The Record of Unusual Creatures - Chapter 131

Chapter 131: A Thrilling New Discovery

 

The legend about the violation of a goddess by the Ancient Magic Civilization and its end aroused Hao Ren’s interest. He never doubted its truth. He always believed that all legends were worthy of study even if they might be severely distorted after many generations. Even myths were the results of inspired ancient people. No matter how mysterious the legends appeared to be, there had to be many living, unusual creatures in history that became the inspiration for such stories. One such example was Odin, whom Vivian knew…

For this reason, he believed that the ancient civilization did exist in The Plane of Dreams. The talking wolves, whose existence defied the theory of evolution might have had something to do with the experiment of biological alteration. Nevertheless, he had reservations about the theory of the goddess’ condemnation of the world.

He was not sure if the ancient civilization could be of any help in his quest for the secret of The Plane of Dreams.

Hao Ren and his MDT were having a telepathic discussion—it was a fast and discreet way of communication. “I remember Raven 12345 once said, The Plane of Dreams and the real world evolve concurrently. This also means that time in both worlds are in sync with each other. If there really was a great disaster that happened here in the past, in theory, we should be able to find evidence of it at the same time spot on Earth where the disaster happened. If we could do that, we might be able to establish the mirroring relationship between The Plane of Dreams and the real world.”

“A major disaster on earth 10 thousand years ago?” The MDT searched its database. “Humans walked on two feet. Werewolves and vampires were in a fight. Odin’s cousin ran away with a cripple. Caesar, a demon hunter, cooked Fenrir’s brother-in-law as dinner. A small meteorite struck near the equator and later became the source of iron for a primitive tribe. The rest are just trivial.”

“Whoa, you’ve got load of junk in there,” said Hao Ren.

“In case you didn’t know, it was Madam Raven who installed this database. God knows where the hell she downloaded such pirated junk from.” The MDT buck-passed it entirely. “So, it was silly of you to discuss serious topics of history with me.”

“…Maybe I should ask Vivian when I get back home. She may know a thing or two about what happened back then.”

“Are you so sure things that happened in The Plane of Dreams mirror those on Earth?” The MDT was curious because Hao Ren was so keen and confident this time. “You used to be a slowpoke, you know?”

“Not so much, just my hunch.” Hao Ren told it telepathically. “Raven 12345 used to say that The Plane of Dreams and the real world mirror each other. But, I’m not sure how it works. If a major event like the destruction of an ancient civilization here didn’t affect the earth, then maybe I’ve misunderstood Raven 12345.”

The MDT thought for a second. It realized that this thing was none of its business. So, it threw a line. “I am just a PDA.” It then went into hibernation mode. Becky and the alpha wolf stared at each other for a while before Becky poked Hao Ren with the hilt of her blade. “Are you leaving? Or would you like to catch up on old times with your wolfy friends? Maybe you can find a human settlement with their help too.”

“No, I’m not going to the human settlement.” The alpha wolf stepped back. “You guys eat anything under the sun. I’m not ready to be your next meal yet.”

Hao Ren looked at Becky with a shrug and said, “I’m afraid I have to bother you.”

Then, Hao Ren shifted his attention to the large bag Becky was carrying. “You’ve got to thank me for that.”

“Oh yeah, you remind me of something!” Becky opened the bag and was about to give some of her prize to Hao Ren. “Fair trade. That’s how a mercenary is. We’ll split the reward. By the way, your fighting skill was really unconventional. It’s my first time meeting a battlemage. Did you get any brain damage after the fall?.”

Hao Ren was careless to correct her bigoted misunderstanding. He just waved his hand frantically. “I’m not interested in your bone lamellae. Why don’t you be my guide in lieu of the reward? By the way, I need the music box back.”

Hao Ren had thought all of it out well. The MDT would come back on its own. He knew it. He was just using the MDT as a bait although it was out of desperation initially. Now, he could use a bunch of bone lamella that he was not interested in to redeem his battered, little conscience. But, Becky’s stubbornness would not allow Hao Ren the chance. “No, I want your music box!”

“You better think twice. Other than playing some music, this thing has no other use. Half a bag of bone lamellae is worth a lot more than that.”

“I don’t think so. Your music box flies!” Becky was very insistent. “When it comes to pretty stuff, rationale isn’t necessary!”

The alpha suddenly interjected with a soft voice, “You guys carry on. I’m going out hunting with my pups. It’s kind of weird to see you guys haggling over some wolf body parts—”

“I thought you didn’t give a sh*t about wolves of lower intelligence?” Hao Ren was bewildered. If he had known that the alpha wolf minded, he would have gone somewhere else with Becky. “And mind you, you guys actually killed more of these wolves than Becky did.”

“I can’t help it. They look too similar. And you’d definitely throw up when you see them eating humans.” The alpha wolf mumbled before turning and howling at its pack. He said good bye to Hao Ren before disappearing into the distance with its pack.

“Interesting species,” The MDT said to Hao Ren in his mind. “Sandwiched between animal and human, sharing the ideologies from both worlds. They are essentially wolves with human brains and wisdom. So, you guys using those wolf bones as bargaining chips really disturbed them.”

“It’s my fault. I should have been more considerate.” Hao Ren felt sorry. “But, I couldn’t help it. He spoke the human language so fluently that I forgot it’s just a wolf.”

“This is inevitable when one lives with monster chicks for too long.”

Hao Ren was at a lost for words.

In the end, Becky was still adamant in keeping his music box. She shoved half of the bone lamellae to Hao Ren. Sensing that it was impossible to convince the wonder woman, Hao Ren gave in.

If he could meet her again the next time he entered The Plane of Dreams, he would definitely bring her a real music box…

The two unusual travel partners set out on their journey once again. It was smooth sailing all the way—maybe the alpha wolf had cleared the way ahead for them. This is because Hao Ren occasionally sighted what looked like the silhouette of the alpha wolf when they passed over the top of some grass mounds. Soon, the silhouette of a town appeared on the horizon.

