118: Chapter 118 The Day the Universe "Lies Flat" - Everything Can Sleep

The Devourer of Worlds disappeared.

It left silently, as if it had been completely erased from the Universe, without leaving a single trace of its existence.

The terrifying shadow composed of countless eyeballs and stars from before was now completely invisible.

In the Universe, the final energy storm also slowly calmed down.

The torn space began to repair itself under the soothing of an invisible force.

The sky of Blue Star, after being shattered and dyed black, finally restored its original pure blue.

Warm sunlight once again spilled onto this land that, although scarred, could be considered reborn.

Dead silence.

The entire world fell into a second of dead silence.

All living people, whether hiding in underground bunkers or soldiers lying in ruins on the verge of death, raised their heads and stared blankly at that clear sky where nothing remained.

Their brains still couldn't process this sudden change.

One second later.

"Sob..."

From the ruins of some unknown city, a suppressed sob rang out.

This cry, like a pebble thrown into a lake, immediately set off a huge wave.

"We won... we won!"

"Aaaaaah!"

"Mom! Look! The sky is clear! The sky is clear!"

Enormous cheers erupted from every corner of the Earth.

People laughed, cried, and hugged the strangers next to them, using the most primitive shouts to vent the joy in their hearts.

The joy of billions of people worldwide surviving a catastrophe converged, filled with the breath of life. This force even set off a faint psionic tide in reality.

The whole world, at this moment, welcomed a new life together.

...

In Tianqiong City, in front of the Pure Gold Fried Chicken Shop.

On Gu Fan's phone screen, a few pixelated words popped up.

"GAME OVER".

He stretched and let out a satisfied burp, his eyelids feeling a bit heavy.

The final battle just now, which concerned the survival of the Universe, felt to him like a game with decent graphics but low difficulty.

Now, the game was over, and it was time for him to rest.

But this world clearly wasn't prepared to let him rest so easily.

Almost at the same time the evil god disappeared, all surviving Alliance leaders, hidden experts, and heroes across the globe fixed their gazes intently on this young man who was preparing to go home, through various projection devices.

Their gazes were complex, filled with awe and gratitude, but mostly confusion.

They won.

And then?

The world was smashed to pieces, order was gone, and everything had to start from scratch.

They needed guidance, a direction, an oracle from this savior to tell them what the future of humanity should be.

In the Global Supreme Emergency Video Conference Room, the atmosphere was solemn.

The leaders of the nine major Alliance districts sat upright, even their breathing becoming light.

On the holographic projection in front of them was Gu Fan's somewhat lazy face.

The Speaker of the First Alliance District was a white-haired old man; he straightened his collar and bowed deeply to the projection, his tone very sincere.

"Mr... Gu."

"On behalf of all humanity, I thank you for your salvation."

"Now that the catastrophe has passed and the world is reborn, we... request you to point out the path forward for the confused people of the world! Every word of yours will become the guiding principle for us to rebuild our home!"

As his voice fell, everyone held their breath.

They waited.

Waiting for this powerhouse to deliver a speech concerning the direction of civilization.

Would he establish a new Cultivation order? Or announce more Advanced Law secrets? Or perhaps, establish a supreme temple to unify the globe under his personal leadership?

Countless possibilities flashed rapidly through their minds.

And in the projection.

Gu Fan was a bit annoyed by this sudden display.

He only wanted to go home and take a good nap on his big bed modified from the cloud brocade celestial silkworm banner.

He looked at the group of old men sitting upright with expectant faces in the image, scratched his head, and finally spoke.

He announced his first, and only, command after saving the world.

"Oh, this matter..."

Gu Fan yawned and said very seriously.

"I announce."

"From today onwards, the Universal Lying Flat Statutory Holiday is established."

"Every year on this day, there will be a mandatory global holiday; no overtime is allowed, and no involution is permitted."

"The main theme is just one word: sleep."

"Do you all understand?"

"Alright, meeting adjourned."

Having said that, he didn't give the other party any time to react and casually cut off the communication.

"..."

"..."

"..."

The entire world fell into a deathly silence once again.

In the emergency conference room, the leaders of the nine major Alliance districts were like they had been hit by a freezing spell, each maintaining a leaning-forward, listening posture, their expressions frozen on their faces.

Sleep... sleep?

Universal Lying Flat Day?

This is... the oracle?

Three seconds later, the Five-Star General known for his iron blood had his mouth twitch as he carefully looked at the Speaker next to him.

"He... did he just say... meeting adjourned?"

The Speaker didn't answer; he just slowly sat up straight, leaned against the back of his chair, and let out a long sigh of relief.

