Yu Yong still could not see Ronan, but the Living God's gaze seemed capable of falling on him at any moment. Back on Inner Earth, that thought had inevitably unsettled him. Here on Outer Earth, though—a strange copy of Inner Earth, or perhaps its Nightmare Reflection—that possible "watchful gaze" gave him confidence.
With that confidence, he was not particularly uneasy, even after his "dream call" with Wen Huilan had been cut off and the Dream World had shown obvious signs of trouble. He gathered his thoughts and said, "This sort of thing used to last a day or two. Cross-boundary deployment took the bigger hit, but once it was in place, it was just a matter of running a few more rounds of adjustments. We can keep trying in the meantime."
After a pause, Yu Yong spoke more firmly. "The way this world exists right now is bizarre, but we don't need to understand everything. As long as we keep communicating and stay connected, the truth will emerge from those widespread connections..."
"Yes. Staying connected matters most."
Aka Ge leaned against the doorframe, calm and composed.
They had endured all kinds of hardship over the years. A minor setback like this—if it even counted as one—would never shake his resolve.
Dealing with Hong Qiang, whose mental state had become especially unstable after the Sanctuary suddenly disappeared, was harder by comparison.
Just then, Aka Ge received a report that might be relevant. "We've just confirmed that Earth... Outer Earth has entered an Extraordinary Solar Cycle. Sunspots are unusually active, and the Abyss Zone Monitoring equipment in every district will have to activate energy absorption. That may affect how the Dream World operates."
Yu Yong paused. "An Extraordinary Cycle?"
Misha picked up the explanation. "It means solar activity has broken out of