The Record of Unusual Creatures - Chapter 621

Chapter 621: Lil Pea’s Learning Progress ##

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

After saying their farewells to the sirens in Nasaton, Hao Ren and his crew headed back home.

Hao Ren was really worried that something would go wrong at home, as this time around, the ones staying back and looking after the house were the trio of rascals. A dare-devil baby mermaid, a dumb cat with a brain full of fish jerky, and a demon loli, who was habitual dismantler; Hao Ren dared not imagine what would happen when the three of them were together. Thankfully, Y’lisabet did not disappoint. The little demonic runt had dusted off her skills as a commander of Helcrown and managed to put the fish as well as the cat on tabs. Everything at home was a-okay.

Except… all of the electrical items were dismantled and reassembled.

After confirming that everything at home was fine (at least on the surface), the first thing everyone did was to sleep to their heart’s content. They temporarily let loose the tension from the incident on Io, the giants, the brain monsters and a whole bunch of crap. After that, it was back to normal for everyone. They were seasoned veterans by now, and were used to how things work.

Hao Ren actually wanted to take a few more days off, but he could not afford himself such a luxury; he had a boatload of reports to prepare and had to organize another truckload of newly-obtained information, so he was up and about since morning. A year into his job, Hao Ren had adopted the very good habit of recording everything he had encountered down, right to the minute detail; any information he collected had to be included in the report or his work journal. That was the only way to prevent himself from scratching his head later down the line. Now, most of the things he had encountered were “beyond natural”, and this domain was still unknown waters. Even the most basic of knowledge was very difficult to digest, not to mention the misinformation that could follow. If he did not have enough wisdom, or natural ability for the job, he had to compensate for it with good ol’ hardwork.

After getting the reports done, Hao Ren planned to pay Raven 12345 a visit; there were just too many things that he needed to inform her.

Rollie was still curled up like a ball on the sofa as she nudged him on the waist with her head. She let out a series of slow growls to ease her boredom. Her old form would only previously take up one seat at the most, but her current form easily occupied two thirds of the sofa. With Hao Ren in tow, there was pretty much no place left for anyone else. So, Lily had to squat on the seating pillow next to the sofa as she shuffled the channels for Animal Planet. As she went through the motion, she started to mumble, “Mr. Landlord… I just realized something.”

Hao Ren was still doing his report, and he responded without even raising his head. “Yeah?”

“…It seems like I’m the only one paying rent, right?” Lily’s ears twitched as she gave Hao Ren a blank look. “Seems like I’m on the losing end of things?”

As she finished, Y’zaks, who was reading the paper; Vivian, who was cleaning the table; Nangong Wuyue, who was putting some ointment on her tail; and Nangong Sanba, who was teaching Lil Pea to read Letta runes all became quiet as they threw each other an awkward glance. It was finally Hao Ren who broke the silence as he patted the husky on the head. “It took you a year to think this through?”

Lily’s ears dropped. “Am I that slow… Say, Mr. Landlord, am I losing out on something?”

Hao Ren ruffled the husky’s head. “No worries, I’ve already converted your monthly rent into the purchase of ribs. Where did you think those extra 10 kg of ribs you’ve been having each month come from?”

Lily suddenly thought that she was not losing out on anything and promptly forgot about the matter. She gave Hao Ren’s fingers a satisfied lick before continuing to watch TV. Rollie opened her eyes as she nudged Hao Ren’s arm. “Nyaaaa can’t stand her….”

Lil Pea too flapped her tail excitedly. “Cant stand her, can’t stand her!”

“Say.. How is Lil Pea faring in her studies?” Hao Ren looked at Nangong Sanba as he heard Lil Pea’s voice.

“She now recognizes most of the Letta Runes. Her memory is incredible, and her talents are pretty good, I think she can complete everything by the end of this month.” Nangong Sanba was a rather proud of his teaching progeess. In the face of a group of otherworldlings, that was the only part that he could brag about. “Wanna see her holy flame? She can cast it without incantation!”

Hao Ren was instantly intrigued. “Let me have a look!”

Lil Pea realized that this was her time, and happily tapped her tail on the table. She lifted her tiny hands as she rubbed it, a spark later a little white ball of fire appeared. Nangong Sanba motioned for Lil Plea to stay still before pulling out a cigar from his pocket and rolled the tip on the flame. Taking a deep breath, he said. “Still a cigar lit with holy flame taste the best…”

Hao Ren gawked, “… So after a good month, you taught her to be a bloody lighter?”

Lil Pea excited bounced before Hao Ren before proudly showing him the ball of fire, “Daddy, need a light?”

Lily started coughing as she smelt the cigar fumes and Sanba immediately killed the fire before shrugging. “You know your daughter is just an inch long, with that size what can she by aside from a lighter?”

Lil Pea was still bouncing about with that ball of holy flame in her hand, asking everyone if they needed a lighter. She was literally a walking lighter at the point. At the same time, Vivian saw the clock and realized that it was time for lunch. She picked the little mermaid up as she headed towards the kitchen. “You’d be of use in the kitchen, the kitchen lighter is broken.”

