The Record of Unusual Creatures

Panda Novel

As he saw the laser beam and the screen turning into a buzzing still picture, Hao Ren knew that the droid had been destroyed. This was not too surprising since the droids were not particularly sturdy objects, including the combat variants. It also appeared that the massive light cloud was not to be trifled with, but most importantly, what the heck was that thing?

“We can now be sure that this is not some natural phenomenon,” Hao Ren said seriously. “It is man-made.”

“And this thing… can even communicate, so it must have some sort of logic system to it,” Vivian continued. “The thing is we don’t know if it’s operated by a crew.”

“The droid only had limited contact with the latter, and barely a few sentences later, it was destroyed, so the information we’ve gathered is quite insufficient,” Nolan said as she waved her droid’s tentacles about. “The collated information we have now is as such: first, the light clouds are not a natural occurrence. They’re some sort of man-made being, probably guardians left behind by the goddess of creation. Next, they also broadcast authorization requests, but if any outsiders fail to provide valid identification data, they will be attacked. And lastly, the light clouds, at the very least, have the ability to morph. They can materialize a part of their formless body and attack from the materialized part. This transformation means that they not only do they possess the form that we’ve just seen, but under other circumstances, they could change into entirely different forms.”

“What if we communicate with them?” Hao Ren asked with a frown. “What happens if we send them a communication request?”

“There’s no way to communicate. They are either running on an automatic system, or the controller behind them is very rigid. I’ve sent two other droids over, but whenever no contact authorization or identification serial is provided, the ‘light cloud’ does not respond and proceeds to attack. To prevent any adverse reaction from the light clouds in the system, I have to cease all forms of provocation.”

“It’s prudent to be on the safe side.” Hao Ren nodded in agreement with Nolan. “Send the droids to monitor all activities around the light clouds and try to obtain as much long-range observation data. Once we have enough, send it back to CARS and see if Muru, as well as the rest, recognize this thingamajig. Since it may very well be something created by the goddess of creation, the guardians might be of help.”

“Roger that.”

“Say, how’s that antenna array going?” Hao Ren recalled something. “The one to locate the crystal’s resonance.”

“The core components have already passed the lab’s inspection, and the setup of the main antenna array has already been completed near the low planetary orbit. By the time each auxiliary system is online and the diagnostics completed, we can install the core. However, the surface auxiliary arrays have only just started construction, so even if the main antenna goes online, the connection will still be rather sub-par.”

Hao Ren knew that there were many major construction works going on around the tiny planet and was pleased with the progress. Nodding, he said, “That’s fine, we’re trapped here anyway. If we can’t leave, it won’t matter if we find that crystal planet. We don’t have to rush this, and oh, did you manage to collect the things I asked you to?”

“Only partially. I just moved them to the second storage yard.”

“Collect? Collect what?” Vivian gave Hao Ren a curious glance. She did not hear about the arrangement prior to this.

Hao Ren wore a mysterious smile. “The droids collected them while they prospected the flats. You’ll know when you see it.”

The engineering droids had already brought back some of the items and were now storing them on an empty field by the side of the base.

It was a little mound of twisted metal, which consisted of half-melted armor, broken support pillars, unrecognizable thrusters, artillery platforms, and also burnt out computer systems. All these broken pieces were piled up on the empty field, almost like a rubbish mound, and at the top of the pile, a torn-apart black metal pillar was the most eye-catching of them all.

Regrettably, that metal pillar did not glow anymore.

The wreckage had already cooled down for many days. The heat from atmospheric entry or the flames of combat had long died off, yet the pieces still emanated a strong charred stench. Standing before the little “mound”, the burning smell made everyone feel like they were still on an infernal battlefield.

Nangong Wuyue slithered carefully toward the wreckage as she used her tail to pick up a piece of broken metal and dangle it in front of her. She then turned back to Hao Ren with curiosity in her eyes. “Mr. Landlord, these are…”

“The remains of the Cortex Prime.” Hao Ren looked up at the pile of twisted metal and subconsciously recalled its original shape: that of a majestic fortress city. “I never thought the fortress would be destroyed so thoroughly and the droids could only salvage this much.”