“That’s Lamberg.” Becky raised her whip and pointed towards the far distance over the steppe. “Although it’s just a town, it’s big. And it has got a town wall!”

As they came closer, a clear view of Lamberg was within sight. Hao Ren saw the town wall—greyish white, not of stone but of some artificial material. There were towers and outposts too, purportedly used as defense against animals or any other enemies. As he was standing on a hill, the happenings in the town was within his view. The town was well organized. Most buildings were two stories and below. Houses were square and their slanting tops faced southeast in unison. This was probably the local buildings’ unique feature. Most of the taller buildings were situated at the center of the town. Among them, one with a pointed top decorated with stained glass attracted his attention. However, it was not the best time to ask about it so he kept mum.

The town seemed to be near yet it was not. The open grassland created an illusion of proximity. In fact, it took the two of them quite a while before they arrived at the town wall. As they arrived at the entrance, Hao Ren suddenly heard a warning from the MDT. “Beware, you’re going to wake up real soon.”

“Just hold on a little longer. Please let Y’zaks and Nangong Wuyue hang on there. In the meantime, I’ll try to keep my eyes closed.” As he was saying this, the first thing he noticed was his senses becoming less responsive as if his body’s connection with The Plane of Dreams was starting to crumble.

“Here we are.” Becky held Hao Ren and they both hopped down from the horse. “You want me to walk you around?”

“If you are willing.” Hao Ren replied vaguely. He felt that Becky was not being sincere. Becky talked with the sentries like they had known each other for a long time while a youngster stared curiously at him—he was an outsider with weird attire.

Hao Ren tried to keep his eyes open for as long as he could to get as much information as possible before he fell out of The Plane of Dreams. Unfortunately, he could already hear the sound of waves splashing against the shore. He could also hear Nangong Wuyue singing her strange songs. His vision slowly faded and became blurry…

He made the best out of the last few minutes he had. He turned his head and saw that the outer walls of the houses were decorated with patterns. The patterns were extremely familiar.

They were runes.

A scream was heard. Becky turned around and found the strange magician gone. All that was left was, half a bag of wolf bone lamellae, which she had given to Hao Ren earlier.

“It can’t be! He ran away for the sake of a music box?” Becky’s jaw dropped to the ground. “Did I force him to? No. His brain must have gone kaput after the fall.”

Chapter 132: Return to Reality

 

Hao Ren’s conciousness had not fully left The Plane of Dreams when his body started to disappear. Becky’s words were still ringing in his head. Unable to speak, he screamed internally. “There’s nothing wrong with my head!!!!”

“Mr. Landlord, Mr. Landlord! Are you okay?!” Hao Ren suddenly heard Nangong Wuyue’s voice very close to him. He quickly opened his eyes only to be greeted by a ray of sunlight shining on him. The glare almost blinded him for a moment. He heard sounds of waves crashing against rocks and the howling of beasts in the distance. A salty smell soon engulfed his nostrils. He was by the sea…

Wuyue smiled brightly as she saw Hao Ren woke up. “What did you run into there? What’s wrong with your head?”

“Ughhh… it’s nothing,” Hao Ren groaned.

It seemed like Hao Ren could not stop himself from speaking what was in his heart the moment he awoke.

He sat up straight and tried to jog his dulled senses into motion again. The image of those Letta runes that he had glimpsed before he woke up still haunted him. The image was so vivid that it was scary. He supposed the difference between The Plane of Dreams and a normal dream was that the memory of what happened in the Dream Plane stayed fresh within one’s mind. In fact, with time, the things that you see in The Plane of Dreams looked so real, they mimic real life. And this convinced Hao Ren that he indeed saw Letta runes. He groggily looked up at Y’zaks as well as Wuyue and said, “I went into The Plane of Dreams last night… and I saw something really weird… Letta runes…”

Y’zaks who came from the other world had no idea what Letta runes were and just simply nodded. Wuyue, who on the other hand had some inkling of the matter and seemed to be very familiar with demon hunters. The words caused her to eyes to widen. “Letta runes you say? Those runes the ancient priests and demon hunters are using now?”

“Yes, they appeared in The Plane of Dreams… They were carved into the wall by the locals…but I couldn’t read the runes to make anything out of them. Vivian should have some idea…. Oh, I better write them down before I forget them.”

“Here!” Wuyue quickly pulled a notebook out of her backpack and handed it to Hao Ren. “I wanted to write my music in it.”

Hao Ren took the notebook and quickly started drawing the runes he saw in it. He always thought his memory was rather good, and he managed to remember at least one line of the runes. While his depiction of the runes may not have been the most accurate, he managed to get the general shape of the runes right. Letta runes are a series of runic letters with a very strong individuality. Each rune has its own unique shape and contour. As long as he got the general shape right, Vivian should be able to read it.

“So… how did you know about The Plane of Dreams?” Hao Ren returned the notebook to Wuyue after he finished writing. He did not recall telling Wuyue about the plane as she was still new, and felt that he had to ask.

“Your MDT told me about it.” Wuyue pointed at the MDT that was floating beside Hao Ren. “After you slept last night, it suddenly activated itself and started screaming, ‘Slip and fall!’. After which, it hold me about The Plane of Dreams. Oh yeah, it also said that you were investigating something really important and I should let you sleep even longer. So, I sang a lullaby for you. Did it work?”

Only then did Hao Ren realize, the song he had heard before waking up was from Wuyue. The enchanting melody lingered at the back of his mind, and the vague memory still gave him an uncanny feeling of calm and comfort. It was as if the song was indeed magical that it seeped deep into his mind. Guess what they say about sirens and their songs were real. He nodded gratefully. “Yes, it did. It bought me a few minutes to grasp the key stuff… Oh, sh*t! I forgot about something!”