“….”

Hao Ren blinked before turning towards Nangong Sanba with a ‘You did good’ look on his face. “Well, that’s something at least. By the way, didn’t you say that you wanted to make a set of equipment for Lil Pea, something about improving her rate of learning. Had you made it?”

Nangong Sanba gave a satisfied smile. “I don’t need you to remind me that. I’ve made them long ago, a small crossbow and practice sword, and a weapon case. Hehehe, they were pretty fiddly to make. Had to use a magnifying glass to carve the Letta Runes on the weapon, took me a whole night.”

“Oh oh, how is she faring with them?”

“I haven’t got the chance to show her yet.” Nangong Sanba grinned as he rubbed his hands together. “I plan to give us a surprise later.”

Vivian was done with Lil Pea helping her lighting the stove and the little mermaid had bounced her way from the kitchen back to the hall. Hao Ren motioned to the little rascal at the distance. “Come here, Lil Pea. Uncle Sanba has something nice for you!”

Lil Pea perked up immediately as she heard that and happily bounced her way on to the tea table as she tapped her tail. “Sumting nais! Sumting nais!”

Nangong Sanba smiled as he pulled a small intricate box from his coat, his face serious. “Lil Pea, while you are only an inch long, you had a glorious and pure bloodline running in you. You are the world’s one and only demon hunting fish, and you need your own personalized equipment. May these equipment lead you on the path to cleanse all evil, and be your courage, your blade, your armor and your safeguard, you need….”

Before Nangong Sanba could finish, Wuyue had slapped her tail on the back on his h ead. “Brother! You don’t have to act all haughty before us right?”

Nangong Sanba looked defeated as he clutched the back of his head. “I’m not acting! I was being all serious you know! This is a demon hunter’s rites for an initiate getting his first gear. I even simplified the benediction process, Lil Pea is soaked in the water most of the time anyway.”

“Alright alright, just look at you, being all proud for being a teacher to a one inch demon hunter mermaid. Even just saying that embarass me.” Hao Ren pulled the small box before Lil Pea. “Have a look, see if you like it?”

Lil Pea gave Hao Ren a perplexed look, before looking at Nangong Sanba, before giving the intricate box a sniff as she gingerly opened the box.

It was a set of demon hunting equipment in it, specially tailored for Lil Pea’s size. A pen-cap sized little crossbow, a set of five exorcist throwing knifes, and a little wooden sword and runic tome. All of them for training.

Lil Pea was very happy with the gifts and proceeded to eat them.

Alright, that was her plan at least, but as she put the sword in her mouth Hao Ren immediately stopped her, with cold sweat on his head. “Say… I was feeling that something was off… Sanba why did you made them using wood?”

“For training pur…” Nangong Sanba too had realized the problem with the material used. (Well, Lil Pea had a rather odd diet, and without a powerful cognitive ability most people would not realize what she would actually bite and eat) but the demon hunter had no other choice. “A demon hunter’s own powers would enhance their weapons’ strength. A crossbow bolt would hit like a rifle round, so when we train we would use wooden weapons that were anointed with blessed oil. Their magic adaptability is similar to holy silver, but would not enhance the weapon’s strength, that’ll at prevent trainees from hurting themselves…”

At the same time Lil Pea was struggling in Hao Ren’s palm as she squealed. “Food, food… Daddy let me eat….”

Hao Ren looked resignedly at Nangong Sanba, “I think you still have a long way to go with your education plan.”

“….”

=====================================================

 

 

Chapter 622: The Possibility of The Giants ##

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Yes, yes, just like that. Focus all on your weapon, be one with it, it is the extension of your arm. Relax, relax…. Hey! Don’t eat it! Aim with it! And don’t eat your beltbuckle! Don’t eat your weapon case! My goodness why is this child…”

Nangong Sanba scrambled to save the crossbow and weapon case from Lil Pea’s jaws, but he only managed to save just that much. The wooden practice sword still stuck out like a toothpick from the little mermaid’s mouth as she dashed towards the adults with a silly grin while tapping her tail on the tea table. “More!”

This was Lil Pea’s second day of weapon practice. The little rascal seems to not really understand what the delicious things really are, but under the adult’s guidance, she finally could hold herself from biting her own equipment – for a few minutes at most. Hao Ren prodded Lil Pea’s tail with the tip of his finger. “Sanba, make her a set of real equipment. Honestly, this child here is much stronger than you in terms of demon hunting abilities. If a half-baked one like you won’t hurt yourself, she will be fine.”

Nangong Sanba carefully tidied up the weapon case which Lil Pea had messed up as he have Hao Ren a serious look, “Please call me by my full name or just Nangong, Sanba* itself will cause a lot of misunderstanding. That aside, I think you are right.”

