Chapter 274: Infinite Dreamscape
His mory had been locked.
So, what remained of Chen Nuo’s mory of Antarctica from his past life?
It seed the most vivid impression consisted of a few fragnts about the Star Sky Empress.
Touching the Star Sky Empress’s butt, and then being kicked off the glacier.
The two couldn’t stand each other...
After exchanging glances with Lu Xixi on the deck, Lu Xixi gave Chen Nuo a cold look before turning away and entering the cabin.
"Alright, Lord Yama," Vanel sighed beside him. "I don’t know what exactly is causing you and the Star Sky Empress to be at odds with each other... but we have an important mission to carry out this ti. Please try to get along as much as possible."
Chen Nuo looked at the helpless expression on this Davarishi’s face.
Then, he nodded. "Alright."
"We have one more hour of free ti. In an hour, we will enter the Devil’s West Wind Belt. The Captain has told us that the deck area will be closed then, and the waves will be very large. Of course, you certainly won’t mind re waves, but... let’s still show so respect for the Captain while on board."
As Vanel said this, he smiled, took out a flat flask from his pocket, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.
Chen Nuo slled the strong scent of vodka.
"Dinner ti is approaching. I’ll see you in the dining room."
After finishing, Vanel bid Chen Nuo farewell and left.
Chen Nuo stood on the deck, his hand on the railing, looking out at the sea in the distance.
The waves were indeed getting bigger; the hull began to show significant undulations.
Indeed... this was Antarctica from my past life. But...
Chen Nuo frowned in thought.
What exactly is my current state? Imrsed in this segnt of mory I had sealed away? Are the ship, and Lu Xixi and Vanel I just saw, all existing within my mory? Am I, as if entering a recollection, imrsed in the first-person perspective of my past life, reliving this mory imrsively? Hmm, like VR? But... just now I called Vanel "Davarishi." In my past life in Antarctica, I didn’t have such a good relationship with Vanel.
This ant the exchange—
"Davarishi."
"I like that title..."
—had not occurred in his past life’s mories.
So where did this dialogue co from?
It couldn’t be that I entered the Consciousness Space to search for mories, and then... I traveled back to my past life? Am I imrsed in mory, or have I actually traveled back? Hmm! There’s a way to prove it!
After thinking for a bit, Chen Nuo walked a few steps along the gangway, opened the door to the cabin, and entered the ship’s interior.
The Flying Fish was a ship designed for both comrcial and civilian use. It was fully equipped and could et the needs of civilian transport, comrcial transport, and basic marine scientific investigation functions. The hull possessed considerable icebreaking and anti-freezing capabilities. As an icebreaker, it was much sturdier than average ships and also had a larger displacent.
Chen Nuo walked through the corridor inside the cabin; the narrow interior passageways of the ship had water rust all over the tal pipes on the walls.
Chen Nuo looked at the door of the cabin he was staying in. He went in and carefully examined it, quickly finding a simple diagram inside: the layout of the Flying Fish’s passenger cabins. Lodging area, cargo area, functional area. Dining room, activity room. And several passages leading to the deck. So other areas were designated for crew workspaces, marked with "Do Not Enter" signs.
Chen Nuo casually tossed the diagram onto the table and headed back out.
Walking along the passageways inside the cabin for a while, he ca across another cabin door. Chen Nuo thought for a mont, grabbed the door handle, and gently turned it; then, he opened the door with ease.
Standing at the entrance, observing the layout and furnishings of the room...
Chen Nuo smiled.
This cabin was identical to Chen Nuo’s own. Even the color of the bedsheets, the drinking glass on the table, and the placent of the pillows were the sa. Even the suitcase under the bed was exactly like his own.
This is clearly my own room.
Chen Nuo smiled, closed the door, and left. While passing two other rooms in the corridor, he casually opened them. He discovered that the interiors were all identical, as if he had returned to his own room each ti.
Yes, that confird it. It seems this is a mory, not ti travel.
The mory world is not the real world. The mory world is just like a dreamscape. In this world, everything Chen Nuo could see and touch was from his mories of past experiences—that is to say, what he had seen, heard, and interacted with.
During his past life’s voyage to Antarctica, he had only ever entered his own cabin. Therefore, in his mory, regarding the "appearance of the cabin rooms," his mory contained only elents of the cabin he stayed in. This was the first basic rule of the mory world.
What about beyond that?