Vivian seemed to latch on to Hao Ren’s idea as she asked thoughtfully, “You’re collecting the remains of the Cortex Prime? And you’re…”

“I plan to erect a memorial plaque on the southwest corner of the plains. It was the landing point of the Cortex Prime’s final piece, and it was also the spot where the humans had ‘returned’ to.” Hao Ren smiled. “Think of it as a ‘coming-of-age gift’ for the Executors. As a budding civilization, they’ll need moral support.”

Vivian showed a forlorn smile. “That’s just so you.”

Hao Ren smiled in return but did not speak further.

The next day, Nolan got around preparing for the Star Cluster X “security system” test, which Nangong Sanba had suggested.

The Petrachelys was floating in the air, silently above the forward base’s starport. A large number of maintenance droids and engineering droids were busy performing final maintenance checks on the ship. In order to obtain more accurate data, Hao Ren had installed a lot of sensors on the hull of the ship. Not to mention, the external equipment would need to be kept in the best possible state.

Nolan was still using the modified droid as her conduit. She was flying to and from Hao Ren’s position while blabbering and flailing her tentacles. “Eh eh eh! Be careful! A girl is a delicate being! You, over there, watch it when you work on the engine’s conduction plate, I just polished it! Please check underneath Hull Armor 6, I’m feeling itchy down there… Whoa! Who touched my generic sensor array! Scared the sh*t out of me!”

Truth be told, a droid bearing Nolan’s hologram flying about yelling here and there was rather cute. But that rascal’s yelling only served to confuse the droids, and Hao Ren stepped forward to stop her. “Can you pipe down a little? The droids are professionals, they don’t need your armchair.”

Nolan stopped awkwardly as a wronged expression appeared on her face. “Can’t you see I’m nervous… after almost being wrecked the last time?”

Hao Ren gave her a weird look. “But didn’t we just go to the edge of the planet a couple of days ago? Didn’t notice you being all that nervous back then…”

Nolan’s hologram held her hands out to the side (she did the same with her tentacles concurrently). “I had you guys with me previously, but now I’m going alone. Just thinking about flying out there and getting blasted apart by accident, then turning into floating space junk, I can feel my propulsion reactor shuddering…”

Hao Ren rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry. Should that happen, I’ll fly up with my shields deployed and drag your mainframe back. I’m rather fond of this ship, you know.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” Hao Ren shrugged, thinking that the highly-intelligent shipgirl, also his co-pilot, was rather cute. Nevertheless, once she started getting in your face, it was rather…

While they spoke, the final inspection on the Petrachelys was completed, and the system standby signals, as well as the launch signals around the starport, came to life. Nolan got the droids to return to the ship while Hao Ren and the rest stood by the platform, preparing to see the ship off.

A low rumble came from the Petrachelys as the powerful reactor sent surges of energy to the engine system and the ship slowly left the platform. Along a one-meter portion of the outer hull, a translucent screen suddenly appeared, and on it a very striking holographic projection…

On the port side it was written, “Top Dog Brawler”, and on the starboard, “Galaxy’s Fastest”…

Hao Ren almost popped a vein when he saw that. “Nolan!!”

Yet, the starship had already blasted off, leaving everyone with a cool afterimage and the lingering scent of ionized air on the platform as Nolan’s voice rang in Hao Ren’s mind. “Just a dose of couraaaaaageeeee…”

Hao Ren was speechless.

The courageous Nolan did not take long to break into orbit and enter the vast space.

While she did mess around with her captain before she took off, once she entered space, Nolan was all business. There was no hint of nervousness or doubt. She set the course and quickly confirmed the conditions of the sensors before she swiftly accelerated toward the edge of the system.

The joke before take-off was just her way of spending time with her friends; now, it was time for work.

The ship entered hyper lightspeed and took only a short while to reach the edge of the system’s gravity well. There, the effect of the sun’s gravity was at its lowest point and everything looked like dust in the background.

The vast space was barren, but Nolan knew that there was a formless border there, a demarcation line where the divine power net formed its scan. The moment she passed that line, the ancient energies across Star Cluster X would be awakened.

During the past few days, Hao Ren had been on the Petrachelys as they tried to break out several times, but in truth, they had never managed to really pass through the border. Just being at the edge was enough to detect a sudden rise in energy readings and divine power reactions, they did not need to go farther to even see the outcome.

“No reaction…” Nolan said as she circled around the border, and her lone hologram on the bridge started muttering to herself.

“Let’s go farther out then.”