Lil Pea hugged Hao Ren’s finger as she gave it a peck before bouncing on the tea table looking for food. The growing little mermaid was every hungry and yet no one knew where the wooden fibre that she ate had gone too as she showed no signs of getting fat. The demon hunting mermaid that is destinied to be someone great is still a mischevious little mermaid, but she had already shown that she had what it takes to be an excellent demon hunter: The little rascal was happily hopping amongst her new toys and worked hard to leave a bite mark on everything there.

Nangong Sanba had by then given up saving the wooden training equipments, he had decided to make a proper set for her.

“I’ll head over to Raven 12345’s place.” Hao Ren said as he grabbed the MDT that was playing some shows and stuffed it into his pocket. “I won’t be back for lunch.”

Lily was halfway through watching the channel as she leapt up. “Eh eh, Mr Landlord… I’m not done yet…”

“Stop watching those mindless dramas, and do something more productive.” Hao Ren said as he poked Lily’s forehead. “If I’m not back by then remember to bring the cat for a walk. Aerym would do, don’t let her run about here.”

Lily pouted, “It’s no fun walking a cat around, it does not understand the joy of running about the plains.”

Hao Ren shrugged, “Then let her walk you instead, you go do your running stuff while she watches you.”

Lily rolled her eyes immediately. “Ugh…why you… alright alright, I’ll bring the cat for a walk. Remember to get me some hot buns when you come back, the ones from Old Zhao at the back lane.”

Hao Ren checked the MDT and the sample inside his Dimensional Pocket before directly teleporting into Raven 12345’s turf.

Raven 12345 seemed to know that Hao Ren would look for her today and she was waiting for him before her mansion. The moment Hao Ren appeared she broke into a huge smile to welcome him. “You’re here. Have you eaten? Or you’ll be leaving after a while? You won’t be staying here for lunch right?”

“Boss, have some decency won’t hurt.” Hao Ren was already used to the crazy Goddess’ antics and he could not be bothered to play along. “I’ll be staying for lunch, not a big eater anyway. I’m here for…”

“I know, I’ve read your reports.” Raven 12345’s playful expression immediately gave way to a serious look. “Follow me, let me see the samples.”

Hao Ren was taken by Raven 12345 via teleportation into a place that he had never seen before. It was a wide area, with the crystalline floor having the etchings of the galatic map as a faint gold decorative pillars standing about hundred meters apart throughout the room. On the top part of the room stood a magnificent dome. All these decorations implied that this was a room-type dimesnion, yet Hao Ren could not see the edge of the place even after taking a good look, as if this place was an endless luxurious hall. Well, it either could be massively big, or this dimensional structure is not normal.

Hao Ren knew he was still inside Raven 12345’s mansion: With his repeated visits as his job demanded, he was getting familiar with the real face of this seemingly unorthodox ‘heaven’, yet he more he knew he more he realized that he doesn’t know the place at all. The building’s interior had many wondrous, illogical spatial structure, some other places could not even be described. The mansion too had inumerable rooms and countless of sights, everytime you open a door you would see continent open itself before you (according to Raven 12345 that’s her monitoring room), some other corridors lead right straight to the stars.

So the existance of an endless hall is nothing weird.

“This is my repository, basement, uh….I use it to store certain things.” Raven 12345 waved her hand, and as she waved, the pillars started vibrating as a screen started forming all along the pillars and it looked like many items were stored within. “Placing the sample here would be better, take it out and let me have a look.”

Hao Ren opened his Dimensional Pocket and put the two storage container before Raven 12345. One of the container was a square box that held the giant brain while another was a ten-meter long transparent crystalline container, and in it lay a giant’s body.

There were four of those, and Hao Ren kept three for himself to research and the last one was given to Raven 12345.

“Everything about Io’s in the report, so I don’t have to repeat that. Just say that the Siren’s issue is resolved and Io’s ecosystem had also restarted.” Hao Ren pointed towards the brain. “The problem is this… The monster that attacked Io, and it was the brain of the giants… a mutation…”

Raven 12345 nodded without a sound. She circled around the soulless brain that still maintained its biological functions before taking a curious glance at the floating corpse of the giant. With a wave of her hand, the giant was pulled out of the container, and floated about a meter from the ground.

“Frankly speaking, this mutation had really challenged how I see thing.” Hao Ren shrugged. “I thought I have seen aplenty… but for a living brain to detach from its body and live on, and then mutate into another being… The brain can feed using its tentacles, and have its own biological functions. If not for me seeing it myself, I would not have believed that this was just an organ of another living being.”

“Some races had abilities to manipulate flesh and body, but this only happens to races that choose such an evolution path.” Raven 12345 spoke slowly, as her hand swept slowly across the giant’s head, as minute electrical current jumped along her fingers. “But this giants… they clearly have both technical expertise and a very excellent biological evolution ability. The former would need their own race’s advancement, the latter…”

Raven 12345 touched the temple of the giant as a flash of light quickly spread throughout the body.

“The latter came from divine blessing. If they have such an excellent natural ability, and could maintain it despite using technologically advanced tools, its no surprise if they could create such an mutation that you have mentioned.”

