The Record of Unusual Creatures
chapter-268

Chapter 268: So, This Is Your New Home

So, you have arrived in a new world. First, you need to fell some trees to make a work bench… Uhhh, no, you need to first set up a base of operations.

The first batch of immigrants were specifically picked, aside from some of their family members, most of them were skilled workers needed to build an outpost. Under a unified command, the workers quickly unloaded the various necessities from the ship’s cargo hold. Among them were energy supplies, lighting, communication tools and the likes. The wide beach front was soon a hive of activity as the workers scurried about to build a base camp before dusk. The plan was to get all the necessary equipment as well as machines up and running by dusk to prepare for the massive construction work that was slated to commence the next day. Everything that went on that day was just the prelude of things to come.

Hao Ren had thought of going back to the ships waiting in orbit for a second trip. Before that however, he decided to see what sort of help was needed planetside. Given Petraychelys’ passenger capacity, it was probably for the better.

“We are setting up the Magical Resonance Stations first. That will solve the need for lighting and warmth,” Hilda said as she pointed towards the beach. “Over there, we are setting up a series of camps, enough to last the night. We can start bringing in the eco-domes from orbit tomorrow.”

The planet was suitable for habitation and had plenty of undeveloped land. Nonetheless, for a planet to support a billion new inhabitants within a short span of time in their normal living conditions was frankly unrealistic. There would be a transition period that the Aerymian elves needed to go through. At present, there were about 11 floating islands, which had been brought from their old home in orbit and they were running as per normal. These islands would be brought down the next day and placed onto the wide ocean around the planet. This was to ease the burden of those living on land.

While it may be less than desirable to continue living in those old eco-domes after the arduos journey to a new planet, these eco-domes played an important role during their transitional period. Peatopia was after all nothing but ancient jungles and mountains. There were not many areas that could be directly lived on.

Of course, the 11 eco-domes ( 10 of which have only limited habitable space) could only solve the living space issues for part of the populace while the rest would need to explore and develop the wild land. The domes would serve as an important rally point in this wild land. Thankfully, the pioneering group were well prepared to make the best of what they had, and such trials would not stop them.

Preparations and calculations had already been made for the upcoming land above the planet’s oceans, where the islands would be placed. While it could have possibly affected the total mass of the planet and change certain aspects of the ocean’s weather, it was within acceptable parameters.

The plan was as thus: One part of the elves would be staying in the domes while another part would be outside, developing the land and building new cities. These two groups would be changing their roles at a fixed interval. This allowed the elves in the domes to adapt to the outside enviroment at a faster pace, while ensuring that the pioneering group had a chance to rest and recuperate. The planet was foreign to the Aerymians from its microbes to minerals. This was a cause for concern, especially when it came to diseases. A primordial planet and a new group of settlers; it would take a good while before both sides could co-exist.

A group of elven magitechs were busy setting up the foundation on a high ground beyond the enroaching sea. The white-robed spellcasters floated gracefully up in the air as they went about their work. Letting their primordial energy run wild and very quickly, the rocks around the area quickly moulded themselves into a solid foundation. The ground was solidified to prevent a collapse. Not long after, a huge dome-like, alloy framework was floated over into the newly built foundation, and set upon it. Once done, some workers placed a metre-long, silver spire on the top of the dome. After connecting the tubes, which contained some kind of fluid to the device, the latter started humming. The operator in front of the tower stared intently at the control display, and after a while, he let out a joyous yelp. “There’s a signal! There’s a signal now!”

So, it was a communication device.

“Magic is really something.” Hao Ren was amazed. “Way more reliable than a couple of LanXiangs”

Hilda looked at Hao Ren curiously. “What is a LanXiang?

Hao Ren laughed drily without explaining its meaning as he gave orders to some of the droids near him.

