Above the mage!

Chapter 540 A Groundbreaking Advance (Part 2)

Wanwei is essentially a knowledge retrieval service, which is the Ethernet version of the [Heart of the North] usage method:
A key holder focuses their attention and sends a connection request packet to the Ethereum Spider Network using the key.

The information packet contains:

The physical address of the key itself is the same as the spirit coordinates (IP address) of [Heart of the North] in the Ethernet.

The Ether Spider transmitted the packet to the Heart of the North.

[Heart of the North] receives the message and verifies whether the physical address is in its permitted access list and the specific level of permissions.

After verification, [Heart of the North] securely hands over the key.

Subsequently, the user of the key constructs query statements in their consciousness, such as querying the growth habits, magical properties, and common recipes of Starshine Grass.

The key packages the query information into a query information packet, which is then sent via the ethereal fiber network of the Ether Spider.

[Heart of the North] received the query information package and started its own functions, beginning to search in the knowledge base and retrieving relevant knowledge and information.

After finding the corresponding answer and result, [Heart of the North] packages this information and sends it back to the Spirit Vein Fiber Network. The Spirit Vein Fiber Network then processes the information and sends the source address of the key back through the Ether Spider.

The key is received, and the information packet is presented in the mage's consciousness.

This completes one World Wide Web service session.

For the user, the whole process is like opening an encyclopedia that can be searched in real time in their mind.

No need to travel to the vicinity of the North's Heart anymore, nor to carry heavy paper books; you can acquire the knowledge you need anytime, anywhere.

As for "spiritual communication," it is actually the communication software that inspires Gao De's inspiration, a powerful tool for solving remote communication problems.

The principle is quite simple: use the Heart of the North as an information server to establish point-to-point spiritual fiber connections.

Once the connection is established, most of the information flow is transmitted directly between the two communicating parties, but it is necessary to add each other as "friends" first, which means exchanging and verifying key identifiers in advance.

Just like in the previous life, the entire communication software provides two services: one is non-real-time online chat, namely the message service.

The user of key A conceives a message, then key A encrypts and packages the message, attaches the spirit coordinates of key B, and sends it to the Heart of the North via spirit vein fibers.

【Heart of the North】First verify whether the user with key A is in the friend list of the user with key B.

After successful verification, the message is routed to the user of key B. Key B receives the message, stores it in a temporary storage area, and then returns a "successfully sent" message to the user of key A.

When the user of key B logs into the Ethernet again, they will be able to view the corresponding message.

This format is actually similar to WeChat or QQ.

Another service is near real-time voice calls, which are equivalent to telephone calls.

The user of key A initiates a call request to the user of key B over the Ethernet.

After transmitting the message via the Ether Spider and verifying the friendship relationship through the [Heart of the North], a strong "resonance request" is sent to B's key.

Once the user of key B accepts the request, the Ether Spider will establish a temporary, dedicated nexus fiber channel between A, B, and the Heart of the North.

The thoughts and words of A and B are transmitted directly through this dedicated spiritual fiber.

If either party interrupts the connection, the session is closed.

In addition, the application layer can provide some extra small extended functions.

For example, with global broadcasting, the administrator of [Heart of the North] can write an announcement and then send that announcement simultaneously to all key users on the Ethernet.

For example, when uploading information, users with higher-level privileges can upload information to a public or private area of ​​[Heart of the North].

Information in public areas is available to all users, while information in private areas is only visible to the user or authorized individuals.

This will not only enrich the knowledge base of [Heart of the North], but also encourage people in the North to share knowledge and even earn money through paid knowledge, forming a virtuous cycle.

There are also some other functions that Gaode envisions being able to implement, but there's no rush now; let's focus on getting the "Wanwei" and "Lingxin" functions implemented and operational first.

After Gaode explained the entire logic of maintaining and operating the Northern Ethernet, as well as the tasks that the Ether Spider needed to perform throughout the process, this session of [Whispers of the Spirit Realm] was about to be forcibly ended.

"I will come back in a while. I assure you, as long as you maintain the Ethernet as we agreed, you will receive a constant stream of fresh information."

Finally, Gao De solemnly assured Ether Spider.

"Verification. If it's true, we will definitely execute it. Don't worry," EtherSpider replied.