“Y’zaks said that the giant’s physique is perfect, perfect till the point of unnatural, an undying body from birth.” Hao Ren vaguely knew where the key point of the problem lies. “You think this could happen in the natural world?”

Raven 12345 retracted her hand. “Possible, but very very miniscule chances. I don’t think we had stumbled upon one like that. The chances of you meeting me, the great Goddess herself is already a miniscule percentile. It’ll be unfair if you keep striking jackpot.”

“Boss, is it even okay for you to say that?”

“It’s FINE.” Raven 12345 snapped her fingers nonchalantly. “So all in all, the giant have a perfect physical body, and its genetical inprint has no defects or any useless information. So even if an organ were to mutate it will have enormous power. This attributes were akin to perfect first sample, and this means that this means they are very close to the Seed of Origin.”

In the Plane of Dreams, anything closer towards the Goddess’ bloodline, the stronger they are.

Hao Ren rubbed his chin as something dawned upon him. “So, is it possible that these giants are another form of the First Born? A form that forsook the tentacle monster form and took a humanoid superhuman form?”

Raven 12345’s eyes gleamed. “Who knows…”

 

 

Chapter 623: A Real God ##

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

In the Plane of Dreams, aside from the Siren’s natural evolution, all other living beings revolves around the bloodline.

With the Goddess of Creation as the seed of all life, and the subsequent evolutions were akin to steps. Anything that is the closest to the Goddess is the strongest and most perfect. The first batch of primal beings had apocalyptic abilities and were almost godlike, they too had the ability to communicate with the Goddess, while the Second Born were no different that humans on Earth, if a wee bit stronger, but their ability compared with the First Born was earth and heaven.

This bloodline could be used to determine an unknown species’ ‘birth’ or their evolution period. Based on the information they had with the giant’s unnnatural physique, Hao Ren boldly guessed that they are another form of the First Born, while not matching them exactly in strength, they are still a far superior race.

Recalling the brain monster’s abilities, Hao Ren was afraid that this giants have the ability to control spatial magics from birth, and they had a very strong control over souls.

“I thought that all primal lifeforms were the same as the First Born, using their unnatural form and physique to survive.” Hao Ren said as he bend down to check on the bloated scar at the back of the giant’s head. “I never thought that they would close the same path of civilisation as other races.”

“Wait a minute.. This… does not seem like they were evovled from the Seed of Origin.” Raven12345 suddenly frowned. “I anaylsed the Lifeblood samples that you had brought back and after simulating it, there’s a gap between the Lifeblood and the giants.”

“Not the Seed of Origin.” Hao Ren was stunned. “So does that mean the giants were not created by the Goddess in the Plane of Dreams?”

Raven12345 squinted. “No, they were created by the Goddess, but not through the Seed of Origin. I suspect that the Goddess had personally created these giants, not via germination, but directly.

Hao Ren was curious. “How did you arrive at that?”

Raven12345 hugged her arm. “A Goddess’ intuition.”

Hao Ren had nothing to add. But he remembered something at the moment, and pulled out from his Dimensional Pocket a few shreds of paper. “Oh right. I found this when I last went to the Plane of Dreams. It’s a piece from a scroll, and the Cult of Origination had planned to use it to assassinate the Pope. The MDT detected that the scroll contains divinity, and suspect that it was used in a ritual for the Goddess of Creation. And oh, that thing was brought to Holetta by the brain monster.”

Raven12345 was instantly piqued as soon as she saw the paper shreds. “Now that’s something…. let me have a look.”

As she sifted through the shreds of paperr, she asked offhandedly. “What did you think?”

Hao Ren shrugged. “I initially thought that the monster had gotten it from some other races as it gave me the impression it did not know how to operate tools, but now I think that the giants may have used this; they had worshipped the Goddess after all, and they are even more closely linked to the Goddess than others.

Raven12345 raised an eyebrow. “How big was the scroll?”

Hao Ren gestured in the air. “About a foot long?

“Well, just look how big the giant’s fingers are.”

“…Ahem..”

“The scroll was not used by the giants, but you are right on one thing. The scroll does have some divinity.” Raven12345 passed the paper shreds to Hao Ren but she kept one for herself. “This is the most important sample, I’ll take one to analyse.”

After he was done briefing Raven12345 about the giants, the brain monster and the scroll, Hao Ren brought up the matter regarding the Sirens wish to back to their homeplanet. While he did not ascent to the Siren Queen’s request, he wanted to ask Raven12345’s opinion now that he have the chance.

“You’re response was the right one.” Raven12345 nodded. “Letting a whole race return to the Plane of Dreams is risky, even if the stable rift on the Wall of Reality might not be able to sustain such a shock. And now regardless…. there’s a lot of things going on in the Plane of Dreams, if possible we should not let it take any more beatings.”

Hao Ren nodded solemnly. After demurring for a moment, he decided to ask a question; and that question had been plaguing him for a long while. “I actually have something to ask you, but I don’t know whether it is appropriate.”

“Then let it be. I’m just about to cook.”

