Penacony.
A planet-sized, ultra-luxury hotel suspended in the "galaxy," it is a place famed across the universe as the "Land of Dreams," where countless people long to stay for an extended time.
However, most of those who can truly come here to indulge are powerful figures who lack nothing in terms of wealth.
As for those who exhaust every means and come here at all costs, they merely experience a fleeting, illusory dream.
After it ends, they are left with nothing and must return to wherever they came from.
Fortunately, the Astral Express had been invited, and most of their expenses during their stay were covered. Otherwise, Nolan and the others would not have been able to remain here for long.
This place was simply too expensive. Calling it the most costly hotel in the galaxy would not be an exaggeration.
At this moment, the Astral Express had already entered Penacony's docking port, and a dedicated guide led them through the check-in procedures.
However, there was a slight complication. The invitation Penacony had sent to the Astral Express was issued before Nolan and Stelle boarded the train.
As a result, neither he nor Stelle was on the invitation list.
According to protocol, Nolan and Stelle were not permitted to stay in Penacony. With no other option, Himeko asked the staff to report the situation to higher authorities.
Perhaps due to the Astral Express's reputation across the galaxy, after some inquiries and a bit of time, the issue was ultimately resolved.
After all, since Penacony had invited guests to attend the grand festival, it would make no sense to have them arrive in high spirits only to leave disappointed. That would seem rather petty.
Especially since the invitation was originally meant for all members of the Astral Express, and only two names were missing from the list.
After successfully checking into the hotel, the time that followed was free for activities, as there was still quite a while before the "Charmony Festival" officially began.
During this period, exploring Penacony was naturally an option.
This hotel, vast enough to rival a planet, was far from the entirety of Penacony. Its true form only revealed itself after people entered dreams.
That's right, the planet-sized hotel in reality was merely one corner of Penacony. The true Penacony was the fantastical, fairy-tale-like "dreamscape."
This was also why it was called the "Land of Dreams," because within it, one could truly find anything they desired.
All it took was the "Dream Pool" in each room to access the real Penacony.
For Nolan, however, there was no need for such trouble. His powerful spiritual sense allowed him to directly perceive this "dreamscape" and project his consciousness into it to observe its inner workings.
Within his perception, Penacony was composed of twelve massive dream domains. By capturing fragments of conversations among the visitors, he learned that these twelve dreamscapes were:
- Golden Hour (The hub where the party never ends)
- Blue Hour (Romantic district with the Sea of Dreams)
- Gilded Hour (Financial center for bank accounts and Alfalfa Credits)
- Moment of Daybreak (Industrial zone with the Dawn Factory)
- Moment of Morning Dew (Political center and home to the Dewlight Pavilion)
- Moment of Sol (Educational district housing the Paperfold University College)
- Moment of Oasis (A resort-like destination for relaxation)
- Moment of Dusk (High-end luxury shopping paradise)
- Moment of Serenity (A peaceful area for rest)
- Moment of Scorchsand (Home to the SoulGlad™ Scorchsand Audition Venue)
- Moment of Stars (Grand district for stadiums and major events)
- Moment of Midnight (The "quiet" deep night, distinct from the party-heavy Golden Hour)
Each of these dreamscapes had its own distinct characteristics, and every single one contained hundreds of billions of people moving about within them.
Seeing this, Nolan's eyes lit up. If all these people cultivated the "Power of the Accursed Moon," it would undoubtedly grant him an enormous amount of cultivation progress.
Moreover, the method itself was quite simple. He only needed to hang a "Accursed Moon" outside the hotel in the real world.
However, doing so rashly might cause panic. If he could obtain official cooperation from Penacony, then it would not be an issue.
The faction that governed Penacony was "The Family," which worshiped "Harmony." For now, Nolan had no opportunity to come into contact with them.
But there was no rush. There would be plenty of chances in the future.
For now, the main priority was naturally to raise the girls' affection levels. After all, this was a perfect opportunity to be with Himeko and March 7th, so it was only natural to spend more time with them.
Previously, both of their affection levels toward him were already close to Level 8, especially March 7th, who was just five points away. Now, both Himeko and March 7th had seen a noticeable increase in their affection toward Nolan:
[March 7th Has Developed Good Feeling Towards You. Obtained 1 Affection Point. Current Affection Level Lv.8 (176/800)]
[Himeko Has Developed Good Feeling Towards You. Obtained 1 Affection Point. Current Affection Level Lv.8 (531/700)]
It wouldn't take long before their affection levels were maxed out, so over the next couple of days, Nolan planned to find ways to stay with them as much as possible.
As things stood, Dan Heng, who didn't like wandering around, chose to remain on the train, while the others moved freely. However, this wasn't aimless sightseeing.
While in Penacony, Nolan and the others still needed to gather information about certain individuals.
According to Himeko, long ago, Penacony was not the Penacony it was today. It had originally been a planet used by the Interastral Peace Corporation to exile prisoners.
However, the Corporation's oppression of the prisoners was extremely harsh. The suffering inmates eventually rose up in what they called a "War of Independence," while the Corporation referred to it as the "Frontier War."
At that time, the Astral Express had not yet been stranded, and Himeko was not yet the navigator. One day, the train passed by this place and saw the people here suffering.
Three Nameless: Legwork (Mikhail Char Legwork / "The Watchmaker"), Tiernan (Bovard Tiernan), and Razalina (Razalina Jane Estella) chose to stay behind to help them.
Later, due to the outbreak of the "Cancer of All Worlds," the connection between the Corporation and the Asdana star system where Penacony was located was severed, allowing the "War of Independence" to end in victory.
With the help of the Nameless who remained behind, Penacony, once a barren wasteland, gradually developed into the "Land of Dreams" it was today.
What Himeko wanted was for Nolan and the others to explore the place while also gathering information about these predecessors.
Although so much time had passed that they were likely no longer alive, as fellow Nameless and members of the Astral Express, she still wished to learn about their stories.
For Nolan, with his spiritual perception enveloping the entirety of Penacony, every detail was laid bare before him. Finding traces of these Nameless predecessors would not be difficult.
So before everyone entered the dreamscape to search, Nolan stopped them and said he could use his spiritual power to look for them, though it would take some time.
Enveloping all of Penacony within his spiritual perception was akin to observing a sandbox with the naked eye.
While the entire sandbox would be within view, locating a specific grain of sand still required focused attention.
Moreover, he had to remain discreet throughout the process to avoid being discovered by "The Family" and damaging the Astral Express's reputation. After all, what he was doing could already be considered an invasion of privacy.
Because of this, Himeko, who had a strong sense of morality, showed some hesitation toward his method. However, she was not inflexible, and simply reminded him to be careful and avoid prying into places that clearly had no connection to those Nameless predecessors.
Nolan naturally agreed.
(End of Chapter)
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