He released all of the droids that were on standby in the Petrachelys’ hold to help the elves. The tentacled droids were the perfect assistants for the job, and a simple calibration was all they needed before they could operate the elven magitech equipment. The squid droids went about their duties on the beach in droves, using their nimble tentacles to move heavy objects around or to assemble intricate devices. These droids were extremely strong yet docile, and they were extremely intelligent. While the elves were initially taken aback by the tentacled monsters, they quickly got used to their presence. They were cooperating almost seamlessly.

Hilda looked up towards the evening sky. There was still time before the sun would set, but it was getting darker by the moment. Beyond the horizon, there were faint shadows that glimmered across the planet’s skyline as cargo shuttles from the migrant fleet darted in and out of the atmosphere. An open field not too far away from the beach had been turned into a temporary landing zone.The area was slowly getting crowded because personnel and materials were being sent continuously from the orbit. Some of them had deployed camps near the landing zone, while the rest milled towards the beachfront to help with the work there. The base camp was already taking shape. The simple, collapsible living quarters and tents in the area would be where the elves pass the night in their new home.

Among the first batch that landed were a company of professional soldiers. Their duty was to neutralise any danger the new planet may have posed alongside guard duty. The soldiers were dispersed all along the boundaries of the beach and jungle, where they set up a line of grey, metal pillars. As the pillars were activated, they formed a force field to prevent any surprise incursions by the local fauna. Gigantic, magical resonance devices were set up in selected points, with energy tubes snaking all across the beach to power up the equipment scattered around the area. It was a messy scene. Night was falling and there was still work to be done.

Y’zaks had circled the camp and realised that his brute strength was of little help to the ongoing work. He then went up to one of the officers in charge to offer his help. “Is there anything I can help with? Flattening a forest, razing hills, I can do those…”

Hao Ren quickly pulled the demon aside as he heard his offer. “Uh… Not everything needs to be solved by brute force. It’s already difficult enough to setup a new home, you don’t have to blow a new crater on it…”

Y’zaks did not seem to get the message and continued to explain, “It’s not like Meteor is the only spell in my repertoire. I’m just saying that if they need more space to live in, I can just release a few blasts of Eruption to flatten the whole forest. Once the lava has cools down, the plain will be very fertile…”

Hao Ren decided there and then that Y’zaks was strictly forbidden from participating in any construction work. The demon’s sense of a “living enviroment” was just too bizzare.

By then, Vivian and Lily had also returned from the forest. They were each lugging a bag much larger than themselves. From a distance, Lily yelled at the top of her lungs. “There’s food here! There’s plenty of fruits in the jungle!”

Vivian pulled the bag open. There was a myriad of oddly-shaped and coloured fruits in the bag. Hao Ren did not know where or how these two went about collecting such a huge amount of fruits. Lily grabbed a purplish fruit and started to much on it. She also shoved one into Hao Ren’s hand. “Mr. Landlord, try it! It’s pretty good!”

“Uhhh…Slow down there, it could be poisonous.”

Lily pointed towards Vivian. “No worries, Battie tested it already. There’s no poison!”

Vivian gave Lily an angry sideways glance. “Hmph! To think that you would use my bats to test for poison! What if they died from poisoning? Will you compensate me?!”

“Sure! Only a few droplets no? I have plenty!”

“…”

The two superwomen’s foray into the jungle had attracted a large crowd of elves and some of them realised something: They would be able to eat natural food from then on.

A planet with natural air, land and water, with the occasional sea breeze and the brushing of trees; on top of that, there were even several kinds of fruits, which could be plucked from the forest. Things that were so commonplace for Hao Ren were a revelation for the elves and their excited reaction was a proof of that.

The MDT suddenly flew out of Hao Ren’s pocket and floated in front of him. “Say… you may want to meet the queen over there to discuss this. The planet needs a new name after all.”

Hao Ren was stunned. “A new name? Isn’t this planet called Peatopia?”

The MDT struck Hao Ren on the head as it roared. “That’s a f*cking nickname. If you are okay with the Aerymians being called Peatopians from now on, by all means I’ll set up a file for that…”

“F*ck it, no! I’ll talk to her about it!”