Satellite Warning

Gawain focused intently on the image only he could see, finally confirming it displayed terrain within a roughly one-hundred-kilometer radius centered on the current Cecil settlement. The familiar controls for adjusting the view's zoom were no longer functioning.

The image was confined to this area, neither movable nor scalable.

Moreover, the originally high-definition satellite view had become blurry and covered in strange colored blocks.

What did those colors mean? Thermal imaging? Or some other form of sensor imaging?

Or… was it simply a malfunction?

Gawain clearly remembered the sounds he'd heard when disengaging from the high-altitude view; he'd distinctly heard words like "energy failure," "host reboot failed," and "escape program." Therefore, the possibility of a malfunction was extremely high. Coupled with the current inability to adjust the zoom, this further fueled his suspicions.

He began to extend his line of thought: his soul, or rather his spiritual body, had likely mutated. Although he had returned to the ground and gained a human body, his spirit clearly retained the ability to establish a connection with something "in the sky." He had been offline for the past few months, but the unexpectedly acquired crystals had strengthened and re-established this connection. As for the ancient device in the sky—whether it was a satellite or a space station—it remained in a state of malfunction. However, whether due to a temporary resurgence of its power system or a successful host reboot, it had managed to cling to existence and was still operating. Although the surveillance feed had devolved into an indescribable mess, it at least proved its continued existence.

Within this extended line of thought, Gawain couldn't help but start worrying about something else: if the connection between his spirit and the "satellite" in the sky was unimaginably close, perhaps even a symbiotic, life-and-death link… then wouldn't it be incredibly dangerous if that thing in the sky completely died?

He knew this possibility was low. After all, he had completed his rebirth based on the body of Gawain Cecil, and he had clearly heard the words "escape program" back then. Therefore, his spirit should have already become independent. However, when it came to matters of life and death, even the slightest potential threat could not be ignored!

But that thing in the sky was likely in a geostationary orbit around this planet, while he himself was now trapped in a primitive, backward medieval kingdom. Not only could he not repair the "satellite," but he couldn't even see it right now!

Amidst these swirling thoughts, Gawain continued to observe every detail of the overhead view. He noticed that the image wasn't static; in fact, those blurry colored blocks were constantly undergoing subtle changes. Some areas would brighten, while others would slowly dim, cycling repeatedly with apparent patterns. Yet, as they changed, their overall distribution and outline remained roughly consistent.

And just as Gawain was trying to discern the pattern of the image's changes, things shifted again.

He suddenly saw a box-like frame, resembling a floating window, appear at the top of the image. Within the frame, a line of continuously flickering text, as if subject to interference, jumped out. These were characters he didn't recognize at all—neither Chinese nor the script of any kingdom or race on the Loren Continent.

But as he looked at the line of text with astonishment and intense focus, the meaning of those characters directly translated and appeared in his mind:

"New data, giant planet activity increased, alert level raised to four."

The image began to shake, and layers of interference patterns appeared on the colored blocks. Gawain was startled awake. His attention rapidly shifted to the external, real world. This was the first time he had switched visual fields like this, causing the scene before his eyes to waver before stabilizing. Then, ignoring the lingering dizziness in his mind, he abruptly stood up from his desk and strode towards the entrance of the tent.

Amber, who had been watching invisibly nearby for a long time, was startled and suddenly jumped out of her shadow form: "Wow!"

Gawain had already rushed outside the tent. The two militiamen standing guard at the entrance looked back at him in surprise. He had no time to pay them any mind, instead raising his head to look at the sun, which was hanging high in the center of the sky.

The giant sun was moving slowly and majestically across the horizon. A halo, like a thin mist, rippled around the not-too-dazzling solar disk. Everything appeared normal, but soon, wisps of red began to gradually appear on the sun's surface, like blood vessels in an eyeball.

The image in Gawain's mind continued. He saw the colored blocks in the thermal-imaging-like overhead view surging, almost all the colors deepening rapidly, but then gradually entering a new stable state. Numbers, like values, occasionally appeared at the edges of the screen, but he couldn't understand them at all.

He instantly gained some clarity: these colors were probably not a malfunction, but a special monitoring mode.

Perhaps a monitoring mode far more useful than a direct overhead view!

The red lines appearing on the sun (some of which had now evolved into patches) increased, finally drawing the attention of the people working in the camp. They looked up, gesturing and discussing the changes in the sun, until the overseer loudly ordered them back to their posts.

