The Record of Unusual Creatures - Chapter 826

Chapter 826: Here Come the Profiteers Again

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

From the beginning of the mission, Hessiana was a lost ball in high weeds following the team around wherever they went. It knocked her socks off when he saw the spaceship and not until she came on board in the flight deck, she began to come to grip with reality. The spacecraft was as real as it got when seeing with her own eyes and touching with her own hands. No one on Earth could build such a high-tech spacecraft yet, she figured.

“It’s all true…” Hessiana looked around the flight deck, but she did not dare to touch anything for fear that she might accidentally spoil things and Hao Ren would jump on her. She still saw Hao Ren in a bad light, and that had never changed. “Where did you get this thing from?”

“There are even vampires and werewolves on Earth, what is so surprising about extraterrestrial technology?” Hao Ren replied casually. “It’s a common sense that alien technology is more realistic than fantasy.”

Hessiana looked at Hao Ren, astonished. “Are you from Mars? Or is it Reach, the Epsilon Eridani II?”

There was a distinction between a progressive vampire and a traditional vampire; this girl’s knowledge of Reach was telling.

The Petrachelys passed through the passage of the upper crust and then cruised above the surface slowly. The scene of the turbid atmosphere and decaying upper crust showed up on the screen as the spacecraft flew over an area of the rugged hill where dirty hot air spouting from the sporadic hot springs, turning the surrounding atmosphere into disgusting dark-green colors. Vivian could not help but sigh looking at the hellish world. “It’s hard to imagine there is a paradise underneath.”

“How are you going to deal with this layer of crust?” Nangong Wuyue asked. “Toxic water and noxious gases are everywhere. There are even mutant monsters and crust that blocks the sun too. You need to get rid of all these, but the sanctuary is right beneath, I don’t know how we’re going to do that safely. A drop of a piece of the crust down there would be catastrophic.”

“Are we not taking over the control of the First Born’s nervous system? We could then retract the canopy after revitalizing the Heaven’s Pillars.” Lily said simple-mindedly.

Hao Ren flicked her with his finger. “The entire canopy will crumble down if we do that. There are hundreds of millions of tons of fossilized materials up here; a slight tremor on the Heaven’s Pillars would cause an extinction-level disaster below. MDT, check if there is any better way to deal with such a situation. Is there anyone specialized in peeling a planet?”

“Do you think there are such companies?” The MDT scoffed. “But I know someone who could do similar things.”

While saying, the MDT showed Hao Ren a piece of information. Hao Ran took a gander of the info and froze. “Fairy Mining Conglomerate? These guys are everywhere!”

“They have a finger in every pie that makes money. They would do it even if the job doesn’t make money but could make them famous. That’s why people don’t call them Fairy Void the profiteers for nothing.”

Hao Ren took a second look. Fairy Mining Conglomerate? He sensed something was not right. “I’m looking for a planet-peeling company, but you’re giving me a bunch of freaking miners. Are you letting them dig the crust?”

“You guess it right. They are the best civilian miners in the universe. It was said that once upon a time, a tiny civilization sphere near Arcturus could do nothing but watch as a group of stray asteroids flying toward their planet about to wipe them off the universe. In desperation, they sent out a distress signal. At that time, a group of miners from Fairy Mining Conglomerate happened to pass by the region. Those miners responded and dug away every single piece of the asteroids before the rocks had a chance to come close to the tiny civilization.”

Hao Ren was silent, astounded.

He wiped the cold sweat on his forehead; this kind of efficiency might be what he was looking for. “Okay. I’ll use them. But one question; is it safe to dig the crust? When their heavy equipment starts digging, Heaven’s Pillars might collapse.”

“They have the technology to create a gravitational barrier that envelops the entire planet to prevent broken pieces of the rocky dome from falling.”

Hao Ren thought for a moment. “Well, there is still a question: How much they charge?”

The MDT appeared delighted at the question. It used showed the structure of the upper crust of Inferno using holographic projection and marked the different layers of the petrified canopy with different colors. “Do you know what this is?”

“Rock.”

“Wrong. It’s money, dude!” MDT said. “This is the strata petrified from the body, and high-strength secretions of the First Born, 80% of the civilizations in the Milky Way couldn’t produce such substance. Although I don’t know what this thing can do, there are venture capitalists in the universe who are willing to pay for this rare stuff. Those collectors of arts, antiques, and pearls and jewels of alien galaxies like to show off their collections to their visitors, but neither the one who boasts nor the one listening to the boasting know what the stones are for and they still enjoy it.”

