly good meeting had, in the space of a few sentences, become harder than calculus and surface problems combined...

Still, he had weathered storms before; he could handle the tangled upper society of Aldern, and he could adapt to the sinister, shadowy Changming Order. After becoming the loyal servant of the Outsider Wanderer, he had gained a new and excellent trait: he was exceedingly good at divining his superior's intent.

Across from him, Gaoyang gave him a slight nod.

Daniel relaxed imperceptibly and breathed a quiet sigh of relief: that he understood.

"I concur with the view of the Celin Yaozhen Church," the old mage said, rising to his feet, his voice steady and unhurried, carrying the weight of long deliberation. "The Outsider Wanderer is a viable choice."

Someone could not hold back: "We have always kept our distance from Him. We have never cooperated with Him before, only had a few unpleasant contacts. And now, all of a sudden, we are to hand the question of life and death over to such an indescribable being? This is simply too strange..."

"The crux of the matter is not whether we hand our life and death over to Him, but that there genuinely exists a possibility of reaching consensus between us and Him," Daniel said calmly. "The reason has just been stated by the Celin Yaozhen Church, so I will not repeat it. I will add only two points—

"First, we no longer have the luxury of leisurely planning. Face reality, brethren. Sandbox One is out of control, and the Upper Narrator is gradually entering the real world. Compared with the Outsider Wanderer, what lies within Sandbox One is already a threat with a blade pressed to every throat. We have no choice—it is not that we have chosen the Outsider Wanderer, but that in this world, the only one who can oppose Sandbox One and might help us is, I fear, the Outsider Wanderer alone.

"Second, the Outsider Wanderer is a being of a higher order than humanity, and He has already intervened in 'divine authority' through religious reform. We have reason to believe that He is interested in 'gods.' In other words, once the Upper Narrator truly enters the real world, He will in all likelihood be drawn to this new god, and in all likelihood come seeking it out on His own initiative—and by the time He comes knocking, it will not be so easy for us to 'propose cooperation.'"

As Daniel's voice fell, a low murmur of discussion immediately rose in the council hall. Clearly, the two points he had added carried immense persuasive force and were all but irrefutable. Across from him, Gaoyang nodded in satisfaction: the old mage's cooperation had been perfectly timed, and that second reason had moreover prepared a motive for Gaoyang to insert himself into the affair. Such an outstanding subordinate was hard to come by at any time.

Gaoyang was merely a little curious: how did Daniel know what he wanted him to say? He had given no signal at all on his side, had not discussed the next step in advance—he had only nodded, letting the man say a few casual words to smooth things over...

The discussion in the hall continued for several minutes. Gradually, the Yaoji Church seemed to reach a consensus born of resignation.

They had not truly accepted this near-fantastical "plan"; rather, after discussion they had discovered that they genuinely could find no better choice.

It was then that Pope Megal III, who had floated above the meeting ground the entire time and for the most part merely listened in silence, suddenly broke the quiet: "Then this plan is settled."

"How ironic... We devote ourselves to opposing gods, and in the end we must turn to a 'being' akin to a god for help... Do all our years of effort still have any meaning?" the Magh Mingheng Church muttered in a gloomy voice—yet his muttering was audible to almost the entire hall.

"At least we have tried one more path," Megal III cut off Magnan's muttering in a flat voice. "Next, we should discuss how to establish contact with the Outsider Wanderer, and how to convey our wishes accurately—this must be carried out as soon as possible. Our time is already running short."

Gaoyang sat upright in his seat and once again drifted into a state of wandering far beyond the heavens.

"In such a hasty contact, gaining trust should be the most important thing," said Yuri, rising from beside Gaoyang. "He must harbor a certain vigilance and rejection toward us. If we make our request directly, He will very likely refuse..."

Voices rose throughout the hall: "We should find someone who knows Cecil relatively well to make the approach..."

"I think too much preamble would backfire, making us seem insincere. Better to state our intent directly—that might win His favor."

"The Outsider Wanderer is clearly watching us as well. Has He not already created an improved 'transmission device' by analyzing our technology? We can use technology to curry His favor..."

Voices sprang up on all sides, and the Yaoji Church plunged into heated debate. Gaoyang sat quietly among these Yaoji Church members, his thoughts gradually settling.

He swept his gaze around the room, and a bold idea was brewing in his heart.

Matters had reached this pass today; whether the Mind Network could continue to exist depended entirely on whether the crisis of Sandbox One could be resolved... After years of maneuvering, a great many of the Mind Network's permissions had in substance fallen into the hands of Daniel and himself... He must further strengthen and shape the mighty image of the Outsider Wanderer, and make these Ever-Sleepers more "cooperative"...

Gaoyang nodded inwardly: the time did indeed seem about right.

The Xuanji Order's Mingshu Church members were steeped in discussion, steeped in analysis of the Outsider Wanderer and speculation about "Gaoyang Cecil."

Then Yuri Charwen discovered that at some point someone had come to sit beside him—

Short brown hair, an imposing face, a stalwart build, carrying an aura of majesty that seemed almost tangible.

Gaoyun tapped lightly on the table, swept the room with a smile, and gave a slight nod: "I too concur with the opinion of Selina Gerfen."

In the entire council hall, you could have heard a pin drop.

Even that cluster of starlight floating in midair stiffened in an instant, no longer contracting and writhing.

After a few seconds of indescribable silence, the whole hall suddenly erupted in a violent tremor. The minds of a great many high-tier peak experts—even legendary powerhouses—shook at the same instant, throwing this very temple into violent upheaval. Terrifying cracks spread from the hall to the temple's outer walls, and amid weird shrieks and rumbling, some of the twenty-two Mingshu Church members before Gaoyang shot to their feet, some stared wide-eyed and clutched at the table, some opened their mouths and cried out—and then one figure after another vanished from the meeting ground amid the churning light and shadow. They had gone offline.

"Mind Storm!!"

A voice like a thunderclap rang out abruptly. Almost instinctively, Magnan raised both hands and cast his most powerful and most practiced spell—yet the instant the spell left his hands, his face showed that something had gone terribly wrong, and wearing that expression he cut his connection to the meeting ground.