The Record of Unusual Creatures - Chapter 641

Chapter 641: The Home in the Ghost Town

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

 

The levitating car stopped near a high-rise residential area and the Nangong couple took everyone to their temporary residence. They brought the guests into the living room. Ayesha brought the food she bought from the mall today to the kitchen while Nangong Wudi was sitting on the big sofa with the guests, ready to answer a series of questions.

Hao Ren looked around the furnishings. Obviously, the natives of this planet were highly similar to the people on Earth, and their civilization was somewhat similar to that of the Earth. The furnishings in the room were strange, but they could guess most of their functions easily. The house was clean and tidy, and all kinds things were placed in the position that was easy to get, they could see that the people living here had made it a safe and comfortable home. As a place for a pair of stranded couples to spend a hundred years together, this place was surprisingly good.

“Most of it was tidied up by Ayesha. There are a lot of strange things here, thanks to the wisdom of my wife, otherwise, I really don’t know what to do.” Nangong Wudi smiled and explained when he noticed that they were looking around, “When we first came here, we were very busy for a while. It still makes me laugh when I think back to what happened at that time.”

Hao Ren noticed that the manner of speaking of Nangong Wudi was a little odd. He thought for a moment and realized that it was the traditional Chinese country gentleman’s usual tone of more than 100 years ago. This man had left the Earth for about 100 years. Cutting off from the outside world allowed him to keep the way of speaking in those years. This situation could also be seen in those who had been staying in shelters all year round. When he was in the sanctuary of Athens, he saw a lot of old vampires and old werewolves who spoke and behaved like they were still in the Medieval Period.

“Dad, how did you and mom get here? And how did you find this sanctuary?” Nangong Sanba could not wait to ask.

Nangong Wudi smiled and explained, “I can’t explain exactly how we came here. All I remember was that we were covered by the light of Vengeful Spirit. We were dazzled by the strong light and it made us feel dizzy. When we woke up, we already came to a dark and icy underworld… Oh, we’re actually on the ground. Your mother and I were struggling to survive in the snow. But it’s really difficult to survive in the snow, and your mother still needed to sustain my life with her mist. We took the risk to walk through the snow, and about 10 days later, we still couldn’t see the end of the snow, but suddenly, the earth trembled and the mountains swayed for a while as if the sky was falling and the earth was crumbling. Another day or two later, we saw that the steel mountain nearby was suddenly shining brightly.

Hao Ren suddenly interrupted, “Wait a minute, you mean, when you first came to this world, those engines… I mean, the beams of light had not yet appeared. It only appeared sometime after you got here?”

Nangong Wudi nodded and said, “Yes. Then two of us walked towards the light, and soon we found the city made of iron and steel and things made of delicate mechanism. And then an automaton took us to this place.”

Hao Ren and Vivian exchanged a glance and said, “…It’s the same as I guess. Before that, this planet remained in its own solar system. It was after the Nangong couple came to this planet that something was activated to make the planet sail.”

“It’s not necessarily activated by them, but they happened to be here at the right time,” Vivian said while touching her chin, and then looked at Nangong Wudi and asked, “Was there a frequent earthquake after you saw the light? And did you sometimes feel like you’re in a weightless environment… like your feet couldn’t touch the ground or you couldn’t walk properly?

Nangong Wudi nodded and told them of what had happened and they found that this basically corresponded to the phenomenon when the planet set sail. Although the natives of this planet had created the ‘Planet Ark’ such an amazing thing, they were not advanced at some level of science and technology. For example, they did not know how to make an anti-gravity device or deal with the inertia problem of a spacecraft during acceleration, but could only rely on a long acceleration or deceleration or a variety of damping devices to solve the problem.

Nangong Wudi’s memory completely confirmed Hao Ren’s speculation about the time that this planet set sail.

“Dad, do you have a hard life here?” Nangong Wuyue almost cried.

“We met some difficulties in the beginning,” Nangong Wudi said and gave her a warm smile. “But we soon got used to it. It’s so convenient here. We got everything we need here. And to be honest, things here are a lot easier to use. Our life is good here, just… a little lonely.”

He tried to make it sound light, but everyone could guess that he and Ayesha had a lot of trouble when they first came to this world. They had no guidance, they were nervous and afraid, and they could not even understand the language here. This fully automated, advanced world was probably a scary place for a man of 100 years ago. Nangong Wuyue’s mother should be the quickest one to adapt here. She was a siren after all, and Nasaton, the city of the sirens itself was an advanced starship. Therefore, she was not unfamiliar with the automatic facilities here. At least she was no stranger to this kind of world.

