An infinite journey starting from paradise

"There's more than that." Lin Shangren smiled. "There are many beautiful places in this world. There will definitely be more sparkling, happy, and joyful things waiting for us."

Euphoria, extreme joy and happiness, is the name of this world. However, all Lin Shangren has experienced and witnessed in this world is filled with sorrow and pain. Therefore, he wants to change everything to protect this small joy and happiness.

"Sparkling... happy... joyful..."

Hehuan and Linyin repeated Lin Shangren's words in a low voice.

"Do you want to go and take a look together?" Lin Shangren asked.

"Let's go take a look together..." He Huan muttered, "Look at this world. Is this world also shining like the stars above our heads?"

Linyin said happily: "The sparkling world is so beautiful, big brother."

"Then let's go see it together! Didn't Mr. Shangren promise to take me around the world, and even to other worlds?" Aoi Nazuki said excitedly.

"Yeah! I want to go see it together!" Hehuan agreed.

Then, He Huan asked, "By the way, big brother, big sister, what are your names?"

"Natsuki, my name is Aoi Natsuki."

"Lin Shangren. You can call me Brother Shangren." Lin Shangren said with a smile, "Okay, let's go. Wake up from the dream and go see the outside world. Wait... Since dreams can come true here, let me show you the beautiful scenery I have seen here first."

During this time, Lin Shangren had thoroughly understood the Paradise World's wish-granting mechanism: it could only construct things that left a deep impression on the user's consciousness. This was also why He Huan's dream had originally contained only a deep darkness.

Lin Shangren closed his eyes and began to recall the beautiful scenery or happy scenes he had seen.

"The sea of ​​trees in Zhangjiajie, the rime on the Songhua River, the grasslands of Africa and all kinds of big cats..."

Lin Shangren unconsciously recalled his past life experiences: his grandfather, a retired military doctor who raised him, his campus life without many friends due to his withdrawn personality, his first love whose face he could barely remember, his two years in the military camp, his best friends in college, his assignment to aid construction in Africa, his inexplicable involvement in a local dispute, and his death protecting his compatriots...

"What a colorful life... A gentleman who died in a country of gentlemen, Lin Shangren." Lin Shangren smiled self-deprecatingly.

Finally, he settled on a setting: a cheap and delicious buffet restaurant where Lin Shangren often ate with his three unconventional roommates when he was in college.

"I don't know what the school was thinking, putting four of us, who have no parents, in the same dormitory."

As he was thinking, the scene around him began to change, gradually becoming like a buffet restaurant.

"Wow, what kind of place is this...it smells so good!"

The three girls looked at everything around them in surprise.

"This is the place to eat," Lin Shangren said. "Everyone can eat as much as they want. Eat your fill first, then we'll go out."

Lin Shangren's gaze fell on a table, and he seemed to see himself at that time, and those three bad friends.

"Hou Yi, Ke Lei..." Lin Shangren said in a low voice.

In this dream world where everything goes as planned, it seems that as long as he wants, he can really create everything. He can make up for all his previous regrets in this world. He can... do whatever he wants, just like Steve in creative mode. "Actually, there's nothing wrong with living here with them." Lin Shangren thought,

"Bring all of humanity here and create a beautiful, peaceful, and happy world where everyone is equal. Because wishes come true, the means of production will be extremely abundant, and something can be created out of nothing, so productivity will also be extremely developed. As long as I want, I can create a truly perfect world..."

"You think so too, Miss Bai Ye."

"Would you like to come out and have something to eat with us? After I deal with your problem, I still need to talk to the 'Heaven' of this world."

As soon as Lin Shangren finished speaking, a slender figure appeared behind him.

Chapter 47 Dormammu, I'm here to negotiate! (Part 1)

Sensing someone behind him, Lin Shangren was about to turn around when he found that the three girls in front of him suddenly stopped.

No, they didn't stop, they slowed down! Their movements became so slow that it was almost impossible to tell they were still moving.

"this…?"

"I slowed down their time relative to ours."

The voice was as quiet as a deep spring, exactly the same as Rin's voice in the future timeline.

Lin Shangren turned around and finally saw the owner of the voice: the woman in a white dress was as slender and beautiful as an orchid in a valley, which was what a fully grown Lin Yin would look like.

She smiled slightly and whispered, "Time in dreams is different from time in reality. You can control time. If you want, you can stay here longer than a lifetime. A second outside can be an eternity here."

"So, how long have you been living in the dream?" Lin Shangren asked.

"In real-world time, it's probably less than eight years. But if I were to feel it, it would have been a very long time."

"Long time? Then..." Lin Shangren hesitated, but he still asked the question:

"So, have you lived enough?"

