The Record of Unusual Creatures - Chapter 383

Chapter 383: Orbital Bombardment

 

Becky was stunned when she heard what Hao Ren said. She had a bewildered look on her face. “Huh?”

“We need to find a way to destroy this thing.” Hao Ren turned back to look at the First Born. It seemed near impossible to communicate with the powerful and chaotic ancient creature. Even though it probably had some form of cognitive ability, given its current condition and process of evolution, it was in an extremely volatile state. Even if they could talk to it, they would probably need to pull the trigger on the thing as it would cause the destruction of an entire civilisation. This was a calamity beyond normal proportions. “I’m bringing the Petrachelys here and we’ll blast it apart with the orbital cannon. But, we’ll need to evacuate the place first.”

Becky was still stunned but, this was already beyond her comprehension. She was at a lost for words. At the same time, the MDT started contacting the conversion facility in the Surface World, and prepared to bring the Petrachelys into The Plane of Dreams.

Most inanimate items would need a living person to bring them into The Plane of Dreams and the Petrachelys was no exception. However, as Hao Ren was already in The Plane of Dreams, this required a special conversion and guidance process. The MDT needed to utilise the Xi Ling Celestials’ special spatial and information manipulation technique to build a “super conduit” to split Hao Ren’s spirit into two. Part of it would remain in The Plane of Dreams and guide the other part to the real world, opening his Dimensional Pocket and storing the spacecraft into it. After that, the MDT would need to convert all the data into The Plane of Dreams before Hao Ren could release it. This was a process beyond human comprehension. Even the most basic explanation involved a series of super dry mathematical calculations. So, Hao Ren decided to not even bother understanding it. He just focused on letting the MDT complete the necesary.

He suddenly felt like he had another pair of sensory organs popping out of nowhere. It was almost as if a spirit was being torn from him, yet he still retained all his five senses. He could even see his real body from an angle. At the same time, the body on the ridge looked up as well.

However, his real body did not see anything. The spirit doppelganger was not visible.

“Stop fooling around, let’s go!” The MDT’s voice snapped Hao Ren out of his stupor. In a flash, he felt his vision move to the Surface World. His shapeless, receptive phantom floated in front of the conversion unit on Kuiper Station and he saw a row of neatly arranged sleeping pods. In one of them was himself. Using some minute connection, he could sense his body was there.

“This is rather interesting I tell you,” Hao Ren said as he looked down at his own body, which lay in the sleeping pod. “Do you think this is like my spirit being ejected from my body? Or… in contemporary terms, am I just a soul fragment? If someone nearby scanned this place with a sensor, what will they see? A picture of my spirit?”

“If only you could use this curiosity to study the job manual…” The MDT’s voice rang in Hao Ren’s head. “You are now just a set of data, in any case, you are simply just a set of data. Remember the Unity of Information, you are you. Your data will simply reform into a different format under different circumstances. Just as a binary computer process cannot read 8-bit data, the detectors and sensors on the Surface world cannot see your current form. This current form is far smaller than Planck’s constant of microworlds, almost down to the most fundamental point. Of course, due to some special conversion rules, you can still affect certain things in your current form. But, it is only limited to the imperial units that you are authorised to use.”

Hao Ren felt a bit down upon hearing that. “So many restrictions. I thought of looking for Lily’s sleeping pod…”

The MDT was a little surprised for a moment. “F*ck… What do you plan on doing?”

“Draw a moustache on her face or something… ” Hao Ren grinned. ” I knew you were veering off track there. Do I look like such a devious person to you?!”

“Can you actually play by the rules for once?”

As the two bickered, they continued on with what they came to do. After allowing a few seconds for the connection to stabilise, the MDT then transported Hao Ren directly to the place where the Petrachelys was docked. This teleportation experience was rather refreshing: no dizziness, no bright lights and no sense of the process. Hao Ren just felt his vision immediately shift to the Petrachelys’ docking bay. It was almost like going into The Plane of Dreams, the nauseating sensation was no longer there.

Hao Ren did not bother studying what sort of natural laws governed his current state, but he could easily open his Dimensional Pocket and chuck the entire spaceship into it.

There was another flash, and he thought that he was back in The Plane of Dreams. However, his separated psyche had yet to merge back with his body. He was floating above a verdant blue planet. Looking around, he saw a sea of stars around him. It was outer space.

“The target is beneath us,” the MDT’s voice snapped him out of his awestruck stupor. He looked down towards the planet and saw a black mark on the verdant planet. While the mark was small from this distance, a more focused look enabled one to see that it was slowly expanding.

Hao Ren proceeded to release the Petrachelys from his Dimensional Pocket. As he looked at the stars around him, he demurred. “…What’s that… Ah, I suddenly remembered Raven 12345 mentioning something like this before… Why did I not think of it at first?”

“Which one?”

“Look at the sky.”

A silvery-white spaceship suddenly appeared on the planet’s outer orbit. The main battery was deployed from the retractable deck, and the cannon pointed coldly towards the surface.

Back on Dragonspine Ridge, Hao Ren turned back, facing the rest. “We are completing the final firing. Becareful of the blinding light and shockwave… Marshal Ophra, you may want to stand back.”

