The Record of Unusual Creatures

by Stayrr

Hao Ren is a good man, and his ideal was to live a restful, comfortable life as a landlord. At least that was his plan before a couple of abnormal creatures rented his house.

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Hao Ren (literally means "good man"), as his Chinese name suggested, is a good man, and his ideal was to live a restful, comfortable life as a landlord. At least that was his plan before a couple of abnormal creatures rented his house.

A remote, outdated big apartment, a bunch of rather abnormal non-human creatures, and a labor contract from the "god", the three factors combined lead him to be the busiest landlord and most supernatural "babysitter". The story of the most complicated, erratic and abnormal landlord and tenants started from here.

"Ever since I put my fingerprint on the labor contract, I knew I was roped into something terrible……"

As a person who is down-to-earth as well as a good Samaritan, Hao Ren desires to live the rest of his life as a benevolent landlord. Stumbling into a curious yet mysterious lady, he began his journey of "collecting" abnormal and supernatural tenants.

His life only became more chaotic when he receives a labor contract from "God". Discover the many races, myths and worlds that lie beyond what humans define as normal! This bizarre fantasy full of fun is sure to bring you on a crazy rollercoaster of emotions!

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Chapter 1: Just Another Ordinary Day

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Hao Ren[1, being true to his name, was a good man.

Living in an unimportant town north outside of Beijing, his house was so far-off that it could hardly be counted as a part of the capital city. He was twenty-something, a little macho with a big square face, the type of common face that would not leave a very strong impression on those that passed him by. His ultimate goal in life was to be a good man.

Summer had just begun; the sun during the day was so scorching hot that even the town's high altitude didn't help to ease the unbearable heat. There was little wonder that only a handful of pedestrians were seen traversing on the walkways along the streets that were packed with moving vehicles. Hao Ren, in his grey pants and white t-shirt, was walking down the street under the shades of the trees and buildings with a few pieces of paper in his hands. He was sweating profusely. The annoying horn blares from the passing vehicles and the high pitch buzz of the cicadas on the trees on that summer's morning did not help either.. Despite the unforgiving situation, he kept moving and glanced occasionally at the papers in his hand—two sheets on job advertisements and a flyer which he picked up from a school girl in the square. Printed on the flyer were photos of a sweet-smiling girl with a row of words underneath, reading: Jing Rong Obstetric and Gynaeocology Specialist Hospital, specialising in...

He felt that it was unprofessional for the school girl who passed him the flyer; he wouldn't have passed out flyer to anyone seemingly penniless like him. That being said, the hard paper flyer did make an excellent paper fan.

"Last two interviews. If these still don't work out, I'll call it a day." Hao Ren mumbled with the job flyers still in his hands. He figured he could complete those two 'missions' relatively quickly as the two locations were just around the corner. One of them was just a stone's throw away across the street; it was an advertising agency with an unassuming (same meaning with façade) facade, but its name was in - the - face: Galaxy Media Pan-Cultural Development Co., any business with such a name was destined to fail in half a year. But what motivated Hao Ren was not the job interview itself but the curiosity to find out what kind of a person the owner who came out with such a grandiloquent name was.

He strode a few hundred meters down the pedestrian walkway with full enthusiasm. Enduring the scorching sun, he maneuvered around the road barrier and came up to the front of the grandiloquently-named advertising agency only to find that it was shuttered! A notice pasted on the glass door entrance indicating that the agency had closed down two days ago. But the job advertisement was dated only four days ago... What a dramatic change! Was the agency looking for some kind of scapegoat before it went under?

Hao Ren crumpled the job flyer in his hand before discarding it into the refuse bin on the side of the walkway. He lowered his gaze and looked at the second job flyer before binning in the same refuse bin. He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that he had gone for job interviews that were totally at odd with who he was; an office job in a public transport company, someone who has to be hardworking, possessing computer knowledge and working experience and has to be a lady of 25-40 years old!

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There was nothing sillier than coming all the way to town for a job interview only to find himself standing in front of a company that had closed down two days ago!

Hao Ren, , 25 years of age, was a man with no noteworthy bad habits, not particularly choosy about what to eat, still a bachelor who had a few friends or relatives, living alone in a house he inherited from his parents in the old section south of town. He was a typical youngster of those days, aiming for a 5-figure income at the age of 25, marrying a pretty wife and owning a car (if that was at all possible). He did not have the chance to show his filial piety as his parents were dead. But by living decently, he at least salvaged his family's name and had achieved one third of his goals.

His life was a sad story.

He came looking for a job in town. But there was nothing necessitating him to do so as he owned an old house passed down by his parents—it was a two storeys building that had been converted into an apartment.

For years, Hao Ren was living off the rental of the apartment. It had enabled him to live somewhat comfortably, it didn't make him rich. The apartment was in the middle of nowhere and it seems unlikely that the government will resume the local development in the near foreseeable future.

Frankly, there was not, in the slightest, the need for Hao Ren to find a job for the time being. But perhaps he was in his comfort zone for far too long, he felt he needed some challenges and exploration. Besides, there was another important reason—his apartment was in a far-flung corner of the countryside where it was literally cut off from any civilization. Since the last farmer couples moved out half a year ago, the apartment had not harbor any new tenant. There was an uneasiness which he found hard to ignore: unless development was forthcoming, it would not be long before he had to look for a job.

After spending three days at home immersing himself in doing some urban planning research, Hao Ren came to the inevitable conclusion that the probability of his area being turned into a commercial zone was slim, not in a month of Sundays. Which meant, he had to plan ahead and begin to find a job.

He used to work part-time to pay for college, so he figured it wouldn't be at all that difficult to going out there and getting a job wasn't at all that difficult.

But fate played cruel tricks on him, leaving him empty-handed on the first day.

He stretched and decided to call it a day. He found a bench under a tree in a park nearby where he could wait out the sweltering afternoon before heading to a restaurant to grab a bite and go home. Amid the sprawling developments going on around the town, it still preserve a little oasis as such for people to find some serenity.

He wiped the bench clean before lying lazily on his back for a nap. He covered his face with the flyer from the pretty girl to block out the sun rays leaking through the leaves overhead. Of course he was still alert as incidents of pickpocketing were on the rise. It didn't matter the fact that he was penniless, being pickpocketed was the last thing he needed; all he wanted was just to take a brief nap to refresh himself.

Before he could doze off, he sensed a shadow over him— it could be someone right beside him. He removed the flyer from his face and was shocked to find that the sun had almost set. And there, a person was standing right next to him at just the right angle to cast a shadow over him. He could barely see the person's face. But judging from the slender body and facial contour, he could tell it was a girl with short hair.

"Hey, are you awake?"

As the girl spoke, she kept waving to him as if they knew each other. Hao Ren bounced up and feeling a little drowsy, he did a reality check by examining his surroundings to make sure he wasn't dreaming—it was indeed sunset. He then looked up to the girl in front. The girl realized she was in the backlight, so she moved a little to the side so that she could be seen more clearly.

Hao Ren got a first proper look at the girl and his first impression of the girl was that she was as beautiful as a goddess.

The girl was simply dressed—a white slim fit top with a childish puppy ornament on the collar matched with a dark color shorts and a pair of casual shoes—very much like a college student who was skipping classes; her hair was shoulder length and her skin was wheat, a typical sporty and sunshine girl. She was pretty, especially her lustrous eyes, which were the most beautiful Hao Ren had ever seen.

Behind her was a huge luggage.

She looked at Hao Ren who appeared a little loopy. She smiled like a Cheshire cat (maybe the description was a little far off, but that was what Hao Ren thought of her). These days it is hard to find that kind of innocent smile among girls of her age. She tucked her hand inside her little bag, purportedly searching for something. It took her a while before she found a crumpled piece of paper and handed it to him. "Could you please tell me where this place is?" she asked.

Hao Ren patted himself on the face, attempting to rid himself of the grogginess. He took a look at the flyer and saw the address written on the paper... Uaah! Isn't that my house?!

Translator Note

[1] 郝仁 (Hǎo rén) - Has the same pinyin and pronunciation as 好人 (Hǎo rén) lit. good person.

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Chapter 2: An Unexpectedly Odd Encounter

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Looking at the address, Hao Ren was stupefied—the all too familiar address was none other than his home!

"Why is it that you are looking for this place?" Hao Ren had no idea as to why the stranger was having his address. He was a little flurried because of her, but was also pretty sure that he would never get lucky with women, except that time during his primary year three when he was seated next to a female classmate. He stared at her, feeling a little perplexed.

He began to size her up; she had a pretty face and a slender body to complement it. Though her height was quite a letdown, her cheerful personality pretty much made up for that.

"I'm looking for a place to stay!" said the girl. "I have been searching high and low for it the entire day. Despite that no one could tell me where it is."

Hao Ren felt the girl was overwhelmingly amiable but there was one particular thing that caught his attention: I'm looking for a place to stay! He finally came out of his drowsiness: "Oh, I almost forget that I am a landlord myself. The classified ad for my apartment I placed in a local newspaper two days ago—was that the reason this girl is here?"

It appeared that he finally found his tenant!

Hao Ren folded the paper and gave it back to the girl, "Of course I know where it is. Follow me." he said.

The girl was elated. She shoved the paper back into her bag and said, "Thank you so much! It has been a long day..."

Hao Ren got up and did a little stretch. Just as he was about to leave, he sensed something was off. "Wait a minute! Did you just say that you were looking for this address in town the whole day?!"

"Yep, I was! It was a pretty hard to find place." She said candidly as she nodded her head.

"No wonder!" Hao Ren thought she was either fooling around or just plainly dumb, "Can't you see the address' 'southern suburb'? And yet you were here looking in the downtown area?"

"But it also clearly states 'Whitestone Building' there." said the girl as she was pointing to the direction of the downtown, "Isn't Whitestone Building in the town?" Hao Ren knew immediately what she meant.

He was dumbfounded. "No! It's not Whitestone Building but Whitestone Road!"

As he was about to point out that she did not read the address properly; she overlooked the word 'Road' after Whitestone and assumed it was 'Building'...

"Aaah!" She quickly realized her mistake, "My bad. I am always a little absentminded. So do you know where Whitestone Road is? Get me there."

Hao Ren sensed that something was amiss about the girl. But being a landlord for the last couple of years, he had gotten used to being apathetic to his tenants, so he did not give it another thought. He pointed to the park entrance, "We need to take the bus. Our destination is in the southern suburb so it would be nightfall by the time we get there. Oh, and by the way, about the address, it's actually my house. I am your landlord."

The girl was startled. She looked at him wide-eyed, "Ah, is that so?"

Before Hao Ren could nod his head, the girl was jumping with joy, "Ahh! What a coincidence! Could it be destiny?!"

Hao Ren had felt that the girl was tripping over words from the moment they met. He could no longer mince his words, "What if I am bad guy? Aren't you afraid of being kidnapped?"

That was his best effort to politely tell her that she was naive, really naive! How could she trust a stranger and follow him to the middle of nowhere? Girls nowadays had no sense of danger whatsoever. It must have been a miracle that she had not fall into the hands of human traffickers all these years.

As he was thinking of that, the simple girl (quite appropriately) looked at him suspiciously, "Human trafficker? Are you going to kidnap me?"

"Of course not!" but he felt he should now keep a distance from her; if not for sake of the rent, he wouldn't have talked to her for so long!

She was relieved, "Okay then. Let's go!"

Hao Ren sighed. As he was about to leave the park, he felt his steps became heavy all of a sudden.

They boarded a bus from the downtown which was heading for the countryside; it was an ear-bending journey; Hao Ren had discovered that not only was this new tenant amiable, tripping over words and naive, but also extremely chatty. She was too enthusiastic, babbling on about everything from B-list celebrity gossip—domestic or foreign—to house prices in second-tier cities. Hao Ren could not recall when she started rambling nor did he know when she would stop, the girl would just ramble on as long as he nodded his head occasionally pretending as if he was listening. That was not a problem for him as he took it as an oppotunity to learn more about his new tenant, to gauge her character.

The naive girl was Liu, Lily Liu. She told Hao Ren to call her by her first name, Lily. She claimed to be a wanderer, veterinarian and a casual prose writer (though she was not really sure what a prose writer's job was) who had just arrived from another city and planned to settle down here. Also she did not mind what kind of a place she will be staying in as long as there was a roof over her head—her works were quite flexible anyway.

Based on the information, Hao Ren concluded that his new tenant was spirited, had no stable job currently but would not give him any trouble. He was happy with it. In fact, such a little girl would not cause much trouble at all. Although she seemed a little naive... but that was also her personal problem, he just had to play his part as the landlord, he thought.

Just as he predicted, the sun had set by the time they arrived at the bus stop in the southern suburb.

Hao Ren disembarked, with Lily following closely behind. Before Hao Ren could catch his breath, Lily yelled, "Is this Whitestone Road?"

"It's Southern Suburb Stop according to the road sign! Whitestone Road is an old street, we have to walk through the alley to get there. Have you ever seen a bus travelling through an alley?"

"Oops! Haha. Do excuse my ignorance," she tittered and continued maundering. "It is quiet here." She frowned as she was examining the surrounding.

The rickety bus stop was sitting on the shoulder of a disrepair road which was covered in potholes. The nearby buildings were old and run-down, with most of the shops closed. The 5-storey apartments behind the shops were equally ramshackle. This desolate place was the 'downtown' of the southern suburb. Sometimes, Hao Ren wondered whether this place was a castaway and forgotten by the modern society. But he would always remind and comfort himself at the end of every month that this place was not forgotten but very much remembered—by the water company, the electric utility, the gas supplier, and even the telephone and insurance companies.

"Hurry up," said Hao Ren, "though this place is pretty safe, you don't want to bump into some drunkards at night. Let's head back to my place. And don't be wandering around outside at night, I am not about to get into trouble because of you. Just a reminder."

By right, as a landlord, he shouldn't be that blunt lest the tenants were scared away. But Hao Ren was just trying to be frank; he despised dishonesty and took no advantage of others. This was the reason behind his failure to get keep tenants sticking around his apartment lately because prospective tenants were literally scared away.

However, Lily was totally at ease, "No worries, Mr. Landlord, I have learned a thing or two about fighting."

Hao Ren felt as if he was talking to a weird fellow, "I am not saying that... Let me make myself clear: Aren't you afraid of nasty fellers?"

He had only met her for less than a day, he knew he should not be a busybody. But she was the weirdest girl—who was gullible and yet amiable to the point of being naive—he had ever met. So he was prepared to go the extra mile.

Lily was unfeigned, "Landlord, you are such a good man! But I am not afraid at all. I think I am strong enough. I had fought bad guys off on my own before."

"You surely have met bad guys before, but lowering your guard just because you have fought them off before is just…" Hao Ren murmured.

Lily did not respond. She looked at Hao Ren with a smile while lugging the massive suitcase behind her. Suddenly they heard two clunking noise—the luggage wheels had come off and rolled away.

"Hahaha, maybe the suitcase is too heavy." Lily scratched her head in embarrassment.

"No, it was the potholes..." Hao Ren looked at the pothole-filled road and took a long sigh. As a man, he felt he needed play the gentleman, "Let me take your luggage...I'm wondering what's in there."

He grabbed the luggage from Lily. But immediately he felt like he was hauling a concrete block—the suitcase was so heavy that he could barely lift it off the ground.

Lily did not notice Hao Ren's weird expression. She chuckled as she lifted the suitcase with one hand onto her shoulder as if it was empty.

Hao Ren was left slack-jawed as Lily carried the suitcase on her shoulder and went ahead. He froze as he couldn't believe what he just encountered. Then he heard Lily yelled at him to hurry up. She murmured "That's ok. I am just born with strong arms. You do see such thing on TV shows sometimes..."

As Lily kept rambling on while Hao Ren's head was packed with unanswered questions, they veered off the main road into a pitch-dark alley. At the end of the alley was Whitestone Road where Hao Ren's house was situated.

Along the alley were two street lamps, one already went out. The dilapidated old houses nearby amplified the spooky ambience. Hao Ren would have freaked out if not for the faint moonlight illuminating the road ahead, enhancing the visibility of the alley. He looked at Lily, who was following him closely. She appeared to be in a pleasant mood.

It was a dark night; not a soul could be seen on the road; a foreign place; and stranger—any one of these factors would have caused one to be more cautious. But Lily was not at all nervous. Was she just oblivious or was she really that capable of keeping herself safe?

"Flop, flop, flop…"

As Hao Ren was still worried for the girl, he heard the creepy sound of flapping wings right above them.

He was startled. Immediately, he looked up and vaguely saw a shadow gliding across the night sky above the high walls of the alley.

The shadow looked like a bat, but its size wasn't so.

"Whoa, what was that thing?" Hao Ren shouted, trying to keep his composure as he did not want to lose face, especially in front of Lily. He turned around, expecting Lily to be as scared as a soaked monkey, but...

What he saw was a pair of ears like those of a wolf, popping up from her head!

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Chapter 3: Wolf

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Hao Ren froze. As Lily walked past him, he rubbed his eyes trying to clear his vision. He took a second look at her, but she was completely normal.

He was certain of what he just saw—a pair of triangular ears which were covered in beautiful silver hair! He was very certain of his eyesight and short-term memory, but he definitely couldn't explain what he had just seen,

He slapped himself and muttered, "Maybe I was hallucinating. I am just too tired today."

"Landlord, what did you just say?" Lily turned her head around, her big beautiful eyes were glowing in the dark. "Hallucinating about what?"

She heard his murmur. Hao Ren was awed by her sharp hearing ability. With a flick of his hand, he dismissed it while saying, "It's nothing! I am alright. Let's hurry up so that we can settle in for the night."

"Okay!" Lily carried the massive suitcase on her shoulder and kept rambling, "Landlord, I'm starving! Is there any place close to your house where I can grab a bite? Or can I eat at your house? I will pay for it. Hey, why are you walking behind me? Please lead the way, I am not familiar with the place..."

Hao Ren sped up and took the lead. Though Lily was loquacious and naive, Hao Ren was impressed by her forthrightness. "No problem, I'll be the host tonight. I am alone anyway."

Just as he finished talking, the 'floop' sound occurred again!

Hao Ren's reflexes were faster this time. He looked up immediately and caught sight of the silhouette of a bat the size of an eagle swooping across the night sky!

Naturally, it did not actually occur to him that it was a bat, but rather, a large bird foraging at night. Outside the town was a vast piece of wasteland. For there to be wild birds in the skies of the town was not something uncommon. Instead, he was more worried about Lily as he did not want her to get a bad first impression of his place, so he made up a story. "Don't worry! That might just be a wild bird from the nearby wasteland."

Suddenly, Lily approached him, puffing. "Mr. Landlord, I have something I need to do here. I suggest you keep going, I... I'll catch up later"

Hao Ren was perplexed. "No, I'm not going to leave you here. It is like a maze in this alley, even locals would get lost at times... Why are you standing so close?"

As Hao Ren turned around, their eyes met — Lily was just inches from him—she stared straight at him. Hao Ren was taken aback and stepped back half a meter from her, "Look! I am a gentleman!"

He would turn abrasive when he was nervous.

Hao Ren was not sure if it was an illusion—he noticed there was a sense of hurriedness in her. Lily looked up the night sky and sniffed. "Landlord, please go. I can catch up later as I can remember your smell... So stop being shilly-shallied. I really have something on!" pleaded Lily.

"No!" Hao Ren was agitated. He did not seem to be bothered by her 'remember your smell' remark and replied with a straight face, "What if something happens to you? I just can't bear to leave you here alone. What is it with you being so secretive?"

As mentioned before, Hao Ren was a good man; despite the fact that she was strong, he felt that he had a duty to ensure her safety.

Besides, he could not also think of any reason why a girl from another city had any business here at this time of night.

Lily became even more nervous; she dropped her suitcase and continuously scanned her surroundings. On both sides of the alley were dilapidated three-storey houses which were once a symbol of wealth for the local residents during the town's glorious days. As good times waned, they were left in disrepair with the walls of unequal height at both sides of the alley covered in thick moss. The sky was the only thing visible between the walls.

Lily's eyes were busy monitoring the gaps between the walls while she sniffed as if searching for traces of smell in the air. Upon seeing this, Hao Ren realised something was amiss. Since moment ago, Lily had been reacting strangely to the creepy flapping sounds above. She might have discovered something, so he asked, "What's going on, Lily Liew?"

"Call me Lily," she quipped and turned to Hao Ren. "Why are you still here?"

"Didn't you hear what I said?" replied Hao Ren as he stuck close to Lily. His voice was calm but he was clenched his fists tightly. There was nothing unsual in the surroundings, but the atmosphere was creepy as he smelled a hint of blood in the air carried by the chilly wind. This smell was not supposed to be prevalent during this time of the year, when the wind blew in every direction. His legs started trembling.

Hao Ren was brave—that was what he thought of himself—but he was visibly terrified by the events unfolding around him.

He was clueless about what was happening. He had heard many creepy urban legends and ghost stories, including tales of innocent souls of the dead in the alley and haunting road junctions, but he had brushed them off as mere gossip.

He dismissed his initial spontaeneous reactions as being overly nervous and influenced by Lily's strange behaviors. But the air reeked of blood and it was only growing stronger and stronger, to the point where he could almost taste it in his mouth. He could not explain this phenomena logic. He suddenly recalled when Lily was hurriedly asking him to leave a moment ago; she was aware of her surroundings when things were still normal and was not as dumb as he thought her to be. She knew what was coming!

"Damn it! How on earth did I get dragged into this?" Hao Ren carefully scanned his surroudings. His thoughts were bogged down because of the foul blood odor, and the creepy, frosty wind.

"Mr. Landlord, I'm sorry for dragging you into this. The 'thing' is likely to be after me," Lily said with a coarse voice, "You are a good man, better than everyone else I've ever met. I'll promise you this, I'll get you out of this alive!"

"C'mon, stop playing nice..." Hao Ren scoffed at her while his teeth were chattering. When he turned around to face Lily, his jaw dropped.

Hao Ren could not recognize the girl close by at all. She was extremely beautiful with her silver waist-length hair. Her eyes were out of this world—the retinas were gold in color and glowed in the dark. She had a pair of wolf-like ears protruding, flapping under the wind, and tilting in different directions listening to the surroundings.

A silver tail could be seen emerging from behind, wagging under her clothes.

She was a werewolf... or a kemonomimi1 in today's popular culture!

Hao Ren could not fathom why he found this amusing but he knew that his life would never be the same again... if he could keep his life today.

Translator Notes:

1 kemonomimi (獣耳) is the combination of two words of Japanese origin, kemono and mimi. Kemono refers to human-like beasts (also known as furries), which are animal characters in human-like settings. They dress, feast, and move around like humans do. On the other hand, kemonomimi refers to characters that are predominantly human, but with an animal's ears and/or tail. Mimi means ear in Japanese.

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Chapter 4: Werewolf Mystical Arts

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Hao Ren's eyes were fixed on the silver-haired girl. Her golden eyes gleamed in the dark and her long, silver hair blew in the wind. Her pointy ears especially attracted his attention. If it were not for her face which was still the same, he would not have recognized her as the very same Lily Liu whom he had brought from town.

It was her—he could tell from her face and attire.

The wind, moon, his clothes and even his breath felt chilly—Hao Ren felt like he was being frozen in place. The smell of the air reminded him of a slaughterhouse but the chill kept him awake. He needed to be alert as he tried hard to clear his befuddled mind to make sense of all the crazy stuff that had transpired.

He stopped chatting Lily up; the spooky atmosphere probably dampened his mood. It was either that or he was at a lost for words due to Lily's strange look. In any case, Hao Ren was awed by the beauty of Lily, who was now a werewolf. Yet, he was also worried about the possibility of her being aggressive. He could see the beastly nature in her eyes which made him nervous. At the same time, he couldn't help but also relate Lily with some of the comical characters in ACG (Anime, Comic and Games).

The acrid smell of blood in the air became even more unbearable and black ice started to form on the road's surface; the once bright moon had turned a faint red. Hao Ren was shivering in the cold wind as he was only wearing a thin layer of clothes. Lily however, did not seem to be affected. Tilting her ears, she stuck her nose out in the air and sniffed as though she was looking for something. "The cunning bat is using the smell of blood as a camouflage...Mr. Landlord, please stay with me. These flying creatures are notoriously active at night. They always prey on the unsuspected."

The voice of the 'transformed' Lily sounded cold but he took a little comfort in the fact that she was not aggressive. So, he plucked up his courage and asked, "Lily, what's going on? You..."

"I'm a werewolf." Lily's ears stood erect as she proudly proclaimed, "All the while, I've been hiding my werewolf identity. This is the first time it's been seen by a human... Beware! Nothing good will come out whenever you see these flying creatures."

Hao Ren's understanding of the world had been thrown upside down. Before he could utter another word, Lily shouted in a muffled voice, "There it comes!"

A shadowy figure swooped down from the night sky.

He could vaguely see its silhouette under the faint moonlight. It did not look like a bat but more like someone with a cloak on. He did not have time to analyze everything as things unfolded too quickly.

Knowing that he was the prey, every muscle and nerve in his body contracted and burst into action. He moved aside swiftly; the attacker swooped past him and barely brushed his hair.

Lily seized the opportunity as the black shadow was diving towards the ground. A sound akin to a sonic boom followed as her leg swept through the air striking the enemy. It was straightforward but brutal. She quickly faded into a silver, shadowy figure as she engaged the black shadow in a hand-to-hand battle. Hao Ren could see the vortexes of air created by their quick movements. Not long after, the black shadow was bested; it then transformed into a bat and flitted to the air.

Before Lily could deliver the final blow, the bat was already up in the air above the walls. She was furious. She started to howl and Hao Ren recognized the howling sound. It was the same sound he had heard countless of times during his childhood near the woods.

It was the sound of a howling wolf!

However there was no time to be in awe as he was in deep shit—a life and death situation. The bat did not flee instead, it circled in the air like a vulture. It seemed like it was laughing at the werewolf for not being able to fly or rather, it was waiting for the right moment to pounce on its prey.

Hao Ren knew that as long as the bat was still in the air, he was not safe. He worked out in his mind that although the werewolf girl was good in hand-to-hand combat, she could not fly or perform long range attacks. Moreover, she was dim-witted! If the bat were to have attacked him again, she probably would not have been able to stop it or react in time to save him.

The werewolf girl raised her thin lips and growled furiously while the hair on her pointy ears stood up. She threw her head back, pointed her nose in the moon's direction and let out a loud, piercing howl.

Right at that same time, the bat dived at an incredible speed towards Lily. Hao Ren was starting to panic.

"The werewolf girl is putting herself in danger posing pointlessly like that. The timing especially is inappropriate!"

Hao Ren saw an object in Lily's hand but before he could tell what it was, Lily had already hurled the object towards the bat. The bat was hit directly in its course before it could come close. The bat was yelped in pain; it quickly turned around and fled up into the air. Hao Ren could then see the object in Lily's hand—rectangular and red—it was a brick!

"Come, if you dare!" The werewolf girl shouted at the bat provocatively. "Don't think that I can't get you! Ever since I realized I was a werewolf, I've been waiting for the day I can beat the hell out of flying bastards like you. Five years of Shooting Brick practice just for this moment!"

Hao Ren was stumped —her trump card was only brick-throwing? Seriously?

The bat's movement was wobbly. Apparently, it was hit hard by Lily's Shooting Brick. The pungent smell of blood began to subside as the bat started to lose its magic power. The standoff continued on for a few minutes during which Lily reloaded her 'ammunition' by picking up another brick on the ground. The bat realized it was not going to be able to take advantage of her. It circled in the air once more and flew away into the darkness.

However, Lily was not quite ready to let the bat go just yet. She raised her arms and hurled the remaining bricks towards the fleeing bat. Hao Ren could not see the projectiles but the bat was visibly alarmed as it fled the scene. At least one of the bricks could have hit its target.

Yet Hao Ren was worried about something else; he was concerned about where the bricks would land. The projectiles were traveling at speeds no slower than a bullet. He could only pray that no one was in the vicinity of the desolate town as the bricks were landing.

The attacker was finally gone and the surroundings were tranquil again. There was no more trace of blood in the air. Hao Ren rubbed his nose and sneezed as he was sensitive to the sudden changes in the air temperature. The chilly air slowly subsided and was displaced by the summer heat wave.

He looked up; Lily was slowly transforming back to human form—slow enough that he could observe the transformation process itself. Her waist-length, silver hair turned black and retracted to shoulder length while the pointy wolf ears disappeared from her head. He smacked his lips and was at a lost for words due to what he had witnessed.

Lily sensed the awkwardness but she had expected it. She smiled at Hao Ren awkwardly and proceeded to carry the oversized suitcase on her shoulder. As she was about to leave, she turned around and said, "Oh ya! Landlord, I've decided not to rent your apartment... And please, don't tell anyone about the things that happened today or else I'll be in trouble."

Then, she left.

"Wait a second!" Hao Ren called out to Lily after abruptly recovering from his daze. "Where could you possibly go in the middle of the night? You can come to my place and stay for the night..."

Lily was startled for a moment before she turned around. Her big eyes gleamed with doubts and she said, "Why? Ain't you afraid that the flying creature will return? It's most probably after me, I'm a werewolf—its archenemy."

"Not at all because, I'm a good person!" Hao Ren replied whimsically.

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Chapter 5: There's Still a Cat

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Hao Ren had a lot on his mind.

The virtue of gratitude; revolutionaries who dedicated their life to their cause and the truth; his first, brave attempt to fight back against the bully who took his chocolate during his primary school years and whatnot. However at that moment, there was only one thing he was interested in. That girl, Lily was mystical; of something unusual. She was anything but human yet she was not bad as she just saved his life. Hao Ren knew it. He was the primary target when the half-human, half-bat creature attacked him.

He was just another ordinary man but he took pride in his sharp instincts and his ability to remain calm in all kinds of situations thanks to his upbringing. He was known as a bad boy during his childhood and he laughed in the face of danger. This honed and sharpened his instincts as he grew up.

Lily on the other hand, did not notice this subtlety. It was probably because her mind was set; she thought that the bat was coming after her all along. It might also have been due to the fact that she was a little dumb.

No matter what he thought of her as a person, the werewolf girl had indeed saved his life. Moreover, it was dark at night and she had nowhere to go. He couldn't leave her alone at that desolate place. He wouldn't.

Of course, he was also being pragmatic: the bat could have returned at anytime. So, he figured that it would be safer if Lily stuck with him—her flaky Shooting Brick was a better weapon than his rolling pin in the kitchen at the very least.

That might have been a little self-deprecating but he was fully aware of his ability, or lack thereof. Lily was the best option.

"Let's go, it's getting late." Hao Ren rubbed his legs as they were still numb from the chill earlier. He then went ahead of Lily. "I will get you something to eat once we are home. Are you okay with a vegetarian meal?"

However, he immediately realized that it was a silly question—Lily was a werewolf!

"Anything is fine!" Lily nodded happily as she carried her 100-pound suitcase, walking beside him. "Aren't you scared? Have you seen 'the other kind' before? I have seen it in movies, those people are afraid of us. But fret not! I'm not going to hurt you."

She was at it again—overly amiable, naive, dumb and being too chatty. He had a headache; he couldn't answer her questions. He sighed and said to her, "Frankly, I'm still feeling a little dizzy right now. I need a nicotine fix to soothe my mind before I can answer your questions. Shall we talk about that later when we get home?"

Lily was unexpectedly compliant. She kept her mouth shut. They did not utter a word as they passed through the alley and arrived at Whitestone Road.

Hao Ren's house was right at the end of the street with concrete pavement. Beyond that was an endless wasteland. The location of his house was one where civilization met the wilderness—a cool description Hao Ren had always used when referring to his dwelling to portray his young state of mind despite his age. On both sides of Whitestone Road were rows of motley, old residential buildings of two or even three stories. However, most of them were vacant. They felt haunted especially at night. Developments had not come by and more people moved out than in. His apartment was one of the few which still had occupants in the sleepy town.

"It would feel spooky around here if not for the still-functioning street lamps," Hao Ren mumbled.

"Huh? Spooky?" Lily had sharp hearing, true to her canid origin.

Hao Ren waved his hand, gesturing that he was just talking nonsense. Lily did not give it much thought. She was staring at the house with satisfaction, "This will make a good hideout. Quiet; deserted. You know, it's tough to live within the human society. You have to constantly worry about being exposed and sent for biopsies. Not only that, the human world has too many conmen. It's tiring."

"Would you look at that! A fearsome werewolf is afraid of a biopsy blade!" quipped Hao Ren as he took out his keys to open the doors.

He was amused by the antilogy.

Lily nodded aggressively. "I saw it in the movies. The human species is inherently exclusive and resents other species. In America, extraterrestrials that are caught always end up on a biopsy table. Whereas in China, they always end up on a plate!"

It sounded like a load of crap to Hao Ren so, he decided to keep his mouth shut.

The entrance had two layers of structure—a security door on the outside and a paneled door on the inside. The doors' locks were decrepit and difficult to open. Hao Ren had spent a considerable effort to open them one by one before he was able to get in and switch on the hall lights to usher Lily in.

Once they were inside, Hao Ren locked the doors. He proceeded to show Lily around the house. "My dad was the house's chief designer," he began to explain. "His idea was actually quite 'novel' if you know what I mean. This is the living room; there are bedrooms on both sides of which one is for you and the other is for me. The door on the north side of the living room is a passage way to the kitchen as well as the washroom. There are four bedrooms upstairs but they are all vacant at the moment. Let me show you your bedroom—do you have your own bedding? Well, most girls are quite particular about that. Anyway, the rooms are quite clean and tidy."

