The Record of Unusual Creatures

Chapter 148: Crash Course

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Everyone at the scene was wide-eyed. Hao Ren could not wrap his brain around what she meant by that.

“Lil Pea thinks that she came out from this pot.” Nangong Wuyue looked extremely serious. “Yes, you’re right, it’s the pot Lily used to boil the egg. But, I really have no idea what went wrong; when this little thing learned that you weren’t her mom, she was dead set on believing that the pot was her mom. She believed that you discovered the pot then, you and the pot made her together…”

“That’s one hell of a mess!” Hao Ren stomped his feet. That scared the hell out of the little mermaid. He immediately poked Lil Pea’s tummy to comfort her while he shot an angry look at Nangong Wuyue. “What did you say to her?”

“I did my best.” The resentment on the siren’s face was no lesser. “Let me tell you, her brain’s a mess. Basically, we were just communicating on the edge of logic. You can’t possibly expect a newborn to understand so many things. I’d be surprised if she even understands what a dad and a mom is.”

Hao Ren almost cried. “But, you can’t just let her think that her mom’s a pot, especially when she thinks I’m her dad! How are you going to correct her worldview when she grows up?”

Nangong Wuyue sighed. She turned and looked at Lily. “Keep your f*cking eyes open.”

“Like this?” Lily’s eyes were as big as tennis balls.

Nangong Wuyue then turned to Hao Ren. “Now you see? A worldview isn’t something that can be explained…”

“…..”

Lily stood by and looked on but, she could not wrap her brain around what was happening. She packed up and left the house.

Hao Ren and Nangong Wuyue tried to make things right but, after a long day, they gave up: Lil Pea was dead set on believing that she was born from that damn pot. She showed unusual affection towards it—the way she did with Hao Ren. Vivian realized she had to buy a new pot. The old one belonged to the little mermaid now.

After Nangong Wuyue filled the pot up with water, Hao Ren carefully placed Lil Pea inside it. The little thing seemed to enjoy swimming in the pot now. It was unlike her cautious and anxious manner earlier. The pot had given her a familiar sense of security. She had hatched in the pot so, she was right to feel secure in it.

The little one swam for a while before she began to cry for food. It was easy to tell what she wanted: a series of unsettling grunts followed by the beating of her tail in the water to lift her. Hao Ren quietly recorded her every behavior and expression as well as the timing. He then got into the kitchen and walked back out with a chopstick.

Chopsticks were the only thing the little mermaid ate and he needed time to verify other recipes.

Maybe she could eat vegetables? After all, this little mermaid ate plant fibre, and vegetables were full of fibre.

Hao Ren thought it would be a good idea. He dashed into the kitchen, pinched some celery and radish into small lumps and threw them into the water—he felt like he was feeding a fish instead of a child. The little mermaid was not interested in the debris: the veggie lumps gave off a funny smell. The little mermaid threw them back out of the water and splashed the water on Hao Ren’s face.

Apparently, this was another veggie-hater.

“This dad and his child is having fun time.” The MDT hovered in the air as he looked on. Then, it jabbed Hao Ren’s forehead and said, “Enough family time. Let’s get back to work. According to the schedule Madam Raven gave you, it’s now time to learn the basics of navigation and flight control. Now’s the time to start if you want to feel how it’s like to sit in the cockpit.”

Hao Ren was watching Lil Pea’s ingenuous table manners in amusement. He was startled when he heard what the MDT said. “Wait a minute, when did I get a new schedule?”

“Last night. Didn’t I tell you?” The MDT pulled up in front of him, projected a hologram which displayed a ton of learning materials. “Maybe you weren’t really paying attention. You were busy with your six-inch daughter. Listen, these are the additional materials. Madam Raven has given you the basics. If you can pass, you’ll be able to control the Petrachelys. When you get your class two licence, you’ll be able to fly solo. So, where would you like to start?”

Hao Ren stared at the rows of learning material in a daze; The Theory of Spacecraft Control, Basics of Navigation, The Theory of Energy, Basics of Star Charts, Artillery Overview, and all kinds of jargon he barely knew, and these were just in the table of contents!

“I—I have to learn all this stuff?” Hao Ren was wide-eyed. He heard that flying a spacecraft required some learning but, he never expected there to be so many materials and topics. It was nothing like he had imagined based on what he read from sci-fi novels. “Will I even understand these? I’ve been to university—”

“Of course you can. Your brain has been enhanced to a certain extent. It has the capacity for high-speed reading and writing. Your subconscious has an implant that’s capable of processing these data. If you’re not retarded, learning these stuff won’t be difficult. These materials are specifically tailored to your perspective and level of understanding. We shall start from the Grand unified Theory.” The MDT sounded flat and dead serious; when it came to business, more or less it acted like a proper personal digital assistant. “And to be frank, you’re not required to go through the basics, all you need to know is what order to give in what circumstance, and the reason why that particular order is given. Simply put, a qualified captain of a spacecraft is between a caveman, who only knows how to press buttons and a mechanic, who’s an expert in his field.”

Hao Ren thought about it for a while. Then, with a hopeful voice, he said, “Wait a second, don’t you have a high-tech way of doing this, like program implant where I can skip the learning process? Sort of like the XX system add-on in the brain; like in the novels.”

The MDT had a look of disdain. “We have the technology but, it’s not appropriate for your application. The injection-learning device is for logical data and reflective learning. It is widely used in new army barracks for minions, where part of the course would be injected without any dangerous side effects. However, it’s not applicable for spacecraft captains. It’ll only reduce your learning aptitude and brain autonomy; it’s not a sequelae per se but it’s the nature of this ‘learning’ method—it writes codes into your brain as if you’re a machine. Although it’s highly effective, you’ll end up useless.”

Hao Ren barely understood what he had heard. The MDT continued leisurely, “There are some loosely-controlled autonomous universes, where brain implants can be found in the black market. They are used by some syndicates and individuals with the ulterior motive of creating digital slaves. Their embedded system would dismantle the safety lock, and swap out a large part of the host’s cognitive abilities—it starts with the arithmetic ability then, the memory followed by the ability to think and lastly, you.”

Vivian listened attentively by the side. She curiously asked, “So, one would end up being a retard?”

“No, actually the opposite is true. The implanted system would make the host extremely intelligent, with high reflexes, long-lasting stamina, super memory, and precision thinking. It turns people into superhumans—but, the superhuman isn’t you. A highly assimilated individual won’t be aware of the fact that he or she has been displaced. The subject will still think that everything he or she does is out of free will—it’s the perfect kind of brainwash.

Hao Ren was drenched in cold sweat!

“You can have knowledge, skills, logical thinking capabilities, and memory implants but, you’ll end up living on conditional reflex and brain insertion. You won’t realize that every single part of yourself has been swapped out and replaced by a bunch of zeros and ones. This has been happening and sometimes, other agents are called in to clean up the mess.” The MDT jabbed Hao Ren’s forehead and continued, “So, it’s better to learn the hard way. Different skills require different learning methods, and different life forms have their own ways of learning. Let’s begin with Introduction to Warp Drive…”

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