The Record of Unusual Creatures - Chapter 548

Chapter 548: I’m Sorry But Your Package Just Exploded

 

After receiving Raven 12345’s message, Hao Ren hurried to retrieve his little international buddies—including the siren, who had swam to the connection point of the continental shelf, and the cat girl, who had already gotten into the city’s sewer system. It took him about an hour to find the fish and cat before he proceeded to search through all the kitchens in the demon king’s palace to get Lily out…

After gathering everyone in one place, he announced that they were to depart home early. Rollie suddenly dropped to the floor in disappointment, unwilling to get up. Hao Ren felt like he was teaching a kindergarten class: it was annoying.

“Let’s go. We have to dig out Holletta’s First Born as soon as we can.” Hao Ren tried hard to get the cat girl up, and turned to say goodbye to Lanina. “We’re leaving now. Something’s going on back home… Stop scratching me! Stop scratching me! You still want your dinner, don’t you?”

The silly cat nagged Hao Ren. “No! I haven’t played enough yet. I haven’t played enough yet! You can go home on your own!”

Hao Ren was helpless and calling for help. Nangong Wuyue, who had just returned from her swim in the deep sea, actually took something back. The siren pulled a fish out of thin air like a trick and she handed it over. “It’s for you. Stop whining.”

Seemingly surprised by Wuyue’s catch, Hao Ren said, “I didn’t know there were fish in this world.”

“Of course there are. They’re all near the continental shelf in the area of deep water, quite similar to Earth. The phosphorus content is a little higher here although the fish tastes fine.”

True to a water creature, the siren could detect the carbon, ferrous sulphate, calcium, and vitamin contents in your body just by looking at you.

The silly cat sniffed the fish and found it very fresh. She immediately talked nervously to the fish. “You’re not going to hit me, are you? If you’re not going to hit me, then I shall eat you…”

Lanina looked at the cat in horror. “…What’s wrong with her?”

Only then did Hao Ren realize that he had forgotten to introduce the cat girl to her. “Oh, you haven’t actually met her before. Remember Rollie? Yes, the cat. Something unexpected happened, and she’s been like this for the past two days. In the process, Lil Pea’s worldview was shattered. Now, before she eats fish—all fresh fish—she’ll have to ask permission to make sure she doesn’t get beaten.”

As he spoke, he patted the silly cat and grabbed the fish away from her. “No raw fish! Wait until we get home and I’ll grill it for you…”

Y’zaks smiled and took the fish in his hand. When he gave it back to the silly cat a while later, the fish was already cooked. “Now you can have it, it’s grilled.”

Everyone was speechless.

While they hurried back to Earth, Rollie curiously wandered near the portal immediately after crossing it. She squatted there, trying to check out the base of the portal. She reached out to check if there were any crevices. Her tail rolled into a question mark and she looked up at Hao Ren. “Big Boss Cat, why isn’t it lit up anymore? When will you walk me again?”

Hao Ren was actually thinking about arousing her interest in the world on the other side of the portal. He stepped forward and patted the cat girl on the head. “Isn’t it fun across the portal?”

The silly cat immediately nodded. “Yeah, yeah!”

“I can take you there again. After you’re familiar with the place, I’ll teach you how to use the portal and you can go there yourself.” Hao Ren had a bright smile on his face. “But there’s a pre-requisite. Don’t go out into the streets as you pleased—at least, not before you get used to human life.

The silly cat was suddenly reluctant. She thought about it for a long moment while she sat cross-legged on the ground. In this cat’s worldview, the Southern Suburbs had been her original territory since time immemorial, and there was no reason to just give it up. But the “territory” on the other side of the portal was obviously bigger and more interesting. Besides, no one would prevent her from playing there. The temptation was so great that the cat had a hard time making a choice, before she finally nodded reluctantly. “Okay, deal! Now give me a small dried fish.”

Hao Ren blinked and asked, “Haven’t you just eaten a grilled fish?!”

The cat girl showed a coquette face and said, “Come on, just a little dried fish.”

After taking care of the cat and dog, Hao Ren ran to Raven 12345’s mansion to collect his courier package.

The door to the mansion was closed. An arcane servant then led him to the grove next to the mansion. Hao Ren waited there for a long time before the rustling sound of footsteps was heard. Raven 12345 came out from behind some bushes, carrying a machete on her shoulder. The goddess looked to be in a good mood today as she greeted Hao Ren with a bright smile. “Hey, I was just trimming the flower beds.”

Hao Ren looked at the machete on her shoulder. “This machete… haven’t you returned it?”

“Yeah, I’ve gotten it back again.” Raven 12345 wielded the machete cheerfully. “Those fellows aren’t really smart. I took it back with just a simple trick.”

Hao Ren said, “How could you do that?”

Raven 12345 waved her hand carelessly. “Why not? I’ll only return it when she comes. I’m no match for her after all.”

Hao Ren suddenly felt an admiration for his goddess; despite losing the fight, she was dead set on not losing face. He quickly cut the cackle and got down to business. “Where’s the building module that I want?”

Raven 12345 smacked her forehead as if she suddenly realized something. She put away the machete and said, “Oh yes, I almost forgot… Here’s the thing; originally, the administration had sent you a general purpose building module for inspectors to build a personal space station… But let me tell ya, the building module isn’t that reliable at all. Do you know that it was made by a private contractor, and it’s no match against the divine version?

Hao Ren’s sixth sense told him that all was not right. He instantly gave Raven 12345 a sideways look. “Just tell me what happened.”

“…Then, I noticed that the module wasn’t the same as what I’ve seen before. I tried it out for you, just a few minutes ago…”

Hao Ren’s eyes twitched. “Alright, I get it… Can you tell me where it is now?”

With her fingers, Raven 12345 pointed in the direction of the grove, where smoke was still bellowing. “Right there in the pit.”