“What’s wrong?” The MDT floated towards him. “If you want to say that you actually sold me off, I’ll f*cking murder you.”

“Oh, you. Off to the side.” Hao Ren grabbed the MDT and stuffed it into a pile of pebbles. ” I promised the alpha wolf that I’d bring him a dentist the next time I visit…. Can’t believe I forgot about it… He didn’t even mention it at all.”

“It’s quite clear that he wasn’t counting on you to fulfill your promise.” The MDT popped out of the pile of pebbles with a dried seaweed hanging onto it. “Don’t fret too much. Just make up for it the next time. You didn’t even bring Husky this time around. And frankly speaking, whether you can bring a living person into The Plane of Dreams is a question by itself. I think you need Madam Raven to provide support for that.”

Hao Ren demurred for a moment and concurred. He also needed to report what he saw to Raven 12345 but, that could wait until they return from this foray. He gave himself a good tap on the face and said, “We better get on finding the person… Oh yeah, MDT, have you found the cargo craft? Reckon you’ve scanned the area for a night already.”

“My life as a PDA…. All work, no play… I even need to play bodyguard and radar when you’re asleep.” The MDT grumbled incessantly as it opened up the holographic map. On it, was a very detailed map of the ocean floor. “I’ve marked the three most plausible sites, all have either impact craters or energy signals. They’re probably what’s remained of the cargo craft or the cargo pod. Two of the spots are in the nearby jungle and the mountain 200 km away from here. The last one…is a bit scary, a deep sea trench some 2000km away. I almost wanted to omit it. Hopefully, that’s not the cargo craft. I’m afraid of deep seas.”

“…”

Having a PDA that was neurotic, sarcastic and temperamental to boot… Not to mention, it even has it’s own taste in movies. Now, a fear of the deep? Hao Ren felt that he would achieve a state of nothingness sooner or later.

“The wreck of the cargo pod?” Y’zaks frowned. “I thought the cargo craft arrived safely? What happened?”

“It’s true that the cargo craft arrived safely but, the cargo pod crashed.” The MDT vibrated as it spoke. “Never trust Gnomish technology. I already warned Madam Raven to hire someone more reliable, and not those half baked Gnomish veterans for the job. Their cost control regime is almost cringe-worthy. From what I can discern from the Space Administration datalogs, the cargo craft was unmanned, and it disintegrated upon atmospheric entry. The cargo pod only survived because its own Emergency Decelerator kicked into gear. But, the force of entry burnt out most of its electronics, including its locator beacon. The last signal received was merely a distress signal, and it’s now silent. We will need to search all three spots then.”

Hao Ren took a look at the jungle behind him. “I gues we’ll start here then. It’s the closest… As for the sea trench…”

He turned towards Wuyue. “Did Raven 12345 actually foresee this happening and have me bring you along? Or, should we check the trench first?

Hao Ren almost believed what he just said. His impression of Raven 12345 that she was the puppet master behind the scenes, manipulating and dictating her chess pieces (employees) with sheer impunity. It was no surprise if she had already figured out the whereabouts of the pod and sent Hao Ren to retrieve it just for kicks…

“Unlikely,” the MDT explained. “Madam is a meticulous planner. The planet that we are on is 80% water and the place we are at is the only land mass. The chances of the pod dropping into the sea was high to begin with so, she had you bring the siren along.”

Hao Ren nodded in apprhension. Wuyue also had a confident look on her face. “No worrie. While I’ve never been into the deep before, sirens are still natural dwellers of the deep. I’m immune to darkness and water pressure when I’m in the water. But… I hope that the sea water here isn’t made out of some odd stuff…”

“Oh, don’t you worry!” The MDT reassured her. “It’s your usual sea water. The salinity is a bit on the high side. You won’t turn into a dried fish fillet from the high salt content would you?

Wuyue pondered for a moment. “…I think I won’t… I’m a salt-water being. And I have some special abilities to keep me from turning into a dried fish fillet in briny waters.”

The topic of conversation just turned weird.

Chapter 133: The First Crash Site

 

The three of them decided to start their search from the closest point.

The first drop point was within the ancient jungle behind them. You could almost say that the MDT had chosen the best possible starting point for them based on where they landed. They quickly dismantled their campsite and left most of the cumbersome stuff under a rock. Each one of them simply carried the bare necessities like food and drinks for their foray into the alien jungle. Tools were not needed. All three off them could split the earth when needed.

The flora in the planet were gargantuan by Earth’s standards. From the low brushes to the skyscrapping trees, everything was unusually large. Even the smallest of trees needed at least three people to cover its circumference. The trees had no visible branches until about 10 meters off the ground. Only further up the canopy could one actually see any obvious branches snaking about. On them, coils of vines and brambles slithered around in symbiotic co-existance. Such was the way things appeared to be on the planet. Anything that failed to co-exist was eliminated by natural selection.

The concentration of oxygen within the jungle was higher than normal as well. The gigantic trees and shrubs produced much more oxygen than the plants on Earth could. It seemed like their biological make-up had some difference compared to those of Earth. A planet with only 20% landmass yet, it had a higher oxygen density than Earth…

Of course, this was Hao Ren’s own rambling thoughts. He had little to no knowledge about this, and he could do worse than the Husky back at home.

The jungle had no obvious paths or trails and was fraught with uneven landscape as well as a thick bed of leaves on the ground. Hidden within the sea of leaves were unseen pot holes or protruding roots. The journey on land was exhausting for the trio. Hao Ren envied Vivian’s ability to fly at that moment. The vampire would definitely be in her element here. There was ample space between the towering trees, and she would be able to swerve in and out in her bat form with ease.

