The Record of Unusual Creatures

3While the spacecraft was being prepared to scan the entire planet, Hao Ren knew that they had to do something.      3

Many details could be hidden in unnoticeable corners. The spacecraft may be able to find the stronghold hidden under the earth's crust, but it may not be able to find clues left behind by survivors of the doomsday.     

They sat in the living room in a circle to discuss the status of the strange planet. Vivian put her hands on the tea table while she expressed her opinion, "The biggest problem now is why the native people of this planet are hiding, and why did they leave behind such a strange city to trap outsiders?"     

The live news updates, entertainment programs on TV, and recently-produced products and ads; these showed that the planet's human society was still working, and they were just hiding somewhere unknown. Now, the empty city was more like a closed observation room. Whether it was the Nangong couple who arrived 100 years ago, or Hao Ren and his companions who had just reached, everyone seemed to have been treated as observation samples. Hao Ren told them his speculation and got all the support, especially from Lily—the husky had watched a lot of sci-fi movies before they ventured there, and her head was now full of conspiracy theories.     

"They must have their own purpose, because it's expensive to keep the city running," Y'zaks said. He tapped the table and continued, "Look at the supplies, the energy, the robots for maintenance, and the stuff in the mall—most of which have been put there until they're expired and thrown away. They maintain the normal operations of such a big city, but only to feed two people. This is certainly not a joke."     

Lily looked around and suggested, "I think that first of all, we should try to send a message to the natives of this planet. Surely, they can see us, right? Then, we'll just ask them what they want directly. If they don't respond, then we try to get out of here by force. Let's see how the defense system in this place reacts. If we have no other option, in the end, we can only fight them… That's better than no progress."     

Hao Ren looked at the husky girl, a little surprised. "Good. I never thought you could come up with such a constructive plan. Not feeling like a coward this time?"     

"I'm actually quite smart, okay?" Lily kicked Hao Ren under the table.     

Vivian glanced at Lily and asked, "Okay, how are you going to talk to the natives here? Go to the balcony and howl at the sky?"     

Without hesitation, Lily stood up and walked straight to the balcony as everybody was left to look at each other. Vivian shrugged and said, "I forgot that this is what she usually does when she has nothing to do. No pressure at all—"     

Before Vivian could finish, a loud, shrilling howl came from the balcony. "Awwwwooooo—"     

Hao Ren yelled at the balcony, "Speak human!"     

Lily just realized what she was doing, and she immediately yelled at the natives of the planet, hoping to make them come out. A few minutes later, she trotted into the living room and said, "It's not working. Nobody responded. Let's carry out Plan B."     

Nangong Wudi had been watching the crazy bunch of people this entire time. "This girl has a good voice…"     

"If this city is an observation room, there has to be someone watching our movements. They must have seen Lily just now," said Y'zaks. Although what Lily just did left Y'zaks a little speechless, he had to admit that it was not for nothing. "Now we can think about breaking through the city's checkpoint. This will probably force the locals out."     

Everybody nodded. But just as they got ready to go out, Ayesha's voice rang from the kitchen, "Shouldn't we eat first before we go out?"     

Ayesha was standing at the kitchen door with a large tray and a smile on her face. Her lower body had also transformed into a serpent's tail. At the end of her tail was a steaming cauldron, and a peculiar smell of rice was coming out of it. It seemed that Wuyue's ability to create all kinds of strange uses for her tail, including those unusual ways to do housework, was inherited from her mother.     

Nangong Wudi immediately stood up and said, "Come on, it's hard for us to get together. Let's sit down and try my wife's cooking first. We've been waiting for a hundred years anyway. We can wait a little longer."     

Ayesha proceeded to place the steaming dishes on the table. The small table could not accommodate so many people, and half of them simply ate at the fringes of the table. There were plenty of dishes on the table, and most of them were unheard of. But fortunately, they all tasted good. Everybody enjoyed the meal, especially Lily. The entire world stopped when she was eating. Hao Ren even had to watch her and pass her water at times: this was the tacit understanding they had after living together for over a year.     

Wuyue looked at the table of food and her parents sitting beside her. Almost on the verge of tears, she said, "We haven't had dinner together in a long time…"     

Ayesha looked at her children, getting emotional. "When your dad and I left, the two of you were still little kids... Now you're all grown up. What have you been doing over the years?"     

"We've been looking for you all over the world. I was a singer, and brother worked as a demon hunter," Nangong Wuyue said as she poked the rice in the bowl. "A hundred years passed and we still had no clue, until I met the landlord..."     

Hao Ren turned to Nangong Wudi and asked, "How did you learn the language of this planet?"     

He and his friends were assisted by translation plug-ins, so they could quickly grasp any language and text, but he wondered how the Nangong couple learned it.     

"I read books, listened to the radio, watched TV..." Nangong Wudi said, pointing to the TV on the wall. "Although there's no one in the city, we can still see these things. One hundred years is enough time for us to learn the language here."     

"Oh, yes, watching TV!" Lily threw away the chopsticks excitedly and ran towards the "TV". It took her some time to figure out how to turn it on. "Be careful, don't break it!"     

"It's okay." Nangong Wudi smiled and said, "When we first arrived here, we also broke a lot of things, and we even burned the house while we were preparing a meal. Haha... There were always some automatons coming over to clean up afterwards. "     

"Your cost of living is quite high..." said Hao Ren.     

Lily kept changing the TV channels, from news to advertisements to entertainment like dramas and movies. It seemed as though there was a thriving world outside. She then returned to the table and sat down, muttering and biting her chopsticks at the same time. "I've written a novel before, about a man trapped in a house. The house had no doors, no windows, only a mountain of cans and a TV. The man was born in the house and grew up in the house. All he could do was watch TV, watch the busy world on TV, listen to the news and current affairs, and learn about the world from the TV. He knew from TV that he was living in a big city and that the country he lived in was fighting with another country. Suddenly, one day, the TV broke down. He smashed the wall and came out of the house..."     

"And then?" Vivian was curious about the story. "You're actually capable of writing something so deep?"     

"Then? Then, he fell straight down. He just kept falling endlessly. His room was the only thing in that world. There was nothing outside the room. Just a void," Lily said while she bit her chopsticks. "It's a thriller."     

"The story's not funny at all," Vivian said as she ate.     

Hao Ren pondered for a moment after he heard Lily's story. Shortly after, he shook his head, pointed at the screen on the wall and said, "But the TV in your story doesn't show real news, and 'the man in the room' is not being observed."     

The news was being broadcasted on TV; it announced that the Security and Developmental Affairs Departments were ready for the ark to decelerate. A news presenter with a straight face was urging residents not to get close to places that easily collapsed to survive the shock caused by the planet's first switch of the engines.     

Simultaneously, the Petrachelys also brought them some news: the planet's propulsion engine was reducing its power, while several engine valves in the thrust reversal system were showing signs of preheating.     

This was the difference between Lily's story and the city: someone made this "glass house".     

Y'zaks frowned while he watched the news. Suddenly, he stood up.     

While everybody was puzzled, he went up to the window and pointed at the tall buildings in the distance.     

The next second, a huge fireball exploded in the city, causing a thunderous rumble.