Hao Ren suddenly remembered that he and his group could leave The Plane of Dreams at any time. In a worst case scenario, they could just disconnect from the plane to save themselves. However, Mashal Ophra was a common person, hence he gave her the warning.

“No worries, I’ll only be able to get a few extra steps in if I turned back now,” Marshal Ophra said as she crossed her arms on her chest. Her eyes were filled with curiosity. “I’m curious though, what are you planning to do?”

Hao Ren thought for a bit. In the event that the shot went wide, the whole mountain range would just evaporate regardless, so did not insist further. He did not answer the marshal’s question either. He simply sat cross-legged where he stood earlier on the ridge. Looking in the First Born’s direction, he could see the ancient creature creating the Blood Tide at an alarming place. It had already consumed almost 80 to 90 % of the Beinz area. It was not only devouring everything in Beinz, it was also moving towards the Virulent Flatlands. Perhaps the creation of the Blood Tide required a lot of effort, or perhaps, it had lost interest in the “weaklings” on the mountain ridge. The First Born did not attack those on the ridge.

Maybe, it did not matter in the grand scheme of things. If the Blood Tide was to drown the world, nothing would survive.

In the orbit, Hao Ren’s “spirit” was directly controlling the weapons system of the Petrachelys. As he locked on the coordinates to fire, a warning message appeared… “Warning. Dangerous Use of Weapon. The Safety Protocol forbids the use of this weapon on a planet. Warning. Dangerous Use of Weapon. The Safety—”

“Computer, turn off the warning. Disable the Safety Protocol. Authorisation code sent. Please verify.”

The warning message suddenly stopped and the droning voice of the mainframe computer rang. “Authorisation code received and activated. Safety Protocol disabled. Main weapon controls switching to manual firing. Please manually unlock the safety trigger.”

Hao Ren looked at the MDT, which was slotted into the console. “What’s this safety trigger its talking about?”

“Up, down, up, down, triangle…” the MDT mumbled, “…didn’t you say read the manual?”

“That bloody manual isn’t a product manual. How would I know what the safety trigger is… Say… why does this command look so weird?”

The MDT grinned. “It’s the Empire’s tradition for manual console commands.”

“…Help me calculate the variables and track the planet’s rotation. I’ll control the firing mechanism.”

Thank goodness the MDT was there to help him out in finalising the firing or else, he would not have had the guts to perform the planetary bombardment even if you pointed a gun to his head!

A blinding, white orb started forming at the mouth of the cannon, and a world-destroying energy began to focus at the tip of the charging crystal. The First Born seemed to have sensed this danger and it stopped creating the Blood Tide. It drove all its tentacles towards the sky as countless beams fired towards the Petrachelys.

“Give it hell!”

The cannon roared and the world faded into white.

Chapter 384: Dealing with the Aftermath

 

The First Born’s innumerable tentacles moved in a frenzy. It could sense that the surge of lethal energy converging in space was aimed at it. This energy had the power to completely obliterate anything and in that very moment, it deployed layers upon layers of defensive matrices towards the sky. Energy beams started forming on each and every tentacle as twisted beams of light were fired wildly into the sky. As the energies converged, the sky started warping. The sun faded away as night suddenly descended upon the area.

In the dark of night, a speeding silver ray lanced towards the First Born. It expanded rapidly before turning into a beam that shattered both heaven and Earth.

The defensive barriers and forcefields were instantly undone by the beam with nary a whimper. A defense built on the natural laws of the land was pointless against a weapon beyond the comprehension of this universe. As the light descended, the First Born’s final struggle was a violent, defiant roar that shook the land. The monstrous creature started levitating as it was dragged by the force of the attack. It went beyond the peaks of Dragonspine Ridge before it was totally engulfed by the light.

As the First Born was incinerated by the blinding light, the shockwave soon came crashing as the First Born’s core exploded. Under the searing light, the land quickly turned into molten lava, and the blast sent the molten rocks up into the air. The west side of Dragonspine Ridge was immediately turned into a basin and the whole mountain range shook as if it was about to shatter. As the earth shook violently, a surge of violent, super-heated steam and rocks burst out of the cracks.

Y’zaks was ready for this, and as the rocks and steam rose, he deployed a dark energy barrier with flickering green runes. The scorching heat and the pungent smell of sulfur had everyone crouching and coughing profusely. Hao Ren had recalled his spirit back from space, and he was stunned by the devastation wrought by the bombardment. “F*ck! Now I understand why they forbade us from firing this against planets… That was the lowest power output…”

He then turned to Ophra and noticed the marshal rubbing her eyes. The flash earlier was so blinding that it exceeded a normal human’s ability to process it. Even someone of Ophra’s stature was dazed by it.

Hao Ren waved towards Ophra. “Marshal, we have little time. Please, ask me anything you wish to.”

He noticed that their bodies were slowly fading. It seemed like the connection between The Plane of Dreams and the Surface World had weakened. It would just be a matter of minutes before they were forcefully disconnected. He decided to take whatever time he had left to settle any outstanding matters.