Chen Nuo considered for a mont. He arrived at another cabin door and took a deep breath. In his mind, he began to carefully recall and imagine...
Then, he pushed open the door.
Inside the cabin door... a not-so-spacious living room, sofa, coffee table, television set. On the wall, there was a frad black-and-white portrait of an old lady.
This is my own living room at ho.
Chen Nuo nodded, closed the cabin door, and stepped back outside.
Rule two: The mory world is similar to a dream world. According to one’s needs and imagination, the brain’s "rendering module" can automatically generate simple, uncomplicated things that exist within one’s mories. His own living room existed as a "stock elent" in his brain, so it could be substituted through imagination. Similarly, his living room also fell into the category of things he had "seen and touched."
In fact, the mory world and the dream world are fundantally similar. Both are worlds constructed by releasing and arranging elents stored in the brain. However, dreams may be more "out of control." This is because when one is dreaming, the brain’s neurons are not under the control of the conscious mind. Thus, when we dream, the scenes are chaotic and disordered. But the basic rule is: you can only see familiar elents in your dreams and then reconstruct them. Elents that are completely unknown cannot be generated in dreams.
If your dream thinking is too expansive, causing you to try to construct an overly complex dream—and this overly complex dream requires too many elents, elents that are too complex, or elents completely unknown to you—then the dream will collapse, and you will wake up from it, or alternatively, go on to have other dreams. This is what happens when the rendering module can’t keep up due to too many required elents, ultimately leading to a system crash.
Of course, the brain can automatically deduce simple things. Like the "Davarishi" conversation. Simple logic can be extrapolated within the brain. But overly complex things are not possible...
Alright, let see what exactly happened during this Antarctic experience.
Chen Nuo sighed, recalling the cabin layout diagram he had seen, and then, based on his mory, started walking towards the dining room.
The dining room was on the second sub-level of the ship. When Chen Nuo arrived, there were already people there. The Flying Fish’s dining room wasn’t small, but like all interior spaces, the ceiling was very low. To guard against the waves, all the tables and seats were fixed to the floor with angle irons.
When Chen Nuo walked in, the people sitting at a long dining table all imdiately turned to look at him. One familiar face made Chen Nuo raise his eyebrows.
Sitting in the second row on the left side of the long dining table was a white man with a full beard, who appeared very tall and burly. The temperature inside the cabin was much warr than outside, yet this guy was just wearing a thin long-sleeved hoodie. When Chen Nuo looked at him, the guy was initially taken aback, then nodded as a form of greeting. Moreover, facing the renowned Controller, Lord Yama, this guy’s usual defiant expression had vanished.
Chen Nuo walked over casually and sat down beside him.
"Bigfoot Harvey?" Chen Nuo smiled.
Harvey was clearly surprised but still took a deep breath. "Respected Controller, greetings to you, Lord Yama."
Respect for Controllers—at least showing sufficient respect when face to face—was an unwritten rule of the Underground World. No matter what you thought in your heart... you had to at least put on this appearance. To the people of the Underground World, Controllers were almost akin to deities standing upon the clouds.
Chen Nuo smiled, no longer looking at this unlucky fellow he had already dood in reality. He turned his head to look at the others sitting at the long table. Oddly enough, Chen Nuo didn’t actually rember these people. But in this dream, it was as if as soon as he saw their faces, their identity information naturally ca to mind.
Chen Nuo glanced over them and understood. Five Destroyers and three quite well-known ability users. Overall, the caliber of participants in this operation was far higher than that of the one in Brazil.
Chen Nuo glanced around from his seat before Harvey suddenly spoke up, "Lord Yama, would you like to join us for a al?"
The others also looked towards Chen Nuo.
Chen Nuo thought for a mont and then smiled. "Of course."
Everyone had a slightly strange expression, and so were visibly tense.
Dinner was mashed potatoes, with a choice of tuna or beef for the at. There were also so fruits. Green leafy vegetables were very difficult to find on the ship.
"What were you talking about? When I ca in just now, it seed like you were discussing sothing," Chen Nuo said with a smile, looking at everyone as his food was served by the dining room staff.
"We were discussing why the Octopus Monster wants us to take a ship." Harvey shrugged. "Taking the ship will take four days, and we have to pass through that damned Devil’s West Wind Belt; it’s terribly bumpy. Why can’t we just fly directly to King George Island?"
Chen Nuo nodded. This indeed was a question. With the Octopus Monster’s financial resources, the reason couldn’t possibly be "to save money." Wouldn’t chartering a plane straight to King George Island, and then transferring to a mail ship to Antarctica be faster and more comfortable?