“… It’s about the Goddess of Creation. You said before that she had divinity in her, so I went to dig further and realised that ‘divinity’ is not something that can be simply defined, and being ‘chosen by a real God’ is not something anyone could cook up. Under most circumstnaces the Gods in most worldy are simply just creatures with extraordinary abilities. Even if they could manipulate natural laws or create worlds, under the three great pantheons’ rules they are not real ‘Gods’, simply because they lack the trait of being able to ‘interfere with information’, simply put they are not able to be the focal point of information…”

Hao Ren’s blabber was actually just him regurgitating the information he had gotten from Raven12345 or the data vault , but at that point of time he didn’t understand the significance or the meaning of it and now he was able to sniff out something odd from the information.”

Raven12345 glanced at him. “What are you trying to say?”

“I’m just saying that, you had mentioned that the Goddess of Creation is real god.” Hao Ren motioned. “Is she part of the three great pantheons? Or to make it simpler… Is she part of the Xiling Celestials? Maybe someone you know?”

Raven12345 raised her hand. “Lets stop here. Lunch is on me.”

“…You do realise that your attempt to divert the conversation is so stiff?”

“Well, that’s how your honest, direct and sincere Goddess roll, take it or leave it.” Raven12345 placed her hands on her waist before letting out a deep sigh. “Aihh… The main thing is I’m not able to answer your question, because we are still investigating as well. We are not even sure who she is.”

Hao Ren’s eyes widen. “So there’s a possiblity?”

“Yes, and it is not just possible, our Data Network’s mainframe had already locked on to the fact that the Goddess may either be from the Xiling Celestials or the Galacticus Pantheons, but they are not able to narrow down exactly to who this Goddess is.” Raven12345 shrugged. “We have gone through the name list as well and were not able to confirm anything. Even our history had no Goddess who had fallen in the locale, so the possibility of the a Goddess being resurrected, or reborn, or reassembled had been discredited.”

Hao Ren blinked. “And the Goddess of Creation is someone on the same level as you… You think I can solve this?”

Raven12345 patted Hao Ren on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, the organisation has plans in place when they chose you. You need to have faith in us. Because even if you don’t you are not allowed to quiet. So lets leave that aside and have a bowl of noodles.”

Hao Ren knew anything he wants to say now will fall on deaf ears and simply sighed. “I thought you said no lunch served?”

“I’ve changed my mind.” Raven12345 grinned. “Be happy you, this garlic is planted personally by the Goddess of Life…”

“The Goddess of Life plants garlic?” Hao Ren was shocked.”

“Why not? Her garden have everything. I’ve been there before, rows upon rows of various vegetables. The first row was a whole row of garlic and at the back rows of anise… by the side is chives… Oh the most of the lot are chives, because the Ravens love chives.”

Hao Ren was utterly dumbfounded by now. “Why do I feel that its like a vegetable garden…. How about the golden apples?”

“Windbreaks.”

“…”

Hao Ren felt that he could never be able to figure out how the Celestial World would be like. But based on what he have heard, it will probably look no different than the Southern Suburbs…

So Hao Ren had lunch at Raven12345’s place and tried the vaunted garlic that was personally cultivated and blessed by the Goddess of Life, and he thought…. it was pretty normal. The crazy Goddess had put a spoonful too much salt when she boiled the broth. The first mouth he had was to have his tastebuds assaulted. The only good news was he managed to get another two bowls of noodle soup, almost stuffing himself to death.

After Hao Ren left her place, Raven12345 went back to her own office as she looked at the shred of paper from the scroll. Her expression was deep in thought.

“It really went towards the worst possible path.” she muttered. “Say… Hao Ren…”

Raven12345 carefully kept the paper shred and pulled a small crystal pylon towards her. She gently put her fingers on the pylon surface. “Lord Mother, I beseech your powers once more, guide me on the right path…”

After a few muttering, the crystal pylon glowed softly before an image was conjured in the air, and it was Hao Ren’s face.

“What’s so special about him?” Raven12345 scratched her face as she flipped the pylon about. “… F*ck, don’t tell me this is broken?”

At the same time Hao Ren was walking on the old road on the Southern Suburbs and he suddenly let out a huge sneeze. Feeling a little perplexed, he thought tyo himself. “I can still catch a cold with this body?”

He then looked up as he tried to remember if he had forgotten anything. After he was sure that he had not left anything out, he happily walked back home.

 

 

Chapter 624: News from Afar ##

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Before Hao Ren could even pull out his keys, the front door opened. It was Lily who had heard his footsteps and came to open the door. Like any ordinary husky, the lass here could hear whose footsteps it was from the street while she was lazing about.

“Mr. Landlord, where are my buns?” Lily looked at Hao Ren with anticipation before she circled him to look for the hidden buns. “I just got back from walking the cat, so where are my buns?”

Hao Ren finally realized why he felt like he had missed something out earlier: he had forgotten about Lily’s buns!

“Umm… That…” He awkwardly looked at the starry-eyed werehusky. “Actually…”

Lily’s face stiffened. “Did you forget them, Mr. Landlord?”