Ophra recovered from her daze and saw that the First Born had disappeared. In addition, the Blood Tide was nowhere to be found. The whole Beinz Diocese was now a sea of molten rocks and she could only gawk in horror. After recalling the terrifying pillar of light and the subsequent explosion, she viewed Hao Ren no differently than the First Born, no… even more than that, this group possessed strength that way surpassed it!

“That…”—Ophra pointed at the western side of the mountain— “…was your doing?”

“Yes, but I hope you won’t tell anyone about it.” Hao Ren waved his hand. “This is a calamity. The First Born sought to destroy the ecosystem and went against the goddess’ will. Thus, divine judgement was brought upon it. Let this be the explanation, at least on the surface, the only explanation.”

“Why do you want to hide the truth?” Ophra stared straight at Hao Ren. “What are you planning?”

“Because there is a limit to how much I can interfere with a civilisation. The less impact I can have on one, the better.” Hao Ren shrugged. “But of course, there’s another reason as well. I have yet to understand all the intricacies behind this occurence, and I need to return to investigate. It seems that our time here is running out, so during our time away, the lesser the change, the better. This is also good news for you. Having stability after such a catastrophe is probably the best possible outcome—using this incident to reinforce the might of the goddess will also help.”

Only then did Ophra notice that Hao Ren and his gang were fading away. She remembered the light that streaked through the sky, and seemed to realise something. “Are you the ‘allies from the other galaxies’ that the first pope spoke off in his will?!”

“To be frank, I don’t think so.” Hao Ren pondered about it, but felt the narrative could be useful. “…However, everything should be based on a truth. If you wish to believe that, so be it. Can you accept my request on that?”

Ophra demurred for a moment before nodding. “I understand. I will declare this a divine miracle, but news will definitely spread one way or another. And, I will have to report this matter to the pope and the king himself. I hope you understand.”

Hao Ren considered the implications before agreeing. There was no point in refusing and he just waited for them to be disconnected. Ophra suddenly recalled something very important, “Wait a minute! What about the other two First Borns?

“Oh f*ck, I almost forgot.” Hao Ren slapped his forehead and his reaction had Ophra shaking her head. “I suppose you know the location of the other two?”

Big Beardy, who was seated beside them answered, “The two other First Borns are probably located in the other two sacred caverns. The pope and some of the high level ascetics will know the location. Marshal, please relay what happened here today to the pope. The Holy See will send men to verify the situation on the other two sacred grounds.”

“Based on your records, the other two failsafes will probably be undone in a year or two.” Hao Ren looked at Ophra. “As long as you keep the things inside the sarcophagi safe, you should at least have a year. I will try to find other ways to settle this, at least to minimise the damage. If there is really no other way, I might just have to blast them from orbit again…”

Ophra then gave a sigh of relief and noticed that the four ascetics were fading away as well. The scene surprised the marshal. “The four masters… Can it be that you need to leave too? Aren’t you…”

“This is the goddess’ path.” Big Beardy nodded solemnly and he sat cross-legged on the ground. “We have gone through a special path of tribulation and by her will, we need to head to the outlander’s world.”

As he finished, Big Beardy apparently remembered something and he quickly pulled out a cloth bag from his robes and placed it in Ophra’s hands. The sack was originally fading away like him but, the moment it was put into Ophra’s hands, the item was restored back to normal. “It seems like we will not be able to deliver the Sacred Orb ourselves. Marshal, please complete this divine calling for us.”

Ophra was deep in thought as she received the Orb, and she started frowning. Hao Ren and the rest concurred that there was nothing else to be done. They sat together with Big Beardy and the rest of the ascetics, awaiting the disconnection.

As they were about to fade into nothingness and stir in the Surface World, Becky was suddenly reminded of something very important to her. She started shouting, “Lady Ophra! Lady Ophra! I have something…”

Ophra’s face tightened as she thought it was something important. “What is it?”

“Please don’t forget my mansion and titles…”

The datalink was completely severed by then and Becky’s last words faded away. Ophra simply stood there as the mysterious band of “visitors from the stars” disappeared heroically (in her point of view) from the world, before having a delayed reaction to Becky’s request. “Huh?”

Kuiper Station, Conversion Chamber Sub-Section.

The sleeping pods opened one by one and Hao Ren rose up with a big yawn from one of the pods. He started shaking his head to rid himself from the disorientating sensation of returning back to the real world.

After a moment, all of them woke up from their pods. When they gathered, it was nothing but silence. The events that transpired exceeded everyone’s expectations and the data that they managed to gather in The Plane of Dreams needed extensive research.

Vivian noticed that Hao Ren was rubbing his chin, pondering about something. She asked him out of curiosity, “What are you thinking about?”

Hao Ren pressed his chin as he mumbled, “I suddenly recalled the way we left the place. It was as if all of us had died at the same time!”

Vivian rolled her eyes as she punched Hao Ren in the shoulder. “…You were seriously pondering about that?”

Lily’s voice then came from the back. “Not me! I was squatting then! After changing into my beast form, I can’t seat cross-legged…”

Hao Ren turned back to look at the werehusky and noticed that her clothes were intact and she had changed back to her human form. “So, the clothes that were destroyed in The Plane of Dreams did not affect the real world?” He said in amazement.

