The Record of Unusual Creatures

After Raven 12345 explained the Scarred Nebula to Hao Ren, they remained in space, gazing at the magnificent "scar" in the nebula for some time. If he had not seen it in person, Hao Ren would never have been able to imagine what kind of phenomenon the Wall of Reality's collapse would produce. All his previous discussions with the MDT about the Wall of Reality were mostly postulations that visualized doomsdays scenarios like heaven and earth collapsing, the sky turning upside down, and things like that. In reality, the destruction from the collision of two universes was far from simple.     

A galaxy, the size of the Milky Way had been deleted like wiping data on a hard drive. It became background radiation in the universe and left a 7.7-lightyear-wide twisted nebula behind.     

It was the so-called "mathematical rate of disaster". In the face of such a disaster, even "disaster" itself would be wiped off.     

"Why are you telling me this all of a sudden?" Hao Ren looked at Raven 12345 curiously. He had the feeling that there was something more than met the eye; Raven 12345 had to have some other reason for doing so.     

The light from the distant stars was refracted in Raven 12345's eyes. She smiled. "Because you've become more mature, it's time to tell you the truth of the universe. For most mortal races, the world is a stable and reliable place, and the law of Physics is the truth set in stone by God. It has never occurred to them that the universe will collapse one day. But for us, the world is far from stable because its balance can easily be disrupted.     

"As you can see, the eternal galaxy as seen in the eyes of mortals has been deleted in the blink of an eye; and similar dangers abound in the universe. It is not as safe as you think. Do you understand?"     

Hao Ren felt a little overwhelmed. "That sounds pretty heavy," he said.     

"Then get used to it," Raven 12345 said and nodded slightly. "An inspector is the intermediary between God and humanity. You're born from an ordinary race, but ultimately, you need to see the universe from our perspective, be aware of the threats that loom in the universe, recognize the fragility of it, and be prepared to do what you can to deal with them."     

Hao Ren felt as if he could only barely understand, but he knew that one day he would be able to fully comprehend what kind of world Raven 12345 was living in. He gazed at the Scarred Nebula in the distance, visualizing the devastation it caused back when the cosmic scar was formed with destructive energy that no mortal race could ever fight. He sighed softly. "Ignorance is bliss. On Earth, the biggest crisis for me was when I had no money to pay my internet bill."     

"Ignorance is the greatest gift that mortals have received." Raven 12345 patted Hao Ren on the shoulder. "However, no one should remain ignorant forever."     

After she said this, she faded into a ray of light, disappearing as she blended in with the distant stars.     

"I didn't know you had such a serious side to you," Hao Ren could not help but mutter, looking in the direction of the goddess' disappearance. He suddenly realized that he was floating in space. Freaking out, he shouted, "Hey, shouldn't you at least send me back first? Where the heck am I, right now?"     

Just as he was about to ask the MDT to send him back, a spatial rift opened next to him, and a leg dangled out from it. Hao Ren heard the voice of the goddess echoing in his mind. "There you go!"     

Something that defied the laws of Physics happened to him, and a few minutes later. Nolan picked him down from the Petrachelys' antenna tower. Everyone surrounded him, asking questions about what had happened. At last, Lily summed it up. "So the goddess sent you back with a kick of her leg?"     

Hao Ren was not injured, but he rubbed his back and sounded mad. "She's a psychopath!"     

There was no lightning and no divine wrath. The cosmic consciousness had recognized Raven 12345 as a psychopath.     

Nangong Sanba patted Hao Ren on the shoulder. "Take it easy, mate. After all, she's the Prime Force. Do you remember how she put Inferno into orbit? You should be grateful that you got the same privilege."     

Hao Ren had nothing more to say.     

He shoved Nangong Sanba aside and went up to the console, checking the situation of planet Inferno. The beautiful white planet was now circling a new star; no matter how ridiculous the Prime Force looked, it worked. However, getting the planet to circle the sun was only the first step. The planet still had a long way to go before it could fully recover. Hao Ren softly tapped on the MDT, which did not want to let its place on the console go. "When will the work start?"     

"All right, let me explain. First of all, we have to gain control over the First Born because the planet's ecosystem depends on it adapting to the new environment and staying alive. We can leave engineering robots and production plants behind in the inner crust of the planet. The drawings and software of the control facilities are ready. We'll call in the Fairy Mining Conglomerate after we have complete control over the First Born. I've made initial contact with their agent, and they're very interested in this business. They said they could meet all of our requirements and provide a complementary 'pest cleanup' service to clear the surface of those twisted monsters."     

To Hao Ren's chagrin, he said, "Those profiteers! They make it sound so nice, as though it's not part of their contractual obligation."     

"Yeah, they better do it as they promised." The MDT snorted. "Chief Raven's left a layer of divine protection on this planet. It'll protect the planet until we get control of the First Born, but we don't have to wait here; the control facility will take about half a month to complete. In the meantime, we can go home and take a break."     

Before Hao Ren could say anything, Lily came up to him and grabbed his sleeve before she suddenly exclaimed, "Spare ribs!"     

She then went back to her seat and continued to play her favorite game. Hessiana and her sidekicks had no clue what that meant. They looked on, dumbfounded. Hao Ren had to translate, "It means she wants to eat spare ribs when we get home."     

Vivian curled and stretched her fingers a couple of times before she waved three of them at Lily.     

"That means Lily can have stewed pork ribs provided she washes dishes for three days," Hao Ren explained.     

Lily saw Vivian's gesture in her peripheral vision. She flicked her ears a couple of times and stuck her tail out, waving and pointing it at Nangong Wuyue.     

Hao Ren continued to translate, "Lily said she heard it. She's okay with washing dishes, but Nangong Wuyue could do a better job. Besides, washing dishes requires the use of detergent. She hopes that Vivian can talk it over with Nangong Wuyue. She's not lazy; she just doesn't like to move too much. She also asked Vivian to add vegetables and corn kernels when she stews the ribs."     

Cold sweat trickled down Hessiana's forehead; Hao Ren's translations were so superb that it was almost like metaphysics. She wondered how Hao Ren could translate so many details out of a few simple hand gestures. He must possess a telepathic ability, Hessiana thought.     

There were no such creatures as "cat slaves and dog slaves" in the Athens Sanctuary.     

The Petrachelys returned to the lower crust to lay the groundwork for the first phase of their construction project.     

Just as it had to on Tannagost, the Petrachelys only had to set up a few necessary workstations and leave behind a couple of autonomous robots. The robots could quickly complete self-multiplication and expansion work.     

Hao Ren hovered the spacecraft over Dorasil. When the ejection hatch on the spacecraft opened, four silver metal cubes about 10 m wide on each side came out and flew towards the four corners of the city.     

These mini-factories were designed on the back of the group's experience in Tannagost; they were more efficient and integrated. Each construction unit came with an autonomous robot and a set of material conversion plant, which was capable of creating everything required in the blueprint and replicating itself with high efficiency. His experience in setting up bases in the Plane of Dreams allowed Hao Ren to foresee the many construction works that would take place throughout his career—at least in the near future. Therefore, he kept a few construction units onboard his spaceship.     

Hao Ren figured that four construction units would be enough. He watched as the cubes landed on the prairie and expanded slowly. Now all he had to do was wait.     

Soon, Vivian contacted the indigenous tribes through the radio.     

After Hao Ren found out that all the messengers had arrived at their respective destinations, and things were going as planned, the Petrachelys left Inferno.     

In half a month, the place would have new life.