But the biggest difficulty was: It was a little lonely.

“Have you met anyone else here?” Lily asked while hugging her knees.

“No.” Nangong Wudi looked serious. “I know what you want to ask. My wife and I have been around the whole town, and there’s no one here but us. But we often see some figures appearing on the screen, and new products often appear in the shops.”

“Outside of the city? Have you ever been to other cities?” asked Y’zaks.

Nangong Wudi’s answer was way beyond their expectation. “We can’t get out. We can’t get out after we come in, and to be honest, we don’t know the way to the other cities, and we don’t even know if there are any other cities.”

“Can’t get out?” They looked at each other, and Vivian broke the silence, “How? Somebody stop you or?”

“The way out of the city is blocked. That’s the tower you left when you came down, didn’t you go back and see? It should not be opened again. The outer layer of the city is stones and steels, covering the whole city tightly. There’re some places looking like the city gates, but they’re closed.”

Hao Ren frowned and asked, “Didn’t you try to get out by force?”

“Yes, we did, but then we were stopped by the automaton,” Nangong Wudi said and grinned, “Ayesha and I didn’t try to break through the gate again. After all, this place is so weird. It’s hard to survive outside where it’s all ice and snow. In this city, we can at least live well. In order to be safe, we settle down here.”

Hao Ren’s expression turned serious.

The city was blocked, and the lifts and police robots in the periphery of the city carried out a planned blockade—meaning that people were banned from leaving in the city. He thought of the middle-aged man who appeared on the big screen, and the apparently newly-created news. These clues point to a group of mysterious people hiding behind the scenes, perhaps the real owners of the planet. But why would they do that?

A lot of ideas flashed through his mind. Hao Ren suddenly felt that this empty ‘ghost town’ was likely to be an observed laboratory. The real natives and the sanctuary were probably somewhere else. In this way, many situations that did not feel right could be explained clearly.

But what was the point of doing this?

Hao Ren called the spacecraft waiting in orbit. The voice of the data terminal soon appeared in his mind. “Boss, found anything?”

“We’ve found Nangong parents,” Hao Ren first reported the good news, “But that’s not the point. Now please increase the radar power, scanning the life signals on the planet in the deeper layer and looking for facilities such as large shelter. I suspect that the survivors of this planet are hidden deeper in the ground, and there is something wrong with their behavior.”

“Ok, anything else?”

“Be careful. Try to avoid any conflicts.” Hao Ren did not forget his code of practice. “If not necessary, do not use any force against other civilizations.”

The actions of inspectors should be maintained at the ‘civil’ level as far as possible. Although there was no clear definition of the term ‘civil’ in Xi Ling Empire, they certainly could not start a war on other civilizations without careful consideration, especially when the planet itself was an observation specimen full of civilized achievement.

Chapter 642: The Glass House That’s Being Observed Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

 

While preparing the spacecraft to scan the entire planet, Hao Ren knew they had to do something.

Many details could be hidden in the unnoticeable corners. The spacecraft might be able to find the stronghold hidden under the earth’s crust, but it may not be able to find clues left by the survivors of the doomsday.

They sat in the living room in a circle to discuss the status of the strange planet. Vivian put her hands on the tea table while expressing her opinion. “The biggest problem now is why the native people of this planet are hiding, and why they leave such a strange city to trap outsiders.”

The live updates news, entertainment programs on TV, and products that had recently been produced and the ads. These showed that the human society of this planet was still working and they were just hiding somewhere unknown. And now, the empty city was more like a closed observation room. Whether it was the Nangong couple who came here 100 years ago, or Hao Ren and his companions who had just reached here, everyone seemed to have been treated as an observation sample. Hao Ren told them his speculation and got all the support, especially Lily—this Husky had just watched a lot of sci-fi movies before coming here, and now her head was full of conspiracy theories.

“They must have their own purpose, because it’s expensive to keep the city running,” Y’zaks said, knocked on the table and continued, “Look at the supplies, the energy of the city, the robots for maintenance, and the stuff in the mall—most of which have been put there until expired and thrown away. They maintain the normal operation of such a big city, but only to feed two people. This is certainly not a joke.”

Lily looked around and suggested, “I think that firstly, we should try to send our message to the natives of this planet. They surely can see us, right? Then we just ask them directly what they want. If they don’t respond, then we try to get out of here by force. Let’s see what’s the reaction of the defense system in this place. And if we have no any other option, we can only fight with them… That’s better than no progress.”