"I'm fine as long as there's a place to sleep!" Lily was energetic as she tapped her suitcase and said, "I don't a have personal bedding set. It wouldn't fit in my suitcase."

Hao Ren was impressed. He felt that Lily was not your typical girl; she was of the ebullient type.

Lily hauled her heavy luggage into her room. She didn't ask for help. It could have been out of her own shyness or nervousness. She hastened him into the kitchen while repeating that she would pay for dinner.

There was not much left in the kitchen. He took out some dried noodles and other ingredients from the refrigerator. He hummed his favorite song as he turned on the gas stove. After that night's episode, he needed a nicotine fix to clear his mind. He took out a cigarette and tapped it a couple of times before putting it in his mouth.

However, he quickly realized the stupidity in his action. He turned off the gas stove lest it be the last cigarette he smoked.

He heard Lily busily unpacking her suitcase and he wondered what kind of luggage she had. As he was cooking, he tried to reorganize his thoughts and make sense of everything that had happened: he was looking for a job but ended up napping in the park; then he woke up with an amiable girl who presently had become his new tenant; he bumped into some bizarre creatures—the werewolf was one of them; he had a supernatural and near-death experience—all of which defied his understanding of the world.

"What could the half-human, half-bat creature be? Also, that scent of blood and chill?"

He figured that it could have been a legendary vampire—the archenemy of the werewolf. After all, the werewolf was already real.

However, the werewolf he had encountered was anything but legendary— there was no green-eyed monster, there were no long fangs and none of the scary features. She was just sort of cute, dumb and almost comical.

The harder he tried to think, the more perplexed he became. He decided to leave his thoughts on the back burner. He figured it was wiser to ask the werewolf girl to explain herself.

The noodles were ready. He served it in a bowl and brought it to the living room as Lily waited eagerly at the table. Her nostrils flared like a puppy as she smelled the delicious scent in the air. Hao Ren was amused.

Lily grabbed a pair of chopsticks and started stuffing the food into her mouth. Suddenly, Hao Ren headed to the stairs and yelled, "Rollie, it's dinner time!"

Lily was curious. An obscure black and white creature suddenly ran down from the stairs. As it approached Hao Ren's leg, it rubbed its head against his shoe—it was a black and white cat.

Lily almost jumped out of her skin upon seeing the cat. She leaped out of her chair and fled to the back of a nearby sofa. Why on earth was a fearsome werewolf scared of a cat?

This sudden turn of events left Hao Ren dumbstruck.

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Chapter 6: For Crying Out Loud, You're A Werewolf!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Lily had already transformed into her werewolf form before scurrying behind the sofa.

Kneeling behind the sofa, Lily cautiously peeked out revealing half of her head. Her long, silver hair was cascading to the ground whilst her silver-white ears constantly twitched, seemingly being very much aware of her surroundings. She also seemed prepared for battle. Hao Ren felt that this mysterious being with half a strand of noodle and some vegetables in its mouth did not resemble anything majestic at all. Moreover, what Lily did next further convinced Hao Ren. She grabbed a pair of chopsticks while trembling and pointed to the black and white cat at his feet, and with a quavering voice,she cried, "Cat… Cat!"

"Meow?" The black and white cat tilted its head, curious about the uninvited guest present in its home. This made Lily tremble. Being a cat, it completely disregarded Lily moments later, not bothering to even spare a glance towards her. Witnessing this, Hao Ren was dumbstruck. After some careful thought, he looked at Lily as if she was confronted by a mortal enemy and unbelievingly asked, "You... are afraid of cats?"

"I… I'm not afraid of cats!" said Lily obstinately, as if she was a proud pitbull. "I was just being apprehensive!"

"It's the same thing!" said Hao Ren, who was unable to comprehend why a werewolf would be afraid of a cat. Without caring that the other party was a werewolf, moreover a newly acquainted one, he shouted, "For crying out loud! You are a werewolf!"

"I am a werewolf!" Lily finally was conscious that her actions were somewhat embarrassing. Also, irritated by Hao Ren's gaze and speech, she put up a brave front and came out from behind the sofa. Pretending to go back to the side of the dining table, Lily tiptoed around the living room wall to the other end of the living room. "Are you sure that this cat is safe?"

"What's not safe about this cat?" saying this, Hao Ren conveniently scooped up the black and white cat. "I've never met a cat that's so tame. Do you agree with me, Rollie1?

Immediately, the black and white cat meowed softly, looking very tame. Upon seeing this, Hao Ren happily took the cat's feeding bowl, filled it to the brim, and placed it next to the dining table (This was the cat's usual feeding place). At the same time, Hao Ren pointed to Lily to introduce the cat to her and said, "This is Lily, and she's a werewolf… Erm, this might not be of any importance to you, but in any case, just know that she is a guest in our home. From now on, your food will depend on how much rent she can provide, so be nice to the one that pays for your food okay?"

As if it understood human language, the black and white cat raised its head and nodded at Lily, indicating its approval, before it continued eating.

At this, Lily only felt that the cat was harmless. She carefully trotted back to the dining table, with the bowl of noodles in her hands, choosing a safe spot which was furthest away from the cat. Suddenly, as if she recalled something, she enquired, "What did you call the cat just now?"

"Rollie", Hao Ren looked down to his only 'family member'. "His name is Rollie."

Lily's silver hair and wolf ears slowly retracted as she calmed down. In all honesty, Hao Ren was still feeling quite guilty. With a look of amazement on Lily's face, she asked, "Why does it have such a weird name?"

"This cat came to my house last year," Hao Ren answered with a chuckle, elaborating on the background of his cat. "I had no idea what breed it was. This is a remote place, with many wild cats and dogs and to have one or two entering your house unnoticed is pretty common. But somehow, this cat did not leave after it came, I've tried driving it out away a few times but to no avail…"

"So you name it 'Rollie'? Hoping that it will roll2 away?" Lily asked with glaring eyes.

"No, it likes to jump onto the bed when I'm watching TV and I used to shout 'roll off' to shoo it away. It was effective at first, but as time passed by, whenever I shout 'roll off' it'll come towards me instead. This cat thinks that its name is 'roll off', so its name is really Rollie now.

After hearing this, Lily ate her food silently and moments later said, "Feels like this is a weird place."

Hao Ren rolled his eyes, thinking: There's nothing in this house that's weirder than you. This werewolf had her common sense turned upside down!

It was already nine in the evening after they finished their meal. It was Rollie's time of the day to be active. It ran to the first floor to patrol its territory. On the other hand, Hao Ren left his cutleries in the kitchen sink, letting them soak overnight so that he can wash them the following day. After that, he lit a cigarette, sat in the living room, and stared blankly into space, continuing to sort out the day's events in his mind and sighed as he felt that he had great difficulty in accepting what had happened.

Also full of energy, the werewolf was running up and down the stairs, trying to familiarize with her new home. Lily sniffed around every new place she passed, as if trying to memorize all the scents.

Although Lily was in her human form now, Hao Ren could't help but imagine that she still had pointy ears and a swishy tail. In normal circumstances, Hao Ren would have shared what was in his mind when a guest was being too comfortable in his home. However, with Lily, he had nothing left to say.

He thought to himself, "It is normal for wolves to mark their territories. Now, I just hope that this particular wolf is aware that this is not her home and that she's just a tenant." Considering Lily's current actions, this would not be a problem.

Anyway, no matter what the circumstances were, Hao Ren was sure that he was not a worthy opponent for the werewolf.

Was it a mistake to invite a non-human with such high fighting capacity into his home in such a manner?

After regaining his composure, Hao Ren couldn't help but think it through. But after much consideration, he felt that he made the right choice and in fact… looked forward to seeing how things would develop in the future.

This was actually him asking for trouble as a normal person should learn to avoid danger, and not approach a mysterious being that was capable of taking his life, out of curiosity. However, Hao Ren was tired of his mundane daily life.

He loved reading novels, watching television as well as reading different weird sci-fi stories. This was the monotonous and empty state of life that every single adolescent who did not have to worry about money would choose to live in. Hao Ren was not that childish and was still not that sick of his meaningless life. His first reaction when faced with random pop-ups online would be to close them. But this did not seem to dampen Hao Ren's curiosity when faced with "new excitements". This was due to the psychology of seeking novelty. Once the psychology of seeking novelty is satisfied, some would have stepped back, whilst some…

Would have reacted the same way as Hao Ren.

No matter what, he needed to be aware of the weird but dangerous bat. Although unclear on why he was a target for the bat, Hao Ren accepted this fact. He was not the kind who ran away from reality but would keenly search for ways to increase his chances of survival. For example, taking in a werewolf who seemingly possessed such high fighting capabilities yet was still quite friendly and negotiable.

"Landlord! Here is your rent!" Lily was scurrying around the house (there were outcries whenever she bumped into Rollie during this frenzy) and finally came to her senses about her current form. She happily trotted to the house to get her purse, calculated her rent and stuffed it into Hao Ren's hands saying, "According to the advertisement you put up, this is 3 months' rent in advance, how much is the additional cost for food?"

Apart from being negotiable, this was a werewolf who willingly paid her rent. No one could ever find this scenario in a book.

"Food will be free!" Hao Ren realized Lily frowned as soon as she smelled the cigarette smoke (such keen sense of smell!) and he consciously put out his cigarette. "An extra mouth to feed will not cost much. Plus, don't keep calling me landlord, I have a name. Just call me Hao Ren."

"OK, landlord."

"Call me Hao Ren…"

"Yes landlord."

"… forget about it. I'm going to bed, so make yourself at home. Do not simply enter the rooms that are locked, but other rooms should be fine." Hao Ren sighed and went into his room. As Lily was about to leave, a new topic came to her mind. "Oh landlord, you wouldn't attack me in the middle of the night right? It's just you and me in this house and it's my first time renting a room from a bachelor…"

Upon hearing this, Hao Ren nearly fell to the ground. He angrily turned around, stared at the werewolf and said, "For my own personal safety, I would never ever attack you at night. So there's nothing for you to worry about!"

Translator Notes

1 Rollie (滚, Gǔn) The meaning of this word is 'roll'. However, the author uses 滚 as a short for 滚开, which means to buzz off. Since the meaning of the RAW would be lost in translation, I decided to explain the reason for the choice of name and how that scenario actually flowed smoothly in the original RAW.

2 Similarly, the roll away here meant to buzz off. I had it translated as roll away to retain the reason for Hao Ren naming his cat Rollie.

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Chapter 7: It's Useless to Only Have Six Senses

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

How did it feel to have a werewolf living at home?

There's not much to it. There was no werewolf transformation since it was not a night with a full moon, hence there were no blood-thirsty werewolf massacres, nor was there a squad of 200 knights led by a demon hunter charging into the house to exterminate a werewolf. Hao Ren felt that this night was peaceful since nothing had happened. The werewolf was affable, willingly pays rent and was not ferocious even after transformation. The only thing remotely bothersome about her was her fear of cats as well as being a slight bit long-winded. And of course, she was slightly annoying. Apart from these, there she had no other shortcomings. Werewolf form or not, she was quite cute.

The next dawn, Hao Ren woke up in shock when his face was slobbered. The first thing he noticed was a face of black and white, with two golden pupils staring straight into his eyes. This meant only one thing: breakfast!

"Good morning, Rollie!" Hao Ren tried his best not to fall back to sleep. After a few yawns, his limbs seemed to awaken, and he waved his arms to chase the cat off. Still feeling groggy, he pulled himself out of bed to get dressed.

Suddenly, he recalled that he had a guest in his house.

Also, this new guest was a so-called werewolf.

This fact was the cause for his insomnia last night. Awaking from slumber, he ruffled his hair and asked himself, "Was it all a dream?"

Very quickly, he realized that it was indeed not a dream: There were the sound of footsteps approaching from the direction of the living room, followed by a somewhat familiar voice, "Landlord! Why isn't there signal for the television? It was stated in the ad that there was television!"

Hao Ren let out a sigh, finally accepting the fact that his life had indeed changed. He knew that he was not fully prepared - in all honesty, unless he was still naïve with a brain was full of hallucinations, who could have been prepared for this kind of situation?!

He was completely clueless on how he would live under the same roof with a werewolf, and never knowing what could happen at any point in time. Looking at the current situation, he might as well catch the bull by its horns when the need arises.

Exiting his bedroom, Hao Ren saw Lily sitting in the living room. This werewolf teenager had already changed into a tank top and denim shorts. Radiating youth and energy along with her wheat coloured skin and outfit, Lily looked like someone who had just completed an entire course of a fitness program.

Noticing that Hao Ren had exited his room, Lily happily waved to him and said, "Good morning landlord! Can you please check why the TV has no signal?"

Right after she said that, she saw the black and white cat lying on Hao Ren's shoulder and she immediately scurried to the back of the sofa. Timidly, she stuck half of her head out and stared at it with eyes which had turned pale, and in a stuttering voice said, "Rollie... Good… morning..."

"As a werewolf, please live with some dignity" Hao Ren gave Lily a glance. He felt that his senses toward the dangers that lay undiscovered was slowly diminishing with each conversation he had with Lily.

"This sort of scenario is kind of distracting and relaxing to be honest," Hao Ren thought to himself. He walked across the living room to the LED TV which he had purchased 2-3 years ago. The display was completely blue, and the incessant static noise was annoying. "Is something wrong with the TV? Can't you get any signal from your room?"

This simple looking rented apartment was in fact a lavish one. Each room had its own TV. This idea came to Hao Ren when "business" was good a couple of years ago. The televisions were on sale back then and allowing him to acquire them without spending a fortune. Today, possessing a TV in each room was a major selling point when it came to renting the rooms out.

Lily nodded and carefully crawled out from behind the sofa on all fours. Treading slowly, she said, "There's no signal in the room. I need to watch some documentaries in the morning."

"You like watching documentaries?" Hao Ren asked while chekcking the back of the TV to see if the problem stemmed from a loose cable. "No. It's just that there have been some films about wolves in the wild lately. I have to be aware of what my kind..." answered Lily.

"You're from South Africa?" Hao Ren turned his head, curious. Thinking that he was able to discuss such topics with a werewolf, he could not help but feel curious.

Lily shook her head. "No. I do not know where I come from. I probably came from a snowy region. The memories I had before my slumber are blurry and I cannot recall anything, but I feel that no matter where a wolf comes from, we still belong to the same family. You humans classify yourselves by race and religion, but you're still humans on earth. I feel that the reason why we mutants are segregated into the lowest class by humans are because we're not united…"

Lili rambled on and on. Hao Ren felt that he could no longer keep up with her topic. My goodness, how can someone keep up with this conversation? To talk about evolution or problems in each species with a canine from a snowy region?

"There seem to be no problems with the cable as well as the TV. Since you can't get any signal in your room, it is most probably due to the technical hiccups by the broadcast station," said Hao Ren in a professional manner. In fact, he could not identify the root cause of the problem. He said those words because he felt that he should not embarrass himself any further in front of a silly werewolf who was very much afraid of cats. "Watching TV programs here is mostly dependent on the TV's signal instead of pre-recorded ones"

"Ok" answered Lily, there was a trace of disappointment in her face but it was gone in a few seconds. Hao Ren filled Rollie's food bowl and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. However, there was a knock on the door before he even managed to reach the kitchen.

Not knowing whether it was just his imagination, Hao Ren felt a familiar chill seconds before someone knocked on the door. However, this feeling was dissipated quickly, leading Hao Ren to think that it might be because he had been too stressed out lately.

Lily frowned and scrunched her nose, but she did not pursue the matter. She pointed at the front door and said, "Landlord, you have guests!"

"Yes, I know." Hao Ren jogged to the door, wondering who it was that could have visited him in this god forsaken place. Based on this person's time of arrival, it should most likely not be a hound from the electric or water suppliers. Whilst opening the door, he said, "Hi, who are you looking for?!"

A female stranger stood at his doorstep.

She was lanky at around 1.7 meters tall, with hair that fell to her waist. She wore a plain black dress and a pair of worn out sneakers. Although she had no accessories on, her dull attire could not mask her beauty. She looked to be of noble birth.

She did not have large eyes but when she smiled, they looked elegant. She had a small, hooked nose as well as thin lips. There was no makeup on her pretty face, yet her lips were a radiant red. Her features indicated that she was Eurasian, giving off the vibe that she blessed with the beauty of mixed heritage. The most eye catching thing about her, however, was her flawless complexion! Her smooth and soft skin looked like it could tear from a gust of wind. Her skin was also exceptionally fair, which resulted in her looking slightly pale.

Hao Ren was not a lecher. Although he frequently hooked up with girls, he was still able to restrain himself. Even after he saw a teenager as beautiful as Lily dancing and skipping around yesterday, he was only taken aback momentarily. The primary reason why he was so startled now was because the girl in front of him was really that much more astonishing.

The stranger at the door had her arms raised, shielding herself from the sunlight, as if she disliked the intense sun. As soon as she saw Hao Ren opening the door, she lose her composure and blurted, "You were the one who… last night. You're not dead?"

"How can you say such things?!" Hao Ren immediately understood the context of her question and was alerted to her possible identity. "Yesterday night… my goodness! Lily, transform quickly!"

Apart from Lily, Hao Ren encountered only one other "person" last night.

Moreover, he was now certain that the sudden chill he felt moments ago was not his imagination. That was actually his mysterious sixth sense which he developed since he was young but it was proven that having the sixth sense alone was useless when one had let his guard down. He had already opened the door and his attacker from last night was just less than two meters away from him!

The last thought that came to Hao Ren's mind in this chapter was, I cannot believe that it was such a beautiful girl…

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Chapter 8: Wolves and Bats

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Lily, transform quickly!"

It was the one and only solution Hao Ren could think of at that moment. The familiar aura of bloodlust and chillness reemerged. He knew that he was no match for the human-like 'mutant' in front of him. He was just a normal human being after all. However, even after shouting out for Lily, he did not have high hopes. He was less than two meters away from this 'girl'!

Hao Ren felt a gust of wind behind him and knew that it was Lily, who had transformed into a werewolf. She was coming to his rescue. At the same time, Hao Ren was prepared to leap aside to let the werewolf and what seemed like a vampire come face to face. It meant that he would be out of harm's way!

Unfortunately, Hao Ren had either overestimated his reflexes or underestimated the opponent's fighting capacity. Just as the thought to dodge crossed his mind, the girl with long, straight hair had already stretched out her hand. She had reflexes which were beyond human. She grabbed Hao Ren by the arm and with great strength which could have possibly broken his arm, she flung Hao Ren behind her. With a melodious voice, she cried, "Be careful!"

Hao Ren was stunned when he was flung across.

"It seemed like the dangerous mutant in front of me just told me to be careful."

Lily rushed to the door but she was slow by half a beat. Upon looking at her, Hao Ren was disappointed as the silly girl did not even transform yet or held any weapons. She was still in her cozy home attire. Her hair was not white and her ears were not out. She happily trotted to the door. "Landlord oh Landlord, here I come! Is it the delivery man?"

Deep down, Hao Ren was both sad and furious. He screamed to himself in disbelief.

"Oh this stupid girl! There is completely no tacit understanding between us at all!!!"

Lily's actions made Hao Ren completely give up on his attempts to escape from the vampire's grasp. Lily saw the black-haired stranger before her and came to her senses immediately. She transformed into a werewolf within a second and grabbed two bricks near the front door ready for battle but even so, Hao Ren still felt it was hopeless.

"I should not have trusted this stupid werewolf from the start! Hanging a ring of garlic around my neck by myself would be even more reliable than Lily!"

Of course, he would find out later on that garlic was useless when it came to a certain vampire.

Seeing that her landlord was taken by the enemy, Lily became upset. She grasped the bricks in her hand tightly and from her throat came a low growling voice, displaying her strength. "Vampire… it's daytime now! You're no match for me during the night, what more during the daytime! Let my landlord go and I'll spare your life!"

The vampire had no fear. Being in the middle of Hao Ren and Lily, her right arm was put up in a defensive stance. Her sharp nails grew longer and chilling sense of bloodlust surrounded her body. She quietly moved her left arm to her back and swayed her hands a couple of times in front of a baffled Hao Ren. It appeared like… she was urging Hao Ren to leave at once?

"Werewolf, when did beasts start putting up an act and tried blending in within a human city!" The vampire's voice was cold and disdainful. Although there was a sense of debility, her tone was beyond contempt (she was struck a couple of times by the werewolf using a brick). "Isn't your actual duty hunting rabbits in the wild?"

"Hmph!" Lily answered furiously, "You stupid vampire, you must not have known that I am unable to catch rabbits!"

Upon hearing this, Hao Ren thought that he might as well be dead. Then he would not have to trouble the silly werewolf; She was such a stupid, stupid, stupid werewolf!

Even the vampire who was normally calm could not help but be taken aback by the werewolf's reply, which did not make much sense. Nearly laughing out, she swayed her left hand towards Hao Ren again. Simultaneously, Hao Ren heard a voice in his ears, "Human, run first. I'll hold this werewolf back… It should be no problem for me to hold her back although it's daytime now!"

"... What?"

For once, Lily was smart enough to realize that the vampire was off guard. She immediately let out a deep growl and charged towards the vampire with the brick in her hand. She did not throw the brick at the vampire as she was worried that it might hit her landlord.

"Die, you winged rat!"

The vampire fearlessly welcomed Lily, who was charging towards her. Waving her hands, a pale, blood red streak coagulated mid-air. Her sharp fingernails grew to more than 10 centimeters in length and like a dagger, attempted to stab Lily's chest. "Go to hell! You beast, who only knows how to catch rabbits!"

"You stupid vampire! I've already told you that I do not know how to catch rabbits!"

"Don't hope that you can distract me using this method. You can't use the same trick twice on a vampire!"

While Hao Ren was still in a stunned state, both mutants were already locked in combat. Like a silver streak, Lily was going from left to right attempting to reach Hao Ren. Although it was daytime, the vampire was no less powerful than Lily. The vampire transformed into a black shadow, dancing around in a red streak with sharp claws. She was able to block every advance from the werewolf. It seemed like the howls from Lily and cries from the vampire came from multiple locations at once. Their movements could not be caught by human eyes and ears!

As Hao Ren started to regain his senses, he realized that he had to stop the two from battling each other no matter what. It was not due to any particular reason… He was just worried that others might appear and witness the weird scene!

Although it was a deserted place, there were still people living there! The inhabitants would have come out anytime as it was already daylight. There would have been trouble if someone saw the commotion caused by Lily and the vampire. Lily could have been captured by the Science Academy, sliced and served in a canteen! Hao Ren was sure of the 'food junkie' culture in China!

Hao Ren was desperate when he noticed that someone was coming out of their house at the end of the alley. He shouted at the top of his voice, "Stop! That's enough!"

His roar shook the ground. Hao Ren could already imagine his neighbors going around the next few days, asking whether he was a victim of domestic violence after hearing his scream. However, it was somehow effective: The storm formed by Lily and the vampire during the battle instantly stopped. They turned to Hao Ren with confused faces and immediately glowered at each other.

Lily still looked high-spirited, as if she had just warmed up from the battle. On the other hand, the vampire looked a bit tired. She was breathing heavily and her face was unusually red. After all, it was not easy battling a werewolf in broad daylight. Nonetheless, they had something in common; they did not break a sweat even though they went through such a tough fight.

The icy aura that radiated from the teenage vampire had a bone-chilling effect.

"There might be some misunderstandings between the both of you!" Hao Ren said Seeing the both of them glaring at one another, he knew that a fight could break out at any moment. He wedged himself between them (although he was leaning more towards Lily's side of course) and said, "Firstly, I have to confirm something. You, vam… vampire, you actually have no intentions on killing me right?" Hao Ren felt awkward as the words left his mouth. However, he had no time to think things through because he knew that there had to be a great misunderstanding between the werewolf and the vampire.

Immediately, the vampire's eyes widened. She threw Lily a cautious glance whilst taking a glimpse of Hao Ren. "I want to save you!"

Before Hao Ren could open his mouth, Lily leapt out and said, "Who are you bluffing?! You just want to suck on the landlord's blood! I've watched TV before and you vampires never have good intentions!"

Suddenly, Hao Ren realized something. Why did most of the werewolf's knowledge come from watching TV? Was it her first time meeting a vampire?

"You were the one who kidnapped this human in the first place!" The vampire narrowed her eyes, revealing a murderous look. "Kidnapping humans, forcing them to help you hide your identity so that you can integrate yourselves in the human city... You wolves aren't that bright. You've been using this tactic for decades yet there's still no change until now. No wonder you're on the brink of extinction."

They continued to throw deadly stares at each other. However, they were starting to lose their stamina.

After hearing bits and pieces of the conversation, a thought crossed Hao Ren's mind. "Sigh…What is all this about… Stop fighting first! Let's talk back at home!"

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Chapter 9: Unusual Creatures

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

After making a hot pot of tea, Hao Ren went back to the living room. He looked at the two unusual creatures sitting there and staring at each other.

A wary vampire and a furious Lily sat at opposite ends of the tea table, both ready to pick a fight at any moment. The atmosphere was cold and filled with raw energy as they threw deadly glances at each other. Hao Ren could almost see the greenish-grey cloud on the tea table revolving non-stop with his naked eye. Tea was served and both beautiful girls had no intention on setting aside their differences. During such an intense moment, Hao Ren could only shrug. It was the only way his fragile human body could cope with the immense pressure from both the werewolf and vampire. He was trying his best to figure out a way to make both of them believe what the other had to say.

Lily firmly believed that the vampire had the intention of sucking her landlord's blood and everything the vampire said were just excuses for not being able to win the fight (she also wondered why the vampire was so self confident). Apart from that, Lily was certain that Hao Ren was already under the vampire's spell and what came out of his mouth was nonsense. On the other hand, the vampire was adamant that Lily wanted to live under cover among the humans and everything Hao Ren said was due to the werewolf's intimidation…

It was a deadlock. Both did not trust one another as well as the third party, who was Hao Ren! To make matters worse, there was no one else there…

In actual fact however, there was another party present. It was the black and white cat eating not far away. Oblivious to the chill in the room, the mysterious creature named Rollie was protecting its bowl of food as if protecting its own life. Hao Ren was quite convinced that the naive cat was an 'oddball' of its kind.

"You…" It was Hao Ren who finally broke the silence. He turned towards the vampire, where all the misunderstandings stemmed from. "Miss vampire, this meant that last night…"

"Please do not address me using the word 'vampire'," said the plainly clad but still elegant girl with long, black hair as she frowned slightly. "Vampires are only common slaves with an uncontrollable desire to suck on blood. We, the ones who can restrain ourselves from the lust of blood are of royal blood in the Blood Clan. There are deep misunderstandings that humans have towards us hence, the confusion. You can call me Vivian; I can't give you my full name for the time being."

"Oh." Hao Ren nodded. Hao Ren did not know the differences between a normal-blooded slave and a royal-blooded clan member. Even so, he knew that the girl with long, black hair in front of him was actually quite easy going. "Vivian. So, you're saying that you weren't attacking us last night? Instead, you were trying to help?"

"I saw a human walking with a werewolf. I did not know whether you were being deceived or threatened," Vivian said as she nodded in agreement. "I intended to snatch you away from the werewolf. No matter what spell she cast on you, it can easily be overcome as a werewolf's magic is amateur. However, I was not at my best yesterday since…. since I was hurt by her concealed weapon. Beasts will be beasts. They will go to any lengths during battle. There is no aesthetics at all."

"You're being unreasonable," Lily snorted. "Why find so many excuses. The fact is you just can't beat me. Tell me, how did I threaten Landlord? He could have ran and jumped away anytime. I was not holding his neck."

The chill around Vivian grew stronger. "Werewolves' claws are cursed. Do you think I am that stupid to not know such common knowledge?"

Upon hearing this, Lily immediately looked down at her own hands in astonishment saying, "Oh my goodness, am I that powerful?"

Hao Ren decided not to pay any attention to the two silly creatures. He turned to Vivian and with a sincere expression on his face said, "Look, I was not threatened at all! I swear to God that Lily did not put me under her spell!"

Vivian nodded her head upon hearing Hao Ren's explanation. Just as Hao Ren was beginning to feel glad that the vamp… teenage girl from the Blood Clan had finally acknowledged the facts, Vivian's facial expression turned serious. She then said, "Don't worry. I know that you're still not telling the truth. You're still bound to the werewolf's curse and unconfident in my ability. I'll show you once I've fully recovered. This wild canine, who only knows how to throw bricks will be no match for a high-order member of the Blood Clan!"

Lily slammed her fist on the tea table after hearing this, leaving a big crack in the shape of a turtle shell on the table. "Who are you calling a wild canine?! You winged rat!"

Without suppressing her anger, Vivian also stood up. The tea table and sofa were covered in a layer of frost in a blink of an eye. "You think you're that powerful? Let's have a rematch! It's because of folks like you who cannot control their instincts that made the world what it is today."

The murderous tension, which was initially confined to the tea table started to pervade the entire atmosphere. All the shouting followed by roaring which sent chills down one's spine as well as indistinctive howling finally alerted Rollie to the situation. Rollie quickly wolfed down a couple more mouthfuls of food and darted to the first floor. Hao Ren was left to stare at his own furniture.

"My tea table…"

How he was able to withstand the murderous tension was a mystery.

"Landlord, do not worry. I'll pay for the damage." Lily was a kind person at heart. After realizing her mistake, she pushed her boiling fury aside and immediately apologized to Hao Ren.

Hao Ren managed to make sense of the whole situation; the werewolf was a silly one whereas the one from the Blood Clan was just insane! Although Vivian had a normal appearance, she was neither smarter nor saner than Lily. Would it have hurt to have someone who had both brains and brawn at the same time?

As Lily and Vivian prepared to have another go at each other in the living room, Hao Ren finally lost his patience. He slammed his fist on the tea table and with an authoritative voice, he shouted, "That's enough! This is my house!!!"

The yelling and fist slamming were actions rarely seen from someone who was good-natured and slow like Hao Ren. Both vampire and werewolf were finally aware that they were in someone's house. Moreover, one of them realized she owed the landlord money for the broken tea table. Thus, both halted and turned their eyes to Hao Ren.

"Why are the two of you looking at me?" Hao Ren frightened himself when he yelled at the two 'mutants'. He did not expect himself to have the audacity to shout at two magnificent creatures that could easily take his life (yet his roar alone managed to stop the two from fighting). In doing so, he felt a sense of maturity thus, he was brave enough to say, "Look at yourselves. One is an idiot and the other is as stubborn as a mule! I am involved in this, okay! Can both of you not jump to conclusions and ignore what I have to say?! And also... just think for a moment whether your actions suit your identity. When did werewolves and vampires start protecting humans with their lives? Let me, the person who's most confused about this situation figure this out first. Then, we will sort out the misunderstandings between the both of you. Okay?"

The last question was actually on Hao Ren's mind the whole time. In a digitally advanced era where information can be easily exchanged, everyone knew the story between vampires and werewolves. One could easily find that at least 2 out of 10 science fiction movies involved these two creatures. Based on Hao Ren's perception, blood-hungry and irrational werewolves as well as sinister and grim vampires were both creatures as sharp as a tack. So… what was wrong with these two in front of him?

Surprisingly, both Lily and Vivian shouted at the same, "I am different from that wild animal!"

Both looked at each other with an air of surprise and immediately looked away, each believing themselves to be telling the truth.

"I have no idea about the others who pick fights with the humans as though they can't survive without doing so. As far as I am aware of, I have been mingling with humans since, forever," Vivian said whilst hugging herself. "Also, I inherently… hate others of the Blood Clan. Don't ask me why. I have no idea myself. I've been like this since I was young and I'm not used to seeing other 'mutants' fighting humans. They're just too stupid. So that's that."

"I've never met other 'mutants'." Lily sniffed the air like she was not fond of Vivian's scent. "I woke up in a freezing place. Might have been a snowy region. I was in human form when I woke up. I was brought up by an old lady and I also lived with humans for several decades after that. I'll only move when they start having doubts about me not aging. I like humans and I am used to them. Is there a problem with this?"

Hao Ren surveyed the two unusual creatures and decided to believe them.

Well, whether he believed them or not, there was actually no difference. He was still no match for either one.

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Chapter 10: A Broke Vampire

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Frosty air and low pressure still lingered in the living room but fortunately, the two culprits seemed to have given up on the idea of starting a fight.

Hao Ren sighed and started to pick up the frozen blocks of tea cups (they also cracked due to the freezing temperatures). He looked at the tea table, which was destroyed and thought to himself.

"In life, 8 or 9 out of 10 people end up being unlucky. The remaining ones though, are actually even more unlucky…"

However, both Vivian and Lily were starting to believe what each other had to say. Well, maybe not completely but at least they had promised not to continue fighting. As long as the other party did not let the cat out of the bag, they would at least maintain a neutral stance.

This was the result of intense persuasion from Hao Ren which comprised of an hour long of facts, reasoning as well as appealing to one's sense of justice. Hao Ren took up all the courage he had as the owner of the property and forced the two to patiently hear what each other had to say. Additionally, he tried to prove that what he said was the truth. Lily gave evidence that she did not threaten Hao Ren by calling Rollie out as a witness. She also showed Vivian that there were no trails of blood on her hands thus, Hao Ren was not cursed. Seeing that Lily was a bit silly, Vivian decided to trust her. To prove that she was able to curb her blood sucking tendencies, Vivian asked Hao Ren to take out a piece of blood tofu made from duck's blood…

To be honest, Hao Ren felt that the way Vivian proved herself was not very convincing at all. Yet astonishingly, Lily believed Vivian after witnessing her display… Would you have believed something a silly person chose to believe?

