Checking Dou Dou’s health was just a matter of convenience. The medical bay was not far from the research lab, and its multi-functional medical pod could handle medical examinations for any life form. The only slight issue was Dou Dou's size… but they would have to make do. There were no one-foot-long miniature coffins here.
Hao Ren carried his fish daughter, leading his grand entourage to the medical bay. On the way, Dou Dou hiccupped and teleported once, further reinforcing everyone's determination to get her checked out quickly. The four ascetics followed behind, though they didn’t quite understand what this group of people was doing. However, they could tell that the one-foot-long, fish-like little girl was affected by the sacred artifact and in some kind of trouble, so they were particularly concerned. The medical bay wasn't a top-secret area, so Hao Ren didn't stop them from coming along.
Before starting the physical examination, the group tested and summarized the pattern of Dou Dou’s chaotic teleportation, reaching several conclusions: First, Dou Dou's teleportation was related to her hiccups. The principle was unknown, but as long as she hiccupped, she would teleport. Second, the direction and distance of each teleportation depended on where Dou Dou was looking when she hiccupped, with an unknown distance limit. Finally, and most importantly, Dou Dou's teleportation couldn't penetrate solid objects. If there was something in her teleportation path, she would splat right against it. Any obstacle had this effect, such as the walls of the room and Izhaks' head. The third point was the most reassuring: newcomers practicing teleportation abilities were most afraid of teleporting into other objects. In the Dream Realm, dozens of novice mages died in such accidents every year. But now it seemed Dou Dou didn't have to worry about that. Her ability came from that strange Origin Artifact, which must have installed a ready-made safety lock when it imbued her with the power.
Then, the data terminal activated the nearest medical pod. Hao Ren carefully placed Dou Dou inside. The little one didn’t know what was happening, and looked around at the unfamiliar equipment with curiosity and nervousness. When she realized Hao Ren was about to let go, she called out softly and slapped the bottom of the medical pod with her tail, looking unhappy. Hao Ren had to quickly reassure her, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, we're just taking your picture, you'll just sleep for a little while, Daddy will be waiting right here..."
Dou Dou could fully understand human speech by now, and finally calmed down. She looked curiously at the glittering crystal panels around her, and began to hop and skip around in the medical pod. Nangong Wuyue couldn't help but mutter, "Do you think this medical pod is a little too big for her?"
The one-foot-long little mermaid could even run laps in the medical pod. If you converted it to per capita housing, this large coffin was practically a hall for Dou Dou, making it look quite amusing. The data terminal, however, continued to operate the equipment with a straight face, "It doesn't matter. You could put a mosquito in there and it would still work."
The medical pod slowly closed. Hao Ren had been worried that Dou Dou would suddenly hiccup again and fly out before the lid closed, but thankfully, the little one fell asleep in seconds. A few seconds later, a series of scan results began to appear on the terminal connected to the medical pod. The data terminal entered the little mermaid's original body records and compared them with the scan results, while also activating the deduction mode to simulate whether Dou Dou's current physical condition would have any adverse consequences if it continued to develop. Everyone present except the data terminal were laymen in this field, so they could only watch nervously from the sidelines.
Nangong Wuyue looked at Dou Dou's bone scan. The little one was sleeping in the "coffin," her body curled up like a comma. The most striking thing on the image was the row of fish bones. The siren girl studied it for a while and then stroked her chin thoughtfully, "So she really has bones… do I have bones?"
Hao Ren glanced at Nangong Wuyue with a cold sweat, wondering how this girl was still hung up on the fish bone issue after so many days!
"Looks like there are no problems, at least no health problems," the data terminal finally said after studying it for a while, offering a reassuring conclusion. "No diseases, no disasters, and no tissue deterioration. However, it looks like her body has undergone some benign mutations. She looks stronger than before, and is producing some harmless new hormones… it should be an adaptive change to the previous accident."
Nangong Wuyue recalled what Raven 12345 had said before: Dou Dou came from a harsh planet where their sun had been unstable for tens of thousands of years, and the cosmic rays were a mess. The violently fluctuating living environment led to this mermaid race having super strong vitality and adaptability…
Now it seemed that Dou Dou inherited the excellent talents of her race. Regardless of whether the reactants of the Origin Artifact were harmful to ordinary races, it didn't cause any damage to Dou Dou – instead, it even strengthened the little one's body.