Hao Ren looked at the husky girl with a little surprised. “Good, I’ve never thought that you could come up with such a constructive plan. Not a coward this time?”

“I’m actually quite smart, okay?” Lily kicked Hao Ren under the table.

Vivian glanced at Lily and asked, “Okay, how are you going to talk to the natives here? Go to the balcony and howl at the sky?”

Without hesitation, Lily stood up and walked straight to the balcony, leaving everybody looking at each other. Vivian shrugged and said, “I forgot that this is what she usually does when she has nothing to do. No pressure at all.”

Before Vivian finished her words, a loud, shrilling howl was coming from the balcony. “Awwwwooooo—”

Hao Ren yelled at the balcony, “Speak human language!”

Lily just realized what she was doing, then immediately yelling at the natives of this planet, hoping to make them come out. A few minutes later, she trotted into the living room and said, “It doesn’t work. Nobody responds. Let’s carry out Plan B.”

Nangong Wudi had been watching this crazy bunch of people. “This girl has a good voice…”

“If the city is an observation room, there must be someone watching our movement. They must be watching Lily just now,” said Y’zaks. Although what Lily just did leave Y’zaks a little speechless, he had to admit that it really meant something. “Now we can think about breaking through the city checkpoint. This can probably force the locals out.”

Everybody nodded. But just as they were ready to go out, Ayesha’s voice was coming from the kitchen, “Shouldn’t we eat first before going out?”

Ayesha was standing at the kitchen door with a large tray with a smile on her face. Her lower body also turned into a snake tail. At the end of her tail was a steaming cauldron, with a peculiar smell of rice coming out of it. It seemed that Wuyue’s ability to create all kinds of strange uses of the tail, including those unusual ways to do housework using her tail, was inherited from her mother.

Nangong Wudi immediately stood up and said, “Come on, it’s hard for us to get together. Let’s sit down and try my wife’s cooking first. Anyway, we have been waiting for a hundred years. We can wait.”

Elsa placed the steaming dishes on the table. The small table could not accommodate so many people, and half of them simply ate at the side table. There were plenty of dishes on the table, and most of them were unheard of. But fortunately, they all tasted good. Everybody enjoyed the meal, especially Lily. The entire world stopped when she was eating. Hao Ren even had to watch her and pass her water at any time: This was the tacit understanding they had after living together for over a year.

Wuyue looked at the table of food and her parents sitting beside her, almost on the verge of tears and said, “We haven’t had dinner together for a long time…”

Ayesha looked at her children, getting emotional. “When mom and dad left, two of you were still little kids… Now you’re all grown up. What have you been doing over the years?”

“We had been looking for you all over the world. I was a singer, and brother worked as a demon hunter,” Nangong Wuyue said while poking the rice in the bowl, “100 years had passed and we still had no clue, until I met the landlord…”

Hao Ren turned to Nangong Wudi and asked, “How do you learn the language of this planet?”

He and his friends were assisted by translation plug-ins, and could quickly grasp any language and text, but he wondered how the Nangong couple learned it.

“Read books, listen to the radio, watch the TV…” Nangong Wudi said, pointing to the TV on the wall, “Although there’s no one in the city, we can still see these things. 100 years of time is enough for us to learn the language here.”

“Oh, yes, watch TV!” Lily threw away the chopsticks excitedly and ran to the ‘TV’. It took her some time to figure out how to turn on the TV. “Be careful, don’t break it!”

“It’s ok,” Nangong Wudi smiled and said, “when we first arrived here, we also broke a lot of things, and we even burned a house while preparing a meal. Haha. And there’re always some automatons come to clean it up afterward. ”

“The cost of living of you two is quite high…” said Hao Ren.

Lily kept changing the TV channels, from news to advertisement to entertainment, dramas, and movies, as if there was a thriving world outside. She then returned to the table and sat down, biting her chopsticks and muttering, “I’ve written a novel before, about a man trapped in a house. The house had no doors, no windows, only a mountain of cans and a TV. The man was born in the house and grew up in the house. All he could do was watching TV, watching the busy world on TV, news and current affairs, and learning about the world from the TV. He knew from TV that he was living in a big city and that the country he lived in was fighting with another country. Suddenly, one day, the TV broke down. He smashed the wall and came out of the house…”

“And then?” Vivian was curious about the story. “You can actually write something so deep?”

“Then? Then he fell straight down and down, endlessly. His room was the only thing in that world. There’s nothing outside the room. Just void,” Lily said while biting the chopsticks, “It’s a thriller.”