Through continuous communication, the fragmented information it outputs becomes more and more complete.

The meaning is obvious: as long as the large amount of fresh information guaranteed by Gaode is real, it will do as Gaode tells it to do.

It may not understand the meaning of "commitment," but it possesses the concept of equivalent exchange ingrained in its instincts.

At this moment, Gao De's consciousness shook violently.

The scene of the spirit world began to blur, and the soulfire patterns on the trunk of the Yoggathira tree were rapidly dimming.

The next instant, the scene before Gao De's eyes began to collapse, and the originally clear network of spiritual vein fibers gradually blurred in his vision.

When he came to his senses, he saw the scene of the mage's plane.

This [spirit whisper] has ended, but Gao De's excited heart has not yet calmed down.

No matter how perfect the architecture of Northern Ethernet is, it is ultimately just a plan at the conceptual level.

Only actual testing can verify whether it is truly feasible and whether it can achieve the two functions of "world-wide" and "spiritual faith".

Before leaving, he subconsciously looked up at the Heart of the North, which was now fixed to the branch of the Yogg-Sarah tree.

This is the new location of the Heart of the North.

Moving the Heart of the North from Phoenix to this location was a well-considered decision by Gao De:
On the one hand, there is a connection between the spirit world and the spirit realm here, where the dimensional barriers are relatively weak, making it the most convenient place for the Ether Spider to send its specially customized, extremely thick spiritual vein fiber over.

On the other hand, this should be one of the safest places in the North, and it is also convenient for safekeeping.

After all, the Heart of the North is one of only two cores in the entire Ethernet network, and it cannot be lost.

Gao De quickly left the core area of ​​Flora Forest and arrived at the Forestry Office building.

The office on the second floor was empty, except for an oak table placed by the window, on which floated a golden sphere the size of a fist.

Gao De took a deep breath, pressed his palm down, and concentrated.

The next moment, the scene before his eyes changed instantly.

The original office space has disappeared, replaced by an endless gray-white space.

Yes, that ball of light is a key—the shape of the key is not fixed and is generated entirely according to preference.

The space was vast and empty, with only a huge banner suspended in the center of the field of vision.

The banner's border was made of pale blue spiritual vein patterns, which were shimmering slightly.

The box contains a clean gray-white background, with a line of gray text at the bottom that reads in a generic language, "Enter the question you want to ask, and Wanwei will present it to you."

In the lower right corner of the main banner, there is a smaller blue version of the banner with the words "Wanwei Yixia" written on it.

This banner is actually very familiar to Gaode Maps. It's an enlarged version of the search box.

This is World Wide Web Services.

Gao De composed himself, focused his mind, and tried to ask a question.

Considering that the key's permissions were not very high, he chose a simple question.

The thought had barely formed when the gray-white background of the search box suddenly rippled, and black generic text appeared automatically like flowing water, forming a clear line of text: "What is the spell recipe for the first-circle spell [Language Proficiency]?"

After seeing his question appear in the search box, Gaode's gaze fell on the "Wanwei Yixia" button, and he touched it lightly.

The dust on the button's surface instantly exploded, transforming into a pale blue stream of light that flowed into the search box.

There was no sound in the space, only the light patterns below the search box began to flow slowly.

After a brief wait, much like a network delay, the specific spell formula for [Language Proficiency] flooded into Gao De's consciousness, revealing everything at a glance.

"The World Wide Web functionality works perfectly!" Gaode couldn't help but clench his fist.

Although he can't see the scene in the spirit world now, he is certain that this "Wanwei" is essentially an exchange between himself and the [Heart of the North], and the information generated is incredibly fresh, exactly what the Ether Spider needs most.

This is enough to allow it to firmly maintain Ethernet.

The World Wide Web test is complete, but it's not over yet.

The next step is to test the "spiritual faith" function.

Gao De calmed himself down and turned his attention to the right side of the search box.

There floated an inconspicuous triangular button, its entire surface composed of light gray light patterns.

With a light tap of his mind, Gaode's triangular button unfolded like a flower petal, revealing a semi-transparent list that slid out from the button and floated in the gray-white space.

It is the "friends list".

At the top of the list is a light gray banner that reads "Friends List," and on the right is a small "+" button shaped like a handshake drawn with light patterns, used to add new friends.

