CH 102

After Shu Shuishui’s underwear classification topic, the group’s emotions and reflections finally returned from the dungeon. They exchanged smiles and then logged out of the simulator to rest.

As for the world that they had turned green with their own hands, they couldn’t forget it, but they could let it settle deep in their hearts.

To be honest, after experiencing so many dungeons, the Sphere Star dungeon was the one with the highest level of immersion so far, and it was the first time they felt reluctant to leave after clearing a dungeon. This sense of reluctance and being unable to snap out of it would probably take some time to gradually fade away.

This time, the dungeon lasted quite a while, and the people waiting in the real world had already grown anxious. However, the simulator’s display remained normal, so there were no major disturbances.

As soon as Nan Ge logged out of the game, he was immersed in the busyness of the base. Xie Feng felt that this trip had been quite fruitful. In addition to the gifts from the Sphere Star dungeon, he had also made breakthroughs in his cultivation and obtained the infinite simulator. So, shortly after coming out, he went back into his laboratory.

The others also had accumulated a lot of work during the three-plus months in the dungeon, so they were all busy.

Fortunately, the protective array in the valley effectively prevented the harsh winter from intruding. The outside world had turned pure white, entering the frozen season, but the valley remained thriving, warm, and comfortable.

As for Shu Shuishui and Gu Langu, the two of them sat side by side by the lake, and this tranquility felt remarkably natural, like a taste of the good old days. After all, in the Sphere Star dungeon, sitting shoulder to shoulder and watching the sunset had become a daily ritual for the two of them.

“What color would Gu Gu like? How about making it Gu Gu’s favorite warm brown?” Shu Shuishui was selecting fabrics from his spiritual storage, ready to make it as soon as he decided.

Gu Langu, as usual, didn’t oppose, not knowing what opposition even meant. “Sure, warm brown.”

“I wonder how Da Bai and Xiao Jiao Jiao are doing. The dungeon ends so suddenly.” Shuishui expressed some concern.

Gu Langu remained expressionless. “They’re already adults. There’s no need to worry.”

Shu Shuishui nodded. “Even though you say that, as an old father, I can’t help but worry.”

“Everything is arranged before leaving, it won’t be long,” Gu Langu continued to reassure.

In fact, Shu Shuishui had known in advance that he would leave, so during the period when he had a premonition, he had already made all the necessary arrangements. The cycle of the Sphere Star Continent had slowly been restored, the system was gradually stabilizing, and there was no need for Jiaolong and Da Bai to continue doing anything.

“When we planted all the trees on Dream Star, will you come back?” Da Bai asked one day.

Shu Shuishui fell silent for a moment and then nodded. “Yes.” Jiaolong also understood and flew off nimbly, carrying a small sapling and burying it in the ground with a determined look, as if saying, ‘I’m planting trees right now so you can come back sooner.’

Shu Shuishui also explained to Da Bai that they, including all the conquerors, might suddenly leave at some point, so he shouldn’t panic and should be prepared.

Da Bai naturally acted all aloof and indifferent, expressing that he knew and even gave a disdainful hum, trying to maintain his image.

However, as they got to know each other better, Shu Shuishui still sensed Da Bai’s inner vulnerability, a 9,000-year-old softy at heart. He often said one thing but thought another, caring about his image while considering himself somewhat cunning.

For example, when giving Da Bai a name, it was originally going to be “Shu Bai” since he was born in the Li Dream Study. However, Da Bai, this clever little spirit, clearly understood that Gu Langu was the most important to Shu Shuishui, so without hesitation, he gave himself the name “Gu Lanbai.”

As for Jiaolong, it was quite simple. As long as he was with the two of them, he was happy, and names didn’t matter at all. So, to complement this, Jiaolong’s name was eventually decided as “Shu Jiao.” It was a name that completely contradicted his imposing appearance and formidable strength, even sounding a bit delicate.

However, Shu Shuishui preferred to call the two of them by their nicknames, Da Bai and Xiao Jiao Jiao. Only other conquerors on Sphere Star would address them by their formal names as a sign of respect. They didn’t dare to call that ferocious Jiaolong “Xiao Jiao Jiao.”

The end of the dungeon was a good thing. It not only meant that the Sphere Star timeline had returned to normal but also indicated that the abnormal fluctuations in Sphere Star had been repaired. This was how a stable world should be.

Furthermore, Shu Shuishui and Gu Langu, who had activated the ShuiLan Ring, could break through the temporal barriers using the ring and return to the Sphere Star1If I remember correctly, the past chapters, it was Huanxing Continent. Of course, this process wasn’t instantaneous. No matter how amazing the artifact was, it had its limitations. They couldn’t just let the two of them become a loophole to do whatever they pleased in this vast world.

The temporal connection process varied based on the time scale of the two dimensions, ranging from a few months to several years. During this time, they would gradually reconnect with the Sphere Star Continent.

Besides this, Shu Shuishui and Gu Langu received different rewards from the others. While the others got one to three varying-quality spiritual treasures and treasures, the two of them could randomly obtain one item from the Sphere Star Continent every day. What they received depended on luck. Bad luck might mean getting an ordinary stone, while good luck could result in a top-quality spiritual stone.

On the first night back in the real world, Shu Shuishui found it hard to fall asleep. After tossing and turning for a while, he finally realized the issue at hand: humans don’t need to hibernate! So, even his human form was affected.

Inside the double sleeping bag, Gu Langu quietly asked, “What’s wrong, Shui Shui?”

“Gu Gu, why do humans experience insomnia?” Shu Shuishui asked honestly.

Gu Langu thought carefully for a while before replying, “It’s probably because they lack a goodnight kiss.”