“The story is not funny at all,” Vivian said while eating.

Hao Ren pondered for a moment after hearing Lily’s story. He then shook his head, pointed to the screen on the wall and said, “But the TV in your story doesn’t show real news, and ‘the man in the room’ is not being observed.”

The news was being broadcast ion the TV, announcing that the ‘Department of Security’ and the ‘Department of Development Affairs’ was ready for the Planet Ark to decelerate. A news presenter with a straight face was urging residents not to get close to the places that collapsed easily to cope with the shock caused by the first switching of engines of the planet.

At the same time, Petrachelys also brought them the news: The propulsion engine of this planet was reducing its power, while several engine valves in the thrust reversal system were showing signs of preheating.

This was the difference between Lily’s story and this city: Someone made this ‘glass house’.

Y’zaks frowned while watching the news and suddenly stood up.

While everybody was puzzled, he came to the window, pointing to the tall buildings in the distance.

The next second, a huge fireball exploded in the city, rumbling like thunder.

Chapter 643: Obstacles

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

 

A huge fireball rose up on the other side of the city. Sound from the explosion reverberating in the cavernous city. Looking at Y’zaks, astounded, Hao Ren asked, “What are you doing, Y’zaks?”

“Create some headline,” Y’zaks turned his head and pointed at the TV on the wall. “Let’s wait and see if there will be any news.”

The Nangong Wudi and Ayesha stared at the fire at the far end of the city for like a century before they ‘wowed’ in unison. Ayesha whispered, “We hadn’t been dare to cause such a noise.”

Nothing happened in the ten minutes after the explosion, until the fireball dissipated and the demonic fire began to swallow up the buildings near the explosion centre they heard sirens coming from afar. Elliptical aircrafts with flashing strobe lights were rushing to the scene along the steel girders of the city’s dome. Hao Ren stood on the balcony, using his super vision he could see the situation in the explosion site beyond what ordinary people could see: there were machines and equipment scrambling to put out the fire, roads leading to the scene were condoned off, as robots were redirecting traffic at the intersections. Traffic took a detour under the command of those robots. Hao Ren’s attention quickly shifted from the fire to those detouring vehicles. A thought suddenly came to his mind; since there was an unmanned system controlling those vehicles, the traffic coordination should be running smoothly, why did they even need the robots to direct traffic at the intersections?

Was it just the stupid interest of the city’s planners (or should we call them the ‘watchers outside the glasshouse’) in simulating the human society here?

“We can act tomorrow,” said Y’zaks, who came up from behind and said beside Hao Ren. “Let’s wait for one day and see what comes out in tomorrow’s news. I want to confirm something.”

The place had ample rooms and it was easy to make a comfortable stay. Hao Ren and his team spent the first night in this spooky city but they did not sleep very well: from after midnight, sirens were blaring from other neighbourhoods, it seemed that the fireball of Y’zaks had created more chaos than expected. The next morning, Lily was complaining that she did not sleep well last night, but to be honest, Hao Ren was very sceptical: supposedly, no one was least susceptible to insomnia than the husky… How does the husky’s brain support such complex symptoms as insomnia?

Everyone stayed in the house; did not know whether to wind a watch or bark at the moon except watching the news report that might popped up at any moment, and soon what they had been waiting for finally came out.

The morning news broadcaster was a woman in a beige short dress with an onscreen professional smile. She read out the script with a hint of nervousness on her face. “…Breaking news. Yesterday night, a massive mysterious explosion broke out around Riverdeep Station, instantly destroying four residential buildings. The fire ensuing the explosion has also destroyed a dozen other buildings; the entire block of street was damaged as a result. After a frantic overnight effort by the fire department, the fire has been kept from spreading but it is still burning…”

Lily patted on Y’zaks back and said, “Hey, Biggie, looks like you have really caused a scene.”

Y’zaks quietly lifted his chin. “Don’t worry; just pay attention if something is wrong.”

Now, the broadcaster on the TV had finished reading the script. Suddenly the camera flicked to the side. “… We are connecting with the director of the Fire Department of Riverdeep Station, Mr. Veanromme. Now, Mr. Veanromme please tell us the progress on the investigation of the explosion.”

A tall, bald-headed man appeared in front of the camera. “…so far we have not determined the cause of the explosion. The last visual sent back by the CCTV at the scene shows that the explosion suddenly happened out of thin air. A huge fireball first formed in the air and then it destroyed the signal at the scene…”

After Veanromme spoke for a long moment, the camera turned to a black-skinned old man with grey hair, a voice narrated. “Riverdeep Station commander, Loken commented about this explosion…”

Everyone wide-eyed in front of the TV, blinking.

