Awakening

The fire burned in the hearth, dry warmth brushing across Xia Lun's skin. Though the room was warm, a chill rose from the soles of his feet, climbed his spine, and reached his scalp.

At that moment, the phone in his hand felt heavier than a block of lead, while his familiar surroundings took on an unnerving strangeness.

The person on the other end was one of the most powerful people on the planet!

Yet someone of such immense authority was now behaving like a malfunctioning program.

What on earth was going on?

Xia Lun took a deep breath, suppressed the emotions churning within him, and began to think carefully.

After a moment, a tentative suspicion formed in his mind.

"Why aren't you saying anything, Xia Lun? Is everything all right over there?" The voice on the phone remained composed, but Xia Lun detected a trace of confusion.

Xia Lun's eyes shifted slightly. Then he said, "I'd like to discuss the development of star ore with you."

"Hmm, why bring that up all of a sudden?" The member of the Unified Council considered this for a moment. "But regardless, I certainly support developing star ore. After all, it's an epoch-making discovery."

Xia Lun listened quietly as countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

It seemed that "star ore" wasn't the keyword that triggered the other man's abnormal behavior.

Combined with their earlier conversation, it was easy to deduce that the triggers were "the forgotten agreement" and "the discrepancy in the timing of the call."

In other words, the man's subjective understanding seemed somehow disconnected from reality. Whenever that disconnect was pointed out, his thoughts froze, then reverted to a point before the freeze.

A computer instruction loop, huh? Xia Lun grumbled inwardly.

He thought for a moment, then decided to test