Faced with Lin Shangren's overly direct question, Sleeping Beauty Bai Ye Lin Yin didn't seem too surprised. She waved at Lin Shangren and said, "Kind Mr. Lin Shangren, would you like to take a look at my dream? Since this is such a serious matter, I hope to discuss it in my own world."

"Ok."

Lin Shangren did not refuse.

Then their bodies gradually became ethereal, and finally disappeared completely from Hehuan's dream as if they were peeled off.

The next moment, Lin Shangren and Sleeping Beauty appeared in a rather fantastical world. This was a beach by the sea, but the sand on the beach was light blue, and the ocean was glowing with the color of the aurora. The rippling waves were like glittering scales. A huge bright moon hung high in the sky, and from the moon hung silk threads that penetrated deep into the ocean.

Lin Shangren pointed at the moonlight-like thread and asked curiously, "What is that?"

"Those are threads condensed from moonlight. The little octopuses at the bottom of the sea will pull them up and use them to save drowning people."

Sleeping Beauty's words are like fairy tale babbling, absurd, surreal, yet full of childlike innocence.

“Also, the sand here is actually blueberry-flavored popping candy, and it feels great on your bare feet.”

As she spoke, the sandals on Sleeping Beauty's feet turned into fireflies and flew away. She stepped barefoot on the light blue beach and spun in a circle on the spot.

"Isn't it wonderful here, Mr. Lin Shangren? Everything is sweet and happy. No one will be hurt, no one will be oppressed, and everyone can live happily. This is the scene I created recently."

Sleeping Beauty's reaction has already given Lin Shangren the answer. She is not bored with the dream, and she does not intend to die.

"Mr. Lin Shangren, why don't you stay?" Sleeping Beauty looked at Lin Shangren. "You can create the world you like. You can live happily in your dreams with those three children. Of course, there's also me. We can become good friends. Don't worry about time. When a second can be eternity, time is not important."

"Do not."

Lin Shangren shook his head.

"Like Zeno's tortoise, the concept of relative time extension is a fallacy. No matter how slowly time passes in dreams, time in reality outside of dreams continues to flow normally. The body in reality also ages, gets sick, and dies normally. So dreams always have to end."

"Furthermore, even if one were to live in a world where all one's dreams come true, one would become bored. What this dream world becomes depends entirely on one's imagination. However, imagination also needs real-life experiences to provide material for it to flourish. If one has no understanding of reality, even the dreams one has will be dark.

That's why I want to take them to see the world with their own eyes. Maybe we can hide in dreams for a while, but we have to return to reality."

"I don't want to go back to that disgusting reality!"

Sleeping Beauty said with a gloomy expression.

Lin Shangren knew that the girl had long lost hope in this world, so she became Sleeping Beauty and the core of the paradise system.

"Sorry, I ruined the fun." Lin Shangren apologized, "It's okay if you don't want to wake up. We still have plenty of time anyway."

Then, he took a few steps closer, and a White Rabbit candy appeared in his hand. He said, "This is my apology."

"Candy? I've never seen candy like this before."

Sleeping Beauty reached out her hand and took the candy from Lin Shangren. At this moment, Lin Shangren's fingertips touched her palm.

At this moment, Lin Shangren only needs to activate Eagle Finger to kill the girl. This would be equivalent to destroying the Paradise System. He would be able to complete the system's third mission and completely change the future timeline: without the Paradise System, without Sleeping Beauty, nothing in the future would happen.

But he did not choose to kill Sleeping Beauty. Instead, he dripped a particle of light from his fingertips: [Time Travel Quota x 1]

"Miss Bai Ye," Lin Shangren said, "Since you want to stay immersed in dreams forever, then it doesn't matter where your body sleeps, right?"

"Eh?"

"Would you like to sleep in another world? A world completely different from this fucked-up universe? Not just another world... there could be countless worlds and countless possibilities. Then, maybe there will be one where you'd be willing to wake up."

Lin Shangren showed a sincere and warm smile: "Is it okay? Just move your body to another place. Miss Bai Ye's consciousness can remain in this dream forever."

Sleeping Beauty Bai Ye was a little confused, but she agreed: "It doesn't matter where my body is."

"That's good." Lin Shangren said, "But before that, I have to discuss the terms with someone."

Ever since Lin Shangren took out the time-travel quota, his spider sense had been sounding alarms, and the system girl had also been issuing warnings continuously.

[Detected forced interference from the cosmic consciousness, we are wholeheartedly protecting our Lord! ]

"Xiao Ai, please help me pass a message to the cosmic consciousness. I want to negotiate terms with it!"

"Om..."

Lin Shangren heard a buzzing sound in his ears, and then his feet felt empty. The feeling was exactly the same as the first time he entered the Sea of ​​Possibilities.