Along the way, they also ran into local fauna; some weird looking beasts and bird-like creatures. All of them scattered as the trio approached. The beasts were rather agile. They disappeared almost instantaneously into the jungle once they caught sight of the incoming party. There were also slavering carnivores that attempted to stalk the trio and turn them into dinner. However, their efforts were for naught as a single glare from Y’zaks had their courage in flight, and them following suit. The great demon sure knew how to make an impression.

Boom!

A loud boom echoed across the jungle, and the trees shook violently. On Y’zaks hand, was a sphere of concentrated air, which was glowing hot. With it, the great demon carved a path through the obstructing brambles. Y’zaks had powers like this that made the path easier for Hao Ren and Wuyue to navigate. Wuyue could see hot air swirling around Y’zaks as the great demon hurled sphere after sphere to clear a way for them. The scene itself was rather scary for her and she gingerly quipped, “Mr. Super, Violent, Muscle Man, I’m afraid of hot air the most… I get dehydrated by it…”

Having a great demon, who specialized in the lore of fire and a siren, who was well versed with water spells to cooperate as a team was an achievement in itself.

“Be careful with those blasts, we don’t want to light the whole place up!” Hao Ren yelled to Y’zaks from behind. “This place has a high concentration of oxygen, and with this being the only landmass on the planet, we won’t have any place to run if a firestorm breaks out.”

Y’zaks just smiled as he hurled another sphere forward. “No worries about that. My spheres won’t even create as much as a spark. Say…how far more do we need to go?”

“Almost there, almost there.” The MDT chimed as it floated through the air, displaying a holographic map of the jungle. The red marker of their target location was within the map’s perimeter now. “Won’t even take another 10 minutes I reckon.”

“This is the third ’10 minutes’ already… I can’t walk any further…” Wuyue grumbled as she panted. As a siren, her stamina for journeys like this were clearly lacking. She was also concerned about the matter at hand. “…Would the new tenant be all right? It’s still alive right? The cargo pod already landed here for a few days, and it was a crash landing to boot…”

“No problem.” The MDT swirled up and down in a nod. ” I’ve checked the cargo pod’s model, and it’s a New Eden Federation pod. They come equipped with excellent safety and preservation features. Even if the outer shell burnt out, the pod can still sustain life for a month. There’s even a note on the product guidebook that the cargo would be kept in a state of unconscious preservation. I think it means hibernation…”

“You can’t tell what’s the status of the new tenant?” Hao Ren gave the MDT a weird look. ” I thought you’d at least have some insider information…”

“It’s not like you don’t know how Madam Raven works… The fact that she could even remember the delivery company itself is good enough.”

Hao Ren nodded and decided not to dig further. They would find out what’s what after uncovering the cargo pod. Wuyue had a rather incredulous look on her face. “It’s just not sitting right with me… They were transporting a living person but, why are they calling it a cargo?”

Before the MDT could even start explaining the terminologies, Y’zaks booming voice rang out from the front. “I see trails of smoke ahead. I think we found our target!”

The information roused Wuyue, who was about to throw a tantrum into high spirits. As both Hao Ren and Wuyue looked up, they saw faint trails of smoke rising not far away. Thankfully, there were no traces of spreading fire. The three quickened their steps and after a short while, reached the first crashed site.

The impact of the crash and the subsequent explosions had levelled everything around the crash site. A hundred-meter deep crater was created as a result. Surrounding the crash site, was a scene of carnage with fallen trees laying about. Many of them bore burnt marks. Even the crater’s soil was still steaming hot, and in it, lay the the wreckage of whatever that crashed into the ground. It was nothing but twisted metal by then. From the remains, they could make out it’s original oval shape. All around it were debris of unknown metals, which were still burning. The air was choked with ash and burnt residues.

Hao Ren noticed that the area had many evident burnt marks, and it seemed like a fire did break out for a short while. Perhaps it was the forest’s natural resistance against fire (like having water-filled fibres or tree barks that were resistant to fire.) It was their luck that the fire had not spread or else things would have been really firey.

“…This can’t be the cargo pod right?” While Hao Ren had not seen how an interstellar cargo pod looked like, he could tell that whatever crashed into the crater did not seem like it performed a controlled crash-landing. Hence, that triggered his doubts.

“Seems like the thrusters of the cargo craft and it’s control unit.” The MDT floated over the wreckage as it scanned the area with a faint blue light. “Most of the components are fried. Including the black box. Appears to be a futile run.”

Hao Ren looked at the wreckage again and something really major dawned upon him. “Wait a minute… Did Raven 12345 actually plan to get those jokers to drop the cargo pod on Earth?”

“Yep.”

Hao Ren almost jumped up in fury. “The f*ck?! You mean to say that she actually wanted to drop this directly on Earth?”

“Well, no one expected the cargo pod to blow up.” The MDT explained as it dodged Hao Ren’s torrent of saliva. “It’s not like gnomish tech blows up every time… It’ll make successful landings from time to time… And truth be told, if the pod was to make atmospheric entry into Earth, Madam Raven would have been controlling it herself, and not let it crash land like this…”

Hao Ren had his doubts if the goddess would be able to pull it off. He was glad that the pod decided to explode some 800 light years away. If this thing were to land in a human city, it would be on the headlines for months to come!

“…I guess we gotta look at the other sites.” Wuyue sighed while she squatted in exhaustion. “The next one is on the mountain right… Wait…do we actually need to climb it?”

As Hao Ren and Wuyue were about to leave the site, Y’zaks noticed something. “Hold on, I sense something!”

Chapter 134: The Accidental Discovery and the Mermaid Princess

 

Hao Ren and Nangong Wuyue curiously looked at Y’zaks as he jumped into the pit. He then ignored the pungent smell and warm ashes along the way, striding to the oval wreckage. He proceeded to tear apart the shell of the egg-shaped structure.