Heti, who was nearby reinforcing the foundation using the Mud-to-Stone Technique, also noticed these changes. She looked up at the sun, then turned her gaze towards the tent in the center of the camp—sure enough, she saw Gawain looking at the sun with a serious expression.

She quickly ran up to Gawain: "Ancestor, it looks like sunspots again."

Gawain waved his hand, signaling Heti to remain silent for now. His eyes were on the sun, but his attention was focused on the image in his consciousness.

After a period of time, the reddish-red parts on the sun's surface finally stopped growing. The text above the "monitoring image" in his mind changed first. A new line of notification popped up: "New data, giant planet has returned to calm, alert lifted."

The crimson patterns on the sun's surface then rapidly receded, and the fluctuating colors in the monitoring image gradually calmed down and returned to their original state.

However, even though the monitoring image had lifted the alert, the vigilance in Gawain's heart could not be dispelled.

A large amount of new discoveries turned into new clues, and a large number of clues suddenly emerging piled up, becoming new problems.

He generated countless conjectures and deductions, some of which were so bold they bordered on madness, but he forcefully suppressed these thoughts, first regaining his composure, and then searching for the explanation most likely to approach the truth.

"Ancestor… are you alright?" Heti looked at Gawain's face with concern. "Your complexion is very poor…"

Amber had already slipped out of the tent. But Gawain's imposing aura had kept the noisy and lively half-elf from daring to speak. It was only when Heti broke the silence that she dared to chime in: "He rushed out before the sunspots appeared, and it really startled me…"

"Heti, can you feel any changes in Magic Power?" Gawain suddenly turned his head, looking at Heti seriously.

"There was a surge of Magic Power just now, making casting much easier," Heti nodded. A surge of Magic Power was a normal phenomenon when sunspots appeared on the sun's surface—in fact, even sunspots appearing on the sun's surface were normal. But the frequency of sunspots and Magic Power surges had indeed increased recently. Coupled with the recent disaster in Cecil Territory and Gawain's previous warnings, she couldn't help but become nervous, "Is it going to happen again…"

Heti's face gradually turned pale.

"No, it hasn't reached the point where monsters will appear," Gawain shook his head, urging Heti to calm down. He made this judgment partly because he saw no signs of Magic Tide pollution in the overhead view, and partly from Gawain Cecil's experience. The Elemental Power in the air was still stable, so there would be no problems. "It's just ordinary level sunspots and Magic Power surges…"

"Magic Power surges and sunspots are normally phenomena, but usually, they only happen once every three to five years," Heti appeared worried. "But this is the second time in just a few months…"

In fact, Gawain's worry and nervousness were no less than Heti's.

Even more so, because he also had to worry about the connection between himself and a certain "monitoring satellite" in the sky, his current sense of tension was even stronger.

But he also knew very well that he had become the pillar of the entire Cecil Territory, especially in front of Heti and Rebecca. He could not show any weakness or wavering.

Moreover, weakness and wavering would not solve any problems.

"Don't worry, there won't be any monsters. Besides, even if a Magic Tide does come, I have experience," Gawain comforted his descendant. "Tell everyone to do their jobs—only by building a strong and stable home do we have the capital to contend with nature."

Heti looked at Gawain's confident eyes, and her heart also began to settle. She bowed slightly and returned to her work.

Watching Heti assist the construction project with magical power, Gawain also nodded slightly.

Perhaps Heti and Rebecca couldn't transcend the era and class they were born into in terms of their thoughts and insights, but they possessed a foundation that other nobles of this era lacked.

That was, they did not believe they could be separated from their vassals due to their status or position.

Otherwise, a typical noble lady like Heti would not be found on a construction site using magic to aid in the building.

Watching the land rapidly harden into foundations under the influence of magical power, Gawain, while marveling at the convenience of magic, also realized something: once the necessary hardware for minting coins was in place, hiring some fallen Wild Mages to help build the camp might be a good idea.

But before that, there were more important issues that needed careful consideration.

Gawain turned back into the tent and sat down at his desk. He quickly wrote three questions on a blank piece of paper:

What is the relationship between the "sun" in the sky and the Magic Tide on the ground?

What are the possible functions and current status of the "monitoring satellite"?

Why did the Gawain Cecil of seven hundred years ago leave behind a crystal that could help him re-establish contact with the satellite?