"That... that wasn't me, I just touched a metal ball..."
Xiao Liu cowered beside Lu Bai, clutching Lu Bai's large tail, trying to hide its enormous body.
Lu Heng put down what he was holding and walked to a metal sphere. He picked up the sphere from the ground and examined it carefully.
He had touched this ball before, and it hadn't made a sound then. Now, holding it, it still remained silent.
"How did you touch it?"
Perhaps it was due to a difference in temperature?
Looking at Xiao Liu, Lu Heng squatted down and grabbed Xiao Liu's front paw.
Indeed, its temperature was not high.
He rubbed the small pad on Xiao Liu's front paw, which still felt comfortably cool.
"Try it in front of me." He placed the metal ball on the ground.
Xiao Liu finally withdrew its hand. It instinctively rubbed against the spot Lu Heng had touched on its body.
Then, it looked at the ball that had just made a loud noise. It stood beside the ball, placed one paw on it, and struck a pose it thought was alluring.
"Pfft, hahahaha..." Where did you learn that?
"From videos!"
"Cough..." You should watch less of that nonsense in the future.
"Uh..." Xiao Liu withdrew its paw, dropped to all fours, and returned to its normal posture.
"It didn't make a sound. Try touching it in a different spot."
Lu Heng gently kicked Xiao Liu's body with his foot, moving it closer to the sphere.
Xiao Liu reluctantly extended a front paw and began to touch it casually.
"Beep!..." Xiao Liu jumped back in fright.
"What are you dodging for? Hurry up and keep touching it. Which spot did you touch? Do you remember?"
Xiao Liu shook its head and resignedly walked forward again, fumbling all over the ball.
"Touch it bit by bit, don't just slap it around."
This Xiao Liu would probably forget the location again if it pulled its hand back.
Never mind, Lu Heng found an ink pad, grabbed Xiao Liu's hand, and pressed it firmly onto the pad.
Now Xiao Liu's palm had color, and it would leave a mark wherever it touched.
"Press it one by one now, don't be too fast."
Xiao Liu nodded.
"Beep......."
Xiao Liu instinctively withdrew its hand again. Fortunately, Lu Heng was quick-witted. Looking at the red handprint on the ball, there would be no mistake this time.
He grabbed Xiao Liu's hand and pressed it forcefully onto the red spot. As expected, the ball made a sound again. However, Lu Heng didn't intend to let Xiao Liu remove its hand, keeping it pressed against the ball.
"Beep... beep beep beep. Beep ta, beep ta..."
The sound changed. It was no longer a short beep. Immediately, a blue light screen appeared on the sphere.
It displayed some images. The creatures within had appearances Lu Heng had never seen before, likely some kind of extraterrestrial beings.
Each of them had four legs, but their legs resembled octopus tentacles. Their torsos were not visible, covered by something like clothing. They had two hands, but they no longer looked like octopus tentacles. Instead, each hand had four fingers, long and slender, with oval-shaped tips.
Further up, there was a long neck, topped with a similarly oval-shaped head.
The facial features were also somewhat indescribable. Two very round eyes were positioned in the upper-middle part of the face. The nose was not protruding but flat, placed in the middle of the face between the eyes.
The mouth was also round, seeming to contract or expand constantly as it spoke.
The images on the screen seemed to be records of their lives. The extraterrestrial creatures within appeared frequently, but there always seemed to be a protagonist.
Lu Heng could tell there was a recurring protagonist because these creatures appeared to never change their clothes. The scenes shifted through several locations, and the same individual in the same attire appeared in each.
However, these extraterrestrial creatures also had distinctions. There were differences in their height, build, and even age, making it clear which were children and which were adults.
Lu Heng had watched for a long time but hadn't seen any infants or very young children. The children in the pictures could already walk on their own.
Suddenly, the scene, which had been recording daily life, began to shake. The images within became chaotic.
It seemed the sphere had fallen to the ground, and the scenery in the images began to tumble. Lu Heng could discern objects falling from high in the sky, as if losing gravity.
Then, the ball must have become stuck somewhere. The image finally stopped changing angles, but the camera's position seemed to have shifted, resulting in a slightly tilted shot.
Objects of unknown nature continuously fell from high above, kicking up dust and smoke upon impact with the ground.
Of course, many extraterrestrial creatures also fell from the sky. They landed on the ground, their blood splattering. Their bodies were crushed into patties, with some parts breaking off and scattering in all directions.
It was too bloody and violent. The initial scenes were in a harmonious world. Although Lu Heng couldn't understand what they were saying, the harmony of the images was clear to anyone.
These creatures had clearly not anticipated the sudden change. One moment they were speaking, and the next, their entire world collapsed.
The image finally froze at a certain point. Apart from the occasional object falling from the sky, the ground finally returned to a state of calm.
Finally, the light screen went black, and the images that had been playing disappeared.
The content played by this sphere had no sound. However, judging by the image quality, this device shouldn't be without audio. Perhaps a playback component was broken?
"This is probably some kind of recording device," Lu Heng said, putting away the sphere. He estimated that after being placed for so long, its power was likely insufficient.
"Don't touch anything I've brought back anymore," Lu Heng said sternly to the pets gathered around.
"I don't know what these things are used for. What if they are advanced weapons? I won't be able to save you."
If they were merely injured, Lu Heng could still provide treatment. But if they were blasted into dust, even the most powerful deities couldn't save them.
After Lu Heng's warning, although the pets were still curious, they saw Xiao Liu still rubbing the red imprint on its hand and consciously refrained from touching those items.
"Oh no, will this stuff on my hand not come off? What will I do when I eat later? Lu Bai, can you take a look? Or maybe you can give me another bath."
Xiao Liu kept rubbing its palm on the ground. The red palm felt a bit raw, and it felt like its palm was about to break.
Lu Bai glanced at Xiao Liu with a hint of disgust but still returned to the room and brought out a piece of cloth.
"Use this to wipe it."
"Oh, I forgot just now."