Chapter 534: Preparing for the Storm

Before long, Hetty and Rebecca arrived at Gawain’s study, soon followed by Kamail and Pittman. Except for Hetty, who had come straight from the Administrative Office, the other three had been summoned from the laboratories of the Arcane Technology Research Institute by Amber.

The moment Hetty stepped inside, she immediately sensed the heavy, serious atmosphere hanging around Gawain—so intense that even Amber standing nearby couldn’t lighten it. She quickly asked, “Ancestor, what’s going on?”

“Before we get to the main matter, there’s something I think it’s time you all knew,” Gawain said, scanning the room. Everyone present was among his most trusted confidants. “You should already be aware—I once devoured the soul of a Sleeper.”

Hetty nodded. “Yes, that was last year.”

“From the Sleeper’s memories, I cracked the secret of their psychic network,” Gawain said gravely. “All this time, I’ve been accessing their network through a mental connection. Many of their classified secrets and technologies have come to us this way.”

His words left the room in a stunned silence, expressions varying from knowing to contemplative. Pittman looked unsurprised, Hetty showed a mix of shock and thoughtfulness, Amber gave Gawain a sly, ‘I knew you were up to something’ look, and Kamail gave a polite four-beat nod—though Gawain couldn’t quite read his meaning.

Rebecca couldn’t help but exclaim, “Wow!!”

Clearly, everyone here had at least suspected something along these lines before—except Rebecca, who was only now realizing where their ancestor’s mysterious knowledge and experience had come from.

“I did suspect you were investigating the Sleepers through some secret means,” Hetty said with a hint of admiration, “but I never imagined you’d actually… tap into their network.”

“I didn’t tell you all before because I didn’t want to risk a leak,” Gawain nodded, confirming her guess. “The Sleepers’ ability to peer into memories and weave illusions is tricky. If they knew their network was compromised, it would be dangerous. So I had to keep it secret, even from those closest to me. But now it’s no longer an issue—I’ve gained partial high-level access to their network and used it to root out Sleeper cultists in the main city of Cecil.”

Gawain then briefly explained the nature of the Sleepers’ psychic network and how he had connected to it—carefully omitting his special “Satellite Spirit” powers, instead attributing his abilities to the mental changes brought on by his death and resurrection.

Since he planned to expand his influence within the Sleeper network, Gawain had long intended to share this secret with a few trusted people, but had never found the right moment. The recent intelligence from Daniel made him realize time was running out.

After hearing this, Kamail, who had been studying Sleeper technology closely, quickly connected the dots. The two arcane flames flickering at his temples brightened as he fixed his gaze on Gawain. “If you can access the Sleeper psychic network on your own… then the devices we’ve been developing at the Arcane Technology Institute are meant to…”

“To expand our reach. The psychic network is a powerful tool—we want to use it too,” Gawain nodded, then turned to Pittman standing beside Kamail. “How are the tests on the non-implant artificial neural cords coming along?”

The artificial neural cords weren’t a brand-new invention. Since the biotechnicians of the End of All Things cult created them, these bio-mechanical constructs had been refined over decades by both the End of All Things and the Sleepers. Pittman, a former double-cultist, was well-versed in this technology. Meanwhile, Daniel had spent over a decade studying the neural cords in his own body and had already simulated the structure of a non-implant version. So Gawain had ready-made data, skilled personnel, and lab facilities. The only real time sink was testing the prototypes.

“We actually produced a sample a while ago,” Pittman said with a proud smile, then glanced awkwardly at Rebecca. “But during testing, there was an explosion in Miss Rebecca’s lab, which affected our work… so the testing and adjustments aren’t complete yet.”

Rebecca shrank back slightly, and Gawain recalled the incident—the explosion in Rebecca’s lab while testing the mana train’s power system had caused serious injuries. Pittman and his team of druids and alchemist apprentices had been first responders, and he had mentioned testing neural cords at the time.

It was an unfortunate and frustrating setback, but the accident had happened. Gawain accepted the reality. “So, what are the current test results?”

“The non-implant neural cords are indeed viable,” Pittman explained. “They can establish a stable, reliable connection between the human brain and arcane devices, with acceptable levels of physical damage and strain. But there are drawbacks. First, the anti-interference capability is still poor. Because the cords don’t connect directly to the brain’s nerves, the subconscious can’t be fully controlled. Testers are easily ‘awakened’ by external stimuli during immersion, so a well-isolated environment is necessary. Second, some testers experienced brief ‘cognitive dissonance’—minutes of hallucinations after disconnecting. We suspect this is because the brain, having been connected for a while, doesn’t immediately register the disconnection and remains trapped in residual illusions.”

