《Messages from Inner Earth》(EN)

After calming myself, I began to quietly observe the strange creature in front of me. Besides its massive size, it had two horns on its head, curving sharply like bull horns. I thought about all the animals I knew, but none seemed to have such a pair of horns.

Looking closer, I noticed that, apart from its feathered wings, the rest of its body was covered in scales that resembled feathers. Both the scales and feathers were patterned like a leopard's fur. Thanks to my profession, my eyesight is well-preserved, so even at this distance, I could see it clearly.

Suddenly, the creature began to cry out excitedly, “Wah, wah, wah.”

Unbelievable! The sound I had previously heard, which I thought was a baby crying, was actually coming from this strange Eagle. Thinking back to the earlier noises, it must have been the creature's sounds as it hunted the wild boar. At that moment, everything became clear—there was no baby in the forest, and certainly no criminal hideout. I felt a sense of relief.

But then a bigger question surfaced in my mind: What exactly was this enormous creature? I had grown up in this mountain village, and I had neither seen nor heard of anything like it. This creature had horns, was covered in scales, and made sounds like a baby. Most astonishingly, it was able to hunt a wild boar.

Wild boars are incredibly fierce, nothing like the clumsy domesticated pigs we imagine. Without setting traps, it's nearly impossible for an adult to capture a wild boar in the mountains. Even five experienced hunters, armed with iron weapons, wouldn't dare to take one on. In my understanding, predatory eagle like this usually hunt rabbits, birds, or small animals like snakes, not large wild boars. What I witnessed today completely shattered my previous knowledge.

Since there was no danger or criminals around, it was time to leave. I figured I could ask the village elders about this creature when I got back, as they might know something. But before I left, I decided to record a short video for reference. Silently, I took out my phone, turned off the sound, and recorded a ten-second video of the creature as it feasted. By this time, its wings had folded back, and it still looked as majestic as ever.

After recording the video, I took a photo as well. At that moment, I noticed that the creature seemed to be nearly full, growing more alert. Its heightened vigilance made me too afraid to make any sudden movements while hiding from a distance.

With the photo in hand, curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to try the image search function on my phone to see if the search engine could identify what kind of creature this was. However, the signal in the mountains was terrible — almost nonexistent. I tried several times but failed each time. After five attempts, I decided to give it one last try. Just as I was about to give up, my phone suddenly got one bar of signal, and the search began. The result popped up quickly.

"Gu Diao, is a fearsome beast that resembles a bird but is not a bird. It looks like a giant eagle with horns on its head and makes cries that resemble a baby's wail. It is a legendary creature from ancient Chinese mythology, known to eat humans. The earliest record of it appears in 'The Classic of Mountains and Seas.'"

"A mythical beast from ancient times that eats people? Oh my god!"

My heart started racing, and a chill ran down my spine. How on earth did I end up encountering something like this? Should I feel lucky or cursed? While I have an interest in ancient myths, I'd much rather avoid meeting a man-eating beast! If this creature spotted me, let alone the fact that I'm injured, I probably wouldn't be able to escape even if I were perfectly fine.

At that thought, I was so scared that I didn't even dare to breathe. In my heart, I prayed that the creature would finish eating and leave quickly, hoping it wouldn't catch my scent and notice me. Fortunately, being in a mountainous area with dense trees and strong natural smells, my scent was likely masked, but I didn't dare to turn my head to check.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo!"

A few minutes passed, but I didn't hear any sign of the creature leaving. Instead, I heard another noise, as if another animal had appeared, and the creature let out a strange cry in response.

Curiosity once again overcame my fear, and I cautiously peeked out to take a look.

"Oh my gosh!" my mind was filled with a chorus of "Oh my gosh" once again.

From the southeast, a giant ape-like creature — almost like a wild man — rushed out of the forest. It stood over 2 meters tall, walked upright, and had deep brown fur, roaring at the creature. The predatory eagle seemed irritated and screeched back in response.

I had heard of legends about wild men, possibly from the Shennongjia region in China, where such beings were rumored to exist. But in these mountains, the most we've seen are small monkeys — never anything like a giant wild man.

"Crack, crack," I then saw the wild man, now angry, snapping thick tree branches from nearby and hurling them at the predatory eagle. The eagle dodged them all.

The trees here are sturdy and strong, but in the hands of the wild man, they seemed like toys. Clearly enraged, the eagle lunged at the wild man, and they began grappling with each other.

If I don't leave now, when will I? This was my perfect chance to escape. I quickly took out my phone and recorded another short video, thinking that when I got home and posted it on Tiktok, it would definitely go viral.