Lily nodded and said, “Stone collection is a classy hobby. I collect stones too.”

Hao Ren waved her away. “Oh, please spare me. You even collect bricks from the construction site as if they’re gemstones! Don’t equate yourself with the parvenus.”

Then he asked the MDT, sounding interested. “Did you say that people are willing to pay for this thing? I think they are rich but not stupid. Even if you told them it is a fossilized super-creature, a valuable collectible, will they believe you?”

The MDT smiled wryly. “Of course they won’t. But what if there is the signature of an inspector on the certificate?”

The penny dropped, and Hao Ren suddenly came to his senses.

Inspector, the witness of civilizations, undertaker and recorder, the eyes and mouth of the Goddess, the only mortal in the universe who had the authority to appraise and evaluate historical events from the perspective of a bystander, and many ordinary civilizations treated inspector as a demigod. It was just that Hao Ren did not understand the concept earlier.

As long as he put down his signature, these petrified substances on the surface of the planet Inferno would soar in price in the eyes of the collectors. Sometimes you can’t rationalize the thinking of the rich.

However, this certification meant nothing at all to Hao Ren and the laws of the divine world.

He began to see things in a new light. “I let Fairy Mining Conglomerate mine for free and sign a certificate that says these rocks had historical value, and all they need to do is ensure the safety and efficiency of the mining process while keeping the planet in orbit. No one has to pay a single cent for it.”

“In the long run, the profiteers would still make a fortune,” the MDT made a strange buzzing sound as if it was somewhat regretful. “If they dared to buy the normal type of stones, they would certainly buy the ones with the signature of an inspector. It’s a shame that the wealth of the Pan-Civilization Sphere means nothing to you. Let the profiteers take what they want, and they will owe us a favor.”

Hao Ren smiled wryly. “Often, owing a favor is better than owing a debt.”

Suddenly, a crispy voice came from the side. “Long time no see. Sounds like Pattie and you have become like the profiteers.”

Hao Ren looked up and saw Nolan’s holographic image standing beside him. He put up an arrogant smile. “I’m not boasting, but inspectors are awesome people. Don’t underestimate my ability.”

“I know,” Nolan said. “I’ve visited Aerym a couple of days ago and learned about the elves from the database. They’ve built a huge statue and monument for the Sun King. I know what you’ve done.”

“You had been there?” Hao Ren scratched his head. “I was thinking to bring you to visit my bases afterward, but it seems that it’s unnecessary now since you have everything the database.”

Nolan nodded. She suddenly pointed at the console. “I have a question though.”

“What question?”

“Why is this PDA insisting on plugging itself in me while I am the one piloting the spacecraft?”

Hao Ren was a little startled. He then turned to look at the MDT. “Since Nolan is piloting the spacecraft, what are you doing up there?”

The MDT suddenly felt its job was in jeopardy. It squeezed itself harder into the slot and said aloud, “I’m not leaving! It is my throne! I’m destined to be the battleship host for life. Whoever dares to pull me out, I will fight him to the death!”

“This dude can’t be serious!” Hao Ren thought to himself.

Chapter 827: The Prime Force

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

For lunatic creatures to have an eccentric worldview was understandable, but it was hard to grasp why a PDA was behaving like a lunatic creature. No one knew what happened to this piece of electronic brick when it was rolled out from the factory. It thought that it could become a central computer of the spacecraft but never realized that it would remain a PDA even if it plugged itself into the console and sat there for ten thousand years.

Hao Ren was caught between a rock and a hard place. Since the MDT was insistent, he looked to Nolan. “Would you please just let it be for the time being? Treat it as a pendant hanging on your neck…”

Nolan shot Hao Ren a sideways look. “How do you feel when you have a brick sticking out on your head while you go out shopping?”

Hao Ren thought for a moment. He could not understand the perspective of Nolan as a spaceship right now.

“Maybe you two should talk to each other nicely,” Hao Ren threw his hands up helplessly. “I totally couldn’t understand the power struggle between a spaceship and a PDA.”

Hessiana looked at Hao Ren who was arguing with his spaceship and PDA, dumbfounded. “I don’t think I can understand anyone of you.”