When he opened his eyes again, he was once again in the Sea of ​​Possibilities. The only difference was that this time, the Sea of ​​Possibilities was exceptionally dim, the stars and galaxies no longer as bright. And in a vast expanse of nothingness, System Girl was facing off against a humanoid star.

Seeing this, Lin Shangren couldn't help but exclaimed: "Oh my god! Orianna?!"

The one confronting Ashrose is a guy with skin resembling Clockwork Dark Star. Obviously, she is the embodiment of the cosmic consciousness of this universe.

Seeing that the cosmic consciousness didn't seem to notice him, Lin Shangren shouted a little annoyedly: "Dormammu, I'm here to negotiate terms!!!"

The cosmic consciousness turned its "head" and looked at Lin Shangren with its quasar-like "eyes".

The system girl quickly teleported in front of Lin Shangren and protected him behind her:

"Don't be afraid, my lord. This guy is just for show. If we really fight, I'm not afraid of him."

"Come on." Lin Shangren pushed Xiao Ai away, "Stop the fighting. We are civilized people and we are here to negotiate terms."

As he spoke, Lin Shangren looked at the cosmic consciousness with a burning gaze. He said calmly, "It's our first meeting. How should I address you, the consciousness of the universe?"

“euphoria.”

A mixed voice that could not be distinguished by gender sounded in Lin Shangren's mind. He did not expect that this cosmic consciousness looked like clockwork, but the voice was more like Bud.

"Everia? It sounds like a girl's name. Why is it called this?" Lin Shangren asked.

"No reason. When my consciousness was born, the first word that appeared in my mind was this."

Lin Shangren continued, "Okay. Hello, Miss Evelya, I am Lin Shangren, a life form from another universe."

"Miss?" Evelya was stunned. "The universe doesn't care about gender. However, from the perspective of human civilization, since I gave birth to all things in the universe and all life, I can indeed be considered a mother."

"That's Mrs. Evelya~" Lin Shangren said jokingly, while he already held the [Soft Rice Immortal's Steel Wool] in his hand.

Since the cosmic consciousness can be considered female, then she is the richest woman in the universe. Therefore, she cannot harm Lin Shangren who is holding the steel wool.

"Mrs?"

As a cosmic consciousness, Evelya does not have human moral values, so she did not feel offended by Lin Shangren.

She continued, "Issues like titles are unimportant. Lin Shangren from another world, I hope you won't do anything out of line again. You just need to complete the sacred timeline I set and take the energy I gave you as a reward."

"Energy?" Lin Shangren was a little confused. "What energy?"

"Um..." Xiao Ai raised her hand awkwardly and said to Lin Shangren:

"My Lord, actually...our lottery prize pool requires a tremendous amount of energy to draw from. The source of this energy is provided by this lady after you complete a certain stage of the sacred timeline."

"Ah this..."

Lin Shangren was also a little embarrassed. After all this fuss, the cosmic consciousness was still the "financial sponsor". However, it was she who created the timeline that caused Lin Yin and He Huan to suffer countless hardships. So, was she considered a bad woman?

Seeing that Lin Shangren fell silent, Evelya continued, "So, can you continue to complete the sacred timeline? The damage you have caused now can still be undone. As long as the Paradise System and that woman's soul are still there, as long as you let those two little girls experience hope..."

"I do not want!"

Lin Shangren interrupted Evelya:

"I told you, I'm here to negotiate terms!"

"Negotiate terms? Do you have any bargaining chips?" Evelya said disdainfully.

Well, as the supreme cosmic consciousness, Evelya did not have such low-level emotions as "disdain", but Lin Shangren did feel arrogance and disdain from her words.

"You might threaten me by taking Sleeping Beauty away from this universe, but taking her away would also mean you'd be giving up the other three girls. Would you be willing to part with them? You wouldn't! So, this can't be used as leverage!"

Listening to Evelya's words, Lin Shangren smiled disdainfully: "I will indeed take her away from this universe, but not in the current timeline. Mrs. Evelya, my bargaining chip is much more important than this. My bargaining chip is...

Your life!!!"

Chapter 48: Dormammu, I’m here to collect debts physically! (Part 2)

As soon as these words were spoken, the stars in the entire sea of ​​possibilities flashed suddenly, and then became even dimmer.

Evelya stared at Lin Shangren in surprise: "What...what are you talking about?"

"I'm going to trade your life for a timeline that suits my needs!" Lin Shangren continued, "Anyway, you lured Xiao Ai and me into your 'body' just to save your life, right?"

After traveling back to the past and learning that it was the consciousness of this universe that deliberately exposed itself and allowed him to descend into this world, Lin Shangren began to ponder the purpose of the consciousness of the universe.

Why did she allow herself to come into this world, to go through all this, to perfect the so-called sacred timeline?