Hao Ren tapped his head as he quickly thought of a plan to stop Lily from biting him. He pulled out a pack of snacks from his Dimensional Pocket. “Old Zhao’s closed for business today, so I got you a pack of chocolates.”

After he passed the packet of chocolates to Lily, Hao Ren quickly went inside, leaving her as she stood by the door in a dumbfounded manner. It took a good few moments for the werehusky to react. “What the hell are you doing Mr. Landlord! I can’t eat chocolate! I’ll get diarrhea!”

Vivian was watching the telly as she heard the commotion by the front door. She turned to Nangong Wuyue and said, “Like I’ve said many times, Doggie will forever be Doggie…”

Hao Ren approached the sofa and patted Rollie to get her to move aside. He exhaled as he sat. “Is Y’zaks out with his daughter?”

Wuyue had a couple of rags on her tail as she was mopping the floor. “Oh, Auntie Zhao’s fridge was broken, so Y’zaks brought Y’lisabet to repair it. Rollie, lift your tail up, I’m mopping.”

“Y’lisabet knows how to repair refrigerators now?” Hao Ren said while he pulled Rollie’s tail up. Awe was apparent on his face. “That brat’s sure learning fast. I still remember back when she just came, she was poking around with her screwdriver. But… she’s just out to repair the fridge, right? Why does Y’zaks have to follow?”

“The father is a worrywart. He’s afraid that Old Zhao’s place may have demon hunters hiding within it, so he went to keep an eye on her.”

Hao Ren laughed out loud. “That’s some imaginative thinking…”

Wuyue shrugged. “Probably the paranoia of a former king. There are daggers in the shadow after him, and his daughter’s next in line. So,his logic isn’t too far-fetched.”

“Where’s your brother?” Hao Ren looked around and found that Nangong Sanba was not at home. He was usually teaching Lil Pea how to read Letta runes at this time.

“He went to town.” Nangong Wuyue used the tip of her tail to wipe the space underneath the sofa. “Remember the two demon hunters who were educated by our goddess? Brother went to speak to them, and get some information about the organization.”

Hao Ren smiled once he heard that, and was pleased with his results. That organization was said to be the most difficult to breach, and in their long war against the otherworldlings, the organization had never been compromised; but now, there was a breach in their impregnable wall. Regardless of Nangong Sanba who was totally in league with them, or Zhao Xi and Liu Sheng who were cooperating discreetly (the two demon hunters stationed in the city were ‘educated’ by Raven 12345), or the wavering White Flame, there were gaps and breaches within the organization. While it may be small, it would certainly be a deciding factor when the time came.

Needless to say, Hao Ren would not be claiming the credit for everything. He knew that the shaking of the demon hunters’ foundation was not due to outside forces, but the fact that their ‘hunter’s instinct’ was fading away. No one knew what the cause was, but without a doubt, this was something inevitable with the passing of time. Even without Raven 12345’s intervention, the demon hunters would sooner or later cease their hunt.

For him, it was to end the hunt sooner rather than later.

Lil Pea was bouncing about on the tea table as she bit into a small piece of wood, her hand still holding on to her ‘toy crossbow’. The little rascal still could not control her hunger, but at least she knew that the crossbow was not to be eaten. She tapped Hao Ren with her tail to say hi before she lifted her crossbow and took aim at an apple not too far away. With a pull of the trigger, countless silver needles shot out towards the target. The little mermaid then scampered down the table to the floor.

Her tail was slippery and soaking wet…

Hao Ren laughed as he picked Lil Pea up from the floor and looked at his daughter happily performing her fireball and lightning tricks. The little sparks were pretty much harmless, yet the little one was enjoying herself. Hao Ren nodded, and felt that this was how life was supposed to be.

It was much better that running back and forth trying to save worlds.

However, Hao Ren was fated to never be able to relax for too long, as the MDT floated over. “I’ve gotten an all-channel broadcast for this universe. Something that I think is important.”

“The local universe channel?” Hao Ren was stunned. He was so held up by his work that he had not been paying attention to the local channel for a good while. Only at times did he scroll through some hilarious pictures sent from other planets to ease his boredom. “What’s the deal?”

“This is from Saint Suir IV. The local inspector managed to capture a vengeful spirit, and is looking for someone to help with the research.”

Hao Ren unconciously tightened his grip and Lil Pea immediately popped out of his hand, while Nangong Wuyue stabbed her tail into the sofa in shock. By the time she recovered and pulled it out, a spring was still stuck on her tail. “…Mr. Landlord… I broke the sofa.”

“No worries, I’ll submit a claim later. MDT, show me the message.”

The MDT floated before Hao Ren and projected the broadcast through its holographic display. ” Non-Encrypted Report—Local Universe Channel. Origin Point: Saint Sur IV. All Spectrum Broadcast. The local inspector has captured a spiritual being three imperial days ago. Based on the information in the data vault, the being has been determined to be a vengeful spirit. The being is hostile, uncontrollable and cannot be communicated with. It is also very aggresive and is a high risk against all living beings. Seeking assistance from the local universe for any experienced inspectors or qualified civilian groups to anaylze the being’s information structure. As per security rules, any interested party needs to have at least D-level clearance. Report over.”