In that temporary moment of peace, Hao Ren finally had the opportunity to ask what Vivian's intention was for coming by in the morning. It was obvious that Vivian was shocked when she first saw him so it did not seem like she was looking for someone in the first place.

Vivian nodded and fished out a piece of colorful paper from her bag. "Well, I followed the address written on this paper. I'm looking for a room to rent."

Sitting beside her, Lily was staring at the damaged tea table with a penitent look on her face. She immediately transformed into her werewolf form and her ears were upright, aware of her surroundings. A sense of foreboding flooded her!

Hao Ren was also stunned. Taking the piece of paper from Vivian, he realized it was cut out of a newspaper. It was the ad he posted up a couple of days ago! He had not been putting up the ad for the last six months but once he did business came knocking on his door!

However, why were all his potential tenants abnormal?!

"Erm…. This is the correct address." Hao Ren had a weird expression on his face. He had no idea what went wrong in his life. He looked at Vivian from head to toe and surveyed her. "You came here to rent a room?"

"Yup." Vivian answered whilst continuously nodding her head.

Hao Ren asked impetuously, "Of all places… why did you come to my place…"

Hao Ren actually meant why bizarre and abnormal things kept happening to him but Vivian misunderstood his point. She answered innocently, "It's because your place is cheap and I have no money. I found out I could only afford the rent here after searching everywhere. I really don't want to live in the deserted outskirts or cemeteries like I had in the past."

Hao Ren had his mouth open, shocked at hearing about the vampire's lifestyle.

"Aren't vampires supposed to be dark lords of the night? Why is this vampire in front of me so different?"

"Yes, the rent here is definitely cheap. If you don't mind the location being secluded, you can stay here," Hao Ren nodded and answered. Unable to cry or laugh, living under the same roof with a vampire would make no difference as he already had a werewolf living there. He could not foresee the days ahead being average or normal. He let it be and allowed the vampire to stay. At least his life would be full of surprises. "However, I have to say something upfront. Both of you must stay out of trouble… Of course, I will not tell anyone about your true identities. I'm more afraid of you killing the eyewitnesses."

Committing murder however was the least of Hao Ren's worries. Both ladies in front of him were significantly different from what he had learned from stories. Ignoring the fact that they were the odd ones among their own race, the girls looked quite harmless.

As Hao Ren and Vivian were about to reach an agreement, Lily suddenly slammed the desk and stood up saying, "Wait! This winged rat will also be living here? Under the same roof?" The slowness of her reactions had no bounds…

BANG! Unable to withstand the pressure anymore, the cracked tea table finally gave way and collapsed onto the floor.

"You think I'm willing to live under the same roof with a beast?!" Vivian retaliated. She was also hot-tempered. However, remembering her promise to agree to a truce, she did not emanate any cold air. "If I wasn't broke, I would have never come here!"

Hao Ren suddenly felt that rejecting Vivian might have been the right thing to do. He was definitely looking for trouble letting these two stay in the same house. It did not seem like they would be able to proceed with the truce with such tempers! Also, Hao Ren was not that desperate for income from the rent…

However, he had already agreed to it and changing his mind then would be inappropriate. He could only try comforting a sulking Lily. "It's going to be alright. Vivian does not look like a bad person. And I've already agreed….. Let her stay here for the time being… Argh… No! I am the owner of this house, this is my home! Why am I even discussing this with you?!"

Hao Ren finally remembered that it was his territory. When did those two girls become the owner?

He was starting to get confused due to the tension between the two ladies as well as the string of events that happened earlier.

Lily smiled bashfully, This was all different from the legends. The curious and easy going werewolf shrugged and bobbed her head. "The decision is yours to make. But I still dislike this winged beast."

"That's more like it." Hao Ren nodded, hugging himself. He was planning in his mind how he was going to let his two abnormal tenants live under the same roof in harmony… Living in harmony was out of the question... preventing them from bringing the house down was more like it. He was already dreading a life full of chaos. If it was possible he would have liked to have the two of them out of his house. However, there were two problems. Firstly, although both girls seemed to be easy going, it was not a smart move to offend them. Asking them to leave without any valid reason could have caused problems and Hao Ren was not ready to risk it. Also, he knew that he was no match for either one of the two girls with superhuman powers. If his words failed him, he would have been completely lost and it would have been hard for him to back down.

Due to these two reasons, he concluded that it was impossible for a normal human being to bargain with two beasts!!

No matter how complicated things were, Hao Ren was determined. With his meager strength, he tried to think of a way to protect his somewhat 'normal' life, which was about to end. While he was in deep thought, there was a loud cry beside him.

"Oh, my purse!"

Vivian jumped up from the sofa; the elegance she carried majority of the time completely vanished. She had lost her purse.

"It must have happened last night… last night when I was knocked out by this bastard. I have no idea where my purse is!" Vivian rummaged through her bag. Finally, she glared at Lily and said, "You dumb mutt! That was all the living expenses I had left! Pay me back!"

Although slightly embarrassed, Lily turned away. "Do not put the blame on others for your own mistakes. It's good that you can't afford rent now. I won't have to look at that dumb face of yours."

Moments later however, she turned her head towards Vivian. "Maybe try having a look at the front door and the streets nearby? Perhaps you dropped it on the road."

This proved that the silly werewolf was in fact kind.

"I flew a vast distance last night, in search for a place with bright moonlight to recover," Vivian sobbed. "How would I know where I dropped it... my remaining living expenses. I've been saving for a long time… I've already lost my money four times this month... and that was the last of it!"

Hao Ren's eyebrow twitched.

"How could this vampire be so unlucky?! What's happened to this so called dark lord of the night?"

Nevertheless, it did not take long for Hao Ren to realize that it was actually a good thing. He did not need to worry about epic battles happening between the werewolf and the vampire in the future. He had a good and valid reason for Vivian to leave.

Maintaining peace was the way to go!

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Chapter 11: Mysterious Call

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The previous plan was quite good but in the end, Hao Ren still could not find it in him to just chase Vivian away.

As mentioned before, he was a good guy. He never meddled in matters he could not help with. However, if he was able to help, he would not turn people away. If he had chased Vivian away, what would have happened to her? The vampire girl appeared to have lived a tough life. She would have either had to stay overnight on the streets or go to the wild or the graveyard like she said without any food, water, home and job. If she had gone to a train station, she would have alerted the police and be facing force adoption or worse, forced deportation. It was quite pitiful.

Looking at the pretty girl trapped in such a situation, any normal person would not have been able to see her suffer.

Even though Hao Ren felt that a vampire had capabilities and would likely not face such dilemmas, he could not be sure. As the vampire he met was not a conventional one. If one was to refer to all the novels and movies available, there would be no reference of a vampire being that naive. She was poor, different and so fond of human beings.

In spite of that, he did not ask Vivian to stay without paying. There had to be a limit to his generosity and he was not a saint. He also had to take into account Lily's feelings as she paid her rental as usual. He could only allow Vivian to owe him the rental. He decided to wait until she found her purse, though very unlikely. Another option was for her to find a job and earn money, which was more likely. Only then, would he ask her to pay him back.

"Could this really work?" Vivian was not convinced that she had any good luck. She stared at Hao Ren unbelievably. "It might take me a really long time to pay you back. My financial luck has not been any good…"

Hao Ren raised his eyebrows and observed the vampire girl's facial expression as he listened to her defeated speech.

"How bad had her life been?"

"You don't have to overthink it. Just stay here." Hao Ren waved his hand. He noticed Lily discontented expression and said, "The decision has been made! This is my home. I can at least make a call on the rental."

He then turned to Vivian, "An empty room is available upstairs. Let me show you the room. But, where is your luggage?"

He should have asked the question earlier. When Lily moved from the other city, she brought over huge boxes of belongings. He wondered if the vampire girl was so poor that she only had a set of clothing with her.

"Oh, it's outside!" Vivian remembered her luggage and rushed outdoors. She then brought in her old rugged luggage case. Fortunately, her lack of luck with money did not affect her belongings. Although the huge case was left outdoors for so long, it was not lost.

When Hao Ren noticed Vivian's luggage, he could not help but sigh. He vaguely remembered his late father who used to carry a case of similar style for work. It was then passed down by his grandfather…

He swore that he would never watch movies about vampires in his lifetime anymore.

Right when he decided to go upstairs to help Vivian tidy her room, he heard a strange sound nearby. Lily embarrassingly caressed her stomach, stood up and said, "Landlord, shall we have some food?"

Hao Ren turned to the clock in the living room and the hands pointed to 10 in the morning. There was so much hassle that morning, he almost forgot about breakfast. The only one at home with a full stomach was Rollie!

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"Damn! Our lives are worse than a cat's these days." He mocked himself and Vivian exclaimed in surprise, "Ah, do you offer breakfast? Do I need to pay extra?"

The vampire girl was delighted but Hao Ren really wanted to tell her that truthfully they did not cook for tenants. Though they were on special terms, he saw her look of contentment and did not want to disappoint her. He thought the vampire had been through a pretty pitiful life.

Breakfast was already delayed so they might as well had lunch. Hao Ren decided to make his best dish, noodles. Lily was an omnivorous werewolf who was not picky and Vivian was already so poor so he was quite sure that she would not care about the food that much. A simple meal would do. When he went into the kitchen, he turned around and asked the vampire girl a question, "Vivian, do you eat normal human dishes? I heard vampires can only drink blood and can't digest normal food."

He felt a cold breeze around his neck right after he said that.

"I belong to the Blood Clan. I'm not some low-level vampire," Vivian corrected the statement but she embarrassingly covered her face. "Other Blood Clan members can only digest blood but I can eat normal food. It can't be helped because nowadays, whether it's human or animal, they are all infected with all sorts of strange diseases. If I drink unclean blood, I might suffer from stomachache for a few days. I have to check if the subject has a health certificate before I drink its blood. But sometimes, even the health certificate can be falsified. I can't bear that risk so, I haven't been drinking blood for quite some years."

Hao Ren was speechless.

When he was about to enter the kitchen, the cell phone on his sofa rang. Lily rushed over and peeped. She handed the old Nokia phone over to Hao Ren and said, " Landlord! The phone! The call's coming from a strange set of numbers!"

Hao Ren walked over to pick up the call. He wondered what kind of phone number could be strange. He was stunned when he saw the set of numbers on his phone screen; 00000012345!

"Is there anyone in the world using such a number?"

The monotonous sound of the ringing phone kept urging him to answer. The screen displayed the creepy set of numbers clearly and Hao Ren could not help but pinch his face to make sure he was not imagining things. He was not sure if it was an illusion. The ringing seemed to grow louder as if it came from every direction. He felt heat emanating from the phone and the ringing becoming faster and faster… The sixth sense he had developed since he was young was activated. His intuition told him that the call would be extraordinary.

As though he was possessed, he pressed the button to pick up the call and placed the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

A sweet voice was heard through the phone, "Hello? Hello? Is this Hao Ren?"

"Er, yes, this is." Hao Ren tried to recall if he ever disclosed his mobile number or met a woman with such a voice. However, he could not. "Who are you?"

"You don't have to worry about that," the stranger claimed. Judging from the background sounds, the call seemed to be made from a rather noisy place. Some odd whistling could vaguely be heard. It could have been some construction site. "I am at… Oh, an import and export company. A few days ago, you sent out your resume. You were looking for a job right? I would like to inform you that an interview will take place this afternoon."

"An import and export company?"

Hao Ren was stunned. He then remembered his decision to look for a job and the time he sent out his resume. He was just trying his luck as he did not have any working experience and was not a professional graduate from any reputable school. He faced obstacles looking for jobs on-site and did have high hopes for the resume he sent out. He did not expect to be invited for an interview. It sounded like a good company; it was some sort of import and export company.

He thought that he just got lucky.

However, he looked at the two new tenants in his living room. He initially thought that he would not be able to rent out the apartment when he was first looking for a job. A that time, he lacked cash flow from the rental but since then, he had already obtained tenants…

The tenants were not reliable though. One was a dumb werewolf while the other was a poor, starved and naive vampire. He would be surprised if both of them could pay their rental on time so, he figured that he should not fully rely on his rental business.

The woman started to sound impatient over the phone. "Hey, are you still listening? I am telling you to come over in the afternoon for an interview!"

Hao Ren reconsidered and he nodded. "Sure, I'll be there in the afternoon."

The stranger gave him an address which was not too far from his place. Then she hung up.

Hao Ren was taken aback again when he looked at the phone screen. It showed, "Calling time: 0 minutes 0 seconds." When he opened the log, there was nothing. It was like the number, 00000012345 had never appeared.

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Chapter 12: The Village Far Away

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Hao Ren put the phone down, his expression was just as blank as his mind.

In the past, he would have considered a phone call from an unknown number as another misdial, brushed the whole thing off and continued on with his day. Yet at that moment he was in a very delicate situation.

Staring cautiously at his two uninvited guests secretly getting at each other whilst waiting for food in the living room, it dawned on him that his normal life was long gone. What used to be grandmothers' stories and urban legends could be true. What used to be myths and imaginations could be true. What was previously thought to exist only in movies… could very well be true.

Hao Ren was already on edge, so much so that he would jump at Rollie the cat's incessant purr, perceiving it as some sort of ill omen. The thought of that strange phone call he received just a moment ago sent chills down his spine, and most importantly—it just occurred to him that he had never submit his resume to import-and-export trading companies!

True, he had sent out tons of resumes to all kinds companies for all sorts of positions, including one for a male host and another for a pet psychiatrist (whatever that means!). Hao Ren was all too aware of his academic background and miscellaneous skills. He was the kind of oddball who had to use a calculator even when purchasing a celery! How would he have the gall to try out for a trading company? Was he just selling himself short?

As far as he was concerned, trading companies were more or less similar to the Hu Tong mini-market, at least that was how he sees it.

"Landlord? Landlord, sir, what's gotten into you?" He could hear Lily's tone of concern right next to him, and it was then that his soul snapped back to reality. He nodded at the two strange creatures, "Oh, a human resource unit scheduled an interview with me in the afternoon…"

"Oh, don't you worry, landlord! I'll take care of the house for you!" Lily raised her claws up high and shook it in excitement, as though she was met with an opportune moment. "That's what I do best! I guarantee you won't lose a thing!"

"A dog could do better," Vivian would never let go of an opportunity to drop a sarcastic comment, and each one so far had been a direct hit. But Hao Ren couldn't help but think: Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. You're homeless, and penniless, and you're still keeping up with that attitude? Have you no shame in your bloodline!?

Lily glared at Vivian, and later decided to shake it off. Her stomach was growling again and this was the ground for the quick dispersion of her anger along with the gradual weakening of her fighting spirit. She motioned to Hao Ren as she helplessly laid on the table, "Landlord, please can you make us something to eat? After that I'll definitely help you guard the house!"

Hao Ren was taken aback by how casual these two were with him. Did he just find himself two tenants, or were they actually two of his many ancestors? He had been a landlord for many years and yet this was the first time his tenants responded in the way long lost friends would!

Still, very swiftly, Hao Ren managed a smile, attributing all of the above to mere cultural differences between species and/or subspecies. If anything, he was definitely no match for these two outsiders. So, for the sake of his future livelihood, it would be wisest to maintain, if not improve, his two female guests' appreciation for him. At least then if ever Lily and Vivian get on each other's nerves again, he could confidently bark at them… the way a master would to his pets!

It took some effort for him to satisfy the two girls' hunger, during which he made sure Vivian was really feeding on normal human food, and only then he finally felt relieved. After everything was done, it was already eleven. Obviously, he could do away with lunch and what's left would be providing the vampire and werewolf with allowances to last until nightfall. Having considered that Vivian was unlucky enough to not have a penny to her name, and that Lily would certainly not offer up her share (canines are especially protective of their food), he had deliberately stocked up on biscuits for Vivian, leaving the latter so moved that tears were rolling in the corners of her eyes.

Due to the vampire's habit, Vivian slept through most of the day. Not long after her meal, she went upstairs to wash up and prepared to rest. Lily, on the other hand, was extremely energetic when the sun's out. She would be standing guard on the ground floor. The two of them managed to stay away from each other due to the differences in their lifestyle, and Hao Ren for the time being didn't have to worry that they would bring the house down when he wasn't around. He could go in peace to the venue the mysterious woman arranged.

That's right, despite all the suspicions, Hao Ren eventually decided to go have a look. There's no point running away from the inescapable. If somehow that woman was related to these "strange" creatures he had come across recently, then he had to get to the bottom of it. Vivian's and Lily's fighting abilities were evident—this was not the territory for the average Joe. He wasn't even sure if he could make this work.

Of course, he contemplated taking Lily along. All things considered, she could come in handy. Eventually, he digressed. First off, they had only known each other for two days and as far as he could tell, the werewolf girl seemed quite innocent. Or rather, "naïve" would be a word more accurate, but that still wasn't ground to take advantage of her. So, to simply use her as a shield on his adventures based on what little trust they had would most probably be regrettable (that one time she had to stay home to guard against the vampire was an entirely different matter). Secondly, Hao Ren himself was seven feet tall to say the least. For a man of his height and stature to go out with a female bodyguard just for an interview… what would people say? How could he live with himself?

So, he decided to check out the place on his own.

While waiting at the bus stop, he couldn't stop thinking about Vivian's and Lily's abnormalities, and kept muttering to himself whether leaving them at home was a good idea.

Honestly, his career as a landlord (if it could be considered a career at all) had been going on for several years, and he had seen just about every kind of tenants. Even strays and gangsters and those with questionable backgrounds had lived under his roof. The most crucial skill a landlord would need was the ability to differentiate the 'good' tenants from the 'bad' ones, whether they be dangerous criminals or mere thieves and conmen—examples of landlords being robbed blind were more than he could count. Hao Ren wasn't worried that his two guests belonged in the latter group, because he knew… these two girls with these mind-boggling skills were hundred times more dangerous than the common crooks!

Was it a mistake to leave them at home just like that? Would he come home to a wreckage? Would he find a SWAT team armed with two hundred explosives and grenades? Would vehicles and representatives from the Scientific Institute seal off the roads in Nan Xiao? Would he see two American men in black suits and sunglasses flashing neutralyzers at him?

All these unrealistic flights of fantasies haunted him as he got on the bus and began his journey from this remote place in Nan Xiao… to another not far away.

The address given by the mysterious lady on the phone was a place Hao Ren had heard of but never been to. It was really far, beyond the city's radiation range, a village right outside the outskirt of the city. There wasn't any public transportation in the city that could reach that place, and even from the most desolate region of Nan Xiao, only one lousy bus was available at the moment.

Such a place was queer indeed. Even its name was just as strange. Who would have figured it was called Bastard Barrio?

Hao Ren sat wobbling in the lousy bus for a good half an hour. He could feel the wind in his face as though the walls weren't there. From what he could tell, it might only take a slightly wider ditch to take apart the bus for good. Along the journey, the number of passengers on board never exceeded three. He even suspected whether the driver, looking somewhat cynical was trying to match the annoying bus ride, but in the end he was delivered to his destination in one piece, in the middle of a barren land, no different than the ones he saw along the way.

The bus clunked off with a 4/4 beat of rickety clanging sound, which was pretty much mirroring Hao Ren's thoughts and feelings at that moment: surging endlessly as he rolled his eyes upwards and sighed deeply—he was definitely tricked! The woman on the phone didn't even need a script, did she!?

Once he got off the main road, all he had to do was follow the narrow trail and Bastard Barrio would be within walking distance. He could clearly see the village as he stood on the mound next to the road. It was primitive, with few residents and even fewer mud houses, and more than half of the mud houses were just a disaster away from crumbling. The village in the whole was built with poor architecture, with a landscape dating back to several decades ago. The largest building was a little brick tower at the centre, the size of which was comparable to Hao Ren's house.

The woman on the phone had invited him here in the name of a 'trading company'.

No sane person would have believed that!

And yet, he came.

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Chapter 13: The 'Interview' Address

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Hao Ren stood on a mound of earth by the side of the road, looking down at the near-deserted village. He began to doubt his intellect and whether or not it was beyond saving—how could anyone be so easily fooled to come here, of all places!?

He had been living in the city for more than twenty years, so naturally he was astounded to find that a rundown place like this existed just beyond the outskirt of the city. A place so primitive and desolate. True, it was certainly pretty far away from the city, but in Hao Ren's opinion such a place should be found hidden in the ravines deep in the mountains; the kind of place disconnected from civilisation, with steep cliffs and dangerous slopes blocking off every means of transportation. Only then would it be possible to find a community in such a poor state, but that village is not even close to fulfilling these criteria. There was even a highway within reach! That's why the state of the village left him dumbfounded.

What was more surprising was that, as he recalled, the woman on the phone invited him here in the name of an import and export trading company. This was where made his stand. You could insult one's personality, but it was a step too far to insult one's intellect! Although he still couldn't differentiate between trading companies and supermarkets, at least he could tell that finding even a grocery store in that village would be an impossible feat!

Under the blazing sun, Hao Ren remained by the road, staring at the direction in which the rusty old bus had previously disappeared. If he kept waiting here, it would take another hour for the next bus to come. This thought alone almost made him give up on life. It was then he even began to miss the good-for-nothing, lazy bum, freeloader of a vampire for a guest at home—he missed Vivian and the frigid coldness around her. Technically there was always the scent of blood in the air, but at least it's chilly! Where he was then, not a single sprout could be seen in a radius of a few hundred metres, and the largest shade within his range of sight was a telephone pole a hundred metres away, the shade of which could barely shelter his shoulders from the heat... He could not stay here much longer!

As for the village which seemed to be a fair ten minutes' walk away, there was no way he would go there, not even if the interview turned out to be a genuine invitation. Who in their right mind would come here just for a job?

No matter how he looked at it, it was obviously a joke. The woman on the phone had played a cruel joke on him.

Right then he was just curious about one thing. Why did he still come here after he answered the call? When he heard 'Bastard Barrio on the phone, why didn't he sense anything strange? Why was it only after he alighted the bus did he felt like an idiot? These were the three questions he did not thought about prior to making the trip, and now that it registered in his mind, he felt like an total idiot.

That's right. He remembered the moment he got that strange call he certainly did deliberated for quite a while, hesitated a moment, and decided to come and take a look only after much "careful" consideration, during which he felt that everything was normal. Those few minutes of contemplation were indeed proof that he came here wilfully, but looking back… this whole deal was nothing but irrational!

Moreover, he should have raised an eyebrow when the words "Bastard Barrio" and "import and export trading company" were used in conjunction!

Subconsciously, Hao Ren reached to rub his head, as if making sure that this thing perching on his neck still belonged to him.

A few seconds later, Hao Ren shuffled towards the direction from which he came. Of course he knew it was unrealistic to walk all the way back home, given such horrid weather, but he felt he had to at least keep a little distance between himself and this ghost town to be safe. He could wait for the bus as he walked along the road. Since that rusty bucket of a bus didn't have fixed stops anyway, he could pull it over wherever he was.

It was a strange phone call, a strange contact number, and a strangely mysterious woman. She managed to persuade him to come over with an obviously flawed invitation, so Hao Ren reckoned that sometime in the past his brain had gone ballistic. He had to leave this place as fast as he could, and return to his home, to his two strange life forms. Maybe Vivian or Lily could help him—at least from what he knew, the vampire practised some magic. She mentioned it before.

He had barely walked a few steps when the phone in his pocket suddenly rang as though suddenly coming to life.

Hao Ren was so startled that he almost peed himself. The familiar ringtone was ten times clearer than it had ever been, blaring so loudly that his eardrums almost pop, as though his rage and frustration was being channelled through the phone. Hao Ren frantically reached for the device, and right there across the screen was the freaky number he had been dreading all this while: 00000012345.

He just stared at it, and instinctively removed the batteries. Luckily for him he didn't buy an iPhone. iPhone users, under such regrettably unusual circumstances, would have to resolve to smashing their phones to bits by now.

And very quickly he realised he would just have to do exactly that. The ringing didn't stop even after he took out the batteries! It was like a scene straight out of a horror film. His phone did not go silent even without the batteries, the row of numbers on the screen together with the eerie ringtone persistently demanded his attention. If previously Hao Ren was not sure how he felt about creepy occurrences, he definitely was more than certain at the moment that he was being targeted by the paranormal!

To make things worse, he did not have anything with him that could be used in defence. He didn't even had the chance to ask Lily and Vivian how the paranormal world was like before carelessly walking out into the unknown.

When the ringtone bleated for the third time, Hao Ren made up his mind. He held his phone, raised it in the air, and forcefully smashed it on the ground with as much force as he could muster.

"I don't think you could utter another sound—Oh, god, no!"

Nokia surely lived up to its name. Hao Ren helplessly stared, eyes wide, as he thrust his old trusty phone on the ground, it brushed against the surface… and rolled itself in the mud, beeping in victory!

Hao Ren admitted that he had never had much strength in him, but whatever just happened in front of him could only have of one explanation: the caller on the other side was telling him that attempts of escape were futile, and that there are some things that would just defy any reason, logic, and common sense—it would be just as useless to strap the phone on a missile and blast it off to the other side of the world!

With trembling hands, he slowly reached down to grab his apparently undamaged phone and brought it to his ear. His heart was thumping like mad but still he steadied himself (for he was a man of pride, one who valued dignity over death) before saying, "Hey! What's the big deal?"

"What else? The interview!" said the sweet but shrewd female voice from the other end. Not knowing exactly why, upon hearing it, Hao Ren breathed a sigh of relief. Could it be that she was speaking like a normal human therefore he felt somewhat safer? Or was it because the mysterious woman was still talking about the interview despite the things that had happened, which led him to feel somehow consoled.

He had gotten so far, and with all the strange occurrences before this, if the other person really meant him harm, then this was the perfect moment to strike him. Since the woman did not use her supernatural abilities and shoot him to the afterlife with a bolt of lightning, Hao Ren concluded that he should be safe for now.

As for why a lightning bolt amongst all other things, that was where Hao Ren couldn't go any further with his limited imagination. He couldn't think of anything else that belonged to a higher power. The duel between Lily and Vivian the night before seemed like a Hollywood blockbuster movie to him.

"Interview…" Hao Ren calmed himself, pretending that he was not in the slightest bit afraid,

even his tone was convincingly steady. "Let's not beat around the bush. I'm already here, so are you still going with that whatever trading company cover story? Can't you just lay it out in the open?"

"Oh, our superiors have orders, we don't reveal it if it's neither the right time nor the right person," the woman on the other side didn't seem so creepy and gloomy. He did not sense any evil intentions from her as it turns out to be a seemingly normal conversation, Hao Ren got really curious about it. "Now, if you would just follow my directions, you would reach the workplace of our unit…"

"Hold it!" Hao Ren bellowed, interrupting her. He was not going to play follow-the-leader any longer. "I wanna be clear about this. What do you really want? A person of honesty keeps no secrets. Just stop using the interview as a guise, okay?"

The woman on the phone got impatient, "Why do you have to ask so many questions? I've said it's an interview, so it's an interview! If you really want to know our rules, you have to come here first! Now listen, see that telephone pole up ahead? Get over there, place your hand on the ad about some ancient Chinese medicine, and face North… Don't know which way that is? Up is North, down is South, left is West, right is East. So, raise your head and look up!"

"..." Hao Ren was speechless. He thought he was speaking to a lunatic.

When he did turned to face the sky, he was flabbergasted.

A large towering building was hanging upside down right above his head!

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Chapter 14: A Top of the Pile Job

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The moment Hao Ren looked up, his jaw dropped. He saw a vision in the sky. If only he could see the look on his face, he would surely feel so retarded.

A huge building was seemingly floating in the sky, upside down!

It was a huge mansion with the shape of a cross, with long annexes on both side, white walls and blue roof tiles. It was a fusion of a Neo-European castle and a manor, exuding a style of elegance and simplicity. Behind the mansion was a streamlined towering structure of complex designs which was in complete contradiction with the style of the main building. Overall, the entire building complex gave him a sense of wonder and seemed to be shrouded in mystery. There were green meadows all around the blossoming garden, with rows of small fountains on both sides of the gardens and a massive fountain at the open area in front of the mansion.

The floating inverted mansion was defying the Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation.

Hao Ren had never seen a mansion as big as this one, much less one with the wrong side up. What if the whole thing fell out of the sky? He trembled slightly at the thought.

Despite of the massive mansion in the sky, strangely, there was no shadow on the ground. He could still feel the sun beating down on him. He was sweating profusely—but not because of the heat from the sun. Everything was beyond his comprehension. While he was in a daze, his phone rang.

"Hello, Hao Ren! Did you see the big mansion in the sky?"

Hao Ren held his phone near to his ear, sighing after a long pause, "Ooooh fuck..."

"Employee Rule No. One: never cuss before your superior does. But since you're not officially one of us yet, you can get away with it." The woman on the other end sounded casual. "Now, get your hands off the bill and keep your eyes on the square; you don't want to get flung around."

Hao Ren was in cold sweat upon hearing what she just said, his legs felt as wobbly as jelly. He held on to the telephone pole as if his life depended on it.

He couldn't run away. All he could do was wait for whatever that might come.

Before he knew it, he felt as if he had been flung a few hundred metres up into the air, he didn't know where he was; he felt zero gravity and was spatially disorientated. He was spun several times more in all directions, almost throwing up before things started to calm down. He then was surprised to find himself still standing on solid ground, but not where he was a moment earlier. There was a huge fountain before him, he could feel the pleasantly cool mist from the fountain as a breeze blew the droplets on his face. On both side of the fountain were gardens of grassy meadows and flowers. He was standing on a pavement of white stones—he wasn't sure if it was made of stone, but from the fine texture of the surface he could tell it wasn't concrete; it was some sort of fusion between plastic and metal which he had never seen before.

Slowly, Hao Ren turned around and he saw the big white mansion.

At that moment, the eventual realization befell him; he realised he had just landed on the inverted estate he was marveling at a while ago.

Hao Ren was thrilled. He looked up expecting to see the place where he originally stood but it wasn't there. Instead it was a clear blue sky with a beautiful aurora dancing behind the few white clouds. He didn't see the sun but he could feel a warm light shining across the sky from the horizon. There was nothing surrounding the mansion, only a road going through the gardens straight into a seemingly impenetrable fog—there was fog everywhere. It seemed that the only existence there were the white mansion and him.

It felt like an island in the middle of nowhere—he was terrified, feeling abandoned.

Just then, he heard a squeak behind him. He quickly turned around and saw that the mansion's door was opened, someone emerged but was shrouded in fog, emanating a soft warm glow.

But that 'someone' was actually something Hao Ren had never seen before. He wasn't sure if it was in fact a human at all. He could neither tell if it was male nor female as he could barely see the face of the creature. It had the figure of a human but the skeleton was formed of plasma.

He noticed that that 'someone' wasn't actually wearing any clothes.

He had so many strange encounters lately, so much so that what's strange didn't felt as strange anymore. He kept his composure and maintained a calm facade as the 'blue foggy figure' nodded and gestured him to enter.

Hao Ren plucked up the courage and followed it from behind.

He found that the interior of the mansion was just as grand and elegant as the exterior; behind the entrance was a magnificently lit lobby, after which there was a long hallway paved with red carpet.

Hao Ren carefully observed every inch of the hallway as they walked through it. There wasn't a single light source in the hallway and yet it was as bright as day. There were murals on the walls on both sides; some depicted castles and towers which towered into the clouds, some were artworks of planetary objects and space, while some displayed battleships and tech-advanced armies in battlefields, still some depicted sorcerers—everything was so random, without a central theme and story.

As he reached the end of the hallway, he saw a piece of mural which was the most dumbfounding of all—a childish graffiti of little assholes.

He was then led to a dark brown heavy wooden door. The 'blue foggy figure' pointed to the door before vanishing into thin air.

Hao Ren shrugged and held his breath before knocking on the door.

He heard a very pleasant female voice behind the door, it was the woman who had talked to him on the phone earlier. "Come in. The door's not locked.'

Hao Ren had to push with all he'd got to open the heavy door.

Inside was a semicircle room with a heavy, dark color desk in the center of it. The floor wasn't layered with carpet as the hallway was but was finished with a welcoming, warm-colored tiles instead. On the curved wall was a semicircle rack stuffed with strange playthings—some looked like models, some were fine crystals which gleamed in the light and also there was a half-eaten fruity pancake left in the cubicle.

Only God knew why would a fruity pancake be there in the first place!

A woman with long silver hair was sitting behind the desk.

She looked very young, probably even younger than Hao Ren. She was gorgeous.

Her brown eyes, silver long hair, prominent nose and thin lips made her look unapproachable and cold at times (of course that might be a biased perception of Hao Ren; after all, she was a doomsday demon to him). Her attire too, was strange; she wore a black gown which looked like a modified wind coat but it suited her perfectly—it accentuated the air of mystery about her.

While Hao Ren was still fascinated by her appearance, the woman smiled. Her smile had helped break the ice somewhat as she made a friendly nod and gestured Hao Ren to be seated next to her. "You can call me Raven 12345. I'm your superior."

Hao Ren wasn't really listening as he was still lost in utmost admiration and asked knee-jerkingly, "What is this place?"

"Here? Space Administration. "She proclaimed proudly, "Bastard Barrio office, Node EN35 of the Space Administration. Isn't that cool?"

Hao Ren, "..."

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Chapter 15: God Has a Job for You

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

He stared dumbstruck, eyes wide opened (this seemed to happen quite a lot lately) upon hearing a statement that would make anybody choke on hearing it. At that moment, he could barely believe what that big-eyed chief just said, "What... was that... you said?"

