Chapter 144 A Corpse Ship

Hao Ren was very curious about what a Living Saint Spirit was. He felt it sounded quite powerful, and Raven 12345 gave him a simple explanation: "Saint Spirits aren't something the Empire has on its official roster. It's actually a concept in many mortal races' cultures, referring to the souls of heroic figures with great achievements that don't dissipate after death, transforming into heroic spirits. Hilder's two soul fragments seemed to have been catalyzed by my power during the process of merging… well, maybe it was some other unexpected situation. Anyway, she's now another form of life, a brand new creature, powerful and immortal. Since she transformed into a Saint Spirit after being resurrected, I call her a Living Saint Spirit."

Hao Ren thought for a moment, "Sounds pretty awesome – but are there any side effects?"

"Theoretically, no," Raven 12345's voice didn't sound too reassuring. "Theoretically, theoretically, mind you, she's not an incorporeal entity now. My power reshaped her physical form, so she's now flesh and blood, completely real, as if she's been given a divinely crafted body. Her original body can be discarded, and this new form should allow her to live even healthier. If you really want to talk about side effects… well, because her body is glowing, she might scare herself when she wakes up at night?"

As soon as Hao Ren heard Raven 12345 start spouting nonsense as usual, he knew there was probably nothing to worry about. He asked her about some more details and then hung up the communication, continuing to observe Hilder's strange state with interest. The latter was also very curious about her new body, gently waving her arm: "It doesn't feel inconvenient at all, just as easy to use as my old body. Since the Goddess said there's no problem, then don't worry about it."

"How are we going to explain this to the people?" Wim frowned. "Mother's current state… well, it's a bit beyond our understanding."

"Then let's not explain it for now," Hilder waved her hand. "My personal affairs aren't important. What's important now is the Great Migration of Erim. Let the people focus on that. Anyway, if you don't look closely, I'm not much different from an ordinary elf. If all else fails, we can explain the situation to the people after the migration is complete."

Wim nodded, but the scene inevitably fell into an awkward silence. Lily, after holding back for a long time, finally couldn't help but point out the most crucial problem, pointing at the medical pod: "...Then what do we do with this?"

Everyone stared at Hilder's "corpse," even the data terminal, a doofus whose thinking didn't follow the usual path, felt that this matter was really difficult to handle, so it simply chose to shut up and continue pretending to be a coaster. Hao Ren hesitated for a long time before cautiously saying: "How about digging a hole and burying it?"

Lily touched Hilder's "corpse" and shuddered: "No way, it's still warm, and it has a heartbeat, pulse, and breathing. If we bury it now, it'll feel like burying someone alive."

Hilder's expression was even more strange, she pinched her former body: "I must be the first elf to encounter this kind of trouble, not knowing what to do with my own corpse, and having to discuss it with others… well, how about sending it to the material recycling furnace? That way it won't be wasted."

Lily shuddered even more: "That's even creepier than burying it alive!"

"What are the funeral customs of you elves?" Vivian asked curiously.

"Funerals? We haven't had that custom for thousands of years. Now the elves who die are all sent to the recycling furnace, regardless of status, and uniformly settled as ration points according to quality," Wim explained. "But Mother… is still alive, and this body doesn't seem dead… No, my brain isn't working properly. Mother, you decide."

Hilder finally showed a rare look of having a splitting headache. Indeed, no one had encountered such a painful situation since the Erim elves began walking upright. Asking her to discuss with others about how to dispose of her own remains was really a bit difficult. Seeing her struggling to think, Hao Ren couldn't help but pat the data terminal: "Tell me, is Hilder's body now alive or dead?"

