The Record of Unusual Creatures

Hao Ren and his group had finally reached the sanctuary deep within the planet's crust. After their initial awe, they quickly realized that the city was uninhabited like everywhere else.     

There were no pedestrians on the street, and while the buildings were lit, there were no signs of any living being behind the windows. There were vehicles running in the air and on the streets, but when Y'zaks hailed one to stop, it was an unmanned vehicle.     

"So?" Lily turned around to look at the vibrant yet empty city. "Where are the supposed survivors?"     

Nangong Sanba was dumbfounded. Looking up to the sky, he shouted in hopes of getting the attention of any "observer" who may exist. "Hello! We're in the sanctuary! What's next? There's no one here!"     

No one appeared, and the only sound was from the engines of the vehicles speeding through the air.     

"This planet is getting weirder by the minute," Hao Ren recalled the middle-aged man on the screen as he muttered to himself. "Didn't the guy say we would meet some civil officers down here..."     

"Not sure what that man's trying to do." Vivian summoned a swarm of bats and got them to fly all over the place while she took a few careful steps forward. "He has no beef with us... He won't be pulling such a massive prank."     

The group walked about the bizarre sanctuary, scouting the place out. They followed the lights and the busiest roads in hopes to find any survivors living there. Hao Ren knew that there were survivors in that place; the man who appeared on the screen was unquestionably one. However, no one knew what happened as there were nary a person in the city.     

Were the survivors hiding?     

Nangong Sanba looked around as he observed the place. He may have been half-baked when it came to combat, but because he was half-baked, his observation and deduction skills were well-honed. He was like a seasoned hunter analyzing the tracks. "The streets are clean, and everything's well maintained. It doesn't look like it's been desolate for millennia. The city's within a cavern and logically speaking, it should be coated in dust now. But look at these railings... They're as good as new."     

"Because there's 'someone' wiping them all the time." Nangong Wuyue patted her brother on the shoulder and pointed at a floating robot, which was cleaning earnestly not too far away. The robot also had an inverted triangle shape, and its job was probably to keep the streets spick and span. It had versatile mechanical arms, and one was holding a brush while another was spraying mist. Noticing that people were closing in, the robot flew towards them and circled Hao Ren as well as his group.     

Lily's nerves tightened, but she quickly realized that the robot was harmless. She stretched her hand out and gave it a knock on its outer shell. "It doesn't seem to be able to speak..."     

As Lily finished, a short and bright melody played from the robot. A cheerful male voice said, "Vjekally Limited: specialists in cleaning products. Giving you and your family the best cleaning service. The new household robot Alpha 3 is now available for purchase..."     

The music and the voice repeated itself again. "Vjekally Limited: specialists in cleaning products. Giving you and your family..."     

As it finished the last sentence of the broadcast, the robot left the group and started to clean the streets again.     

"Sounds like a pre-recorded advertisement." Vivian shrugged. "But at least there's some 'humanity' in that."     

Y'zaks demurred. "A robotics company. There should be someone running it."     

Over on the next street, they reached a building that looked like a shopping complex. The building's exterior was bright and exuberant; a big mascot even stood by the entrance. The giant screen above the entrance was playing a rather obnoxious cartoon. While culturally distinct from Earth, it was rather obvious it was some kind of advertisement. Hao Ren led the group into the shopping mall and they were greeted by an empty concourse, which had rows upon rows of equally empty shop lots.     

"This is rather unnerving," Lily mumbled Hao Ren.     

A melody soon rang out nearby and as Hao Ren turned towards the source, he saw a digital billboard that was attached to the wall. After the music ended, a video with scores of men and women appeared with the background noise going, "...Our strength is needed for a comfortable sanctuary. Let us join hands to create a peaceful home..."     

Wuyue slithered towards the screen as she looked about. Hao Ren was not sure what she even pressed before the screen suddenly changed and a stiff-looking man appeared in the middle of the screen. "... Bringing you the latest news in the sanctuary. The investigation on the fire at Danding Station has been completed. The sanctuary manager announced that the incident was caused by an electrical short circuit in a grocery store's warehouse... Members of the reactor maintenance team have completed their work, and the planet's thrust is stable. The President extends his thanks to the tireless workers. According to the presidential spokesperson, the planetary ark is closing in on a 'resupply zone', and before us is a very rich asteroid belt. The ark will perform its first deceleration since its launching, and only after reaching level two in navigation speed will the resupplying process start. The required time to decelerate to our target speed will take about a year. We will be able to extract sufficient resources from the asteroid belt to feed the reactor. During the deceleration, the sanctuaries may experience minor shakings. Please stay calm in case that happens..."     

It seemed like a news bulletin. Hao Ren immediately thought of something as soon as he heard the last part of the message and proceeded to contact the MDT, which was standing by in orbit. "MDT, scan the planet's flight path. Is there an asteroid belt before it?"     

The MDT's reply came swiftly. "There's an asteroid belt in front of it. Perhaps from other celestial bodies. It's a rather huge one. What about it?"     

"...We're watching an extraterrestrial news broadcast."     

"Huh?" The MDT did not understand.     

Hao Ren cut communications and turned to face the rest. "There's an asteroid belt in the navigation path... This isn't a mere recording."     

Vivian looked at the screen, which was still playing the news. "...So this means that the news is current. There's really someone broadcasting this."     

Hao Ren looked at the empty concourse. "Yes, yet there's no one here."     

Nangong Sanba suddenly frowned as a bizarre expression appeared on his face. "Wait a minute! I'm feeling some aura..."     

As he spoke, Nangong Wuyue rose up as well. She used her long serpentine tail to push herself about two to three meters up into the air, gazing in a particular direction. "...Water element... It's water!"     

Everyone looked at each other in shock, and realized what was going on!     

Nangong Sanba kneeled down and pressed the ground, using his demon hunting ability to trace the movement of aura in the area. He suddenly looked up at the deep part of the shopping complex. "Over there!"     

The two siblings exchanged glances as shock and elation ran across their faces. The both of them dashed towards the source of the aura. Hao Ren and the rest were a step slower but caught up with the Nangong siblings eventually. The group sprinted across the empty concourse as though they feared that if they were a step slower, they would lose their target. They finally came to a stop in front of a shop filled with groceries. They slowed their breathing as they looked out for any signs of activity.     

The Nangong siblings did not dare take a step farther. They just looked at the shop idly, and their breathing seemingly stopped.     

Behind a shelve, two figures were moving. A feminine arm flashed across the gap between the shelves as she took a few items.     

The two figures also seemed to have sensed something as they stopped at the same time before coming out from behind the shelf.     

Nangong Wuyue held her brother's hand tightly as she looked like she would faint at any moment. Her voice was shaky, "Mom... Dad?"     

They found them at last.