The grid-connected project is in full swing.

From the Ten Forest City in the west, to the Tamdur and the Wind Fortress in the east, from the Winter Castle in the far north, to the imperial capital Cecil in the south, the main hubs throughout the empire are undergoing the last test before the official start-up, and the magic network nodes at all levels under the main hub are also preparing for the upcoming "sequential roll call", this most exciting project that has lasted for several years and has never been accepted has finally reached the time when it can be accepted, and everyone who has been involved in it is tense at the moment, not wanting any accidents to happen to it.

And this exciting project is not only affecting the real world, but another "world" is also preparing for the upcoming grid connection.

In the "new world" constructed by the power of the mind, a brand new city spreads out on the plain, shining in the skylight, the appearance of the city looks like a "mirror image" of the imperial capital Cecil, the outline of the real world Cecil City can be seen everywhere, but the details are different, it is newer, bigger, and there are many buildings that do not exist in the real world, it seems to be based on the real world to create a more imaginative, more forward-looking "city model", Standing proudly on this vast land.

In the western part of the city, a neighborhood that does not exist in the real world, the flow of people is like a weaving of traffic, and the bustling streets are crowded with cars and pedestrians that Cecil has never seen in reality, which even causes congestion in the entire block, and also makes the order of the shops on both sides of the street a little chaotic.

But all of a sudden, it all came to a standstill, the crowds of people and vehicles on the streets began to dissipate rapidly, the lights of the shops that opened along the streets were turned off one by one, and then the brightly colored buildings began to fade into gray-white geometric patterns, and quickly turned into monotonous lines and noises, and everything disappeared in a matter of seconds, leaving only an undefined blank land in its place—the grasslands in the distant wilderness quickly spreading and beginning to backfill the undefined block.

A Sven man in a white researcher's robe and monocle appeared out of thin air on a gray land, he glanced at the neighborhood where the reset was being performed, and said casually into the air: "The urban planning simulation of the Phase VI project in the West End has ended, and the congestion situation has not improved significantly, and the road needs to be resized and the location of traffic signals needs to be adjusted." I'll put together a report after that. ”

Jumping golden runes appeared in the air, and a response from the real-world city planning department came: "Roger, thank you for your work." ”

"It should be done," Yuri said politely, glancing at the sky not far away—there was a huge countdown appearing to remind him of the approaching time, "Then this is the last simulation of the day - the grid connection project will begin soon, and the neural network will be temporarily disconnected from all regular nodes until the magic network returns to normal." ”

"Understood—I wish you all the best. End of connection. ”

"Thank you. End of Connection"

Yuri hung up communication with the real world, and the meadow that spread from afar happened to backfill the last grayish-white undefined land beneath his feet.

He turned, ready to return to the city not far away, when a familiar aura suddenly approached and stopped him.

Magnum's figure appeared in front of Yuri.

"I'm not late, am I?" The loud-voiced man glared, "I came when I received the notice - I didn't even have time to leave the homework for those students......"

"You should think about improving your teaching efficiency, not the efficiency of leaving homework," Yuri glanced lightly at the guy in front of him who had lost his body in the real world, but had recently continued to flourish in the real world in other ways, and then nodded, "The time is just right, counting you, the personnel of the technical team are all in place." ”

Magnum breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.

Behind Yuri and Magnum, on the other side of the "New Dream City" modeled after the imperial capital, a huge white spider emerges from the air and slowly climbs a hill outside the city.

……

On a high ground on the east side of the "New Dream City", an old man in a black dress, holding a cane in his right hand and a simple lantern in his left hand raised his head, looked at the white spider climbing on the hill not far away, and whispered to the air next to him: "This is Duvalt, Naretir has started monitoring the data of the neural network center, and it is expected that the protection of all nodes will be completed in five minutes." ”

A string of jumping golden talismans appeared next to the "god's humanity", and Rebecca's voice came from inside: "I received it—you should pay attention to the instructions of the dispatch center after that." ”

Duval nodded, and was about to say something more, when he heard Naretir's shout from the hill not far away: "I can climb a little faster!" ”

Her voice wasn't loud, but it was enough to reverberate throughout the region.