“I don’t know,” Lily said as she twirled about, checking herself. “I thought I’d come back in the shape of a giant wolf. After I woke up, I was wondering how I would even get out of the conversion chamber… That thingamajig’s only about three metres in height…”

Hao Ren patted the MDT, “Wikipedia, do your job.”

The MDT was immediately flustered. “Is there no one with common sense here? Can’t we talk about something more pertinent?”

Hao Ren laughed as he walked towards the exit. “Well then, let’s go home!”

Chapter 385: The Four Vajras

 

So, what does one do after coming back from The Plane of Dreams? Plan the next course of action? Write a report? Do some research ? Seek advice from an unreliable goddess? It was all hogwash. Those heroes in the movies, who could attend a state ball after saving the world were all lies. The reality was, after Hao Ren and the rest arrived home, the first thing they did was crash into their respective rooms to sleep the entire day. By the time Hao Ren woke up, he was so dazed that it took him a good while to realise what the date was…

After struggling a little to recollect the date, Hao Ren gave a big yawn as he fell back on the bed to sleep again. But this time, as he lay down, he heard the sounds of pitter-patter next to him and after that, something leapt onto his chest. The next moment, a wet tail started smacking him in the face. Hao Ren opened his eyes and saw the little mermaid looking at him in the eye.

The little one was clearly enjoying herself. She was of course, not tired at all. She spent most of the time in The Plane of Dreams snoozing, and she only came out for a breather once in a while. As such, she did not experience the danger that all the others went through. Hao Ren even started to doubt the need of bringing the little one into The Plane of Dreams. However, he then realised that it was not pointless after all. Given how rambunctious the little mermaid could be, bringing her along was probably for the best…

Hao Ren tidied his bed up and brought Lil Pea out of the room with her pot in tow. He saw that Vivian was cleaning the house while Lily was lecturing Rollie in a corner. The idiotic cat with black and white patches had a wee fun time outside and gotten itself all dirty. However, it seemed like it had put on quite a bit of weight, though Hao Ren had no idea where it went to. Seeing them returning back to their normal lives sort of confounded Hao Ren. He had yet to snap out of the “War Against the First Born Mode”, and the harrowing scene was still freshly etched in his mind. Seeing such a serene daily routine was almost too much a disconnect.

“Oh, you’re awake?” Vivian took a glance at Hao Ren and pointed towards the table. “The food is still warm. Eat up, it’s all yours.”

Hao Ren casually said, “Oh.” After that, he sat in his usual spot, looking at his usual bowl as well as chopsticks and smelling the usual aroma of Vivian’s cooking. That at last, had rid him of the sense of disconnect. After taking a couple slurps of the porridge and picking up a xiao long bao, something suddenly came to mind. He looked at Lily and called out to her, “Lily!”

The moment Lily responded to his call, Hao Ren threw the dumpling towards her. The next scene was simply too epic. Lily pretty much leapt up naturally as she spun towards the bun with her mouth wide open—however, Rollie was faster, and in a shadowy flicker, the dumpling was gone, leaving Lily to stare at the cat as it munched on the dumpling.

Vivian put her arms on her hips as she glared at Lily. “Just look at you! I can overlook you leaping to grab the dumpling, but you had to fight with a cat? And not just that, you actually lost to the cat?! What will your ancestors think of you?!”

Lily blinked as she mumbled, “Why does Mr. Landlord’s cat act like a dog…”

“Speaking of which, where are the four ascetics?” Hao Ren said as he wolfed down his breakfast. He recalled that he had four new tenants now, but he did not see any sign of them since he woke up. He, at the very least, remembered that his job was to monitor the unusual creatures. Hence, he decided that he needed to check on how the four were faring.

As things usually went, the four would be stuck there like Becky for a while.

He remembered giving Big Beardy and his fellow ascetics a few pointers on the way of life in the Surface World, like how to use the toilet and the water faucet. The four ascetics went directly to Kuiper Station and The Plane of Dreams after they were released by the Kerbalians. This was their first day on Earth. He had arranged for the four of them to live in the remaining two bedrooms. It was just nice that there were a pair of men and women each. But, he wondered if the four of them were comfortable.

“They should be at the back of the house.” Vivian frowned slightly. “They left the house rather early in the morning. They said they weren’t used to staying inside and wanted to meditate outside, closer to nature.”

“Meditate?” Hao Ren was stunned, and for a moment, he could not understand how meditation even came into the picture. “Don’t tell me they’re planning to build a temple or something there! The Real Estate Board will never allow it!”

“Why don’t you go see for yourself,” Vivian said as she cleaned the dining table and threw Hao Ren’s chopsticks into Lil Pea’s pot. “I think they’re not used to the lifestyle here. I prepared quite the meal for them this morning, but they only grabbed a few buns and a bag of water before leaving the house…”

Hao Ren managed to figure out the situation after that, and he quickly went out through the backdoor to look for the four ascetics. As mentioned, Hao Ren’s house or mansion was located in the outskirts of the Southern Suburbs, and it was the last lot of the place. Behind his house, there was a vast undeveloped land. He had little idea on why the four masters planned to meditate there. Not long after, he saw Big Beard and two other ascetics seated on a cleared patch of land. They still wore their torn grey robes as they sat on the ground, meditating with their eyes shut. In the centre was a small bonfire; it was almost as if they were living in the wild…

Hao Ren went closer and noticed that Big Beardy was with the other two female ascetics. The younger, male ascetic was nowhere to be found. He took a seat beside Big Beardy and asked, “What are you doing?”

