His consciousness returned to his body.
He opened his eyes.
The world before him seemed unchanged, yet it also seemed to have undergone earth-shaking changes.
Matter was still matter, people were still people. Paper figures moved back and forth, officers bustled about, deep blue waves rolled beyond the ship, and sunlight slanted through the seawater, scattering into flecks of broken gold along the hull.
Cloud Kun seemed a little livelier. Li Xingtang remained as solemn and silent as ever. Yet something was different. At the very least, Shen Le could now effortlessly discern what was different about everyone around him:
The pale white nitrogen boxes on the paper figures were connected to Cloud Kun in some way;
The heavy yet lively light on his little ones; the halos around the officers and experts varied in density, but were generally quite thin, and particularly sparse in certain places—for instance, the captain's shoulders and back, and the stomach of the technical expert closest to him, where there was a faint patch of shadow;
The halos around the Special Affairs Bureau personnel were more intense and more lively as well. Their colors differed from person to person, likely related to each individual's special ability;
Looking up, the great ship overhead was enveloped in an exceptionally intense, austere, and resplendent power.
Was this spiritual energy?
Or was it the product of the interactions between ordinary humans, cultivators, nonhumans, matter, and spiritual energy in this world?
"Mr. Shen? Mr. Shen?"
A cautious voice approached, as though trying to remind him, yet also afraid of startling him.
Shen Le turned his head and saw the Special Affairs Bureau guy responsible for liaising with him aboard Cloud Kun, holding up a phone pointed at him. The screen had switched to "mirror" mode.
"Mr. Shen, are you all