Chapter 1 The Entire Crystal Pillar Layer Erupted

The entire crystal pillar layer erupted in a violent oscillation that lasted for more than five minutes, followed by an even longer period of aftershocks and secondary disasters.

Amantir's layered hollow structure was like a natural resonating chamber. The impact of the collapsing crystal pillars produced the most terrifying crustal oscillation in history within this planet-sized chamber. The entire southern hemisphere of the planetary warship roared like a giant bell. From space, one could see Amantir's surface suddenly cave in, and then that section would bulge up again as if it were elastic—that was because the starship's armor repossession device malfunctioned, unable to withstand the internal tearing. The entire land began to ripple, fold, and twist. Mountains thousands of meters high formed and disappeared within minutes. Water boiled and was thrown into the atmosphere, triggering a storm that spread across a quarter of the planet in a very short time. If a mortal civilization existed on this planet, it would have regressed to the Iron Age, or worse, within those brief ten minutes.

And what happened beneath the surface was even more terrifying.

Although Hao Ren's enthusiasm for causing trouble was unprecedentedly high, he had to admit that detonating a pillar supporting the crust while standing next to it was an experience so stimulating that he never wanted to repeat it. The towering crystal pillar was cut into two sections after a series of precisely calculated chain explosions. Then, under the pressure of the heavy crust, it naturally dislocated and collapsed. Countless boulders and crystal fragments the size of small mountains rained down, instantly smashing the crystal jungle in the crystal pillar layer into ruins. The ensuing wind and sound waves crushed the ruins into even finer powder.

Then he heard a terrifying creaking sound from the rock dome above, accompanied by a series of explosions and bright arcs of electricity that illuminated the entire rock ceiling. It was a sign that the armor repossession device near the equator had completely melted down due to overload.

The energy barrier used to seal the equatorial rift also failed. Hundreds of millions of tons of magma and rock spewed out from the breach, falling towards the planet's core under the influence of gravity. The entire crystal pillar layer instantly became a fiery hell.

What had been a barely peaceful crystal pillar layer space became a purgatory in the blink of an eye. Sound waves and air currents strong enough to tear rocks apart, high temperatures that could melt metal, and various instantly generated toxic substances all spewed out. When this happened, the fairies who had been chanting "Cause trouble, cause trouble, cause trouble" just moments before suddenly went silent for a few seconds. Then Hao Ren's ears were filled with their racket: "Aaaah, this place is going to explode!" "I didn't expect it to be this bad!" "It's not fun, it's not fun at all!" "We're going to die, we're going to die!"

Could it be that these little things hadn't imagined what it would look like when the crystal pillar collapsed before they started causing trouble?

When the shock wave arrived, energy shields instantly lit up around Hao Ren and his companions. Because they knew that collapsing the crystal pillar was an extremely crazy thing to do, everyone had not only put on life-support collars in advance but also equipped themselves with shield generators and vector attitude stabilizers. These advanced devices helped them resist the deadly environment of the underground space and allowed them to stabilize their bodies in the shock wave. Now it seemed that these preparations were quite effective.

Vivian was the calmest of them all besides Hao Ren. She raised her head, staring unblinkingly at the vibrating and cracking rock dome above the crystal pillar. Finally, she saw a wisp of red light emerge from the dome, carrying a chillingly crazy aura within it.

"The passage is open!" she shouted. "Now's the time, let's rush in!"

Hao Ren grabbed the data terminal and stuffed it into his pocket, then activated his propulsion device and shot straight towards the crack in the dome, while turning his head and shouting, "Lily!"

"I've been ready for this!" the husky girl shouted as she took out the snacks she always carried with her, tore open the package, and poured them into her mouth. She chewed up and swallowed most of a bag of spicy sticks in a few bites. The next second, her eyes glowed with an impending bestial golden light, and veins spread along her arms and neck. "I'll suppress it for two minutes—the task of controlling the flight is up to you, landlord!"

Not everyone was born with the ability to fly like Vivian, so everyone who couldn't fly was equipped with the propulsion devices provided by Hao Ren, but Lily's propulsion device was controlled remotely by Hao Ren: because she would have a hard time controlling herself in the short time that followed.

Amidst the boulders and crystal fragments falling like rain, Hao Ren's team launched an assault against the collapsing direction of the dome. The dark red crack above the dome rapidly magnified in front of them. Hao Ren felt unprecedentedly calm at this moment. All hesitation and tension disappeared. All he saw before him was that ominous crack, like the gates of hell. In this state, he even felt that the passage of time had slowed down, and every speck of dust floating around him became clearly visible.

