The Record of Unusual Creature

Due to the old commander, Dan Moss, Hao Ren began to understand what Raven 12345 meant by “Even if you died, I could resurrect you and make you my slave.”

His superior was a real god!

They tactfully declined Dan Moss’ invitation for a taste of the exotic, alien food in the space station. Hao Ren was desperate for home to let the egg settle—he teleported back home straightaway while Raven 12345 headed back to her place. Hao Ren let out a long sigh the moment he stepped through the door: The journey to a foreign planet and space station was really cool for him to brag about the rest of his life but, the surreal feeling still choked his thoughts. He needed to take his mind off it.

Rollie was napping on the couch handle. It raised its tail lazily when it saw its master, like a king waving off its servant. “Yeah, I know you’re home. So what?” Hao Ren snuggled the egg in his arm and went upstairs. But, Vivian and Lily were not home. He was left wondering. “Where the hell are they?”

Nangong Wuyue and Y’zaks overheard Hao Ren muttering. The siren looked around the house. She found a piece of paper pinned under a heavy cupboard in the living room. She lifted up the cupboard and took the paper out. It was a note. “Oh, Lily just left a message. Thanks to Raven 12345, they knew that we were coming back today. So, they’ve gone to the market.”

Hao Ren stared at the cupboard, flabbergasted. “…Why did she pin the note under the cupboard?”

“Hell, only God knows. Maybe she found it convenient. She’s got strong muscles,” said Nangong Wuyue. She was just making a wild guess. She did not know the husky very well. Actually, Lily was simply being dumb. Nangong Wuyue yawned. “I’m going to take a nap.”

Hao Ren waved the siren goodbye, and continued to ponder. “What should I do with this egg?”

He looked at the cupboard—no, it was not a good idea to put the egg on it, or in it. He looked around his house and could not find an ideal place. The egg was a little too big for the drawer, and it was not appropriate enough to be a handicraft on the table. He carried the egg and strolled around the house for like half a day before he came to the tiny storeroom in the basement—a very ideal location. The egg should be safe there. No one would ever go down there. Then Y’zaks reminded him. “The egg’s going to hatch.”

A sense of realization gripped Hao Ren. Raven 12345 told him that the egg was alive. So, he could not just leave the egg in a corner and forget about it for good. What would happen when it hatched? The little thing would probably starve to death if it was left forgotten.

“The goddess said it should be near somewhere with water. The baby mermaid needs water when it hatches.” Y’zaks yanked out a small notebook, where he had jotted everything Raven 12345 had said about the egg. “Better yet, put it near a pond where the little mermaid can jump into it by itself. Don’t put it close to any toxic stuff. Once it hatches, the baby mermaid may bite anything within its reach…”

“…I bet you’ll make a good nanny,” said Hao Ren as he looked at Y’zaks in amazement.

“Yeah, I used to be. But, I’m sure I’m not a good daddy,” said Y’zaks as a strange expression flashed across his face. “Let’s not talk about that now. We’ve got to find a proper place.”

Hao Ren nodded. He carried the egg into the kitchen and was about to put it near the sink. However, he hesitated: what if Vivian unknowingly turned it into an omelet? So, he instead went into the bathroom, filled the tub up with water and put the egg in there. He finally felt so relieved: there would be more than enough water; and the floor was flat and clean. The baby mermaid would not hurt itself if it got out of the water; not only that, the bathroom was regularly used and people would know when the egg hatched—there was simply no better place than that!

Hao Ren went back out to the living room. He was busily recalling in his mind if he had missed anything. Then something hit him. He smacked himself on the forehead. “Oh, f*ck! I almost screwed up!”

“What’s wrong?” Y’zaks turned his head around. He was about to leave the house, wearing the clothes he had worn the day before.

“About The Plane of Dreams! I totally forgot about it. I need to see Raven.” Hao Ren grabbed the MDT, about to teleport. It was then that he only noticed Y’zaks was headed for the door. “You’re going out?”

“Just want to get some air. I’m bored here.” Y’zaks’ smile was very ingenuous.

Hao Ren was curious that after a journey of 800 light years, Y’zaks still had the energy to mooch outside. But, he did not have to be concerned. After all, it was none of his business. Hao Ren nodded and said, “I see. But, don’t forget to come back for dinner. Vivian will probably be making some really filling meals.”

He then activated the teleportation function on the MDT. In the blink of an eye, he was already in the garden of Raven’s mansion.

Raven 12345 was seen wielding a silver and white machete, walking into the garden purportedly to trim the bushes. She was shocked to see Hao Ren there. “Gee, what brings you here? Desperate for yet another mission?”

“No. Actually I have something to ask you—.” Hao Ren quickly waved his hand dismissively. “—about The Plane of Dreams.”

Noticing the seriousness on his face, Raven stopped poking fun. She strode over to the tea table and said, “Let’s take a seat. I’m all ears.”

Hao Ren and Raven 12345 sat by the fine tea table, facing each other. Out of nowhere, the arcane servant brought tea as well as biscuits and placed them on the table. Hao Ren tried to collect his thoughts about what he had seen in The Plane of Dreams. “In The Plane of Dreams, people there had runes on their walls like a decoration…”

He told her everything he had seen, and about the absurd legend where the goddess banished the world. “Have you heard about this legend? Did you actually do that?”

“You really think I made much ado about nothing?” Raven 12345 shot him a glance while she held a can of sugar in her hand. “Do you actually think banishing worlds is some kind of game I play on a whim?”

Hao Ren scratched his face and said, “But, it was said that people of the Magic Empire were playing god by creating gods, and they had given themselves loads of divine titles. If that’s true, how would you not be angry?”

“Why should I be?” Raven 12345 found it amusing. “If that’s true, it only shows that this civilization was highly developed, talented and independent; I should be happy instead. Do you know that I, as a goddess, would get high marks in the critical appraisal at the end of the year for having such an intelligent race under my rule?”

It was totally out of his expectations. Nonetheless, Hao Ren felt that it did not make any sense. “No, I mean humans were encroaching into the realm of God and yet you didn’t bother?”

“Only when things get out of hand. Only when they clearly step out of their boundaries and destroy the world. And according to what you’ve said, clearly they didn’t violate any of that. Some biological research won’t endanger and cause the world to fall into chaos. It’s not even worthy of an alarm, much less a banishment.” Raven 12345 grimaced. “The only thing that warranted discipline was th fact that they were crowning themselves as gods. But then, it was an innocent act and innocence is not a sin. After all, they didn’t know what God really looked like. As long as they don’t hurt someone in God’s name, they can enjoy themselves. Who doesn’t experience puberty?”

“…”

In the eyes of the goddess, the ancient civilization that was thought to have encroached into the realm of God, and deified themselves, was likened to a bunch of high school kids. She did not even care!

While Hao Ren remained silent, Raven 12345 continued, “What you said about the ‘knowledge of God’ is utter nonsense. Knowledge doesn’t belong to anyone. The truth is—the truth is out there, waiting to be discovered. If you can grasp it, it’s yours; if you can’t, don’t blame God for your ineptitude—doing that is akin to blaming the exam paper because you failed the exam. But then again, people who have failed during the development of civilization didn’t have the chance to complain. They’re already dead now.”

“So, the legend of a goddess banishing the world has nothing to do with you?”

“I swear to God, it wasn’t me.”