Chapter 28: [nightmare Bubble Layer]
As a temporary worker, Yuan Zhu felt he had nothing to do with Fire Fang, so he decisively chose to ignore it, pretending not to hear.
The crowd no longer discussed the good thing of freely dumping garbage, which was both environmentally friendly and cost-saving.
The pink-haired university student continued to express his own views: “I think the residents of Taixi and Running are concentrated in this place. It should be related to the special spacetime phenomenon that has been continuously occurring in Running. Perhaps we just experienced a spacetime peak, which weakened the barrier of the present world, and then we were locked and captured due to some common point, and finally pulled in.”
Meng Xiyue thought this phenomenon was very worth studying, and Mao Mao King’s Happy Home could even serve as her university research topic for the next two years.
What could be more intuitive for observing spacetime changes than being kidnapped by Space of Gods, forced to participate, and frequently traveling through spacetime? She had already become the most important human parameter, and she herself was the perfect research subject.
Just casually writing about her experiences and post-event memoirs would be enough for other students to study.
At this moment, the pink-haired girl was excited, as if she could already see herself turning into a treasure, being held up by a crowd of classmates and teachers like stars around the moon, pressed in the laboratory for research.
So the girl clenched her fist, cheering herself up: “We must seize this opportunity! As long as we stubbornly survive, the scholarships, graduation certificate, and future guaranteed admission will all be secured.”
She made up her mind that as soon as she returned to the present world, she would immediately sell herself out and get extra funding from the school to better survive in the Happy Home.
But Rainbow Chicken Comb Head said dejectedly: “Even if we figure out the reason, what then? We’ve already been kidnapped by this space, and next we can only be at its mercy, resigned to fate.”
The captain, who had been standing by letting everyone communicate amicably, suddenly spoke: “That is not correct. Mao Mao King’s Happy Home will not illegally imprison you all or force you into labor. On the contrary, we will provide funding within our capabilities to help you through the most difficult initial period. In fact, Happy Home does not restrict coming and going. Once you accumulate enough points, you can apply to switch teams or permanently exit.”
The captain briefly introduced everyone’s situation.
Space of Gods was built by a group of powerful demon gods, referencing the ‘Main God Space’ from the four great classic novels’ Unbounded Terror, as a loose alliance ‘interdimensional mutual aid organization’.
Every interested and capable (financially) demon god can apply to Space of Gods and create a secondary private space to house an exclusive squad. Similar to the Central Continent Team in Unbounded Terror… which is now Mao Mao King’s Happy Home.
The creator demon god has absolute control over their space team and can set missions and issue orders.
Kinder ones usually choose single-player mode, executing low-difficulty, high survival rate missions.
There are also networked betting against other demon gods, league hosting, or survival game-style team battles. Not for anything else, just purely enjoying the pleasure of the little ants’ bloody slaughter.
…
Speaking of which, a new concept of Nightmare Bubble Layer has to be mentioned.
Du Ling Star connects to multiple outer universes (8) at the same time, with unimaginably massive universe-scale energy intersecting every moment.
Treating Du Ling as a capacitor device, the outer universes are super energy sources with completely different properties. Some deliver radiation, some transmit electrical energy, some infuse evil energy, some provide primordial qi… and all in astronomical quantities.
Normally, this small capacitor device Du Ling would ‘boom!’ and instantly burn out, exploding on the spot, turning to ash.
But reality is different; Du Ling Star remains as steady as a rock, accommodating everything without ripples.
Over four hundred years, it has hooked up with one outer universe after another with completely different rules, crazily squeezing, insatiable, endless, sitting and sucking the earth, like a bottomless gully.
These astronomical quantities of conflicting ‘energy and matter’ from outer universes ultimately precipitate and collapse further on the conceptual basis of Du Ling, opening up an infinitely expanding Inner World Circle for continuous storage and placement.
Spirit Layer is Du Ling Planet’s exclusive inner world, the back side of the present world, another demon-infested supernatural version of Du Ling, the main world’s pressure relief valve.
Everything exceeding the present world’s alert line—things, powers, or phenomena—will be gradually rejected by Du Ling Star into the Spirit Layer, thereby maintaining the peace and stability of the real world, presenting a thriving and glamorous face outward. (With this weakling facade, it deceives one outer universe after another.)
Du Ling Planet is rampant with pollution, overrun by demons, aliens running wild, and should be a doomsday desperate situation. But why can the grassroots people still live and work in peace?
Besides their super strong mentality and adaptation ability, it’s the natural pressure relief valve + recycling station of the Spirit Layer. It uses the present world as a template to shape another hell-difficulty new map (garbage bin), crazily swallowing, receiving the present world’s garbage and pollution.
And Space of Gods exploring the Bubble Layer is an even more external (internal) spacetime scale than the Spirit Layer. Completely entering the chaotic, twisted, disordered domain, endless dimensions without time or space concepts.
