Sea of Clouds

Chen Miemie didn't expect to get much information from Officer Sun just by sending a message.

For some secretive matters, if he really wanted to know, he still had to visit and talk face-to-face.

However, from Officer Sun's reply, he at least learned that the city's administrators were aware of the situation at the [Fat Orange Hotel], and they probably had a lot of intelligence on it; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to determine that the danger at the hotel was controllable.

Xi didn't sit for long before returning to her own room to draw.

Chen Miemie had a wonderful sleep for the entire afternoon.

He slept right up until dusk, only rubbing his eyes and getting up when Qinghua gently shook him awake.

"The bed in this society is pretty good, the firmness is just right, but the single bed is a bit too small."

Even when sleeping alone, Chen Miemie preferred a double bed. He was a restless sleeper who would toss and turn from side to side.

After eating Bobo's newly developed "cider roast chicken," the timing was perfect as the Eternal Moon appeared in the night sky.

"Origami, let's go. The distance is far tonight, so time is a bit tight."

The paper figure sensed the southeast direction, folded space, and opened a teleportation portal.

Just as Chen Miemie left directly from his small room...

In the hall below the society, Fina, who had returned to handle some errands, shuddered all over.

Her Rubik's cube head spun at twice its normal speed: "Why did I sense spatial fluctuations inside the society? This direction... is it the personal lounge area on the second floor?"

Fina immediately rushed toward the second floor.

As far as she knew, she was the only one in the entire society whose [Mystery] ability was related to space. An abnormal fluctuation appearing in the society was no small matter; it could mean a thief had broken in.

This was the [Court of the Silver Moon]. How could outsiders be allowed to come and go as they pleased?

Chen Miemie exited the teleportation portal.

Origami's teleportation could currently cover at most tens of thousands of meters at a time, and that was even with the mystery bonus of being an "Eternal Moon Kin" tonight.

After several consecutive jumps, Chen Miemie let the exhausted Origami stop to rest while he transformed into [Huangyi] and flew directly.

This could be considered Chen Miemie's first time flying at full power for an extended period.

His whole body looked like a yellow rainbow; with a single arcing sweep, he covered thousands of meters.

Chen Miemie was fast and didn't feel tired, but he encountered a problem of his own.

For a destination over a million meters away, even a slight deviation in direction could result in missing the mark by a huge margin.

Therefore, Chen Miemie couldn't just keep his head down and charge forward; he had to stop from time to time to check if he had flown off course.

"This won't do. Flying like this, there's a high chance I won't find it in the end. I need precise navigation. Origami, bring out my mattress."

Before the overall renovation of the South District building, all important items had been entrusted to Origami for safekeeping. It was now moonlighting as the family's safe for valuables.

Origami first reverted to the size of a normal paper figure, then dug around in its pockets, pulled out a small card, and tossed it into the air.

"Poof~"

The piece of paper turned into a large mattress, which was exactly the instant-sleep artifact, the [Slumber Embracer].

Using the [Slumber Embracer], Chen Miemie returned to his Eternal Moon main body.

He first located the mountain range Xiaohong had mentioned, and then cast down a bright patch of moonlight at regular intervals along the path leading to it.

After returning to his [Huangyi] form, he followed these moonlight waypoints toward his destination.

Just like that, stumbling and groping his way along, occasionally encountering a Weird, he finally arrived at an endlessly stretching mountain range.

Chen Miemie flew up to the peak of the highest mountain.

The mountain was so high that its midpoint was already wreathed in clouds and mist.

Standing at the peak and gazing into the distance, under the tranquil moonlight, there was a rolling sea of clouds, ebbing and flowing, gathering in dense clusters.

As far as the eye could see, it was all a sea of clouds.

If it were anyone else, even if they were told that this sea of clouds was a Weird, they probably wouldn't know where to start, not even knowing which direction to face if they wanted to communicate.

Chen Miemie, however, had experience communicating with Road Rage.

He raised his hand and waved; the light of the Eternal Moon became almost tangible, brightening by several degrees and dyeing a large patch of the cloud sea pale yellow.

He flew over to this significantly brighter area and shouted loudly, "Is the [Tidal Cloud Sea] present?"

The moonlight served as a greeting, and Chen Miemie's shout successfully caught the attention of the cloud sea.

"Who are you? What brings you here specifically to find me?"

"My name is [Huangyi], and I have come to form a bond with you."