Hao Ren was speechless.

He felt that anyone who could beat this female neuropath would have definitely lost it! She clearly knew that she was a mechanical idiot herself.

Raven 12345 noticed his long face. She smiled wryly and patted Hao Ren on the shoulder. “Don’t fret. I’m a professional with a sense of responsibility and I’ll certainly not delay your work. I’ve already thought of a good alternative for you.”

While she spoke, she snapped her fingers. Shortly after, Hao Ren saw the air beside her suddenly waft with a ripple of light. The light gradually condensed and finally formed into a translucent female figure: it was an exact replica of Raven 12345.

“The nature of the Plane of Dreams is rather unique. If I travel directly into it or interfere with it for too long, it will cause an imbalance.” Raven 12345’s glimmering avatar continued to solidify as she waved to Hao Ren. “So, I’ll send my avatar to go with you. Although it’s just a replica, it’s definitely better than that building module.”

Hao Ren blinked. Little did he expect Raven 12345 to suddenly come up with such an idea. He looked at her in confusion. “You mean you’ll come with me personally and help me build a house?”

Raven 12345 and her avatar nodded in unison while she explained, “I’m not going with you, I’m sending my avatar with you. Do you think a goddess like me has time for such menial jobs? I’m just allocating a working thread for you.”

“You’re serious?” Hao Ren could not help but speak bluntly. “I’m not questioning your combat strength… but aren’t you not tech-savvy? How do you plan on creating the equipment in the research station?”

Raven 12345 raised her eyebrows and sounded unhappy, “Use your noodle, dude! I’m not tech-savvy, but I’m good in occultism. Do you think I’m just all mouth and no trousers?”

Hao Ren was startled. “Are you planning on producing a research station with occult technology? But, I’ve never used it before.”

“You can just follow the instruction manual. Do you know how a spacecraft works when you fly it? How many people on Earth, who watch TV know how to make monitors? So, stop worrying.”

With arms akimbo, the goddess said, “Do you really want me to help you? I, as a goddess am making time to help you build a house. Why are you still being so picky?”

Hao Ren had no choice. He nodded to show his appreciation. However, something crossed his mind while he was nodding. “That’s not right! Weren’t you the who blew up the equipment in the first place, and now you have no choice but to offer yourself?”

“Ahaha…”

“So tell me frankly, are you hiding something from me?” Hao Ren looked at the goddess suspiciously. “You’re offering yourself just because the equipment blew up?”

Raven 12345 coughed as she laughed, and shot Hao Ren a glare. “Can you stop imagining things?”

“Just tell me. I have obsessive-compulsive disorder.” Hao Ren spread his hand. “I have bees in my bonnet.”

Raven 12345 sighed. “It’s not really a big deal. It’s just for safety reasons: since you want to contain the First Born, it’s better to use a divine container. And, it’s best to use the container that I make.”

Speaking of this, she paused and looked into the distance. “Of course, the most important reason is that the equipment just exploded. If this incident delays your work, it’ll affect my year-end appraisal.”

“…I knew it!” Hao Ren exclaimed.

Chapter 549: The Beginning of a Major Project

 

Once everything was in place, Hao Ren began his next course of action.

First, he contacted the Aerymian engineering team, and dispatched the Petrachelys to get the large machinery from the Aerymian elves in advance; then, he contacted Marshal Ophra through Becky to inform her that the “final phase” of the First Born saga was about to begin. He gave them time to do the necessary evacuation and public opinion control. Then, he had also contacted Igor through Vivian: the largest ever excavation team in the world would enter the other world through the spatial rift beneath Andrea Castle, it was necessary give the old man a heads-up, lest he passed out again…

Five days later, news came back that the complex engineering preparations needed to make things work were finally ready. All personnel and equipment were in place. Hence, it was time for Hao Ren to open all the necessary portals for the project: from his home to Andrea Castle, from Aerym to Andrea Castle, and from Tannagost to Holletta; a total of three space-time tunnels.

All parties were ready at the portals nearest to them.

Rollie and the Nangong siblings stayed back at home while Hao Ren brought the others as they teleported to Andrea Castle. This time, he brought Big Beardy along for one purpose: Hao Ren would inevitably have to deal with the bigwigs of Holletta, especially the Church, where he could encounter a problem later on, so it was more prudent to bring Big Beardy along.

Big Beady had agreed to go. The master had been staying in Hao Ren’s home and mingling pretty well with everyone. Aside from his pig-headedness in challenging the nature, he was still very easy to talk to.

Igor led his son and daughter to welcome the witch into their castle. He had the hall specially decorated, and the entire family wore festive costumes. In order to welcome the witch, the old man almost took elite customs and rituals to the highest degree—even if it seemed superfluous.

With just a glance, Vivian already noticed that Anna and Akim were in good spirits. She smiled and greeted them before they could do so. “You guys have recovered from the influence of the vengeful spirit, haven’t you?”

Akim was still a bit shy. The young boy, who had been locked up in a room since childhood was not used to talking to strangers. Anna was much more sociable. The noble lady courted Vivian politely. With a smile, she said, “Yes, My Lady. The nightmare has disappeared for a long time. My father and we are both recovering very quickly.”

Vivian nodded and asked, “What about those memories?”

“Still here,” said Anna, pointing at her own forehead. “But it’s already separated from normal memory. It feels like watching other people’s stories… Now I won’t take those weird visions seriously anymore.”

“My Lady,” Igor still spoke in a formal manner when he met Vivian. “As per your instruction, I have kept servants in the outskirts of the castle away from the crypt and ordered the guards outside not be alarmed. Will it be noisy later?”

“Actually, there’s not much. Just a lot of people. I’m worried that things might go wrong.” Vivian shook her head. Then she forced a smile. “Have I not told you not to call me by this honorific? Look, how nervous the kids have become!”