"Ahem...... It's good that you keep the efficiency you have now," Duvalt coughed subconsciously, "There are still three hours before the official grid connection, and we have plenty of time." ”

"Yes, don't worry, the key is to monitor and protect all network nodes," Rebecca's voice also came from the golden rune, "Your task is important, you must ensure that the neural network is safe and sound during the process of connecting the magic network to the grid. ”

“…… Oh. ”

Naretir groaned, continuing to climb the hill at her current speed, and around her behemoth spider body, countless strands of silk had begun to emerge from the air, and an invisible web was rapidly weaving, protecting the still slightly immature neural network in preparation for the shock that might come when the physical network in the real world changed.

……

In the city of Saint-Sunil, the symbol of the old royal family, a tall tower is gradually coming into play.

It is the main hub of St. Sunil, and geographically, it is also the "right center" of the magic network of the entire territory of the Cecil Empire, and this hub will play a very important role in coordination and pressure in the upcoming grid integration.

Cohen Loren stood side by side with the Earl of Bahrain on another tower near the tower, watching through the window the tower that had condensed the most advanced technology of the current empire awaken from its slumber, and his mood could not help but be excited.

Unlike the main hub, the tower in the Silver Citadel was not completely new - in fact it was a rebuild from the main tower of the previous Silver Castle, and the main structure was part of the royal fortress, which took almost a year for the craftsmen of St. Sunil and technical advisors from the southern imperial capital to complete, and now the intricate mechanical support and crystal array that runs slowly above the former "King's Eye", where members of the Moen royal family used to look out over the entire royal capital.

This "renovation of old things" does not mean that the quality of the Saint-Sunil Hub is inferior to that of the rest of the world - in fact, on the contrary, Silver Fort was the heart of Ansu in the past, and the Moen royal family spent a lot of money to fortify every corner of the fortress with magical blessings and precision materials, and the magic skills of the old days were no less than those of today's magic industry, and the sturdiness and aging resistance of the main tower were completely comparable to or even better than the new hub of reinforced concrete.

Watching such a symbolic building representing the ancient royal power transform itself in the new era and become one of the pillars of the imperial magic net is the thing that makes the two former Ansu nobles feel the most.

"When this tower is put into operation, Saint-Sunil will also be reborn......" the Count of Baring broke the silence, he looked a little thinner than the year before, and his eyes were more calm and condensed than then, "there should be a certain degree of economic and cultural development......

"This tower is a signal that will tell those who only know how to live in their homes and drink to let go of their unrealistic nostalgia, so that they can forget the old times as soon as possible and adapt to this new era," Cohen Loren nodded, "as for the economy and culture...... I, like you, Count of Bahrain, am optimistic. ”

Both smiled.

Since the establishment of the empire, the political and economic center of the kingdom has shifted from Saint-Sunil to the city of Cecil in the south, and the former royal capital has inevitably undergone a certain degree of decline - although the normal functions of the city and the basic commercial and industrial order have been restored, it is easy to imagine the difference between the sudden transformation of a city from a capital to an ordinary municipality.

There is not only an economic gap, but also a cultural status gap, and a psychological gap among the citizens.

Reviving this once-glorious ancient city has always been the most important thing – even an obsession – for the officials of the Saint-Sunil Department of Justice.

"The time is almost up," the Count of Baring, glancing at the mechanical watch on the nearby wall, suddenly whispered, "Get ready." ”

Cohen Loren turned his head and saw that the magic net terminals in the room were running smoothly, the lights were flashing on many of the consoles with runes, and the magicians and runemasters were waiting next to the machines, like soldiers waiting to go on battle.

He himself had the consciousness of a general who was about to go on an expedition.

A few minutes later, the magic net terminal set up in the center of the room in advance activated itself, and the figure of Rebecca, the head of the Imperial Magic Energy Technology Department, appeared in the holographic projection, and no one had ever seen such a serious expression on her face-

"This is the highest dispatch center, and now the main hubs are starting to roll call the secondary hubs in order, and the progress will be reported in fifteen minutes."