Hao Ren ruffled his hair. “Say… why didn’t we do the same thing when we caught that spirit—look for help?”

The MDT shook. “You didn’t mention it, and I felt that it was pretty pointless back then. A vengeful spirit is a very difficult being to capture and it’s usually killed on sight. You’re the first person to actually capture one and attempt to analyze it.”

Hao Ren turned his head back and saw Nangong Wuyue looking at him anticipatingly. The spring was still stuck on her tail.

“Prepare to reply. D-level encryption.”

A moment later, a response was relayed through Kuiper Station.

” D-level Encryption Report. The following content requires viewing authorization. Local Universe Channel. Origin point—The Milky Way-Kuiper Station. From Suharr Satelite Base to Saint Sur IV. The local inspector has managed to capture a vengeful spirit before and is experienced in its analysis. Most willing to help, please see attachment for more information. Report over.”

The reply from Saint Sur IV came very quickly. The unknown inspector thanked Hao Ren and welcomed him to visit his place.

“Right, so let’s go on another voyage. Let’s see what we can find there. If we can find someone to help, we might be able to solve the mystery of the vengeful spirit that we’ve captured,” Hao Ren muttered. “Say… is this the first time I’m meeting another inspector?”

“The very first. But most of the time inspectors don’t meet at all.” The MDT shook again. “They have their own area of responsibility, and without any urgent issues, they never call for a meeting.”

“Do we need to prepare anything?” Hao Ren was rather excited about the upcoming visit, but also a little nervous. This was the first time since he had taken up the job that he would be meeting another civil servant from another district. He had to appear professional.

The MDT thought for a bit. “…Bring some souvenirs? I think the local stewed pork trotter is pretty good.”

The moment Hao Ren heard that, he knew that he did not need to fret too much about preparations.

 

 

Chapter 625: Saint Sur IV ##

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Since Hao Ren was going to another planet—Saint Sur IV, he did some research, getting a rough idea about it.

Saint Sur IV was an ecological planet located in the marginal region. Its development was similar to that of Earth. As the region did not have a developed space civilization that was big enough, the whole area did not belong to any civilization circle. Thus, Saint Sur IV was recorded as a single planet in the universe’s solar system. The planet had a period of advanced civilization, but it was later destroyed by a sudden outbreak of civil war. When the Empire set its inspectors on the planet, it had already ushered in a second civilization dominated by swords and magic. The mysterious ancient ruins and the wonderful, messy history of the two civilizations were the greatest features of the planet. Saint Sur, in the local language, meant ‘the land of the ancestors’ and ‘heritage’. The number “IV” was added by Raven 12345 personally when she was filing the planet.

She thought that adding numbers to the name would make it look like it was of a higher rank—because she had numbers in her name too.

Anyway, that was the way the crazy goddess handled things.

Saint Sur IV itself was not famous in the universe. The civilization it carried would probably take at least 2,000 years to enter the star stage even if it developed normally. However, the most special part of the planet was its position next to a famous facility called Suharr, a satellite base. The satellite base was a giant space station left by the ancient civilization called “Suharr”, which was said to be the size of a small planet. The ancient civilization was prosperous before the Empire took over the universe. However later, for unknown reasons, the superb ancient civilization vanished overnight. It only left behind countless advanced ruins and mysterious descendants, who were scattered across several remote, isolated planets. The descendants knew nothing about their ancestors, and the advanced facilities they left behind in space had become the objects of later civilizations.

It was said that the first civilization of Saint Sur IV was an experimental product that Suharr developed millions of years ago. But, who knows? There were lots of tales like this in the universe, and the Empire had no interest in it.

The Fairy Void Consortium had paid a huge price to repair the Suharr Satellite Base, which was floating in the Saint Sur IV galaxy. They also installed the most powerful broadcast antenna system in the entire universe in this ancient space facility (excluding the big ones that were set up by the Empire), thus monopolizing the civil data communications within dozens of galaxies. Although the Empire’s communications network did not connect to the Suharr satellite base, Suharr, as a ‘landmark facility’, was frequently mentioned during the relaying of data. And the head of the satellite base was also one of the liaisons of the Fairy Void Consortium with the Empire in the area.

Therefore, everybody within the galaxies knew the Suharr satellite base.

“We can look around the place when we get there. Saint Sur IV’s scenery is very famous, and its two civilizations,” said Data Terminal, like an agent from a travel agency, “anyway, we’re not in a hurry.”

Lily jumped to them excitedly while sniffing the chocolate on her hand. “Landlord, do you need a bodyguard? You know, the kind of bodyguard that writes books.

“I just go to meet my colleagues, why do I need a bodyguard?” Hao Ren said and pushed Lily’s head, “And you know you can’t eat chocolate, then why keep sniffing and torturing yourself?”

“Then do you need a dog? You know, the kind that can write.” Lily did not give up.