In the sleeping bag, Shu Shuishui suddenly turned his body and faced Gu Langu. “That sounds reasonable. They often show that in movies, a goodnight kiss before bedtime.”

“Gu Gu, give me a goodnight kiss.” Shu Shuishui cheerfully leaned in.

Gu Langu, in his usual composed tone, responded, “Goodnight kiss.”

Outside the tent, there was a soft thud, as if someone had fallen. Shu Shuishui’s attention was immediately drawn away from their conversation.

Gu Langu reached out and gently turned Shu Shuishui’s head back. “Nothing to see here, just three poor souls who didn’t get a goodnight kiss from anyone. Heh~”

Outside the tent, where Yu Jin, Xie Feng, and Nan Fang had been casually eavesdropping, they had no choice but to swallow their bitter feelings. What could they say? They were just called “single dogs” by Gu Langu, and that “heh” had several implications! When did even Gu Langu start adding such a mocking tone to his speech!

After a busy day, the three of them came out in the evening to relax, but they wisely stayed far away from that tent emitting a sour smell. Instead, they headed in a different direction to catch fish and gather shrimp in the lake.

Outside the tent, all was quiet. Gu Langu, satisfied with himself, gently pressed a goodnight kiss onto Shu Shuishui’s forehead. “Goodnight, Shui Shui.”

Shu Shuishui tilted his head up and returned a kiss to Gu Langu’s forehead. “Goodnight, Gu Gu.”

Gu Langu lowered his head once more and planted a goodnight kiss on Shu Shuishui’s forehead. “Sweet dreams, Shui Shui.”

“Sweet dreams, Gu Gu.” Shu Shuishui quickly reciprocated with a kiss.

After this exchange, both of them closed their eyes, content.

Perhaps, as Gu Langu had suggested, the reason humans experienced insomnia was simply because they lacked a goodnight kiss. So, after exchanging goodnight kisses, Gu Langu quickly drifted into slumber, while Shu Shuishui soon entered the realm of dreams, with the ability to sleep like a dormouse.

However, on this particular night, both of them found themselves deeply immersed in a dream. It was unclear whether leaving the dungeon triggered certain conditions or if they had met some criteria, but on the first night after exiting the dungeon, they dreamt about their past experiences, something they had been unable to find answers to throughout their time inside the instance.

Gu Langu was genuinely surprised that, as a semi-mechanical being, he could still experience the sensation of dreaming. In the dream, Gu Langu found himself as a remorseful Qinglong, imprisoned in the depths of the underworld, enduring the torment of eternal captivity. This place was also known as the Nineteen Layers of Hell, a desolate land where, apart from the Qinglong, there was nothing else. In a state of confusion and despair, the Qinglong passed the time alone. Its acts of cruelty, its struggles, its agonizing screams, all were meaningless because there was no one to hear them. There were no living beings here, only countless wandering souls and lingering resentments that never dissipated.

Until one day, this gray world was suddenly invaded by a human infant. Perhaps due to the long absence of new life, the Qinglong inexplicably became a foster parent. Afterward, this desolate land slowly began to change. The Qinglong witnessed colorful butterflies flying around the sleeping infant, and tender green grass sprouting beneath them. The wailing spirits and lingering resentments transformed into human forms, and the desolate wasteland gradually took on a new appearance.

So, in reality, there was never any apocalyptic catastrophe on the Sphere Star Continent. Everything was simply because it was a type of hell, and once the dream ended, everything vanished.

The timeline of Shu Shuishui’s dream spanned various moments. At the beginning of the dream, it seemed to be in an unfamiliar time and space where Meng Mo Li was not alone but lived with his own people, the Dreamers’ Dream Tribe.

Unfortunately, that world also fell into a catastrophe, and it was even more severe. At that time, Meng Mo Li was only a few years old, but he had extraordinary talent. Faced with such a situation at such a young age, his instinctive reaction was to escape, to flee from this world that resembled hell. Therefore, in his desperate longing, Meng Mo Li’s dream came true, and he left that world through his dreams.

Then he arrived in another unfamiliar dimension. Soon, Meng Mo Li realized that this new world he had entered was also a desolate wasteland, resembling an apocalyptic scene, and the only living creature there was a giant monster, the Qinglong.

These two lonely souls became friends, and in order to show the Qinglong a more beautiful world, Meng Mo Li created a wonderful continent named Sphere Star.

The dream was so vivid that Meng Mo Li almost got lost in it, unable to distinguish it from reality. But dreams were dreams, and everything the Qinglong saw was an illusion. To show the Qinglong the real world and free it from eternal imprisonment, Meng Mo Li woke up from the dream and left, searching for a solution.

When Meng Mo Li finally found some clues on the other side of Huanxing2Sphere Star, which was the Huan Chen Continent, he returned only to find that the Qinglong had disappeared. Desperate to find the Qinglong, he entered the cycle at great cost. Because he was defined as a sinner and left forcefully, the Qinglong was destined to suffer continuous calamities in every cycle, with both its mind and soul damaged, condemned to a lonely existence for countless lifetimes.

Meng Mo Li followed without hesitation, but he couldn’t locate the Qinglong. He finally realized that the Qinglong had been deceived. The timelines of its cycles were in opposition to his own, meaning they would never meet.

This is how the story led to the creation of Lin Mo and Wu Lan’s crossing. Everything was interconnected by fate, not mere luck, but a result of unwavering determination.

The next morning, Gu Langu opened his eyes with impeccable timing. He subconsciously looked at Shu Shuishui, who still had his eyes closed. Just when Gu Langu thought Shu Shuishui was still in slumber, he suddenly spoke with his eyes closed, “Humans need a good morning kiss to wake up.”