"Space Administration," the silver-haired lady smirked as she repeated. She had a frosty demeanour about her when she was silent; but as she opened up to speak, while pulling a smirk off, all the icy coldness melted away and she actually seemed quite amiable.

Hao Ren asked impetuously, "No, not that. I mean, the latter part?"

"Oh, the Bastard Barrio Branch Office," the silver-haired lady happily nodded her head, delighted to acknowledge that fact.

Hao Ren really wanted to slam his head against something, anything… but he figured he should do it outside. Everything on display here seemed so posh and pricey that if broken he probably wouldn't be able to pay for the compensation, but surely he definitely wanted to bang his head on something! How could "Space Administration" and "Bastard Barrio Branch Office", two terms which were already out of this world, be placed in the same sentence? And judging by the way this white-haired lady phrased it, she didn't seem , in the slightest way, disturbed by that peculiarity, her expression was as though this was how it had always been. Hao Ren's bewilderment upon hearing those words were comparable to that upon hearing these: Old man Wang has three sons. The eldest is called Da Ming, the second is called Er Ming, the third is called Eisenbuliq William Haniba…

But what the silver-haired lady spoke of somehow made sense that Hao Ren was left with no rebuttal: This really was a bastardly barrio.

"He... hehe," with his face hardened, Hao Ren snickered and slightly readjusted his body on the cotton seat to a more stable position. He was worried that if he hears any more gobsmacking statements, he would fall off onto the ground. "Space Administration you say… Oh and what was that you called yourself just now?"

He just recalled that the person to whom he was talking had also introduced herself a moment ago, but he didn't catch her name as he was busy calming his nerves.

The silver-haired lady didn't seem to be bothered. She was far more good-tempered than he had expected, "I am Raven 12345. You have to remember that. It's important."

"Including the numbers?"

"Including the numbers. Actually the numbers are the important ones," said the woman who called herself Raven 12345 as she firmly nodded. "To prevent confusion with other Ravens. Any more questions?"

Immediately Hao Ren's mind was filled with fantastical settings of man-made humans, clones, dark forces, evil armies, and the likes, plotting world domination, along with a two-hundred-thousand-words script and a web of love-hate relationships and romantic feuds among dozens of characters—not implying that he had a wild imaginative mind, but rather confirming that he had watched tonnes of movies. He was clever to not ask about the whereabouts of the other Ravens (experience tells him that this is a taboo, and in later days he would come to find out how explicably wrong he was), so he rubbed his chin and said, "Raven 12345. Quite a creative name, hehe. So, what do you want from me?"

The silver-haired lady smiled, "You took in a strange creature into your home, am I right? If calculations are correct it was a werewolf."

Hearing that, Hao Ren became nervous, every muscle on his body couldn't help but twitched. All along, he thought he had managed to keep Lily's identity a secret, it was the only way for him to be able to keep is familiar everyday life. Who would have known that the lady before him had discovered everything! Quickly he calmed himself down as he knew this lady was another 'strange being', it wasn't in his control that she knew some things. It was clear how little he knew about a certain mystical realm, so he shouldn't act too surprised as doing so would only put him at a disadvantage.

Raven 12345 did not mention Vivian, which to him meant her intel was a little incomplete, and so naturally he should not actively pursue that.

"True," he nodded, "but surely this is not against any taboo, right? Your Space... Administration, is it in charge of stuff like this too? "

"No, it's not a taboo. I just want to remind you that from now onwards you'll play host to many more strange creatures. This is going to be your job," Raven 12345 glossed over that startling statement she just made. "The organisation graciously wishes you..."

"Hold up!" Hao Ren couldn't bear it anymore and blurted out, "This was your arrangement!?"

"Of course not, but after today it is," Raven 12345 shrugged. "You had gotten in touch with that werewolf called Lily anyway, and it just so happens that I require a helper. You're quite suitable for the job."

"What kind of business is it that you guys are running here?" Hao Ren frowned. He felt that Raven 12345 was quite incoherent with her words, always muttering the strangest things at the strangest moments as she kept beating around the bush... You should just come clean and explain what the hell it is that the Space Administration really does!

"'You guys'? You mean 'we'? Well, 'we' are quite a large group," Raven 12345 touched her nose. "The Empire of Xi Ling spans a vast territory, ruling over countless universes, owning numerous departments. Division of Labor? Complicated. You could generally refer to us as Gods. This would make it easier to explain—by the way I should tell you that it is only recently that we made the overall transition to become Gods. The organization is still young, but youth brings with it opportunities. As for the Space Administration, it's a department under the Empire tasked to manage each and every universe, take charge of communications, direct and control the flow of cross-overs between universes, increase worldwide cohesion... all that good stuff. At least that's what was stated in the superior's most recent documents anyway. We'll see if there will be any changes. I am in the Junior Committee of the Space Administration, and here I take charge of all affairs in this universe—like preventing particular races from committing world annihilation, or planning the evolution of the celestial bodies... things of that sort. Technically this isn't my job, but due to special circumstances, I'm taking over for now. As for you, you're here because I need a helper—I have to manage everything on the surface of this universe, and some areas require an agent, so I leave those to you. Don't you feel lucky?"

Hao Ren's head was spinning as he listened to that elaborate tale. However, he managed to calmly stand up and said, "Thank you for your hospitality, my dear host. You're a good person, and your programme was really interesting. May I ask where the exit is?"

Raven 12345's face showed no signs of surprise, as though she had faced this same situation millions of times before. She waited for Hao Ren to finish and then casually lifted a finger, "According to the job entry requirements, new interns are required to sit for some psychological tests for quite a long period of time, so now we'll take you through the basics..."

Before Hao Ren could utter a word, his body felt intensely light, and his surroundings abruptly changed!

The extravagant building that he was in was no more. Surrounded by thick darkness, he realised he was standing in the midst of nothingness, and within it was a spot of light which suddenly sparked and beamed and brightened up the whole area!

What emerged first was an indescribable ball of heat, its structure unrecognisable, and its form unstable. This ball of light bore down on him as it got charged up, and instantly expanded into the endless distance beyond. Hao Ren could barely blink while this ball of light swelled up to a size he could no longer comprehend.

And as the light faded, its extraordinarily high levels of energy quickly dissipated, downsized. Primitive particles were created as the space cooled. The aftermath of that first boom of light kicked start the universe and everything in it, the creation. The earliest primitive nebula was born, and it would go on to be the prototype for other galaxy clusters and giant celestial bodies to come.

As the dust begin to settle and cooldown, ancient planets began to rise from the thick maelstroms of the primitive nebulae, while those primitive nebulae split themselves and each became an independent cluster of galaxies. Partial core reaction replaced the explosive energy of the Big Bang, and the world welcomed a milder era of order—following the constant cooling, primitive stars swiftly ran out of fuel as they continued to burn. With one explosion after another they projected heavy elements long accumulated within them. These heavy elements were the first highly stable material to appear after "the first ray of light". They followed the path constructed by the remnants of those stars and flew, clashed and fused with one another, and soon took the form of newly born, young stars.

And so, the first stellar system was created.

As materials began to thin out, the restless galaxies slowly stabilised after emitting tremendous amount of energy and consuming immeasurable amount of material. The complexity of the universe began to increase, clumps of stars evolved, and life multiplied. Hao Ren felt that his sights were now far beyond human interpretation. He was observing the universe from an all-knowing point of view, and very quickly he found the target he had been restlessly searching for: right there, close to a young star, a blue planet, covered with greenery…..

And then everything came to a halt, paused, and a line of words floated before his eyes: Professional Documentation of Genesis, Trial Version. If you wish to continue, please recharge.

The surrounding scenes faded away as receding tides. Hao Ren realised he was still sitting on the couch in the middle of the classy room, his clothes drenched in his own sweat. Raven 12345 smiled at him and said, "This is the recordings of the evolution of your universe from the beginning of time. Of course, some sections were tweaked to adjust the timeline for the convenience of your viewing. This was not recorded by me; the snapshots were taken directly from the information in the depths of the universe. So, in short, it's like you have you have personally experienced Genesis yourself. How does it feel?"

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Chapter 16: Working for God

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Hao Ren sat on the chair, as still as a feather, hands firmly placed on his knees, and a serious look hanging on his face—he realised he had just gotten himself into a situation that far exceeded any logic, and if he had any desire to enjoy what's left of his life, the wisest choice would be to contain his floppy behaviour and usual childish antics and listen attentively to what the lady, who claimed to be a Goddess, had to say.

"So how does it feels to personally experience Genesis?" smirked Raven 12345.

Hao Ren observed her expressions and confirmed that this woman was indeed capable of working something out, only then did he managed a grin, "If I was to ask you whether this is an illusion, will you conveniently sentence me to death?"

"No, of course not. A lot of people have asked me this, I'm not surprised at all," Raven 12345 shrugged, "I can show you anything and everything, whatever it takes for you to understand and believe all I have told you, but now's not the time. For now, you'll just have to take me for my words, and we'll talk about work."

Hao Ren raised his hand, gesturing her to slow down, for he needed some time to go through what just happened.

He thought what he had just experienced was a rather weird occurrence on Earth, but this woman before him actually mentioned that she came from… another universe? Not Earth, not an alien planet, not an alien galaxy, but an entirely different universe! She claimed that she came from an empire in charge of ruling many universes, and that she worked at a unit called Space Administration, specifically managing the order of this universe, and now this self-proclaimed Goddess said she needed an agent to help with some trivial affairs on selected areas on Earth, and so she set her eyes on none other than him, Hao Ren...

In a nutshell, that was how things went down since he met them. Linguistically the instructions were clear, only that this whole offer challenged all three of his fundamental views: the view of the world, the view of life, and the view of morality.

Hao Ren stole a peek at Raven 12345, who was aware of it but did not indicate anything. Seizing this opportunity, Hao Ren compared this silver-haired lady with the images of gods and goddesses and other immortal beings, imagining a pair of wings extending from behind her back or a halo floating magically above her head… but after much struggle he gave up. He knew it was just a waste of time: from the moment he got to know the ailurophobic werewolf, he should have discarded all myths and legends he knew.

"Are there really other universes?" Hao Ren stammered. "I've read about them in books, parallel universes and life, but isn't that just a theory?"

"It's much more complicated than that. The real structure of the world is much more complicated than what humans imagined," Raven 12345 curled her lips, as though lazy to explain. "For the moment you won't have access to the other worlds. That would be after your formal evaluation or after special duties. All that you have to focus on now is dealing with your designated areas."

"Why me?" Hao Ren couldn't help but interrupt. He felt he had to assert himself slightly in this conversation, even if he couldn't claim victory in this battle he should try to speak with a little more confidence. "You haven't sought my agreement, have you?"

"Oh, that reminds me," Raven 12345 gave herself a face palm, which prompted Hao Ren's first drop of cold sweat. "The Principle of Voluntary Work, there is such a thing… I have been assuming that you have consented. Does this mean you don't?"

Hao Ren was stunned, he never expected such loose conditions. Her communicative ability did not match up to his initial impression of her godly power: he thought he would meet his doom if he refused the offer. But it was after Raven 12345 stated the conditions that he began to contemplate: What should he do? Should he really refuse? But it would be such a pity... as his new strange life would come to an end even before it begun.

"What will happen if I don't agree?"

"You'll be rid of your memories of these past couple of days, and I'll relief you of the werewolf. Don't worry, no harm will come to either of you, just that you'll no longer have anything to do with these issues anymore. Common folks have common lives. For an ordinary fellow to handle extraordinary business, history tells that they usually meet with dreadful ends," Raven 12345 explained unemotionally. "I'll look for other agents, after all there're so many people on Earth, and if worst comes to worst I can always apply for an intern to help me."

Hao Ren felt a pull at his heartstrings and was consumed by an unexplainable feeling, then he shook his head, "And what if I agreed? What do you want me to do? I'll say first that I won't be doing anything against my morals. I'm a good person."

Raven 12345's smiled again at that. "Don't be so nervous, you're working for God. In other dimensions this position is called 'the Holy One' or 'the Messenger'. It's just that we work under a different system so we don't call it that. What are you worried about? We're not asking you to do anything evil. Your job consists only of two main tasks: The first is to receive guests, like you have always been doing so far. The difference is that these guests are... quite special, and they'll need assistance, a place to stay, someone to guide them—you have to take care of them, so that they won't go out and cause destruction to mankind. The second is to help me with other work."

Hao Ren was speechless. He honestly suspected that the second task far outweighed the first one!

"When you say 'guests', do you mean the ones like Lily?" Hao Ren wanted to know more, although he might not get it his way, but at least he wouldn't be exploited. "Strange creatures? May I ask why are you doing this? Just so that they won't disrupt mankind?"

"Actually the reasons are quite complicated," Raven 12345 was very patient, "Any civilisation, unless faced with imminent catastrophe or other disastrous ordeals that require Gods to intervene, has the right to proceed and grow naturally, undisturbed. I know the myths and legends of the human world, but the real gods are not quite the same with the ones in those stories—we create the world, we manage the world, and we can destroy the world, but all of the above are governed by strict rules and regulations. No one can simply disturb and destroy worlds. Before we switched professions and became Gods we had made quite a few mistakes, so this is now a serious problem. Your world is the same—it should evolve naturally without the intervention of external forces. It's expected that your kind will face challenges along to way, but if a third power wields the potential to twist the process of evolution, it becomes our responsibility to stop it. As for your job, it is to clean up the 'aftermath'."

Hao Ren went to great lengths to make sense of what Raven 12345 just said, and thought he had grasped the gist of it. "You said there's… what? A 'third party' with the power to disrupt our progress? Lily... and those I have to receive in the future, are all related to this?"

"Don't overthink it. That's ancient history now. The largest threat to humanity was resolved by me. You humans are safe now, as long as they don't ask for death they'll live a full life," Raven 12345 looked into Hao Ren's eyes, "As for the guests you'll be receiving... it's true that they're connected to one of the bigger cases, but it's still considered confidential information to you, so it's best not to ask. How is it, do you accept this job? Although it's just to clean up some mess left behind by the Space Administration, it is considered to be the career of a lifetime in a lot of worlds, more or less it's considered a privilege for temporary workers in the entrepreneurial sectors..."

"Well, putting it that way makes me more reluctant to agree alright!" Hao Ren responded.

Raven 12345 scoffed, not even one bit bothered.

Hao Ren looked down, seriously contemplating this offer which could change his entire course of life.

He still didn't dare to believe everything this woman just said, and could not understand what was the deal with this talk of the universes, gods, worlds and the rest. It's just like what Raven 12345 said, for now he could only trust that everything is as she said, and start considering what he should do next.

If he nodded his head now, he would be straying onto a path completely different from his past, in Raven 12345's words it meant he would be working for 'God'. Regardless of whether what she said was true or false, no matter if it was a trap or not, and not knowing whether his future will be bright or bleak, he would be facing an entirely new and extraordinary life. His fate would change, for the better or worse.

If he shook his head now, he would lose nothing but his memories of the past two days, forgetting matters an ordinary person shouldn't know in the first place, and then return to his honest and simple life as a little landlord, or find a real job just like everyone else, or a wife maybe, who may not be a perfect match but works out just fine in the end, and maybe live together for the remainder of their lives.

There really was nothing to choose from.

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Chapter 17: The Contract

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Hao Ren had a dreamHe hoped of becoming a warrior. Having superhuman powers, he would travel the world, upholding justice and protecting all four corners of the world without fearing.

Hao Qiang. He would be loved by all the people and become a hero in due time.

Oh, that was when Hao Ren was nine - it was ages ago. Also, his perception of the 'four corners of the world' then was limited to the radius of Nan Jiao Elementary School and a couple of streets nearby. Also, Hao Qiang was his class teacher.

In the past couple of years, similar to most of the people then, Hao Ren's noble ambitions had dwindled to things more realistic: having a higher than average salary, getting married to a above than average woman, having one or two children that are better than the average kids; buying a decent house (which is not much of a worry as he already had one. Those where the things he thought would make up his life – up till this moment.

The turning point of his life was inching closer, Hao Ren could literally feel as if an entirely different future was laid out right in front of him. Looking to the self-proclaimed, but seemingly queer Goddess in front of his eyes, he nodded. "Alright, I promise."

There was not a shade of surprise on Raven 12345's face, it seemed that she had gotten quite used to this kind of situation. Also, she already knew what Hao Ren's answer would be before he even say it and she just nodded her head. "Yes. From now on you will be on probation as a junior examiner in the Space Administration. The welfare that you'll be receiving will be similar to part-time trainees outside the administration..."

Hao Ren replied, "... Please don't go into the details. I've had a hard time picking up the courage to do this!"

Raven 12345 seemed to smile upon seeing the worried and lost Hao Ren. "Don't worry. We're not evil, we maintain universal peace. Don't you think it's a very noble job? If I were to look for an assistant in another galaxy, I would have people queuing up the mountains and sea. It's just that planet earth is at such a state of godlessness, that's why I did not get myself involve all this while. And since I had to look for an assistant now, I can only keep a low profile while doing it. So don't be embarrassed of your job because of this..."

Hao Ren muttered. "Why do I feel that you do not sound like a God? Gods behave this way?"

"Sigh…. It's not just you, even I myself am not used to this title." answered Raven 12345 with a carefree tone which surprised Hao Ren as she swung her hands. "We've only changed our title in these recent years, we were not called Gods prior to this. I you prefer, you can address us as Xi Ling disciples. That was our clan name, and being God is actually our job."

"Xi Ling disciples?" Hao Ren asked as he tried to take in this new bizarre term. "It still does not sound right…. What should I normally address you? Royal Goddess??"

Hao Ren was lost for words: if this woman was a self-proclaimed God, he should address her as a Royal Goddess, but that did not seemed right at all. From their conversation so far, Raven 12345 reminded him of an elderly sister, having a casual chat with him in the supermarket. So this was how Goddesses supposed to be like?

"Well, I'm not saying that you have to have a halo behind you but at least do not fiddle your fingers whilst talking?!?!"

Raven 12345 took no notice of this matter and continued fiddling away with her fingers whilst nodding her head at Hao Ren. "Well, I'm not used to this title. Just call me by my name, or call me 12345."

"...…..that is worse… that is not a human name at all..." Hao Ren was speechless.

After that, Raven 12345 went into the details of Hao Ren's future 'career'. There was actually not much to it, it was just about how he should continue to welcome bizarre guests into his home. Since he already had a werewolf and a vampire in his house, Hao Ren thought to himself that a few extra abnormal creatures would not be a problem - well, as long as the new guests wereas easy going as the current two.

"Don't worry," Raven 12345 reassured Hao Ren while thumping on her chest. "We're quite concerned about our worker's welfare, so we will not endanger you in any way. The ones sent to you would have already passed some 'tests'. This is your current mission and for now, leave the other matters to those concerned. About some other situations that you may face... we'll only discuss those when you've come to face them. Are there any more questions?"

Reluctantly, Hao Ren finally blurted out what was troubling him the most. "Then... What about Lily? You did not arrange that?"

"No. As I've already mentioned, only the new guests coming from today onwards are arranged by the administration. The werewolf... take it as your fate since she was the one who found you. Also, you seemed to be getting used to this pretty well, that's why I chose you. Normal people cannot accept this, hence I was looking for someone who can cope with these challenges and bizarre events to be my assistant."

"I just have to take good care of the welfare of these 'guests' right? So, where do we draw the line on 'taking good care' of their welfare? Worship them like my ancestors?"

"That's unnecessary. All you have to do is to prevent them from causing trouble. The main goal for all missions are to let human civilization develop and grow the way it's supposed to. Humans do not need to come in contact with things that have a different direction to their civilization's development. These things can cause humans to have misconceptions regarding their own cosmic laws. As humans have short lifespan, misconceptions in one or two generations can lead to the destruction of the development and civilization attained for the past hundreds of years, and of course this will also greatly affect the future - judging by your expression I guess you're already confused with all these things, I'll just briefly explain the rest." As Raven 12345 was talking to Hao Ren, she took a stack of papers out from the drawer.

"In a nutshell you're a junior employee as well as a temporary one. You do not need to know about the complicated things and even if you do know about them, you would not be able to handle them. When the time comes I'll tell you more. Please do not worry, I have no bad intentions. Let's sign the contract..."

Hao Ren felt that the other party was still hiding a lot of things from him. However, he had no choice as Raven 12345 seemed to be a woman of discipline although she was easy going. She would not reveal something that she's not supposed to. Also, Hao Ren knew that there was no need to rush things, it is better to be more careful when he was still unclear about the situation.

Hao Ren sensed that he was being tricked but he did not have the courage to escape- he was sure he was no match for any of the creatures in this place, the fog-like creature included.

He was shocked looking at the contract in front of him. The words can be easily understood, but the contents did not make sense: "Appointment Letter for Trainee Examiner - Space Administration of Xi Ling Kingdom" was the title followed by the subheading "Xi Ling Celestial Family Alliance Agreement" and another subheading "Related Documents for Temporary Employees Working at the Civil Division" below it. In addition, a line of tiny words were written below: 106th Edition, Re-edition, Revised edition, Final Edition, the 'absolutely won't be revised' Edition. Apparently, even the queen herself will not be able to revise this contract easily- it was hand-written by the kingdom's head of state himself, each department was very careful with their work.

The main body of the contract was written below, the job scope and attendance system can be easily understood. It was also stated that the newly joined employees' rank was similar to that of the bishops, hallowed scions and agents. It was noted that this was in accordance to the degree of civilization of the employee's work place and this was to ease the new employee to orientate oneself into one's community.

What was written after that shocked Hao Ren: The highest order of the Xi Ling Celestial Family clearly stated that, the newly appointed examiner in charge of those wanting to convert (in other civilizations they are referred to as prophets, the first chosen one to have an epiphany) shall enjoy a worker's welfare which includes: receiving staples during festivities and gifts during Spring festival as well as monthly reimbursements. According to where one is at, the welfare given shall be arranged by the local God responsible.

Upon seeing the contract, Hao Ren's eyes were filled with tears. He found the contract somewhat familiar, very much familiar in fact...

"How's it? The welfare offered is quite good right?" Raven 12345 asked. "I know you weren't interested in the welfare just now. After my many encounters with all kinds of lifeforms, most of them would feel weird reading this contract as they felt that they should be volunteering when it comes to working for God. However, the administration doesn't work this way. A few experienced bosses came up with this contract, saying that humans are more used to this contract. Sign it if you do not have any other suggestions."

Hao Ren could only remain speechless...

He decided to not believe in TV programs and novels anymore for the rest of his life!!!

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Chapter 18: What Does the Future Hold?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Walking back to his home, Hao Ren was holding a stack of poor quality prints, his emotions welling inside him.

His face was covered in tears.

From that moment forth, he was a civilized, trans-universal employee. He was a human who could communicate with celestial beings directly. He was someone from the Space Administration (hearing about this titan in his background would definitely cause a commotion). In his possession was a contract with God himself and his employee identification number can be found on the heaven's attendance sheet. If he lived in a world where God was paramount, he would be able to proudly proclaim that he was a candidate for sainthood; as long as he passed the tests for his internship. He would be promoted from a contracted saint to a permanent one.

Who would not be overwhelmed with emotions and covered in tears after finding out about all these?

Why are these godly things and issues so different from the ones seen on TV and novels?!

No matter the circumstances, Hao Ren was appointed to a position in an extraordinary place. Disregarding how weird Raven 12345 is, the Space Administration as well as the whole Xi Ling Kingdom definitely exceeded Hao Ren's knowledge and imagination by far.

Looking at the contract in his hands, Raven 12345's words flashed in his mind. "Henceforth, you shall be a trainee examiner. Your one and only mission is to take good care of your house guests. The Xi Ling Celestial Family is not used to employing religious means to manage its affiliated organizations as other religions do. Thus, employees will be graded by their attendance as well as performance. It's best if you do not blindly follow the religious lore and booklets found on Earth say. I've seen this type of silly children in other worlds… anyway, do not worry about it that much and just perform well."

Letting out a sigh, Hao Ren had a feeling once again that he had been hoodwinked. He folded the stack of paper and planned to lock it in a secure location at home so as to prevent Rollie from eating it. In fact, Hao Ren could not believe what he had just been through. He had his doubts on Raven 12345, especially when she held that stack of paper in her hands (have you ever seen God's contract printed on paper? Also, there were spelling errors on it!) However, Hao Ren was aware of his current situation. No matter who Raven 12345 was, her abilities greatly differed from his. Based on her spelling errors, her habit of playing with her fingers, her fondness for Chinese pancakes as well as her gibberish speech… ordinary human beings would just be unable to handle her quirks.

Thus, in order to guarantee a peaceful life, Hao Ren had no choice but to play along.

Walking under the scorching sun, Hao Ren checked the time on his phone. He was at a deserted road and there was no one to be found. He thought to himself. Working for God is not a reliable job after all. Even transportation can still be an issue. Even though I'm a prophet in the celestial society, I still have to take the bus after the inauguration. Also, I've been waiting for such a long time for the bus!

He could not help but think of earthly myths and legends. He was trying very hard to recall how saints and prophets go back to their homes after they had a revelation. Did they enter a crowded carriage to return home? However, after giving much thought into this, Hao Ren still had no idea. Which holy book would actually take note of this?!

While his thoughts were jumbled, he heard a ring. Looking at his phone, he realized he did not recognize the number. Thank God! It's not 00000012345!

"Hello, who're you looking for?" asked Hao Ren politely as he picked up the call- from that moment he was someone with an identity, it was time for him to be cautious of his speech and actions. Although the goddess above him was not a reliable one, he was determined to showcase himself as a dependable person.

Lily's voice could be heard and she was speaking in a worried tone, "Landlord! It's me! I'm Lily!"

"Sill… Lily?" Hao Ren managed to stop himself from saying 'silly werewolf'. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, I have just recalled that your number is on the newspaper ad. I was searching for the place yesterday and I should've just called you…"

Sweat was rolling off Hao Ren's head. "… You called me just for this?"

Lily's immediately became excited. "Oh, no! Something's not right with Vivian. She flew out from the window in broad daylight! I've tried chasing after her but I lost her!"

Hao Ren wanted to roar at Lily stating that this was supposed to be the main point for her call! Why did she talk about so much irrelevant rubbish in the first place?

"Vivian flew away? She transformed into a bat and flew?" Hao Ren did not know why he was still curious with the details even during times like this. It was probably because he was a bit confused at that time. A few minutes ago, a self-proclaimed God was just reassuring him that the creatures staying in his home will not cause any trouble. Well, he was just out moments ago and now something's happening back home!

"She transformed into a huge bat before flying away," Lily corrected Hao Ren in a serious manner before continuing. "Before flying away, she mentioned that this place was not safe… I do not know who to look for and that's why I called you."

"Stay right where you are at home and do not go anywhere. I'll be back shortly," Hao Ren answered hurriedly as he caught sight of an old and battered bus from the corner of his eyes. Whilst trying to flag down the bus, he was reassuring Lily. After he slammed his phone down, he squeezed inside the crowded bus and thought to himself… What's wrong with Vivian?

Although Hao Ren's knowledge on mutants were limited and the only things he knew about them stemmed from unreliable sources such as the television and novels (it was already proven that these sources were in fact unreliable), he was at least certain that vampires were not comfortable out in daylight. In addition to that, Vivian had confirmed this fact personally. Thus, he was certain that a vampire transforming into a colony of bats to fly away was primarily due to an emergency and not because she just happened to wake up and decided to go out for a stroll! And what did Vivian mean when she said that 'this place is not safe'? Was she referring to his house?

Hao Ren knew that apart from the vampire, the silly werewolf was the other powerful being at home. Vivian looked down upon Lily, so the scene of 'the vampire being chased away by the werewolf's bad breath' was certainly impossible. So, why was his house unsafe?

Suddenly, Hao Ren felt that the mission that Raven 12345 handed to him… was in fact a trap.

It was half an hour later when Hao Ren arrived at the old city of the Southern Suburbs. A few people clothed in work attire was walking towards him when he exited the bus. His heart stopped, thinking to himself, "We've been exposed so quickly? Who are these people? Scientists from the Science Academy? Are they setting up traps for the vampire? Was any surveillance system installed? Maybe they're Special Forces disguised as telecommunication workers?"

He was relieved once they got nearer to him. They were indeed repairmen…

Hao Ren could barely make out their conversation when they briskly walked past him.

"… this is a first in my career, how did that piece of brick manage to get up there?"

"I have no idea. I can only say it's not done by a human. Who has that kind of arm strength to throw a brick up this high on top of the TV station? But this is so bizarre, that piece of brick snapped three steel rods…"

"Yes, this is so bizarre. I was just wondering what the problem was when I got a call about people not getting any TV signals in Southern Suburbs. Witnessing half a brick smashed into the broadcasting tower, I wonder what are we going to write in our work report now?"

As the repairmen slowly disappeared from Hao Ren's sight, Hao Ren was clear of two matters:

First, he finally obtained the reason asss to why there was no TV signal in his house.

And of course, now he knew where the brick Lily flung at Vivian during the fight the previous night ended up at…

What's the point of knowing this?!

Hao Ren carefully went up to his front door. After making sure there were no traces of Special Forces or mysterious men in black suits hiding nearby, he took out his key. However, before he could insert the key into the keyhole, the door opened.

Vivian was standing in front of him, smiling. "Landlord, you're home!"

After catching his breath (as a matter of fact, it took him awhile), Hao Ren looked at this vampire who apparently 'flew away' and with uncertainty, asked, "Vivian, you… didn't you not fly away?"

"Yes. Something was up and I went out. But I'm back now!" said Vivian as she chuckled.

Hao Ren could only remain speechless.

I can't imagine what the future holds!

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Chapter 19: A False Alarm?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Hao Ren did not know what to feel when he was invited into his own home by Vivian. Sitting on the sofa in the middle of the living room, two unusual creatures stood before him like children who did something wrong. Vivian looked embarrassed whereas Lily was both embarrassed and awkward. "I'm sorry, Landlord. I was quite surprised when this winged-fellow came back out all of a sudden. And that's why I forgot to give you a call..." said Lily sheepishly.

Rollie was rubbing against Hao Ren's leg. He was the most at ease among them, oblivious to the events that had happened hours ago. All he knew was to rub against his owner's legs while he purred wholeheartedly.

Hao Ren waved his hands and the two girls with super human powers sat before him. He could not help but feel proud.

"Although my life is generally a mess, my brain is mostly confused and my future is uncertain… both the legendary werewolf and vampire still show respect towards me.. Ain't this a sight…"

Although he took a little pride in it, he knew that Lily and Vivian were just being polite plus, both were also feeling a bit apologetic. It was just that both of their identities blew Hao Ren's mind.

"Why did you fly away all of a sudden?" Hao Ren thought of his newly acquired 'job', feeling that it was his responsibility to be aware of the two girls' whereabouts; in the case of any event, it would then be easier for him to report to Raven 12345.

Hao Ren was completely aware of his limits as a normal human being. He knew that he would not be able to control a werewolf and a vampire by himself in the long run. As he was looking for a solution, a self-proclaimed Goddess announced, "Gods shall be responsible for world peace". Hao Ren of course had to take the opportunity to let this Goddess be his patron.

He knew that Vivian may not trust a newly acquainted human she just got to know a few days ago. Thus, he continued, "Please don't mind me. I'm just curious and no matter what, I'm still the landlord. Also, you know you're different….. At least I have to know where you've gone to when I can't find you right? It's okay if you don't want to tell me."

"Well, it's actually nothing." Lily bit her lip, looking determined to tell Hao Ren. "It was just a misunderstanding. I thought some obnoxious fellows were tailing me and I wanted to deal with them somewhere further away. Then I realized I was just being oversensitive."

"Obnoxious fellow?" Hao Ren glanced at Lily. "Some other werewolf?"

He could guess what Vivian meant by "the place not being safe". It seemed that the vampire had other foes, enemies that held grudges against her from way back in time.

"Not werewolves," Vivian answered as she threw Lily a dirty look. "We've been battling against werewolves for thousands of years and they've never had the advantage. Yes, they are a headache but they are still not considered a serious threat."

"Stick to your own story! Don't involve me in this!" Lily let out a threatening growl from the back of her throat as she licked her nails. "If you're looking for a fight, let's have another 300 rounds somewhere with plenty of bricks…."

"Can you please stop mentioning that brick throwing skill of yours?? Please reserve some dignity for the werewolves!" Hao Ren shouted.

Not paying any attention to Lily, Vivian explained with a straight face, "It's the demon hunters. Some call them exorcists."

A blockbuster came to Hao Ren's mind. Getting excited, he asked, "You mean people like Van Helsing?"

"Stop fooling around. That's a movie." Vivian was not in the mood for jokes. She looked deeply troubled. "I'm talking about real demon hunters―fellows who are half human; they are monsters in the eyes of humans and us, 'mutants. The battle between us and the demon hunters is never ending. We have never been able to completely vanquish the opponent. They worked on their own during earlier times but now, they work through many different religious organizations as well as normal humans…. And this is a problem."

Hao Ren automatically felt the few sheets of paper in his pocket. A thought then came to his mind. Didn't Raven 12345 and the Xi Ling Empire give him the task to take care of the 'mutants staying in his home? On the other hand, it sounded like these demon hunters wanted to protect the human race… It was so horrifying thinking about what was behind all of this and how they were connected !

"Landlord? What are you thinking about, Landlord?" Lily's voice shook Hao Ren out of his thoughts. "So, these demon hunters are that powerful? Should we be terrified?"