While the MDT and Nolan bickered among themselves, the Petrachelys had lifted to a higher altitude, leaving the turbid and heavy atmosphere into the glowing clouds and finally reaching the cloud top by puncturing a hole in the cloud below. Then, the spacecraft came near to the lower orbit of the planet Inferno.

It was the limit where the spacecraft could rise. If it rose further, the spacecraft would leave the dimension and fell out into the main universe.

Asides from the planet Inferno that glowed in white, the space around it was empty, without any sun, moon or stars, not even a tiny bit of celestial debris. There was a layer of extremely thin gases in space; Inferno had been losing its atmosphere slowly for the past ten thousand years. Hao Ren let Nolan hover the spacecraft near the critical point of the dimension, and then the hatchway of the cargo bay opened.

A group of slender, crewless aerial vehicles that looked like miniature space shuttles came out of the hatchway, flew to the top of the planet Inferno, and hovered at a distance from the atmosphere.

These drones were doing geolocation mapping, outlining the contours of the planet that needed to be preserved, and then waited for Raven 12345’s instruction.

The spacecraft stayed at the critical point for a day and a night before Raven 12345 finally sent a message. “I’ve adjusted the stellar parameters and the surrounding celestial environment. The door will open in ten minutes.”

Dozing off on the flight deck, Hao Ren was woken by the incoming message. He turned on the microphone, broadcast the voice message through the internal broadcasting system, and waited.

He was eager to know how a real goddess was going to transfer a planet from outside the universe to inside the universe.

Everyone gathered on the flight deck noisily, as if it was a market. Nolan turned on the external cameras and panoramic projection so that the entire flight deck would now have a 360-degree view of the universe outside. She then contacted the drones that she released a day ago and sent them navigation signals.

Nothing happened in the first few seconds, but very quickly, a strange halo appearing out of nowhere enveloped the entire planet Inferno and the Petrachelys, which were still hovering over the orbit of the planet. The ‘great gate’ phenomenon that Hao Ren had been expecting did not appear. Instead, he saw an infinite number of stars emerging directly from the ubiquitous light.

After a while of amazement, he began to realize that it was the starlight of the regular universe.

There was no ‘gate’ phenomenon. The merging of two three-dimensional spaces was done in a higher dimension so that in a three-dimensional space, Hao Ren would not see himself passing through a gate. Instead, the destination universe would appear in front of him suddenly.

The ubiquitous radiance only appeared very briefly as the two dimensions merged, the halo effect was just the distortion of the starlight.

As the halo effect went away, stars and nebulae began to emerge, giving the impression that the thin space of the planet Inferno was expanding rapidly into a larger universe. Stars, gaseous clouds, and celestial masses appeared in the once-dark universe. There was a shiny star near to the planet Inferno.

The entire space debris had been successfully ‘placed’ into the surface world, but soon Hao Ren realized that the process was far from complete. The planet Inferno was still stationary relative to the sun. It needed to circle the sun so that it would stay in its orbit, but to do that, it needed a push, a prime force.

Raven 12345 had this covered. A light-blue film appeared around the planet and stopped the space and time of the planet.

An even more jaw-dropping phenomenon happened as an unprecedentedly large Goddess appeared in space.

The powerful silver-haired Goddess appeared next to the planet as if it were a natural thing to do so. The Goddess was more massive than several planets combined, and looking more imposing than the nearby star. It was the first time Hao Ren saw Raven 12345 appeared in this way. She bent down and made a face at the Petrachelys, then turned her head, aimed at Inferno, took two steps back and swung her leg.

The blessing of the Goddess echoed in the universe. “Here you go!”

Then Inferno began to go round the run immediately!

Hao Ren was lost for word. Something came to mind when he finally realized what happened. “The Prime Force. The Prime Force.”

Holy crap! It was the so-called Prime Force! How was he going to tell the people of Inferno that the Goddess kicked them into orbit?

Vivian poked Hao Ren’s arm. “Mr. Landlord, do you still think that my face was too big in demon-god form?”

Hao Ren looked up at Raven 12345, his jaw dropped. He could not see Raven 12345, because all he saw was white—a tiny part of the Goddess’s arm. What happened just now was seen from the perspective of a probe far out in space. He froze for a long while before he realized he needed to call the Goddess. “Good god! Is this how you start a planetary system? Where is the high-tech math engine, gravity correction, kinetic energy and the like?”