……

In the command center on the basement floor of the Magic Guidance Technology Research Institute, bright magic crystal lights illuminated the huge hall, and a large number of technicians sat next to the monitoring equipment, executing the process that had been rehearsed countless times in advance.

Rebecca sat in a chair at the very front of the room, several Magic Web terminals running in front of her, projecting a view of the main hub control room from all over the empire, connected by a single line.

"The order of the West's Border roll call is over, and all nodes are normal."

"The roll call of Tamdull in the East is over, and all nodes are normal."

"The Eastern Wind Fortress has ended the roll call in order, and all nodes are normal."

"Wintercastle in the North ends ...... roll call in order"

Within the scheduled time, all the sequential roll calls were successfully completed, and the main hubs and their subordinate nodes scattered throughout the empire were connected one by one, and a massive network was gradually taking shape.

Gawain sat in a chair not far behind Rebecca, a little nervous.

According to his original plan, he didn't actually plan to let the magic network of the whole empire complete the "overall merger" in one operation, he had planned to divide the whole territory of the empire into several regions, let the networks of each region slowly take shape one by one, and then connect these branch networks to the main network one by one in order, the entire project will last many times longer, but everything will be more certain, and there can also be a higher risk tolerance rate.

But the problem was that he didn't have that much time - especially after experiencing the catastrophe caused by the Eternal Sleepers, and after realizing that the "countdown" of the gods was getting closer and closer, the sense of urgency in his heart became stronger, so he had to choose the shorter and more difficult solution in front of him.

To be honest, even with the pressure brought by the sense of urgency, Gawain actually hesitated for a long time in front of this plan, and it was the appearance of "Naretil" that made him finally make up his mind - a former god entered the network, and when he was connected to the grid, he had more confidence, and Naritir was the most effective "insurance" he could think of, and with this insurance, he dared to face the risk when the whole territory magic network was connected to the grid.

In the midst of Gawain's thoughts, Rebecca's work was also proceeding in an orderly manner.

All the main hubs have been checked, and now it's time for the most critical step.

"This is the highest dispatch center, and now the order is announced:

"Except for the main hub of St. Sunil, each main hub executes the power on standby command 120 seconds after the start of the timer;

"The main hub of Saint-Sunil goes directly into the connected state after powering on, with the first channel pointing to Cecil;

"With the exception of the main hub of St. Sunil, the rest of the main hubs are on standby for 60 seconds, and then call and connect to St Sunil in turn at 60-second intervals in the following order:

"Ten Forest City, Wintercastle, Tamdull, Long Wind......

"The order is the same as the previous document, and I repeat it again, you confirm:

"Ten Forest City, Winter Castle ......"

Gawain looked at Rebecca, who was meticulously giving instructions in person, took a light breath, and unconsciously tapped his fingers on the armrest of the seat.

"Attention, the timer begins!"

The crowd in the hall became eerily quiet, save for the humming and clicking of various devices, and the sound of Rebecca's commands.

Then, every few tens of seconds, a controller in front of an operator station reported loudly:

"Received a signal from Saint-Sunil and the intensity was as expected...... Connected to the Whitsunday Plains West Node Group. ”

"Received the signal ...... from Ten Forest City"

Gawain looked at the front of the hall, where there was the largest magic web terminal, and on a large holographic projection, it displayed a map of the entire territory of the current Cecil Empire.

Patches of light on the map are lighting up in order, and the otherwise dim earth seems to be illuminated by swarms of stars.

Soon, those bright points of light covered most of the land of the empire, just waiting for the final closure-

"Signal received from Solimburg, strength ......"

On the projection map, the last point of light lit up from the Thorin region, and the entire empire was covered with a bright glow.

However, it all lasted less than two seconds.

A high-pitched, weird, soul-like howling sound suddenly came from every magic net terminal on the scene, and all the lights in the hall began to flicker violently!