"I’m afraid only Vanel can answer that for us."
As he said this, Chen Nuo turned to look at the dining room entrance.
Vanel just happened to walk in. Vanel didn’t co in alone. The person standing beside him, with a bright red coat and long hair, had a stunningly cold face that imdiately silenced everyone in the dining room!
After a second of silence, everyone slowly began to stand up.
"Her Majesty the Empress."
"Greetings to Your Majesty."
"Respected Star Sky Empress..."
Undoubtedly, compared to the recently prominent rookie Controller, Chen Yanluo, the Star Sky Empress—with her longer fa, greater renown, and more illustrious combat achievents—commanded much higher esteem in the eyes of these individuals.
Lu Xixi coldly glanced at everyone, and then, after her gaze lingered on Chen Nuo for a mont, she turned away.
Vanel smiled and invited Lu Xixi into the dining room. Lu Xixi, however, went to sit at a separate table by herself. Vanel did not sit with Lu Xixi but instead ca over to join the more populated table.
"Ladies and gentlen, our company’s esteed partners, I hope you enjoy your al," Vanel said with a laugh. "I know the food in the cabin might be disappointing, but I guarantee that once we reach land, there will be a lavish seafood feast waiting for all of you."
One had to admit, the hearty and extroverted Vanel was truly suited for leading a team like this.
"If there’s no fine food, there should at least be so wine," an ability user grumbled.
"Uh, there may be so special reasons at sea, which are part of this operation by our company, so for safety reasons, we won’t be providing alcoholic beverages during the sea voyage," Vanel explained.
Chen Nuo furrowed his brows.
No alcohol at sea... Is it to prevent mishaps? What could happen at sea?
He recalled seeing Vanel earlier; the flask he carried was clearly not large and didn’t hold much alcohol. Clearly, for Vanel, who loved alcohol as much as life itself, this was already considerable restraint.
So, the mission actually starts at sea? No wonder the Octopus Monster didn’t have everyone take a plane, but instead made them endure four days of rough seas on this ship.
Indeed, the ship was already rocking significantly. After entering the Westerlies, the waves grew larger, and the ship’s hull tilted and swayed from ti to ti. However, everyone present was a powerful ability user. This level of turbulence was sothing they could completely overco by adjusting their spiritual power.
Chen Nuo thought for a mont, then turned his head to look at Lu Xixi, who was sitting at another dining table a few ters away. He suddenly stood up with his plate in hand.
Under everyone’s watchful eye, Chen Nuo smiled and said, "Please enjoy your als, everyone. I’m going to have a chat with Her Majesty the Empress."
Everyone visibly relaxed, except for Vanel who beca a bit nervous, watching Chen Nuo with a complicated gaze.
"Lord Yama, you..."
Chen Nuo smiled. "Don’t worry. We’ll get along."
With that, Chen Nuo took his plate and went over. Sitting opposite Lu Xixi, he had barely settled in when he heard her say coldly, "Get lost."
"Uh..." Chen Nuo touched his chin and said with a wry smile, "There’s really no need to be so intensely hostile towards ."
Lu Xixi looked up, giving Chen Nuo a cold glance. "What do you think, Yama?"
"It’s a good thing you’re of Chinese descent and don’t, like many ignorant Caucasians, call Lucifer... That nickna embarrasses so much I want to kill."
Lu Xixi didn’t speak, just looked at Chen Nuo with a cold gaze.
And Chen Nuo... was silently gazing at the Star Sky Empress before him. Her face was still so beautiful that it was hard not to feel one’s heart beat faster. The year in his mory should be 2007. But the Lu Xixi in front of him had not changed even a tiny bit in appearance from the Lu Xixi of 2001. It was as if the magic of ti had never had any effect on her; her youthful beauty seed to naturally possess a strong resistance buff against aging.
Well, looking further down... Alright, because of the thick coat, Lu Yiyi’s terrifying assets were temporarily not visible.
Seeing that kind of gaze from Yama, Lu Xixi’s expression turned ugly. "I’ll say it again, please leave! Yama!"
"Really, why must you..." Chen Nuo said with a sowhat guilty wry smile. "Before this commission, I’m pretty sure we had never t or interacted. There really is no need to hold onto hostility like this..."
Lu Xixi sneered. "What do you think, Lord Yama? If it weren’t for this mission, I would have already initiated a Controller-level challenge against you!"