Hao Ren was determined to understand the situation the next time he saw Raven 12345 because he realized that he was treading on shallow waters, very shallow waters in fact. Looking at Lily's curious expression, he asked, "So, you have no idea about these demon hunters?"

"I have no clue," answered Lily as she was playing with her hair. "I've never met one in person but I've seen them in movies."

Vivian snorted. "I've no idea how she was raised. We've talked briefly and she does not even have a clue about common facts. She has no idea what demon hunters are, what the different classes of the Blood Clan are and more surprising, she doesn't have a clue about the different werewolf classes! She does not know about the history between humans and mutants... She's like a blank piece of canvas. It's pure luck that she managed to survive this long."

Lily glared at Vivian furiously but she did not mutter a word, proving what Vivian said was indeed correct.

"It's true that I don't know about these things but you can't blame me for it," Lily muttered. "Since I was born, I've been living with humans. I've grown up with humans and what I know about werewolves have been from the humans… I've never met another mutant in person apart from myself. I've also been looking for other mutants since young but to no avail. I thought I was the only werewolf left. As a matter of fact, all I found were mutant-related clues. Meeting this winged fellow is considered my first encounter."

Both Hao Ren and Vivian could only stare at Lily. A while later, the vampire muttered to herself, "Such a pitiful person. I'll try my best not to make fun of you."

Hao Ren looked at Lily curiously and asked, "So you've never met other 'mutants before? Then you should have nothing against Vivian. Why did both of you get into a fight right after you just met?"

"Well, the TV always shows werewolves and vampires as mortal enemies! I had to make my kind proud!" Lily answered boldly.

Hao Ren and Vivian were speechless.

"Now I am extremely regretful that I took her seriously." Vivian could no longer hide her thoughts. "I've seen a lot of brainless werewolves but it's a first for me to meet one like you."

"Hehehe, Lily just had a peculiar life experience. Let's not dwell on this subject," Hao Ren answered, trying to ease the situation. He was also getting worried about the demon hunters mentioned by Vivian. "So, you found traces of demon hunters this evening? Was it just a false alarm?"

"Yes, I've been dealing with them for many years, at least a few hundred years I would say. So I instinctively know about their presence when the demon hunters are nearby," said Lily with her eyes closed. "I thought that I had caught their scent nearby in the evening… But when I caught up I found nothing, not even a trace. Hence, I'm sure it was a mistake. I've made a similar mistake before. It's just instincts, it can go wrong sometimes."

Looking at Hao Ren's expression upon hearing the above, she gave him an understanding nod. "Don't worry, if there are indeed demon hunters around… I'll take this silly werewolf along and leave. We will not give you any trouble. Although demon hunters proclaim that they protect the human race, there are still some extremists and sometimes innocent ones get involved. Although it's uncommon in this 100 plus years, you can't change that rabid canine nature of theirs."

Lily's ears immediately stood at attention. "That rabid canine you mentioned..."

"It's none of your business," answered Vivian while glaring at the werewolf. "You're so sensitive to irrelevant stuff."

All Hao Ren wanted to say was, "It's easy for Vivian to say all that!" If they had really left, it would have been likely that the crazy, five-digit Goddess paid him a visit!

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Chapter 20: Immense Pressure

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The demon hunters seemed to have an immense pressure on Vivian. Although she tried to appear calm, even someone who was as slow as Hao Ren could see that she was actually deeply troubled.

Vivian's offer to leave if demon hunters showed up in the city to protect the innocent touched Hao Ren. Although legends portrayed vampires as both cunning and cold-blooded, Vivian seemed to be different. Hao Ren did not know about other vampires but at least, the one he knew was not bad.

Of course, being touched was one thing but facing the consequences was another. He could not allow Vivian to leave just like that. He even had a three page contract with a Goddess in his pocket! How would he explain to Raven 12345 if the two unusual creatures were to really leave his house? "Don't stress about it and just stay here. There's no need to worry even if the demon hunters are around, I'll find a way..."

"Where do you get this confidence from?" Vivian looked at Hao Ren, curious about the reason why this person who was scared of trouble just this morning, suddenly had a sense of accountability. "If you're saying all this just to comfort me, I don't need it. Just don't think too highly of those demon hunters as they're not fully humans. They are not very considerate when it comes to fights."

"Well… something was up this afternoon and I think both of you can't just leave as you please." After some consideration, Hao Ren concluded that there was nothing to hide. Fishing out the contract from his pocket, he showed and explained the afternoon's events with Raven 12345 to the two magical creatures in front of him.

Lily was confused as usual thus, useless whereas Vivian read through Hao Ren's entire contract seriously. She was in deep thought as she listened to Hao Ren recall his experience and she was aghast. "Everything... you said is true?"

Hao Ren shrugged. "Of course it's true. I have nothing to gain from lying to you."

"I've heard of this multiverse concept from you humans." Vivian said while waving the sheets of paper in her hand. "I can't help but say that this 'science' things of yours is quite interesting. So, this means that you met advanced beings who claimed to be rulers of the multiverse. They have a specialized organization that manages each and every universe called 'Space Administration'. Then, there's a self-proclaimed Goddess called Raven 12345 and she found you to ask you to be her assistant. To sum everything up, you're now…" Vivian looked at the contract, reading it word by word., "An agent of Bastard Barrio at EN35 in the Space Administration of the Xi Ling Empire, a part-time staff outside the administration awaiting confirmation…"

Cold sweat broke out on Hao Ren's forehead. This coming out from someone else's mouth sounded more impressive than reading it by himself.

"Landlord, I know that you're under a lot pressure right now…" said Vivian in a grave and earnest tone after some deliberation.

"I'm dead serious," Hao Ren answered with a bitter smile on his face. "I've had to use several hours to take all of this in, imagine you. But no matter what the overall condition of the Space Administration is, Raven 12345 is not someone we can easily mess with. I'll let you meet her if you don't believe me. This shouldn't be breaking the rules and regulations."

Vivian knew that Hao Ren was serious and not fooling around from his expression; she frowned and thought carefully. "I've never heard about this organization before and I've lived for... Oh, I've lost count. But I've never heard about a Space Administration since the Bronze Age. However, I've heard a lot about Gods but most of it was just humans using it to frighten other humans. Also, the Raven 12345 that you mentioned does not sound like a Goddess to me...… This is weird. Where did they come from?"

Hao Ren nodded his head. "I've asked her about this. Raven 12345 said she did not take notice of the things on earth as humans were developing at an alright pace on their own. She even had no clue about atheism and would just hire an assistant to take care of minor matters on earth. That's why humans don't know about the celestials. Oh, she often uses the word 'celestials' to represent the Gods and I find this a weird thing."

"Try not to think about this first. So in a nutshell, this Raven 12345 is the one who asked you to take care of the mutants staying here right?" Vivian asked as she handed the papers back to Hao Ren. "This shows that she's not an ally of the demon hunters and its good news to me. It would be best if she could help when the demon hunters show up."

Hao Ren shook his head. "I think this is quite unlikely. According to her, the empire rarely interfere with the workings on earth. They will not interfere unless us humans decide to destroy all of our descendants. However, I'm sure that she'll contact me in the future. Let's ask her only when the time comes. I was in a rush this evening and I did not have the chance to ask a lot of questions."

Hao Ren let out a hollow laugh and mocked himself, "Well, you know me. My brain is a mess like glue."

"It's okay," Vivian answered and pointed to a dazed Lily. "That mind of hers is confused every day and she's still here with us. You have to try to be optimistic to live a better life…"

Upon hearing this, Lily growled and jumped onto the table. "Try repeating what you said again!!!"

Ignoring the werewolf, Vivian seemed to have her mind set on something and nodded towards Hao Ren. "We need to find a way to see Raven 12345…The way she showed up seems dodgy and it looks as if she understands the relationship between mutants and humans well. I need to ask her about this." Then, Vivian was a bit embarrassed. "Actually it's hard for us to live in this world as the demon hunters are getting increasingly active and humans are getting harder to deal with. From the top of the food chain, we've now dwindled to the bottom. We don't even pass down our history to the next generation and moreover, we're divided amongst our own kind. This is also why, many things we know about ourselves are found in records written by humans. Take this werewolf for example, throughout her life she's never met her kind and all she knows about werewolves were told by humans. I do not want to be as ignorant as her."

Hao Ren knew that Vivian wanted to know more about her own kind by asking Raven 12345; he sensed that the chances of Vivian succeeding were low knowing Raven 12345's ability of beating around the bush and keeping her lips sealed. However, Hao Ren did not say a word.

In that moment, Lily finally began to snap out of her daydream. The first thing that came through her mind was, "Oh Landlord, what're we having for dinner?"

Hao Ren could only remain speechless.

He was suddenly jealous of the crude, simple as well as ridiculously innocent thoughts of this canine.

After throwing a scornful look at Lily, Vivian stood up with a smile of her face. "Let me prepare dinner since I do not have to pay for it. I'll be responsible for the cooking and cleaning until I get a job to pay my debts off. Is this arrangement okay?"

Hao Ren waved his hands in order to show his generosity. "There's no need for this. You're being too kind…"

"I should uphold my pride as a member of the Blood Clan. I can't stay and eat here for free without doing anything in return!" Vivian answered seriously.

Being straightforward, Lily joined the conversation. "You're already broke, please stop being so proud of yourself. So by pride of the Blood Clan, you mean become someone's maid in exchange for food?"

Hao Ren immediately grabbed a piece of biscuit and stuffed it into Lily's hand to distract her, stopping her from continuing. "What a silly and stubborn werewolf! She says whatever that comes up at the top of her head! She shouldn't have said that even if she wanted to pour salt on someone's wounds!"

Hao Ren couldn't help but be proud of himself as he saw a vampire preparing dinner for him in the kitchen and a werewolf guarding his house in the living room. Ever since Rollie came into his life, Hao Ren was the one doing the chores and it's been a while that he felt so relaxed. Brushing off his worries, Hao Ren made himself a pot of tea and read the newspaper while he enjoyed the air conditioning; he imagined himself as someone who was all powerful, eating. On the other hand, Lily was hitting the TV (canines really knew how to make themselves at home) as she happily shouted, "Landlord! There's TV signal now!"

Hao Ren's heart sank as he recalled the brick half that went through the TV station. He realized that he was actually just a high-class nanny, a nanny with very low fighting abilities.

Hao Ren's life would take another turn once Vivian served dinner.

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Chapter 21: Nobody's Normal!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Vivian preparing dinner in the kitchen was a shock to Hao Ren as she was 100% vampire. Look at the life of a vampire shown in TV shows: dressed in a black gown and red cape, living in a 20,000 square meter castle by the sea with plenty of slaves and treasure, a vampire sleeps from 6.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. A vampire drinks a bottle of 1982 vintage blood once awake and invites other creatures to party in the castle till midnight (this was called a ball); standing on the porch with a glass of red wine, the vampire will enjoy the sight of the moon until its time for bed. This is supposed to be the life of a vampire―exciting and grand but low profile. Apparently, broke Vivian was not part of that list: not only did she not need to drink fresh blood to survive, she could eat the noodles crudely made by Hao Ren. Plus, she was cooking using a stove…

Just thinking about all this was enough to make a person's jaw drop.

As Vivian served the dishes that she prepared, Hao Ren realized that there were more surprises ahead!

Vivian's cooking was not bad in general. However, the menu was peculiar: it consisted of stir-fried eggplant with garlic, green beans with minced garlic and noodles tossed with garlic paste―all prepared with the perfect combination of color, aroma and taste. The entire living room was filled with the pungent smell of garlic that Hao Ren felt like he was swimming in a sea of garlic. The so-called vampire was at a corner of the dining table, eating cloves of raw garlic… Even normal humans could not have coped with so much garlic!

Seeing this, Hao Ren and Lily were stunned. Both looked at Vivian from head to toe and simultaneously asked, "Are you really a vampire?"

Vivian's expression immediately turned serious. "Please refer to me as a member of the Blood Clan. This is a very serious issue…"

"Stop being contentious!" Hao Ren shouted, unable to take in what he just saw. "So vamp….. the Blood Clan is not afraid of garlic? You're eating garlic like rice!"

Looking at the dishes, Vivian came to understand the situation. "Oh, you meant this? Normal Blood Clan members are not fond of this and lowly vampires can get ill just by the scent of garlic. I've no idea why I'm like this… I just know that I'm unafraid of garlic. When life was hard, even getting a meal was an issue. Who would still be picky about the taste of their food?"

Hao Ren was tongue tied; touching his nose he asked, "I've been wanting to ask you this. Since you're a vamp…. Blood Clan member, why are you so broke?"

"I've no idea. Ever since I can remember, I haven't been lucky with money. When currency did not exist I lost things, when shells were used as currency I would lose the shells, when coins were used I'll would lose the coins. Now, I always lose cash... It's difficult looking for a job now or run a business. I was determined to rob someone last year but in the end, I took pity on her and gave her six British pounds of my own money instead…" Vivian threw her arms up as if accepting her bad luck which followed her from the past millennium. Whilst talking, a sense of delight flashed across Vivian's face. Upon searching herself, she found a silver armlet. "I still have some valuable things with me. Look at this armlet. I didn't have the heart to exchange it for money even when I was at my poorest. I found this armlet, which was made from pure silver in a village in Egypt a few hundred years ago. It even protects one from evil spirits."

Upon hearing this, Hao Ren was speechless.

Vivian then continued, taking out a necklace from her collar; a cross was dangling from the chain. "I got this near the Vatican when I was living in Europe for some time. I had my purse stolen, I lost my job and the place that I was living in caught fire. I could only work odd jobs in a church as I was penniless. The church priest gave me this as a gift since I was hardworking. He even said he blessed this necklace himself. It can also ward off evil spirits!"

"Then there's this piece of wood I found near Mount Wutai. It was a gift from an old Taoist priest. It can also ward off evil spirits!"

"Also, I got this amulet from the Vikings a few hundred years ago after I did them a favor. It really works! It wards off evil spirits!"

"I've concluded that there's a pattern: I'll lose the money that's with me. However, ever since humans used paper and coins as currency, I've never lost any of my other possessions…"

Hao Ren quietly put down his cutlery and pinched himself as hard as possible. Once he confirmed that he was not in a dream, he stared at Vivian and asked, "Please tell me again, are you really a vampire?!"

"How many times do I need to say this, call me a member of the Blood Clan instead of a vamp… Fine, forget it. You humans always get confused with this. Why are you concerned about this?"

Looking at the 'vampire' in front of him who was wearing a large number of amulets and protective accessories (she was just wearing a plain black dress so, how did she manage to carry a vast amount of accessories under her clothes?), Hao Ren felt like he would have a heart attack soon. "You need protection from evil spirits?!You're considered one yourself! Those things you're wearing alone could kill hundreds of vampires!"

"I have no clue," Vivian answered indignantly. "Well, I'm not afraid of these things! And maybe they can help ward off my bad luck. Even if they don't do that, they make me braver."

Lily only raised her head once she finished the food in her bowl. "As a vampire, you should feel embarrassed if you need to wear a cross to feel brave."

The silly werewolf was not stunned from Vivian's abnormal ways at all. Her focal point was indeed peculiar…

They finished dinner in a weird mood and Hao Ren felt that he got to know a new Vivian. Not only was this vampire a broke one, she was not afraid of garlic, silver and the cross itself. She was not even afraid of those objects that warded off evil spirits. She had at least a few pounds worth of these items on her to help ward off her bad luck―a few pounds!

This peculiar group welcomed its first peaceful and normal day as everyone went about their own business after dinner. There was a human landlord (also a worker of the Space Administration), a silly werewolf, a broke vampire and last but not least a black and white cat named Rollie. Hao Ren could not help but feel that it was a miracle for the lot of them to be able to live under the same roof.

Lily was squatting in the living room watching TV. Yes, squatting. She was squatting like a dog and Rollie was beside her. Both looked like siblings. Lily was finally getting used to Rollie. Although still fidgety and would jump aside if she was in Rollie's way, at least she was not hiding at the back of the sofa anymore.

Feeling energetic, Vivian went out for a stroll. As a nocturnal creature, Vivian's biological clock was most active after sunset. She decided that she would fly back to the city, hoping to find a job... Hao Ren had a rough idea why the vampire was broke and had difficulty in her job hunt. Was it that hard to adjust her biological clock? Who's that crazy to look for a job at three in the morning?

As Vivian transformed into a bat and disappeared into the dark night, Hao Ren took out a deck chair. He then proceeded to sit at an empty area outside his house. It was a secluded area and along with it was an exceptionally quiet environment. In front of the apartment was a large vacant lot that no one used. Thus, it had become Hao Ren's property over the years. It was a habit of Hao Ren's to sit there and feel the cool breeze while in deep thought. This natural environment was healthier than sitting in the house with air conditioning.

Of course, his main intention was actually to avoid spending time with Lily alone for fear that his intelligence may be affected… The silly werewolf was watching dog feed commercials on TV! Hao Ren felt that even if he hid himself in his bedroom and was segregated by a wall, he would still lose a third of his intelligence!

Summer nights in the north were cooler than the south. Reclining on the deck chair in his usual spot and listening to the indistinctive sounds of insects at night, Hao Ren started to feel sleepy.

In his semiconscious, state, Hao Ren felt an unfamiliar blow of wind on his cheek.

The gust of wind was refreshing yet slightly cold. It was not the type of wind that came from the hustle and bustle of humans in a modern city. This gust of wind woke Hao Ren up completely. He jumped to his feet and folded the deck chair.

However, he already had a look of his strange surroundings.

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Chapter 22: The Midsummer's Dream

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Hao Ren got up using both his hands and feet, all the while holding onto his thigh as he mumbled to himself, "Shit, is it even possible to continue my life as a happy earthling…"

He was 100% sure that he was still relaxing and enjoying the shade outside his house, surrounded by old streets as well as lanes familiar to him for the past 20 years. The dilapidated house, potholes and cement roads were vividly within his visual field. He had only squinted slightly when the surrounding environment has changed completely.

Hao Ren found himself standing atop a vast prairie.

Overlooking the endless expanse, was only green grass as tall as his calf. The grass spread out, swayed and danced beneath his feet as the night breeze cooler than that of the city's hit him. Hao Ren tilted his head and looked towards the sky. What he saw was something he had never seen in the city: a clear and pristine sky filled with stars so bright that the concentrated light made it possible for him to view the scene on the prairie clearly.

In the distant horizon, two silvery lights of different sizes slowly rose to the sky. A silvery halo could be seen on the edge of the bigger one – two moons!

"I knew I shouldn't have read that many novels." Hao Ren stared at the two moons which slowly rose up into the sky. The night was covered with stars he did not recognize (Though, he did not know many stars back on earth either). He finally jumped to his feet and exclaimed, "Did I just motherfucking travel through space?"

It was not the first time Hao Ren pinched his thigh with so much strength, he could barely walk in order to determine that he was not dreaming. What in the world was in front of him? Could you actually get thrown into a different world while cooling off by the curb? My God, not to mention, he still had two monsters at home waiting to fed!

Hao Ren's mind was in a mess, running through countless simulations like a revolving lantern. He could think of several classic cases of inter-world travel. He then thought of the two problems back at home as well as his recently acquired identity as an agent of the Space Administration. Yet, in the end, all his thoughts and ideas just turned into a long sigh. He realized that he could not sit still and wait because he suddenly heard the howling of wolves…

Hao Ren bid a final farewell to his recliner chair and walked towards the direction of the two bright moons. He could vaguely see the silhouette of buildings in that direction. At least, it was a target he could move towards. Of course, he knew that wandering around like a headless chicken in an unfamiliar environment was not the smartest move. He was either aimlessly wasting strength or he waiting to meet with larger threats. Most importantly however, factor was the feeling that he had teleported! The process of reaching the place was unusual in itself. Waiting for someone to save him on site was practically impossible so, he thought he may as well take a look at his surroundings and decide on what to do later.

"The landing point isn't even reliable, throwing me onto a prairie as big as this without a tree in sight. How am I supposed to survive?"

The cold night on the prairie was pressing. Hao Ren could only hold onto his arm as he walked and muttered, "Am I destined to eat grass? If I encounter poisonous grass, I'll be dead meat. It'd be great if there was a forest. I'd be able to chop a tree and create a workbench. Then maybe, I'd be able to survive…" (Minecraft joke)

Obviously, Hao Ren was not a qualified inter-dimension traveler. A few minutes upon his arrival at an unfamiliar environment, his brain had already run wild. These were not at all the qualities displayed by a qualified inter-world traveler upon entering unfamiliar territory. One should be calm and collected as well as wise and decisive. However, he just could not control his thoughts from running amok. That would at the very least, disperse and reduce the tension plus uneasy feeling that cut right into his bone. He was just a normal person, an obscure citizen muddling through everyday life. Just three days ago, his biggest life crisis was not being able to rent out his house. Just a simple citizen, how could you expect him to calm down, become decisive and smart in such a situation?

The faint howling of wolves could be heard from a distance but then again, it could have simply been illusions caused by the great tension he felt. Hao Ren could not help but think of the werewolf with the tiny brain problem back at home. Lily could also howl like that and it definitely sounded much better. It would have been wonderful if that werewolf was there… Although her mental capacity was quite limited, it should have been enough to deal with wild wolves, right? Anyway, he did not even know whether she would be able to get along with Vivian if he did not manage to return. Both of them would have surely demolished the house. He was going to let them demolish it then, since it would no longer be related to him anyway.

So, it was with such a chaotic state of mind that Hao Ren walked on a seemingly endless prairie. His surrounding was so vast that he felt as if the scenery around him had not changed at all despite after walking for so long. If not for the reclining chair that had disappeared behind him and the guidance provided by the two bright moons ahead, he might have believed that he was just going in circles around the same spot.

The surrounding temperature gradually lowered as a windy night on a broad prairie was not something a T-shirt could hold off. At first, Hao Ren felt that the air was fresh and crisp. Yet, as time went by he had begun to miss the slightly hot and polluted air on Earth which surrounded him half an hour ago.

At that precise moment, another howl could be heard. This time, it was much closer and as clear as day. It was definitely not an illusion.

Hao Ren felt the hair on his back stand. The sixth sense that he had been harboring for the past 25 years instantly kick-started. He realized that he had unknowingly walk into a tall grass area, with grass tall enough to cover his knee. In all directions, glowing green eyes gradually appeared, like they were floating out from the darkness.

Shadows of wolves similar to ghosts gradually appeared from within the grass. Hao Ren had no idea how they were able to close the distance that much without him noticing. To be honest, he was completely petrified at that moment. He had seen this scenario before!

Lucky enough, despite being a simple and normal citizen, Hao Ren also had a calm and dependable side. He restrained his impulse to run away and scream loudly as he knew that it would only accelerate his death. Hao Ren confronted the wolf pack, thinking hard to find a way out of the situation. His mind was filled with emotions of hopelessness. He had nowhere to vent. "Can I get any unluckier? To die in this ridiculous situation, what's up with that!?"

If only he had on him a weapon of defense. Although he knew with certainty that even if he was holding onto the Dragon Yan Yue Spear, it would still be impossible to defeat the 20 to 30 wolves in front of him. However, at least having a weapon would aid in his courage. Unfortunately, after cautiously groping all over his body for a long time, he only found a traditional Nokia… Okay, so this thing is, in a sense, a superweapon. If tied with a stick, it could even possibly become a war hammer. That aside, this was a life and death situation so, we should stop with the jokes!

The wolves of course, did not grant Hao Ren the chance to be lost in his fantasies and conjectures. As soon as he became distracted, the wolf closest to him rushed towards him without a sound. Hao Ren only saw a dark shadow hurling towards him. Its shape seemed to be different from the wolves of earth. All he could do was subconsciously block it with his arm…

"Landlord! Landlord!" An urging call came by his ear.

Hao Ren felt a sharp pain coming from his brain. The whole world suddenly became fuzzy and turned upside down. In a semi-conscious state, he opened his eyes. He saw the familiar street, old house and misty, city night sky that had close to zero stars as well as Lily's stupid face.

Hao Ren breathed in hard. He did not manage to do this as he was rushed by the wolf. After that, he looked around drowsily. "So, does this mean I've returned?"

"What do you mean by return?" Lily exclaimed, poking Hao Ren's arm before pulling him up. "Landlord, you haven't returned to the house in half a day. The one with the wings asked me to come get you, and then I saw you lying on the floor. Oh yes, and moaning in a weird manner."

Hao Ren's arm was almost dislocated as he was pulled up by the mighty yet silly werewolf. Whatever the outcome, he was wide awake at that moment. He noticed that his body was fine and as he turned his head around, saw that the recliner had at some point, fallen on the floor. With that, he concluded that the unbelievably realistic 'inter-dimensional travel' experience was only a dream. He was not sure if wanted to cry or laugh.

However, wasn't that dream a little too real?

"It's alright, I just had a dream." Hao Ren waved at Lily, slightly touched that he still had two troublemakers at home who cared about him. If only they would stop fighting each other, that would have been so much better. Just as Hao Ren waved his hand, he noticed something sticking out from the gaps of his tightly clenched fist, an aftereffect of his nightmare—a handful of black, wolf fur.

"Fuck!" Hao Ren jumped up and threw the wolf fur away as if they were burning coal.

"What the hell!?"

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Chapter 23: Absorbed

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Under the street lights, Hao Ren picked up the wolf fur which he found on the ground. Despite being drenched in cold sweat, he managed to regain his composure quickly thanks to the 'training' he had in numerous past encounters . He first wanted to make sure that there were no other suspicious signs within the vicinity—a lesson he learned while spending the previous two days with Lily and Vivian. The presence of 'the other kind' could usually be detected simply by identifying the characteristic signs and phenomena. For example, the breath and beastly smell of a werewolf or the blood-tinged chill of a vampire. He felt that the dream had to somehow be related to 'the other kind' (after all, he had bumped into many of them during the last couple of days) although, his sixth sense detected no trace of any anomalies.

"Landlord?" Lily looked at him, her eyes appeared unusually bright and spooky in the dark. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Did you find anything amiss?" Hao Ren knew that the wolf was a highly vigilant creature. He could still vividly remember the moment of the wolf's attack in his dream.

Lily got down on the floor and sniffed around carefully. After that, she got up and shook her head. "None that I could find. Everything is as usual. You saw something unusual?"

"Never mind, let's head back." Hao Ren took the wolf fur in his hand as he headed back home. Lily carried the deckchair and followed cluelessly from behind.

Back in the living room, Hao Ren sat on the sofa looking solemn and quiet. Sitting across him were Lily and Vivian who did not have a clue what was brewing in his mind. An old coffee table had been placed in the middle by Hao Ren as the previous one was wrecked by Lily and Vivian earlier on. Placing the wolf fur on the table, Hao Ren confessed to Vivian, "I saw something strange."

He talked about the strange dream he had in great detail. He told them especially about the vast grassland and two silver moons, hanging in the sky. "I got this when I woke up from the dream. I may have taken a shortcut to the other side or mastered reality warping superpowers," he joshed, pointing at the wolf fur.

Vivian did not find it amusing. She raised her eyebrows while picking up some of fur from the table. "It has the smell of an animal, not of black magic. This is definitely animal hair. Hey, big dog! Can you please confirm this?"

"Okay!" Lily took the wolf fur. "It smells very different from what I know. It has a different scent... the smell of another city—a mixture of soil and grass in it. This subtle variance can only be picked up by werewolves." Then suddenly, it hit her. She banged the table as she lashed out at Vivian, "Wait a minute, who did you just call a big dog?!"

"Oh c'mon, be gentle!" Hao Ren pleaded. The old table could have met with the same fate as the tea table if Lily was in a transformed state instead. He turned to Vivian, "So, what do you think? Was it some kind of magic?"

"It's pretty simple to explain if it's just a dream; sorcery and hypnotism could have achieved the same thing." Vivian's eyebrows were still raised. "I could build a dream world big enough for hundreds to dream in without them realizing it was a dream. If one was creative enough, the person would believe he had made it to the other side. But I still can't explain the object you brought out from the dream. As far as I know at least, there isn't any magic which could have done that. It couldn't possibly be magic. The dark side is a much more complicated world than I had imagined."

"Maybe, it could be this..." Lily eagerly interjected. "First, he was induced into a premeditated dream by way of sorcery or hypnosis, and the wolf fur could have been planted in his hand while he was asleep..."

"Oh please, can you say something more constructive?" Vivian chimed in before Lily could finish her sentence.

However, Hao Ren found that what Lily said was completely plausible. Her simple mind aside, her theory was a perfect explanation for what could have been an unsolvable mystery. Sometimes complex questions had simple answers.

Nonetheless, Lily had already ruled out the involvement of 'the other kind' so, her argument that it was a premeditated act did not hold up.

"I'm sure that what I got into was of something unusual; as sure as I am that God made little, green apples." Hao Ren sighed. "That's just fate. Whatever comes, let it come but before that, I need to take a break!"

Both Lily and Vivian had learned that Hao Ren was conned into signing a fishy employment agreement with the self-proclaimed Goddess. Vivian was a smart girl—way smarter than Lily. She could see in Hao Ren the quality of extraordinary adaptability and guts as well as the ability to think on his feet despite his humble background as a sluggish youth, who wanted no trouble. Yet, Vivian did not know any ways to make him a superhuman overnight.

"Did Raven 12345 leave you any cheat codes or something?" Lily asked as she laid her face on the table. "I read from human novels that if you work for a God, the God will provide you with some kind of personal protective gears?"

"Hmm, she may have forgotten. I didn't ask either," he said as it just crossed his mind. "I'll ask when I see her. Anyway, I tried to call but I couldn't reach her cellphone. I guess another trip to that place is necessary. I have a goddamn feeling that the Space Administration is a broken reed."

"You already had your first, strange dream. You need to fix the problem right at the source. I think it's a day late and a dollar short now. As per sorcery norms, you'll continue to experience the same dream again unless, you're a bullfrog that doesn't sleep." As Vivian talked, she slowly shapeshifted into a vampire. "I'll give you an amulet. It will protect you from whatever sorcery or black magic."

The many talismans she wore caught Hao Ren's eyes. "Do those things even work?" he asked cheekily.

"Who said that I was going to give you that?" Vivian's eyebrows were raised. "What I mean is the power of the Blood Clan!"

Without hesitation, Vivian bit her finger and a drop of golden red blood was seen coming out from her fingertip. "Come over, I'm going to rub it on the back of your hand. It's powerful enough to stop the worst sorcerous dream."

Hao Ren hesitantly reached out and looked on as Vivian rubbed the blood onto his hand. "Legend has it that vampire blood can help turn humans into vampires. So, am I being turned right now?"

"Not in a million years," she sneered. "Humans believed that a vampire bite is the vampire's way to reproduce. If that's true, we wouldn't have to endure the persecution from the monster hunters and the church. We would have taken over the world since the bronze age."

While relating the history of human's brutal persecution of the vampires, Vivian as a vampire herself, did not show signs of hostility towards Hao Ren.

"That's impossible!"

Vivian yelled as she was shocked to see the drop of blood had disappeared the moment it made contact with Hao Ren's hand.

The blood was completely absorbed.

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Chapter 24: Blood Magic Failure

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Vivian was persistent. She squeezed out another drop of flesh blood and applied it onto the back of Hao Ren's hand. Lily joined them curiously as they fixed their eyes on the drop of blood expectantly.

The blood emanated a golden red halo as it wriggled on the surface of the skin for a few seconds before collapsing quickly on its own and disappearing before their eyes.

"It looks like its being absorbed." Hao Ren flinched and scratched the back of his hand. He was shocked as the blood on his hand had come to life. He managed not to shake it off, knowing that Vivian, the vampire would not harm him. "I felt nothing—just a little itchy and cool sensation in the beginning."

"That's normal because the body temperature of one from the Blood Clan is a few degrees lower than a human's." Vivian looked at her finger. The tiny bite wound had already healed itself. She was hesitant for a moment after which, she took another bite and squeezed out another drop of blood. "Let's try this once last time then, I'll need to conserve my precious life fluid."

"C'mon, it's just a teeny-tiny drop of blood," Lily, as mischievous as ever, seized the opportunity to mock her.

"A drop of blood is still blood!" Vivian hit back. "Back in the days when I was not yet adapted to human food, I fed on fresh blood. I was always being watched by monster hunters while I was out for blood. I was so broke and couldn't even afford to keep a blood slave—I even had to save my vital fluid during that time of the month just to make ends meet. You have no idea how the seamy side of life is unless you've lived it..."

Hao Ren could not take it anymore. He butt in before things got out of hand. "Alright, alright, we can picture it in our brains. Stop wailing about your miserable past so openly. You might expose my weaknesses..."

"Landlord, how about waiving a month's rental for me?" Lily jested.

"...I was talking to Vivian, mind you."

Amid the brouhaha, Vivian tested her blood on Hao Ren again, murmuring some ancient incantations. Hao Ren felt the chill and stink of blood again. The blood wriggled for a moment on his skin before disappearing just like before.

"The connection's lost." Vivian frowned. "This has never happened before. The Blood Clan have have a live link with their blood, sort of like a communication link. The link stays connected as long as the blood isn't actively cast away."

"Then what?" Hao Ren scratched his face. "Can I still count on you?" he asked.

"Maybe we should try Lily's blood?" Vivian's eyebrows waggled as she turned her eyes on Lily. "Her blood may work."

"A werewolf's blood?" Lily was surprised by the suggestion. "I didn't know that my blood could be of use."

"No, I mean haven't you heard the Chinese saying, 'A black dog's blood can break the power of evil spells'?"

