The Record of Unusual Creatures

While Hao Ren was still thinking of asking Raven 12345 about other people who were not affected by the translocation, the goddess already had everything covered. The people brought by the arcane servant were all familiar faces. They were the demon hunters, Hasse and White Flame, and otherworldlings, Hesperides and Hessiana. It seemed that the four of them had no idea why they were there.

Hao Ren felt like there should be more people who had not been affected by the space-time abnormality.

“Don’t worry, everyone else has been taken care of,” Raven 12345 said without waiting for Hao Ren to ask, as though she had read his mind. “Many people have noticed the space-time anomaly. Other than those who are affected by my power, people who are extremely sensitive or mentally sturdy are also aware that there is something wrong with the world. The security system of the sovereign hub was automatically activated but not calibrated to identify individual humans. So these people were stuck between the real and mirrored Earth. Except for those who can contribute here, I have temporarily ‘frozen’ the rest. After things are over, they will naturally be restored to their original state.”

“Those who can contribute here” apparently referred to the people on the platform.

Usually, Hao Ren would have lashed out at Raven 12345, but this time, he could not help but feel grateful for the excellent arrangement. “You really know a thing or two in cleaning up this mess, eh?”

Holding her head high, Raven 12345 said, “Of course, my ability to make a mess is well-known throughout the multiverse, it is only natural that I am equally pro in cleaning up the mess. Otherwise, my superior would have killed me.”

Hao Ren was floored.

This damn goddess was taking pride in it.

Earlier, the four woke up in the morning and were shocked to see the scenes in the world. But before they knew what happened, the goddess had brought them here. It was like a drowning man catching at a straw when they saw Hao Ren. They ran up to him, wanting to know what was going ons. Hessiana, especially, had gotten in a stew. “Hao Ren! What the hell is going on? I bumped into a group of World-World-Two German soldiers as soon as I went out this morning. It almost scared the hell out of me! I thought their souls were coming after me because I looted Hitler’s palace last time.”

It seemed that Vivian and her mini version had played a hand in helping the Allied forces in defeating Hitler last time. But Hao Ren’s heart sank when he thought of Vivian. “Calm down. listen to me,” Hao Ren said, interrupting Hessiana.

Hao Ren tried to explain the situation in layman term. The four in front of him were not stupid either. Even though Vivian was the root cause of the ridiculous and bizarre phenomenon, it was not hard for them to get the picture.

“Vivian dragged the earth into her memory?” Hessiana might not fully grasp the concept of what happened, but she was not entirely wrong about it. “You are going to get her back?” she asked.

“That is basically what happens. But I do not know yet how to go about it. I am waiting for the goddess to tell me,” Hao Ren said, pointing with his chin at Raven 12345 who stood at afar. “She said that you guys could help.”

Hessiana glared at Hao Ren. “How could this happen? Did you not look after her?” Hessiana demanded.

Hao Ren was cheesed off hearing that, but he felt like not to defend himself. Hao Ren knew how importance Vivian was to Hessiana, the reaction of the little bat was entirely understandable.

Hessiana’s self-control ability was surprisingly good though. After venting her frustration, she quickly calmed down. “I don’t blame you. It could be beyond your control. But let me ask you a question, and please tell me truthfully.”

Hao Ren had no clue what was in Hessiana’s mind. He looked at her curiously. “What is it?”

“Is the situation very that bad?” Hessiana asked while quietly looking at Raven 12345. The goddess was fiddling with the magic circle in the middle of the platform and seemingly did not care about what they were saying. “The goddess looks worried.”

“Bah, she is worried about her year-end bonus although she has gotten it before since taking office.”

Hessiana could not catch up with Hao Ren’s train of thought. So she might as well give up asking what he meant. “Would Vivian be blamed for that? It looks like something has to take the blame.”

It was a difficult question. But Hao Ren was determined. “Whatever it is, we must first get Vivian back. I personally think that no one should be blamed. Vivian is also a victim of circumstances. She did not knowingly release her power. If someone has to take the blame, that person should be the Mad Lord of the Plane of Dreams and some other guys. If any blame were to fall on Vivian, I would do my best to defend her. I believe that our goddess would not allow the innocent to become the scapegoat.”

“Did you not say that the goddess was worried about her year-end bonus? How do we know she would not shift the blame on Vivian?”