The surrounding cloud sea churned slightly, and a voice echoed from all directions: "I can sense your strength, but my power is too immense and has already begun to erode you. You had better leave my body."

Chen Miemie checked his own body. Well, his performance was as stable as ever; he felt absolutely no damage from any erosion.

The surrounding clouds also seemed to realize that the erosion had little effect on this man in yellow, so a new attack emerged.

One by one, the clouds began to change shape, transforming into all sorts of ferocious creatures that lunged at Chen Miemie.

As they drew near, not only did these cloud beasts possess tremendous strength and immunity to physical attacks, but most terrifyingly, they also seemed to emit some kind of mental power.

Of course, none of this was of any use against Chen Miemie in his [Huangyi] state.

Chen Miemie slightly raised a hand from within his yellow robes and swiped at the air.

Following the direction of his finger, the moonlight rippled through the air. The invisible waves passed through those formless cloud beasts, and both annihilated each other simultaneously.

The [Tidal Cloud Sea] seemed to grow interested:

"You really are quite powerful. It has been a long time since anyone could block my passive attacks so easily. However, my mass is too vast, and my attacks are nearly endless. A war of attrition will not end well for you."

Chen Miemie didn't deny the claim that "a war of attrition would not end well."

"[Tidal Cloud Sea], you have been here all year round. Do you have any wishes?"

"For thousands of years, as clouds roll and unfurl, as the world changes like shifting clouds, and as the sun and moon rotate, I don't seem to have any particular desires."

Chen Miemie frowned inwardly.

He wasn't afraid of greedy beings, but rather these types who had no wants or needs. It was an entire sea of clouds living perfectly fine at home; what could he possibly use to convince it to drift around with him?

The [Tidal Cloud Sea] was right. It was simply too massive. Just in the short time Chen Miemie had been talking to it, countless cloud beasts had not stopped; they were still charging at him in endless waves.

Focused entirely on effective communication, Chen Miemie couldn't be bothered to strike back time and time again.

His yellow robes fluttered as he generated a large ring of moonlight shielding three meters away from his body.

The pouncing cloud beasts were like moths drawn to a flame, dissipating on their own the moment they touched the shield.

Watching more and more cloud beasts gather around him, evolving from small entities at the start to giant beasts formed from massive cloud clusters, Chen Miemie vaguely felt that something wasn't quite right.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit him.

"[Tidal Cloud Sea], your passive ability should just be to attack, but it shouldn't mean constantly attacking at an increasingly higher frequency, right?"

"Hmm? I'm not too sure. Ordinary entities usually die long before reaching this stage."

The corners of Chen Miemie's mouth curled up slightly. "Why do I get the feeling that these cloud beasts are not just your passive response, but an active one from you as well?"

The [Tidal Cloud Sea] paused for a few seconds before answering, "Perhaps they are. I am not entirely certain."

Chen Miemie looked at the boundless and magnificent sea of clouds, and the more he looked, the more he liked it.

"[Tidal Cloud Sea], I don't think you are intentionally deceiving people. You are not merely a 'cloud sea', you are a cloud sea that chases the 'tides'. Tides are triggered by the moon, so you didn't realize that both you and these cloud beasts are involuntarily wanting to get closer to me.

If my guess is correct, when ordinary people enter your body, you wouldn't even show yourself to communicate with them until they are attacked to death, right?"

"That is indeed true. I feel a sense of closeness to you, which is why I am willing to talk to you."

"[Tidal Cloud Sea], I want to ask you for a favor."

"What favor?"

"I am going to establish a large-scale base, and I want your help to guard it."

This request was a bit excessive for a relationship that wasn't very familiar yet.

Although [Tidal Cloud Sea] felt exceptionally close to him, it still refused, "I am used to living in my current home and do not want to move."

Chen Miemie was not surprised by this answer at all, because he hadn't stated his price yet.

"The green hills, clear waters, and serene environment here are indeed nice. However, [Tidal Cloud Sea], if there were better conditions, would you be willing to give it a try?"

"What better conditions?"

"Every night, the Eternal Moon, Rainbow Moon, and Frost Moon will cast down their brilliance together. You will bathe in their light and clouds, fully illuminated by their rays. The tides will never cease, and the sea of clouds will be inexhaustible. From then on, as the moon rises, the tides will swell, and as the tides recede, the clouds will gather."