In the real world, if a person absorbs too much pollution, triggering a high-energy reaction and planetary rejection, they will be squeezed into the Spirit Layer to live. This phenomenon is defined by organizations like Taoism, Buddhism, Holy Church, etc., as Ascension. (Immortal Path: Ascension to Spirit Realm)
And within the Spirit Layer, if a high-energy pollution source continues to grow and expand, becoming increasingly powerful, terrifying, and unstable, even threatening the Spirit Layer’s rules and order.
Then it will be rejected again, squeezed into the deeper Bubble Layer. This phenomenon is called Secondary Ascension to God/Demon.
The Bubble Layer is chaotic and disordered, with time and space twisted and chaotic, no causal clues, no logic. Here exist numerous ‘Bubble Worlds’, influenced by unknown mechanisms, woven from matter, energy, and laws, born out of nothing.
These small worlds are causeless, like illusory bubbles, liable to shatter and regenerate at any time; some can persist for a long time. The gods and demons wandering in the Bubble Layer like to inhabit these super mansions to avoid storms and chaotic shredding, and infect one Bubble World after another.
Inside Bubble Worlds, various bizarre rules abound, randomly distributed with present world and alien creatures. They usually project and modify based on the ‘collective dream consciousness’ of main world intelligent beings, thus also called Nightmare Bubble Layer.
The establishment of Space of Gods is a means for demon gods entrenched in the more external (essentially Du Ling’s infinitely opened inner spacetime) of the Spirit Layer to efficiently explore the Bubble Layer.
Before Space of Gods was established, outer demon gods had to single-handedly pierce through the Spirit Layer and Reality Layer with their own power, painstakingly pulling in people.
Then wrap them in energy, like casting a fishing line, randomly throwing into the chaotic and disordered Bubble Layer (pond), hoping to crash into a ‘Bubble World’ (bite the hook), for subsequent expansion activities.
After achieving the goal, they still have to painstakingly protect these increasingly experienced subordinates (bait) and laboriously reel them back. Waiting for the next round.
This operation is usually only possible for mid-to-high tier demon gods. Low-level little demon gods can only follow behind the big shots, scavenging scraps.
The establishment of Space of Gods came from countless inner layer big shots being inspired by the four great classics, jointly creating a spacetime shuttle mechanism similar to ‘Main God Space’. Allowing weak demon gods to pay to join and contract a small space for self-entertainment.
With a large user base, leveraging collective advantages, not only can they more easily penetrate the Spirit Layer defense to pull people from the main world, but also build exclusive safe houses in the Bubble Layer as transit stations, frequently and efficiently infiltrating one ‘Bubble Small World’ after another, plundering resources or enslaving and ruling.
It can be said that the establishment of Space of Gods transformed the original scattered, small workshop-style exploration into large-scale, systematic professional development.
It lowered costs, increased efficiency, reduced friction and conflict between ‘demon gods’, and greatly improved the utilization rate of ‘main world fishing hooks’. Every demon god with gains can also conduct supplies exchange within the ‘alliance’.
In the past, an individual demon god laboriously assembled a group of subordinates, threw them into the Bubble Layer, with a death rate over 60%, and it was hard to extract and monetize the accumulated supplies. Now, joining Space of Gods, work efficiency is higher, can effectively avoid other competitors, focus on developing Bubble Worlds, and internal supplies trading can be transmitted through Space of Gods.
If additionally recharging, there’s a chance to randomly get resource-richer, more stable high-end Bubble Worlds!
Then, the captain summarized: “So, if any of you distrust Happy Home, you can communicate with the space stone tablet yourself for consultation. Now, I will distribute the standard supplies for this mission to everyone.”
The captain snapped his fingers, and seven identical boxes appeared out of thin air by his feet: “One per person, this is a gift from Mao Mao King to everyone. Hope you can smoothly pass the first mission. If idle, you can touch that stone tablet to communicate and exchange with Space of Gods, consulting questions of concern.”
Judging solely from Captain Li’s performance, this Happy Home is indeed an organization with a relaxed atmosphere that does not excessively exploit and squeeze employees. But knowing a person by their face but not their heart, Yuan Zhu decided to observe secretly for a while longer.
As for the meeting gift package? Of course he wouldn’t miss it. Although he must be vigilant of the captain’s ill intentions, he should also make good use of the other’s sugar-coated bait. Moreover, he was hastily teleported in, with no self-defense items on him, not even as good as Rainbow Chicken Comb Head’s pipe wrench; he ought to claim a portion of life-saving supplies.
After the pink-haired university student and Investigator Lady took a box one after another, he blended into the crowd, following behind Bread Girl, and got his own share.
Weighing it in his hand, it was quite heavy; probably good stuff?
Begging for everything, monthly tickets, recommendations, rewards, comments…
Space of Gods is a local intranet infinite flow. All native heaven-defying instances.
Additionally, the introduction to Spirit Layer and Bubble Layer is just the captain’s one-sided statement, for new team members’ entry understanding. It seems reasonable and self-consistent, enough to satisfy newcomers’ curiosity.
Du Ling’s essence is another matter, not relying on outer universes for aid. Saying it in advance, don’t say I retcon later.