Y’zaks turned around. “I guess the city where we are staying is called Reverdeep Station.”

Hao Ren pointed at the figure appearing on the TV screen as he looked at the Nangong couple. “This is the commander and officials of Riverdeep Station… When did this empty city get a mayor?”

The Nangong Wudi opened his mouth and waved his hand. “We have never heard of them.”

At this time, a sound was heard from outside the door, everyone stayed quiet while Lily tiptoed over to open the door. A moment later, she came back in to the living room with a newspaper still smelled fresh with ink. “It’s today’s newspaper… The front-page headline is the news of the explosion. The photo of the city’s fire department director is up there. The caption says the VIPs have come to the scene to supervise the disaster relief works…”

Nangong Sanba took the newspaper over and gently squeezed the paper. “Fresh out from the printer.”

They looked at the newspaper and TV; a chill ran up their spines: the faces, the world that looked so normal. Hao Ren suddenly realised that he should take a second guess.

“The ‘people’ are simulating the existence of human society,” Y’zaks reached out his hand and switched off the noisy TV. “They’re pretending that the world is still alive.”

Lily blinked, asking, “Who are ‘they’?”

“Then you have to find the one who produced the program and newspaper,” Hao Ren took a deep breath. “Let’s gear up. We’re going out and make some noise.”

Everyone had a tacit understanding. As soon as Hao Ren made his decision, everyone was ready for action. They walked out the door, and Nangong was following from behind before she turned to her parents, “Dad, mom, come on, this should be your last day in this city.”

The Nangong couple stared at each other and smiled. Nangong Wudi called out at them who were already out in the doorway. “Give me a minute, let me put on my outfit.”

The Nangong couple have been living in this city for a hundred years. They had the chance to discover many secrets; they should have vaguely realised the truth. It was just that unlike Hao Ren, they had no way to escape. Compared to the hostile surface of the planet, this strange, false city was their only safe sanctuary—so safe that they had never thought of busting the bubble of the fake city here.

Now, a bunch of guys who could come and go freely was here, the veil of the fake glasshouse will soon be opened.

Hao Ren was leading the way out in the neighbourhood as they walked down the street headed to the end of the city. The lights on the city dome lit up one after another, simulating the arrival of the morning sun. More and more small robots came out on the streets as if it was morning rush hour. They were cleaning the streetlights, railings, and streets, even the garbage that did not exist, checking every empty trashcan on the sidewalks, making everywhere look bustling with activities.

They hustled along the main street of the city where electronic billboards neatly lined the street on both sides. The billboards suddenly lit up and began to play a commercial of a bustling and prosperous era of peace and prosperity. The laughter in the speakers and the pleasant smile on the screens seemed to surrounding them.

The roadside billboards exclaimed, “… The sanctuary provides you and your family the most meticulous safety. We have protective layers of rock and steel of up to ten kilometres thick, shielding you from the ice and vacuum of the surface world, letting you live in a safe and comfortable new paradise…”

A taxi was blasting a voice when it came near them. “…Who would want to leave the safety of home and go to the uncertain world? Give up your naive thoughts. You can hop on a taxi and go to the new recreational plaza downtown where you could spend you day there. You will realise that it is more comfortable than the snow and ice…”

A little cleaner robot happily circling the feet of Hao Ren. “Vjekally Limited, we’re a cleaning equipment manufacturer providing the most meticulous cleaning services for you and your loved ones—can you imagine the world without Vjekally Limited? You need Vjekally, everything here, and a home that is always clean and comfortable!”

More and more robots and vehicles came out on the streets, as if the entire world was pouring in. Hao Ren stopped the taxi next to him, poking his head into it and looking at the bunch of flashing lights on the driver’s seat. “Would you like to take us leaving this city?”

The taxi console lights dimmed immediately, saying, “I’m sorry, the vehicle is down.”

Hao Ren took out his silver spear and gun from the dimensional pocket, winking at Vivian beside him. “It seems no one will let us take a ride.”

A horde of robotic army began to gather in front of them.

Chapter 644: The Exit ##

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

 

More and more vehicles and various robots came out on the streets of the city, as if they were coming for them from all over the city. However, they had not shown hostility or intention to stop them from leaving. They just followed Hao Ren and his team while continuing to clamour. The robots even continued their work, cleaning the lampposts and guardrails, and streets that were clearly spotless, and tightening the screws under the street billboards repeatedly. They had to keep on doing these activities under any circumstances for the sole purpose of maintaining the city in a ‘living’, pretending that their master was still alive in this world.