I crawled away even more cautiously, sticking to the same path I came from. After about a hundred meters, I suddenly felt as though something invisible was blocking my way. It's hard to describe, but I was certain there was something in front of me, even though it was completely transparent. It wasn't glass, but whatever it was, I couldn't see it. I tried changing direction, but no matter which way I went, I couldn't escape.

“What's going on?” A bigger question began to form in my mind. Suddenly, the noise behind me stopped. I had a sinking feeling and slowly turned around to see what was happening.

"Ah!" This time, I couldn't contain myself, and a terrified scream escaped my mouth. My heart raced, and I struggled to calm down.

There, at the spot where I had been hiding earlier, stood the wild man and the creature. At some point, they had stopped fighting and were both staring directly at me. Since they weren't human, I couldn't tell what expressions they wore, which only made things more terrifying.

To make matters worse, just to the left of the wild man and the giant eagle, two more strange creatures had appeared, watching me intently. How did they get here? Why hadn't I heard them? I had been hyper-aware of my surroundings as I crawled away. And why had the wild man and the eagle stopped fighting? It looked like they had already made peace with each other.

The bizarre scene before me left me utterly shocked, but let me describe the two newly appeared creatures first.

The first one was within the limits of what I could mentally process. He could be described as human, but also not quite. He stood around 1.8 meters tall, with golden-yellow skin and ears that resembled those of a mouse, though they were hairless. His facial features were close to human, but with a level of perfection that seemed almost artificial, like they had been meticulously designed. The most striking difference was the third eye in the middle of his forehead. It looked like an eye, though I couldn't be certain if it really was one. This vertical eye shimmered like a sapphire, beautiful and profound — an eye that no human could possibly have. Suddenly, a feeling washed over me, as if the transparent barrier in front of me had been created by the power emanating from this third eye, blocking my escape.

At this moment, the mysterious three-eyed figure was smiling at me, seemingly without any ill intent. He wore a form-fitting outfit unlike anything I had ever seen, with flowing images across its surface that were even more lifelike than 3D visuals. Unfortunately, I couldn't make sense of any of it.

While the three-eyed appeared non-threatening, but his companion indeed sent chills down my spine. This creature looked like an oversized, grotesque praying mantis, bearing no resemblance to humans at all, which was precisely what terrified me. The mantis creature had no human facial expressions or eyes, so I couldn't gauge its attitude toward me, leaving me paralyzed with fear even after my initial scream.

I call it a "mantis creature" because its head, eyes, and face were about 70% similar to a typical mantis, though I couldn't be sure if it was truly related to them. This mantis creature was tall and slender, with four strange arms protruding from its back. It stood over probably around 2.3 meters, just slightly taller than the wild man beside it. Like the three-eyed, the mantis creature also wore a skin-tight outfit with flowing images, though I wasn't in any mood to study it closely. The only part of its body that was exposed was its large, insect-like head.

"Young man, there's no need to be afraid. We mean you no harm, please stand up."

Just as I was gripped by intense fear, a thought suddenly entered my mind. It wasn't a sound heard with my ears, yet it was perfectly clear. At the same time, my body stood up on its own, and my emotions calmed significantly.

I looked toward the three-eyed in the distance, and instinctively knew that he was the one reassuring me. Sure enough, he was smiling at me, confirming my suspicion, and the fear I had felt started to melt away.

Then, the tall mantis fixed its eerie, large eyes on me. Oddly enough, I wasn't as terrified as before. Another thought appeared in my mind: "Don't worry, I'm going to erase the memory of seeing us today, but it won't affect anything else."

Strangely, I stood there and nodded dumbly, even though I didn't see the creature do anything.

Later, I learned that the mantis had nano-technology inside its body — quantum technology far more advanced than anything humans possess. It could send invisible electromagnetic waves to erase my memory of them, all without lifting a finger.

If the mantis had actually erased my memory that day, none of what happened next would have occurred.

Just as the mantis looked at me for the third second, I suddenly felt another thought, this time from the three-eyed: "Don't erase his memory just yet. In the previous Alliance meeting, we discussed finding a human to serve as a messenger for their species, and today he's encountered us. This suggests he's somehow connected to us and the Alliance. Also, you've sensed his thoughts — he is an honest, brave, and kind-hearted human, and his ordinary status makes him a perfect fit as the Alliance's messenger. What do you think?"

At the time, I didn't know why I could sense their conversation, but I understood it clearly. It wasn't communicated through words; it was a feeling I received directly. Then, I sensed the mantis creature's response: "Your suggestion is sound. He's a good choice, and I have no objections. Check with the Alliance, and if they agree, we'll select him."

Although I could grasp the meaning of their exchange, I was utterly confused by what I was hearing.