This illusion lasted only a few seconds. The next moment, he had rushed into the crack and passed through a layer of dark red light film that seemed almost tangible.

The moment they passed through the light film, everyone clearly felt the change in the surrounding environment. The inside and outside of the light film were like two interconnected but distinct spaces. Although they couldn't accurately describe the difference between the two spaces, the feeling of "crossing a threshold" was unmistakable.

They had entered the interior of the Nightmare Nest, a place where illusion and reality overlapped, and time and space were chaotic.

"Awoo—woof!"

A loud howl interrupted everyone's daze after crossing through space. Lily released the restrictions on her own power the moment she passed through the crack. Accompanied by strong wind pressure and a threatening aura, a giant husky five meters tall strode out of a cloud of dust. At the same time, she began to emit a white light containing powerful energy from her mouth.

The giant husky glanced around casually, then opened her mouth wide in a certain direction: "Roar—"

With a "buzz," the air vibrated in layers, and a thick white light cannon illuminated the entire space, shooting towards a distant dark shadow.

This was the first step they had discussed beforehand: Lily would accumulate a wave of energy before entering, instantly transform upon entering, and then fire a dog cannon at the area with the strongest energy reaction. As the most powerful instantaneous attack in Hao Ren's team, the dog cannon was the overture to this offensive operation.

And with the momentary flash of the white light cannon, this dark and oppressive space was completely illuminated. Hao Ren quickly saw the scene inside the Nightmare Nest in this fleeting glimpse.

He didn't throw up, but he almost did.

In that brief glimpse, he saw that the so-called Nightmare Nest was not a fortress wrapped in rock and metal as he had imagined, but more like... a giant, writhing organ.

Flesh and blood filled his vision. The inner wall of the entire space was a living biological tissue. Countless thick, vein-like things spread and grew beneath the writhing surface, while nerve-like and muscle-like things were exposed, interwoven into a large net on the dome of this giant cave. Behind that net, the remaining mechanical structures could still be faintly seen: it was the base of the control center, and part of it had been swallowed by this Nightmare Nest.

This scene was like being inside the stomach of a giant beast.

However, it wasn't just these biological tissues here. Amidst the disgusting flesh and blood, Hao Ren also saw traces of other substances: thick stone pillars, metal beams, and crystal clusters grew irregularly within this vast space. They had been twisted and corrupted into bizarre shapes by the power of the Lord of Madness, but it was still possible to vaguely see that they were originally part of Amantir's underground facilities.

Hao Ren also saw the target of this operation:

Lily's perception was accurate. The light cannon she fired after entering the area shot straight towards the center of the Nightmare Nest. There, a huge, unparalleled circular platform rose high, and the space above the platform showed signs of distortion. Layers of translucent barriers made it look as if it were shimmering behind a layer of water. And behind the layers of barriers was a huge brain tissue suspended in mid-air.

It was as big as a house!

This huge brain was hanging upside down dozens of meters above the circular platform, contracting and expanding rhythmically, and a large number of nerves and blood vessels extended from its top, like a pipe connecting to the dome of the Nightmare Nest—looking at the direction in which those nerves and blood vessels disappeared, the first thing Hao Ren thought of was the Amantir crystal.

As the fairies had said, the monster in the Nightmare Nest was indeed connected to the Amantir crystal, and with a direct neural connection. If he had really led the team to touch that crystal back then...

That would have been the end of the story!

Lily's dog cannon destroyed a large number of stone pillars and crystal clusters along the way, but as expected, this raid could not solve the biggest problem in the Nightmare Nest once and for all. There were hundreds of layers of energy shields around the suspended brain tissue. The powerful divine light cannon only penetrated a few of them before running out of steam, dissipating into the air as pure energy.

And the brain tissue behind the barrier trembled violently: it was beginning to sense danger in its dream.

"Ugh..." Nangong Wuyue was startled by the nauseating sight in the Nightmare Nest. She immediately opened a water mist barrier, using the soothing and purifying effects of water elements to forcibly dispel the mental impact of the surrounding environment. "What the hell is this place!"

"Amantir is transforming into a living flesh-and-blood creature, and the Nightmare Nest is the brain of this creature!" the data terminal screamed. "We must destroy that thing immediately!"

"I know that without you telling me!" Hao Ren had already pulled out his long guns and short cannons, and charged up with a pale face. "Everyone, follow me!"

Nangong Sanba also roared: "Full firepower! Clean this place up before we throw up!"