Alright... The reason the relationship between Chen Yanluo and the Star Sky Empress was so tense—truth be told, Chen Yanluo had only himself to bla! He rembered that part of the mory. Before this mission, when all the ability users recruited by the Octopus Monster were gathering to depart. The night before boarding the ship. The arrival of Chen Yanluo was t with the cautious welco of the other ability users—a sentint that was primarily awe. And when talking about participating in the mission and the famous Star Sky Empress, the other ability users displayed significant admiration. Especially when they discussed the legendary, stunning beauty of the Star Sky Empress...
And unfortunately, Chen Yanluo, with his blabbermouth, had said at that ti, "How good-looking can an old woman, whose age isn’t even known, possibly be?"
Then, to make matters worse, this statent was clearly heard by the Star Sky Empress herself as Vanel was leading her into the room! It almost sparked a "Lord Yama vs. Star Sky Empress" battle at the Controller level! Thus, from their very first eting, the two prominent Controllers couldn’t stand the sight of each other.
"So, would an apology work?" Chen Nuo looked at Lu Xixi with a smile. "When we first t, that was being loose-lipped, and I sincerely apologize to you."
An apology, what’s the big deal? Apologizing to one’s wife isn’t shaful at all. Besides... it’s not like I haven’t been beaten up by my wife before. Am I proud of it?
Lu Xixi was startled by the remark and frowned. "Yama, what are you scheming?"
Of course, I have designs on you.
"Uh, well, of course I want to complete this task properly," Chen Nuo sighed. "For this task, it’s clear that the Octopus Monster hopes that the two of us will take the lead. If we have internal conflicts, I’m afraid it’s not a good sign."
Lu Xixi took a deep breath, and the hostility on her face slightly decreased, but her tone remained cold. "I accept your apology, Yama. But... I still very much dislike you. However, this won’t affect our cooperation. We will coexist peacefully until this mission is over."
Chen Nuo looked at Lu Xixi’s face.
Actually, his heart was filled with all sorts of emotions. Since waking up after his Body Seizing, it had been days since he had last seen his wife. He missed her deeply. At this mont, seeing Lu Xixi alive and sitting in front of him... Alas... He still missed the way she used to call him "Hubby~" gently. Looking at her face full of disgust now...
"Lu Xixi, are you a looks-supremacist?" Chen Nuo blurted out.
"What?!" Lu Xixi suddenly widened her eyes.
"I said, are you a looks-supremacist?" Chen Nuo sighed.
Could it be because I wasn’t handso enough in my past life when I was Chen Yanluo? A mildly overweight man who looked harmless. To put it nicely, he had a certain affability, but he was really far from "handso." It must be because of that! Otherwise, why in my second life, when I beca the young and handso Chen Nuo... The first ti we t in the ran shop, she was all smiles at ! She got into bed with less than two months after eting ?! Is it all about the face???
"I’m asking you, what did you call just now?!" Lu Xixi’s face was covered with frost. "How do you know that na!"
Uh... I forgot. Even in the Underground World, Lu Xixi’s real na is a secret. Only those extrely close to her know the true na of the Star Sky Empress.
Chen Nuo didn’t speak, but Lu Xixi’s eyes suddenly flashed with lightning!
CRASH! With a loud noise, the dining table bolted to the floor was ripped up and flipped into the air by the Star Sky Empress with one hand!
Before Chen Nuo could react, Lu Xixi smacked him with the dining table, sending him flying! His body slamd straight into the cabin wall!
"Yama! Are you secretly investigating ?!"
BOOM!!
Chen Nuo abruptly opened his eyes. He gasped for breath. He was lying on the bed in his bedroom. Judging by the sun outside the window, it seed to be afternoon. The latex paint on the wall was damaged.
Chen Nuo frowned.
Was the scene in the dream too exaggerated, causing the logic to collapse? Did that make wake up from the dream? Yes... that must be it. I was really pushing my luck.
Taking a deep breath, Chen Nuo closed his eyes again and re-entered his Consciousness Space.
"Antarctica!"
The sound of rushing water ca from the shower. He dried off, dressed, and left his room, heading to the deck.
"Davarishi..."
"I like the new na..."
Lu Xixi appeared. "Annoying guy."
"Old woman..."
Vanel mumbled, "...Westerlies... Deck lockdown... Dining room..."