The two super girls were at it again, fighting like cats and dogs. Meanwhile, Hao Ren looked on with no intention to break up the fight. He only said, "You break it, you pay for it." He was referring to the things in the house and his old table.

Those six words did wonders; the ruckus stopped.

Hao Ren looked at his hands—they were no different from any other hands. He was curious as to how the vampire's blood could be absorbed by his skin. The outcome was unlike any magical power depicted in the vampire movies. It seemed like it could not even be compared to human blood. Of course, movies were not the right places to dig if one wanted the truth but, as far as the Blood Clan was concerned, the magical power was as real as it got. At the very least, human blood would normally never come to life and wriggle on its own.

"The Blood Clan's mark is not working in this case." Vivian looked at Hao Ren as if she had more tricks up her sleeve. "You've got to trust me this time. Be ready for the magic of Blood Clan— without blood as a medium!"

"Show me what you've got." Hao Ren giggled.

"You're quite a nice guy," Vivian flipped her hand open as she rattled on. "Most humans were not as compliant as you are unless they were simpletons. When I was in Europe 300 years ago, people over there would rather die than give in to my blood magic. They were such pig-heads!"

Hao Ren muttered as he wondered whether Vivian had forgotten how vampires terrorized humans with their magic.

Vivian signaled Hao Ren to sit still while she drew something in the air with her finger. Hao Ren gaped because for the first time ever, he was about to witness true magic. He was amazed at the sight of her finger moving swiftly and forming a bloody-red trail of light. She wrote row after row of strange, illegible words; she would wipe off what she had written before continuing on to the next row. As she was doing that, Hao Ren suddenly became skeptical. He found that her so-called magic of the Blood Clan was nothing more than a text memorizing gimmick. He did not feel any magical power apart from the eye-catching special effects.

Her finger moved faster as she wrote. She kept wiping off the sentence before starting the next one, again and again, it went on. Hao Ren was cheesed off and could not hold back. "Are you done yet?"

"Wait a minute, that one isn't right. I have to rewrite it..."

Hao Ren was speechless.

Only then, it began to sink in. The reason behind her repetitive writing and wiping was simply because she was making mistakes!

"That's not right either," Vivian had not noticed that Hao Ren was already annoyed. She kept on writing for a while before shaking her head. Then she said, "It couldn't possibly be a mistake. I have revised the sentence three times in three different structures... Landlord, do you feel drowsy, peaceful or relaxed?"

"There is a peaceful feeling in my heart but, I guess your magic has got nothing to do with it."

"You, the big dog over there…" Vivian turned to Lily. "Freeze."

Vivian waved her hand and the bloody-red trails of words were transformed into a cloud of fog. Lily fell, snoring on the table as the fog engulfed her.

"...That was intense. Her defense is rather weak," Vivian frowned again as she spoke to Hao Ren. "I have no idea why my blood magic doesn't work on you."

Hao Ren was wide-eyed. He stared at his own hands in disbelief. "Am I something I don't know? Am I immune against magic by default?"

"Yeah, I guess so because your nerves are damaged and you're a slowpoke."

"Hey, mind you, you still owe me some money."

"Jokes aside, immunity against magic isn't possible as far as I know. I'm sensitive to all living things and I can sense that you're definitely just a normal human being. You weren't even immune against the chill I created! You may get your answer from Raven 12345 when you see her. Anyway, as far as your agreement with her goes, I sense that there is something fishy going on. There could be changes by the time you return. Until then, you shall use my amulet."

After all the commotion, things were back to square one as blood magic was nothing more than a juggling act. All he had was a piece of amulet—the Eight Trigrams, which was a mystic tablet Vivian claimed to have originated from Mount Wutai...

Vivian gave the Eight Trigrams to Hao Ren; it was one of the amulets in her vast collection of mystic items. Her concern for him had touched his heart.

However, did the Eight Trigrams work?

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Chapter 25: About The Other Kind

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

For three consecutive nights, Hao Ren did not have a bad dream and he firmly believed that the Eight Trigrams Vivian gave him had nothing to do with it.

First of all, he knew for a fact that the tablet of Eight Trigrams was not an amulet but a tool to map Feng Shui energy. Second of all, he found a small print at the edge of the trigrams. It was the name of the manufacturer, which appeared to be from the Sichuan province.

However, he kept mum about it.

Although he was relieved by the absence of bad dreams, the mystery of the wolf fur still hung over his head. He had a feeling that unusual creatures could be watching him in the dark. Nevertheless, he was an optimist and decided to meet Raven 12345 again to talk it over. Until then, he resolved to let nothing bother him.

In fact, he had attempted to look for Raven 12345 a couple of days ago but he did not manage to see the weird Goddess.

Hao Ren followed the same route—he took a bus to Bastard Barrio and reached the telephone pole with the Chinese medicine bill on it. He was then teleported to the inverted mansion somewhere in another dimension. So, he figured that since he could come back to the mansion the same way he did the first time, it was not a dream. However, he did not manage to see Raven 12345. There were only a few blue, foggy figures patrolling the property. It was obvious that they were slaves working for Raven 12345. The blue, foggy figures seemed to be highly intelligent creatures but they spoke no human language. Naturally, there was no communication between them.

One of the blue, foggy figures then handed Hao Ren a note. It was from Raven 12345. She said that she went on a business trip to the Centaurus constellation for a few days. If she found the trip enjoyable it might be a few years before she would be coming back.

Right after that, Hao Ren was ushered out of the mansion.

"She's being absurd."

He browsed some magazines in the living room with the air-conditioning on full blow. His mind was still on his last trip to the Bastard Barrio office of the Space Administration. The trip left a bad taste in his mouth. He could not wait to see Raven 12345 to clear all his doubts. He felt like he was being engulfed by a thick fog. He had lost all direction, and just did not know where to start. Raven 12345, the nutty Goddess, was the only person who could help clear his head.

Her obsessive compulsive disorder would have driven him crazy if not for his good emotional intelligence.

While Vivian and Lily were around, he had the opportunity to learn a thing or two about them and 'the other kind'.

'The other kind' was a term Hao Ren randomly chose to refer to Vivian and Lily the day he met them. They both seemed to be comfortable with it.

It was not possible to trace back the origin of 'the other kind'. They existed alongside human civilization and there were various records as well as legends about them. They were brutally persecuted by the church during medieval times as well as by the Chinese dynasties. Their stories were then incorporated into literature and folklore. For people living in this modern age, creatures like vampires, werewolves, monsters and spirits of the dead are merely fictitious characters in horror stories and thrillers .However, they appeared in the flesh and were seen by various eye-witnesses during the earlier periods.

'The other kind' were treated as a threat to humanity. Though there was no account of the earliest conflict, the war between 'the other kind' and humans began long before recorded history. In spite of that, stories of friendship did exist. During the Caveman era, they were depicted in the drawings of monsters, Gods or half-beast, half-human creatures on the cave walls. Some of them were results of creative exaggeration and humans with structural birth defects due marrying their cousins. The rest were truly 'the other kind'.

They were a part of early human history; their role was that of the antagonists.

Vivian was from that early era but, her memory was messed up probably because she was a bit long in the tooth. Nevertheless, she still recalled bits and pieces; one bit which Hao Ren heard about was that of Zeus—God of the skies and thunder.

During the early ages, 'the other kind' had many unfair advantages over human kind; they had super perception, longevity, nine lives and were also highly intelligent. The rise of human kind's absolute rule however, had driven 'the other kind' into becoming monsters of terror. Despite that, there were exceptions. The exact cause of their fall was not clear but there were three possible reasons: firstly, as human kind became more civilized and developed, they started developing various tools as well as weaponry, becoming more united and powerful. The widely scattered creatures were no match for humans on their own. In the end, they were defeated one by one. Secondly, their downfall was due to some mysterious entity and thirdly, the emergence of monster hunters.

The third factor was also the most impactful.

Monster hunters had a partial human lineage but no one could accurately tell their exact origin. Their emergence saw a worldwide hunt for 'the other kind'. The term 'monster hunter' did exactly exist in the beginning. It was only coined by the European Council during the medieval period and popularized thereafter. The European continent was the last place on earth still ravaged by 'the other kind' then. Most of them had already been wiped out from the rest of the world by the human-monster hunter alliance. Terms for various species which constituted 'the other kind' and the term, 'monster hunter' were finalized during that time in Europe.

From being kings of the world to fugitives, 'the other kind' were edged out from the world's history.

This alternate history completely destroyed Hao Ren's worldviews.

He then started to show more interest in the two super girls in his house.

Lily was a relatively young werewolf—dozens of years at most. She was all brawn and no brains She did not have much stories of werewolves to tell. Vivian on the other hand, was on the opposite end of the spectrum; she was from the prestigious Blood Clan who had lived as long as the existence of human civilization. Oddly, she barely remembered her own stories except bits and pieces of them. Also, she slept anywhere she felt like. She was unlike her kind which were hell-bent on terrorizing humans. She spent most of her time battling her own bad days. Suffice to say, as far as vampires went, she was the black sheep of the Blood Clan.

To human kind however, she was a human-friendly girl.

All in all, she fell between two stools.

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Chapter 26: Let's Keep in Touch

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

For a moment, Hao Ren imagined his everyday life would be undone by the arrival of his two special guests; his idyllic and simple life, gone with the wind. Images of him fighting off combat police or superheroes replayed in his mind again and again.

However, after a few days, things remained the same. Nothing seemed to have changed.

The arrival of the two ladies did zilch in changing his routine.

Lily's daily routine mainly consisted of sleeping, eating, more eating, even more eating, getting into a brawl with Vivian, and writing stuff—the lass was quite an accomplished columnist after all. Basically, her life was simple yet colorful and she seemed to be enjoying it up to that point.

As for Vivian, well, she had a more exciting tale compared to Lily. Sleeping, eating, fighting with Lily, job hunting, getting fired, job hunting again and getting fired again…ad infinitum. To be frank, Hao Ren could only sigh at her streak of bad luck. Three new jobs in the span of three days, imagine that.

Yet, Hao Ren could not help but be amazed by her resourcefulness. Getting a job that quickly in such an unfamiliar place was no easy feat. That said, the longest she managed to hold a job thus far was about three hours.

It was a shame that Hao Ren did not have the chance to witness her bad luck unfold. Only towards the end of the day, when she came home looking worse than a sack of potatoes that he knew she screwed up somewhere. He thought he could maybe peek in at her workplace sometime, just to see how she would end up getting fired.

Living with the two ladies up until that point was about as normal as one could get. Sure, they had their quirks but they were not outrageous enough to rattle Hao Ren.

One would think that a vampire like Vivian would be out bloodletting every now and then, or a werewolf like Lily would be howling at the moon and be out chasing rabbits. Yet, neither of this actually happened. Quite the opposite, they actually went on about their lives as how you would expect normal human would. It seemed to be their way of life since they were young.

In a sense, Hao Ren was both disappointed and grateful. At least he did not have to contend with any combat police or superheroes.

Although the effects of the weird dream had somewhat dissipated, it still left Hao Ren with goosebumps whenever he recalled it. There was nothing much he could do but wait for the return of the weird Goddess. At the same time, he also slowly got used to the routines of his new guests at home.

Lily was already up and about in the morning. She was busy choosing her outfit of the day. This lass may have seemed a little dumb at times but she was pretty much what you would expect of a usual girl. Maybe except when Rollie decided to pounce on her. She would end up on all fours in a fright.

"Going out?" Hao Ren asked out of curiosity as he saw her milling about.

"Yep! I got a patient to see today," Lily replied as she tidied her dress. "Things seem to be going on pretty nicely in this town. I've been doin' good in my writings, rental's easy peasy and I got my first patient too…"

Vivian who was tidying up the guest hall, perked up when she heard Lily. "You? A doctor?!"

Hao Ren realized that Vivian did not know that Lily was actually working. She was not around when Lily first introduced herself. Aside from butting heads every now and then, both of them never actually took the time to know each other. Hao Ren thought it was a good time to clarify things. "Lily's a freelance veterinarian."

Lily suddenly turned towards Vivian. She stuck her chest out and with gusto said, "I'm a certified professional ya know?" She grinned. "Been so for about 10 years now. I'm also a bona fide columnist. I've been writtin' from the time of the Republic*. You know Zhou Shuren? I'm a good friend of his! Heheh!"

Hao Ren was slouching on his chair and reading some magazines at that time. The shock he received from Lily's proclamation made him topple with a stunned look. "What?!"

"I'm a professional?" Lily blinked at the sight of his reaction. "When I was living in the midst of human society, writing was my rice bowl... I only became a vet some years back. I have actually done some treatment before ya know?'

"I'm not talking about that!" Hao Ren said. All this while, he thought Lily was not the sharpest tool in the shed and did not pay her much attention. "You said, from the time of the Republic...?"

"Yep, I did write a lot then. Did the people of the Republic not read?" Lily titled her head. "I've been alive for... quite some time already. Don't tell me you've forgotten all about that?"

Hao Ren was stuck in a stupor. He only came to realize how different these special beings were compared to humans. Even for the dumb werewolf... her past was quite a revelation!

True, he actually heard Lily and Vivian talk about their past before but he never paid much attention to them as their stories sounded more like fairy tales more often than not. It was only then, did he actually realize the vast gap between their generations.

Seeing how stunned Hao Ren was at Lily's past, Vivian, a very much older being was naturally unhappy about it. She forcefully dragged Lily to the side and sneered, "Listen now, you furball. Have you actually fought with Acherus* before, or kicked Woday* and Kaiser* into a moat? Have you kicked the Flame Emperor into... wait, I haven't done that yet. And oh! The Yellow Emperor, what a man!"

Hao Ren sighed deeply. The conversation between the two supernatural beings was clearly much more engaging than any book in the world.

Lily did not even blink when she heard Vivian's achievements. "So what? Did fighting with Acherus earn you money? Did kicking Woday and Kaiser into the moat fill your pockets?"

"Why not?! I charged for that!"

"Then where's your sack of gold?"

"…. lets talk about something else."

Hao Ren was now having cold feet. The conversation that took place that day clearly could not be disclosed anywhere else. The world would be in a riot at such a revelation. Vivian may have acted like a potato sack but she was definitely no slouch during her heyday. If the tales of their past were true, what else had the history of human civilization been neglecting?

Vivian's Achilles heel was clearly her luck with money or anything related to it. Even Lily, the idiot picked up on it and quite happily reveled in the schadenfreude. Vivian knew she had no second word when it came to that so, she just quietly went about cleaning the house.

Hao Ren was actually surprised that Vivian actually asked him for that. At least she was aware of her bad luck and did the housework to shave off part of the food and rental expenses.

Her attitude was another pleasant surprise for Hao Ren. He did have his doubts about letting her do such menial jobs but Vivian was adamant. Well, it was not cheap to have a live-in maid let alone, such a pretty one. Thus, it was a win-win situation for Hao Ren.

Lily was by then, out and about. Hao Ren did not even have the chance to ask her how she got a veterinarian gig in a place foreign to her. However, he could pretty much picture Lily squatting by the local strays and chatting with them, almost kin-like. With such talents, it was no wonder why she was such a spectacular vet.

After all was said and done, Hao Ren proceeded to get back to reading his crumpled magazine when his mobile phone rang.

Hao Ren felt that something was evidently off. When he grabbed the device, the only thing that appeared on screen was a series of numbers.

"00000012345."

The loony Goddess finally decided to show up again.

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Chapter 27: Monthly Pay

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Clutching the buzzing mobile phone, Hao Ren was very much agitated. His thoughts jumbled, heck, even his hands felt like a wobbly mess. All this while, the old Nokia was vibrating furiously in his hand.

A normal phone call wouldn't have elicited such a reaction, but god knows how Raven12345 did it, the buzzing of the phone was akin to a boombox. Much of it was to make sure Hao Ren did not miss her call, but the buzzing could even be heard a few blocks away.

"Hello?" Hao Ren took the call, weary of any pranks Raven12345 would pull to scare the daylight out of him.

"Yo! Hao Ren, still alive? Did ya take good care of the new guests?" Raven12345 spoke chirpily. It seems like she was still her usual self. "I messed up the other time. It seems that you are not the only one to have a furball of a werewolf at your place. I think you have someone from the Blood Clan as well, is she there? How's things going? Nothin' wrong I hope? Was out doing stuff earlier, oh, let me tell you about the Blue Horn Nebula..."

Hao Ren was pretty much floored by the pace Raven12345 went about blabbering. Thankfully he still held on to his wits and interrupted the loony Goddess "Hold on, hold on, I need to see you about something!"

"Something? Wazzit?" Raven12345 sounded puzzled. "Oh, you mean your salary? I haven't actually thought about that... Oh wait, or is it about your benefits? It's not even the end of the month yet...'

'Can you please let me speak?!' Hao Ren finally snapped and yelled at the phone. He regained his train of thoughts not long after and quickly cowered. He had just raised his voice at the loony Goddess. Some random thunderbolt would probably be striking him down any time now.

Lucky for Hao Ren, the sky was clear. At least he won't be zapped by a thunderbolt this time around. Raven12345 demurred for a moment and chirpily went "Oh, sorry bout' that, got all excited from that trip. Go on, hehehehe."

Hao Ren wiped off his cold sweat, thanking lady luck for Raven12345's apparent good mood. "Right... I still can't make heads of tails after you left so suddenly. I ran into something really weird, and there's that dream too..."

Raven12345 was silent, for once, when Hao Ren told her about the reality-altering dream that he had. Well, until Hao Ren finished talking at least.

"Oh...slurrrrppp... You had a dream like that huh? Slrrruppp... That complicates things a bisssslurrrpp... Why not you drop by my plaissslurpppp..."

"What's going on over there?" Hao Ren wondered at the distorted speech.

"Huh? Slurrrrppppp, oh I'm having cup noodles!' Raven12345 continued eating "I forgot about breakfast earlier."

Good lord above, did she just went to prepare her cup noodle when he was talking about the dream?!

Hao Ren recollected his thoughts, and after confirming with Raven12345 the meeting spot, he went out after changing into a more proper attire. Vivian was preparing some light snacks for Rollie and saw Hao Ren getting ready. "Heading out to see her?"

Hao Ren nodded went on "Oh yea, I might be late. If Lily's back by then, just grab your meals outside, or you can have food delivery. The number's on the calendar, that's the only shop that delivers up to here."

Vivian heard Lily's name and frowned, before she could speak Hao Ren went "Oh don't give me that. Your food is being paid for by Lily. You're already piss poor as it is."

Vivian was silent. The vampire who had lived for ages, the one who fought with Acherus had a surprisingly mild temper. Hao Ren felt that he understands her better now and the sense of awe and fear he had for her before have pretty much faded away.

After reminding Vivian to feed Rollie lunch, Hao Ren left home and was headed for the Space Administration office at Bastard Barrio.

The imposing white villa was the same as a few days before. The servants in the house kept the building spick-and-span while the owner was away. Hao Ren was running all the way under the hot sun, and gave a sigh of relief when he was teleported to the fountain in front of the villa. As the building was in a different dimension, it was neither hot nor cold, and the air was surprisingly fresh, Hao Ren did entertained some thoughts about staying longer.

"Oh, you're here!" Raven12345 appeared behind him.

Hao Ren quickly turned about and saw the silver-haired lady holding an odd-looking giant blade walking out from the garden. Her clothing was stained with mud and grass.

"I was trimming the hedgerows" Raven12345 said with an accomplished grin while lifting the two meter long silver blade. Hao Ren was fixated at it and she chuckled "It's awesome yeah? This blade is a momento you know. There's nothing like it amongst the Ravens." She turned around and waved at Hao Ren to head in into the house "Let's head in and talk about the stuffs you had ran into.

Hao Ren nodded and quickly followed behind. Both of them walked into Raven12345's office. It was pretty much the same, except for the pile of empty noodle cups piling up by her desk. Hao Ren really wondered if he should be taking Raven12345 seriously at this point, for such a godly being, she sure ain't eating like one.

Raven noticed Hao Ren's gaze and brushed it aside "Well, I'm done eating those~"

Hao Ren sighed and went to sit on the sofa facing Raven12345 and pulled out a small case that contained a ball of black fur.

"This was what I told you about. It had just appeared in my hand when I woke up from that nightmare. Lily took a good sniff at it and was sure it wasn't something from the human world.'

Raven12345 took the ball of fur and snapped her fingers. A series of bright blue lines appeared out of nowhere and quickly assembled themselves into a container. The black fur floated within the container and slowly let out a puff of grey smoke.

Hao Ren was taken aback by the scene. "Well, I guess she ain't all bluster" he thought to himself. What he just saw clearly looks way stronger than Vivian's blood arts, at least when it comes to the magic circle formation.

"Ah... so it came from that world..." Raven12345 mumbled as she looked at the last of the fur being disintegrated.

"From where you say?" Hao Ren interjected.

"The Dream World. But it doesn't concern you now, at the very least. You won't be able to deal with this sort of matter anyway, not at your level." Raven12345 shook her head, looking serious. "I'll pass this on to those at the Shadow City HQ. This world is nothing but trouble and the guys over at the Administration had been keeping a watchful eye on it for a long long time'

She saw Hao Ren's perplexed look and pulled out a silver hexagonal item and pushed it towards him. "You clearly don't know much. Take it, it's an investigator's Mobile Data Terminal, M.D.T. Just got it for you earlier. It's pretty much like Wikipedia. You can find out more about the SOPs, the dimensional navigation map and table... and oh, your access level. Hmmm... You're still under probation, so I guess much of it is still beyond you. But it's good to read up in advance."

Hao Ren snapped out of his stupor when he saw the silvery item flying his way and caught it just in time. After digesting what Raven12345 just said, he realized, "Well, at least I've got my monthly pay this time."

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Chapter 28: Super High Tech!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Hao Ren toyed around with the silver device in his hand. He was both excited and yet worried.

The device was about palm-sized and had a silver glow to it. Yet, it did not feel metallic when held. It was warm, probably not a metal from this world. It had a very fine hexagonal edge, and was barely a few millimeters thick. Hao Ren could see some light pulsing within the device, as it it was a living, breathing being. He gave the surface of the device a rub and it activated with a sudden bright flash. A holographic menu popped out of the ether and took Hao Ren by surprise.

It was to Hao Ren's credit that he did not just toss the device instinctively. He held it tightly and stared at the hologram. There was a blue cross-shaped sigil revolving slowly in the middle of the hologram. Beneath the icon was a line of words: Space Administration-EN35 Node – World AZ655 – General-Use of MDT. Access verified. Standing by.

"Full Mandarin interface, idiot-proof navigation, even a dummy can master this." Raven12345 pointed towards the MDT, drawing Hao Ren's attention. "This device here contains all you need to know about your work. Oh, and there's the introduction about the Imperial Space Administration, plus some basic information about the Empire. Also, there's more information about worlds, space lanes, world codes, authority levels, material distribution list, support application and more that you'll need to learn. It's a bit too much of a hassle to explain all of it to you, go read it up" Raven12345 snickered "Well, digesting all of this... hurm... you should be done with module one of the tutorial by now, and on to the second module..."

All Hao Ren saw was despair. He just managed to scrape through school, and now he's back to it again?

"What is this though?" Hao Ren, trying to distract himself from the amount of studying he needed to do, pointed towards the floating blue cross-shaped sigil. He did not know what it symbolized, but was pretty sure it was a pretty big deal. He saw the same shapes within Raven12345's villa and on the magical servants as well. Hao Ren then poked at the hologram and his fingers went through the image. Well, guess it is not manipulated by touch.

Raven12345's expression became serious all of a sudden and Hao Ren took a step back. He never thought that such a whimsical Goddess could swing from one end of a spectrum of gravity to the other. Raven12345 stared deeply at Hao Ren, as though wanting to drill her thoughts directly into his skull.

"This is the insignia of the Xi Ling Legion, the Empire's emblem, the mark of the Xi Ling civilization. It represents the Xi Ling Empire. Well, you're new, so you might not grasp the significance of the insignia. Just know that it is a very important symbol, that throughout the ether, countless of races are under her protection, and her unnumbered legions fighting for her glory."

Hao Ren could only nod at what Raven12345 just told him. Sensing the mood had gotten severe she tapped her forehead and went "Ah, what am I doing drowning you in this so early in the morning. Remember, no matter what sort of perils you are facing, or what sort of troubles you find yourself in, as long as you see this insignia, know that you are with family. Understand?'

Hao Ren responded with a quick nod. "Uh... how do I use this again?"

"Just put your hand on one of the edges, and control it mentally. It will automatically act on your directive without fail." Raven12345 said as she guided Hao Ren on how to use the device. "Of course, you might need some time to get used to it. Its reaction time is very fast, and the A.I within is as potent as a human's mind, so it will automatically help you out when you've messed up. It's nothing really. Oh, try activating the system, and say "I'm a noob"."

Hao Ren blinked at the device, the only thought that swirled in his head was "My god, this is some high tech stuff!'"

'I thought the Xi Ling apostles are Gods, why would you need such high tech stuff?' Hao Ren asked while trying to communicate with the device. Raven12345 looked at him curiously "How is science and magic any different? The Xi Ling Gods went on both paths, and use what was useful, after all, this are just tools to control reality. Throw that gadget you have right now to a bunch of cavemen and they'll take it as a gift from the gods. That being said, I don't fancy all this high tech stuff, I still prefer my magical items. It's a pity that you won't be able to use them"

Hao Ren did not pay much attention to Raven12345 at that point, as he had managed to activate the device!

A series of holographic images refreshed at a very fast pace but Hao Ren was not overwhelmed by it. The way the images were formed and refreshed matched his mental agility, as if the device was capable of scanning his brain and determine how it could best absorb new information. Hao Ren's eyes quickly scanned through the data screens that was centered around him. He appreciated the fact that when he needs new information, it will be automatically brought to him in the most efficient manner.

Hao Ren thought he would not be able to manipulate such an advanced device, he quickly realized something: for such an expansive, multiversal civilization, to create an easy-to-use device was as easy as 1, 2, 3. He concluded that the ease of usage only meant that the inner workings of this device is very much complicated. If he were to pry the device open, god knows who would be able to put it back together.

"What does this "Request Support" button do?" Hao Ren asked as he saw it while browsing through the database. The holographic screen stopped at the menu and displayed a huge list of pictures and the corresponding information. It looked like a lot of them are weapons or troop lists, but most of them were grayed out.

"You really thought that the Inspectors are lone wolves? Or that taking care of a few special creatures at home constitutes the whole of the job scope?" Raven12345 snickered. "Just wait till you go official, being an Inspector is no easy job. What if I were to send you out to pacify a rebellion at Centauri? Or to mediate a military ceasefire in the Scorpio Stars? At this point, you'd be begging for combat support. When you're about to get killed, by all means use it. Of course, such a request would need the necessary authorization, and authorization can only be gained by a strict assessment. Of course we would not be giving access to lethal arms to fresh bloods. Well...lethal arms it may be, it's still just child's play to us. Hurmm... let's say if one of this were to land on earth, you'll be looking at centuries long nuclear winter.

Hao Ren gulped as he heard what Raven12345 had just said. This job would be the death of him!

"I...", he stuttered.

"No quitting" Raven12345 grinned. "Even if you were to die, your spirit will be within my grasp. I just need to get you a new body and you're as good as new! It took me so much effort to get a new employee, you think I'd let you go?"

Hao Ren's face soured at the thought.

"Oh don't give me that", Raven12345 teleported to his side and scared the living daylight out of Hao Ren. "It's not my nature to sugarcoat the reality. You'll find out soon enough that this is an opportunity that most would kill for. As long as you don't screw up, you'll live for... erm... quite long. Inspectors are not military personnel. We won't be sending you out to fight wars.'

Hao Ren wanted to speak but was totally overwhelmed by her presence. He slid the MDT into his pocket. There will be much reading and researching to do later.

"Let's talk about the nightmare" he said as he dropped resignedly back on the sofa. "I felt as if you are hiding things from me. I may be naive, but please don't take me for a fool. At least let me know the things I need to know."

Raven12345 took a glance at Hao Ren, and sighed "Alright, alright, since you are this insistent. I'll let you in on a bit more."

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Chapter 29: The Plane of Dreams?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Hao Ren was sitting upright facing Raven 12345, awaiting her explanation. In fact, he did not, at all, expect her to readily tell him everything from the get-go. He had a strong impression that Raven 12345 was egocentric and uncompromising since the day she forced him to board the boat. However, this woman did not seem so unkind now.

"The world is more complicated than you think," said Raven 12345 while she sat right on the desk, ignoring her image, making her looked like a * boss. "We are looking at a realm where an unknown race, unknown society, or even another unknown space co-exist with our world. While most people are oblivious of it, a tiny minority of the uniquely gifted people, which are rare, are able to get there, The Plane of Dreams."

Hao Ren swallowed hard subconsciously. Raven 12345's serious demeanor had really stressed him out.

"Of course, I was the one who decided to call it The Plane of Dreams just recently. Before this I used to call it the Illusory Space, and then I changed it to The Mirror World, and then The Phantom Universe… Hmm, it used to be called The Second World as well," said Raven 12345 while scratching her head. The rare seriousness on her face was all gone now. "Anyway, it is a unique phenomenon in the universe, you can call it whatever you like but let's call it The Plane of Dreams at the moment. It can be altered again if I got a better idea later."

Hao Ren had gradually got used to this strange all-over-the-place woman. He held back the urge to tease her and asked, "What the heck is The Plane of Dreams? Is it a parallel universe? I know that theory..."

"Nope, it's a little more complicated than that," Raven 12345 shook her head and continued explaining, "The Plane of Dreams is a special information structure in the universe. It's a little similar to the parallel space; however, The Plane of Dreams is more illusory and unstable. It overlays the universe. The latter is realistic, stable and regular while The Plane of Dreams is illusory, changeable and irregular. When the actual world operates normally according to the regulations of the universe, The Plane of Dreams, however, was just like a dream which changes constantly along with the real world. However, their reflection of each other is very confusing. Therefore, its variation is basically untraceable. Ok, don't mind the theory. Most people can't understand it. Anyway, you just need to know that The Plane of Dreams is a space overlaid on top of the real world. It is very unstable but almost never intersects with the real world. There are also mountains, rivers, plants, trees and animals in The Plane of Dreams, probably even intelligent lifeforms. However, all of these are very intricate. Therefore, before you have enough experience, you'd better not wander into that realm."

"Who would like to go near that kind of place!?" Hao Ren made a wry smile and continued, "I could be attacked by a big group of wolves which size is twice of those from earth if I ever wander into that kinda place! Didn't you say that The Plane of Dreams will not intersect with our world? What then happened to me back then?"

"As I had mentioned before, those who are uniquely gifted will be able to get into that space," said Raven 12345 and pointed at Hao Ren's head, "via a dream. The world and all that is in it is made up of information, be it hot, cold, big or small. All these information put themselves together to make things perceivable and describable. This is how everything on earth comes into being. This is the simplest explanation of the theory of information unification system. Oh, this theory is actually more complicated than The Plane of Dreams. So, I think that's quite enough for you. You just have to understand, due to the information unification system, anything inside The Plane of Dreams can be led into the real world, and the medium is via a dream. That is also why I named it The Plane of Dreams recently. In human history, most of those who are able to connect to The Plane of Dreams died young. They would be accidentally killed by the malformed illusory creatures from The Plane of Dreams. However, their short lives also bring endless troubles to the world. Take for instance, the plague, flood etc. Hmm… it's very troublesome indeed as those who died in The Plane of Dreams will more often than not cause the those creatures, which are mostly harmful, to intrude this world."

Hao Ren was sweating. He had never thought of the existence of another strange world occupying space with the world he is so familiar with. He still remember a few days back when he was grumbling about this boring world and how his life was uninteresting. And now, he can no longer hold on to his former perspective of this world anymore as things had just took an exciting turn.

"So does this imply that I'm gifted?" asked Hao Ren, unknowingly pointing at his nose as he wasn't sure how to respond. "You make The Plane of Dreams sounds crazy and unbelievable. It seems like people can get killed easily in that realm. You have to do something about it!"

"Gifted? No, you aren't," said Raven 12345 with a grin. "Don't overthink it. You're just an ordinary man, affected by the force of information disturbance after you came into contact with me, and this force can change you gradually, making you different from most people. It will be easier for you to encounter these unusual things, making your task in more convenient in the long run. However, you don't have to worry too much. Those unlucky ones who died in The Plane of Dreams were those who didn't have strong backups. So far, based on records, none of them were our employees. Without our backup, how long would they last in there? But you're different. You have credentials from us. You being there in The Plane of Dreams is what we called a crossover by order. I'll do my best to drag you out of that realm every time you're in mortal danger."

Sweat was dripping from Hao Ren's forehead as he was left speechless.

"Now you comprehend the situation in The Plane of Dreams. However, I do wonder how much you really grasped by just my rough explanation. You definitely need frequent contacts with those abstract beings in order to understand this realm better. You'll have all the opportunity to learn more about that place in due time." Raven 12345 jumped down from her desk and patted Hao Ren's shoulder comfortingly but it almost throw him off his the sofa. "Talking about those nightmare, you have stopped having them, right? It means the balance between you and The Plane of Dreams has been restored. A person in the real world doesn't simply slip into nightmares under usual circumstances," said Raven.

Hao Ren gritted his teeth while rubbing his shoulder. Suddenly, he remembered the question he wanted to ask earlier. "By the way, you know something about the demon hunter, right?"