“Oh, I do have those things, but I figured that the simpler and cruder method would work the same, as long as I first gave the planet a shield.”

Cold sweat trickled down Hao Ren’s forehead. “It didn’t sound very scientific though,” he said.

Raven 12345 smiled wryly. “That’s okay. No one was looking; it is quiet in this part of the universe.”

Hao Ren turned his head around and glanced at Hessiana and her sidekicks. The vampire trio was still in awe. He hemmed and said, “What have you seen?”

Turcan woke up and traced a cross in the air with his hand; he might be the first vampire history to do that. “Is that the legendary ‘Prime Force’? And God is a female?”

Hao Ren grabbed his hair. “Pretend you’ve seen nothing. It’s kind of hard to explain it.”

He was not sure if he should tell them that the Goddess who was in-charge of this universe was a lunatic, that this universe was a rehabilitation center for some mentally disabled deity.

The ‘space-time-stopping magic’ had dissipated, but an extra layer of protection was still above the atmosphere. This layer of security was to reduce the impact of sunlight on the planet. After all, the planet had been in a cold and lonely place for ten thousand years. It would be a disaster by heating the planet suddenly. Raven 12345 transformed back to her usual size and appeared next to Hao Ren in a flash of light.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” The Goddess smacked Hao Ren on the shoulder.

Hao Ren drew his lips back and rubbed his arm. “Spectacular!” he replied.

“I could help you in person in the surface world.” Raven 12345 guffawed. “However, it’s not enough to move the planet here. You need to let the planet live in a new environment; it’s a delicate job. Do you have any plans?”

Hao Ren immediately told her his plan, including controlling the First Born to build a new ecosystem and hiring Fairy Mining Conglomerate to rip apart the upper crust. Raven 12345 kept nodding as she listened with a satisfied look on her face. “Well, you are more mature than before. I was thinking of helping to transform the planet for you if you don’t know how.”

Hao Ren immediately looked at her with anticipation.

Raven 12345 smiled and said, “But since you already have a plan, then I shall not worry about you.”

Hao Ren’s heart sank.

Chapter 828: The Scarred Nebula

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Hao Ren was hoping that Raven 12345 would stay and help him resettle the planet so that he could take it easy. This thought lingered in his mind for a while before he thought better of it.

Everyone had his or her job to do—he understood it.

Raven 12345 looked at Hao Ren with a subtle smile and waited for his response. She was surprised to find that he did not badger her. “Hmm, so you accept the arrangement, eh?”

“It’s my job,” Hao Ren replied with a smile. “And it’s not something that I can’t do myself. If I need crutches in every single job I do, the end of the universe won’t be far.”

Raven 12345 squinted, and for the first time, she nodded to Hao Ren with a somber expression on her face. “Well, you’ve grown up,” she said, patting Hao Ren on the shoulder gently.

She turned and looked at the starry sky in the distance. “All right, I’ll be frank with you. I didn’t come just to help you with this trifling matter; I want to show you something. It’s about the Scarred Nebula. Follow me.”

Before he knew it, Hao Ren found himself on the outside of the spacecraft. Raven 12345 was standing beside him, snapping her fingers in the cosmic vacuum.

Sound did not travel in a vacuum, but Hao Ren could still hear the crispy clicking sound of Raven 12345’s fingers. Immediately, the starry sky pulled away from him. As his perspective rose and widened, an incredible sense of enlightenment rose within him. It was a familiar experience; he remembered that Raven 12345 had brought him on a tour of the stars before and given him an unforgettable moment of insight.

“Look over there.” Raven 12345 pointed into the distance. “That’s the Scarred Nebula. The planet Inferno and your spaceship are in that small, inconspicuous spot in the galaxy; it’s a safe place.”

The panoramic view of the Scarred Nebula had Hao Ren’s eyes out on stalks.

The majestic view of the cosmic sky was always awe-inspiring. The bright nebulae, ominous cosmic clouds, and the glowing strips, which looked like a piece of abstract art, were a visual treat. No brushstrokes of a human artist could ever create such magnificence. The Scarred Nebula, dark purple and red with a radiant ray spread outwards in all directions. It was probably the most impressive of all nebulae. The edge of the nebula was bright while it was darker towards the center. There were crack lines in the bright rays akin to scars.

Hao Ren rubbed his eyes to clear his vision, but it was not an illusion; the crack lines were scars, huge scars!