Igor straightened his body and explained matter-of-factly. “I’ve read those hidden ancient books. The kinship of the Blood Clan should be hereditary until the bloodline stops or else the vow would go on forever. This is the rule of the dark world…”

As the old man spoke, his face red like a glorious person. He seemed to have done some homework recently, having learned how the family members of vampire should get along with their own masters—though their families was not considered a thoroughbred vampire family and even the old man himself might not have understood it entirely. For prudence’s sake and his reverence of the witch, he chose to address her using the safest honorific.

Besides, he might be still young at heart. After all, grown men were always boys at heart, including this fifty-two-year-old.

As poor as Vivian was, she had had a variety of followers. In such situation, she was absolutely steady. She nodded. “Well, let your people guard the entrance of the crypt, don’t let anyone enter. Me. Landlord, we shall go now.”

The dark snowfields were as icy as when they left, and the scenery had not changed. The last time they left, Hao Ren had left behind a space stabilizer, and now the stabilizer was working so that the entire space would not change over time. Hao Ren saw some sparkling lights on the edge of the snowfield. He knew that those were the watch posts set up by Igor on the edge of the other dimension. These watch posts were used to observe movements in the snowfields. These posts where the servants of the castle were brave enough to be stationed at, were the closest lines bordering the distorted otherworld. But now those posts should be empty as Igor had already dismissed the guards.

They came to the lilac-coloured space cracks. Hao Ren found the portal and other equipment he had left there during his last visit. It seemed that these things still worked very well: the volatile energy released by the space crack had not affected the operation of these precision devices.

The MDT flew into the air to act as a communicator. Very quickly, Hilda appeared on the holographic projection. “Aerymian excavation team is ready for teleportation.”

Hao Ren said, “OK…. Oh, wait a second, let me check with Becky if he side is ready to receive.”

Hilda nodded and then asked her questions seriously. “I have a question: Why excavation team, and not engineering or drilling team?”

Hao Ren almost choked himself. He smiled and beat around the bush by saying, “They mean the same thing, aren’t they?”

Then he called Becky, visual of the mercenary girl appeared on the holographic projection. It was only a few days and the girl had already turned herself into a medieval woman, wearing a Holletta aristocratic costumes and with matching hairstyle and a wine cellar in the background—she was using an integrated communicator-transmitter which was placed in the underground cellar.

Becky was showing her signature bright smile. “Hey, Mr. Landlord, long time no see!”

Before Hao Ren could say anything, Becky had already ran off at the mouth. “We’re ready here. The Pope and his people are waiting outside. I told them it shouldn’t be disturbed when the door to the otherworld is open. You know, I can’t let them spill my wine…How about your side? Is Wuyue OK? Is Lil Pea fine?”

Hao Ren patted his chest and let Lil Pea out to say hello. Meanwhile, Vivian reminded him. “Time is almost up, let’s summon the Goddess. You and the Goddess will go and put up the platform first.”

Hao Ren couldn’t help but feel a bit of ball-ache. He put Lil Pea back into his pocket before he took out a note from his pocket with a grimacing face and began to read in a semi-dead tone, “The Goddess of omnipotence, the wise Creator, the Merciful Guardian, the ruler of the multi-world, who holds the fourteen truths, who transforms, you are one, and you are a many, you are the beginning and end of the law, and come to the world with a thought and mould the world. Please listen to our call, descending and reshaping the truth…”

After finishing the chanting, Hao Ren shook his head and looked around and found nothing had happened.

“Have you chanted wrongly?” Y’zaks asked curiously.

“My foot! She wrote this stuff herself.” Hao Ren’s mouth twitched and he shouted out in his mind. “What are you doing? Why are you still not coming?”

The raucous voice of Raven 12345 sounded through everyone’s mind. “That’s cool. Read it again, read it again…”

Hao Ren was agitated. “Stop the crap! Come and help!”

Raven 12345’s avatar descended as it came directly from the celestial world and emerged beside Hao Ren. She crossed her arms and started complaining. “You are disrespecting the Goddess. As broad-minded as I am, I am still a Goddess…”

Hao Ren tossed the note to one side and said, “I can’t really be serious reading the stuff you have written. Did you pretend not hearing me?”

“I heard it and it was cool.”

“…”

“Chill out, it’s not easy to be a Goddess,” Raven 12345 laughed. Although what was here was just her avatar, it was connected with the body synchronously, which meant, the words and demeanour of the avatar were exactly the same with the real Raven. “Come on, let’s go and build the container.”

Hao Ren let out a sigh. He nodded to Hill, who was standby on the other side of the communicator. “In the absence of other instructions, you will begin to teleport to Earth after forty minutes. Vivian will guide you through the space crevasse and enter Tannagost transit station. Then wait for further instruction.”

“Let’s go, don’t waste time,” Raven 12345 gave Hao Ren a push. “After all, I can only stay for 30 minutes there.”

Chapter 550: Non-Intervention

 

Before the First Born could be removed from the planet, he must first set up the receiving container. The volatile horror monster must be suppressed at any time in a prison. So Hao Ren and Raven 12345’s shadow a.k.a avatar was first teleported into The Plane of Dreams.

Alamanda, the desolate city of gold, was at dawn at the moment. Arriving on the portal square, Hao Ren saw the first bright ray of sunshine shining from a low angle from the horizon onto the city, scattering its radiance on the ancient ruins. He felt Tannaeans must have a different visual capability from the people of the earth—because when the weather is good, their city was just too dazzlingly bright.

But in any case, starting the project at such glorious moment seemed to be a good sign.

“I’m going to set up the research station on the orbit of Tannagost,” Hao Ren lifted his finger pointing to the sky. “Tannagost is getting a large satellite.”