Hao Ren had vaguely felt that there was no survivor on the planet.

A flying-disk-shaped, window cleaner robot flew around Y’zaks while calling out in a pleasant voice of a woman. “Citizens, do your apartments require exterior maintenance? Do you want to clean the outside your glass window? The Vjekally Limited R-33 is ready to help.”

Y’zaks patiently shoved the little robot aside, saying, “No, we are leaving the city.”

“Citizens, your choice is very irrational, leaving the shelter means death, the outside environment is not suitable for human,” the roadside billboards said loudly. As Hao Ren and his team kept moving, the voice followed them, saying, “There are cold, vacuum, and the toxic air near the thrusters. You will only survive for two hours in a protective clothing. Why not wait quietly in the sanctuary? In a thousand years, we will arrive in a peaceful new home. The planet will thaw, everything will revive, and life will come back on the planet; and you…your future generations will live peacefully in this world.”

“You finally say something more meaningful,” said Y’zaks, turning his head to the electronic billboard. “But it has nothing to do with us. If the mastermind behind you still retain a bit of logic and intelligence, it should come out and talk to us now.”

The electronic billboard was playing a public service ad of happy family, which Hao Ren had seen it once on the bus yesterday. As soon as Y’zaks’ voice trailed off, the little boy’s face turned into sadness in the ad, he wrung his hands, as he appeared to stand in the centre of the screen. “If you leave the city, you will get hurt.”

“I knew that these ads were something wrong in the first place.” Y’zaks grinned when he noticed something bizarre on the screen.

Hao Ren contacted his spacecraft in the orbit. “MDT, how about the scan? Any results?”

“I have scanned the whole planet and found no shelter that meets your requirements.” The voice of the MDT sounded in his mind. “However, I’ve discovered something else. There is a structure similar to energy node deep inside the planet. The energy flows around the planet are converging in that spot, as if it’s the heart of the planet. If you are looking for something, you should go there to check it out”

“Tell me where it is,” Hao Ren said quickly. “Also check the geological cavities around us. I need navigation, a rough guide.”

The MDT quickly sent the location of the energy node into Hao Ren’s head. He could not help but whistled. “Awesome – just near the core.”

They arrived at the last intersection leading to the city’s border. In the memory of the Nangong couple, the largest hatch was just a stone’s throw away. However, a row of tall robotic guards stood in the middle of the road, with traffic management signs on their bodies.

The robotic guard in the middle gestured to Hao Ren. “Citizens, no passing through. Accident ahead. Road is congested. Dangerous.”

A large number of vehicles came from all directions, huddled together at the intersection and all the roads around them, horns blaring loudly. A large number of robots were weaving in the traffic aimlessly, and doing their ‘works’ in a ridiculous way.

Hao Ren knew that these robots would not allow residents in the city to leave this place; they were doing their best to maintain the ‘normal’ order as if a strong, solid logic was controlling all these robots.

The kind of abnormal behaviour was unlike the result of human control but some sort of bugs in the software.

Hao Ren smiled and reached out to pat on the steel chest of the robotic cop. “I know there’s someone behind you—it might be a madman, or it might be a buggy computer brain but I just want to talk to him.”

The robotic cop was silent for a few seconds before it repeated the same words. “. “Citizens, no passing through. Accident ahead. Road is congested. Dangerous.”

Hao Ren sighed. “We come in peace—just want to know what’s wrong with this planet.”

While saying, he looked at the vehicles and robots that were jammed on the road. Suddenly, he raised his voice and said loudly to the mind behind the machines. “Listen, I know you are listening. You should know that we are from the space and there is an advanced spaceship hovering over the planet. We come in peace. If you are in trouble, you can tell me and I’d be happy to help—provided we can talk openly and honestly.”

No one jumped out to respond to him. Lily muttered next to him. “It won’t work. Didn’t I howl a couple of times on the balcony before?”

Hao Ren shrugged. “But I think it works.”

The machines that clogged the street did not disperse, but no more robots coming. It fell into a strange silence. The little robots weaving in the traffic had also stopped their work and looking at them quietly. For the first time, Hao Ren had experienced being ‘stared at’ by a group of machines; it was so weird that it was almost no difference from the gaze of people.

