Chapter 1580: Summer Breeze

Since the end of the Month of Awakening, the weather had grown steadily warmer. The brief spring seemed barely to have touched this land before summer was already creeping in. Yet for those living in the Sorin region, the changing of seasons had become a subtle, almost imperceptible notion. The towering trees, brimming with vibrant life, and the magical field enveloping the entire plain kept the biting cold at bay. Beneath the giant canopy, warm spring and full summer blended into an almost eternal cycle.

In the southern part of Sorin Fortress, Margarita—both regional governor and commander of the construction corps—was personally overseeing the loading of a batch of special supplies onto a convoy. She and her attendants stood by the loading dock, watching as long-armed cranes lifted two- to three-meter-tall tubular containers from the stacks and gently placed them onto large transport vehicles. Skilled workers moved in tandem, securing the silver-gray “cans” firmly onto the pallets with locks, safety ropes, and tarps.

Nearby stood the convoy leader, a burly middle-aged man with a thick beard. He tilted his head back, gazing thoughtfully at the vast canopy that blotted out the sky. After a long moment, he lowered his eyes and sighed, “Some parts of the Holy Spirit Plains are only just seeing their trees flourish, but here it’s like summer never ends.”

“Actually, it was a bit cooler a few days ago,” Margarita smiled, “but as you said, after living here long enough, you almost forget the seasons outside. Lady Beltira once considered adjusting Sorin’s climate to match the outside world’s seasonal changes, but the Druids assessed the local ecosystem and concluded that the plants and animals had already adapted to this unique environment beneath the canopy. Many animal groups even treat this place as their permanent winter refuge. So that plan was shelved.”

“I heard scholars up north are studying how the Sorin giant trees regulate the ecosystem, planning to build an ‘Eternal Spring Farm’ in the northern valleys,” the convoy leader said, pulling out a pipe and slowly packing it with tobacco. “They’d looked into the Typhon’s ‘Magical Ecological Dome’ tech before, but found it too costly and unsuitable for the extreme conditions of the northern border. In the end, the Druids’ methods seemed more reliable.”

“Typhon are much closer to the south,” Margarita shrugged. “They don’t have to worry about growing crops in the frozen wastelands of the far north.” She then noticed the loading was nearly done. “This is the last truck, Mr. Pokaf.”

The man called Pokaf looked up, tucked his pipe into his mouth, and strode over to the final transport vehicle. The last tubular container was about to be loaded. He knocked on its iron-gray shell, which emitted a faint clicking sound. Then, the curved cover slid open smoothly, revealing the contents inside.

Within was a transparent, high-strength crystal chamber filled with a thin biological solution. A brand-new synthetic brain floated at its center. Noticing the container had opened, the synthetic brain wobbled slightly in the liquid, releasing a stream of tiny bubbles. One of its neural tendrils lifted gently. Seeing this, Pokaf raised his hand and gave a high-five through the thick crystal wall.

“Welcome to duty,” the bearded convoy leader said with a grin, tapping the container. The shell slid shut again, and the container was hoisted onto the truck’s pallet. Turning back to Margarita, he muttered, “I actually suggested to the higher-ups that these synthetic brains don’t need us to transport them. They can move on their own—even fly—and they only consume two steamed buns per hundred kilometers. Once they leave the factory, they could just go to work themselves. No need for a transport convoy at all.”

Margarita pictured a swarm of synthetic brains drifting out of Sorin’s biochemical synthesis chambers, their tendrils clutching resumes, IDs, and travel rations, floating off to factories and labs across the region. Her expression turned a bit awkward. “Considering that many ordinary people still don’t understand or trust synthetic brains, and the safety concerns when they travel, your idea is a bit premature for now.”

“Fair enough,” Pokaf shrugged. “My superiors said the same. But I get the public’s worries. What I don’t buy is the safety concern. You know how tough these brains are—last month, there was a factory explosion in Red Maple City. Two synthetic brains in the control center were trapped behind a jammed escape door. They literally tore the door off the wall and escaped, saving three workers who’d been knocked out by the smoke on the way.”

Margarita was speechless.