The planet did not have a large natural satellite like the moon. There were only three tiny rocks orbiting it. The three satellites were too small and obviously not suitable for accommodating the prison of the First Born. Hao Ren believed that once the ‘container’ was established, it would become the brightest light in the night sky of Tannagost.

Raven 12345 looked down at her hands, layers of ripples were spreading away from her. She felt somewhere in the depths of the universe… or in a certain frequency, there was a hidden force. This force was reacting to her visit.

The Goddess groaned. “Tsk, I can’t believe it; it’s already weakened to such extent but there’s still a reaction. That’s freaking sensitive.”

“Huh?” having not heard what she said, Hao Ren turned his head around.

“Nothing. Let’s waste no time,” Raven 12345 waved her hand, grabbing Hao Ren by his clothes and teleported to the synchronized orbit of Tannagost right away.

After identifying the most ideal location for the ‘container’, Hao Ren took a few step back. Raven 12345 swiftly snapped his fingers; even though it was in a vacuum, her voice was still spreading like a resounding soul. “Let there be light.”

The dark space was instantly filled with light, it was so overwhelmingly bright that it spread across the entire galaxy.

“Dang, it’s too bright. I’ll work better in the dark.”

Then the light was turned off and the space returned to darkness.

Cold sweat trickled down Hao Ren’s forehead as he marvelled: The power of the Goddess was really awesome, but … was she really serious?

It did not matter how sceptical Hao Ren was, Raven 12345 had begun to create the foundation of the research station. She was going to create a container with divine property, and the container’s shell must be able to withstand the damaging attack of the First Born perfectly so as to avoid jailbreak. This was actually not a very easy job for her considering her current state.

She focused her mind, and used her own ideas to bend the rules of the region.

A light emerged out of nowhere in the space, and Raven 12345 connected her mind with the underlying data of the universe, directly modifying the data to create a miracle that defied any known laws of physics within a limited range. Energy and materials appeared out of thin air, weird crystals began to form in the space and join to create a massive dome.

She also created a number of crystal-like floating platforms, a massive pit in the centre of the floating platforms, then covered with crystal domes right above, and connected the floating platforms together with huge, gleaming giant beams which enabled exchange of data between platforms and held them in place. In the process of this rapid formation, there were a large number of runes glowing in blue shimmering on their surface, as if life was growing on them.

It was the most wonderful, spectacular, and magnificent scene Hao Ren had ever seen: crystal mountains emerged in space and grew rapidly. In just a few blinks of an eye, the crystal mountains and domes had grown so massive that they were almost blocking out the sun. And on these rapidly growing crystals and metals, mysterious runes that no one could understand flew, forming the control and computing centre of the entire facility.

During this entire process, the avatar of Raven 12345 was fading rapidly, the one-off double would soon be gone.

Bending the rules of the universe was very energy-consuming, especially a special universe like The Plane of Dreams.

After the main part was completed, Raven 12345 stopped. Now the entire crystal facility had become a giant man-made object, its width was similar to that of the moon, and it was made up of more than a dozen symmetrically distributed misaligned-ellipsoidal domes, which were separated by two half-ellipsoidal structures of different sizes, and the huge container inside was enough to accommodate the First Born. Some of the domes were expandable, which could even fit even larger thing.

The appearance of this facility had now ceased to change and grow. However, light was still being emitted inside it. It was improving its own structure and ‘growing’ the necessary research facilities. Raven 12345 looked at her creation with satisfaction. She gently gifted it its initial orbit and reset the position of Tannagost to prevent the sudden emergence of this big guy on the orbit from causing undue influence to the planet’s ecology—after all, this crystal mountain range was enough to influence the orbit of other planets.

“Although it was created in a hurry… but it looks good,” Raven 12345 boasted. “My design intuition isn’t just a hype, I’d once won the award in the City of Shadows Art Competition, especially… let’s not to talk about that, it reminds me of the lost planet. I wonder where the child is now.”

Keeping his awe of those crystal mountains to himself, Hao Ren drifted up to Raven 12345 and looked at the almost transparent avatar body of Raven. “Are you okay?”

“What problem you think I’ve got?” The Goddess blinked, the realising her situation. “Oh, you’re talking about this. Well, like I said, I won’t be able to get involved in The Dream of Dreams for a long time. This avatar could remain for thirty minutes here was the result of my recent adjustment of the balance of the two universes. Now do understand why as powerful as I am, I have to delegate this job to you?”

Hao Ren frowned. Deep inside, he already had some vague ideas. “What if you get too involved in The Plane of Dreams?”

“Look at the starlight in the distance, and you will know.” Raven 12345 shrugged and pointed to the starry sky.

Only then Hao Ren noticed that the distant stars were showing a strange phenomenon: starlight was distorted, and the various cosmic rays were dragging their long tails and pointing at this direction as if the universe were encapsulated in a spherical glass which made the universe appeared twisted.

“For now, it’s just an optical distortion. What happens next won’t be just about distortion of starlight but the body of stars itself.” Raven 12345’s avatar was getting fainter. She shrugged while saying helplessly. “Do you know that when a normal universe contains a sickly parasitic body, it is a very challenging job to be a God here? It was like on tenterhooks, any intervention of me in The Plane of Dreams—observation, or even merely staring at it—was enough to make this universe experiencing spasm. Even with just a little projection of me in here, it is enough to destroy this place in just thirty-one minutes.”

Hao Ren was stunned.

“…So, I must delegate to the right people, now this is called work specialisation.” The Goddess waved her hand at Hao Ren. “This is my first time helping you in The Plane of Dreams, and probably the last time too. My involvement in this world ends here, and you take up the rest…”

As her words trailed off in Hao Ren’s mind, the avatar of Raven 12345 finally vanished into space. The next moment, the stars of the entire universe were restored back to their respective positions.