He walked into the cabin, searching for the dining room. Lu Xixi arrived. Chen Nuo carried his tray over and sat down.
"Get lost!"
Lu Xixi glanced up coldly.
Chen Nuo took a deep breath. "I’m sorry."
"Hmm?" Lu Xixi was taken aback.
"I would like to formally apologize for my offense when we first t," Chen Nuo said slowly. "That’s just the way I am, my mouth gets into trouble sotis, but I actually an you no harm. Hmm... actually, I’ve always greatly respected the renowned reputation of the Star Sky Empress. I’m very honored to cooperate with you this ti."
As he spoke, Chen Nuo gave a sincere smile, stood up, and extended his hand.
Lu Xixi paused, then after a mont’s thought, she also slowly stood up. After all, she was not facing an ordinary character but a top-tier Controller. Since the other party had apologized and shown goodwill...
Lu Xixi nodded and extended her hand to shake Chen Nuo’s.
"Alright, Lord Yama, I accept your apology, and I hope our cooperation will be pleasan— You bastard! What are you doing!!"
Chen Nuo was stunned.
Damn it! Fuck!! When did I grab Lu Xixi’s small hand and start gently caressing her palm and the back of her hand? I was careless, so careless!
"You jerk!" Lu Xixi quickly withdrew her hand. Suddenly, her hair fluttered without wind, and sparks of lightning burst from her body!
"Wait! I didn’t an to! It was purely habit, just habit, I swear..."
BOOM!!
A powerful streak of lightning tore a huge gash in the cabin wall!
"Crap!"
Chen Nuo woke up from the dream once more, sitting up in bed and lightly scratching his head.
Am I missing my wife too much? It really was a habitual, subconscious action. Once more!
Lying back down, he re-entered the Consciousness Space!
Drying off, leaving the room, onto the deck...
No, straight to the dining room this ti!
In the dining room, everyone was there, just as they had been at the sa point in ti when he entered the previous two tis...
A thought flashed through Chen Nuo’s mind. So that’s how it is. In a dreamscape, the sequence of ti is disregarded. As long as I enter a scene I’ve experienced, I can relive the mory’s events. It’s like playing a ga, entering a fixed scene where the sa NPCs will always be present.
As expected, the fixed NPC of this scene, Lu Xixi, soon arrived.
"Get lost!"
Lu Xixi frowned and looked up at Chen Nuo.
Chen Nuo hesitated, then took a deep breath, his face bearing a defiant expression. "Star Sky Empress? We don’t really have any grievances, do we?"
"I don’t mind adding one," Lu Xixi scoffed. "Yama, do you want to battle it out with ? The first to run is a dog."
Chen Yanluo sneered inwardly with complete indifference: Woof woof woof!
"Fighting is fine, but not here, not now. After the Octopus Monster’s mission is completed, we can find a place to have a match!"
Yeah, a match! Find a room that’s big enough, with a soft enough bed! Co on! Who’s afraid of whom!
Lu Xixi, of course, couldn’t hear Chen Nuo’s inner monologue, but snorted coldly. "Good! Then I shall look forward to it! I also want to see what’s so extraordinary about the renowned Lord Yama!"
Your husband’s extraordinary aspects... you know them best...
Chen Nuo continued to retort inwardly but maintained a defiant expression. "Alright. Then, until that ti, for this mission, we’ll cooperate temporarily and coexist peacefully!"
"...Fine," Lu Xixi replied disdainfully. "I won’t argue with money."
" neither."
With that, Chen Nuo glanced at his wristwatch.
Although the mory was locked, as the shackles loosened, he vaguely felt that so special plot developnt was about to occur...
Just at that mont...
BOOM!
The hull lurched violently! Then, intense shaking followed.
A figure quickly darted in through the doorway!
Chen Nuo looked up to see a man with a slim build and a large, hooked nose!
The hawk-nosed man quickly found Vanel, barking, "Vanel! Go to the bridge! We might have found it!"
Vanel’s expression changed, and he hurried out.
The hawk-nosed man turned to Chen Nuo and Lu Xixi, a sharp glint in his eyes!
"Her Majesty the Empress, Lord Yama! We need so help."
Suppressing the excitent in his heart, Chen Nuo took a deep breath. "What happened?"
"You’ll see on the upper deck!"
The hawk-nosed man spoke quickly, then turned to the other ability users and shouted, "Everyone! If you’re willing to help, please head to the deck! This isn’t within the scope of the mission; it’s just a request for assistance."
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