After meeting the veteran officer named Demos, Kevin finally believed what Raven 12345 had said to him: "Even if you die, I can bring you back to serve me again."
His immediate superior truly was a god!
The group politely declined Demos's invitation to enjoy some "exotic food" on the space station. Kevin, anxious to get home and settle his hot egg, teleported directly home, while Raven 12345 went straight back to her quarters. Upon entering the house, Kevin couldn't help but let out a long sigh: This trip to an alien planet and a space station—for most people, any one of these would be enough to brag about for the rest of their lives. He was still dazed and unreal, and needed to go back home to collect his thoughts.
"Gun" was napping on the armrest of the sofa. Seeing its owner return, it lazily raised its tail and twitched, "I understand," acting as if it were the boss of the family. Kevin wandered up and down the stairs carrying the strange egg but couldn't find anyone. Feeling a little strange, he asked, "Hey, Vivian and Lily are out?"
Nangong Wuyue and Y'zaks had returned to their rooms to store their luggage. They arrived in the living room just in time to hear Kevin's words. The siren girl searched the living room and found a note under the large dresser. She lifted it up and pulled it out. "Oh, it's Lily's note. They heard from Raven 12345 that we'd be back today, so they went out to buy groceries together."
Kevin stared at the dresser in astonishment. "...Why would they put the note under that thing?"
"Who knows? Maybe they were just strong enough to find something sturdy to hold it down," Nangong Wuyue said, making a seemingly plausible assumption. (The real reason, however, was that Lily was a bit silly.) She yawned. "I'm so sleepy. I'm going back to bed." Kevin waved at the siren, holding the egg, and continued to worry, "Where should I put this thing?"
He looked at the large wardrobe. Putting it on the top was a threat, fearing it would fall. Putting it inside was also a concern, fearing someone might accidentally drop it while taking something out. Then he looked around his house, feeling like there wasn't a suitable, secure place. A drawer seemed a bit awkward for such a large egg. Placing it on the table as a work of art...that felt a bit too unrefined. After much deliberation, he decided the small storage area in the basement seemed like a good place. It wouldn't be tampered with there, so it should be safe. But before he could take any action, Y'zaks reminded him, "This egg will hatch."
Kevin's thoughts were in agreement. Raven 12345 had said the egg was still alive. It wouldn't be surprising if a little mermaid emerged from it. He absolutely couldn't leave it in a corner or some enclosed place, as it could easily cause an accident. He also couldn't leave it somewhere easily forgotten. What if he accidentally forgot about it, and the little mermaid hatched and starved to death? "The goddess said to find it somewhere near water. Mermaids need moisture around them after they hatch." Y'zaks pulled out a small notebook where Raven 12345 had written down some "Instructions for Hatching Eggs" for Kevin. "It's best to have a pool nearby. The mermaid will jump in after it hatches. Don't place it near anything poisonous. Newly hatched mermaids are very curious and will bite anything..."
"...You must be a good parent." Kevin looked at Y'zaks in astonishment.
"Haha, I've taken care of children before, but I'm definitely not a good father." A strange expression flashed across Y'zaks' face. "Let's not talk about that. Let's find a suitable place for this egg first."
Kevin nodded and carried the egg to the kitchen. He had originally wanted to place it next to the sink, but then he thought it wasn't a good idea: What if Vivian accidentally scrambled the egg while cooking? So he carried the egg back to the water room, filled a basin with water, and doused it in it. Only then did he feel at ease: there was plenty of water here, and the ground was flat. He didn't have to worry about the little mermaid running around and falling after hatching. Plus, the water room was used every day, so the egg would be immediately visible once it hatched. It couldn't be a more suitable place!
After placing his precious egg, Kevin returned to the living room and pondered what he had forgotten. It was then that he suddenly realized what he had forgotten. He slapped his forehead: "Shit! I forgot to ask about something!"
