The Record of Unusual Creatures

Knowing that the guardian giants did not need his help at the moment, Hao Ren came to a hill at the edge of the northern wasteland.

It was there that Muru and his two friends had built a small camp.

The camp was constructed when the Tannagost ecosystem had just begun to revive. The three guardian giants watched the recovery process of the planet until the Zormese could take root on the planet and build a settlement near the wilderness. After that, the camp was abandoned. Today, the abandoned fields showed little decay. The grass around the area was trimmed, and there was even a new stone road extending from the hillside. Under the stone pillar carved by Heve, Hao Ren saw some fresh flowers and a few colored stones.

Hao Ren was there for sightseeing and meditation, but the things in the camp had aroused his curiosity. As he was about to leave to ask Muru and Heve about it, someone approached.

He hid in a corner and waited. Before long, a few people came from the stone road. They were young men and women, and the oldest of them was no more than eighteen years of age. They were wearing grayish-white uniforms of the residents from the nearby town. Judging from the condition of their clothes and the stains on their sleeves, they should be workers from some factory.

Hao Ren watched with curiosity as the youngsters stopped in front of Heve’s stone pillar. A young girl laid flowers on the ground while the two boys took out painted stones from their pockets and put them there as well. Apparently, they were the ones who left behind the “sacrifices” earlier.

The youngsters did not stay for long. They walked around the camp, had come chatters and left after laying down the sacrifices. It seemed that they were regulars here.

Hao Ren came out from his hiding place after the youngsters left. Soon after, a distorted light curtain appeared nearby as Lemendusa and Heve emerged from the light.

“The children come every week,” said Heve. The giant has the gentleness of a woman. When she mentioned the young people, she had a smile on her face. “They are from a town not far from the foot of the mountain, where there is plenty of water and some open-pit metal deposits. The Zormese built a settlement there after discovering the ore deposits, and they have been doing well.”

“They are worshipping you two?” Hao Ren looked curiously at the two giants in front of him. “I thought that Zorm people would not restart their religious activities any time soon after just coming out from the virtual world?”

“Religion is a part of their society. They were devout followers of the goddess of creation before they built a refuge in virtual space,” said Heve. “But these children did not come here because of religious activities. It was just that I helped their town earlier. We never asked for any return, but the Zormese stubbornly insisted on doing something for us. So, the people in the town decided to express their gratitude this way.”

Hao Ren smiled and said, “Just to say thank you? It seems that you must have done them a big favor.”

“It is insignificant compared with what you have done for them.” Heve glanced at Hao Ren with a smile. “Have you forgotten that you are their savior, their second faith? They have altars in dedication to you in every settlement.”

Hao Ren almost choked himself. “Cough, cough, cough… They even have time to do this?”

“They need to find the spiritual strength to compensate for the materialistic shortage,” Lemendusa said. “I know you don’t need this, but they do.”

“They refuse to accept a higher ration. Instead, they insist on achieving self-reliance and thanking me for it. These compatriots of Nolan are a bunch of weird guys,” Hao Ren said as he looked up at Lemendusa. “By the way, why don’t you two spend more time with your fellow guardian giants?”

“We have already done that, and it is not like we won’t see each other anymore, Lemendusa replied. “I heard that you have built a warp-jump accelerator in Star Cluster X, making traveling to-and-fro between Star Cluster X and Tannagost convenient.”

“Of course, you can visit the Heart if you want. The goddess of creation has left something amazing there,” Hao Ren said. “By the way, where are Loken and the others?”

“They are helping adjust the antenna system of the crystal spaceship of Asurmen, who seems to have made some progress in intercepting signals from the dark abyss. They cannot leave now,” Heve said. “And… Loken and the others might be giants, but Mother only created them during the last era. Perhaps that is the reason why they do not find it close with the ‘distant relatives’ like us from a prior era.”

Hao Ren’s mouth twitched. It must be the most significant generation gap in history; the difference of 18,000 years is long enough to produce two distinct species, he thought to himself.

There was silence. Just when Heve struggled to find something to say, Hao Ren suddenly broke the silence. “I bet you two come here not just for some chitchat with me. Am I right?”