“Meditating and improving ourselves, seeking inspiration for our daily life.” Big Beardy opened his eyes as he laughed and nodded at Hao Ren. “Have you eaten?”

Hao Ren was stunned. The way Big Beardy addressed him was rather casual. “Uh… yeah, I’ve eaten. Say… why are you guys not inside the house? I’ve prepared rooms for you, right?”

“The rooms are simply too luxurious for us, and they’re not suitable for quiet meditation.” The elder ascetic nun shook her head. “We cannot let the comforts of life distract us from our meditation; it will weaken our willpower. The comfort we get during missions are just that, but now that we are back to our normal lives, we need to follow the path of asceticism again.”

Hao Ren looked at the empty land. The wind was chilly as winter was approaching. The area was almost totally deserted and the rabbits that occasionally popped out were nowhere to be seen. Hao Ren was conflicted. “Don’t tell me that you plan to stay out here?”

“We do.” Big Beardy’s face was serious as he nodded. “We plan to build wooden shacks somewhere—one for us to meditate and two to honour the goddess. We want to let this world bask in her light as well. It’s a good thing.”

Hao Ren found himself unable to ever comprehend their train of thought. “You sure you want to do that? Uh… how do you plan on getting the wood for the shacks?”

Big Beardy finally frowned once he heard Hao Ren’s question. “You’re right. We went about the place for a while and realised that there are very little trees here, and not many rocks as well. Building a shack may be difficult. However, we saw plenty of trees in the north…”

Hao Ren thought for a bit and almost jumped. “That’s a windbreak! Logging is illegal!”

“Seems like we have a lot to learn about this world,” the younger ascetic nun spoke as she looked at Big Beardy. “If that’s not possible, let’s just dig a cave? We can follow in the steps of the Veridian Robes…”

The elder nun gave her suggestion too. “How about that tower we saw in the south? It seems to be made out of metal, and if we put cloth over it, we can block out the wind… But, it’s a little closer to civilisation, and I’m not sure if the owner will be willing to cooperate…”

Hao Ren pondered again as cold sweat started forming across his forehead. “… Don’t bother… That’s the TV tower…”

Big Beardy nodded solemnly. “Seems like digging a cave is the best option. Once he’s back, we’ll start… Say, I suppose it’s not forbidden to dig holes here? Over our end, some places don’t allow digging without informing the landlord.”

Hao Ren’s cold sweat had already reached his legs at this point. He seemed to have underestimated the ascetics’ way of life. Their way of life was to challenge their own limits. And Hao Ren realised that he would not be changing their beliefs anytime soon. Resignedly, he suggested, “If you want to live in the wild, I have no objections, but can we delay it for a few days? All of you have yet to accustom yourselves to the rules here. You almost felled the trees in the windbreak. That would have caused a lot of trouble for people. Maybe once all of you are clear on how things operate here, then you can get back to that again?”

Big Beardy thought about it for a moment and realised the truth in Hao Ren’s words. “That may be prudent. Very well then, we will be in your care at night, and meditate here during the day. This area is just very good for meditating.”

The two ascetic nuns nodded in agreement before pulling out the buns from their robes and placing them by the fire to prepare their meal. It appeared that they had a “meditate first, eat later” rule and had not eaten until that point. Hao Ren looked at the buns and thought of the meals he consumed on a daily basis. It just did not sit right with him. “You’re just eating this?”

Big Beardy smiled. “Yes, this is good.”

Hao Ren recalled the almost gourmet meals that his other guests had and these four ascetics were at the back of his house, challenging their limits. If this went out, Weibo would probably hound him to no end. “But, you’ll really starve with just that—”

Before he could finish, the young male ascetic returned and he had a rabbit in his hand…

Big Beardy quickly grabbed the rabbit. Using magic, he skinned and bled the rabbit out almost immediately. After he rubbed some spices on the meat, he put it to roast. “What were you saying again?”

“Nothing…”

F*cking hell, this bunch was having a feast.

Chapter 386: Doubt and Hesitation

 

Frankly speaking, Hao Ren felt that it was unwise to let the four ascetics live outdoors. Their way of life was just too different from a normal person’s. If they were in The Plane of Dreams, you could have probably pinned it down to their piety. But now that they were in the Surface World, how was Hao Ren suppose to explain their behaviour? Most common folk would struggle to understand why a group of people refused the luxury of a house to live in the wild. Not to mention their need to meditate with subzero winds blowing at them, or the fact that they set bonfires behind someone’s house and caught rabbits by the edge of the city…

But after experiencing so much for so long, Hao Ren had pretty much seen it all. Hence, he took most of their odd practices and customs in stride. The old country bumpkin months ago was no longer around and he was glad about it. Besides, there were not many people living in the Southern Suburbs anyway. The only weird part was their lifestyle, so they probably would not cause much of a ruckus. If they wished to stay that way, so be it. That said… people pulling stunts like that are not rare these days. In fact, the sh*t people conjure up nowadays are beyond what mother nature intended.