Hao Ren scratched his head while cold sweat ran down his spine.

The world was only sixty seconds from total destruction a while ago.

“Dang, that was serious… you should have said it earlier,” Hao Ren complained to the empty space, and then muttered curiously, “But… what is the parasitic body about?”

Chapter 551: A Historic Meeting of Two Civilizations

 

Hao Ren was a bit concerned about the last few words of Raven 12345, but he knew that unless the time had come, the goddess would not reveal too much. So he could not help but put this thoughts aside and focus on things on hand.

The crystal still grew on its own. Like a living thing, it kept improving itself until the will of Raven 12345 was executed perfectly. Hao Ren looked at the buildings and found that internally it was undergoing a series of changes: huge crystal bridges, rifts and plains were growing rapidly, changing positions, while lightning was dancing between those crystal clusters, charging the recently-grown magic equipment. At the same time, some information poured into Hao Ren mind when he reached his hand touching the crystal complex.

He was startled for a moment before he realized that it was the structural diagram and the activation method of the crystal complex. Of course, only the operation part was involved, knowledge of the underlying principle could not be injected directly into his mind.

Hao Ren took a step back and looked at the spectacular scenery. He knew that this crystalline mountain range would be his biggest research base in the Plane of Dreams. This was a space station, a container with the highest safety rating, and a prison. From now on, all large samples he collected could be stored here, and the secrets of the First Born would be completely dugged out.

…Well, not that it was diggable. Saying that just sounded better.

Hao Ren did not have time to study the operation manual as the MDT suddenly reminded him. “Aerymian elves have begun teleporting.”

The time had come. The elven technicians, led by Hilda, had reached the earth through the portal, and groups of people began to enter the Alamanda Portal through space crack. A sharp whistling sound was reverberating in the dark snowfield below Andrea Castle, a unique phenomenon caused by the sudden increase in energy of the portal and its interference with nearby space crack.

In the middle of the dark snowfield, near the circular platform where space crack was located, the portal that was in high-power state was lit up again and again. Each time the light column flashed, a dozen elves wearing short robes would appear near the light column. Hilda, who followed the first group arriving at the snowfield, looked around curiously. “I didn’t expect the first transit station to be such a place… I feel the spatial structure here is a bit unique.”

Vivian’s voice was heard from behind the elven queen. “This is a different dimension, a distorted point between the earth and the otherworld, and the last dividing line of the Wall of Reality. Passing this snowfield, we will be entering the Plane of Dreams.”

Hilda turned to greet Vivian with a nod, and Lily on the side was raising her voice guiding the elves. “Keep your eyes open, pay attention to your breathing apparatus. I’m talking to you—check your breathing apparatus, the atmosphere of Tannagost is toxic! If you start bleeding, it would be too late to check your safety handbook. People, please queue up, people…”

The husky was jumping up and down excitedly. She was particularly thrilled during this time: it seemed that the maiden was naturally interested in organizing activities. She felt important. The most happy thing for her to do must be wearing uniforms and armbands to direct traffic at the community parking lot…

Lily finally met Hilda, and her ears stood upright. “You too, Your Majesty the Queen, you’ll have to… Ahh, never mind. Just go ahead of the pack, you’re brighter.”

Hilda was not offended. She just shook her head and smiled before turning and going through the lilac space crack.

Alamanda, the magnificient desolate city of gold appeared before her.

“If not for seeing it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed that there is such a planet in this world.” Hilda, like other elves, was captivated by the city of gold, and took her a few seconds to realise Hao Ren was next to her. She nodded awkwardly. “I’ve brought my people here.”

“After passing through that portal, you will reach Holletta,” said Hao Ren, pointing at the portal not far away with a smile. “It must be a different feel to come back to where you’ve been through before. Becky is expecting you on the other side. I’ll go after you later. Oh yeah, the portal to Holletta here can only let three persons pass at any one time, and when the blue light turns on again, the next three persons can proceed to teleport.”

The elves began to pass the portal as he instructed. Hilda asked curiously. “Is the throughput of this space-time tunnel low?”

Hao Ren shrugged. “The throughput of the portal in the basement of Beckt’s home is low. When I first installed the portal, I didn’t expect there would be so many people ust it at once. Guys, please pay attention and follow instruction once you’re over there, don’t mess with the bottles and cans around you. They’re Becky’s life!”

Before his voice trailed off, he heard Becky screamed on the other end of the communicator. “Oh no, that’s my century-old imperial mead! My ale… My table! My… My foot—you stepped on my foot!”

It turned out that using the space-time portal installed in the basement to teleport five hundred persons was not a good idea, even if this basement belonged to a local parvenu. Hao Ren’s plan had a lot of shortcoming and there was mess going on on Becky’s side.

A few years later, only a handful of witnesses would remember that the ‘alien allies’ who had saved Holletta were drunk and crawling out of the basement, with a red-eyed Countess chasing from behind…

Anyway, all activities organized by Hao Ren basically would turn into a drama like this.

Meanwhile, the welcoming team waiting outside the manor was all dumbfounded; as the soldiers, preselected by Ophra and the pope, lining up to welcome their alien guests, bunch of elves scambled out of the mansion as soon as the door was open. Ophra, as if she had expected this, sighed before whispering to her aide beside her. “Go and call the record officer. I’ll need to talk to him about the welcoming script.”

The welcoming team dispatched by Holletta official outside Becky’s manor could only look on as waves of elves scrambled out from the house. The pope whispered to Ophra, asking if these elves were members of the First Born experts as the entire elven team appeared to be more like the crowd at train stations during the Spring Festival. What Hilda had brought were engineers and technicians, not trained soldier—they possessed professional skills, but not good at queuing in order, so when they came out from the portal, it appeared chaotic. But fortunately, the situation was quickly under control under the guidance of several team leaders. The elven technicians were finally organized into teams and head counting began. Meanwhile, Hao Ren, Hilda and several others who had just been teleported from the dark snowfield were coming out from the back of the groups.