Hao Ren’s heart missed a beat. The news of the decay of integrity of the goddess seemed to have spread wide and far. Even Hessiana, who had hardly come into contact with the divine realm, had hit the nail on the head. But then when Hao Ren thought carefully, he realized that he was mostly the one who bad-mouthed Raven 12345, he quickly wiped the non-existent cold sweat off his forehead. “Ahem, don’t worry. She is ethical. Probably.”

While the two of them were discussing the ‘blasphemous’ topic, the voice of Raven 12345 jolted them. “Have you two finished mumbling? It is time to brief you on the mission.”

Hao Ren and Hessiana immediately went up, listening to Raven 12345 with a serious look on their face but a guilty feeling in their hearts.”

“First of all, I would like to emphasize that the key to bringing Vivian out is to let her find herself,” Raven 12345 said as she glanced at everyone. “She has now self-breaking down. The stronger the resonance and imbalance between the divine and corrupt forces led her to self-control. It was the reason that caused the information overflow to contaminate the real world. So as soon as she regains control of herself, half of the problem would be solved. Thanks to the resonance between the different Malevolences, every fragment of the divine avatar has a connection. So Vivian becomes a complete body, but her own consciousness is still sleeping. This led to her becoming a source of contamination that constantly releases energy uncontrollably.”

Raven 12345’s eyes landed on Hao Ren. “Hao Ren, I will send you to the second mirrored Earth that is so much more contaminated than the first mirrored Earth that you have seen before. Space and time there has been mostly swapped out with 99% of the 21st-century real world that you know has disappeared. You must trace the coordinates of 10,000 years ago through the broken historical trajectory until you find Vivian, who has first arrived on earth. In theory, that is your target.”

“In theory?” Raven 12345’s ambiguous reply baffled Hao Ren.

“Yes, in theory.” Raven 12345 repeated. “Because Vivian’s first ‘landing spot’ was not on Earth but planet Inferno. She has completed her first division there, yet you could only trace the historical timeline of Earth, so you can’t do anything about the history in Inferno. But my calculation shows that even without the history of Inferno, it is good enough for you to find Vivian and reconstruct her self-awareness.”

“Well, then I understand now,” Hao Ren said. “But how should I wake her up? Can I just go up and say hello when I see her? How do I backtrack? It sounds enigmatic.”

“The space-time breakage and distortion is based on the ‘memory breaking point’ of Vivian, and the memory breaking point is usually the time when she wakes up from her hibernation. So you should look for her place of hibernation when you arrive; most likely, she will not wander too far after waking up. But the thing is that the memory breaking point is not necessarily the exact coordinates. Sometimes there is disruption to the space-time continuity before Vivian goes to sleep, and sometimes during her sleep. So you may encounter Vivian who is awake or mad but most likely sleeping. As for how to wake up when you find her—I am not sure right now.”

“Not sure? Then why do you ask me to go there?” Hao Ren was wide-eyed.

“All I can say is that you will cross the bridge when you get there,” Raven 12345 said as she spread out her hand. “After all, this is also my first time encountering this kind of thing. If I am not wrong, as soon as she sees you, she will regain her memory of the real space and time. In the severely distorted space and time on the Number Two Mirrored Earth, you are the only foreign matter. Your appearance should have a big impact on Vivian, who is the source of distortion, and is enough to wake her up.”

“What if she does not wake up?”

“Then a fight with her might do the trick.”

Hao Ren was rendered speechless.

“You need to find node by node. It is like walking through history and meeting Vivian in different periods. You have to let her regain consciousness and get out of each dream. Every waking from the dream will restore part of the messed-up space and time. Each restoration of space and time will push you to the next node. Considering that Vivian in history is very different from the Vivian you know, I need someone who knows her well to explain the dos and don’ts in dealing with Vivian of the past to you.”

Before Raven 12345’s voice trailed off, Hesperides and Hessiana finally knew their purpose of being here. Hesperides said, “So this is the reason for bringing us here?”

“That’s right. The two of you know Vivian good enough, including about her past,” Raven 12345 said as she glanced at Hesperides and Hessiana. “To maintain the stability of the sandbox environment, Hao Ren must go into the distorted historical space and time alone. He cannot even bring the MDT. So he will be all by himself. The intelligence and guidance you two provide will be of utmost importance to him.”

So this was the reason for the few of them to be there.

Hao Ren looked at Hesperides and Hessiana in anticipation.

“If you find Vivian awake, the first step in building rapport with her is to buy her meal. Better still, buy her with money if possible.”

Hao Ren was bewildered.