Feeling a bit lost in this strange conversation, she waved her hand and steered the focus back to business. “With this batch, the orders for computing units for Caves One and Six are complete. There shouldn’t be any more large orders after this, right?”

“Not that I know of,” Pokaf said, puffing on his pipe. “All the computing nodes for the caves are nearly finished. The remaining work is mostly on life support and living quarters. My future tasks will focus on that. After all the transport is done, my wife and I signed up to be permanent computing providers for Cave One. I’ll be there until everything settles down, so you probably won’t see me around for a while, Lady Margarita.”

She nodded gently, then turned serious and saluted the bearded man with respect. “Thank you for your dedicated service, Mr. Pokaf.”

He paused, then smiled slowly, returning the salute with a soldier’s bearing. A scar on his arm peeked from beneath his sleeve. “I was once a soldier too, ma’am. We’re all just doing our duty.”

A breeze swept through the Sorin giant trees’ canopy. The warm wind from the Holy Spirit Plains rustled the leaves, birds took flight from the branches, skimming the edge where the canopy met the blue sky. Higher up, the radiant sun bathed the leaf and wood structures—like another world in themselves—in golden light, which shimmered brightly on the massive antenna array atop the canopy.

A low, humming drone emanated from the antenna array. Powerful mechanical devices spun crystal arrays precisely in midair. Hundreds of magnifying crystals arranged themselves to receive signals, capturing the faintest magical oscillations in the atmosphere and translating these subtle tremors into distant voices. These were sent deep into the canopy’s core, to translation nodes and the Decoders.

Beltira’s avatar stood at the center of the command hall, overseeing another routine communication between the Loren Alliance and Noy. The main technical data had been exchanged, and the atmosphere in the communication channel relaxed slightly. She saw the holographic projection displaying text sent by “Witch” Nova. The flowing letters seemed to carry a light, joyful tone:

“…We have preliminarily reproduced the magical tide phenomenon you sent us in our lab. Although time constraints prevented us from building a fully compliant experimental environment, the success of this first phase proves that all our theories so far are correct and reliable…”

“This clears away all our doubts about initiating the ‘Unified Mind Field’ and the ‘Homeworld Barrier’,” Beltira carefully chose her words as she replied—since Gawain was tied up with political affairs and couldn’t conduct the interstellar dialogue personally, she, as the command center and part of the hardware interface, naturally held this authority. “We have also verified the Unified Mind Field’s effectiveness against the magical tide in simulated environments.”

After sending this message, Beltira glanced at her notes and prepared the next transmission: “Additionally, the magical tide observation device we’re building on this planet is in its final assembly phase. The last sensor is being installed near the vibration focus point. We expect to complete installation and activation within twenty-four hours. Once operational, Loren will have the capability to observe deep-space magical tides.”

After sending this, the Noy side fell silent for a moment. Beltira was not surprised. Patiently, she waited a few minutes before “hearing” the voice from the other side of the star sea rise again. Witch Nova’s thoughts transformed into text, projected above the magic network terminal:

“Sorry, I had to edit this message several times to control my excitement—this thrilling news just sparked cheers in Noy’s Elder Council. I wish you could see all the cities on Noy’s surface lighting up their lamps one by one right now!”

“I can imagine,” Beltira smiled inwardly, cross-referencing her notes as she sent a reply. “Then, as planned, we will complete full system calibration as soon as the sensor array is activated and conduct the first deep-space observation. Before that, we will coordinate with Noy to ensure both planets’ sensor arrays activate simultaneously and scan their respective target areas in sync. Given our homeworlds’ positions and rotation, there should be at least a three-hour window every forty-eight hours for synchronized scanning. That should be enough for the initial sampling.”

“Yes, your data is accurate. A three-hour scanning window suffices for the initial sample,” Noy responded after a brief delay. “If all goes well, the initial scan data will provide the ‘baseline parameters’ for the Unified Mind Field and Homeworld Barrier. Within three days at the earliest… we will have the ‘key code’ that ensures the survival of both civilizations.”

Watching the dancing letters on the hologram, a rare sense of relief rose from deep within Beltira’s tightly wound circuits. Though she no longer had a beating human heart or the ability to breathe deeply, this long-lost feeling of ease made her vividly aware that she was still, in her own way, alive.