Becky, looking traumatized, followed Hao Ren from behind and complanined. “My wine… my wine…”

Lily patted her on the shoulder and said, “You’re saving the world, don’t harp over the little thing. Remember, you are the chief ticket issuer of Holletta transit station of Space Administration. At worse, you can always talk the king into giving you a new batch of wine.”

Hao Ren led Big Beardy and Hilda before Ophra and others. After a moment of obligatory casual exchange, he introduced the team he had brought along and Hilda to Ophra. “This is the queen of Aerymian elves, Queen Hilda. She is willing to give you a helping hand. Her excavation team will undertake the operation of this mission.

Ophra had not expect a queen would personally lead the team here, but she was quick to react as her hand crossed her chest and said, “It’s an honor to meet you, your Majesty the Queen from the otherworld. Please accept my apology if there is an oversight; we have never had this kind of…diplomatic experience in our world.”

Hilda nodded reservedly and gracefully. “There’s no need for extra formality. I come on the invitation of the Sun King. Just treat me like any other ordinary guest. Everything is decided by the Sun King.”

Ophra was startled. “The Sun… King? Where is he?”

Hao Ren held his head high and winked but All his expressions had not attracted Ophra’s attention. He finally could not help but say, “It’s right here! I am the Sun… No, I mean, I am the king!”

Ophra and the pope were both stunned. The marshal looked at Hao Ren in surprise. “You didn’t tell me before?”

Judging from her reaction, it must be the fault of Hao Ren’s appearance which was so inconsistent the honorific. It lacked realism. Hao Ren nodded with self-aware. “Okay, okay, I know I look somewhat different from the title. Let’s cut the cackle and get down to business. Are all the preparations done?”

Ophra smiled. “You have to believe in our mobilization ability, at least in terms of evacuation ability. Forget about the residents, we’ve even evacuated the wild animals around the seals…”

Hao Ren nodded and looked in the direction of Hilda. “Then let’s wait for the bigwigs to finish talking. Get ready for work!”

Chapter 552: Who’s Got Better Digging Skills?

 

Soon, there was nothing much for Hao Ren to do, because Hilda had already begun the follow-up diplomatic negotiations, and technical negotiations were handled by several leaders from the elven engineering team. Hao Ren’s mission was basically over…

Holletta had already received message from Hao Ren a few days ago. The residents near the Volcano of Dusk and the giant tree of life had already been evacuated. The related propagandas were also on schedule. Hao Ren did not know what kind of comfort words The Disciples of Glory had prepared for the public. Presumably it must have something to do with the Goddess again.

Hilda and the Pope were exchanging ideas about the two civilizations which were meeting for the first time. Opra took the opportunity to get out. She made a wink at Hao Ren and the two of them came to a quiet place. The marshal looked hesitant. “Why didn’t you inform me ahead of time that there would be a foreign queen visiting? The King should be the one comes and meets in person in accordance to the rules. We’ve thought that all who come to help are your ordinary subordinate…”

Hao Ren laughed wryly, then said, “Ahh… I didn’t know Hilda had wanted to come along. She must have had her own considerations. But don’t get yourself so worked up; the elves are here just to work, they don’t care about the formality.”

Opra looked at Hao Ren as if she was sizing him up, making Hao Ren a little nervous. Then Opra said, “The elves called you Sun King, but obviously you’re not of their race. I’m curious what you do in the otherworld. Of course, it’s I’m asking in my personal capacity. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“It’s not a secret,” Hao Ren shrugged. “I’m like a traffic police and law enforcer responsible for law and order of the area under my jurisdiction. Just that my area of jurisdiction is relatively large. I brought these elves out from another world and I promised them a new land. So now I’m their lord.”

Opra was amazed. “A piece of… land?”

Hao Ren patted his chest and said, “Yeah, can’t you see how big family business is?”

“Sorry but I didn’t see it.”

“…..” Hao Ren was silent for a moment and then steered the conversation away awkwardly. “The operation will cause a scene this time, no less mammoth than the Dragonspine Ridge operation. I hope you have already done your homework.”

“With the experience of the Dragonspine Ridge operation, pacifying the public at home isn’t much a problem. The only problem is the surrounding small countries.” Opra smiled slightly. “It’s hard not to expect there will be some opportunists, those barbarians have never believed in the Goddess’ teaching, so they probably would not believe the church’s explanation of the ‘miracle’. Probably they would think that it’s a manifestation of Holletta having a natural disaster, and then take the opportunity to loot the kingdom. The King has been too soft for too long. Someone always forget the taste of blood.”

Opra said, glancing at Hao Ren. “What do you think about this?”

“Think about what?”

“As a… um, as you say, inspector. Don’t you say that your job is to travel around the world as spokesperson to observe the development of history of all species? Then the war between Holletta and the surrounding barbarians…”

Hao Ren shrugged. “Then you guys can just go at it.”

Opra was startled for a moment. Hao Ren smiled. “I know you are dealing with me on behalf of the king, but regrettably you wouldn’t get the answer you want. Mhoren His Highness thinks that I’ll help out? Because of my relationship with the Kingdom of Holletta that when you go to war with the neighbouring barbarians, there will be soldiers from heaven to help you winning the war. Please, send my words to His Highness the King that I will not intervene because it’s a civil war — yes, it’s written in my handbook, this is a civil war. The conflict that broke out within the races on your planet is just that you artificially divide the belligerents into ‘kingdom army’ and the ‘barbarian army’. We’ll only intervene if this one thing happens:

Hao Ren said, raising his hand pointing to the sky.