So, the four new guests had somewhat settled in. They would come back at night to sleep, and leave at dawn to meditate in the vast land behind his house. Their basic needs just consisted of a few buns and sufficient water. Truth be told, if not for the fact that there was no underground water source, Big Beardy and his fellow ascetics would have dug a well behind Hao Ren’s house. Their daily routine was regimented, yet simple. Aside from meditating and praying, they would wander the wild, and probably hunt a rabbit or two, or fetch some bird eyes (no idea where they got those). Other than that, they paid no attention to other things, and they seemed to be rather content with life. Perhaps, living like this was their way of paying respect to nature. For two days, Hao Ren hesitated on informing them about the dwindling wild animal population. This was a suburban area after all, and while it was not comparable to the mountains, it was the middle of winter. At the rate they were going, the animal population there would not last till Chinese New Year…

The four ascetics aside, Hao Ren was busy writing and editing his report. Too many things had happened in The Plane of Dreams and in the span of a few short days, the truth he uncovered far exceeded anything he had done in the past few months. Thus, he needed to plan how he would set the record straight. As they left The Plane of Dreams in a hurry, there were many things that they did not manage to investigate. He needed to consult the rest as well before he could decide on how to report the matter to Raven 12345.

The written report was compiled and sent via the MDT. He also planned to pay Raven 12345 a visit later in the afternoon. Just as he sent his report, Wuyue came home from shopping. He suddenly thought of something and called the siren.

“Say, you haven’t been singing for a while now,” Hao Ren casually mentioned Wuyue’s old profession and the latter quickly turtled. “What are you talking about? It’s in the middle of winter… Even if I was willing to sing, who would even come out to listen?”

Hao Ren laughed awkwardly and brought up the thing that he wanted to ask her. “Actually, I have something to ask you…”

“What is it?” Wuyue saw Hao Ren’s serious face and she sat on the sofa with an earnest look.

“Do you have any way to contact the sirens on Earth? Or, look for any ruins that the sirens left on land? Or, any other thing? As long as it has something to do with your kind, and it can explain your culture or origin.”

Wuyue looked at Hao Ren curiously. “Why the sudden interest? Are you an archaeologist now?”

“Actually, there’s something I want to clarify.” Hao Ren’s gaze was distant. He recalled space and the sea of stars he saw when he was in The Plane of Dreams. “You remember when we talked about sirens with the people from The Plane of Dreams and found out that there were no sirens there?”

Wuyue nodded. “Yes, what of it?”

“After that, Raven 12345 reminded me of something—to look to the sky.” Hao Ren appeared perplexed. “I thought that after experiencing so much, my worldview would be pretty wide by now. But, after our fight with the First Born, I realised that I was still being shackled by my old perceptions… We only focused on one planet in The Plane of Dreams and forgot that there’s a universe out there above our heads!”

Wuyue was not as learned as Hao Ren was when it came to the stars and it took a while before she understood him. “You mean to say… that the sirens came from another planet in The Plane of Dreams?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Hao Ren motioned. “The goddess whom Big Beardy worships is part of a race from space, and all lifeforms on the planet were sown from space. The Ancient Magic Civilisation already had space colonies on their moon, and the founder of the Disciples of Glory also mentioned a group of visitors from space helping to destroy the First Born… We have been too narrow in our thoughts. I should have known better when we entered The Plane of Dreams the first time. There were stars when I looked up.”

You could not blame Hao Ren entirely for his narrow worldview. Under normal circumstances, if one stepped into a magical world, and the whole place seemed to be a carbon copy of medieval Europe; everyone was all about theology, and there were no sprouts of scientific innovation or any large scale industries, one would have been unconsciously drawn into the local atmosphere. You could not help but think that you were in a script about a medieval magic kingdom. If you’ve read such novels, you would not have related any of it to aliens.

The point is, The Plane of Dreams was not normal. It started off as a normal, medieval fantasy world, but things derailed to involve aliens!

“All unusual creatures came from The Plane of Dreams; I strongly believe that.” Hao Ren was serious. “And, I swear by Darwin’s name that an ecosystem like Earth’s could not have caused the evolution of races capable of toppling mountains and splitting oceans. The sirens are definitely not from Earth and I think that they possibly came from one of the planets in The Plane of Dreams…”

“So, you plan to find the origin of the sirens?” Wuyue was interested in what Hao Ren had said. “This seems very interesting, but what purpose does it serve?”

Hao Ren looked at Wuyue in the eye. “Think of it. We initially thought that planet in The Plane of Dreams was the only planet in the universe. Plus, the calamity mentioned in the holy books of the Disciples of Glory said that total annihilation was one of the disasters to befall the planet. Even though it almost wiped out the entire planet, in the grand scale of things, it was nothing more than a localised incident.”

“So…”—Wuyue seemed to finally understand Hao Ren at this point—”the sirens did not undergo the calamity of the goddess.”