"What's wrong?" Y'zaks, who hadn't even changed his clothes and seemed about to leave, turned his head curiously and asked. "What I saw in the dream plane! I met Raven once, and I forgot to ask!" Kevin frantically grabbed his data terminal and prepared to teleport over, only to notice Y'zaks looking like he was about to leave. "You want to go out?"
"It's boring staying home, and I'm not tired after just this short trip," Y'zaks said with a simple smile. "I'm going out for a walk."
Kevin was surprised by the great demon's drive, wanting to go for a stroll after just returning from a journey of over 800 light years. But since it was his own business, he nodded. "Then go ahead. Remember to come back for dinner tonight. Vivian will definitely be cooking something special tonight."
With that, Kevin activated the teleport function on his data terminal. After a moment of trance, he arrived in Raven 12345's courtyard. Raven 12345 was carrying her silver machete as she headed towards the garden, apparently intending to tend to the plants. She was startled when she saw Kevin. "Hey, why are you here so soon? Still thinking of going on a business trip?"
"No, I need to consult you about something," Kevin quickly waved his hand. "It's about the Dream Plane."
Seeing Kevin's serious expression, Raven dropped her joking and walked over to the tea table in the garden. "Come, sit here and talk."
Kevin and Raven 12345 sat down at the exquisite round tea table. Arcane servants appeared from nowhere, offering tea and snacks. Kevin gathered his thoughts and slowly recounted what he had seen in the Dream Plane. "Well, I saw the Leta Rune in the Dream Plane. The residents there seem to use it as a decoration on their houses..." Kevin recounted his "dream" to Raven, even mentioning the bizarre legend of the "goddess destroying the world." Finally, he asked curiously, "Do you know the story of the goddess destroying the world? Could it be you who did it?"
"Why would I destroy the world when I'm bored?" Raven 12345 glared at Kevin, holding the candy jar. "Do you think 'destroying the world' is just a game? You can do it based on your mood?"
Kevin scratched his face. "Legend has it that the people of the Magic Empire overreached in high-tech research, reaching the realm of the Creator God and giving themselves a bunch of divine titles. If that were true, wouldn't you be angry?"
"Why would I be angry?" Raven 12345 asked curiously. "This shows that this mortal civilization has potential, is very intelligent, and is capable of independent living. I'm overjoyed. As a goddess, do you know how much performance review you'd get if you had such an intelligent race under your rule?" Kevin had never expected the true goddess to take such an attitude. He felt it contradicted his common sense: "No... you don't care if mortals study the knowledge of gods?"
"I only care when they overdo it. If they're reckless and research something that could destroy the world when their skills aren't up to par, I'll definitely intervene. But the kind you're describing clearly hasn't overdosed. A mere biochemical study, no matter how big it gets, won't threaten the balance of the entire world. Such petty inquiries that won't even trigger an alarm aren't worth destroying the world," Raven 12345 grinned. "The only thing I need to address is their self-deification, but that's not a big deal. Ignorance is innocent. They don't know what a true god looks like. They can enjoy themselves occasionally. As long as they don't harm others in the name of god, let them enjoy themselves. Everyone has their own little idiots..."
Kevin: "..."
It turns out that an ancient civilization that believes they've touched the "realm of the gods" and even collectively deifies themselves is just a bunch of idiotic brats in the eyes of Raven, the true goddess. She doesn't care at all! Seeing Kevin remained silent, Raven 12345 added with a grin, "As for that 'divine knowledge' you mentioned, that's nonsense. No knowledge is exclusive to one person. The truth is out there. If you're capable, research it yourself. If you figure it out, it's yours. If you don't, don't blame the gods for setting some kind of taboo. That's like blaming the difficulty of the exam when you fail. But then again, in the course of civilization, those who fail don't seem to have much room to complain; they basically die..."
"So you're not involved in the legend of the goddess destroying the world in the Dream Plane?"
"It really wasn't me who did it," Raven nodded confidently.