“Natural disasters, extinct-level natural disasters. My job is only to deal with this, because we want to ensure the diversity of civilizations. As long as diversity is maintained, it doesn’t matter who is the dominant race of the civilization. It’s called natural selection.

“Of course, if you are really being beaten by others and about to be wiped out, I’ll come and help you to sail through the difficult moment. That’s considered my personal initiative. The last time I did, I had moved 500,000 people.”

As soon as Hao Ren’s voice trailed off, Opra was surprised and for a moment she was unable to give response. A few second later, only then the marshal said with a subtle smile on her face. “Okay, that’s rather expected. We had set up a group of experts and scholars earlier to study way of thinking and action of you and the forces behind you. It seems there are right at least one-third of the time. I will pass your reply on to the King. I hope we won’t leave a bad impression all because of these questions. As you know, it’s a human nature to do thing in our own interest.”

Hao Ren smiled but said nothing, quietly relieving the fact that the MDT had forced him to study of the handbook in the last few days and just happened to have read about this matter, otherwise he would not be able to answer so matter-of-factly.

Opra kneaded her face, her expression was a little hapless. “I’ve done my part. I wasn’t really used to say those words… I prefer to go into the battlefield, see whom I’m upset with and finish them with just a wave of my sword. Not so much wrestling with words and mind. It’s a pity that there has been no war since many years ago, beside doing some relief works, even the marshal could only go and parade in the streets to fire up the atmosphere, and occasionally serve as a diplomat for Mhoren, which should be the responsible of Hoffman.”

Opra had actually prepared a grander welcoming ceremony under the decree of the king, including a banquet and meeting with other court officers. However, it was clear that the Aerymian elves did not have much interest in these arrangements. Hilda came to Hao Ren. “The handover of technology is over. Could you please first bring my men to the site? Leave the banquet of Holletta aside… at least after the mission is done.”

Hao Ren sensed that Hilda had other arrangements. “What about you?”

“I’m going to meet King Mhoren,” Hilda grinned with her hand spread open. “What do you think I come for? This is a historic moment where two unfamiliar civilizations come into contact with each other—don’t you think it’s a big deal?”

Hao Ren scratched his head. “I don’t understand how the mind of politicians work. Go ahead and get your work done. I’ll bring people head over to the giant tree of life. You find me there when you’re done.”

Having said that, Hao Ren strode to the Aerymian elves and clapped his hands. “Attention, people! We’ll go as planned; there will be two teams, Team A and Team B. Team A will head to the Volcano of Dusk, and Team B to the giant tree of life. Now let’s go to your team and receive your gears.”

The elven technicians immediately spring into action as they split into two teams in the vast field outside the manor. Opra and her men looked on curiously what Hao Ren was doing next. They saw the foreigner waved with a stroke of his hand…

Groups of huge alien equipment appeared in the sky like a phantom!

Those were all gigantic stuff; they were grey and white, each was more than one hundred meters in length, they all looked like a weird ship, was inlaid with huge grey crystals on one end and a strange metal structure on the other. These huge things were suspended in the air that they swarmed the sky in a flash, even the noonday was darkened, and the atmosphere of the estate appeared to be at dusk.

And after the appearance of these weird “grey white spaceships”, more oddly shaped equipment began to emerge one after another.

The commanders of the elven technicians immediately got busy as commands were issued among the teams. “Team A Group One, board the cutter ship… Team B Group Two, board the cutter ship…Team A Group Four, operate the Gravity Tractor. Installation team, check the respective magic connections to ensure that each person controls two sets of gravity generators. Hurry up! And do you best for the honour of the Queen!”

The elven technicians boarded their respective equipment. As the cockpit of each equipment was closed, it emitted a deep roar and the surface was flowing with colours. Before long, the entire sky was full of extra-terrestrial equipment. The Pope was stunned beyond word looking at the spectacular scene.

But Opra was total cool. The female marshal had witnessed the Dragonspine Ridge event, what unfolded before her now was no matched for what she had seen last time.

After the convoy of the super excavators were all in place, Hao Ren said to Opra cheerfully, “Now, let’s experience the advanced excavation technology of the aliens!”

Chapter 553: The Giant Tree of Life

 

In order to save time, Hao Ren had divided the elven team into two to conduct excavation work at the Volcano of Dusk and the giant tree of life began operations. Although the situation of the Volcano of Dusk was complicated, the survey data was detailed, so he did not have to worry about it. He decided to personally supervise the excavation of the giant tree of life.

Of course, the most important reason was that he heard that the place had a spectacular scenery. He decided to snap some photos and hang it on the inspector’s forum…

On the Holletta side, people were amazed at the teams Hao Ren brought in, which were no nonsense and getting to work straight away without blinking an eye. They too quickly got organized and followed the excavation teams. Portal was rendered useless this time, as the size of the elven excavators had exceeded the limit of what could be teleported by current technology. Fortunately, the speed of the elven flying crafts was not slow, as it took them only tens of minutes to cross the entire territory of Holletta.

After ascertaining the destination, the elven aerial excavation team immediately climbed up to the air and headed toward the destination. Meanwhile, Hao Ren was following Marshal Ophra to the giant tree of life through the portal. The other team which was heading to the Volcano of Dusk was under the command of the Pope.

Of course it was much faster travelling using the portal. By the time Hao Ren arrived at the edge of the giant tree of life, the excavation team was still on the way, which gave everyone a little time to enjoy the surrounding scenery.

The giant tree of life was located in a vast and vibrant mountainous area. The whole area was surrounded by gentle mountains forming a low-lying basin which was covered with green forest. The Disciples of Glory had a base here which was an old monastery located on a nearby hill. The building was as old as the churches in the two other sealed land and inconspicuous in appearance. It is one of the oldest and most sacred facilities in the world.