Afterward, she completed the follow-up talks with the Noy civilization, covering details about the magical tide observation device’s activation and the planets’ time synchronization. The items on her notes were finally all handed over, and some seats in the command hall quieted as their occupants finished their tasks.

Yet the faster-than-light communication between the two planets remained open.

This had become a new habit since learning of Witch Nova’s existence.

A moment was left for the Noy girl who watched over the star sea.

Beltira glanced toward the nearest operator’s station. Bard sat there as usual, eyes fixed on his control terminal.

She withdrew her gaze and sent a query into the distance: “Nova, are you all right over there?”

“Thank you for your concern, Lady Beltira. Everything’s fine here,” Nova’s reply came swiftly to Loren. “I’m adjusting a few monitors outside the satellite, trying to turn my gaze toward the depths of the starry sky.”

“Are you looking at the stars?” Beltira asked, curious.

There was a brief pause before Nova responded, “…I’m looking for you.”

“For us?”

“Yes. I’m looking for you—or more precisely, for the star closest to you.” Nova’s message carried a light, cheerful tone. “The satellite’s monitors rely mainly on optical observation. I can’t see the planets orbiting the star, and that gas giant you call the ‘Sun’ is hard to detect too. But if I can find the star you call ‘Ao,’ then it’s almost like I’ve found you.”

Beltira was momentarily taken aback, puzzled. “But you already know our coordinates. Communication between our two planets is based on directional transmission. Why bother searching with optical observation?”

“…It’s just a sudden whim,” Nova explained. “I wanted to see if I could spot you with my own ‘eyes.’ Of course, even if I do see a faint light, it would be from four years ago, right?”

“True, given the vast distance between us.” Beltira smiled softly to herself, then asked with genuine curiosity, “Have you found it yet?”

“…Not yet. Without system assistance, it’s harder than I thought.” Nova’s reply came after a long delay. “This is my first time trying to locate a specific celestial body purely by manual, optical means. I’m inexperienced, and from this angle, your side of the sky is densely packed with stars.”

She paused, then sent another message: “But I believe I can find it—I just need to get the hang of the controls.”

Nova seemed to be engaged in something she found meaningful and even enjoyable.

Though now she was nothing but a brain, confined within the life-support system of an ancient satellite, and from Loren’s perspective, this ‘witch’ was making a tremendous sacrifice, Nova herself… still seemed determined to live.

Beltira hesitated, then finally broke the silence. “Nova, did you know that Loren possesses very special and advanced biochemical technology?”

After a moment, Nova’s response appeared on the comm interface: “Biochemical technology?”

“Yes,” Beltira chose her words carefully. “We can manufacture highly efficient ‘biochemical synthetic brains’ in factories. We can also connect and reconnect the brains of intelligent beings multiple times without causing neural damage. We’re even capable of linking brains directly for collective thinking, and creating artificial bodies in incubation chambers to ‘resurrect’ those who have died.”

This time, Nova’s reply took even longer—several minutes passed before she answered: “That’s incredible technology! I think I understand what you mean, Lady Beltira. You want to help me rebuild a body? But the lifeforms of the Noy and the Loren Alliance are quite different.”

“Perhaps it’s possible,” Beltira said earnestly. “The Loren Alliance itself includes many diverse species, and our biochemical experts are skilled at handling the differences between lifeforms. Nova, maybe this could become the next joint technological exchange project between the Noy and Loren after the Mage Tide ends. I think you might look forward to it.”

The fluctuations in the faster-than-light communication quieted. Nova seemed to be thinking—or perhaps consulting with her own people. Beltira waited patiently, unsure how long had passed, when suddenly she sensed the antenna array stir again.

A voice from four light-years away transformed into an image in the holographic projection.

Beltira saw a big, bright smile appear in the projection—a simple, almost childlike drawing. Behind that vivid grin came Nova’s reply: “Yes, I’m really looking forward to it!”

(Today from 8:05 to 8:35, there’s a special half-hour double moon ticket event, exclusive to this book. If you have tickets, don’t miss out!)

(End of chapter)