127: Chapter 65 Resonance

In the abandoned branch tunnel of the Old Industrial District, the energy storage state of the resonator had completely reached its critical threshold.

Inside the River Bay District apartment, the light was cold and dim. Lu Li spread out the latest monitoring report from the Secret Order archives; the paper recorded stable and terrifying spiritual changes.

The previously chaotic and rapid pulsations had completely vanished, replaced by a regular, continuous output of spirituality that perfectly matched the natural resonant frequency of the Sea of Wraith, without the slightest deviation.

Ince had superimposed three layers of independent spiritual barriers onto this resonator; the layers did not interfere with each other, and three sets of different keys were required to break through them layer by layer.

He had abandoned his usual method of drawing power from fungal hyphae, choosing a more covert approach—extracting the residual spirituality from the underground bedrock layer of the Old Industrial District.

These trace amounts of spirituality were the underlying source remaining after the fungal tide was blocked in the spring.

The concentration was extremely low and almost impossible to detect, but it had the advantage of being extremely stable and long-lasting, enough to support the resonator in completing a one-hundred-percent energy charge before the tidal peak arrived.

Lu Li folded the monitoring data and tucked it into his pocket, checked the doors and windows, and strode toward the mist-filled Water Pump Street.

Abraham's grocery store remained damp and dim, with the slightly astringent scent of Spirit World dust floating in the air.

After listening to Lu Li's breakdown of the resonator's energy storage mode, he took the latest monitoring record of the Fog Sea from the drawer.

In recent weeks, no sail-less small boats had appeared in the reef area of Storm Cape.

However, the church patrol had captured an anomaly in the coastal waters: a flagless cargo ship had briefly docked in the waters of Storm Cape, located right next to the last sighting point of the Aurora Order's black sail ship.

The cargo ship was extremely vigilant, sailing away the instant a patrol boat approached, leaving only a faint trace of spiritual dust on the sea surface.

Upon comparison, the composition of the dust was completely identical to the residual spirituality of the Gate rift calibrator.

"The black sail ship is hiding and lying dormant, and the small boats are no longer going back and forth." Abraham rubbed his fingertips against the paper, his tone calm. "This cargo ship has come to collect the final results."

"The calibration parameters for the pier pilings have long been recorded, so there is no need for small boats to repeatedly deliver them. The cargo ship will take the complete set of finalized data, bypass the Southern Continent, and rendezvous with the Storm Cape tutor within the expedition team."

Lu Li instantly pieced together the entire intelligence chain.

From beginning to end, the data transmission was divided into two paths.

Small boats repeatedly shuttled through the coastal waters, delivering phased test parameters and repeatedly calibrating for errors;

A flagless cargo ship entered the scene at the end to take away the finalized resonance data.

Both the northern and southern lines were being prepared simultaneously.

Beneath Backlund, Ince completed the resonator's energy storage;

At the ruins in the Southern Continent, the Aurora Order tutor adjusted the sacrificial platform's pulse.

They were only waiting for the autumn tidal peak window to open, at which point the bidirectional resonance would be triggered simultaneously.

The branch tunnel resonator would tear open a temporary rift outside Chanis Gate, opening a passageway to the Sea of Wraith;

The sacrificial platform would remotely project resonance coordinates, locking onto the only safe shipping lane in the vast sea.

This was the ultimate escape route that Ince had pre-planned back when he defected in Tingen.

Every step of the plan was precisely positioned at the vulnerabilities of the tidal cycle and the sealing system.

"The spirituality in the underground bedrock layer is being continuously extracted; the Secret Order has already locked onto all abnormal connection nodes."

Abraham looked up and warned, "You must reinforce the holy water sealing charms before the spirituality at the nodes is completely exhausted, to plug the conduction loopholes."

Lu Li nodded in confirmation, bade farewell to Water Pump Street, and headed straight to 15 Mingde Street.

The detective agency was as quiet as usual, with the enamel mug on the desk wearing its familiar knitted cozy, sitting quietly.

Sherlock had just sealed a commission report. After hearing the full layout of the northern-southern coordination, he flicked his finger, activating a spiritual paper figurine.

Pale gray handwriting slowly appeared on the back of the paper figurine; it was the latest intelligence sent back from the Southern Continent by Audrey.

The entire itinerary of the expedition team precisely covered the autumn tidal peak window.

All high-level dream analysis special training sessions were scheduled specifically at the ancient sacrificial platform.

That Storm Cape tutor showed clear abnormalities.

After the daily training ended, he would stay on the platform alone, holding a dark green crystal core, and touch the ancient Antigonus sealing patterns on the stone wall one by one.

With each touch, the runes that had been silent for a thousand years would light up with a hint of spiritual luster.

That crystal core was identical in core material, patterns, and function to the calibrator for the Gate rift.

