Hao Ren was hoping that Raven 12345 would stay and help him resettle the planet so that he could take it easy. This thought lingered in his mind for a while before he thought better of it.

Everyone had his or her job to do—he understood it.

Raven 12345 looked at Hao Ren with a subtle smile and waited for his response. She was surprised to find that he did not badger her. "Hmm, so you accept the arrangement, eh?"

"It's my job," Hao Ren replied with a smile. "And it's not something that I can't do myself. If I need crutches in every single job I do, the end of the universe won't be far."

Raven 12345 squinted, and for the first time, she nodded to Hao Ren with a somber expression on her face. "Well, you've grown up," she said, patting Hao Ren on the shoulder gently.

She turned and looked at the starry sky in the distance. "All right, I'll be frank with you. I didn't come just to help you with this trifling matter; I want to show you something. It's about the Scarred Nebula. Follow me."

Before he knew it, Hao Ren found himself on the outside of the s.p.a.cecraft. Raven 12345 was standing beside him, snapping her fingers in the cosmic vacuum.

Sound did not travel in a vacuum, but Hao Ren could still hear the crispy clicking sound of Raven 12345's fingers. Immediately, the starry sky pulled away from him. As his perspective rose and widened, an incredible sense of enlightenment rose within him. It was a familiar experience; he remembered that Raven 12345 had brought him on a tour of the stars before and given him an unforgettable moment of insight.

"Look over there." Raven 12345 pointed into the distance. "That's the Scarred Nebula. The planet Inferno and your s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p are in that small, inconspicuous spot in the galaxy; it's a safe place."

The panoramic view of the Scarred Nebula had Hao Ren's eyes out on stalks.

The majestic view of the cosmic sky was always awe-inspiring. The bright nebulae, ominous cosmic clouds, and the glowing strips, which looked like a piece of abstract art, were a visual treat. No brushstrokes of a human artist could ever create such magnificence. The Scarred Nebula, dark purple and red with a radiant ray spread outwards in all directions. It was probably the most impressive of all nebulae. The edge of the nebula was bright while it was darker towards the center. There were crack lines in the bright rays akin to scars.

Hao Ren rubbed his eyes to clear his vision, but it was not an illusion; the crack lines were scars, huge scars!

It seemed like s.p.a.ce had collapsed inwards at the center where there was light-bending phenomenon around the dark strips. At the center of the nebula, a jet of material was streaming out and creating a colorful beam of light. It was a ma.s.sive wound and a permanent hole in the universe, where matter was born and annihilated constantly. Science was unable to explain it. It also looked like a huge bathtub with a jagged hole at the bottom. A dazzling, swirling vortex of foam and water gushed out of it.

Hao Ren had seen black holes before. He once flew by some black holes during his explorations. The bright accretion disk and light, which Hao Ren saw around the other black holes back then, were utterly different from that of the Scarred Nebula. He was sure that this was another cosmic phenomenon. The activity around the dark scar was not a simple phenomenon of a black hole swallowing matters and ejecting particles. He was too curious now. "What's that?" he asked.

"A little vibration of the Wall of Reality," Raven 12345 said softly. "It happened 2,600 years ago, and the shock created a 7.7-lightyear breach, which you're looking at now. The extent of destruction was much wider than the size of the breach. Look around; do you see anything?"

Hao Ren looked around. Seeing through the nebula was impossible with the naked eye, but with his temporarily elevated eyesight, Hao Ren found some clues. "It's empty. A nebula shouldn't be so empty."

"Yes, it's empty because everything there was 'deleted.'" Raven 12345 nodded slightly. "There was a galaxy almost as big as the Milky Way, and two civilizations resided in it. The vibration of the Wall of Reality caused a ma.s.sive breach, which opened a direct connection to the Plane of Dreams. The physical laws of the two universes clashed, resulting in data that did not conform to the laws being deleted en bloc. In other words, the entire galaxy was reformatted. I suppose you know this; imagine that in one universe, the rule is one plus one equals two, while in another universe, there's no such rule; what will happen when the two universes overlap?"

"The conflicting rules will cancel out each other," Hao Ren replied. He had discussed the topic with MDT before, so he knew the answer.

"You're right. It will zero out." Raven 12345 nodded a little. "Fortunately, I saved the civilization spheres here and kept the breach from deteriorating so that it wouldn't tear up the universe altogether. In the years that followed, the sovereign hub has been providing tremendous computing support to the region. The breach stabilized and became the most special place in the universe—the Compatible Zone."

"The Compatible Zone?" Something crossed Hao Ren's mind.

"Yes, as the Wall of Reality stabilized, it became a buffer zone between the Plane of Dreams and the Surface World so that the two universes wouldn't collide. However, just like wrapping insulation tape over an exposed cable that causes short-circuits, the buffer zone is just a makes.h.i.+ft solution." Raven 12345 shook her head gently. "Anyway, it has stabilized and can support life."

Hao Ren's brows were pulled together. "What's the jet of material in the dark area about?"

"Genesis and doomsday." Raven 12345 smiled. "I'm not joking. It's a place of creation and destruction. This dark area is still a dangerous place because the collision of the two universes is causing an information leak. It's constantly creating new world orders and cosmic material, then annihilating them almost instantaneously."

"That's why you chose to settle planet Inferno here..." Hao Ren finally understood it. "Because this place in itself is a buffer zone. The s.p.a.ce debris will face less rejection from the Plane of Dreams."

"Hmm, this planet is a hot potato. Except here, no matter where you place it, no one's going to check their temporary residence permit," Raven 12345 said.

Hao Ren nodded slowly, but still felt a little uneasy. "Is this place safe?" he asked.

"Yes, it is. I guarantee that." Raven 12345's words sounded believable. "This is the most 'special zone' in the entire universe. Most civilizations avoid this region of disaster like the plague. Even though there's nothing here, they're still afraid that it'll bring them bad luck. All other private vessels that you know will probably be unwilling to come here, except the profiteers from the Fairy Mining Conglomerate. They have the technology; even if they don't, they will still come for the money. This planet will be registered as a refugee planet. They may not be able to develop into their interstellar era the usual way, so you'll have to give them minimum guidance and a.s.sistance."

"All right, I know what to do. When will it be?"

Raven 12345 counted with her fingers and thought for a moment. "Probably 8,000 years from now. Remind me when the time comes—just in case I forget."

"Seriously?" Hao Ren thought to himself.

Eight thousand years! Could the G.o.ddess not take care of that by herself for G.o.d's sake?"