The Record of Unusual Creatures

After discussing the matter with everyone, Lily’s naming sense notwithstanding, her idea to let Zorm utilize the high-speed data network to create a galactic-scale mind chain was a splendid one.

On top of that, Hao Ren was actually fine with the name… But, after considering the fact that the fool actually named his daughter “Lil Pea”, everyone concurred that his naming sense was about as good as the dog’s. Ignoring him was the best form of acknowledgment.

Lily’s idea was quickly put through a quick simulation and given the green light. Nolan ran an analysis based on the bandwidth of the “data highway”, which the droid swarm had set up, and the peak of data flow when Zorm performed any mental functions. She came to the conclusion that the data network relay currently being set up by the busy droids was sufficient for Zorm to transfer his will over to the planet. It would not affect the ecosystem engineering work back on Tannagost.

Inversely, while the central nerves of the First Born on the Executor’s homeworld had mostly withered, creating an artificial nervous system was not a particularly high-tech task. After solving the biggest issue (creating an artificial brain and its programming), getting the engineering droids on the planet to create a batch of artificial nerves was about as easy as building a simple house. The aforementioned artificial nerves were simply a bundle of physical connectors that were tough enough and able to support high-speed transmission in addition to a connector-converter port that could be placed on the First Born’s biological structure. Besides, these neural networks had already been completed before. The first of the works to be completed on Purgatory when they created an artificial brain was the artificial nerves, so this time around, it was a piece of cake.

Now that there were new droid swarms responding to Hao Ren’s command and arriving on the Executor’s star system each day, on top of an increase in manpower, the most repetitive, low-tech jobs could be completed in no time. Nolan even took the opportunity to set up the antenna system used to analyze the crystal’s resonance.

The planet had seen its first peaceful night. For the past thousands of years, such a night was few and far in between.

That night, there were no cries of combat, and it was not just that day. For the past 72 hours, the planet was not subjected to any bombing runs from Zenith, and the long, arduous war finally came to its longest “ceasefire” period.

As night fell, everything quietened down. It was a moonless and starless night. Thick clouds had obscured all forms of light, and darkness enveloped the world. On the scorched and hole-riddled plains, the only source of light came from the forward base, which the droids were busy building.

The shield system of the forward base was now online, and the new energy field separated the argent city of steel from the burnt war zone outside. It was a dark and unwelcoming wasteland on the outside, but a bright and secure base on the inside. The environment gave the outsiders a measure of peace: not easy when you were light years away from home.

Rollie had already snuck out of her room. In true feline fashion, she maintained the finest of her kin’s traditions: to not sleep at night and to run about. Of course, she had her own reasoning: Big Boss Cat lacked any survival skills and needed her to patrol the parameter so that he, Big Dumb Cat, and the other Big Cats at home could sleep safely at night. Lil Pea was on her head as she went round and round, her glowing cat eyes filled with curiosity. This “new place” was pretty right up her alley.

“I’m swheeepy!” Lil Pea was holding on to two tufts of hair by Rollie’s ear to secure herself on the catgirl’s head while grumbling, “You lied to me! Roaming at night isn’t as fun as you said! I wanna swheep!”

“That’s because you don’t get it, nya. It’s very interesting!” the catgirl explained seriously as she tried to keep her head steady so that the little fish would not fall off. “One last round, then we sleep.”

“Last round, okay? Daddy said so. We need to sleep pwoperly or you’ll be a shorty, and you’ll shed scales.”

“I don’t have scales.”

“Fur then.”

On the veranda at a corner of the base, Hao Ren and Vivian, while enjoying the night breeze, caught sight of the roaming Rollie and Lil Pea on her head. The two looked on curiously before Vivian bumped Hao Ren’s arm. “What is Rollie doing out there at this hour?”

“Who knows? Probably hunting for rats.”

Vivian raised an eyebrow. “There are rats over here?”

“Can’t be catching fish, right? She already has one on her head.” Hao Ren shrugged. “Anyway, the base’s security system is already based on authorization, and there’s the barrier as well. We don’t have to worry about that cat running out so just let her have her fun. It’s better than having her scratch the door at midnight.”

Vivian gazed at Hao Ren for a while before she grabbed his hand. “You seem troubled.”

Hao Ren looked up at the cloudy sky, and he realized that he could not hide his troubles from Vivian. This countess, while a mess herself in her lifetime, had exceedingly sharp senses. Otherwise, she would not have flown over moments after he got out for some air.

“We now understand where the Executors come from, and we have witnessed the civilization surviving and completing their salvation as well as legacy transfer on their own. They’ve also discovered the truth about the First Born’s brain-dead condition and found clues linked to the crystal planet. Now, even the matter regarding the First Born here has a proper solution.”

Vivian listened intently without a word because she knew Hao Ren had more to say.

Hao Ren stopped for a bit before he let out a sigh. “But one thing has yet to change: the fact that we are still stuck on this planet.”

Vivian combed her slightly messy hair as she said, “Because of this you aren’t sleeping and are out here getting some air?”

Hao Ren raised his eyebrow in reply. “Isn’t this a huge problem?”

“We’ve been through worst. This is nothing but being temporarily stranded on a planet.” Vivian’s tone was calm, almost whimsical. “At least we’re all in one piece, and the ship is fixed. We’ve even set up a base here. Surviving here for some time isn’t a problem, hence I don’t see the need to be so worried.”

