Because of that awful experience, Deng Chun spent half a day resting at the base, only to find the line between the physical world and the Dreamscape growing even blurrier.
He hadn't rested well, either. Fierce fighting raged almost every moment on this relatively small "island." It wasn't a back-and-forth struggle, but an endless cycle.
The Deep Blue Walkers at the base—or rather, the troops operating under Format Theory—fought the endless Demons outside and the Magnetized Puppets that blundered into the fray. Victories and defeats came on both sides, but the fighting never stopped.
Once, every outer defensive position fell. Demons and puppets stormed straight into the base and tore it apart before his eyes... Then everything reset.
It all began again.
At that moment, his understanding of Dreamscape, reality, and games tangled into one indistinguishable mess. It was as if there were no need to separate them at all.
Was this the New Plane?
Was this where that "Living God" had encountered an advanced civilization and gained everything he had today?
It sounded plausible, yet something still felt off.
Deng Chun made several trips around the base, shamelessly searching for information, cultivation manuals, equipment, and the like, but found little.
Of course, that man might have hidden it all beforehand...
Oh, come on!
Deng Chun slapped himself, then silently recited "Divine Grace is vast as the sea, Divine Might is stern as the mountain" ten times to show his devotion. Of course he knew the original word was "mountain," not "prison," but the first line of the now almost mythical Sixteen-Word Formula was "My Heart as a Prison," wasn't it?
"Prison" seemed more fitting.
Naturally, Deng Chun wasn't alone at the base.
There were plenty of familiar and unfamiliar faces there, all doing the same thing he was:
Staying