Hao Ren had learned from Vivian about the ageless conflict between demon hunters and the minority as well as the history of what went down between the minority and humans. He came to know about humans, weak but numerous; the minority few but strong; and the demon hunters whose origins were unclear and whose ground was somewhere in between humans and the minority. All three used to play equally active roles in the civilization of the world. However, the humans have now taken control of this planet while the minority was being marginalized to the extent where nobody remembers them anymore. At the same time, the demon hunters are also lying low among men. Compared to the ages of blood wars in times past between the three races, the age of human civilization was definitely more calm and peaceful. However, Hao Ren knew it was just calm superficially. It's the demon hunters and the minority who had tactfully maintained the peace in the world.

The demon hunters, strong human-like warriors, were still roaming the world, hunting the minority to this day. And unfortunately for Hao Ren, there are two treaks among those freaks living under his roof. He was eager to know Raven 12345, the self-proclaimed Goddess's take on this matter, more accurately, he wanted find out whether the three races were treated differently by the Xi Ling Celestials and the Space Administration and if they take any sides?

Thoughts were racing in Hao Ren's mind. However, Raven 12345 just waved her hand indifferently and said, "I knew it, but I'm just too lazy to care. After all they have yet to find you. We'll talk about it when they do get on your trail."

Hao Ren knew that he was no match for the white hair succubus in front of him. Therefore, he sat back in his sofa quietly; arms folded across his chest and asked sincerely, "One last question, I'm just a fragile human being and yet you let me deal with these creatures. Now, Vivian and Lily's temper was still manageable, what if I come across those who are really bad tempered… You should ensure that I am capable of protecting myself, right? How about transferring 200 years' worth of power to me?"

Hao Ren was just simply making a remark. Beyond his expectation, Raven 12345 actually nodded without hesitation and handed to him The Buddha Palm Technique.

Suddenly, Raven 12345 slapped her forehead and exclaimed, "Gosh! I almost forgot, the intensification of new employee. I was wondering what's missing. Luckily for you I remembered this before dispatching you onto the battlefield!"

"…" Hao Ren was speechless.

If one day, he meets his death, this brain-sick crazy superior would be the one to blame!

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Chapter 30: The Automated Device

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Hao Ren wondered if Raven 12345 was the only freak in the Space Administration of the Xi Ling Empire. He couldn't believe that such a super-civilization was made up of such unreliable fellows anyway. Unfortunately, he had yet to get a chance to meet the other members of the Space Administration and the senior executives from the Xi Ling Empire. Raven 12345 did mention earlier that the administrative level of this deserted place was not high enough. However, it is not impossible that they could have visitors from the Space Administration.

Despite that, Hao Ren no longer suspects the identity of Raven 12345 and the existence of the Xi Ling Empire. This otherworldly mansion, the state of the art, extravagant and elegant facilities in it were definitely not created by humans. To confirm that, the room they were in at that moment was called the New Employee Bioenhancement Centre which looked as if it was ripped right out of a science fiction.

Raven walked Hao Ren around the mansion. Along the way they walked pass many strange rooms full of crystals and bizarre devices. Hao Ren was awestruck by everything he saw along the way that his jaw literally dropped. Just as he was wondering if there is an end to this mansion, Raven led him into a hall which just looked quite out of place. It was very modern and advanced, even compared to the rest of the building. The hall was a perfect hexagon. Each of its walls was plated with chrome and glossed over with silver. Streams of light in hues of blue and white was pulsing slowly on the walls, like blood vessels. The hall had a high ceiling and was ornamented with numerous crystals floating and shimmering in the air, saturating the hall in baby blue. Along those walls, Hao Ren noticed that there were lots of peculiar devices unknown to him. He thought they looked like some kind of operating board but there was no button or operating lever on them. There were holograms floating above each of those 'operating boards'. The only discernable and probable control unit was a hexagonal crystal board which was vastly different from any of the machinery on earth.

"This is a Bioenhancement Centre, the smaller version," Raven 12345 pointed proudly at the devices in the hall. "In the earlier days, agents have to stay in the capital of the Empire and undergo the Unified Bioenhancement and assessment in the City of Shadows. During that time, the Space Administration was relatively small and nothing much was happening in the Macro World so it's easier to govern. But now that is no longer viable. Therefore, all assessments, elementary training as well as intensification of new agents were transferred to Nodes and even to the Basic Worlds. This place is relatively remote and recently we took a few leaps to connect with the void node. So I simply applied for a facility like this in my dwelling. At first, I thought of applying for a magical facility as I'm really confused by those technologically advanced devices. However, I made a mistake in the application …"

Hao Ren's head was spinning while listening to Raven 12345. She had this problem where she would just keep on talking regardless of whether her audience could or could not understand her. Hao Ren had zero knowledge of the Space Administration. How then, could he understand what the white haired succubus had been babbling on about!

"What the heck is the bioenhancement thingy you mentioned?" Hao Ren had managed to keep his sanity even after all the information bombardment. The atmosphere of this place reminded him of some scientific research centers conducting non-stop experiments and dissections. In his mind, the Xi Ling Empire was still "the aliens". (He had been an atheist for more than 20 years after all. To him, the idea of "Gods" was far harder to grasp than that of "aliens".) Let's think about it, a human falling into the hands of aliens to undergo bioenhancement. If this had been in the hands of the Hollywood directors, it would be a waste if it wasn't all bloody and gory!

In fiction, those who got very excited and overjoyed when the aliens were about to enhance them were definitely not as deliberative as Hao Ren. Well, one might say that Hao Ren was actually terrified.

"Don't worry. It's just a simple physical readjustment. It will not be uncomfortable or do you harm." Raven 12345 pushed Hao Ren to the center of the hall while explaining, "Everyday there are hundreds of new agents receiving bioenhancement and we've never had one accident, so don't worry. We always follow the humanized standards… Stand still! I'm going to bring the Bioenhancement and Reconfiguration Chamber up."

Hao Ren stood there, trembling. Raven proceed to hit the invisible buttons, the floor shook slightly and the chamber rose slowly from the rectangular hole on the floor.

The silvery white metal pod was rectangular in shape, approximately two meters long, with one end bigger than the other. It was very exquisite, covered by a lid embellished with a crystal cross.

The lid of the metal pod slid open slowly. Hao Ren was confused and asked, "Why do I feel like I've seen it somewhere else?"

Raven 12345 was shocked as said, "How could it be? This is the latest model of the Universal Bioenhancement and Reconfiguration Chamber. I unboxed it just two days ago. Where have you seen it before?"

After thinking for a while, Hao Ren slapped his head, exclaiming, "Now I remember! It's a f*cking coffin!"

Raven 12345 slapped Hao Ren's shoulder, "Don't you remember the employee code of conduct? Never cuss in front of your superior! If you had to do it, do it after your superior has finished her words!"

Hao Ren tilted his shoulder and stepped backward quickly. "You want me to get in there? I have to tell you that I am a man of principle. Just the shape of this thing is enough to scare the hell out of me... Hey! Don't be pushing me! I will never get in! It is still a coffin even if you plate it with silver! There's even a cross on it…"

Raven 12345 lifted Hao Ren single-handedly and threw him into the 'coffin'. "Be a man and just get in!"

Hao Ren was helplessly unable to fight against the crazy white hair succubae. After being spun around for a moment he found himself lying inside the box. At that moment, a layer of transparent protective screen extended from the four sides of the metal pod, completely trapping him inside.

Hao Ren could only give in. However, nothing happened after a while. He turned his head to the side and found Raven 12345 holding up a data terminal, looking enthralled. He hit the two sides of the pod and shouted, "Then, what's next!?"

"Don't shout! I'm looking for the user manual. Why the heck is this so complicated! Where's the switch?" said Raven 12345 without looking up.

At that Hao Ren shouted, "Fxxx! I resign! I break the contract! I quit! You can't be trusted at all!"

"Oh! Found it!" Raven 12345 then slapped on something on one of the sides of the "coffin" and Hao Ren's drastic protest stopped at once. The last thing he saw was a dazzling white light penetrating into his retina.

Darkness, frost, silence and endless chaos. It was as if time had lost its meaning. At that moment, it felt like his soul had left his body, floating in an intangible and indescribable dimension. He tried his best to retrieve any bits the five familiar senses, but to no avail. There was no sound, no light, no heat and no touch. The spirit of man, confined in a small bottle, floating alone…

After about 10 seconds, Hao Ren heard a loud noise. "Bang!" The next thing he knew was somebody grabbing him by his arms and pulling him up and he gradually regained his sight.

Rays of light within his sight came together and consolidated into a figure. It's Raven 12345's beautiful cheeks and her signature silver hair. She patted Hao Ren on the shoulder and seemed satisfied. "Okay. It's done!"

Hao Ren sprang up and realized that he was still standing in the coffin-shaped metal pod. Had he not kept his footing he might just tumble out of it. He balanced his body and jumped out of the pod carefully. "So, that's it? Why do I feel like it had only been a short while?"

"Yes, twelve seconds," said Raven 12345 while waving the data terminal in her hand. "Exactly the same as what's written on the manual. Just press the switch, choose an automated mode and wait for about twelve seconds. Wait for the sound 'ding', the red light to come on and the chamber lid will then open automatically expelling the subject out of the pod. But you yourself jumped out of the chamber."

"Is that a microwave oven!?"

Raven 12345 shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Anyway, the methods of operation of all devices are more or less the same. Isn't that the standard of procedure for most of the automated devices?"

Hao Ren was stunned by her calmness. His only comfort was that at least nothing unfortunate had happened and all parts of his body were still intact.

He then clenched his fist to see if the alien bioenhancement technology really worked. He wondered if he was on the same path as those masters in those stories. He was so surprised to discover that -- to be revealed in the upcoming chapter.

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Chapter 31: First Mission

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"I don't feel any changes." Hao Ren doubted as he pinched his upper arm.It did not become brawnier or resistant to pain. He could not summon the magic thunder ball too; he felt he was still a mortal. What about the ability of enhanced regeneration? As much as he wanted that, he could never build up the courage to slash himself...

"What more do you want?" Raven 12345 flipped through the operating manual for instructions to recalibrate the Bioenhancement and Reconfiguration Chamber. At the same time, she asked, "How about the magical ability to conjure up three fire balls?"

"I thought you meant combat strength?" Hao Ren felt he was being shortchanged. "You assigned a bunch of monsters to me. Don't you think it's absolutely necessary to give me some equivalent ability to match? What have you done to me exactly?"

"I administered some hormonal treatment to remove the scars on your elbow while I treated your white hair," said Raven 12345 with a straight face. "At least, for now."

Hao Ren was speechless.

"You look hilarious!" Raven 12345 could not hold her laughter anymore seeing Hao Ren mugging. "Don't think too much, dude! I know what you're thinking. I have had more recruits than I can remember. They unequivocally had the same thing on their mind—instant, superhuman gratification. Guess what would happen if you were given the ability to perform 20-meter vertical jumps overnight?"

Hoa Ren was unsure. "No more freaking out when the elevator breaks down? Become Spiderman's double?"

Raven 12345 stared at him, unblinking. "You remind me of someone. By the way, your answers are a little far-fetched. If you suddenly acquired such an ability, you would instantly crash into walls or shoot through the roof as a result. Bioenhancement is a step-by-step process." she patted him on his shoulder as she continued, "You've got what it takes. The ability is only being capped by a 'mind lock'. The 'mind lock' is there to ensure that you never go too fast. For the time being, get your feet wet first and over time you'll adapt to your new found ability."

Hao Ren then realized that he was not exactly shortchanged. The deal just worked in installments. Raven 12345 was right; the safety lock is an absolute necessity considering his mortal body was only configured for the earth's gravitational environment. He could get himself killed if he was unable to control his new found ability.

He was pretty self-aware though; he was calm and cool for the majority. However, curiosity would overcome him sometimes. It was too tempting not to try out his superhuman ability just to see what it was like.

"What kind of bioenhancement am I getting?" Hao Ren asked expectantly. "I suppose asking a question isn't against the rules. At least I get to know what I'm getting into."

Raven 12345 sounded serious, "Swift muscle reflex, super strength, regeneration, reactive evolution and resistance to radiation, toxins, extreme temperatures, caustic substances as well as any other nasty stuff you can think of. But, all these are basically still in the process of being built upon your mortal body. Other aspects of bioenhancement will follow suit once you pass the test, which is extremely stringent. You're not allowed to abuse your abilities and you need to show that you're in control of yourself."

Hao Ren nodded as if he understood. He was pretty confident that he would pass the test but as Raven 12345 had mentioned, it all depended on the outcome of the examination. Nevertheless, he was now officially an employee of the Space Administration albeit one of the lowest rung on the ladder.

"Protective gear—checked. Bioenhancement—checked. Help yourself to the rest of the employee's codes of conduct. The most important thing of all is, never ever tell anyone about the Space Administration except your tenants." Raven stared straight into Hao Ren's eyes. "You may tell them why you're doing this—which is to protect them but just that, no more. They're chosen but they're not part of the Space Administration yet. I think you understand the difference, right?"

Hao Ren looked a little surprised. "Talk about confidentiality, huh? Space Administration, God's organization. I do wonder though, doesn't God like to spell it out loud when it comes to His great plans—global worship, evangelical outreach?"

"Publicity is only necessary when the need arises." Raven 12345 shook her head. "In the case of the Space Administration, there's no need for that. Just remember, the administration has its own local civilization where its history follows its natural course. It's totally independent. God wouldn't mess with history. It would spell disaster for the human race if they learn that there are higher beings out there who are controlling their fate and their world. Of course telling them about the Space Administration isn't going to cause an end-of-the-world scenario. Most people won't even believe it. However, that doesn't mean you're allowed to do so. It's a matter of principle."

Hao Ren nodded in response and seemed like he had understood it. "Okay. So essentially, the Space Administration is in a way, a secret society—we keep people in the dark while we're in it?"

"Not really. The Macro World isn't constant in itself." Raven 12345 continued again as she shook her head, "It's a massive system built by the emperor; an ever expanding virtual web of the empire while the Space Administration is sort of its central nervous system. Naturally, we would encounter all kinds of situations.Sometimes, a civilization or a community expands to become large enough, or a major disaster strikes. In such cases, the Space Administration can no longer keep itself a secret. It would then be forced to intervene. When it does, the affected community would then be accepted into the empire, with prior approval of course. But you don't have to worry about all this, just mind your own business. Anyway, the examining officers are rather lenient nowadays. During the early days of the Space Administration when the empire was in turbulence, the rule of confidentiality was enforced heavy-handedly. Anyone in the civil departments who defied the rule would be executed under the martial law. Capital punishment still exists today but as long as you stay in line you'll be fine."

Hao Ren was in cold sweat as he had only begun to comprehend how serious the monstrous organization was.

Yet at the same time, there seemed to be a silver lining: despite only having a vague understanding of the web and Space Administration, he was part of the system now. However, he wondered—was the earth, the solar system, or the entire of space just a speck in the Macro World?

The more he pondered, the more motivated he was.

By then, the room was cleaned and tidied up. Raven 12345 led him outside. "Stop thinking too much. We're done with the orientation. Now, I have a mission for you."

Hao Ren was excited that the organization needed his service.

"In two days, you'll be going to Europe," Raven 12345 remarked. "Your mission is to bring a tenant back. I've spent considerable effort to bring him in but that dumbass disembarked to a place with an entire eight hour time difference instead. It's time to show your worth."

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Chapter 32: Vampire Magic: The Proper Usage

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Mission? Europe?" Hao Ren stared at Raven 12345, blinking. "I didn't know that there's a foreigner in my list of tenants."

Raven 12345 looked at him up and down in derision. "You don't learn, do you? We're talking about the-other-kind here. What do you think the nationality of that vampire girl is, huh?"

As the penny dropped, Hao Ren felt embarrassed at his own ignorance; his thinking had become so rigid as he had been living his entire life in the human world. "Target? Rendezvous? Time? And most important of all—on whose dime?"

"Oh c'mon, get over it!" Raven squinted at him. "Of course it'll be on the administration's dime. We do have a teleportation machine laying around but you'll gain more field experience by doing things the traditional way. So, you're gonna take the plane. As for your tenant, frankly, I don't know how it'll look like since, it must have disguised itself as somebody else. But rest assured, it will find you once you're there as it'll be able to pick up your MDT's signal. And I've got you a passport, made to order. Do remember to pick it up while you're on your way out."

Hao Ren nodded in acknowledgment. "What about the two ladies at my house? They fight like cats and dogs every other day. I don't think it's a good idea to just leave the two of them at my place."

It was hard to tell what would transpire as Vivian and Lily had been locking horns with each other all the while. He broke out in cold sweat just by imagining the collateral damage they would cause. So, he wanted it resolved at the soonest possible time lest his house be wrecked in no time.

"Bring them along, they may be of help. I'll get them documentations." Raven 12345 waved as she continued, "After all, the vampire is well-traveled. She'll make a good guide and a bodyguard. No worries. They're going to join the party, I bet my last penny on it. At the end of they day, they've been redundant for quite some time. So, take the trip as an opportunity to smooth out the rough edges."

The words 'of help' and 'smooth out the rough edges' unnerved Hao Ren. He smelled trouble ahead but could not tell what it was exactly. He also did not bother to ask. He had known from experience that Raven 12345 would not want to talk about anything beyond the present.

"Now, move your ass!" Raven 12345 patted him on his back. "Check your bank card, the money is in. I'll send the details of the rendezvous point to your MDT. It's just a simple mission every rookie does. So, have fun!"

Before Hao Ren could say anything, the world started spinning around him. He soon woke up on the road in Bastard Barrio with time on his shoulders and a bag in his hand. He knew it wasn't a dream but after every trip to the mansion, he would have this unexplainable, surreal feeling. He figured that it may have been caused by the crazy teleportation experience.

Hao Ren had no clue how Raven 12345 knew his bank card number. He was also flabbergasted at how 'unsophisticated' the way things worked in the Space Administration. It was nothing like the description in the novels he had read.

"Oh dear, I forgot that I had to ask Raven about the vampire's failed blood magic!"

He remembered Vivian's attempt to fix his nightmare condition; neither magic nor vampire's blood worked. He could not make sense of it. The question had been hanging over his head for quite some time but he forgot about it when he was meeting Raven 12345.

He looked up at the bright, blue sky as though he could see that Raven was busy in the mansion. He shook his head and left the scene, leaving the question for another time.

As he got back to Whitestone Road in the Southern Suburbs, he breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that his old house was still standing—no smoke billowed out and no explosion was heard—the two girls may have reached a truce while he was away or it was just because Lily had been out. As Hao Ren took out his key and reached for the door, he exclaimed, "I'm back!"

There was no response from the inside. So, he went in and closed the door. The air-conditioning was off; the house was as quiet as a grave. He sneaked around for while only to find Rollie trailing out of the kitchen, greeting him.

"Oh shucks! Could they be fighting outside?"

Though he was not a pessimist, he could not ignore the probable, inconvenient reality that he would have to get accustomed to the scene of the 'Tibetan Mastiff vs Siberian Wolf' conflict and that the worst would happen when he was away.

The heat of the midday sun was so bad that it seared his skin while he walked home from the bus stop. He picked up the remote controller, wanting to switch the air-conditioner on. However, it did not respond to the command. There was no power in the house. An unexplained feeling of unease started to bother him.

"What's going on? Ever since I received my first assignment, everything seems to have gone haywire." He became superstitious.

But then, he heard two familiar voices; Vivian and Lily were at the door, they were back. It seemed like they were not in a fight.

"Wow, Landlord, you're back!" Lily was the first to burst in, looking surprised. "It's midday. Why don't we have lunch together?"

Her brain seemed to comprise of food and food only!

"Where have you been?" He asked Vivian as he wiped away the sweat on his forehead. He did not even bother to talk to Lily, who had obviously become unresponsive to anything other than food. "I thought you guys had a fight."

"The power went dead so, I thought it was time to pay the bill." Vivian smiled and jeered, "Then I found this big dog out there so, I brought her along."

Lily did not respond to her mockery at all.

"Two people to run a simple errand?" He looked curiously at Vivian but he quickly realized her condition. "Oh, I almost forgot, you can't touch money."

Vivian's expression hardened because it touched her sore spot but, she shrugged it off as though she did not mind it. "The transformer at the substation is down. It's going to take another half a day before the thing can get back to normal again."

"Okay," Hao Ren responded briefly as he waved a magazine back-and-forth rigorously to cool himself. "The weather is freaking hot and the power outage is not helping either. Lily, are you okay?"

He saw Lily squatting on the sofa with her tongue sticking out, panting. "I ran a little too hard on the way back."

Vivian and Hao Ren looked at her, bewildered. It was not at all an exaggeration to say that Lily was a big dog when she was panting like one.

Although Lily had her own quirks and cuteness, they were not things Hao Ren could stomach. "Is it really necessary to stick your tongue out while you squat?"

Lily wiped her sweat away as she looked up. Her mind went blank before she became aware of her immodesty. "Excuse me, old habits die hard." She chuckled.

Hao Ren gave her a wry smile. He did not know what ought to be said. During that awkward moment, a chill suddenly filled the air.

He turned around and was surprised to see that Vivian had transformed. She was emanating a layer of red fog much like a blood mist. She was waving two, foldable hand fans back-and-forth in quick motion, sending the chill to every corner of the house...

"Mr. Landlord, what do you think?"

Hao Ren was astonished. "I swear I've never seen anything like this!"

Lily had moved closer to enjoy the cool air but at the same time, she did not want to waste the opportunity to mock Vivian. "Hey,you, wingy thing! Isn't that chill you release supposed to be smelly as well?"

Vivian raised her eyebrow. "In case you haven't already known, the scent is only reserved for combat use. I'd like to keep it fresh whenever I need some chill air."

It was an eye-opener. Hao Ren cracked up and joked, "Now, that's proper usage of vampire magic! From now on, we can save on the monthly bill!"

And then, something came to his mind. "By the way, I'll be going on a mission trip to Europe in two days. Would you two like to join me?"

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Chapter 33: Employee Handbook

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"I'm going on a mission to Europe." Hao Ren tried to impress by imagining himself in a black suit and a pair of sunglasses. Additionally, he spoke in a low voice. He wanted to project himself as a glamorous agent.

"Nice, I'm in!" Lily agreed excitedly, just as Raven had predicted.

However, Vivian's thought process was a little lagging. "Paying rental with my cool air, good idea..."

Her strayed mind annoyed Hao Ren.

"Can you emanate warm air too?" Lily gave a sideways look as she tried to stump Vivian. "It'd be more than enough to pay a whole month's rental."

"Being ectotherms, the Blood Clan has no difficulty emanating chill but when it comes to warm air, errr..."

"Ahem... We're talking about a more serious topic here." Hao Ren was even more annoyed as their conversation went off course. "Lily's in. How about you, Vivian? Please join us if you can make it. After all, Europe is an unfamiliar territory."

Hao Ren was being honest. Apart from the Southern Suburbs, Third Ring Road was the farthest place he had ever gone. He was now being offered the opportunity to go to places he had never thought of before. Moreover, everything was being paid for by the administration. To say that he was excited was an understatement.

"At least it's a public service, albeit a foreign one." Hao Ren thought.

"Me? I'm okay." Vivian lowered her head and awkwardly said, "I just lost my job a couple of days ago. I'm officially jobless now. Hey, why don't I work as your tour guide and offset half-a-month's rental in return?"

So much for being a vampire and nobility of the night; Vivian had just thrown her status and pride out of the window.

"Let's not bother with the rent." Hao Ren looked up to the sky and let out a long, long sigh. "I already have an agreement with Raven 12345 and all of you are gonna stay here with me. Anyway, I don't mind if you help me out with some of the house chores. Didn't you work in McDonald's and a few other places a while back? I heard that they've all gone bankrupt thanks to you."

"Ahem...Ahem...I've got nothing to do with that!" Vivian exclaimed.

Lily was still immersed in the excitement of going abroad. "Landlord, when do we depart? Where to? For how long? Is there a time frame? Can I pack my luggage now? When are we going to have our lunch?"

Hao Ren raised his hand and warded Lily off. "Let's just slow down. I haven't even booked our flight yet. Besides, I'm still waiting for the mission details from Raven 12345. Oh yeah, I have something fun for all of you to see; it's kind of high-tech! It's Space Administration standard equipment...darn, where did I keep it"?

He tucked his hands inside his pockets searching frantically. He remembered he had the awesome MDT in his pants' pocket but he only found a few loose threads hanging in it. He was sweating like a pig.

"I'm dead, man!" Hao Ren could not bear to think of the consequences if the gadget fell into the wrong hands. He ran through many scenarios in his mind and there was nothing more terrifying than certain death should Raven 12345 find out he was negligent as an agent.

Just when he was about to rush out to search for the misplaced device, a buzzing sound was heard right next to him. A swirling hole opened up mid air and he saw the hexagonal MDT emerge from it. As he reached out, the device dropped right into his hand while a holographic message was displayed. The message warned, "Dear user: Please refrain from leaving your device in the car as the device has limited capabilities in finding its owner. You shall not misuse its functions; if you do, the device will automatically alert your superior accordingly."

Hao Ren was astonished at what he saw. There had not been a computer that could talk back until then. He started to get what Raven 12345 meant by "no less intelligent than you"—it was an MDT with AI, artificial intelligence.

Lily's eyes gleamed with curiosity as the little gadget attracted her interest. She rushed over. "Landlord, can I have a look at that thingy?"

Hao Ren was careful not to break the rules in the employee handbook. He made sure it was okay before passing the device to Lily, saying, "Be careful. Although the device is solidly built according to Raven 12345, there's no way to fix it once it's broken."

Lily took the MDT from Hao Ren. She played with it for some time but it seemed like it was not responding until a holographic message popped up: "Right of access required. Please save yourself the trouble from trying again."

They were lost for words at how cheeky the AI was.

Unlike Lily, Vivian had more control over her own curiosity. She smiled at Lily mockingly before prancing into the kitchen. "Have fun, big dog! I'm cooking."

Lily shove the MDT back to Hao Ren before following Vivian into the kitchen. "Wait! I'm going with you."

"Do you even cook at all? I thought all you know is eating?"

"I need an air-conditioner."

"..."

Left alone, Hao Ren took the opportunity to familiarize himself with the MDT. He also wanted to know what the Space Administration was all about but the more he read the handbook the more terrified he was.

The beginning chapters of the employee handbook were about standard protocols however, the chapters towards the end of the handbook were bizarre:

The Observations and Guiding Process of the Turk-III Civilization

The Registration Methods for the End of the Sixth New World

A Guide to the Reporting Process of Regional War Containment

The Intervention of Examining Officers in Planetary Wars

The Basics of Extermination Law and the Roles of an Examining Officer in Related

Processes

Hao Ren thought he could possibly find out more from the AI MDT, which was capable of interacting with humans. He started to inquire in his mind, "What do all these mean?"

"Literally—," the MDT emanated a holographic reply. "…these are for examining officers only, they do not concern you for now. Examining officers are regional agents of the empire. They are akin to living saints or living sons in religion. Are you having problems with your work?"

Hao Ren quickly denied it. He needed some time to clear his mind.

Late in the afternoon, he received the details of his mission from Raven 12345. He set aside the weird handbook and focused on the upcoming important trip.

The destination was England but the location was in a little-known, remote countryside where his new tenant would be waiting for him.

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Chapter 34: The Little Secret of Lil'Miss Outsider.

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The five-digit, white haired succubus may have looked a tad bit unreliable. However, she never went back on her promises. Hao Ren was teary eyed when he saw the amount of money in his bank account. It was just too awesome; it contained a string of zeroes. He signed the contract without as much as a second thought.

Hao Ren realized that from then on, he would be leaving behind his idyllic, carefree life and things would have to be seen from the roost of the Space Administration. For the monstrous organization, human currency was very much just part of the tools of the trade and seemed to come in unlimited numbers. A part of him wanted to have Raven 12345 wire another million bucks into his account but, his better judgment decided against it.

That said, he did not have to worry about his living expenses for the time being. Vivian's free-loading expenses were also covered for a year or two at the very least. Ever since the hopeless vampire moved in, she free-loaded off Hao Ren's expenses. While he did mention the prospect of her being a live-in maid to offset the rental, it was more of a joke than anything. Hao Ren was a common man; he obviously could not afford such a life. It was pretty much an excuse to put Vivian at ease with her free-loading. Well, that was no longer a problem too. The witch gave him enough money for three to go around the world, just to pick someone up from England.

During the ride to the international airport, Vivian constantly bugged Hao Ren. "Hey, is that Space Administration thing still hiring? I could go there to operate the air conditioning!"

She was still going on about it when they got on the plane. Hao Ren got a bit irritated and went, "Forget about it. This requires talent you know? I'm at the very least a reserve civil servant and a back-up successor. You think it's that easy? Aside from that, the witch's place is pretty much fluid all the time. She's a Goddess; air-conditioning is probably the least of her concerns…"

Vivian fussed with the air-conditioning at home to save cost and all of them saw her as no different than the air conditioner's remote.

The vampire pouted and faced towards the window. She curiously stared at the ground staff running about their duties. "Is Rollie going to be fine?"

"Don't worry about him. He's much more capable than you think." Hao Ren was not worried about that devil of a cat at all. Obviously, one could not bring a cat into the aircraft and international shipping was not a realistic option. Thus, Hao Ren just left him at home and asked for the help of his neighbor to look after him.

Hao Ren was pretty sure that by day two, Rollie would slip out of the house to do whatever it wanted. "Rollie does have a glorious history behind him. He was the dominant alpha of the street with just a few pounds of meat on him a few years back. His survival instincts are much better than mine. When I took him in two years ago, I was dead worried when I had to leave the house. After a while though, I realized it was really for nothing. Once, I was away for a month and he came back half a kilo heavier."

"Hao Ren, what is England like? I've never been there before." Lily was seated right opposite of Hao Ren. As she stared outside curiously, Hao Ren saw that she was seated like a cat: on all fours.

With the allowance that he had received, Hao Ren went ahead and booked them on First Class. And boy, it was very spacious. The distance between the seats were pretty wide as well. Hyperactive Lily was already squirming about before the flight took off. Granted, while traveling in style was partly due to the generous allowance, Hao Ren wanted the privacy more than anything. With two supernaturals in tow, he did not want to take any chances lest their identities be revealed to other passengers. It also made talking about sensitive topics a little easier.

"How would I know? Never been there myself." Hao Ren shrugged and looked at Vivian. "Right, just to reconfirm, you're sure you've been to England before? You'll be our guide over there now since you said you could speak English…"

"Of course, who do you think I am? A mere charlatan?" Vivian sneered. "I've already been around the world before; knew the earth was round when you humans were still chomping on raw game. In fact I've been to the Vatic—"

Hao Ren quickly feigned a cough. "AHEM, let's leave what you did at the monastery aside. Who knows what your kind would think of that…"

"Them? Haven't seen them in centuries. Most of them are stubborn idiots. The few smarter ones are even better at hiding than me." Vivian shrugged. "Our kind are very individualistic. Even during our golden years, unity was fragile at best. How else did you think we ended up in such a fringed position during the present? Ah, forget about it... It's depressing talk. How did I ended up like this?"

Hao Ren grinned, "Oh, so you DO realize how silly you are. That's that. Well, as long as you can speak English and guide us around, it'll be fine. Saves us the trouble of getting a guide. Our job can't involve anyone else. Raven even said that as part of the training, she's not even giving me a map…"

Vivian patted her chest, "Don't worry, even Arthur Mordred could not best me in an argument. I lived in England for a good 130 years you know. English is like my mother tongue."

Hao Ren raised his eyebrows in suspicion. It felt like Vivian was gloating more than anything but, he decided to pay it no heed.

After a while, Hao Ren noticed that Lily was still squirming in her seat and sought to distract her with a question. "Oh yeah, I have been wanting to ask you this. How do you get your identities in the human world? Especially you, Lily. How do you do it?"

This question actually did plague Hao Ren for a while. Vivian did look and played the part of a human. Lily the idiot, was another matter altogether. She said she was around during the time of the Republic and registered herself as a famous artist. God knows how many identity cards she had changed throughout the years. It was very surprising to see Lily blending in with the humans so nonchalantly. Lily finally settled down, squatting on her seat. She shook her head as if a pair of ears were there. "Wasn't that hard, ya know? I saw how human civilization was built. So, living as a human was not difficult at all."

At that point, Lily suddenly perked up. Her slowpoke of a brain finally had a spark of brilliance. "And what do you mean, especially me? You taking me for an idiot?"

Hao Ren quickly shook his head in denial while Vivian turned away to ignore the commotion. Lily pointed her finger at them. "I know that you two think I'm dumb. I'm pretty quick with my senses ya know. Just can't be bothered to get serious with you guys. I'm telling you Hao Ren, don't think just because I look dumb most of the time… I'm very capable, ya know? I know a lot of people, like... uh... most of them are dead now… It is what it is but I'm capable, okay?"

Hao Ren wiped his cold sweat off. His instincts told him that Lily was just about to parade a list of historical greats before him. Thank goodness she kept it short. Ever since the two supernaturals came into his life, Hao Ren was constantly surprised at how they spoke of historical figures like they were close friends, much to his disbelief.

With the pre-flight preparations completed, the lead stewardess made an announcement for the passengers to push up their seats and buckle-up. Lily finally stopped squirming and sat down quietly as she put on her seat belts deftly. Then, Lily and Hao Ren saw something that stunned the both of them... Vivian was struggling with the seat belt.

The vampire may have looked the part of a high class aristocrat but when the flight take off announcement was made, Vivian was fumbling about with the seat belt. Hao Ren helped her to buckle up but could not help taking a piss at her, "You're afraid of airplanes? You can grow wings to fly, right?"

