Interstellar Survival: Invasion

Chapter 303: Triple-layered Dreamland

I wasted no time and walked to the sole door in the white room. Beyond the door, a beautiful and peculiar planet awaited me. The planet had a multi-colored surface and was brimming with life. In the sky, numerous single-celled organisms that I never saw floated about, and every single body of water on the surface was a different color.

A bright globe hung in the sky, and clumps formed from a shiny substance constantly ascended from the ground and gathered around the sun-like globe. The globe illuminated the surface, bringing warmth to the world below. Above the sun-like globe, half the sky was covered in thick clouds. The other half was cloudless, and the silhouette of a massive blue planet could be seen.

"This is a beautiful planet, right?" a voice rang out behind me. I hurriedly looked back and saw a Blueling clad in green standing behind me.

'Is this the fiend of Pluto? Did Bulu give it the appearance of a Blueling? That way, I won't feel as nervous facing it,' I thought with gratitude.

"This was Pluto's surface from 4.5 billion years ago. Are you surprised?" asked the person in green.

"What? This was Pluto from 4.5 billion years ago? Then that means the blue planet in the sky is..." I was stunned by the revelation.

"Yes. That is Raingod, the planet you know as Neptune," said the person in green.

"Neptune. Looks like the hypothesis that Pluto was once Neptune's moon is right." I was thoroughly shocked by that knowledge.

"This place is where all germs in the Solar System originate from. Prior to this, no germs existed in the Solar System. Alas, the beauty of this planet is coming to an end," said the person in green with a sigh.

"Are you referring to the collision 4.5 billion years ago that knocked it out of Neptune's orbit, pushing it into the Kuiper belt?" I asked, utilizing what I knew from my downloaded knowledge.

"The collision spread the germs on Pluto to space, sending them all over the Solar System. Of course, a collision alone would not turn Pluto into its current shape. However, the collision brought with it a powerful monster. The monster destroyed all the light germs on the planet; the shining globe you see in the sky. Because of that, the planet lost its source of heat and light, turning into the frozen planet you know today," said the person in green with regret.

"Is the monster you mentioned what we call the super virus?" I asked.

"Precisely. That monster is a terrifying butcher. Many calm and gentle germs were hunted to extinction by it. To protect my surviving brethren, I fought it for hundreds of millions of years, but that monster is too strong. I could only force myself to constantly evolve to catch up with its strength," said the person in green.

"Can't you defeat it after hundreds of millions of years of evolution?" I asked.

"That monster is also constantly evolving. Thus, there is always a gap between us. I was forced to turn into a freak that devours myself for the sake of evolution, but even so, Im still not the super virus's match," said the person in green.

"Nevertheless, you have managed to survive," I comforted the fiend, pointing out that its evolution was not completely pointless.

"After the death of the final light germ that had been hiding underground, this planet lost its hope for warmth. The planet's temperature dropped rapidly, and the repercussions caught us all by surprise, including the super virus. The planet descended into a state of deathly stillness. That lasted until new alien life forms came to this planet," said the person in green.

"We don't know where the super virus came from, but us Bluelings could very well be the descendants of the microorganisms that had come from Pluto. If we offer to join hands against the monster, would you be willing to help us free a different creature on this planet?" I grabbed the opportunity to make my offer.

"Are you referring to the robotic army? Their defenses are very powerful. Even the super virus seems helpless against their defenses. What are our odds of defeating those fellows?" asked the person in green.

"Nothing is impossible. We also have a powerful team. Think about your frozen brethren. Do you want them to stay frozen until the very end?" I asked.

The person in green sank into thought, and I started feeling optimistic about my chances.

"Where is the super virus? How do you normally fight it?" I took the chance to ask more questions.

"The super virus has a fatal flaw. In low-temperature environments, it will lose the ability to fight in the air. Thus, I usually try to stay in the air. Also, it prefers darkness, so it is more active on the side of Pluto that doesn't face the sun," said the person in green.

"The side that doesn't face the sun. Do you mean that in two days when the sun sets, the super virus will appear here?" I asked nervously.

"Yes. That was why I tried to keep you trapped here until dark. If you try flying away, I'll strike you down immediately," said the person in green. I broke out in cold sweat upon hearing the plan.

"Apart from light and motion, you can't hear, right?" I asked nervously.

The person in green remained silent.

"If we can work together to defeat the super virus and the robotic army, I'll try to send some energy sources to you and help you bring warmth back to this planet and restore the ecosystem here," I offered.

My offer seemed to work. The person in green looked up and asked firmly, "Are you telling the truth?"

"We are the descendants of Pluto microorganisms. How can we abandon the homeland of our ancestors?" I promised earnestly.

"Fine. In that case, I agree. Take your ship and come with me," said the person in green.

After reaching an agreement, the person in green faded into nothingness. I ran to the white room, intending to share the good news with Zhang Xingxing and Bulu. But no matter how I ran, I couldn't approach the white, shining door. I did not know what happened, and I started getting nervous.

"Bulu, where are you? Show yourselves!" I roared and suddenly found myself waking up.

My surroundings were completely silent. Zhang Bao'er, Zhang Xingxing, and the others were still asleep on the floor. Beside me, Dodo asked, "Canyue, did you have a nightmare?"

With a shiver, I sat up.

"Don't look up. The fiend is still outside," Dodo hurriedly stopped me with their hands.

I pushed their hands away and looked at Bulu. The fellow's body had dimmed considerably, indicating that it had entered deep sleep. I finally understood what had happened. The array-level creature, Bulu, had utilized all its energy to bring me into a dreamland of three layers. Using the triple-layered dream, I managed to reach an agreement with the fiend of Pluto.

The storm stopped, and a ray of sunshine entered the ship, seemingly hinting to me that what I saw in my dream was real. I bit my tongue and confirmed that I was no longer dreaming. After that verification, I decided to do something shocking.

I looked at Zhang Xingxing and the others who were still sleeping soundly, thinking about the difficulty of finding a beautiful living space in the vast universe. At that thought, I stood up decisively and walked toward the ship's door.

"Canyue, what are you doing?" Zhang Xingxing suddenly exclaimed.

"Wait here for me. Don't move. I need to do something. I'll be back soon," I said.

"Canyue, have you gone mad?" both Zhang Bao'er and Old Du exclaimed at the same time. Both of them had woken up.

Worried that Zhang Bao'er would insist on following me, I looked at Old Du and said, "Old Du, have everyone wait in the ship. I know what I'm doing."

Looking at my firm eyes, Old Du understood what I was thinking. He gave me a firm nod and grabbed Zhang Bao'er. I stopped hesitating and stepped into the airlock. Soon, the door opened. After taking a deep breath, I stepped out of the ship.

Feeble sunlight was illuminating the crater we were in after a long journey from the sun. The massive fiend stood motionless ahead of me, as though it was looking straight at me.

"Canyue, what are you doing?" Zhang Xingxing's anxious voice came from the communicator.

"I believe I've reached an agreement with the fiend. I need to verify the authenticity of the agreement," I said calmly before taking wide strides toward the fiend.