The Record of Unusual Creatures

Hao Ren knew that Raven 12345 was a serious and responsible superior although she appeared cranky at times.     

That was no bluff; he had noticed the neurotic goddess' dedication more than once. As unmethodical as Raven 12345 was in trivial matters, she had always been thoughtful when it came to serious business.     

After he saw dozens of Vivian's clones, Hao Ren realized that Raven 12345 had been on Vivian's trail. The goddess wanted to find out the reason for the Wall of Reality's leakage and the otherworldlings' mass crossing. At the same time, she tried not to affect Vivian's normal life as much as possible. Perhaps, she allowed Hao Ren and Vivian to see the clones now because Vivian had absorbed the "original clone", and she thought that the time was ripe.     

While Raven 12345 did not mention it, Hao Ren and Vivian guessed that maybe the absorption of the "original clone" was the "right time" that Raven 12345 was referring to. Since changes related to the clones had begun to occur, it was probably a good opportunity to permanently unravel the mysteries of Vivian's life and her narcolepsy. That was why the goddess arranged for them to go over and understand the secrets of the splitting phenomenon.     

Before they left, Hao Ren got Vivian to wait outside the mansion as he needed to talk to Raven 12345 alone. "Is there a change in Vivian's situation?"     

"It's not a bad thing." Raven 12345 did not give him a direct answer, but it confirmed Hao Ren's suspicion. "Your report on the Plane of Dreams is valuable, especially the readings you collected in Inferno. They've confirmed some of the measurements I made before. I'm afraid that Vivian could possibly be an emergency system that the goddess of creation created for her kingdom. She probably messed something up when she created the system and caused Vivian to divide pieces of negative forces. I've been studying the connection between these clones, and found that they're not completely chaotic or incorrigible."     

"You mean those 'evil spirits' could actually regain their rationale?" Hao Ren wondered.     

"That would be very unlikely. Some memories, maybe, but these memories have to be readable," Raven 12345 explained. "Every evil spirit isn't completely crazy at the beginning of the split, just like the original one you found in Inferno. They have a short sane period and a crucial memory. Do you know what memories they are?"     

Hao Ren thought for a moment and suddenly realized the circumstances under which Vivian produced the clones. "The memories before and after Vivian's sleep. Are they the memories that Vivian's lost?"     

"I'm still not very sure how these clones are connected to Vivian's memory—is it shared senses or a third-party perspective—but one thing's certain; they were active when Vivian lost her memory. They fill Vivian's memory gaps, and these memory gaps may reveal some secrets," Raven 12345 slowly said. "Do you know why I suddenly allowed you to come here and see the clones today?"     

"Is it because something happened after our exploration of Inferno?"     

Raven 12345 nodded gently. "Yes, I've been studying how to extract the memories of those split bodies. But their spiritual world's too chaotic and fragmented, so I've made little progress. However, after Vivian ate the original clone, the other clones began to change; their spiritual world seemed to possess some signs of integration."     

Hao Ren began to make sense of it. "So you allowed Vivian to meet the split bodies here..."     

"To observe their relationship," Raven said frankly as she nodded. "There are indeed some changes. The mental synchronization and stability of the clones have improved; the same applies to Vivian's soul. That's what I mean by it not being a bad thing."     

Hao Ren knitted his brows together. "Those clones are splits that represent negative forces. Even if they could mend Vivian's soul, I don't think it's a good idea to have close contact with these dangerous beings."     

"That's why I gave her the amulet earlier on." Raven 12345 arched the corner of her mouth slightly. "I never meant for her to absorb the clones directly; it's too gross and raw. Instead, I'll use a safer way to study the pieces. Meanwhile, you guys keep an eye on any new clones you may find out there. If the incident on planet Inferno's anything to go by, the clones haven't just fallen on Earth, but also in other places out of our sights. Vivian's destined to have some connection with these beings, so they'll be attracted to each other and come together."     

Hao Ren acknowledged with an "Okay" before he peered at Raven 12345 suspiciously. He found the goddess entirely different from the past; she was so patient and she was able to explain things to him meticulously although she still sounded offbeat occasionally.     

Raven 12345 raised her eyebrows. "Why are you staring at me?"     

"Isn't managing the whole universe too much hard work?" Hao Ren scratched his head. "You still got time for this?"     

Raven 12345 spread her hands. "This is called the right working attitude!"     

After Hao Ren left, she pursed her lips and whispered to herself, "It's likely that you still don't know; this matter has already become a top priority in our universe."     

Vivian waited outside the door for ages. She approached Hao Ren immediately when he came out. "What did the goddess tell you?"     

"Nothing unusual. She just asked you to be careful with what you eat." Hao Ren waved his hand. "The evil spirits aren't safe. I'm worried that their negative forces will harm you if you absorb too many of them even though they used to be part of you."     

"This isn't her suggestion but yours, isn't it?" Vivian could sense the difference, but she could not care less. "I feel no change after absorbing the power of the evil spirits. Maybe the negative forces dissipated when I absorbed them. Since you say they're not safe, I won't do it again then."     

Hao Ren nodded. Suddenly, he felt a slippery little thing squirming on his chest. Shortly after, he saw Lil Pea poking out from inside his cloak. The baby fish waved her small arm and greeted Vivian spiritedly before she showed off her new pendant, which hung from her neck.     

The interruption from the little mermaid had lightened the atmosphere. Hao Ren and Vivian smiled at each other. "Let's go home and tell them about Lil Pea's situation."     

The MDT opened the portal, and the two of them arrived home in just a split second. The Nangong Family of four was cutting up some vegetables in the living room when Hao Ren arrived. Nangong Wuyue got to her feet and said, "You're back! How's Lil Pea?"     

Hao Ren placed the little mermaid on the coffee table. The little one jumped into her pot and held up her new pendant to show it off.     

"Raven said it's a normal physiological phenomenon," Hao Ren recounted Raven 12345's words. "There's nothing to worry about, and she won't lay an egg again until she reaches adulthood."     

"That's good, that's good." Nangong Wuyue nodded shyly. "The subject feels a little strange though."     

Hao Ren nodded in agreement. Meanwhile, Nangong Wudi watched Lily Pea for a while before he turned around to ask his wife, "Should we give Lil Pea some supplements? After she's given… Gosh, I don't know what to say."     

"Oh, come on. Hens lay eggs now and then, should we also give them supplements?" Not waiting for Ayesha to speak, Nangong Wuyue chimed in with arms akimbo to offer her piece of advice to her father. "What could Lil Pea eat even if she were to take supplements? She'll eat the newspaper at most."     

Y'zaks was still reading the paper. He flipped to the last page and said, "Give me a minute, I'm about to finish."     

Lil Pea stretched her hands out and said to Y'zaks, "Give it to me! Give it to me! I want to taste the sports section!"     

The little one had improved quite a lot in her language and logical thinking skills. She now knew about the sports section!     

The days went by peacefully. Hessiana and her sidekicks had already been there for 10 days even though they said they would only stay for a couple of days. If the patriarch in the Athens Sanctuary had not threatened to kill himself should Hessiana delay her return again, she would have remained there for another 500 years. She had things to take care of after all. Therefore, she had to reluctantly bid Vivian farewell, and after she was assured that she could come again, she left with her two sidekicks. On the same day Hessiana left, Hao Ren received a message from an AI in Inferno.     

The necessary infrastructure was complete, and it was about time to call in the miners from the Fairy Mining Conglomerate.