Chapter 1119 — Undercurrents of the Wasteland

"So all these years, while doing these things deep in the wasteland, you have also been projecting your mind in some manner out into the human world beyond it, observing the changes of the outside world just like this 'Verodai' before me now," Gao Yang said, his expression grave, yet unable to suppress a sigh of wonder. "An iron golem legion... Honestly, if I had not heard it from your own lips, I would never believe it was true. How did they survive such a ferocious assault of magical energy?"

"I created large-scale anti-magic shields in the underground facilities—supported by the Deep Blue Well's own primary conduit, which allowed them to withstand the powerful magical energy assault of that time," Verodai answered. "In fact, even so, only a small portion of the iron golems survived. At the time, sixteen iron golem legions were stationed near my research base as garrison forces. I set up an independent anti-magic shield for each position, but in the end fifteen of the sixteen garrison points could not withstand the assault. Only one came through unscathed."

Gao Yang rubbed the space between his brows, digesting this explosive intelligence that had suddenly landed before him. As his thoughts gradually sorted themselves out, he raised his head to look at Verodai: "So you are in fact trapped at the very depths of the wasteland—though you have restored a base as your refuge, and have an operational iron golem guard, these things are obviously not enough for you to retreat from the very center of the wasteland to beyond the Great Wall..."

"I never intended to evacuate from there... Though in a sense, I am indeed trapped at the center of the wasteland," Verodai shook her head gently. "I still have unfinished tasks, including continuing to study the structure of the Deep Blue Well and observing the changes in the wasteland. And through the method of projecting my spirit, I can also move about in the outside world as I do now, so whether or not I evacuate from there is of little importance to me."

"Well, that is your choice, and to be honest, there is little I can do for you right now either," Gao Yan nodded, while not forgetting what the original subject had been. "Now that I have a rough understanding of your situation and the truth of the Deep Blue Well—we can talk about those cultists stirring restlessly in the wasteland. Is there any connection between the Ember Shadow cultists and what we have just discussed? Are they setting their sights on the Deep Blue Well?"

"More than stirring restlessly—I suspect they have already taken some kind of action," Verodai said with a solemn expression. "For some time now, anomalous signs have appeared in the core region of the wasteland. I have lost the signals of some iron golem soldiers, and others have discovered, during patrols, traces of energy conduits near the base perimeter having been sabotaged or modified—with extraordinary skill. It could not possibly be the work of those wandering aberrations or mindless mana spirits."

Gao Song's brows drew together slightly. Unconsciously he tapped his fingers lightly on the desktop and asked offhandedly: "You have not seen anything directly yourself?"

"...For certain reasons, I can only remain within the base core deep underground," Verodai answered. "The iron golem soldiers patrolling the surface, along with the few sensors and surveillance devices near the energy conduits, are my only channels for understanding the outside environment. It may sound somewhat ironic... In that harsh environment, I understand the things around me even less than I understand this Xuanyao City a thousand li away, because compared to my true body, bound by layer upon layer of restrictions, this interactive medium called 'Verodai' at least has complete freedom of movement and can touch the real world."

Gao Yang could not help but feel immense curiosity about the true current state of Verodai's—Ophelia's—"true body," but he knew this touched upon privacy, and it seemed the other party would most likely be unwilling to speak of it, so he did not press. He quickly turned his attention back to the Ember Shadow cultists: "According to the intelligence we obtained from Beyila, the branch of the All Things Perish Society within the Great Wall should have been active on the Gondorian wasteland for a long time... In all these years, you never caught them? Never dealt with them face to face?"

"I have said that my... 'territory' in the wasteland is in fact very limited. The iron golem legion can only operate within the ruins of the old imperial capital and a narrow band along its edges, and those sensors laid along the conduits can only function within that range," Verodai said with some regret. "Compared to the whole wasteland, my range of perception is extremely small, and the Ember Shadow cultists had presumably been operating near the Great Wall all along—a blind spot in my vision. In fact, if you had not uprooted the All Things Perish Society entirely, I would not even have known that another force was hiding just outside my own refuge."

"That does sound rather chilling," Gao Yang stopped tapping the desktop and thoughtfully pinched his chin. "You did not know them, but the Ember Shadow cultists obviously knew of you—at least they knew the Deep Blue Well was still running. For centuries past they coexisted peacefully with the Deep Blue Well, as if deliberately moving around you, yet recently they have suddenly grown bold, even stealing your soldiers, stealing your energy... There must be a reason for this."

"Stealing... yes, they are indeed thieves," Verodai said in a low voice, though there was in fact no anger in her tone. In most cases her emotional fluctuations were in truth extremely faint, as though her human emotions had been worn away over centuries of work, and that gentle, affectionate manner of hers was merely a mask simulated from experience. "I cannot think why they would suddenly take action now, but perhaps it has to do with the annihilation of the All Things Perish Society outside the Great Wall."

"Half of them are wiped out, so the other half begin to pursue some contingency plan," Gao Yang mused. Through the open window drifted the restless wind of late spring. "It seems this matter warrants confirmation with Beyila... but I suspect she will not be of much help either. That band of Myriad Silence cultists operating in the wasteland is too secretive; many secrets lie even beyond the sight of the former High Hierarch Franken. Besides... if there really were some 'contingency plan,' Beyila should long since have reported it."

He shook his head, noted the matter for the time being, and then asked: "Do you have any thoughts on the purpose of the Ember Shadow cultists? They are clearly setting their sights on the Deep Blue Well... What do you think they intend to do with such vast energy?"

"There are too many directions for speculation and too little concrete intelligence to reach any conclusion of reference value," Verodai said. "The energy of the Deep Blue Well can truly accomplish far too much. It can grant those capable of controlling it power second only to the gods, and it can also be used to reshape environments or destroy specific things. To those cultists entrenched in the wasteland, every one of these is reason enough to take the risk."