It seemed like space had collapsed inwards at the center where there was light-bending phenomenon around the dark strips. At the center of the nebula, a jet of material was streaming out and creating a colorful beam of light. It was a massive wound and a permanent hole in the universe, where matter was born and annihilated constantly. Science was unable to explain it. It also looked like a huge bathtub with a jagged hole at the bottom. A dazzling, swirling vortex of foam and water gushed out of it.

Hao Ren had seen black holes before. He once flew by some black holes during his explorations. The bright accretion disk and light, which Hao Ren saw around the other black holes back then, were utterly different from that of the Scarred Nebula. He was sure that this was another cosmic phenomenon. The activity around the dark scar was not a simple phenomenon of a black hole swallowing matters and ejecting particles. He was too curious now. “What’s that?” he asked.

“A little vibration of the Wall of Reality,” Raven 12345 said softly. “It happened 2,600 years ago, and the shock created a 7.7-lightyear breach, which you’re looking at now. The extent of destruction was much wider than the size of the breach. Look around; do you see anything?”

Hao Ren looked around. Seeing through the nebula was impossible with the naked eye, but with his temporarily elevated eyesight, Hao Ren found some clues. “It’s empty. A nebula shouldn’t be so empty.”

“Yes, it’s empty because everything there was ‘deleted.’” Raven 12345 nodded slightly. “There was a galaxy almost as big as the Milky Way, and two civilizations resided in it. The vibration of the Wall of Reality caused a massive breach, which opened a direct connection to the Plane of Dreams. The physical laws of the two universes clashed, resulting in data that did not conform to the laws being deleted en bloc. In other words, the entire galaxy was reformatted. I suppose you know this; imagine that in one universe, the rule is one plus one equals two, while in another universe, there’s no such rule; what will happen when the two universes overlap?”

“The conflicting rules will cancel out each other,” Hao Ren replied. He had discussed the topic with MDT before, so he knew the answer.

“You’re right. It will zero out.” Raven 12345 nodded a little. “Fortunately, I saved the civilization spheres here and kept the breach from deteriorating so that it wouldn’t tear up the universe altogether. In the years that followed, the sovereign hub has been providing tremendous computing support to the region. The breach stabilized and became the most special place in the universe—the Compatible Zone.”

“The Compatible Zone?” Something crossed Hao Ren’s mind.

“Yes, as the Wall of Reality stabilized, it became a buffer zone between the Plane of Dreams and the Surface World so that the two universes wouldn’t collide. However, just like wrapping insulation tape over an exposed cable that causes short-circuits, the buffer zone is just a makeshift solution.” Raven 12345 shook her head gently. “Anyway, it has stabilized and can support life.”

Hao Ren’s brows were pulled together. “What’s the jet of material in the dark area about?”

“Genesis and doomsday.” Raven 12345 smiled. “I’m not joking. It’s a place of creation and destruction. This dark area is still a dangerous place because the collision of the two universes is causing an information leak. It’s constantly creating new world orders and cosmic material, then annihilating them almost instantaneously.”

“That’s why you chose to settle planet Inferno here…” Hao Ren finally understood it. “Because this place in itself is a buffer zone. The space debris will face less rejection from the Plane of Dreams.”

“Hmm, this planet is a hot potato. Except here, no matter where you place it, no one’s going to check their temporary residence permit,” Raven 12345 said.

Hao Ren nodded slowly, but still felt a little uneasy. “Is this place safe?” he asked.

“Yes, it is. I guarantee that.” Raven 12345’s words sounded believable. “This is the most ‘special zone’ in the entire universe. Most civilizations avoid this region of disaster like the plague. Even though there’s nothing here, they’re still afraid that it’ll bring them bad luck. All other private vessels that you know will probably be unwilling to come here, except the profiteers from the Fairy Mining Conglomerate. They have the technology; even if they don’t, they will still come for the money. This planet will be registered as a refugee planet. They may not be able to develop into their interstellar era the usual way, so you’ll have to give them minimum guidance and assistance.”

“All right, I know what to do. When will it be?”

Raven 12345 counted with her fingers and thought for a moment. “Probably 8,000 years from now. Remind me when the time comes—just in case I forget.”

“Seriously?” Hao Ren thought to himself.

Eight thousand years! Could the goddess not take care of that by herself for god’s sake?”