"Physiologically it's alive, but without a soul it's just a bunch of carbohydrates undergoing orderly chemical reactions. Moreover, because the power of Chief Raven is lingering in this body, it can remain 'alive' in this state forever even without eating or drinking. It will absorb energy from the surrounding space, or use that remaining bit of divinity to create energy for itself. Anyway, it's in a near-frozen state… This means that whether you dig a hole and bury it or throw it into the furnace for recycling, you'll face a psychological hurdle," the data terminal sighed very humanely at the end. "Alas, you humans are really strange, just a shell used to carry a program and you take it so seriously, you give too much meaning to these useless things, leading to a bunch of psychological problems even when changing to a new shell. This machine…"

"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll change your shell to a SpongeBob one! I asked on the Imperial Data Network a few days ago, there's a service that specializes in customizing shells for mass-produced terminals like you. My monthly ration points are enough to change you over thirty thousand times!"

The data terminal immediately fell silent.

Hilder was actually very open-minded about it. As a standard Erim elf, she felt that there was nothing wrong with throwing her useless body into the recycling furnace. Although there was some psychological pressure, she could completely handle it. However, Hao Ren, as an observer, felt that he couldn't bear to throw her into the furnace while she was still alive. In the end, he could only suggest leaving the body as it was for now. Anyway, the Petrified Turtle Rock had plenty of space, and the ship was usually idle anyway, so it might as well be used as a warehouse.

Hilder expressed her gratitude to Hao Ren, but Lily couldn't help but mutter: "It's more like a morgue than a warehouse…"

Hao Ren looked at the husky with a fake smile: "This girl, she's always telling the blunt truth!"

Hilder's problem was finally resolved, and the Great Migration of Erim was once again on the Queen's desk. After returning to her palace, she didn't have time to rest, but immediately rushed to the Elder Spire to preside over the important meeting that had been postponed for several hours due to the incident.

Hao Ren and the others returned to the Royal Spire's lounge to wait patiently for progress. If there were no accidents, news should be coming from Hilder soon.

As for Hilder's "corpse"... Anyway, Hao Ren didn't want to think about it anymore for the time being. He locked the body in the medical pod, then placed the entire set of equipment in the small hangar behind the medical area, leaving an autonomous machine to monitor the body's movements, and then put the matter aside for the time being. The Petrified Turtle Rock temporarily became Hilder's corpse ship... It felt like something was wrong, but it didn't seem important.

There was no other way, when working for gods you needed an indestructible nerve as thick as a load-bearing pillar. Otherwise, these gods might bring you so much surprise that even the slightest mental weakness might cause you to become more neurotic than Raven 12345 after two or three missions. Hao Ren had to protect his mind: self-hypnosis and forgetfulness were the most effective methods.

At the same time, waiting for news were the billions of elves outside the Royal Spire, and even on the entire island chain.

Wim, following Hilder's instructions, had already released a preview of the "big news." Two hours ago, all the broadcasting equipment on the Erim Island Chain—those information screens spread throughout the streets and alleys and in every resident's home—had played such a bizarre emergency notice, which made the elves easily feel that something big was about to happen. This notice was jointly announced and played in a loop by the Erim Regent and representatives of several major Elder Councils, such as the Technical Elder Council and the Resource Elder Council. The content was only a short paragraph:

"Inform all citizens of Erim that the entire kingdom has entered a state of special mobilization. Please all citizens take inventory of and record important personal belongings, and ensure that the material transportation channels of all island chains are unblocked. Please all citizens in transportation, statistics, record, and personnel-related departments temporarily work overtime to enter their work posts, ensuring that your departments can operate at full capacity within the next twenty-four hours… This is a Level One Major Preparatory Situation. This message will be played in a loop. All citizens have the obligation to inform each other. Also: Please all citizens ensure smooth communication with each other. If you find any missing or lost personnel, report it immediately. Be sure to ensure that all citizens are under social monitoring to prevent omissions."

There were many detailed rules following this message, basically to ensure that all elves were prepared for the Great Migration, and to ensure that every elf was in a state where they could receive new messages at any time within the next twenty-four hours. This was a migration of ten billion people, and the preparations they had to make were extraordinary.

And at the end of the message there was the most important remark that made all the elves inexplicably look forward to it: "Please all citizens of Erim rest assured that this special mobilization is not to deal with a disaster. Her Majesty the Queen has returned, and she has brought us unprecedented, inspiring hope. Please be prepared, Erim is about to welcome the dawn."