The sturdy ship’s alloy plate creaked under the big demon’s brute force. The alloy plate itself had experienced the double loss of both crash impact and high-temperature burning. Its strength had been greatly reduced. And now, it encountered such a violent way of demolition. Out of nowhere, a few pieces of deformed, blackened metal were torn down by Y’zaks. Hao Ren and Nangong Wuyue glanced at each other then, hurriedly ran towards Y’zaks.

“I smell something familiar here,” Y’zaks said without turning his head. He was still busy within the pile of twisted metal wreckage. The electrical sparks and residual radiation from the spacecraft’s propulsion seemed to be nonexistent to him. “Look at this. These pipes; the traces of corrosion. It did not burn instead, it was attacked by something before it fell.”

Nangong Wuyue frowned. The burning smell that pervaded the place made her very uncomfortable. The siren made a few strange gestures and drew something in the air. A faint, light blue shadow exuded from her body and diffused into the space quickly like phantom waves. The air surrounding the wreckage suddenly became fresh, and it was filled with a soothing vapor.

Hao Ren was surprised to find that Nangong Wuyue possessed the function of an air humidifier. Vivian had the function of air-conditioning, Y’zaks had the function of the stove and Lily had the function of security door. Now, there was another one who could act as the air humidifier. Hao Ren felt that he could form a weird yet wonderful, self-made ecological circle in his own home sooner or later.

“I don’t see anything special,” Nangong Wuyue said. She took a deep breath and finally felt better. However, she was clueless in terms of the messy pipes and parts from the wreckage of the spaceship. She could not understand why Y’zaks, a demon from another world, would know about these high-tech gadgets. “You comprehend it?”

“I don’t really comprehend it as well but, I can feel that there is a familiar residual power here.” Y’zaks twisted his finger and a little, green demonic flame burst forth from his fingers. The flame fell on the hull of the spaceship and left behind a greenish, black stain. “Over time, these corrosion traces become very similar to scorch marks but, the remnants of the magic can’t be hidden. There is magic in the ship’s pipes, which belong to the demon race… the Balrogs or Terror Demons. Of course, it could also belong to a higher-order demon like me.”

“The spaceship was hit by demons?” Hao Ren was quite surprised. “There are demons on this planet?! I have to report it quickly!”

“No, they’re not here anymore.” Y’zaks looked up at the sky and continued, “There’s a strong sense of power between demons. I can be sure that there’s only a demon, which is me on this planet right now. Unless, the demon is so weak that I can’t detect it but, that’s unlikely. Such a weak demon has no threat against this rugged device.”

“Anyway, it has to be reported,” the MDT said in a rare serious tone. “There shouldn’t be any demons in this area… And there hasn’t been any recent application for the demon race to pass through here. It’s most probably a case of illegal immigration. On top of that, they even attacked the civil carriers employed by the Empire. It’s not a joke… Damn, those goblins just can’t be trusted. They treat the crash of a ship as daily routine. They probably won’t be aware that their ship is being hit unless they are hit with a missile right in the face.

Now Hao Ren really wanted to know, what kind of magical creatures were these goblins. Why do they sound like the gang of profiteers in the old street?

Nangong Wuyue walked around in a circle to observe the debris scattered on the ground. From time to time, she lifted a piece of debris and looked at it curiously, pretending to be an expert. At last, she appeared to find something interesting. “Do you think this dent looks like a leg?”

She held a large metal plate about a meter or so in length and width (the girl had a pair of strong arms indeed). The metal plate was also burnt and blackened. The most obvious feature was a very visible dent in the middle of the metal plate. The shape of the dent looked like a kick from someone but, the way it bent was a little weird. Hao Ren realized something after looking at it for quite some time: reversal of the knee.

“It’s really a trace left behind by demons.” Hao Ren immediately remembered that Y’zaks also had a similar reversal of the knee when he was in demon form but, his leg was much larger than the dent in front of him. “Are demons that bold? They even dare to kick this spaceship? Plus, this one looks like the kick was slanted…”

Y’zaks did not utter a word. He looked at the traces on the metal plate thoughtfully as though he was trying to determine the characteristics of the attackers. Finally, he shook his head and said, “Let’s go and carry out our business. Report the situation here to the goddess. She’ll find a way to discover the cause.”

“You trust her quite a lot,” Hao Ren muttered and took the lead in getting out of the pit.

The next station for the three of them was a mountain 200 kilometers away. It was obviously a bit far to go on foot this time. However, long-distance traveling was not a problem for Hao Ren anymore. He looked at his MDT quietly. “This is for the mission. Go and mark the teleportation point!”

“You’re lazy!” the MDT left those words angrily and disappeared into the sky in a stream. The sound it made was explosive like thunder piercing the ear. The starting speed was about Mach 10.

The MDT’s teleportation ability was already activated but, it needed to record the coordinates of the target point before it can be routed there. If Hao Ren had to go along with it to record the coordinates, the limitation would have been a joke. However, thanks to the Empire’s advanced technology, the MDT was able to do it alone, and its speed was definitely faster than any vehicle that Hao Ren had ever seen on Earth. After a few minutes, the MDT appeared directly in front of them. This time it directly teleported back.

“Don’t go up the hill. Let’s go directly to the bottom of the sea.” The MDT sounded very unpleasant. “The debris at the crash point on the mountain is the main part of the carrier. It’s severely damaged and now evenly distributed throughout the mountain. The cargo pod should be at the bottom of the sea.”

Hao Ren patted his head and thought: Why did I not think of letting the MDT explore it earlier?

The third falling point was even farther away. It had a straight distance of 2000 kilometers away, and they had to dive vertically down without knowing how deep the actual point is. Needless to say, it was time for Nangong Wuyue to do her job.

“Diving directly into the sea…” Hao Ren looked at Nangong Wuyue and asked, “Can you bring people along?”

