Anomalous Creatures

Kevin highly doubted whether Raven 12345 was truly a weirdo from the Empire's Temporal Administration Bureau. He found it extremely hard to believe that such an advanced civilization could be made up of such unreliable individuals. Unfortunately, he hadn't had the chance to encounter other members of the Temporal Administration Bureau or high-ranking officials from the Xiring Empire yet: Raven 12345 had said that this remote place was underdeveloped and lacked administrative significance, so it was possible that no one had visited for years...

But regardless, Kevin no longer doubted Raven 12345's identity or the authenticity of that advanced civilization. Not to mention the grand mansion located in another dimension, and the high-end, luxurious, and sophisticated facilities inside, which were absolutely beyond human creation! For instance, the room he was currently in was known as the "New Employee Induction and Enhancement Center"... It looked like something out of a science fiction movie.

Raven led Kevin through the mansion, twisting and turning for what felt like forever. They passed by many strange rooms filled with crystals or peculiar devices. Kevin, like a country bumpkin, gaped in awe until the end, when he almost wondered if this mansion had an end at all. That's when Raven led him into a hall that stood out from the rest.

This hall was filled with a technological aura, shaped like a regular hexagon. Each wall shimmered with a metallic silver sheen, and blue-white light flowed across it like veins pulsing slowly. The hall was extremely high, with numerous glowing crystals suspended from the ceiling, filling the entire room with a shallow blue glow. Along the walls of the hall, Kevin saw many confusing and peculiar devices. They looked like some kind of control consoles, but there were no buttons or joysticks. Above each "console" hovered a holographic image, and the only possible control component of the "console" itself was a hexagonal crystal panel—completely different from Earth's machinery.

"This is the Enhancement Center, a compact version," Raven 12345 pointed at the equipment in the hall, a proud smile on her face. "In the early days, inspectors had to undergo unified enhancement and evaluations in the Empire's capital, also known as Shadow City. At that time, the Temporal Administration Bureau was still small, and there weren't many affairs in the Macro World, so they could manage. But now, it's different. The evaluations, initial training, and enhancement of new inspectors have been delegated to various nodes and even fundamental worlds. This place is rather remote, and the nearest void node requires several jumps to reach. So, I simply applied for this place in my own home. By the way, I initially wanted to apply for magical energy devices; I'm really not adept at these technological gadgets... But I made a mistake when writing the report..."

Kevin listened in a daze. Raven 12345 had a habit of talking to herself. Once she started speaking, she didn't care if the audience could understand. Now, Kevin was confused about all kinds of common sense regarding the Temporal Administration Bureau. This white-haired witch, Raven, was babbling on about things that no one could comprehend!

"What you said about that enhancement... What exactly is it?" Kevin had managed to stay somewhat alert despite being bombarded with a ton of information. The atmosphere of this place reminded him of those scientific research centers that studied slicing and dicing all day, and the Xiring Empire still seemed like an "alien group" to him (after all, he had been an atheist for over twenty years, and the word "god" was far less comprehensible to him than aliens). Imagine this: an Earthling falling into an alien biochemical lab and having to undergo enhancement... If Hollywood directors handled this plot without a screen full of blood, they would have ruined the genre!

The guy who happily agreed to undergo physical enhancement by aliens obviously didn't have Kevin's foresight. Of course, if you insist on calling Kevin a coward, there's nothing I can do about it...

"It's just a regular physical adjustment. Don't worry, it won't make you uncomfortable, and it won't harm you," Raven 12345 pushed Kevin towards the center of the hall. "Hundreds of new inspectors undergo enhancement every day, and there has never been an accident. Just relax! Our standards are always human-centered... Stand here and don't move! I'll bring up the adjustment chamber."

Kevin stood trembling in his place and watched as Raven waved her hand in the air a few times. The ground beneath his feet trembled slightly, and then a technologically advanced device slowly rose from a rectangular opening in the floor.

It was a silver-white metal box over two meters long, roughly rectangular in shape, wider at one end and narrower at the other. It was beautifully ornate, with a lid on top, and a cross made of crystals on the lid...

The lid of the metal box slowly slid open, and Kevin looked more and more puzzled. "...Why do I feel like I've seen this before?"

Raven 12345 immediately widened her eyes. "How could that be! This is the latest model of the universal adjustment and enhancement integrated chamber. It was just unpacked a couple of days ago. Where could you have seen it before?"

After thinking for a moment, Kevin slapped his forehead and exclaimed, "I remember now! The shape of this thing is a bloody coffin!"

Raven 12345 slapped Kevin on the shoulder. "Did you forget the employee handbook? No swearing in front of the boss! If you must swear, wait until the boss is done talking first!"

Kevin leaned his shoulder back and tried to pull away. "Are you sure you want me to lie in this box? Let me tell you, I'm a man of principles. The shape of this thing is creepy enough... Hey, don't push me! I'm definitely not going in! Don't think it's not a coffin just because you plated it with silver! There's even a cross on it, and you..."

Raven 12345 picked Kevin up with one hand and threw him into the "coffin." "Stop being such a wuss, big guy! Get in there!"

Kevin couldn't resist the crazy white-haired witch at all. After a spinning sensation, he found himself lying in the big box. At the same time, a transparent barrier extended from the walls of the metal box, completely trapping him inside.

Kevin had to resign himself to his fate, but after waiting for a while, he didn't see any further movement. He craned his neck to look beside him and found Raven 12345 engrossed in a data terminal. He pounded on the walls of the metal box. "And then? What's next?"

Raven 12345 didn't even lift her head. "Don't shout. I'm looking for the manual... Why do technological things have to be so complicated? Where the hell is the switch on this thing?"

Kevin: "... Damn it! I quit! I breach the contract! I withdraw! You're totally unreliable! I..."

"Oh, found it!" Raven 12345 slapped somewhere near the "coffin". Kevin's loud protests abruptly ceased. The last thing he saw was a blinding white light piercing through his retina.

Darkness, cold silence, boundless chaos. Space seemed to have lost meaning. Kevin felt his soul detach from his body in that instant, drifting in an ethereal and unnameable dimension. He tried to find even a hint of familiar senses, but found nothing. No sound, no light, no temperature, no touch. His spirit was confined in a small bottle, drifting lonely...

Well, probably for about ten seconds. Then Kevin heard a "bang" beside his ear. Someone grabbed his arm and pulled him up. His vision began to gradually return.

The light and lines in his field of vision coalesced into a figure - Raven 12345's pretty face and her signature silver hair. She patted Kevin's shoulder and looked happy. "Alright, done."

Kevin jumped up suddenly and realized he was still standing in the coffin-shaped metal box. He almost lost his balance and fell. He steadied himself and carefully jumped to the ground. "Is that it? It felt like only a short while!"

"Yeah, twelve seconds," Raven 12345 waved the data terminal in her hand. "It's the same as written in the manual: Press the switch, select the idiot mode, wait for twelve seconds, hear a 'ding' sound, the red light turns on, the hatch opens automatically, and then take the user out. But you jumped out yourself."

"Is this thing a microwave?!"

Raven 12345 shrugged. "Anyway, the usage is similar. Isn't the process of idiot-proof devices all the same?"

Kevin was stunned by the calmness and audacity of the white-haired witch. Finally, he could only comfort himself: At least there was no accident, and all his parts seemed to be still there.

Then he clenched his fists, wanting to check if the alien enhancement technology was reliable and if he had really become a master of the snowy white clothes, coming and going like the wind. After checking, he was surprised to find...