The network integration project was proceeding at a feverish pace.
From Shilin City in the western region to Tamdull and Longwind Fortress in the east, from Winterkeep Castle in the far north to Cecil, the imperial capital in the south, main hubs throughout the empire were undergoing their final tests before official activation. The various levels of Magic Net Nodes beneath those hubs were also preparing for the impending "sequential roll call." This project, which had taken years and was the most exciting undertaking in history, had finally reached the point of acceptance. Everyone who had participated in it was now on edge, unwilling to see anything go wrong.
Yet this thrilling project affected more than just the real world. Another "world" was also preparing for the coming network integration.
Within the "new world" built from the power of the mind, a brand-new city stretched across the plains, gleaming beneath the sky. Its outward appearance resembled a "mirror image" of the imperial capital, Cecil. Everywhere, one could see the outlines of Cecil City in the real world, yet countless details differed. It was newer, larger, and filled with buildings that did not exist in reality. It was like a more imaginative, more forward-looking "city model" built upon the real world, standing proudly upon this vast land.
In a district of the city's western quarter that did not exist in reality, crowds thronged the streets and traffic flowed endlessly. The bustling roads were packed with carriages, pedestrians, and vehicles never seen even in the real Cecil, causing the entire district to become congested and gradually throwing the shops lining the streets into disorder.
But suddenly, everything froze. The packed crowds and vehicles on the streets rapidly vanished, and the open shops along the road went dark one after another. Then the