“I can take one.” Nangong Wuyue looked at Hao Ren with a happy face. “I’ll bring you along. Y’zaks’ big body really gives me some stress. And he’s naturally a fire dweller, which is absolutely unsuitable for diving.”

“I’ll help you watch the luggage then.” Y’zaks nodded with a smile and did not mind.

After the three of them allocated their work, the MDT began to emit a faint, blue light and said, “I’ve been to the sea just now and recorded the coordinates. Get ready, we’re going to teleport… Let’s go!”

A curtain of light enveloped the three of them, and when they opened their eyes, they were already above the sea, 2000 kilometers away.

The sea of 2000 kilometers away… There was no land within thousands of miles, not even an island. However, the situation Hao Ren had envisioned, where they would be sent directly into the water and become drowned rats did not occur (with the MDT as a partner, he was accustomed to expecting the worst). The moment the teleportation was completed, and he felt his body falling, he heard Nangong Wuyue make a strange sound. It sounded like a scream but with a strange sense of rhythm. It was as though the sound stabbed straight into the soul of man. Along with this scream, the surrounding water condensed instantly and turned into a surface of solid ice before Hao Ren and Y’zaks fell down.

It was a little painful to fall on the floating ice. However, for the current Hao Ren, it was just like falling over onto his butt. Plus, it was much better than directly dropping into the sea.

Nangong Wuyue did not fall on the ice. She jumped straight into the blue sea excitedly. In between the splashes of water, Hao Ren saw glittering, golden-red scales flashing. Then, the siren girl disappeared. It was not until he got a little impatient, waiting on the floating ice that the she suddenly popped up. She leapt out and swam happily in the water.

Hao Ren stared blankly at the “Mermaid Princess” and said to himself, “It’s as though she’s at home… What a big tail.”

He was probably the first guy who only responded with, “What a big tail.” when he saw a mermaid.

Chapter 135: The Deep Sea

 

Nangong Wuyue swam in the sea like a fish. To the siren, the sea was her home. Although she had been obeying her mother’s advice of not gong into the deep sea, her swimming aptitude was inborn.

Hao Ren was captivated by Nangong Wuyue’s form in the water. He exclaimed, “What a big tail!” and then there was total silence.

“Whoa, it’s been a long time since I last swam. I’m excited.” Nangong Wuyue emerged from the water right in front of Hao Ren, splashing the water out of its surface. Her hands were on the edge of the floating ice. “Hi Landlord, isn’t my tail beautiful? It’s golden red, just like the sunset.”

The siren maiden kicked up more water as she said that. She looked exactly like the mermaid in the mermaid stories—a beautiful, golden red tail with two light purple stripes. Her upper body was transformed too; there was light green stuff, which looked like fish scales covering her forearms right to her wrists. The same scales also covered the areas under her cheeks which was not strange at all instead, they were very beautifully arranged like a tattoo. Her clothes were gone. Her body was now covered in scales, an almost skin-like cloth—beautiful and sexy.

Before the transformation, Nangong Wuyue was just another ordinary chick; after the transformation, her beauty was stunning. But, Hao Ren’s reaction was a little off; aside from the “big tail” exclamation, the only thing he said was, “Where are your clothes?” Perhaps he had been living with the werehusky and vampire for too long, he lost his attraction to beautiful chicks.

Nangong Wuyue swung her tail and formed an ice ball. The ice ball dropped onto the floating ice. Her clothes were tucked nicely inside the ice ball. “My big brother Y’zaks, please help pick my clothes up.”

Y’zaks was too happy not to help. He nodded frantically. Hao Ren stretched his hand into the water trying to feel the temperature. “How could I? Do you have magic?”

“Just jump in—” Nangong Wuyue jumped out of the water and her tail slapped Hao Ren’s back. Before Hao Ren knew what was happening, he lost his balance and fell. The siren was excited and she swam towards him.

Everything was blurry as he fell. He was prepared for the icy-cold water. He heard the sound of water splashing but there was no chilly sensation. As he opened his eyes, he realized he was slowly sinking but, he was covered in some sort of sparkling liquid membrane; the liquid membrane was not just water-proofed but it also allowed him to breath freely. Aside from the strange feeling of floating in water, it was no different than being on dry land.

A golden screen swept across his eyes. It was the beautiful, big tail Nangong Wuyue was so proud of. The siren was visibly more excited in water than on dry land. She swam swiftly in a circling motion around Hao Ren until he felt dizzy, before coming up to him and patting him on his shoulder with her tail. “Landlord, how is it? Are you stunned?”

“I can still talk?” As he opened his mouth, he was amazed. He could clearly hear his own voice. “I can still talk underwater?”

“Sirens belong to the water, and water belongs to the sirens.” Nangong Wuyue held his hand and led him into the dark, deep sea. “Now, the body of water within a one kilometer radius from me is an extension of my body. You can breath, you can talk, and you won’t be affected by the water pressure within the sphere. Beyond that it won’t work.”

Hao Ren nodded. He was excited for the new, thrilling experience. Because the siren held him as they swam along, he did not need much effort to do the swimming himself.

Nangong Wuyue grabbed him by his arm and dived all the way down. The mermaid’s speed of swimming was incredible. Judging from how fast their surroundings turned dark and the G-force he felt from the diving acceleration, Hao Ren knew the little mermaid was moving faster than any submarine. Her tail flexed back and forth lightly and elegantly. Hao Ren became curious. “I remember seeing it somewhere that sirens are different from mermaids… While a mermaid has a long tail like yours, there are two types of sirens; one’s a bird-like monster, which flies above the sea surface, another one’s a sea snake…”

“Sea snake? Like this?” She released Hao Ren’s hand and made two turns in the water. Her tail quickly diffused and became transparent. Then it turned into a three-meter long, golden red tail, which looked like a sea snake. The scales on her face faded and transformed into strange, blood-red patterns. It was not gorgeous but, kind of strange and lascivious.