“It looks that I am not really used to euphemistic exchange,” Lemendusa said with a self-deprecating smile. “Yes, we have some questions for you.”

It did not come as a surprise to Hao Ren. “Is it concerning the Creation’s Engine? Salaman has told you?”

“Not only the Creation’s Engine but also about our mother and the unusual words and deeds of her last moment,” Lemendusa said calmly. “We know you have been keeping something from us, but we know you have no bad intention. Now, you can tell us what is it?”

Hao Ren sighed. “I knew this day would come. Where should I start? Maybe, let me begin with when the goddess of creation started to have a split personality after the Mad Lord tainted her.”

It was a long story. Muru and Lemendusa came to the hill halfway during the storytelling. The four guardian giants sat cross-legged at the foothills as Hao Ren sat on the stone pillar telling the stories of the Mythological era.

After Hao Ren finished laying bare all the historical truths before the guardian giants, it was dusk.

Some bright stars were already visible in the dimming sky. The most brilliant among these bright spots were the CARS, which looked like a round moon in the air.

Lemendusa let out a sigh. “I see. That explains everything.”

“I did not tell you earlier because I was worried that it could affect you negatively before I could figure out what really happened,” Hao Ren said. “But the plan did not go as planned; I did not expect Salaman to come into the picture, and I did not know the truth of the Creation’s Engine would be so impactful.”

“You have underestimated the guardian giants,” Muru said. But by no mean, he was chiding Hao Ren. “We have experienced the horrible deicidal war, and yet it did not kill us. What else are we afraid of?”

“The deicidal war was only a war between good and evil. However, the goddess of creation’s self-division and the many things she did while she was tainted were not easily acceptable.” Hao Ren shook his head. “That was what I was concerned about at that time.”

“No, your concerns were legit. Frankly speaking, the truth really came as a shock to me,” said Lemendusa. “But for us, she is our mother. She is kind and merciful, wise, and powerful. The part that the Mad Lord tainted and split was not the real her. It was just a deformed and chaotic monster that hijacked her body. No sane guardian giants will hesitate to confront such a split body.”

“That will be great,” said Hao Ren. “About the Creation’s Engine—”

“The Creation’s Engine is not the only solution,” Heve said before waiting for Hao Ren to finish. She looked at him with fire in her eyes. “I do not dare to say that I know everything about you, but at least I know one thing: you will not sit by and watch the Creation’s Engine complete its mission. Am I right?”

Muru and Lemendusa were silent as if they were in thought. Meanwhile, Salaman looked at Hao Ren and his three fellow guardian giants in surprise. He barely knew Hao Ren and had no idea what this Observer could do. He also wondered why his three compatriots had shown such confidence in Hao Ren.

After a moment of silence, Hao Ren told of his intention. “First of all, we can safely rule out that the Creation’s Engine is under the influence of the Mad Lord. Instead, the goddess of creation designed it on her own free will. Therefore, Lemendusa, I hope you can finish the Creation’s Engine.”

Noticing the surprised look on Lemendusa and Heve’s faces, Hao Ren waved his hand and said, “Wait a minute. Let me finish. I do not mean to let the Creation’s Engine work under the original plan. Even if we can finish the Creation’s Engine, we still lack nine other Gilded Discs. Without those Gilded Discs, we cannot activate the Creation’s Engine.”

Lemendusa looked at Hao Ren curiously. “You mean—”

“Xi Ling technology is number one in the world.” Hao Ren revealed a mysterious smile. “I have collected a vast amount of information on the Creation’s Engine at the Heart. Together with the data extracted from the Weaves of Destiny, I believe we can already crack the high-tech gadget. I need to return to the Surface World and see the neurotic goddess. But we must at least get the shell done so that work will be much easier later.”

Salaman could not help but whisper at Muru, “It is not the first I hear him name-calling his own goddess. What is his relationship with her?”

“The last time I asked, it was a contractual relationship. But before that, he said it was a doctor-patient relationship.” Muru scratched his head. “I have no idea what is the real situation, but one thing is for sure—he has a true goddess behind him.”

Salaman was dumbstruck.

After that, Hao Ren returned to the Surface World, and this time, he had brought his boss a ton of information.