But Hao Ren was still worried, "Then what's with her hiccupping and teleporting?"
"Some kind of magic imprint," the data terminal floated up and down. "Perhaps the innate skills of demon hunters were originally instilled so directly. Dou Dou's mermaid race is a race with high magic affinity, but no one can teach her. However, this time she has mastered some supernatural powers through direct infusion. The principle behind this still needs to be analyzed. This unit believes that even the Origin Artifact must operate according to objective laws. This infusion process may be related to Dou Dou's brain structure, or even higher, to the soul – the last civilization of the Dream Realm should have had the ability to study the secrets of the soul."
As Dou Dou’s nanny, Nangong Wuyue only cared about whether the little one was sick, and was relieved to hear that she was healthy. She breathed a sigh of relief, "Anyway, it's good that there's no danger… but what we want to know is, what does teleportation have to do with hiccups?"
The data terminal emitted a series of short comedic sound effects, "Some people turn into huskies when they eat spicy sticks – what does a husky have to do with spicy sticks?"
Lily's ears perked up immediately, "Just say it, don't drag me into it, and some people can super-evolve by eating spinach…"
Vivian glanced at Lily, "Do you really think turning into a husky is super-evolution… and have you ever seen a superhero who transforms with spicy sticks?"
Then the two of them went to bicker on the side as usual. Today's bickering topic was the dialectical relationship between spicy sticks and superheroes, and why a larger tail was a sign of super-evolution – anyway, no one knew how Lily dragged it back to the tail. But spicy sticks didn't help explain what was happening to Dou Dou. Hao Ren and Nangong Wuyue discussed it for a long time, and could only tentatively assume that Dou Dou's hiccupping and teleporting was a strange conditioned reflex…
"Now she only has the teleportation ability of a demon hunter, but if this unit is not mistaken, Dou Dou will slowly develop other 'demon hunter-like' phenomena in the future, such as her blood being able to be used for exorcism, being able to sense the aura of aliens, and suddenly being able to understand Leta runes," the data terminal speculated. "It is recommended to pay more attention in the future."
Hao Ren suddenly thought of a very troublesome thing, "Wait! If that's the case… her abilities can't be controlled! None of us know how demon hunters are trained!"
Izhaks looked down at Nangong Wuyue, "Then we need to find a teacher. Can you contact your brother?"
Nangong Wuyue shook her head, "I'll have to wait until he settles down next time. He's wandering around the world all day long. He'll only contact me when he finds a temporary foothold."
Hao Ren was very puzzled, "What era is this? Can't your brother buy a phone?"
Nangong Wuyue spread her hands, "He'll have to wait until he settles down before he turns it on. Sometimes demon hunters will lurk in haunted places like ancient castles for several months in a row. If you're crouching in the lair of demons and ghosts and suddenly get a phone call, wouldn't that be suicide? And more importantly, the places where demon hunters work basically have no signal…"
Hao Ren clicked his tongue, thinking that there were quite a few practical problems. It seemed that Nangong Sanba couldn't be relied on for the time being. What should be done about Dou Dou's problem before that?
The data terminal gave a suggestion after thinking for a long time, "Later, when Dou Dou comes out, this unit will play a loud sound to scare her."
Hao Ren was very curious, "That way she won't teleport randomly?"
"No, that way she won't hiccup."
Hao Ren: "…"
Although it was a bad idea, it was better than no idea at all, so everyone decided to do it.
When Dou Dou came out of the medical pod, she was indeed startled by the data terminal suddenly playing the theme from "The Destiny" at a high volume. Although the little one immediately giggled again, at least she finally stopped hiccupping. Now Hao Ren only hoped that the other abilities that the little mermaid would develop in the future wouldn't be triggered by some inexplicable conditioned reflex like teleportation. Before finding a training method, it would be best to suppress the little one's abilities if possible. He also held the little one and seriously educated her for a long time, "Remember, try to hold back your hiccups in the future. If you can't hold it back, hiccup in a safe place..."
Fortunately, Dou Dou's situation was just a small episode with no real danger. After this incident, Hao Ren could finally go to the Dream Realm with peace of mind.