She still looked pretty but, also exuded the impression that she was lethal and dangerous. Hao Ren did not think she looked dangerous though. He felt that she looked more like a siren than ever—her mermaid look was too lame in comparison.

“Whoa, double shapeshifting?” Hao Ren almost could not believe his eyes as he looked at Nangong Wuyue. He could not take his eyes away from her magnificent sea-snake tail. “This is entirely trans-species!”

“Sirens aren’t bounded by their forms. We’re capable of multiple-shapeshifting.” Nangong Wuyue curled her tail around Hao Ren and continued to dive deeper into the sea. “As water has no shape, so do we. We could turn into any shape we like. I was in mermaid form earlier because I thought you liked the look of a fish tail. Humans are more familiar with it after all. But hey, I didn’t know you knew more images of sirens than I thought. What do you say if I turn into a crab?”

“Please don’t! I’d like to keep my impression intact.” Hao Ren shook his head frantically as multiple weird images flashed through his mind.

“Oh, yeah? I was thinking of shapeshifting into a jellyfish or a cuttlefish. You know, one can never have too many hands.” Nangong Wuyue flexed her tail and brought Hao Ren closer. “Landlord, which one looks better—the fish tail or sea-snake tail?”

“…..”

He found it more and more stressful to live with these non-human creatures. There were too many odd questions, and these fellows never thought of their cultural and aesthetic differences—for example, the question about teething rusk and dog chew Lily had been asking a while ago…

Hao Ren pondered for a long time before he responded, “I think both are equally beautiful.” A lame answer for a weird question was all he got. He then put his hand out and touched the siren’s tail, which was curled around his waist. It was cold and slippery. “In that sense, the legends about mermaids, sirens, sea monsters and every other being came from the same source—you?”

“You’re asking about something way before my time. I wasn’t even an egg at that time. Maybe you’re right—some of the seniors may have travelled to the surface to take a breath and got spotted. That’s the way most legends on Earth were originated. The same could be said of the Mythological Era where fractions of ancient beings fought one another.”

“Can you turn into a mantis shrimp?”

“Of course.”

“…Forget it! I was just asking.”

The duo chattered as they continued to dive deeper. By then, they were at a depth impenetrable by sunlight. It was pitch dark. The only source of light was the bluish glow emanated by the MDT that was leading the way ahead of them. Even with his enhanced vision he barely saw anything but, he knew he was in an unknown territory.

Out there, strange, faint shadows lurked in the dark . These shadows could have been following them from behind and afar. Perhaps they were early life forms—life forms with intelligence. They had detected the presence of two unknown trespassers. Although the creatures did not come close or attack, their act of stalking indicated that they were not friendly.

“Please, don’t eat me…” Nangong Wuyue could be heard murmuring. “Even though it won’t be lethal, it does hurt…”

“C’mon, that’s all you got as a siren?” Hao Ren was amused. He found the maiden really funny. Her timidity did not live up to her ferocious tail, which was three meters in length. It was the tail of a queen of the ocean.

“Of course, I’m capable of combat. It’s just that I’ve never fought in a battle.” Nangong Wuyue sped up as she kept murmuring. “Besides, this isn’t Earth. God knows how dangerous these things are. And by the way, are we there yet?”

The MDT was leading the duo with its blue glow, pointing ahead. “Almost there. ETA in a few minutes.”

It forgot about its deep-sea phobia. Obviously, it lied.

Soon, sporadic dots of light appeared ahead. Hao Ren could see it.

Chapter 136: That’s the Egg

 

Beneath the ocean, it was deep and dark; endlessly vast but, not quiet. The magic-like geoactivities of the ocean floor and the small number of deep-sea creatures that were active in this region could be heard making spooky noises. It sounded like the crooning of a nightmare. The MDT’s deep-sea phobia may have been fake but, Hao Ren knew before long, the phobia would catch up on it as the place really had the ability to stress people out.

The water pressure at this depth was unimaginable. If not for the siren’s ability, Hao Ren felt that even his Steel Membrane Shield would not have survived the crushing force. He locked his eyes on the faint light in front of him. His enhanced vision allowed him to see his surroundings with the aid of the low glow from the MDT. A container-like structure was vaguely visible on the ocean floor. The rectangular structure leaned at an angle, and was partly buried in the sand. It was roughly 10m by 9m by 9m in dimensions. There was lighting on each of the container’s upper corners, barely enough to make the entire container visible. The container seemed to be still intact. At least, the faint lighting meant its power source had not been completely depleted.

The container sat on a deep-sea sandbank, and was surrounded by high, sloping terrains on all sides. On one side of the slopes was a huge trail, which looked like a drag mark. It possibly resulted from the falling container. When Hao Ren and Nangong Wuyue came close to the container, they discovered some strange, tiny creatures, which were emanating a faint, blue light. They looked like crushed squids—they were flat and only about 10cm in length. These tiny creatures had obviously made the giant container their new home when it landed a couple of days ago as could be seen from the many little sand holes beneath the container. But before Hao Ren and Nangong Wuyue could come any closer, these tiny creatures fled.

“It’s bigger than what I had imagined.” Nangong Wuyue released her grab on Hao Ren before she circled the container. “It looks like a small house, it’s bigger than any cargo container on Earth. Any idea how to open this thing?”

Hao Ren was followed Nangong Wuyue as she circled the container. There was sign of ablation on the container’s surface and the once shining, alloy outer wall was damaged, probably due to the high heat during reentry after the carrier’s disintegration. However, the structure itself was completely intact. The container had a double-layered wall; when Hao Ren tore down the damaged outer layer, the thick, inner alloy wall was revealed.