Vivian tried to go ahead. The eyes of all robots on the streets immediately followed her, steel bearings squeaking but apart from that, there was no robots stopped her.

It was a weird compromise, unlike human behaviour.

They began to move again in the traffic, sounds of the steel heads turning followed wherever they went like a horror movie. Hao Ren was walking past a small cleaner robot, which looked up and spoke in a voice of a man happily, Vjekally—”

Vjekally Limited, specialist in cleaning equipment. I got it.” Hao Ren smiled and knocked on the head of the small robot.

They had come in front of the city’s outermost hatch.

A huge steel city wall surrounded the city. The upper wall joined directly with the rock domes of the cave while the circular hatch of a dozen-metre-across was set on this wall. Hao Ren stepped forward, knocked on the hatch, and then turned to look at the robot that was watching beside him. “I guess you’re not going to help me open the door, are you?”

The robot did not say a word; the light in its electronic eye looked elusive.

Hao Ren took out his silver spear, a white plasma flame broke out on the tip. He started cutting the hatch; sparks were seen dancing in the reflection of the eyes of the robots. However, the robots only looked on silently, did not help nor stop him.

It was as if their system hung.

When a hole was finally cut out on the hatch, Hao Ren felt a gust of strange air rushing in. He handed two life-support collars to Nangong Wudi and Ayesha. “Put this on. It could save your life in the harsh environment. I suspect that the life-support system is just limited to inside the city, the outside world might be very inhospitable.”

He had quickly widened the hole, large enough for two to pass through side-by-side. Hao Ren stomped his foot on the red-hot iron. It fell off instantly revealing a deep, long passageway. There was dim yellow light in the passageway, and some old machinery abandoned inside years.

Hao Ren checked the navigation map in his mind. “Move ahead from here and after a traffic hub, there will be a series of downward passages. Our final destination is near the core, where there should be something waiting for us.”

“Have you thought of a script?” Vivian shot him a glance.

Hao Ren med the way by jumping into the tunnel. “You have to trust my skill in improvising!”

The others followed inside. Vivian shook her head and sighed. “I would trust you for anything but this…”

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Chapter 645: Subway Station ##

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

 

The city was far behind them now. Before them was only a deep tunnel spreading ahead. Looking back at the direction from where they had come from, there was only a faint light dot in the far distant, which only people with supervision could see.

The air was turbid almost to the point of being poisonous. Clearly, Hao Ren had chosen an exit that had never been opened: the air behind the hatch had never been scavenged.

The tunnel was very wide, mostly structurally sound, and not as narrow and dilapidated as thought. It was only rather old and dirty, and thick dust everywhere. Traces of years of erosion were apparent. Clearly, compared to the enclosed city, this place lacked the necessary clean ups.

There were steel rails running parallel to the tunnel, though different from the railway on Earth, it was obviously a track for some kind of large transportation vehicles. If accident had never happened to this planet, this tunnel must be a busy subway line—it connected the city with a major transportation hub. It was an important thoroughfare but now just a cave that had been abandoned for 10,000 years. Aside from inches of dust accumulating, there were old machinery that might or might not operational anymore inside.

The tunnel ceiling was inlaid with a dim array of lights. Eighty-nine percent of them were working properly. These lights were the only thing that could prove that the tunnel was not completely abandoned. In the dim surroundings, Hao Ren saw piles of unused machinery on both sides, including rusty cars and dusty robots. Lily went up and checked, then scurried back, reporting. “The model is different from the ones in the city. A little more primitive.”

“That is to say, those machines in the city are evolutionary versions,” Hao Ren nodded slightly. “It seems that some kind of ‘research and development’ is really going on. They’re updating the machines… which requires innovation.”

“These machines should be abandoned before the flight… or perhaps even earlier, such as ten thousand years ago,” said Y’zaks, looking at the rusting metal on the way. “It seems that these things were abandoned in a sudden. There must have been a situation.”

A red light suddenly flashed across Vivian’s eyes in the dimly lit environment. She saw things she was interested in from a pile of debris. Several small bats flew over, raked through the debris, and found a little metal plate. Hao Ren took the metal plate from the small bat. There were a figure engraved on it, which was of a middle-aged man with a serious expression and meticulous clothes. At one glance, he felt that this face was rather familiar and then it crossed his mind: the middle-aged man whom he saw on the wall before he entered the sanctuary!

It was the first stranger he saw on this planet.

Nangong Wudi came up and took a gander of it. He looked slightly surprised. “This man could be the commander.”

“Commander?” Waving the metal plate in his hand, Hao Ren asked, “You know him?”