In that breath, there was relaxation, a bit of an urge to laugh, but mostly a sense of ease he had never felt before.

Indeed.

Why bother anymore?

Even the world-destroying evil god was silenced by the three words "So what?", so what were they, these Mortals, still fighting and scrambling for?

"Perhaps..."

The Speaker closed his eyes and said softly.

"This is... the Dao we need most."

As he spoke, a change from the fundamental Laws of the Universe also quietly occurred. Gu Fan's Dao of Lying Flat merged with the underlying logic of this world the moment he announced the command.

A rescue team member moving rebar in the ruins suddenly felt his hands lighten; he was stunned for a moment, finding that the steel beam that required three people to move could now be easily lifted with one hand.

"Eh? My strength has become this great?"

A nurse who had worked seventy-two consecutive hours in a temporary hospital just leaned against the wall to take a nap and immediately fell into a sleep as deep as an infant's; when she woke up, she found her spirit exceptionally good, as if she had slept for three whole days.

"Strange... the quality of sleep seems to have never been this good."

In the whole world, gravity seemed to have lightened a tiny bit, oxygen in the air seemed to have increased a little, work fatigue was decreasing, while the satisfaction brought by rest was increasing manifold.

Human civilization, on this day, inexplicably turned into a strange fork in the road of low-desire high-speed development.

Because everyone was surprised to find that as long as they thought about "finishing work early to go home and lie down," their work efficiency would actually become extraordinarily high!

The futures of the friends also moved towards their own marvelous orbits on this day.

Because Xiao Fan had witnessed the entire process of how Gu Fan used reason to persuade the enemy, he was unanimously hired by the global Alliance as the Chief Peace Consultant. His main job was to go to various places with disputes and advise everyone not to get excited, but to have a sleep first.

Lin Xue took a large sum of money given by Gu Fan and established a charity fund called the Warm Quilt Project. This amount of money was enough to buy several star systems; the fund's goal was to ensure that every displaced person could have a comfortable bed and a warm quilt.

And the versatile cleaner of Dormitory 404, Xiao Hei, his domestic service company received the highest-level orders from all official organizations worldwide overnight, instantly going public and becoming an interstellar domestic service Empire. He himself leaped from a worker who owed fifty thousand yuan to the greatest King of Cleaning in the Universe.

Looking at the long string of zeros on his account that he couldn't even count, he silently picked up the toilet brush and scrubbed the toilet of the fried chicken shop until it was brighter than a mirror.

"Need to add more money..." he thought calmly.

Outside Tianqiong City.

The Sea-Stabilizing Divine Monk watched everything happening before him, looking at the people who had laid down their weapons and begun cleaning their homes with peaceful smiles on their faces, and remembered that young man in front of the fried chicken shop who frowned because he was "blocking the sunlight."

He finally realized.

"So... inaction is the greatest action."

"Non-contention is the ultimate contention."

A childlike smile appeared on the old monk's face.

"This old monk... is also going to lie flat."

After saying that, he found a patch of fairly clean grass and lay down in a very un-monk-like manner, sprawling out and basking in the sun; before long, he let out a slight snore.

As for that giant Cosmic Hamster, French Fries, it was respectfully invited away by the Tianqiong City officials to become the sole mascot and guardian Divine Beast of the newly built National Forest Park. Its daily job was to sleep and act cute on the largest lawn, accepting feedings from children.

Gu Fan, as the source of all this, had zero interest.

He rejected all the luxurious palaces built for him and ignored the visitors who almost broke down the dormitory threshold.

He returned to his Dormitory 404.

Xiao Hei had already cleaned the place thoroughly, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of lemon.

He threw himself onto that big bed he had been longing for.

The celestial silkworm silk sheets were cool and smooth, and the smart massage mattress automatically turned on, soothing every inch of his muscles with just the right amount of force.

"Gold nest or silver nest, nothing beats one's own doghouse..."

Gu Fan let out a satisfied sigh and buried his face deep into the pillow.

He was the true guardian deity of this world, but his way of guarding the world was to find the most comfortable place to lie down.

His lying flat aura was a very strong defense.

As long as he was still sleeping peacefully here, this world would not fall into chaos.

...

One year later.

Everything had gotten on the right track, and the world was developing rapidly in a strange and efficient peaceful atmosphere.

Gu Fan felt that life seemed to have become a bit boring again.

So, he sat up from the bed and said to Xiao Fan, who was peeling an apple, and Lin Xue, who was reading a magazine.

"Hey, it seems our Lying Flat Society has been established for a year, right?"

"How about... we hold a celebration?"