Well, she did not mind teasing about her husky breed now, especially when she was with Hao Ren, which would not happen a year ago.

“I want to go, too. I wish to see anything related to the Vengeful Spirits,” Nangong Wuyue said while her tail was swaying, with a spring on the tip of the tail.

“Meow.” Rollie looked up lazily, and then rubbed her head against Hao Ren’s arm and said, “I want to go too. It’s so boring to stay at home.”

“Ok, ok… All of you can go with me.” Hao Ren had no way to reject them and thought that it was good to have the opportunity to bring them out. After all, they were all quite tense due to the previous incident. “Vivian, are you going?”

Vivian smiled and shook her head. “I’ll stay. Somebody has to look after the house. Maybe next time.”

When they got a task and might involve fighting, Vivian was always the first to go with Hao Ren, but she was willing to stay at home and look after the house when they got the chance to take a vacation. Such a thoughtful girl!

At this moment, someone was opening the door and then they heard Y’lisabet chattering happily. Y’zaks and his daughter were back. As soon as he entered the house, he saw everybody gathered together. He wondered and asked curiously, “What are you doing?”

Y’lisabet was surprised to see the spring on the tip of Wuyue’s tail and asked, “Ah, sis, are you pretending to be a rattlesnake?”

Nangong Wuyue just realized that the spring was still on the tip of her tail and quickly pulled it down and put it back into the hole in the sofa, but the tip of her tail was already looking like a rattlesnake…

Hao Ren then told Y’zaks the news. Y’zaks then waved his hand and said, “You guys go, I’m not interested.”

And now, Y’lisabet was already holding Lil Pea on her hands and chatting with her. “… that time, the moment my dad entered the door, a man wearing the priest’s robe suddenly jumped out of nowhere and yelled at my dad, called my dad ‘demon’, and my dad killed him right away. The wine was still warm… then, my dad, me and an old lady protected the Tang Monk to go to the West…”

Lil Pea was fascinated by the story, raising her little hands and shouting loudly.

“…Wang, if you don’t know how to educate your daughter, you can let Nangong Sanba do it. That guy, though not a good demon hunter, did a good job when it comes to educating Lil Pea. At least Lil Pea doesn’t make up stories like you do,” said Hao Ren.

Y’zaks, “…”

They told Nangong Sanba about the second Vengeful Spirit when he got home, and of course, he was going with them as well. Therefore, they left for Saint Sur IV the next day early in the morning.

They came to a stellar system shrouded in dark clouds. A young, orange-red star shone brightly in the area consisting of twenty three planets. However, only Saint Sur IV was in the habitable zone, and half of the 22 planets were so close to their own sun that they were scorched like hell, while the remaining 11 planets were frozen forever. The Suharr satellite base was on the transition point between Saint Sur IV and the 13th planet. The space anchor technology kept the huge space station and the star in a constant relative position.

It was a huge, standard icosidodecahedron gray space station with the size of almost one-third of Earth. A huge relay antenna stood on every bright new surface. Therefore, it shone more brightly than all the other stars in the night sky.

Of course, this star with the unique ‘trajectory’ had always been a mystery to the residents of Saint Sur. But because it had been hanging above Saint Sur since the beginning of civilization, the Fairy Consortium had evaded a series of regulations, like ‘limiting information access to low-level civilizations’. Those profiteers did not have to disguise the giant space station, so the cost they saved had been the envy of the business community in the entire universe.

The spacecraft began to slow down within the stellar system. When they were approaching the Suharr satellite base, Hao Ren received greetings from the head of the satellite base. “It is an honor to have the inspector visits this place. Would you like to get a souvenir kit of the Fairy Consortium? You can’t miss this. We give the inspector the best discount.”

“No, thanks.” Hao Ren had heard about the salesmen of the Fairy Consortium. He rebuffed and changed the subject, “Is there any news recently in this place?”

He read the information published by the local inspector and found that the Vengeful Spirit was captured in space, so he asked.

“News? This place has news every day, but it’s certainly not what you’re interested in. Well, there’s one thing, the people of Sandurant are complaining again that the radiation from our large antennas is harming their health—their planet is 2 billion light-years away from the space station! Let’s not talking about this… Would you like to get a souvenir kit?”

“Actually, do your antennas have high radiation?” Hao Ren looked at the giant antenna towers on the Suharr satellite base and asked.

“It won’t exceed that of a normal sun anyway. After we take over this place, it has been working for 1000 years, and all formalities are in line with the standard,” the head of the station replied, and then asked, “Would you like to get a souvenir kit?”

Hao Ren regretted and thought that he should not have contacted Suharr in the first place. “…No, thanks. I’m going to work first.”

“All right, good luck with your work. Would you like to get a souvenir kit when you come back?”

Hao Ren hastened to accelerate the spacecraft, rushing to Saint Sur IV. And a giant projection was released from the Suharr satellite base, sparkling behind the spacecraft –’Don’t forget to buy a souvenir kit!”

Indeed, such a profiteer of Fairy.