“He would appear on the screen, that’s the TV you were talking about,” said Nangong Wudi, nodding. “Besides from major events, he would only appear once a year. He is the highest official here, so I have a deep impression of him.”

“The highest official on this planet?” Hao Ren swept the dust off the metal plate. “He appeared on the big screen, but on the bottom of the plate is his year of birth and death, and the caption says ‘In Deep Sorrow.’ Supposedly only a person who has died would only be described as such?”

“The commander is dead?” Vivian looked at the commemorative plate in surprise. “…Looks like there is more to the person we saw on the screen than meets the eye.”

Hao Ren nodded and led everyone move deeper into the tunnel.

After do-not-know-how-long, they arrived the end of the tunnel to a large, cave-like cavern that looked like a subway interchange.

The large cavern was generally oval. Round tunnel entrances and exits were on all sides of the cave. Each entrance and exit was the same with rails extending out. At the intersection of these railroad tracks, there was a huge dish-shaped building, which undoubtedly the hub of the subway of this planet. Supposedly, the round tunnels were leading to other cities.

The group cautiously stepped into the dish-shaped building. This ancient facility was still structurally sound. It was not known whether that the power supply was offline or lighting fixture were broken, it was pitch-dark inside. Lily raised her Flamejoy lighting up the interior. Under the illumination of the flickering flame, they saw the criss-crossing railroad tracks, scheduling platform full of debris, and the severely damaged control hut.

Several small bats flew into the darkness. They hit something unknown before the ‘subway station’ suddenly reverberated with a sound of machines. To the shock of everyone, the lights on the ceiling suddenly turned on.

Confirming that only the lighting system was activated, only Hao Ren began to breathe a sigh of relief and began to look around curiously. Suddenly, a group of complicated sculptures standing in front of the railroad intersection caught his attention.

The sculptures presented a group of strange humans. They huddled in a circle, holding their hands up towards the sky, and floating above their heads a grotesque object, a bunch of radial metal rods, seemingly to mimic the appearance of a glow, a lightning or something. Vivian looked at the sculptures and said, “Looks like it’s a representation of a third contact.”

Hao Ren did not say anything, just bent down and gently brushed off the thick dust on the base of the sculptures. Unexpectedly, he found some embossed writings on it; the texts remained on the special alloy after 10,000 years had passed. It read, “The warning from The Denizens of the Stars is forever remembered and appreciated.”

“The Denizens of the Stars?” Lily said curiously. “The alien?”

Nangong Wuyue frowned in thought, “Is it that the so-called The Denizens of the Stars came and warned the humans on this planet before they built the ark?”

Hao Ren still did not say anything, just staring blankly at the word ‘The Denizens of the Stars’. He felt a sense of déjàvu; he had seen similar things in other places. “Allies from the stars! Do you still remember that this race was mentioned on Holletta planet?”

The others started to recall. Nangong Wuyue’s eyes blinking in disbelief. “Do you mean The Denizens of the Stars mentioned here are the same as Holletta’s Allies from the stars?”

“Just guessing,” Hao Ren got to his feet and looked at the abstract lines above the sculptures. “A lot of the things on The Plane of Dreams are interconnected. So far, on any planet, events don’t happened in isolation.”

Lily looked back at the sculptures for a long time before something suddenly came to mind. “The Denizens of the Stars are like sea urchins.”

Nangong Wuyue solemnly corrected her. “Sea urchin looks not like this—let me show you if you don’t believe me…”

“Shut up you two,” scoffed Vivian, shooting the dog and the fish a glare. “Let’s move. There may be more clues up ahead.”

They searched around the building and finally found a space beneath the floor. The underground space was unusually huge, almost equal to the size of the dish above it. In the centre was a large facility that was composed of a number of arc-shaped structures, like a lift shaft. Lily ran over and poked her head out looking down before she squatted on the floor and crawled back up. “That thing is so deep!”

The ‘lift shaft’ was more than ten metres in diameter, dropping straight down into the endless darkness below. There were still alloy rails on four sides of the shaft but the lift was gone.

Of course, even if the lift was still here, it might not be operational given lack of maintenance of this place.

Vivian summoned a tiny bat and dropped it down into the shaft, waiting for a good long while before she shrugged. “It haven’t gotten to the bottom.”

Lily raised her hand and shouted. “I’m not going to jump! No way! Don’t force me into it, I will bite you!”

“You’re not needed,” Hao Ren rolled his eyes. “Vivian, you go down with me. The other just stay put.”