“Based on the calendar, the werewolves and vampires came to Earth after the calamity,” Hao Ren theorised. “Let’s not bother with how they got here; let’s just assume that they figured a way out of desperation. Based on the records, the appearance of the unusual creatures on Earth certainly had to do with the calamity of the goddess. Maybe, they were refugees, or maybe, they used the First Born’s unnatural ability to breach the Wall of Reality in order to come to Earth. But now, there’s a missing piece: how did the sirens come here? They did not experience the calamity, but why did they appear on Earth at the same time?”

Wuyue started frowning as she caught up to Hao Ren’s train of thought.

Hao Ren paused for a bit before continuing, “There are two possibilities: one, they had nothing to do with the calamity and the coming of the unusual creatures, or… two, the sirens’ homeworld also experienced similar incidents, which forced them to escape The Plane of Dreams.”

Wuyue looked on in disbelief. “Is the second possibility even conceivable? The Ancient Magic Civilisation was destroyed because they were poking their noses into the First Born, causing it to go berserk… However, the sirens’ homeworld… No matter what planet it was, certainly, it had nothing to do with the Ancient Magic Kingdom? Could there be such a coincidence?”

This was the part Hao Ren had not figured out. He assumed that all unusual creatures came from The Plane of Dreams, and the reason for their arrival was the calamity. However, now that he knew the calamity was a localised incident, the sirens’ appearance on Earth became difficult to explain. All in all, the calamity occurred because someone on the planet had decided to poke a bear. There was no common cause or inevitable cause, so for the same thing to happen at the same time on another planet was rather unlikely. Hence, what drove the sirens to Earth? Did it really have nothing to do with the goddess, but a disasterous collateral damage of galactic proportions instead? Was the calamity just a coincidence? How many races on Earth had the same predicament as the sirens? What were the chances that the unusual creatures Vivian knew were all those who had made the journey?

Wuyue looked at Hao Ren’s expression and realised that the man, while carefree most of the time, was dead set on something once he was serious. What he spoke had basis. He was rarely serious, but when he was, he did not mess around. So, she followed up with a question, “From your tone, are you sure the sirens also encountered a calamity that possibly wiped out the entire race? Do you have any leads?”

Hao Ren nodded. “The first pope mentioned in his patrimony that when the First Born awakes, a group of allies from the stars will appear. I’m sure I’m not the ally they’re talking about. Because 3,000 years ago, even my ancestors weren’t around yet. So, the question is, why didn’t the real ‘allies’ appear? Did something happen to them?”

Chapter 387: Taking the Pagans to See God

 

So far, a lot of clues had been found, but that made the whole thing more and more confusing. One question came after another and although there were countless speculations that could answer these questions, Hao Ren did not know which was the more plausible one.

“According to the writings in the cavern, there should have been a group of aliens gathering around when the First Born revived, but I didn’t see any aliens when I bombed the place. What happened to them?”

Nangong Wuyue frowned and said, “Maybe after 10,000 years later, the aliens reneged, or they just forgot about the agreement. After all, 10,000 years is a long time. It’s hard to say which race would keep their word to such an extent.”

Hao Ren shook his head and said, “Since those ancient mage-emperors signed this agreement with the aliens, and the pope even had the courage to declare the aliens’ coming 3,000 years ago, I think they must have considered this. None of them were fools. If they weren’t sure about the sincerity of the aliens, how could they put their entire planet’s future into the hands of a group of outsiders? I guess something bad happened to the aliens.”

“There’s another possibility,” Vivian said as she passed by. “We woke the eldest son ahead of time… Well, not us, but those little green men. Their spaceship smashed and created a hole under the sacred lake, causing a whirlpool, which indirectly caused the Divine Sarcophagus to be damaged ahead of time. Maybe that’s the reason.”

“But, the rock monsters of Dragonspine Ridge had nothing to do with the Divine Sacrophagus,” said Hao Ren. “They ran strictly according to the timetable left behind 10,000 years ago, and they were already active before the Divine Sacrophagus was destroyed. This means that the exact date of the First Born’s revival was around that time. The aliens could not have possibly arrived right on the day as stated in the agreement. They should be well-prepared for any accidents. Anyway, if I were those aliens, I would rather come and guard it two months ahead time to avoid any accidents…”

“You’re right… They might be in trouble,” Vivian agreed. She nodded and said, “By the way, what shall we have for lunch?”

Hao Ren paused as Vivian suddenly changed the topic. It took him a few seconds to remember that he had plans that day, and said, “Up to you. I have to meet Raven 12345. I probably won’t come back for lunch.”

Vivian nodded but then, was reminded of one more thing, and said, “There’s no lunch at the goddess’ place.”

Hao Ren’s lips twitched and thought that as the goddess of this universe, her most impressive legacy was actually “no lunch”. He wondered how she felt about it…

Vivian went to prepare lunch. Nangong Wuyue already understood what Hao Ren was talking about. “I got it. You think that many of the unusual creatures on Earth did not come from Becky’s hometown, and so, many races including the sirens, travelled to Earth at the same time, and the whereabouts of the “allies in the stars” mentioned in the prophecy is a mystery. So, you’re worried that many races in The Plane of Dreams are in trouble, and you want to find the sirens’ home to confirm it?”