The portal array near the giant tree of life was directly situated next to the monastery: the Knights of the Kingdom did not have a garrison here, and the entire life giant tree was under the sole responsibility of the Disciples of Glory. The king had set up only a few symbolic knights here, who simply lived in the monastery.

Compared to the desolateness of Dragonspine Ridge and the harsh environment of the Volcano of Dusk, the area around the life giant tree was as lively and pleasant as it got. No one could have linked this place to the terrible ancient legends by looking from the outside. Probably because of this, Holletta’s surveillance of the giant tree of life was laxer than the other two places which had kingdom knights and church knights stationed at all time. Hao Ren and the others stood in front of the monastery and gazed at the surrounding mountains and forest, feeling relaxed. Y’lisabet quickly climbed up to her dad’s shoulder and shouted at the distant mountains. “Big mountains…”

The demon princess was as innocent as she got—only when she was not a demolition monster.

Seeing the spectacular surrounding scenery, Lily couldn’t help running around the hills before she came back down with a handful of stones in her hand. “Mr. Landlord, which one looks better?”

Hao Ren randomly picked one and coaxed her away. He curiously gazed at the mountains and the dome-shaped peaks in the centre of the basin (which looked like a volcano and particularly eye-catching), but he could not find the so-called giant tree of life. “Ophra, where is that tree you said?”

Ophra lifted his finger and pointed to the centre of the basin. “That’s it—that is now all that remains.”

Hao Ren was startled, only to realize that she was referring to the strange peak in the centre of the basin!

“What the heck…” before Hao Ren could say anything, Lily who was playing with the stones, exclaimed. “That’s huge!”

Hao Ren focused his eyes and finally saw some clues from the strange peaks: the ‘mountain body’ appeared to be too smooth, and the upper part appeared to be too even and uniform to the extent that it was not like a normal mountain, and in the surrounding wilderness were large amount of winding ridges. At first he thought that those uplifts were mountains, but now he realized that they were actually the root of the giant tree!

This was the remain of the giant tree of life, which had been dead for over ten thousand years. The tree’s upper body had long crumbled, decayed and formed the soil and rock in the basin. The remaining stump had turned black and overgrown with vegetation, dense forests and shrubs and blended it into the surrounding mountains.

Hao Ren took a breath and asked, “This is the tree?”

Before his voice trailed off, Lil Pea had poked out from under his collar. Seeing the wooden forest, her eyes popped out of her head. “I can eat for a long time! I can eat for a long time! Dad-dee, I can eat for a long time…”

At this time, a Holletta army official was standing next to Hao Ren. The army officer saw Lil Pea and was stunned. “What is this?” he asked.

But he glanced at Hao Ren, and quickly toned down his impoliteness, his face took a serious turn as he hemmed. “Oh, I apologise, I forgot you are a different from us, Holletta people can’t perform shadow clone…”

Hao Ren had no chance to explain…

Lil Pea happily squirmed out of the collar, grabbed his clothes and pestered. “Dad-dee, I want eat, I want eat!”

The Holletta officials around saw that and was astounded. A few record officers who looked like scholars quickly took out a small notebook and jotted down what they saw. Vivian tried hard no to laugh and nudged Ophra and said, “Quickly tell them, this thing is neither an avatar of an alien nor an alien kid!”

Ophra waved at her men authoritatively. “On your feet! Look how disgraceful you all have become!”

Then she turned to look at Hao Ren and Lil Pea, face as shocked as a lightning rod. “You two are father and daughter? What did you do to the fish?!”

Before Hao Ren could utter anything, Lily chimed in. “It was to a pot…”

“Oh God…” Ophra said.

“…Can you let me say something?!” Hao Ren interjected.

Fortunately, the confusion did not last long. Just when they were having fun–at least Lily did—the sky suddenly burst into a roar.

The excavation team had finally arrived.

The MDT that had been silent a long while flew up and projected a holographic projection in front of Hao Ren. An image of a higher elven engineer appeared.

“Sun King, all equipment have arrived.”

Hao Ren looked at the giant tree in the centre of the basin and nodded. “Let’s get started.”

After a few moments, the engineering equipment in the sky emitted a series of engine roars, and then quickly dispersed to a height of several hundred meters above the basin in an orderly manner, while two special flying crafts flew toward the centre of the basin instead. The two flying crafts circled at high altitude, switched on their elemental sensors, before images of the underground gradually were displayed in front of the engineering equipment operators.

The technical capability of Aerymian Elves might lag behind those of the interstellar civilizations in general, but they were strong in their own right—excavation, gravity control, deep scanning. These technologies were instrumental in transforming their planet into a space island chain. It could be said that these long ears were odd balls of the ‘magic tree’. Except spacecraft, they had almost created everything that did not match their level of civilization.

The elemental sensors that were capable of penetrating hundreds of kilometres of rock could accurately scan the three-dimensional image of the strata layers. The image of the First Born who was sleeping under the giant tree of life would soon be revealed in the holographic projection through the MDT.

Hao Ren saw the way the giant tree of life bound the First Born: it entangled the First Born with layers of giant roots, even banded together with it.

The underground part of the giant tree of life was far more magnificent than surface part. Deep below the ground was a root system that spread for nearly two hundred kilometres. This root system entangled into a nearly spherical shape, which encaged the First Born within. The tentacles of the First Born also spread out in all direction but they were basically held back by the roots of the giant tree of life within a limited area. These two giant creatures, which were so tightly entangled together that they formed an underground scene of wonder.

The hair on Lily’s tail was erected layer by layer. “It’s so disgusting…”

Vivian’s brows also knit together. She nodded and said, “Well, just like a dishwashing ball.”

The bat was speaking from her house chore perspective.