“I will find it.” The MDT hovered above the container and started to beam its scanner, looking for an entrance. Before long, it found an entry point on the side of the container. “Found it—the safety lock is working. And its backup generator is powering the equipment’s core protective function. The poor thing inside should be fine but, before we open the hatch, we need to block off the sea water to prevent it from causing secondary damage. Maybe we should move the container up to the surface.”

“Getting this huge thing up to the surface?” Nangong Wuyue’s eyes blinked. “I’d rather block off the water. Please take a step back, Landlord. I’m going to create a dry zone.”

As Hao Ren stepped back, Nangong Wuyue once again swam around the container in a circling motion but this time, her movements seemed to follow a particular pattern. As her long tail flexed back and forth, a faint glow started to permeate through the surrounding water. Nangong Wuyue then stopped dead above the container and uttered a strange-sounding syllable. A transparent hemispheric barrier popped up out of nowhere right above the container!

The spherical barrier was dozens of meters across, much bigger than the container itself. The water was separated from the inside and formed a spectacular scene of wonder. Hao Ren swam towards the barrier curiously. As he passed through the soft membrane, he entered into a water-free environment where even the sand under his feet was completely dry.

Hao Ren was awed by what he saw. “That was awesome, what you did! The ocean’s truly your heaven.”

Hao Ren turned around and saw Nangong Wuyue coming in through the water barrier. Without water, the siren maiden could only move like a snake on the dry sand with her long tail. But, her body remained enchanting as ever. However, Nangong Wuyue herself did not think so. She grumbled. “This is uncomfortable… I’ve tried to ‘walk’ this way a few times since I was young, and I still can’t get used to it.”

Hao Ren wanted to say she looked great swaying her hips that way but, was he taken aback by her next move: she shapeshifted back into a mermaid and jumped on her tail. She laid back down after a few attempts. “I can’t balance myself… How did my mom even do it?”

“…..”

Nanyong Wuyue again shapeshifted back into the sea snake. She moved like a snake as she said to Hao Ren, “I think I should shapeshift into a mantis shrimp. That way I could at least walk steadily. Or maybe a crab…”

“Please, spare me!” Hao Ren jumped onto his feet and pointed at her tail. “Why don’t you just transform back into human form?”

“Yeah, but my cloths are still up there!”

“You’re right.” Hao Ren now realized that Nangong Wuyue was just like the werehusky. They both could not keep their clothes once they shapeshifted. Not every other-kind was as poor and hypocritical as Vivian after all.

“If that’s the case, what about the clothes you’re wearing now?” Hao Ren pointed at her upper body. “Where did you get that?”

“These are my scales!” Nangong Wuyue patted her chest. “I’m now practically nude. Just that cultural and aesthetic differences keep my modesty intact before a man…”

“…Let’s get back to business then…”

He felt that if he kept talking with the siren, he was going to lose an important part of his life.

As the water around the container was drained, there was no worry of causing secondary damage to the occupant inside. The MDT hovered at the side of the big structure. It sent out a light beam and connected to the container’s control system. “Let’s hope that the safety host is still switched on, or we’ll have to blast through the door… Yeah, looks like luck’s on our side.”

Right after the MDT said, “luck’s on our side”, a creaking noise was heard under the metal plate. It was as if the door’s mechanism was rubbing against the damaged outer wall. It was then followed by a hissing sound. As the door slid open, it stopped at one-third of its fully opened position as though something had gotten stuck in the door’s sliding track. But it did not matter. The opening was big enough to pass through.

Hao Ren squeezed himself through the door.

The cabin was pretty big and everything was intact. The silvery white cabin walls were undamaged. The amber and soft ambient light was so soothing. It was a stark contrast with the dark and cold world outside.

“The air and temperature is at a normal level since the atmospheric stabilizing equipment is still functioning. That greatly reduced the impact from the landing.” The MDT was hovering closer behind Hao Ren. As it was connected to the cabin’s computer controls, it had access to all data prior to the opening of the hatch. It relayed everything it knew to Hao Ren.

“Where’s the occupant?” Hao Ren carefully balanced himself on the slanted floor as he studied the unknown gadgets around him. There were racks on the wall, a display unit embedded in the wall and some other strange equipment he knew nothing of. It appeared that these things were built-in for the container. Nonetheless, the occupant was nowhere to be found.

The container was empty. There was no one in there.

Meanwhile, Nangong Wuyue had climbed in. That’s right, she essentially had to climb to get in, considering the state of her capacity to move. She could not move around freely so, she stayed behind Hao Ren. “Where’s the person?”

“No idea. It was empty when I came in.” Hao Ren searched through the equipment and containers on the floor for clues but he found nothing meaningful. The MDT came closer and touched the display unit on the wall. “This thing’s primitive. I just can’t get used to it. Let’s see what’s inside… There’s a log of a login, which means the occupant must still be here.”

There were not many things in the container. If there was anyone in there, Hao Ren would have seen something. So, he gave up on his search and went back outside. He allowed the MDT to contact Raven 12345 while Nangong Wuyue followed him. The siren maiden found a white ball, which was bigger than a goose egg. She played with the ball, balancing it on the tip of her tail while her eyes were locked on Hao Ren as he made the “phone call”.

“Hello? Is that Hao Ren?” Raven 12345’s lazy voice could be heard at the other end. “Did you get it?”

“Get what? The container’s empty!” Hao Ren felt depressed. “Is your intel valid?”

“What do you mean ’empty’?” Raven 12345 sounded stunned. “Did you look inside properly? How could it be empty?”

“Yeah, I’ve been looking high and low for a day.” Hao Ren sighed. As he turned his head around he saw Nangong Wuyue tossing the white ball up and down so, he joked, “Yeah, found an egg!”

“That’s it! That’s the egg!”

Nangong Wuyue’s tail suddenly froze and a cracking sound followed.

“What the f*ck!!!”

Again, Raven 12345 was stunned. “What happened?”

“It dropped!”

“F*ck!!”