Changes in Noobie
Changes in Noobie
Lily was not interested in the scroll. She howled happily and ran into the kitchen after which she gulped down lots of cold water. Once she quenched her thirst, she yelled at Vivian, "Battie, hurry up and cook! Why did you drag me along just to buy some vegetables? What did I owe you in my past life?"
"It's only 10:30 a.m. and you're already hungry? What did I owe you in my past life?" Vivian yelled back.
"You killed me in your past life… I mean, I was killed by you in my past life!"
"…Why is this girl only so quick-witted in such situations?" said Vivian.
Hao Ren looked at the two enemies doing their daily bickering. He smiled and said, "I've begun to decipher the second scroll."
Vivian immediately looked interested. She handed the basket to Nangong Wuyue, who was wriggling on the ground, mopping the floor. She approached Hao Ren and asked, "What did you find?"
Hao Ren pointed at the data projected by the MDT and explained, "I'm guessing these four scrolls record four important chapters of ancient history in the Plane of Dreams respectively because the records of the first and second scrolls are obviously segmented. The first scroll records the reign of the Mad Lord over the universe, which is also the most dangerous scroll: it is full of the names and deeds of evil gods, plus it took me nearly a week to read all of it. The second scroll records the history of the period after the goddess of creation defeated the Mad Lord. The scroll calls this period 'the idyllic age', and I just read about it."
Vivian looked at the data curiously. The materials were, in fact, the translated and put together version, still full of content on the Mad Lord. But as Raven 12345 said, the copied words had lost their danger, and anyone could read them safely.
"So you suspect that those ancestors were the denizens of the stars?" Vivian asked.
"It's just a guess. It could be something else. Anyway, it's an indigenous intelligent creature that existed before the birth of the guardian giants like Muru. In order to better suppress the Mad Lord, the goddess of creation redesigned and strengthened the cage. This time, the cage had three solid layers, ninety-nine heavy barriers, and a number of prison guards arranged in it. I'm curious about the fate of those prison guards."
"It's likely that they didn't meet a good end… After all, even the goddess fell. It's difficult to guess how many human prison guards could have survived." Vivian shook her head, turning her attention away from the materials and reminding Hao Ren, "Don't get too carried away by these things. Raven 12345 said, these things are evil, and the process of learning this knowledge is like taking drugs."
Hao Ren smiled and told her he would be more careful, but just then, a sudden noise traveled from the corner of the wall, interrupting their conversation.
The big cardboard box in the corner of the living room was pushed away and Noobie poked her head out of the rat hole. She carefully observed the surrounding environment and soon found that Hao Ren and Vivian were talking to each other, so the little one immediately ran towards them. She jumped onto the arm of Hao Ren's chair, bared her teeth and showed her claws as she made a threatening gesture at Hao Ren. "Ha... Hiss!"
Hao Ren pinned the little one's head down with one finger, took a saucer from the table, poured some water into it and put it on the chair's armrest.
The little one looked down, waved her arms and yelled at Hao Ren. Then she lowered her head and drank water.
"Have you found it?" Hao Ren asked Vivian as he looked down at the little one who was drinking the water seriously. "She's changed a little."
At that moment, Lily strolled out and heard Hao Ren's words. "Yes... she didn't drink water before," Lily said.
"Not that," Hao Ren said, waving his hand. "Have you noticed that she seems to be… much gentler?"
The little one licked the last bit of water, then grabbed the saucer and swung it at Hao Ren's face. "Hiss Ha!"
Lily was shocked. "You call that gentle?"
Hao Ren hurriedly caught the plate and pinned the little one onto the table. He shook his head and explained, "No, I mean… I think she's been a little obedient lately. Have you noticed that she seems to understand people?"
Vivian frowned at the little one and tried to say hello to her. "Can you understand me?"
The little one heard the sudden voice and quieted down for a moment. She looked up at Vivian and shook her head wildly.
Everyone was speechless.
"When did you notice this change in her?" Vivian turned serious at once. She had not really paid attention to these subtle changes in Noobie. Although she was concerned about her unexpected split, her interaction with Noobie was actually not as good as Hao Ren's, and the reason was very simple–the little one found Hao Ren to be the one with the best temper in the family, while the others would bully her. Hao Ren was the only person who would just laugh it off no matter what she did to him. So the little one used her confused brain to do some confusing calculations and decided that Hao Ren was her best target. So after a while, Hao Ren was the first to notice the change in the little one.
"Since we left that forest last time." Hao Ren nodded and said. "Strictly speaking, I think the change happened when we were still in that space. Do you remember? When we left that space, we found the little one staying quietly in the jar. When we got home, she slept all day and all night. But something was wrong with her when she woke up."
Then he let go of the little one. Once the little one was free, she let out a shrill cry and darted down the table into a mouse hole in the corner of the wall.
A moment later, the little one zipped out of the mouse hole again. She dragged the cardboard box beside her to block her "door". Before she got back into the hole, she darted a glance at Hao Ren. Although her eyes did not reveal any emotion, she was obviously angry.
Hao Ren, Vivian, and Lily stared at the scene. Noobie's actions earlier were full of a trait she had never possessed before: emotion. And it was pretty glaring.
The three of them had a discussion on the spot, and soon after she mopped the floor, Wuyue also joined in on the discussion. They put together a collection of the little one's most recent actions and behaviors they had seen, and quickly came to a conclusion.
"It's clear that she now understands human language and has obvious emotional responses," Hao Ren said while he touched his chin. "But her mind isn't completely developed yet. Her most complex emotional reactions to date are also extremely 'childish', and in many cases, she has no control over her actions. Lily mentioned earlier that the little one still throws magic arrows at the wall and bites wires every day even though she should know it doesn't make any sense–I think it shows a lack of self-control."
Nangong Wuyue frowned and said, "Now we know that there's a change. The question is, what caused her change."
"Let's suppose that her change is related to our previous experience in that space. What are all the suspicious things that could have affected her there?" Vivian was bending her fingers, counting them one by one. "The big enchantment built by the demon hunters, the scepter, and the four scrolls... All three of them are very powerful sources of energy, and I think all of them are possible."
"Well, I don't know. I didn't go with you, so I don't know the situation," Nangong Wuyue said while wiping the table.
Hao Ren recalled what they had experienced carefully, then he shook his head gently and said, "We overlooked a big factor."
"What factor?" Vivian asked.
"Your moonlight."
Everybody fell silent.
"Moonlight?" Vivian froze for a moment. She then raised her hand, pointing at herself and said, "You mean the crimson moon? That thing is supposed to make you crazier. I don't even know if it has a therapeutic effect."
"But didn't you say that the crimson moon you summoned the last time was different? Maybe that's the problem: your moonlight has changed, and so has the little evil spirit that split from you."
Vivian touched her chin and asked, "You have a plan?"
"Not really a plan, just an idea." Hao Ren nodded. "I want to see your crimson moon again and have a thorough examination of it."
Vivian did not show any hesitation or resistance because she now had a kind of inexplicable trust in Hao Ren. She felt that any plan he proposed would succeed. There was no basis for it. She just believed it.
However, she shook her head. "I don't mind, but I'm afraid I can't for the time being. Summoning the crimson moon is a pretty magic-consuming and energy-consuming ability. I think it'll be a while before I can do it again."
Hao Ren certainly understood that. In fact, the problem was not too urgent to him. It was just that he had been studying scrolls for the last few days. It was really boring, and he wanted to find something else to do…
Nevertheless, he would soon stop feeling that way anymore because the MDT brought him great news that afternoon.
A corresponding rift in the Plane of Dreams' Scarred Nebula had been found.