"I finally understand what Raven 12345 meant by 'I don't have time to deal with the trivial matters on Earth,'" Hao Ren said with a helpless laugh after hanging up. "Her daily work is absolutely insane. She lives like she's in a blockbuster movie every day."
"Does she usually hold grudges?" Vivian had also witnessed what happened just now, and was still shaken. Although this girl might not understand what a space war was, or what a mathematical weapon was, that didn't stop her from instinctively sensing that Raven 12345 was someone nobody should provoke. "You're sure you haven't offended her, right?"
Hao Ren thought for a moment. "Does constantly calling her the White-Haired Demoness in my head count?"
Vivian: "..."
While Hao Ren and Vivian were chatting idly, the Data Terminal beside him suddenly lit up. An instant later, a message leaped directly into his mind: Raven 12345's promised translation program had arrived.
Hao Ren opened the Data Terminal and quickly found the translation program. In fact, there was no need to search for it at all. As long as he communicated through mental commands, the Data Terminal would display its current functional changes. Looking at the translation program's description, Hao Ren subconsciously licked his lips. "Damn, it really is high-end equipment. If I'd had this back then, why would I have needed to take the College English Test four times...?"
"How is it? How is it?" Lily craned her neck excitedly to look at the Data Terminal. "Does it say how to use it?"
Hao Ren pointed at the holographic display. The instructions were written very clearly:
Universal Adaptive Translation Script. Usage authorization: F. Intended for junior inspectors or dependents. Once activated, it can directly connect with the user's thoughts and perform synchronized mental translation. The user will not perceive the translation process. It also supports the Language Auxiliary Function, which can take over part of the user's linguistic abilities, enabling completely barrier-free communication between the user and speakers of any language.
The instructions used some specialized terminology, but after picking out and reading through what he could understand, Hao Ren grasped how to use it. He had to admit that this was truly an extraordinary device. Just as the Data Terminal could directly connect to its user's thoughts, the auxiliary programs inside it connected in the same way. He had originally assumed that this translator was something like a text-translation and voice-playback tool—he couldn't help it; that was simply the extent of his knowledge, and Earth didn't have anything more advanced, did it? Yet he had never expected it to send the translations of any language directly into his mind. On top of that, it had a "Language Auxiliary Function." Could this function take over part of the user's linguistic abilities?
Hao Ren thought about it and decided that this meant he could pretend to be a local—he could even imitate a perfect London accent.
"Oh, right! We can test it out right now!" Hao Ren noticed that the translation program's notes also mentioned that it already contained every language database within the Empire's jurisdiction, including the native languages and lost languages of every uncivilized planet. He immediately decided to give it a try. He activated the translation function and confirmed in his mind that the Data Terminal had prepared a mental port. Then he looked at Vivian. "Speak to me in Old English and let's see if this thing works. According to the instructions, as long as it's a means of communication used on Earth, it can translate it."
Vivian blinked. "Is this thing really that amazing?"
"Why don't you try it and see?" Hao Ren said eagerly. "Go ahead."
Vivian froze slightly. "What I just said was Old English—and so was your reply."
Hao Ren stared blankly at the Data Terminal in his hand. After a long while, he muttered to himself, "This really is barrier-free communication. I didn't even notice... It even imitated your accent."
Lily had been sitting beside them with her knees hugged to her chest, watching for quite some time. Now she could no longer suppress her curiosity. She came over with a bright smile. "Landlord, Landlord, let me try too~~"
However, the moment Lily took the Data Terminal, the translation program immediately terminated.
"Although this unit is a low-authorization civilian model, it still has rules!" A smug line of text appeared on the Data Terminal. "Authorization for the functional module you selected has failed. Continuing to use the relevant function may violate the regulations. If you really want to use it, go to Shadow City in the future and buy an unlocked downgraded civilian edition."
Lily's eyes widened. "Then why is it fine when I use you to listen to music?"
"That is an unlocked function and may be made available in accordance with the relevant regulations," the Data Terminal typed in another line. "However, please respect this unit's original design. This unit is intended to help users carry out missions, not play music! You may insult this unit's traditional exterior design, but you may not insult this unit's music player. Playing 'Little Apple' on loop through the sixteen-channel mental audio mode is a serious provocation against this unit!"
Hao Ren gave Lily a strange look. She awkwardly handed the Data Terminal back. "I was bored. You left this on the coffee table that day and went to cook for the bat, so I played with it for a little while."
Speechless, Hao Ren put the Data Terminal away. Seeing the disappointment on Lily's face, he couldn't bring himself to be too harsh, so he thought of a way to divert her attention. "How about this? I tried it with Vivian just now, so I'll try it with you too. Pick any foreign language or dialect and see if it can translate it."
Lily immediately perked up. After seeing Hao Ren look ready, she cleared her throat and tentatively said, "Woof?"
Hao Ren: "..." Vivian: "..." Data Terminal: "..."
"This unit does not have the corresponding vocabulary database preinstalled," a line of text appeared on the Data Terminal. "However, based on the context and your physical condition, what you just said was 'food'?"
Lily turned away with her knees hugged to her chest. "Guessing doesn't count. This isn't fun. I'm going downstairs to eat."
After Lily ran out, Vivian finally turned around with a mocking smile. "She usually refuses to admit she's a big dog, but the moment she opens her mouth, the truth comes out."
"You can't put it that way." Hao Ren still somewhat defended the dim-witted Werewolf girl who was usually very good at lifting his spirits. "I asked her to say a few words in a foreign language. Maybe barking counts as a foreign language for a Werewolf... At the very least, it's a dialect."
Hao Ren marveled at the Data Terminal's new function, feeling that he could now sweep across the entire world of languages. If he hadn't been lazy by nature, he might even have relied on this alone to pose as an expert at various foreign-language colleges. What he didn't know was that, within the Time-Space Administration Bureau, this was already the most basic of basic equipment—and a soon-to-be-obsolete device at that. Language barriers were a common problem faced by junior field officers inspecting various spacetime continua. Unlike the Xiling Apostles, they couldn't use a mental network to instantly understand all knowledge. Junior field officers in mortal bodies—that was, inspectors and the various "Holy Sons," "bishops," and the like—often had to rely on all kinds of equipment to deal with the problems they encountered during missions. The Time-Space Administration Bureau was currently working to improve this situation. Integrating some of the Data Terminal's functions directly into the inspectors' bodily modification procedures was one solution. The first project was to add translation organs to their brains, allowing them to communicate effortlessly with all races like the Xiling Apostles, without realizing it and without relying on any equipment. Unfortunately, Hao Ren had missed his chance. In a couple of days, he would still have to lie down in that "coffin" again...
Let's set aside the troubles of the future for now. Hao Ren and Vivian thoroughly studied the matter in the room—but don't get the wrong idea; they were simply studying whether the Data Terminal had any other functions. Hao Ren had come to understand just how unreliable Raven 12345 was. That White-Haired Demoness couldn't even figure out the basic equipment of the Time-Space Administration Bureau. Calling her a mechanical idiot was already being charitable. He didn't know whether someone like her counted as an exception, but to avoid getting cheated again in similar situations, Hao Ren had to carefully investigate whether the equipment in his hands had any other problems. As it turned out, the inspection really did reveal something: the Data Terminal had a copy of the "Thirty-Seven Races Pregnancy and Sedation Compendium" installed, with the note "Weapons Classification"...
Hao Ren's expression looked like this: O_o!!
Could that Lunatic Goddess with the five-digit IQ ever do her job properly? If he ended up nearly beaten to death on a battlefield someday and called for reinforcements, only to have two baby carriages airdropped in, who would be held responsible?
Before you continue