“It’s just an assumption for the time being.” Hao Ren nodded and said, “A goal is better than no goal. Try to find clues. After all, you are a siren. You should know some news regarding your own kin… At least, you can talk to them.”

“Actually, after wandering around the world for so many years, I haven’t had any contact with my kin. After going ashore, sirens became elusive. Plus, I’ve had no interest in them as well.” Nangong Wuyue stuck her tongue out, but still nodded and said, “Okay, I do have some clues, I’ll try my best.”

“Please do.” Hao Ren nodded and smiled. Then, he got up, headed for the back door and said, “I’ll go and talk to the four ascetics. After that, I’ll meet Raven 12345. I won’t be back at noon.”

The four ascetics were meditating in the backyard. Four of them sat around a bonfire, which was about to be extinguished. It looked like a scene from Man vs. Wild. Hao Ren walked towards them and found that Lily was also there. The girl held a small book as she squatted next to Big Beardy, asking him questions with a serious face. He found it amusing for a while, then he slapped Lily on the head and asked, “What are you doing?”

Lily looked up at Hao Ren, bared her teeth and said, “Don’t touch my head! I find that you’re becoming more and more disrespectful to me, the literary girl…”

Hao Ren was at a lost for words. He could not believe that Lily actually called herself a literary girl bashfully. Then, he saw something on Lily’s little book; a line of shiny words that read, “Returning to Basics in the Modern City – The Study of Health in the Wilderness”. “What are you doing? Are you interested in studying Sociology?” he asked.

“I want to submit some articles,” said Lily with a serious face. “It’s a hot topic right now. The rich urbanites are so fake. People longed for high-rise buildings when they dug for food in the ravine. Now, they live in high-rise buildings and long for the days when they ate wild vegetables. This kind of health article is particularly popular. You just write something about going organic, then name-drop one or two foreign experts. The rate for a thousand words starts from 200 Dollars…”

Hao Ren thought about it for a moment. He instantly stomped and pointed to the bonfire in front of Big Beardy and said, “But, their health articles don’t educate people on catching wild rabbits in the suburbs!”

“It’s just an appropriate literary exaggeration,” Lily replied with a solemn face. “I’m going to portray Big Beardy as an expert, or as a health specialist, or as a religious disciple from Mount Wutai…”

Hao Ren gave her a sideways glance and said, “Be careful, don’t attract the CCTV reporters again.”

Lily stared at Hao Ren, held her little book and went back into the house. Hao Ren sat down beside Big Beardy and said, “Actually, you guys can go to a place called India. Your behavior won’t be eye-catching there.”

Big Beardy’s face lit up at once and asked, “Do the people there also follow the teachings of the goddess?”

“No, but it’s a magical country. It’s perfect for you to challenge your survival limits.” Hao Ren looked at Big Beardy’s big robe and big sleeves. The more he looked at them, the more believed that these four people could instantly blend in on the Indian streets. “There, people everywhere challenge their limits of survival as you do. They’re also called ascetics, and many of the locals live like this…”

“I’ll think about it,” Big Beardy nodded solemnly and said, “but first, we have to solve the problem of knowledge, and most importantly, the language barrier.”

“Don’t worry, my boss is in charge of this. In two days, you will naturally be able to understand the language and words of the people on Earth,” Hao Ren said and sighed. “You guys are so lucky. Last time I had to lie in a coffin to reconfigure my body in order to understand foreign languages. But now, you guys can just get it done automatically.”

At this time, the young female ascetic looked at Hao Ren and asked, “What’s the matter?”

Hao Ren smiled awkwardly and said, “Well… nothing much… Do you carry the scriptures of the Disciples of Glory?”

Big Beardy took out a thick, old book from his robe and said, “Of course, we carry it with us. Are you interested in the teachings of the goddess?”

Hao Ren laughed awkwardly and said, “Not really… If I join another religion, my boss would kill me. I just want to understand the history and culture of the Disciples of Glory, as well as the legends of your world and anything from 10,000 years ago.”

After a long period of getting along with each other, Hao Ren had a rough idea of their temperament. These devout believers did not force everyone to believe in their goddess like fanatics of other religions. They believed in natural influence and conversion. They preached the creeds of the Disciples of Glory through their words and deeds. They allowed believers to make their own choices. Therefore, Hao Ren could talk openly about the issue of religious belief with them.

“We all carry the scriptures,” Big Beardy said, handing the book to Hao Ren. “It’s always good to read it. Although we don’t carry other books and records, it’s all in our mind. I can write it down if you want.”

“Don’t bother. This book is enough. I can get more the next time we enter The Plane of Dreams. We have to go back in one month anyway.” Hao Ren then stood up and said, “You guys carry on. I have to report to my boss now…”

As Hao Ren was about to leave, Big Beardy also stood up and said, “We heard that your ‘boss’ is another goddess, correct?”

“Err…” Hao Ren did not know what to say.

“We’ll see her with you,” Big Beardy said solemnly.

This was a little beyond Hao Ren’s expectation.