The Record of Unusual Creature

Raven 12345 patiently explained to Hao Ren the issues that needed to be addressed in relation to the migration of a civilisation. These issues were new to rookies like him, and would probably be overlooked by the elves themselves. Hao Ren was surprised: Raven 12345 had always been absent-minded and eccentric. Her earnesty was completely out of character. So, when he implied his curiosity, Raven 12345 laughed. “I’m a free-spirit but when it comes to work and duty, I never mess up—I wouldn’t let the races under my rule die from some silly incident.”

Hao Ren was listening attentively, noting down everything that may give rise to casualty. He knew he was right. He was right to consult Raven 12345 beforehand. Without the heads-up, he would not have realised the many dos and don’ts.

“…Beware of foreign germs that can cause a pandemic. They need to build an inspection and quarantine environment, which they can maintain on their own with their level of technology. You can seek help from other inspectors as well; look out for the halo syndrome. Carbon-based life forms migrating from one star system to another are prone to this disease as they may not adapt to the radiation levels in the new star system. Most find it unbearable even if the difference in atmospheric pressure and stars are minute, so please talk to their scientists on how to best deal with this issue; beware of the chronic illnesses caused by gravitational and magnetic environmental differences as well. They are normally non-fatal but can cause physical degeneration and deformity up to two generations; remind them to develop their own technological progression model to prevent their technological gap from worsening; let them first resume their agricultural activities and ecological co-existence practices, that is the quickest way for them to integrate into their new environment…”

Raven 12345’s words were noted down and all in all, they contained no less than 100 suggestions. Some of the points could be found in the employee handbook while most were non-textbook, real-world experiences she accumulated from observing the mortals throughout the ages. Other than that, Hao Ren had gained something else; he finally saw the non-eccentric side of the goddess—she meant business!

“That’s all I’ve got to say. As for the details, you’ll have to figure it out with the elven experts. ” Then, Raven 12345 suddenly swerved. “Another thing…”

Hao Ren was taken aback. “What is it?”

“The reimbursement claim you just submitted”—Raven 12345 sounded confused—”I totally understand if you’re claiming daily living expenses, but six chairs? Seriously? Was the husky at it again?”

Hao Ren felt a little guilty. He said, “While I wasn’t paying attention, Lil Pea gnawed off the legs of every chair…”

“Okay… but, your cat’s medical expenses? That’s not claimable…”

“Lil Pea beat Rollie up.” Sweat began to trickle down his forehead. “It’s okay if you refuse, I understand; I was just trying my luck.”

“Alright, I’ll approve that too. What about the microwave?”

“Becky chopped it up…” Hao Ren could not bear to continue. He knew all these things were weird and no one would have believed how they could even be claimable. Only he understood what kind of wreckers he had been keeping under his roof. And he had not even mention the two bottles of sunscreen he bought for Vivian’s bats—that alone was crazy enough.

Raven 12345 remained silent for a long time on the other end. Then she said, “Alright, I’ll approve that. Suddenly, I pity you…”

As the call ended, Hao Ren lay on the table and breathed a long sigh of relief; he could not agree more with Raven 12345’s last statement. He then scurried to the window and looked out at the other side of the city. He could see Lily’s silhouette: a three-storey-tall, white husky was a stark contrast to the grey city background; she was on the ground, busily helping the locals in clearing out tonnes of building rubble. She did so by hauling them to a recycling site via a rope tied to her body. She was of great help this time, because after the city had collapsed, heavy machinery such as aerial tractors and gravity pads could not be brought in. Only bare hands and ground machinery were available. Vivian joined the party too—a swarm of bats were carrying rubble in the air.

Hao Ren looked on as Lily was having a whale of a time, pulling the rubble from one place to another. He could not help but lament. “That’s what makes her a husky, she’s a sled dog…”

It would take a while before the elves could actually move. Order had to be restored in Dawnbreak Island as soon as possible. So, Hao Ren did not stop Lily and Vivian from helping out the locals in the relief work. Hao Ren and Y’zaks even joined in the relief effort and squeezed every last drop of energy from their bodies in the process. When they got back, they were out like a light and slept till the afternoon of the following day.

When Hao Ren got up the next day, he heard the voices of Hilda and Vimm in the hall. He quickly put on this clothes and dashed out of his room. Vivian and Y’zaks had risen much earlier. They had been chatting with the mother and son for a while.

“Good morning, I hope you feel at home.” Hilda got to her feet. “Our place is not as good as yours.”

“Oh, thank you, it’s pretty nice actually.” Hao Ren tried to shake off his stupor. He was physically and mentally sluggish after a day of hard labour as well as a 14-hour sleep marathon. “Is Lily up yet?”

Vivian said, “She’s running in circles outside. You just can’t keep that husky in after the sun rises. It’s simply impractical.”

Hao Ren was still in a daze. He looked at Hilda and Vimm, then said, “How big of a meeting would you have to hold if your entire race is migrating?”

Hilda and Vimm were dumbstruck. “What?”

“Haven’t you told them?” Hao Ren stared at Vivian, then knocked himself on the head. “I’m sleep-drunk. Get me some ice.”

With a swing of her arm, Vivian summoned a pile of snowflakes and smacked it into Hao Ren’s face. “Why would you want to wear yourself out yesterday when you could’ve gone to sleep early? You’re not going to beat the epigenetic clock of a Blood Clan member, I tell you. Yeah, I didn’t tell them. It’s better to leave it to you.”

Hao Ren did not expect the mini snowstorm to take effect that fast. His alertness level almost went through the roof. With his eyes wide-opened, he looked at Hilda who was still confused. “I’m awake now. You should call everyone—the elders, the people’s representatives, anyone who’s in-charge of something in Aerym—for a meeting. I’ve talked to my superior and a few others yesterday; I’ve decided to solve your problem of resource depletion once and for all.”

Hilda’s eyes opened wider and wider as her breathing accelerated. “The solution is?

“I need you to tell me: are you willing to do anything for the sake of Aerym’s survival?” Hao Ren raised his finger and continued, “Our side has agreed, but I still need to hear from you and receive your nod, or else everything I’ve done earlier will be for naught.”

Vimm was still cautious towards these strangers. He became anxious after what he heard. “Do anything?”

“Leave everything behind. You can only bring your technology together with some basic equipment and migrate en masse to a new world—a world that’s rich in resources yet raw ecologically. You will have to start from scratch; you may experience technological backwardness for hundreds of years; a part of your population may die because of diseases and environmental changes; you’ll need to pay a high social price to redevelop your industry and supply chain, but you’re going to get what you’ve been dreaming all along—abundant resources, close proximity to Proxima Centauri and its planetary systems, blue sky and open land.”

Y’zaks could not help but to nudge Hao Ren. “Why I do have this feeling that you sound like conmen in my hometown?”

Hao Ren smiled slyly. “Have you ever heard of Anly?”

Y’zaks was speechless.

“If I were to send them to your hometown, no amount of scam-awareness phamplets printed by the church would be enough.”

While Vimm was clueless, Hilda had figured it out. “You mean, you are going to give us—”

“To find a habitable planet with a suitable ecosystem in such a short time is not easy.” Hao Ren smiled as he looked at Hilda. “However, I happen to know the existence of a pretty good planet. Also, I happen to know a long-distance transport guy. He can summon a fleet big enough to move one billion immigrants.”

Hilda and Vimm’s faces were like, O-O!!

Never have they heard of such generousity in their life!