The other party had been continuously adjusting the resonance pulse, writing the full set of attenuation data and resonance parameters measured beneath Backlund into the crystal core, completing the remote synchronous calibration.

"On the day of the peak, all the seals on the platform will be activated collectively, and the spiritual shock will cover a range of several hundred meters." Sherlock put away the paper figurine, his tone firm.

"Audrey must escape in advance."

"A sudden fever or an accidental sprain would be safe excuses. The expedition team is equipped with an accompanying Doctor, which is enough to support her in reasonably leaving the group to avoid the resonance shock."

He picked up a pen and wrote down the timing for the escape and the range of the shock on a note, intending to have it passed to Lu Li via the old bookstore on Water Pump Street.

A few days later, in an abandoned branch pipe beneath the Old Industrial District.

The cold and damp pipe walls were covered in water stains from years of seepage, and the air was stagnant and oppressive.

Lu Li completed the reinforcement work on the charms at all key connection nodes one by one.

The holy water coating condensed into a thin layer of frost in the low temperature, covering the surface of the runes and glowing with a cold, faint light. The previously continuous spiritual extraction fluctuations stopped completely, and the abnormal rhythm of the entire underground bedrock was completely locked down.

He continued deeper along the branch pipe, arriving at the periphery of the resonator's barrier.

Separated by three layers of insulating spiritual barriers, he could clearly perceive the surging and stable energy accumulation inside.

The energy storage progress had already reached over ninety percent.

At the current rate of bedrock power supply, it would absolutely be able to reach full capacity before the tidal peak arrived.

After the Gate sentry chain was exposed and eliminated, Ince had completely abandoned all peripheral warning and defense measures.

He no longer set any traps or left any sentries, piling all available spiritual resources into the resonance energy storage.

Lu Li took out a copper compass, completed the final round of spiritual marker calibration at key points of the barrier, and after confirming there were no anomalies, steadily withdrew from the underground branch pipe along the original path.

At the same time, in an ancient quarry in the Southern Continent, the bonfire at the temporary camp flickered.

The exotic evening breeze was dry and warm, blowing against the corners of the tents.

Audrey sat quietly inside her tent, staring at the heat-insulating rune paper figurine in the inner layer of her handbag.

The paper figurine's spirituality was stable, without the slightest disorder.

The expedition team had confirmed their itinerary and would arrive at the sacrificial platform on the eve of the peak; the last high-level dream special training session happened to fall exactly on the critical node for the resonance to start.

She had long since figured out the personality and routine of the accompanying Doctor. The other party was gentle in temperament and cautious in handling matters, making them very easy to persuade.

As long as the timing was right, a sudden physical indisposition would allow her to reasonably leave the danger zone.

She confirmed the state of the spare paper figurine, packed away her personal items, stood up, walked out of the tent, and merged into the flickering firelight of the camp.

Above the gray fog, there was an eternal silence.

The hazy fog surged and drifted, isolating all mundane sounds.

A towering bronze long table spanned the void, and the Fool sat at the high seat, quietly listening to the Hanged Man's report.

The ancient seal of the Southern Continent sacrificial platform had been activated in stages.

The Storm Cape tutor leading the team had been confirmed as a core member of the Aurora Order.

Miss Justice had already planned her escape route and was at an absolutely safe standby distance.

The Hanged Man bowed and suggested that once the remote resonance pulse was triggered, they could immediately contact the Church of Storms to re-seal the sacrificial platform and eliminate any future trouble.

Klein nodded slightly, his tone low and steady, as he issued instructions:

"After the pulse is triggered, keep a close watch on the fluctuations of the Sea of Wraith rift in the Storm Cape waters."

"After Justice escapes, have her confirm the complete activation status of the platform's seals immediately."

The Tarot Club dispersed, leaving only one person sitting alone in the empty divine hall.

Klein took out a spiritual paper figurine to integrate all the clues.

The resonance energy storage beneath Backlund was nearing completion.

The remote coordinate calibration in the Southern Continent was completely finished.

Two resonance systems, one in the north and one in the south, were locked onto the same tidal peak.

Ince's ultimate escape window had already taken shape.

His fingertips moved slightly as he wrote a new command on the back of the paper figurine: notify all Mandated Punishers in Storm Cape to strengthen coastal patrols and be on guard against all sudden anomalies after the rift opens.

He activated the paper figurine and watched as the spiritual body dissipated into the gray fog.

Klein leaned back in his high-backed chair, his fingertips unconsciously tapping on the bronze table.

The steady tapping sound vaguely matched the thunder brewing in the distant sky.

The early autumn rainstorm in Backlund was about to pour down.

That north-south resonance, which spanned two locations and affected the entire sealing rift system, had already entered its final countdown.