Hao Ren knew that Vivian said so much just to assuage him. Sighing again, he went, “But the divinity lockdown is still in place. Didn’t we test it out earlier? We tried to fly around the edge of the system and not even two light-years, in we’ve run into it. If not for Nolan’s speed, there would’ve been another major catastrophe. That means the Divine Storm locking down Star Cluster X has never ceased.

“Didn’t the droid swarm come over safely? They didn’t suffer any attacks. That means the lockdown has a set pattern, and there will be a way to overcome it. We just haven’t found it yet.”

Hao Ren smiled. “At least there’s something to be happy about.”

“I know you’re here getting some air because all of us are trapped here together with you.” Vivian stared Hao Ren in the eye. “I know you. You wouldn’t be all glum just because you’ve run into some trouble. Perhaps a few years ago, yes, but after that 10,000-year travel back in time, your will is about as strong as the will of any long-lived race.”

Hao Ren was at a slight loss as he looked at Vivian. “Why do you have to be so sharp…”

“My 10,000 years of living have not gone to the dogs,” Vivian quipped, not forgetting to take a potshot at Lily in the process. “You don’t have to worry. You may think this is your fault, but what’s an adventure without its trials and tribulations? If we were looking for peace and quiet, do you think we would have come along?”

“I know, but…”

“There’s no but here.” Vivian pinched Hao Ren on the arm. “You think any Tom, Dick, and Harry can go around adventuring with you? We’ve seen plenty of things, and all of us came along willingly. You’ve helped reunite the Nangongs, helped Y’zak and Y’lisabet find each other, and that doggie. Just feeding her alone is enough for that husky to follow you to the end of the world. Then there’s Lil Pea. Her coming along is better than her being stuck at home. Me? Without question. We’re together now, an uncommon pair of long-living beings. What sort of partner would leave the other half behind?”

Hao Ren was indeed brooding over the reasons Vivian had listed, and after listening to her, he felt a little better. He realized that Vivian was right, but he still pointed at the adventuring kitty with the half-asleep little mermaid on her head in an empty field not too far away. “If you put it like that, she’s probably the most miserable of the lot without any ambition, only wanting to chomp on dried fish and sleep. Having to accompany me on this alien planet, it’s a wonder she can still appear so happy.”

“You just said it yourself. She’s happy every day. That means she doesn’t find her current situation bad.” Vivian sniggered. “Her mind is still that of a cat so she won’t notice anything beyond those that immediately impact her living space. All that little rascal wants is a comfy bed and a full belly. In her eyes, her whole world probably revolves around a one-hundred-meter radius with you as the center. As long these hundred meters stay constant, her world stays constant.”

Hao Ren could accept the rest, but the last part of Vivian’s speech was so idealistic that he had to interrupt her, “You’re giving her too much credit. Cats are known to be hard to domesticate, and Rollie’s a stray cat turned domestic. You know how much of a headache she was when she threw a tantrum. The only difference is that she couldn’t speak. Now that she can… it’s a real pain.”

While he was deep in thought, Rollie had already made her way there since who knows when. The agile kitty quickly clambered up the veranda as she held Lil Pea in one hand. Giving Hao Ren a curious look, she asked, “Big Boss Cat, what are you talking about?”

Hao Ren was surprised by the sudden purr, and he looked down at the dumb cat before he asked out of curiosity, “Say… why do you need to keep Lil Pea on your head?”

That was one of the biggest mysteries ever since Rollie gained her human form. No one knew where she got the habit from, but when she was with Lil Pea, she would insist on having the latter on her head. While Lil Pea was happy about it, the catgirl’s thought process was rather difficult to grasp.

After she heard Hao Ren’s question, Rollie stood there for a moment as she titled her head to think (at the same time, she never forgot to hold on to the sleeping Lil Pea) before she answered happily, “It’s because small ones should always be on the head!”

Hao Ren was thrown off by the dumb cat’s almost meaningless answer for almost a minute before he recalled something that he had almost totally forgotten.

It was a few years ago when Rollie was a little kitten. The shivering kitten barged into his place during a storm, and it took many days for him to nurse her back to health. During that time, the little kitty learned a weird habit of climbing onto his shoulder or head to rest. When he was in a good mood, Hao Ren would not stop the kitten and would sometimes even actively allow her to do so.

A roughly twenty-year-old NEET playing at home with a cat on his head… Just remembering it made him realize how sad he was, but that was really just for fun.

Once the kitten grew, he never allowed Rollie to randomly climb all over him… because she was just too heavy…

And it was out of the question right then as well.

The catgirl stared at Hao Ren for a good while, waiting for a reply before she got impatient and tapped Hao Ren on the arm with her paw. “So what were you talking about Big Boss Cat?!”

“Nothing, I was just praising you.”

The catgirl was happy. “Oh!”

She then brought Lil Pea back to her room.

“You see. Told you so,” Vivian said as she witnessed Rollie leave happily before she turned back to Hao Ren with a smile. “You’re worried over nothing.”

Hao Ren looked up at the alien planet’s sky. The clouds parted as the clear outline of the moon started to appear, bathing the land with her gentle glow.