The Record of Unusual Creatures

Hao Ren was a bit concerned about Raven 12345's last few words, but he knew that unless it was time, the goddess would not reveal too much. So, he could not help but put this thoughts aside and focus on the things on hand.     

The crystal continued to grow on its own. Like a living thing, it kept improving itself until the will of Raven 12345 was executed perfectly. Hao Ren looked at the buildings and found that internally, they was undergoing a series of changes: huge crystal bridges, rifts and plains were growing rapidly, and changing positions. Meanwhile, lightning danced between the crystal clusters, charging the recently-formed magic equipment. Some information poured into Hao Ren's mind when he reached out to touch the crystal complex.     

He was startled for a moment before he realized that it was information of the structural diagram and activation method of the crystal complex. Of course, only the operation part was involved. Knowledge of the underlying principle could not be injected directly into his mind.     

Hao Ren took a step back and looked at the spectacular scenery. He knew that this crystalline mountain range would be his biggest research base in the Plane of Dreams. This was a space station, a container with the highest safety rating, and a prison. From now on, all large samples he collected could be stored here, and the secrets of the First Born would be completely dug out.     

...Well, not that it was diggable. Saying that just sounded better.     

Hao Ren did not have time to study the operation manual as the MDT suddenly reminded him, "The Aerymian elves have begun teleporting."     

The time had come. The elven technicians led by Hilda had reached Earth through the portal, and groups of people were about to enter the Alamanda Portal through the spatial rift. A sharp whistling sound was reverberated in the dark snowfield below Andrea Castle, a unique phenomenon caused by the sudden increase in portal energy and its interference with the nearby spatial rift.     

In the middle of the dark snowfield, near the circular platform where the spatial rift was located, a portal in a high-power state lit up again and again. Each time the light column flashed, a dozen elves wearing short robes would appear near the light column. Hilda had followed the first group to arrive at the snowfield. She looked around curiously. "I did not expect the first transit station to be such a place... The spatial structure here is a bit unique."     

Vivian's voice was heard behind the elven queen. "This is a different dimension, a distorted point between the earth and the otherworld. It's the last dividing line of the Wall of Reality. Once we pass this snowfield, we will enter the Plane of Dreams."     

Hilda turned to greet Vivian with a nod. By the side, Lily raised her voice to guide the elves. "Keep your eyes open, pay attention to your breathing apparatus. I'm talking to you—check your breathing apparatus. The atmosphere in Tannagost is toxic! If you start bleeding, it'll be too late to check your safety handbook. People, please queue up, people…"     

The husky was jumping up and down excitedly. She was particularly thrilled during this time: it seemed that the maiden had a natural interest in organizing activities. She felt important. The thing that made her the happiest was probably wearing the uniform and armband to direct traffic at the community parking lot...     

Lily finally met Hilda, and her ears stood upright. "You too, Your Majesty the Queen, you'll have to... Ahh, never mind. Just go ahead of the pack, you're brighter."     

Hilda was not offended. She just shook her head and smiled before turning and going through the lilac spatial rift.     

Alamanda, the magnificient desolate City of Gold appeared before her.     

"If I wasn't seeing this with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed that such a planet exists in this world." Hilda, like other elves, was captivated by the City of Gold. It took her a few seconds to realize that Hao Ren was next to her. She nodded awkwardly. "I have brought my people here."     

"After passing through that portal, you will reach Holletta," said Hao Ren, pointing at a portal not far away with a smile. "It must feel different to go back to where you've been before. Becky is expecting you on the other side. I'll go after you. Oh yeah, the portal to Holletta only allows three persons to pass at any one time. When the blue light turns on again, the next three people can proceed to teleport."     

The elves began to pass the portal as instructed. Hilda curiously asked, "Is the throughput of this space-time tunnel low?"     

Hao Ren shrugged. "The throughput of the portal in Becky's basement is low. When I first installed the portal, I didn't expect there to be so many people using it at once. Guys, please pay attention and follow the instructions once you're over there. Don't mess with the bottles and cans around you. They're Becky's life!"     

Before his voice trailed off, he heard Becky screaming on the other end of the communicator. "No, that's my century-old, imperial mead! My ale... My table! My... My foot—you stepped on my foot!"     

It turned out that using the space-time portal installed in the basement to teleport 500 people was not a good idea, even if the basement belonged to a local parvenu. Hao Ren's plan had a lot of shortcomings and it was a total mess on Becky's side.     

A few years later, only a handful of witnesses would remember that the "alien allies" who had saved Holletta were drunk and crawling out of the basement, with a red-eyed countess chasing them from behind…     

Anyway, all activities organized by Hao Ren basically turned into a drama scene like this.     

Meanwhile, the welcoming team waiting outside the manor was dumbfounded; as the soldiers, pre-selected by Ophra and the pope, lined up to welcome their alien guests, a bunch of elves scrambled out of the mansion as soon as the door was open. As though she had expected this, Ophra sighed before she whispered to the aide beside her, "Go and call the record officer. I'll need to talk to him about the welcoming script."     

The welcoming team dispatched by Hollettan officials outside Becky's manor could only look on as waves of elves scrambled out from the house. The pope whispered to Ophra, asking if these elves were members of the First Born experts. The entire elven team appeared to be more like the crowd at train stations during the Spring Festival. What Hilda brought were engineers and technicians, not trained soldier—they possessed professional skills, but they were not good at queuing in order. Hence, when they came out of the portal, things appeared chaotic. But fortunately, the situation was quickly under control with the guidance of several team leaders. The elven technicians were finally organized into teams and they began their headcount. In the meantime, Hao Ren, Hilda and several others who had just teleported from the dark snowfield began to appear from the back of the groups.     

Becky, looking traumatized, followed Hao Ren and complanined, "My wine... My wine..."     

Lily patted her on the shoulder and said, "You're saving the world, don't harp over a little thing. Remember, you are the chief ticket issuer of the Space Administration's Hollette Transit Station. At worse, you can always talk the king into giving you a new batch of wine."     

Hao Ren led Big Beardy and Hilda to Ophra as well as the others. After a moment of obligatory casual exchange, he introduced the team he had brought along as well as Hilda to Ophra. "This is the monarch of the Aerymian elves, Queen Hilda. She is willing to give you a helping hand. Her excavation team will undertake the operation of this mission.     

Ophra never expected a queen to personally lead the team here, but she was quick to react. She crossed her arm on her chest and said, "It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty the Queen from the Otherworld. Please accept my apology if there is any oversight; we have never had this kind of... diplomatic experience in our world."     

Hilda nodded in a reserved and graceful manner. "There is no need for extra formality. I have come on the invitation of the Sun King. Just treat me as any other ordinary guest. Everything is decided by the Sun King."     

Ophra was startled. "The Sun... King? Where is he?"     

Hao Ren held his head high and winked, but his expressions did not attract Ophra's attention. He finally could not help but say, "He's right here! I am the Sun... No, I mean, I am the king!"     

Ophra and the pope were both stunned. The marshal looked at Hao Ren in surprise. "You didn't tell me before."     

Judging from her reaction, Hao Ren's appearance had to be the cause as it was so inconsistent with the honorific. It lacked realism. Hao Ren nodded, fully self-aware. "Okay, okay, I know I look somewhat different from the title. Let's cut the cackle and get down to business. Are all the preparations done?"     

Ophra smiled. "You have to believe in our mobilization ability, at least when it comes to evacuation. Forget about the residents, we've even evacuated the wild animals around the seals..."     

Hao Ren nodded and looked in Hilda's direction. "Then, let's wait for the bigwigs to finish talking. Get ready for work!"