“I have a solution for that,” Kamail chimed in. “We can design a strong ‘disconnection scene’—a mental cue that tells the brain it’s about to return to reality. This might reduce the duration of cognitive dissonance.”

“How can we guarantee the disconnection scene perfectly matches the neural cord’s cutoff?” Pittman questioned. “If the scene triggers but the cord hasn’t disconnected, or vice versa, the brain could fall into even worse confusion…”

“We’ll implement a triple confirmation process,” Kamail explained. “The neural cord controller sends a ‘ready to disconnect’ signal to the illusion matrix. The matrix replies when it’s ready. Then the controller sends a final confirmation. Once synchronized, the matrix generates the disconnection cue in the brain, and the neural cord powers down. This minimizes synchronization errors.”

“Oh? That’s a good idea… Hey! We could apply this to the arcane network communications too, maybe solving the signal misalignment issues in remote areas…”

Once the technicians got into their technical debate, it was like watching different people entirely. Even Pittman earnestly argued experimental plans with Kamail. Amber, standing nearby, was left utterly lost as the conversation dove deep into technical jargon. After a while, she poked Rebecca’s arm. “What are they even talking about? Do you understand any of this?”

Rebecca thought for a moment, then replied matter-of-factly, “Yeah.”

Amber was speechless.

A wave of crushing defeat washed over the half-elf—Gawain noticed her expression and sympathized. He guessed Amber’s feelings were like suddenly discovering that the classmate who failed math with you is actually a genius fluent in eighteen languages.

But this wasn’t a lab, and Gawain had to interrupt the discussion. “Since you have a plan, proceed with the tests as soon as possible. I need a practical connection device in the shortest time.”

Kamail bowed slightly, his voice vibrating with energy. “As you wish.”

Pittman asked curiously, “Did something happen with the Sleepers? Why the sudden urgency?”

Gawain shook his head, voice low. “It’s not the Sleepers. It’s Typhon.”

Even Pittman looked puzzled.

How did this involve Typhon?

“I’ve set up a covert operation in Typhon,” Gawain said calmly, reading their confused faces. “I’ll explain the details later. For now, what you need to know is this: the Typhonese… are about to enter the era of arcane industry.”

Among everyone, Hetty reacted fastest and strongest.

“Arcane industry?!” The steward of Cecil gasped. “They’ve developed arcane networks and arcane machines too?”

“It’s not scary that they’ve built arcane networks and machines,” Gawain glanced at Hetty. “In fact, their ‘arcane network’ technology was part of my plan all along.”

“Part of your plan?” Hetty was surprised again, then noticed Gawain’s faintly amused expression. She pondered, “You… have a plan?”

“I do,” Gawain nodded gently, then dropped a bombshell that stunned everyone present. “I intend to help Typhon… help them enter the arcane industrial age—and I mean big time.”

No one else could see it, but Gawain knew well—he had forcibly jump-started the arcane industry in the southern territories. Drawing on his past life’s experience, the vast resources of the mountain treasury, the post-disaster situation, and the existing technological foundation, he had skipped many slow, incremental steps and leapfrogged the development of arcane industry. This rapid progress saved time but came with fragile foundations and heavy reliance on strongman politics. The time saved early on would eventually have to be paid back in addressing these vulnerabilities.

Typhon, however, was following a normal, steady path.

Even if Emperor Rosetta made many detours and Typhon stumbled through trial and error, this empire with solid foundations would quickly overwhelm Cecil once it entered the industrial age.

Why? Because of their population, land, and abundant food supplies.

Driven by these trends, Typhon’s arcane industrial era was unstoppable. They already knew about Cecil’s arcane network, and new breakthroughs were emerging domestically. They had massively increased food production, and their education and institutions were evolving. Even without Daniel’s involvement, other Typhonese scholars would eventually uncover the secrets of the arcane network and develop their own arcane machines. Since it couldn’t be stopped, it was better to give it a push.

“Hetty, do you remember the data I asked you to compile?” Gawain looked at his great-granddaughter. “The historical production data of our factories, the operation of the Production Coordination Committee, the investments by progressive merchants and new nobles…”

“Yes,” Hetty replied. “I update it every month.”

“Good. I need that data—and more.”

Next, he was about to give Typhon a gift.

A gift even sweeter than the arcane network.

(End of chapter)