Chapter Sixty-Eight: Claiming the Blissful Realm

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Gao Ning slowly crouched down, pressing his palm against the floor.

The Red Alert interface flickered abruptly; the mission prompt updated.

[Discovered the Dimensional Artifact: Elysium Space. Would you like to collect it?]

Unable to restrain his wild laughter, Gao Ning clicked “Yes” without hesitation.

A beam of white light shot from his palm, enveloping the entire Elysium Space in a flash, as though a giant greenhouse had descended over it. From orbit, the whole structure was shrouded in a milky haze.

The sudden change threw the wealthy denizens of Elysium Space into panic. But before they could react, a flash of white light swept through, and Elysium Space collapsed into a singularity and vanished into Gao Ning’s hand.

With their life-sustaining space suddenly gone, a massive crowd appeared adrift in the vacuum of space. They floated helplessly, wide-eyed with terror, their skin freezing over in mere moments before they lost consciousness.

In an instant, millions became nothing more than cosmic debris, their days of arrogance and command forever ended.

Gao Ning craned his neck, suppressing his physical discomfort. He sent his final order to Old Gao and forced out two words through clenched teeth: “Return!”

His figure faded, vanishing in an instant.

Old Gao, a cigarette long since extinguished dangling from his lips, floated calmly in the void, hands in his pockets, eyes half-closed as though the vacuum had no effect on him. He glanced once toward Earth, then a small thruster ignited beneath his right foot.

A miniature blue flame propelled Old Gao toward the nearest space station.

At this moment, the half-cybernetic, half-mechanical hero unit’s modifications finally proved their worth.

Old Gao needed to return to Earth’s surface as quickly as possible to protect the recycling station from any interference.

The disappearance of Elysium Space sent shockwaves through the upper echelons of society.

In an era of explosive population growth and extreme resource shortages, the collective death of the elite meant social welfare would cease forever.

Riots would erupt across the planet at a terrifying speed, plunging society into war or even immediate apocalypse. Civilization would regress sharply, returning to a primitive surface-dwelling existence.

Perhaps in a hundred years, all machinery would be considered ancient relics, and most regions would once again fall under medieval barbarism.

Maybe, after another mass extinction, Earth would have a chance to recover and rise anew.

But what changes the future might hold—whether the world would collapse into a wasteland or face total annihilation—no one could say.

On the ground, through the hole torn in the canopy by Jiumei, Baozi stared blankly at the sky.

“Elysium Space is gone?”

Jiumei said nothing, lost in shock. Since becoming a ghost, it had been an age since she’d felt such intense emotion.

“Does that mean they showed mercy? What was their mission, really? Just collecting Elysium Space can’t be that insane, can it?”

Baozi spun in circles, shouting, jumping, and even urinating in excitement. “I knew it! That fat man in the suit must be a Walker—he’s a Walker!”

A chilling flash of steel, and Baozi’s dog head hit the ground. Silence fell.

Jiumei gazed calmly at the sky, exhaling a long breath after a while. “A Walker, is it? Impressive indeed.”

———

Gao Ning seemed dazed for a moment before coming to his senses.

Liang Bing and Gao Ning were still seated where they had been, empty plates before them.

Grandma Liu had vanished entirely, replaced by Master Zhou, who appeared to be a sage but was, in truth, a lecherous old man.

Master Zhou was astonished. “Didn’t you say you’d stay for twenty-four hours? Why are you back with us?”

Gao Ning and Liang Bing exchanged a look, each with a hint of mystery in their eyes.

“No matter how long you spend in the mission space, it’s only a moment on the Mysterious Train. If you have any questions, just go back to your room and sleep—you’ll understand everything then,” Gao Ning said.

Master Zhou blinked. “Sleep and that’s it? That simple?”

Liang Bing stood up. “Just that simple. Come, since we’re back, let’s all rest in our rooms.”

Gao Ning glanced at the Red Alert interface—his funds were still enormous, but since returning to the Mysterious Train, the amount had stopped increasing.

Whether it was due to the different spaces, a severed signal, or a discrepancy in the flow of time, he could not tell.

In any case, contact was lost for now.

Shaking his head, Gao Ning reached out to pull Master Zhou up, following Liang Bing as they headed to their private carriages.

Just as when Gao Ning had explained earlier, Liang Bing repeated the instructions to Master Zhou, who skeptically placed his hand on the handle. For a moment, his face went blank, then a look of joy flashed in his eyes.

A new color appeared on the small dial to the right, while Grandma Liu’s color vanished entirely.

Master Zhou bade them a hasty farewell, excitement on his face, and slipped into his room.

Liang Bing nodded to Gao Ning, spun her dial, and entered her own room.

Gao Ning watched from the side. No matter who opened the door—Master Zhou or Liang Bing—the gap revealed nothing but white light.

Clearly, the private carriages were places of absolute privacy, with no information leaking out.

Gao Ning stretched, opened the door to his own exclusive carriage, and was greeted by a rush of fresh air.

He took a deep breath, feeling his entire being relax.

It was his second time here, and Gao Ning already regarded this as the safest place in the world.

Immersed in the refreshing air, he suddenly shed his clothes and dove into the swimming pool with a cheer.

His heavy body hit the water like a falling iron weight, sending up massive waves as his howl echoed through the valley.

He bathed vigorously, then flopped onto the bed, dozing off into a deep and dreamless sleep.

In truth, this trip to Elysium Space had not been overly tense.

Especially with Liberation Army soldiers by his side, Gao Ning never needed to worry about safety.

And after leaving the recycling plant, the flood of money was exhilarating to spend.

If not for Grandma Liu’s sudden death, Gao Ning would hardly have realized the dangers lurking on the Mysterious Train.

Though there had been moments of peril, Old Gao’s combat prowess truly lived up to his hero unit status.

And with the final special mission—collecting Elysium Space—he had wiped out millions in an instant.

Even though Gao Ning saw them as mere NPCs, deep down, a shadow lingered in his heart.

The mental exhaustion and psychological pressure made his sleep exceptionally sound.

He even vaguely sensed that with each breath, black powder seemed to be expelled from his body.

When Gao Ning finally awoke, more than twenty hours later, a sense of pure, crystalline clarity suffused his mind and body—far beyond anything words could describe.

He savored the transformation in silence, unable to conceal his awe.

So this was the true purpose of the private carriage!