Chapter 133 The Missing Cat

The Nangong siblings sat on the sofa, lost in thought about their parents. It seemed impossible to find clues from the Wraith now. The Wraith's memories were bound in an energy field as chaotic fragments. Contacting it only allowed random access to vague, unclear glimpses. Even a child with "talent" like Anna couldn't see the details of the Wraith's memories, so probably no one could know where the Nangong parents were sent.

What's more, that Wraith had been shattered into pieces by Doudou's roar, and only a portion remained.

Hao Ren noticed the somber atmosphere around Vivian and the Nangong siblings and went over. "What's wrong?"

"It's about my parents," Nangong Wuyue sighed. "I thought there might be some hope this time... I didn't expect the Wraith to just be a chaotic natural phenomenon. The trail has gone cold again."

Hao Ren thought for a moment and retrieved a small apple crate from his dimensional pocket. It was the container that sealed the Wraith. Now it looked ordinary, seemingly empty, but tiny, strange sparks occasionally appeared inside, a phenomenon caused by the Wraith's rapid oscillation.

"Here's a partial sample... I wonder if we can analyze something from it."

"Just fragments," Vivian sighed. "The Wraith's memories are already fragmented and disordered. And you only grabbed some pieces... How much valuable information can there be in there?"

Before Hao Ren could say anything, the data terminal floated up from the armrest of the nearby sofa. "All of it."

Hao Ren and Vivian asked in unison, "Huh?"

"All of the Wraith's memories are stored here," the data terminal hovered over the box. "You still haven't correctly understood the Wraith's life form—you can't regard energy fields or spiritual entities as 'matter' in the ordinary sense. Don't think that grabbing some fragments means you only have 'snippets' of these electromagnetic waves. Unless the critical frequency is destroyed, every fragment of the Wraith contains all the information of the whole. Like an exponentially repeating mathematical model, every component is a template for the whole, and every detail stores the overall information that can be infinitely copied and expanded—this is the key to how the Wraith can expand from a small ball of white light to hundreds of square kilometers without loss. It is self-explanatory, hence having no physical limitations."

The data terminal's explanation was quite technical, but Vivian was, after all, someone who had conversed with great mathematicians throughout history, and she immediately understood what was happening. "Oh, oh, like Romanesco broccoli, a whole composed of countless similar parts?"

Hao Ren: "..." He felt that this vampire girl's thinking had completely revolved around the kitchen.

"The example is a bit strange, but it fits," the data terminal landed lightly on the apple crate. "The 'size' of the fragments only affects the 'energy level' of the entire Wraith. The information stored within will be weakened, but the amount of data will not be lost. As long as it's given enough external energy, it can completely recover to its full strength under Andre's castle without loss. It could even continue to grow if the Earth's energy environment was suitable. Of course, we don't need to do that. As long as we give it a little charge, we can try to read this strange electromagnetic wave."

The Nangong siblings didn't quite understand the data terminal's pile of technical terms, but they understood the last sentence, and their eyes lit up. "Then hurry up and start!"

"We just have an idea, but who knows how to read this," the data terminal poured some cold water to calm the siblings down. "This is the most peculiar 'life' I've ever seen. Even the Encyclopedia of Life Forms in the Imperial Database doesn't record this kind of spiritual entity... The Tanagursian sublimation technology and the First Born's soul realm have twisted out this strange structure. We need to design a complete reading process in the laboratory, and we have to be careful not to let this thing escape."

Hao Ren poked the data terminal's shell. "Are there any spare laboratories on the Petrified Turtle Rock?"

"The laboratories are all occupied, researching the replication of the First Born's seed, but some workstations can be freed up," the data terminal rolled along Hao Ren's arm to his shoulder. "Want to start a new research line?"

After receiving Hao Ren's permission, the data terminal immediately issued instructions to the Petrified Turtle Rock station in the Kuiper Belt. Although Hao Ren could keep the ship in his dimensional pocket for a long time, there were many research projects underway on the ship, and autonomous machines often needed to be sent from the ship on assignments to New Erim or Tanagus. So Hao Ren would send the ship to the Kuiper Belt station as soon as he returned.

The ship responded quickly after receiving the new orders. In the core module's laboratory, the biological tissue from the First Born's seed was being analyzed in an intense and orderly fashion. Several analysis platforms were filled with rapidly operating robotic arms and precision scanning devices. But after the new instructions were issued, the analysis equipment on some of the platforms detached from the platforms and moved to other locations. Some containers that had already cultivated strange flesh were temporarily sealed in safes by the busy autonomous machines in the laboratory. The research mainframe began to simulate some usable transfer reading equipment based on the data terminal's uploaded information about the Wraith's life characteristics. Soon, the Petrified Turtle Rock's onboard factory would also start running at full speed.

When Hao Ren next went to the ship, a brand new set of equipment would be waiting for him in the laboratory.

And now, he could only wait with the Nangong siblings.

"Wait a couple of days. There's no reading device in the world that can communicate with the Wraith. The Petrified Turtle Rock needs a development and manufacturing period," the data terminal told everyone to be patient, while also boasting, "You should be glad. Imperial technology warms the heart—the development mainframe on an inspector's ship is definitely better than the Tanagursian scientists. This is all the result of my excellent command."

Hao Ren said "Oh" and tapped the data terminal's shell. "What reward do you want?"

"I am a noble PDA, a pure PDA, a PDA that has transcended low-level interests. I was thinking..."

Before the data terminal could finish speaking, Hao Ren reached into his pocket and pulled out a sticker, pressing it onto the data terminal's shell. "Here, I picked this up from the ground while shopping the other day."

The data terminal shrieked and flew up. "You you you... What did you stick on my shell?! Tell me, is it Pleasant Goat or SpongeBob?! Could it be Rainbow Pony... Too cruel, you're too..."

Hao Ren held up a mirror in front of the data terminal. "Look for yourself."

The data terminal immediately quieted down. "Oh, it's just a nine-ninety-nine special... You should have said... Oh, the hell with it! Get this thing off me immediately!"

While Hao Ren was having a merry time with his data terminal, Lily suddenly ran down from upstairs, shouting, "Landlord, landlord! 'Roll' is gone!"

For various reasons, Lily is currently responsible for feeding the cats at home.

Of course, to show the rigorousness of the setting, here we additionally mention that "Roll" is responsible for feeding the fish at home.

Look how complete this family's ecological chain is.

"'Roll' went out?" Hao Ren raised an eyebrow. "Maybe it went for a walk. I saw it watching TV in my room at noon."

Vivian and Nangong Wuyue looked at Hao Ren with strange expressions. Vivian wanted to remind him, "You don't think it's a little weird that a cat runs to your room at a fixed time every day to turn on the TV, change channels, and lock onto the pet channel?"

Hao Ren thought for a moment, then realized something was wrong. "You're right... A cat's paws aren't suitable for pressing the remote control."

Vivian covered her face. "...That's not the point!"

She felt that this man had been with the aliens for too long, and now his worldview was going wrong.

Lily came down the stairs with cat food. "It shouldn't be a walk. It's usually at home waiting for food at this time. I understand."

Hao Ren thought for a long time, and connecting it to "Roll"'s strange behavior in recent days, his almost abandoned "normal person consciousness" finally revived. He also felt that the cat seemed to be a little strange recently.