Each friend entry is a semi-transparent rectangular card with the name written on it.

However, there are currently only seven friend entries listed above:
Wang Shang, Zhan Mu, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Education, Public Security Bureau, General Office, Ministry of Construction.

These are all core nodes pre-entered by Gaode Maps, forming the initial network of the Phoenix government system.

At the very top of the list, the key's own code name, "Flora's Forest," is also displayed.

Gao De's gaze swept across the list and finally settled on the "War Mother" card.

He subtly pointed to the "War Mother" card.

The card instantly lit up with a pale blue light, and the light patterns spread outward like ripples on water. At the same time, a soft spiritual pulse sound, like a dial tone, rang out from the background of the gray-white space.

A rotating halo appeared in the center of the card, with a line of small text popping up beside it: "Connecting to the war mother."

Meanwhile, in Phoenix, at City Hall, in Sunafa's office.

Sunafa sat at the long table, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the edge of the table.

At this moment, however, her thoughts were not on the table at all; her gaze kept drifting towards the ball of light floating in the center of the table.

This golden sphere, identical to the one in the Forestry Office, is incredibly eye-catching.

Elsa, who is in charge of the office, is also in the room.

As the office manager, she naturally received a brief description of "Ethernet" from Gaode Maps, but she was still skeptical about the functions that Gaode Maps claimed Ethernet could achieve.

"War Mother, how much longer do we have to wait?" Elsa couldn't help but ask.

"It should be soon," Sunefa said softly.

The moment she finished speaking, accompanied by an extremely faint buzzing sound, the sphere of light suddenly burst into light.

"It's here!" Sunafa thought to herself and immediately placed her palm on the ball of light.

Soon, her consciousness also entered the empty space where the search box was floating.

But what caught Sunefa's eye even more at that moment was a semi-transparent interface that popped up on the right side of the search box.

At the top of the interface is a light gray title bar with a light blue glowing pattern. In the center, the words "Spiritual Request" are displayed in pale blue ancient characters. Below the text, a smaller glowing pattern appears: "The Forest of Flora is calling."
At the bottom of the interface are two parallel circular icons, or buttons, one red and one green.

Similarly, both patterns have words written on them.

The green text says "connected," and the red text says "hung up."

When Sunafa's consciousness touched the vicinity of the green pattern, the halo around the circle would expand slightly, as if responding to her perception.

The red button has a steady red glow around its edge without any dynamic effects, creating a stark contrast with the green button and preventing accidental touches.

"War Mother, how is it? Can you connect now?" Elsa's voice rang out at the edge of Sunefa's consciousness.

“Okay.” Sunefa responded softly, then touched the green button with her mind.

The green halo suddenly exploded, transforming into a pale green stream of light that flowed into the card.

The message “Flora Forest is calling” immediately changed to “Connected”.

The words "Flora Forest" in the center of the card began to pulsate slightly, as if in sync with the other party's consciousness fluctuations.

"Hey, hey, hey, can you hear me? This is Flora Forest." The next moment, God's voice entered Sunafa's consciousness, very clearly, as if God was standing right in front of her talking to her.

"I am Sunefa. You can hear me. This is Phoenix City Hall." Sunefa's tone was relatively calm, but a hint of surprise unconsciously appeared in her eyes.

"Great, great!" Gao De's undisguised joy came from the other end.

"My king, you are pleased."

“Of course,” Gao De’s voice was still unusually excited, “Do you know what determines the upper limit of an empire’s territory?”

“It’s about the quality and quantity of mages,” Sunefa replied calmly.

“No. Sigh, you’re right.” Sunafa could clearly sense that the other end of the spiritual message was a bit “frustrated.”

However, the other party quickly adjusted his mood and continued in high spirits: "Aside from mages, the upper limit of an empire's territory is determined by two things."

"Two channels?" Sunafa asked curiously at the opportune moment.

“Transportation and communication,” Gaode said, “we’ve now solved half of the problem!”

“This is truly remarkable progress,” Sunefa said with genuine emotion.

Although the tone was too calm, it sounded somewhat lacking in emotion.

"By the way, I also sent you a message through Lingxin. Please check it." Gaode then verified Lingxin's "message" function.

(End of this chapter)