The Record of Unusual Creatures

4After the collapse of civilization, humans turned into wild beasts draped in armor and weaponry. The old world order was no more. Humans returned to a dog-eat-dog era under the disguise of modern technology and wisdom. The human civilization on the planet of Zorm was in constant tribal warfare; tens of thousands of city-states, warlords, independent kingdoms, predatory regiments, and governments-in-exile had torn the world apart. They spent 6,000 years developing from the Bronze Age to the Nano Era, but it took them only a little over 60 years to disintegrate. Human civilization had no tomorrow.     1

Hao Ren found that he was now in the northern hemisphere of the planet, one of the main areas where war first broke out. A few hundred kilometers away from there, the Nanomachine Swarm had gone out of control and turned the area into what was known as the Gray River. No one knew precisely how the catastrophe of the Nanomachine Swarm ended. But in that wilderness, the scars left behind by the horrific machines remained. When Hao Ren arrived in the vehicle, he noticed that the desert was full of corrosion marks and weird crystal pits.     

The place was not a wilderness but a melted city.     

Several factions of humans attacked each other at the beginning of the war. The Evolved had formed a new human legion while the Naturals split into several large countries. As the battle raged on, more factions emerged and regrouped. The world order was utterly unsustainable. It became a chaotic fight. Now, the second-generation Evolved had split into many legions and states. The extremist Naturals could barely get a hold in the old country. Sandwiched among them were the more moderate Naturals and the first-generation Evolved minority. Most of these humans were mercenaries and free agents. True civilian organizations had disappeared ten years ago. Today's civilians were merely ancillary products of the Great Legion. Anyone with a weapon was a soldier.     

Hao Ren checked some of the branches of the Naturals. He found that these Naturals had further split into several subcategories. As biochemical plug-ins were so convenient, and the purebred Naturals were too weak, many Naturals had chosen to implant biochemical plug-in. The only difference between them and the Evolved was that they absolutely would not meddle with their brain nerves. This 'brain purity' was the only difference between the Naturals and Evolved today. The Naturals had many branches such as the reformist school, pureblood school, fusion school, and neutral school categorized by the degree of their body transformation, but they still belonged to the same camp.     

Hao Ren was deemed a purebred Natural because there was no biochemical plug-in detected in him.     

"It's a total mess..." Hao Ren shook his head. His head spun as he read the information. "The Naturals, Evolved, world war, and Nano disasters... it is more like a man-made disaster."     

"But you can't rule out the guardians playing a hand here," the MDT said in his mind. "There's no record of subterranean tentacles, so the involvement of the First Born is small. Considering that most of the incidents were a chain reaction of the problems within human society, I tend to think that some brain monster was lurking on this planet."     

Hao Ren pinched his chin and fell into deep thought. "Was it a moderate like the giant... or a completely mutated lunatic?"     

"Either is possible. A sane giant could also attack the mortal races. After all, the pain of losing their mother could cause them to lose their rationale," the MDT cautioned, "because we don't know the guardians' state of mind. I suggest keeping it low profile for the time being. We have to determine the planet's coordinates and set up a defensive position in orbit. Then, we draw out the enemies and take them out. What do you think?"     

The MDT made the recommendations based on their experience in Holletta. It was a standard countermeasure. Somehow, Hao Ren felt that there was something more than met the eye. It was not like he had any evidence, it was merely his gut feeling.     

He thought for a moment before he typed a new set of keywords in the search bar: "God of Creation," "Goddess," "Origin of Life," and "Religious Legends."     

The information that the keywords brought up was about the pre-war era. No one cared about the ancient religious system after the war. The newly-emerging religions were all extremist organizations full of whimsy. Humans on the planet no longer had time for things like the "origin of life."     

"... About the religious stories relating to the origin of life; many terms are consistent with the goddess and the seeding of life theory." Hao Ren frowned. "I'm almost certain that the goddess created the ecosystem! Religions still existed until the war broke out!"     

"Until the war broke out? Sixty-five years ago?" The MDT was surprised. "This planet escaped the ecological extinction 10,000 years ago?"     

The religious stories resembling the goddess of creation meant that the planet's ecosystem contained the bloodline of the goddess. The existence of the goddess' bloodline meant that after the deicide, the mad guardians would have unleashed their wrath on the planet. The planet was still developing prosperously until 65 years ago. Could the guardians have missed this place?     

"It's also possible that it survived the first wave of attacks just like Holletta." Hao Ren shook his head. Finding no further worthwhile information, he switched off the computer. "But anyway, since the goddess had sown on this planet... the First Born must be hiding underground."     

The MDT spoke, its voice a pitch higher, "Next we got to find the tentacle monster!"     

"You sound very excited."     

"I'm bored to death in this body. I'm in desperate need of some action and explosions," the MDT groaned.     

"Still not getting used to it?" Hao Ren turned towards the bed. He bent over to check the MDT's body, but the latter still looked like the corpse of a girl. "Is it so difficult to change your sensory mode? Can't you adapt to the senses of a human?"     

"You make it sound straightforward," the MDT was still sassy, a stark contrast to the pitiable body. "Put your brain into the stomach of some slime, then try to adapt and see what happens."     

Hao Ren thought for a moment. He could not do that, but he knew someone who had done that before. Nangong Wuyue and Ayesha had once turned into a slime trampoline`.     

He shook the funny picture off his mind. Swiping the blonde hair away from the dead girl's forehead, he said, "Oh, you look so much better in this body. She's pretty…"     

The MDT warned, "What do you want to do? I'm warning you! Respect the deceased! The body's soul is essentially a PDA now. If you want to do that, at least let me get out first…"     

Hao Ren felt like slapping the MDT. "Are you freaking out of your mind? I want to clean up your face!"     

The MDT then shut up. Hao Ren reached into his Dimensional Pocket for a paper towel. Shortly after, he carefully cleaned the dirt and blood-stained hair on the blonde girl's face. Neither he knew how the girl died nor made sense of the strange situation. But he believed that things happened for a reason. Stuck inside the body, the MDT dad to at least take care of the body.     

"But there's a problem; the body will rot." The MDT sensed what was on Hao Ren's mind. "When nature takes its course, you'll find yourself getting an extreme 'taste' in the next few days. People will think you're a perverted necrophile instead of a pathetic necrophile. You'll eventually evolve into a real pervert..."     

Hao Ren did not want to argue about that. "Didn't Nolan say she'll send a 'doctor'? I guess she's sending an embalmer. Think about it: You're in the body, not me. Who would more likely get an extreme taste in the next couple of days?"     

"So what? I'm just a PDA. I don't think the same way as you do."     

Hao Ren was speechless.     

In any case, this was the single oddest situation since he took up the job.