"I've never sat on one of these before…" Vivian said meekly.

Hao Ren's eyes widened. This vampire, who was around during the construction of the pyramids and other great wonders; whose knowledge of the world was akin to verbal diarrhea, never actually sat on a plane before?

Vivian looked like she was about to cry.

"I...couldn't afford the tickets…"

Hao Ren had nothing to retort.

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Chapter 35: On Foreign Soil

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

As their flight took off, Vivian and Lily pretty much swapped personalities.

Normally, Lily was the lively one at home. She was always up and about, so driven by curiosity that she would stare at something for hours on end to learn about it. Chances are that she might just chew on pebbles to test their hardness if no one was around.

Vivian on the other hand, was the mature, collected one. Though she was stricken by a streak of misfortune, she still maintain a certain dignity characteristic of the vampire nobles. At least in comparison to Lily.

But now, the roles seemed to be reversed. Lily was lounging about waiting for meal services while looking up the inflight entertainment for something interesting. Vivian however, was having a ball! She was looking out the window in excitement, gaping as she saw the clouds passing her by. "Wow, it really does fly... and at such heights!" Vivian exclaimed.

It was Hao Ren's first time flying as well, and he could understand Vivian's excitement to a certain extent, but he couldn't help but wonder aloud "I thought you could fly? What's the surprise?'

"It's so different compared to when I'm flying myself" Vivian sneered. "Also, I don't usually fly this high, too easy a target for stray thunderbolts. Besides, at such high altitude, the cold is no joke. There was once when I wanted to see the stars and flew a wee bit too high, I literally fell from the sky as a block of ice and almost got caught by the demon hunters. Rarely fly that high ever since."

Hao Ren raised his eyebrows "Then... you were flying low when you were travelling around the world last time? Weren't you afraid of getting shot down by bows and whatnots?"

"When I was travelling the world? I flew and walked since I'm much stronger than humans, and time was not an issue. It wouldn't be a problem for me to walk from Europe to Asia and back again." Vivian said with a giggle. "Though at times I would still fly high, especially when hiding from those pesky hunters. They can't do much when I'm that high up."

"Speaking of bows, those are child's play, nothing to be afraid of. Even those Welsh longbowmen can't reach me. How far do you think arrows can fly anyway? That said... I did get shot down by an anti-aircraft gun once during World War Two..."

Hao Ren gawked at the revelation. Vivian sheepishly said "You humans are sure good at building this sort of murderous contraptions. Not too long ago your lots were fighting each other with rocks and sticks and were praying to gods to cure headaches. Didn't took you guys long to be shooting tonnes of steel up into the air. At that time I thought it was a new fancy catapult and almost took a shell right in the face. Luckily I managed to disperse with my bat form, otherwise I'd probably be the vampire who died the most hilarious death."

The experience of flying in a plane might have gotten the penniless Vivian a tad bit more excited than usual that she was revealing her embarrassing past one after another. At first, he was rather engaged by the conversation but half way through, he was gawking at Vivian's tales. Some of it was so outlandish that Hao Ren wasn't sure how to react.

When Vivian came to the part where some old chap she knew in North America got killed by a meteorite, Hao Ren decided it was time to change topic and turned to Lily. "You seem like a seasoned flyer."

Lily looked up lazily and grinned "I had only been on those early Stinson models."

Hao Ren looked puzzled. "What are those?"

Vivian was readjusting herself on her seat when she heard, "That was during the era of the republic... How rich were you back then?"

"Those days I couldn't afford air tickets as well." Lily waved her hand "But I would sneak into aircrafts, hiding in the cargo hold, or just hanging outside the aircraft. Back then, security systems weren't as advanced as they are now, and there were lots of place that were not checked. With my agility, avoiding a normal human's sight is very easy. The only difficulty was landing, I did try jumping off once, it wasn't fatal but it was pretty scary."

Hao Ren immediately retorted "Nonsense, most people would be dead trying to pull that stunt of yours"

Lily stuck her tongue out in defiance, "Well, at least I learned and adapted from experience. That's why I said, that that bat is too stiff. Plus, she is not at as smart as me at times. She just don't know how to properly utilise her body."

Vivian shrugged "I don't think hanging outside an airplane to avoid paying fare is something to be proud off."

That said, Vivian couldn't help but to talk more about it with Lily. Their chatter mainly revolved around how one could safely hang oneself outside human transportations. Lily was going on about how one could hide in a cargo hold while Vivian gave pointers on how to dodge anti-aircraft missiles. It was pretty much hogwash to Hao Ren, but at least this talk gave these two who are always at loggerheads a common ground: They share interest in pulling off outlandish stunts.

Looking at Lily's cheerful face, Hao Ren was sure that this werewolf is much more competent than she looks. Being able to hang outside an aircraft half-way across China wasn't very surprising for a werewolf. What was impressive was her resourcefulness despite her usual derpiness. He could only imagine her untold tales and escapades, but immediately decided against it.

After that, it was a quiet eleven hours flight for the trio. Before long, they landed at their destination, Heathrow Airport.

As they stepped out of the plane, Hao Ren had to drag along Lily, who was half-asleep while Vivian walked out looking fresh. He took the opportunity to breathe in the air deeply and found it no different than that back at home.

Vivian looked up. As it was still early dawn, the skies were still dark. There was a veil of mist that shrouded the air, making the sky much darker than it was. Being in a foreign land, beset by cold winds and gloomy skies, it's usually not something tourists look forward to, but this was much to Vivian's taste.

"This illuminance is just nice for my skin. The past two days was hell! Have you ever see a vampire sunbathe in broad daylight?"

Hao Ren rolled his eyes. "Have you ever see a vampire out and about hunting for jobs?"

Vivian turned away in embarrassment. Trying to change the topic of the conversation, she said, "Hmm... this place looks very different from the England I remember..."

A very groggy Lily still managed to stab at Vivian. "You couldn't even afford air tickets the last time, what makes you think you remember how the airport even looked like?'

Dread befell Hao Ren. Vivian quickly interposed and said, "That's not it, last I remember, this area was supposed to be an empty plot of land, or a rocky beachhead... if my vampiric memories are correct."

Something suddenly dawned upon Hao Ren, the tingling unease when they departed earlier came to a head. "When was the last time you came to England?"

Vivian took some time to ponder and slowly lowered her head "I remember then there was this king called Lionheart fighting a war..."

Hao Ren's jaw fell and he exclaimed, "That's freaking 1190!" Well, at least he knew his history well.

"How then you be so unsure?" He couldn't help but to look at Vivian in astonishment. He never thought that one could be this forgetful, like Lily.

"I've lived for so long, can't I have the liberty of remembering something wrongly?' Vivian tried to defend herself defiantly, but then relented. "And you do know that my memory is not that strong..."

"Now what?" Hao Ren scratched his head. He was not an experienced traveller and was ill-prepared for this trip. Vivian, who was supposed to be his guide and translator was about as clueless as he is concerning the lay of the land. Not to mention their mission was to locate a client with an unknown name and looks in a small, nameless, and uncharted village. His first mission did not turn out to be the cakewalk he initially thought it would be.

"At least I have a better command in English compared to you, right?" Vivian shrugged.

Hao Ren had his doubts, but he could say nothing and just nodded.

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Chapter 36: Struggling in a Foreign Land

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It's a known fact that if a person questionable credibility tells you to leave everything to him or her, you shouldn't expect much of the outcome, it was already a bit too late when Hao Ren learnt this. He was stunned and realized how unprepared he was for this trip when Vivian started speaking in the ancient Anglo-Saxon English.

A dizzy landlord, a gullible werewolf who was asleep as if half-dead, and a seemingly dependable vampire who turned out to be quite useless, found themselves lost in a foreign land with no means of communication. As they had not thought of the possibility of encountering a language barrier, they didn't care to look up the directions on the web. Had he foreseen this, he would have asked the airport staffs for assistance. The least they could do, even with the language barrier, was point him to the nearest embassy. Unfortunately, this matter had not cross the minds of this trio.

Vivian, with her ancient accent was trying to communicate with an old local chap. Hao Ren, confused by her accent, could only look on with pity as the old man, a native English speaker, struggled to converse with her as she bombarded him with series of "What?".

"Give him a break, Vivian" Hao Ren gave Vivian a nudge. "The English that you are speaking is a very ancient form of the language. Do you know that it is totally different from the English we converse in these days?"

Vivian looked distraught "How could the language change so much? I was just using the older form of the language. Now, even the pronunciation had changed so drastically?"

Hao Ren took a long sigh "When you were born, humans were still living in caves and grunting in their conversations. How silly can you be, seriously?"

"I'm not that OLD alright?" Vivian glared at Hao Ren. "Those people were part of the Jurassic era!"

Upon seeing them arguing, the aged gentleman stepped in to stop the squabble. He maintained his composure even after all the trouble Vivian put him through, a real gentleman. He grabbed Hao Ren's arm and went. "Chinese? Are you Chinese?"

Hao Ren blinked and thanked the heavens that he still remembered some of the English from his school days and quickly nodded.

The old gentleman smiled and pointed towards a young lad in uniform. Hao Ren and Vivian instantly understood his intention.

Hao Ren and Vivian sheepishly looked at each other and thanked the old gentleman and quickly dragged along Lily, who was still asleep standing, to the service counter. The staff was a good lad dressed in a smart uniform. The moment Vivian got to him, she started going. "%@@%%@?"

Hao Ren quickly pushed Vivian aside and smiled at the young man and spoke in mandarin, "Uhh, sorry my man, do you know about..." He stopped half way through as realized that the young man might not be able to catch what he was saying with his native slang and switched to a more standard form of Mandarin. "Good day, I can't speak English. I need to go somewhere. May I know who can I seek help from?"

As he listened to Hao Ren, the boy frowned a little as he tried to construct a sentence in Mandarin in his mind. He then quickly smiled as he reverted back to his professional facade and pointed towards the car park. "There... there are a few Chinese among those taxi drivers... go... go ask if they can help you." Said the boy as he struggled to pronounce the last few words of the sentence with a weird intonation.

Hao Ren happily thanked him and headed quickly for the car park. He never thought that the vampire who could outargue Arthur Pendragon was pretty much useless when she was needed the most. Her crowning accomplishment was to puzzle a poor old Briton and in the end it was Hao Ren who had to ask for directions in Madarin…

Life was definitely much more interesting compared to novels as it is not reasonable at all for most of the time!

"You can continue sleeping once we get to the hotel, hang in there." Hao Ren said as he tapped Lily on the shoulder. All he heard was a light snore. This dumb werewolf really didn't let her surroundings disrupt her biological clock. The wee hours in London was about the same time as Lily's naptime back at home. She was so sleepy that she couldn't even open her eyes. At that point, she was pretty much following Hao Ren around with her eyes closed while putting her acute sense of smell to good use as she stayed right behind him, much to his surprise.

Not before long the trio arrived at the carpark looking for the Chinese taxi drivers. While they sure look the part, most of them were actually British born Chinese, and spoke only a little Mandarin. They were clueless when they saw the address that Hao Ren wrote in Mandarin.

Lucky for him, one of them can converse in Mandarin at a decent level. He was exhausted from all the inconveniences of being in a foreign country. The glee of suckering Raven 12345 into giving him a huge sum of money for the trip had faded by now. He quickly realized that this is one hell of a mission, one that would drain the life out of you. It seems that Raven was dead serious when she said she would put her employee's capability to the test!

It won't be surprising if Raven12345 had actually thought of the part where Hao Ren, after getting that huge sum of money, would lose his head and go travelling without much planning.

There was another possibility that Raven12345 thought it would be a good time for Hao Ren to get used to the two bungling numbskulls by his side.

Though they were rather ill-prepared for the trip, Hao Ren still remembered to book a hotel beforehand. As he was given huge sum for this trip, he booked a suite at this rather high class hotel which, on their homepage, advertised their multilingual staffs who are supposedly proficient in Mandarin, ensuring the quality of service even to Chinese tourists. At this point, Hao Ren no longer give a toss about the quality of service, he just hoped that the staff could show him to his room without much hassle. After which he would contact Raven12345 for any pointers for the mission.

After an hour plus ride in the taxi with the taxi driver with a decent command in Mandarin, the trio finally arrived at the hotel in Central London. After they got out of the cab and paid the fare (Hao Ren wasn't sure if he got ripped off or not, he couldn't care less at this point.) Vivian looked up to the bright sky and went, "So many years had passed huh, back then there weren't that many houses around."

"Didn't you say that humans were still living on trees when you first came to Europe?" Hao Ren spat at Vivian as he held Lily who could barely stand straight. "You've lived so long. How did you missed the difference between the lifespan of a vampire and that of a human? We are in so much trouble today because I put too much hope in you."

Vivian frowned sternly. "I have a good temper, but I still have the pride and dignity of a vampire noble, your constant mockery towards my nobility is..."

"Pay up next month's rent then."

"... You can say whatever you want, as a noble I won't be calculative with you."

Hao Ren was speechless.

It was his first encounter with a noble who was pushed to desperation by her monthly rentals.

"As planned, let's rest a day or two, to get rid of the jetlag, reorganize and collate information we have. After that I'll be reporting in to Raven12345. Hao Ren took a deep breath and sighed, "Based on the address provided by Raven 12345, finding it will not be a walk in the park."

Walking towards the hotel entrance, the trio was unaware of the brief, yet intent gaze of a shadowy figure at one of the windows on the sixth floor of the hotel as it quickly drew the curtains back, just as quickly as he pulled them back for a peek.

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Chapter 37: Raven 12345's "Job"

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Thanks to the five-digit white-haired succubus, the over sufficient fund she provided allowed Hao Ren to enjoy living like a rich man in this foreign country. Though not comparable with the super-rich, to Hao Ren, being able to reserve such a suite of two rooms with attached bathrooms and a living room in a luxurious hotel, is already considered as rich. After a bumpy check-in, three of them were led by a hotel attendant to the suite they reserved two days ago. Upon reaching the room, Lily already was too tired to behave like a human anymore. She was literally crawling her way into the room.

Hao Ren could only explain to the stunned attendant. "She's just sleepwalking, sleepwalking…"

The expression of the attendant was quizzical. He probably never seen such a level of sleepwalking. However, the attendant handled it professionally and didn't pursue. After briefing them about the facilities of the suite and the hotel services in comprehensible mandarin, he left the room.

"The hotel's advertisement wasn't exaggerated at all. The attendant's proficiency in Mandarin is better than that of your English." said Hao Ren as he turned his head to teased Vivian while dragging Lily into the living room. "Check the doors and rooms with your five extraordinary senses. Make sure that there aren't any hidden cameras. I don't want to alert the scientists."

Vivian was unhappy. After checking the door, she mumbled something and wrote some invisible glyphs on the door and turned to say, "It's done. I will know right away when somebody is approaching."

Hao Ren nodded and threw the still sleeping Lily onto the sofa. He then looked around the room and thought, to be honest, this was the classiest hotel room he had ever stayed in. The living room was covered with thick light yellow carpet. The warm luminance of the lamps fell on the wall, giving warmth to the ambience and somehow reassuring. There was a LCD TV and a mini bar at one side of the living room. The other side was decorated with a sofa, a coffee table and seats for guests. There were two bedrooms at the north and south end of the suite, each attached with a bathroom. This was necessary as Hao Ren knew that he shouldn't be sharing the same room with the girls. Yet, he dare not let these two unreliable girls out of sight. Therefore, the best solution was to reserve this suite with two bedrooms for them.

As a matter of fact, this was not the best solution as Lily and Vivian might end up fighting each other. However, he couldn't get a more suitable suite with three rooms when he was booking. He could only take what's available at the moment. Anyhow, before departing, Vivian and Lily had sworn that they would get along well. Of course, it's still too early to tell.

Hao Ren looked around the extravagant suite like a bumpkin (even though it's considered quite basic to the super-rich) and was satisfied. Suddenly, Lily opened her eyes and sat up straight right beside him. She stretched herself deeply and yelled, "Landlord, have we reached the place yet?"

Hao Ren looked at the energetic Lily oddly. The bright and beautiful morning sun was slanting through the French windows and fell right on her face. It was 6.30am in local time. The naptime inherent to Lily's biological clock was just over and this werewolf girl amazingly woke up just on time.

"I've got a feeling that we might fail the task," said Hao Ren and sighed. He took out the MDT from his pocket, activated it and searched for the details of the task that Raven 12345 assigned to him. "We will depart two days later. It will take one day to reach our destination from this place and we are taking the highway which is the shortest route. So the main task for tomorrow is to figure out the map and where the heck is this "Yorkford". Raven 12345 said she wanted to put us newbies to the test… I wonder what kind of a test this is, not providing us a more accurate map!"

"Yorkford… I can't find it on the map," Lily was wide awake. She was lying beside Hao Ren, looking curiously at the projected image from the MDT. "Hey landlord, we haven't had lunch, have we?"

Hao Ren looked at the bright window and said, "It should be breakfast… before or after breakfast. We will eat later. Also, don't call me landlord when we are out. It sounds weird. You can just call me by my name."

"Okay, landlord. I got it, landlord."

Hao Ren, "…"

Vivian walked around each room in the suite happily. She even went to have a look at the bathroom before returning to the living room, seemingly impressed. She glanced at the hologram floating before her and reminded Hao Ren. "Didn't you say you wanted to report to Raven? Try to ask for more details while you are at it."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about it," Hao Ren slapped his head. He pinched the edge of the MDT like how he did before and was searching hard in his head for Raven 12345's contact channel. "I hope she goes to work today. She is not too reliable."

This time Raven 12345 didn't disappoint Hao Ren. The holographic projection above the MDT flickered and the beautiful woman with beautiful silver hair appeared before Hao Ren. "What's up?"

"I've reached UK," Hao Ren looked curious as he realized that the background behind Raven 12345 looked somewhat like outer space. "Where are you?"

"UK? What are you doing there? Oh yes I remembered it. I asked you to pick someone up. How's it?" asked Raven 12345.

"Nothing much." Hao Ren have no time to figure out why was there a huge flame of explosion behind Raven 12345, "Vivian made a mistake and Lily was sleeping like a dead dog few minutes ago. And the 'Yorkford' you told me about does not even exist on the map. Also… none of us can speak English. You don't supposed we can simply find any local chap to be our translator right, given the secrecy of this mission? What if they find out about the unusual creatures?"

"Can't speak English? It's just a minor problem." Raven 12345's lips didn't move as she spoke. Yet the voice was still coming from the projection. Apparently she was using another method to communicate with Hao Ren when in outer space. Just then a bright explosion flashed in the background of the holographic projection. Rave12345 turned around and simply threw a dazzling bluish white ball of light at it. She then turned back and said, "Didn't I tell you to study your MDT, why don't you listen to me? Just enter the app list and look for the translation program."

Hao Ren was watching Raven 12345 throwing balls of lightning in space. He was getting more and more curious as to what she was doing out there but still stick to the question and tried to explain it to her. "I tried to use the translation app, however, it was all about the languages of XX planet and the general dictionary of XX universe. I guess it must be useful when travelling to the other planet but there's nothing I can use on earth…"

Raven 12345 paused for a moment and slapped her head, "Opps! I installed the wrong app. You know how I always find these technological devices confusing. I will instruct the technician to transfer the right translation program to you later. Meanwhile, let me settle this mess over here first. Just a moment."

After she was done talking, Raven 12345 turned to around again and threw out a bright blue electric arc. Hao Ren couldn't estimate how huge that electric arc was through the holographic projection. All he could see was the arc almost took out the whole screen instantly. He was astonished and asked, "What are you really doing? Why does it look so busy over there?"

"Oh, I'm just cleaning up the room," said Raven without thinking. "A gang of self-pity lunatics are gearing up to destroy the world. They even created mathematical rates weapons. I have to get rid of them before the damage is done…"

While Raven 12345 was speaking, Hao Ren noticed that there was a peculiar wreckage as huge as massif in the background. The wreckage was surrounded by blue blaze. It was disintegrating as it slowly glide across the space. Numerous small spaceship-like objects emerged from the wreckage but were almost instantly shot into oblivion by blue beams coming out of nowhere.

Hao Ren knew at once that he should stop asking about it. What Raven 12345 was doing was apparently nothing peaceful…

"Ok, where were we just now?" Raven 12345's voice woke Hao Ren up from blanked state his mind was in. "Oh, I need to upload a new translation program. Well, you bunch of unofficial guys are really troublesome. After you become an official employee, these programs will be installed into your head directly and you will have a built-in interpretation system wherever you go."

"..."

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Chapter 38: The Language Barrier, Solved!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Now I finally understand what Raven 12345 meant when she said she was 'too busy to deal with the trifles of earth'." said Hao Ren after disconnecting from the call. "Her daily job is way too crazy, it's exactly like a scene taken out of a blockbuster movie."

"Does she hold grudges?" Vivian, who also saw the space battle, got a little scared of Raven. Although she had no idea about space wars and mathematical rates weapons, she couldn't help but feel that Raven 12345 is the kind of boss you wouldn't want to cross. "Are you sure that you have never offended her before?"

"Well there are times where I called her the white haired succuba silently inside my head. Does that count?" asked Hao Ren after contemplating for a while.

"..." Vivian was speechless.

While Hao Ren was still chatting with Vivian, his MDT suddenly flashed and a message came in directly into his head: "The interpretation program had been sent to you."

Hao Ren switched on the MDT and found the interpretation program quickly. In fact, he didn't have to search for it. He just simply gave a command in his mind and the MDT carried out the intended function, bringing up the interpretation program immediately. As he was reading the program manual, Hao Ren licked his lips subconsciously, saying, "The heck! Another high-end product. If I had had this product back then, I wouldn't have to retake the CET-4 three times…"

"How is it?" Lily scratched her head while looking at the MDT with much interest. "Does it explain how to use the program?"

Hao Ren pointed at the holographic image. It was clearly stated here:

The script for the usage of the Universal Adaptive Interpretation app.

• Accessibility clearance level: F

• Accessible to basic level agents or equivalent positions

• Connects directly to user's mind upon activation

• Simultaneous interpretation inside the mind. Users will not experience lapses in the interpretation process and supports language auxiliary function at the same time

• Able to take charge of part of user's language ability and enabling users to engage in barrier-free communication in different languages.

Though the above script contained multiple terminology, Hao Ren was able to grasp the general operation of the program just by picking out the few words that he understood from the script. He had to admit that the program was pretty amazing. It was similar to the MDT as both linked directly with the user's mind. As a matter of fact, all of the auxiliary programs in the MDT could do the same. At first he thought the interpretation app was just a text translation program with voice recognition (It can't be helped, the last he checked, that's the best earth's technology has to offer isn't it?), but he never expected it to be able to link with and work in his mind with any language. There was even a "language auxiliary function" which could actually take charge of some parts of the user's language ability?

Hao Ren thought at this rate, he could pretend to be a local and actually pull off a flawless London accent.

"By the way, we can give it a go now!" Hao Ren suggested as he noticed a side note stating that there's a built-in language library encompassing the languages of the worlds under the jurisdiction of the empire. Even aboriginal languages and those long-lost from uncivilized worlds were included in it. He was curious and wanted to test it immediately. He activated the program immediately and confirmed in his mind that the mental port was ready. He then turned to Vivian and said, "You can speak to me in Anglo-Saxon English now, let's see if it works. According to the user's guide, any spoken language on earth can be translated."

Vivian blinked and said, "Is it really so amazing?"

"Let's give it a go!" said Hao Ren excitedly. "Go ahead."

Vivian paused for a moment and said, "I spoked to you in Old English just now, and you replied in Old English as well."

Hao Ren was stunned while looking at the MDT. A few moments later, he talked to himself, "Well it really worked. I don't feel the lapse with the process of interpretation. It even imitates your accent."

Lily sat on one side with her arms wrapped around her knees, watching them. She could no longer hide her curiosity and smiled as she walked towards Hao Ren. "Landlord, landlord, can I give it a try please?"

But as soon as Lily takes the MDT over from Hao Ren's hands, the interpretation program stopped.

"Even though this device is a low accessibility clearance model, there are still rules to follow!" Read the line of words appearing on the MDT. "You do not meet the functional module's accessibility clearance level, identification failed. Proceeding with this session is against the law. If you really wish to continue, feel free purchase the lock-free downgraded civil model in the City of Shadows."

Lily stared at it and asked, "Why then can I access the music player without any problem?"

"It's a lock-free function. According to the regulation, you can freely access it." Another line of words appeared. "However, please respect the original setting of this devise. Its main function is to execute tasks, not to play music! You can insult the traditional looks of this device but don't you dare insult the speakers. It's a serious provocation to this device to play in your mind the Little Apple in a loop using the sixteen channel mode!

Hao Ren looked quizzically at her. Embarrassed, Lily returned the MDT to him. "I was just bored. The other day you left it on the coffee table before going off to prepare lunch for Bats. So I took it and used it for a short while."

Hao Ren quietly took the MDT back and kept it away. However, he couldn't bear the disappointment on Lily's face. Therefore, he tried to divert her attention. "How about this, Vivian and I have tested the function just now. You can give it a go I you want. Just simply pick any foreign language or dialect. Let's see if it can be translated as well."

The idea brightened her up. After Hao Ren was ready, she cleared her throat and said tentatively, "Woof?"

Hao Ren, "..."

Vivian, "..."

MDT, "..."

"Erm… this device isn't pre-loaded with the corresponding glossary," a line of words appeared again on the MDT.

"However, according the scenario analysis and the condition your body is in, could what you've just said be 'food'?"

Lily hugged her knees and pout, "It was just guessing around, that doesn't count. It's not funny at all. I want to go down to get some something to eat."

After Lily left the room, Vivian turned to Hao Ren and smirked, "You see, she won't usually admit that she is just a big doggie but once she opens that mouth of hers, she exposes her true identity."

"You can't say that," Hao Ren stuck up a tiny bit for the stupid werewolf of a sister who had always cheered him up. "I told her to speak in some foreign language. Probably barking is a foreign language to werewolves… at the very least it could be a dialect."

Hao Ren was amazed by the new function of the MDT. He felt that he could be an expert in any language in no time without any problem. Had he not been lazy, he would have probably disguise himself as the top student in every college of linguistics with the help of this device. However, little did he know that that function was actually the most basic function in the most basic equipment in the Space Administration and it's considered outdated. The language barrier was a common problem faced by basic level officers as they inspect each and every space. They were different from the Xi Ling disciples in that they couldn't directly access all the knowledge via the mental network. The ordinary basic level officers (which also includes agents, 'hallowed scions, 'bishops' and the likes) usually rely on a variety of equipment to solve the difficulties they faced in their tasks. Now the Space Administration was in the process of improving this situation. The solution was to directly integrate some of the functions in the MDT into the Bioenhancement and Reconfiguration Program. The first project was to install the interpretation program directly into the brain which enable these agents to communicate with any race in any language without any barrier and without the help of any device. It was a pity that Hao Ren didn't join at the right time. He had to get back into that 'coffin' for the second time after the next two days.

Let's not talk about the things that are yet to come. Hao Ren and Vivian went into the room. What were you thinking?! They were just trying to discover the other functions of the MDT. Hao Ren realized at that moment how unreliable Raven 12345 was. That White Haired Succuba didn't even know the inner workings of a basic equipment of the Space Administration. It's euphemistic to call her a tech illiterate. Hao Ren wondered if the woman was actually only an exception in the Space Administration. Anyway, in order to avoid similar problems in the future, Hao Ren must find out if there were any other problems with this equipment in his hands. My, oh, my, did he found another one! It was an app called "The Encyclopedia of Antenatal Care for 37 Races" was preinstalled in the Date Repository in the "Weaponry" folder.

This was literally Hao Ren's expression: O_o!!

"Can the five-digit crazy Goddess still carry out her duties reliably? Imagine one day I am on the brink of death on the battlefield, requesting for backup and all I've got is two prams descending from the sky? And for whom I wonder…"

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Chapter 39: Stranger

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

After nearly an hour, Hao Ren finally sussed it out. There were no major problems with the MDT but somehow, it was marred with glitches. A tech noob himself, Hao Ren was nonetheless quick to notice the anomaly. There were many functions which he could not make head or tail of. Plus, information about them was just next to nothing. He had tried his luck with the MDT's AI but, the AI knew no better than him; after all, the AI would not question Raven 12345's order.

The problem was, the programs ordered by Raven 12345 were not native to the MDT. Every MDT distributed at the grassroots level went through a process of initialization first. So by right, every MDT should have came out identical right out of the box. However, local management was given the discretion to install locale-specific programs. Such examples were the localized biological encyclopedia, localized interstellar navigation map, antenatal care guide for female agents and the like. The central information vault of the Xi Ling Empire was a master record of everything—no matter how bizarre or small, one could find it there. Due to this, there was an endless list of programs which could be downloaded into the MDT. Clearly, this was the source of the problem. Raven 12345, Hao Ren's regional chief was one fry short of a happy meal and technologically speaking, she was a dummy. However, she had given orders to download a hell of a lot of programs and had also meddled with the MDT before it was passed on to Hao Ren.

Hao Ren and Vivian were staring at a huge PT-385 Encyclopedia of the Universe in the MDT— a compilation of 2,000 volumes to be exact. They were flabbergasted. Deletion of anything from the MDT required access of higher authorization.

"I suggest you make do with it." The holographic message read. "All functions of the MDT are intact and working fine. You only have to control your compulsion and ignore the spams. And a replacement will be no better as Raven 12345 would certainly toy with the replacement unit again before you get your hands on it. A check with the local network message board has confirmed such incidents and complaints related to this MDT issue have gone through the roof. She's one hell of a woman."

"Alright, I give up. As long as you get me what I want, I'll just turn a blind eye to all the nonsense. Ignorance is bliss, right?"

"Dear user, don't worry. You will be in good hands with me. I am as powerful as you can imagine." The AI was narcissistic.

Hao Ren would someday come to the realization that ignoring it was the best decision he had ever made.

"Let's go downstairs and grab some bites." Hao Ren tucked the MDT into his pocket before checking out the antique clock standing at the corner. "Lily's been gone for an hour, is she lost?"

"The hotel serves breakfast, and that big dog's a gourmand. She must be gorging on the food as we speak. She's a loser," Vivian quipped.

Hao Ren shrugged without a word and led Vivian out of the room. They entered a restaurant at the first floor of the hotel.

England was a slow-paced country where people lived a laid-back lifestyle. Typical English folk would start their day at nine in the morning and have their first meal of the day. Such a lifestyle was alien to Hao Ren. Plus, he was still plagued by jet lag. There were a few guests at the breakfast buffet section. There was no mistaking that Lily was sitting right there, alone at her table in the middle of the restaurant. Vivian was spot-on about Lily being a gourmand. Lily was seen cleaning up plate after plate of food and there was no sign of her slowing down.

Hao Ren blinked. "It seems the rumor that spices aren't available in England isn't true at all considering how much food Lily has gobbled up."

Vivian looked on with disdain. "She's just an omnivore."

Holding a plate in his hand, Hao Ren proceeded to the long buffet line. He ambled around and noticed that not all English food was unpalatable. At least, he had no difficulty in filling his plate with 'edible' items from the choices available. He then lumbered over to Lily and sat next to her, inquiring curiously, "Are you done yet?"

"Ermm, yup!" Lily tried to speak with her mouth full. "The salad isn't bad, same goes for the fruits. But I'm not really fond of the BBQ meat. They don't taste like the ones back home..."

Hao Ren stared into her eyes and muttered, "As a werewolf, don't you feel ashamed of your choice of food?"

It seemed like Lily did not get the message. She exclaimed, "They don't sell ribs over here!"

Hao Ren felt they were not really on the same wavelength.

He turned over to Vivian and was confounded. "Now, that's like a pot calling the kettle black."

Vivian almost overfilled her plate and it looked like a small hill. As if it began raining after a long drought, she could not care less about table manners and etiquette. She just wanted to fulfill her long-deprived desire or rather appetite, after living on a budget for so long.

"I've never had a life like this!" The vampire girl babbled with her mouth full. "I'd like to enjoy as much as I can while it lasts!"

Hao Ren was relieved at the fact that the English started their day late and also, there were only a handful of waitresses on duty at that time. Otherwise, the scene of the two gobblers trying to out-eat each other would have been too embarrassing to be witnessed.

As they were going at it, a man holding a plate in his hand approached. Hao Ren heard him utter in a soft voice, "Is this seat taken?"

Hao Ren looked up; the stranger was slender, he had short hair and he wore a white top with black pants. He was not particularly handsome by any standard but exuded an air of trustworthiness and aptness in him. The man had an unmistakably oriental face which Hao Ren could almost tell was Chinese.

"Please have a seat, it's not taken." Hao Ren invited the man to take the vacant seat across the table. He was a little puzzled though; most tables in the restaurant were empty at that time. Why did this stranger choose to sit with them? He heightened his guard and sized the man up carefully.

He was mindful of his so-called covert mission and became alert.

Vivian had also come to notice the presence of the man. As she became self-conscious, she slowed down her pace. Her mannerisms switched to Duchess-of-Cambridge mode—elegant and graceful, save for the oil stain on the corner of her mouth.

"It's kind of rare to see someone from my home country here." The man was cordial and friendly despite his appearance implying otherwise. "Are you here for holiday?"

"Home country?" Hao Ren did not expect to be so damn right. The translation program had prevented him from recognizing the man's accent outright until the man divulged his origin. "Oh, you're from China too?"

"Yup, I'm a native Chinese but I spend most my time globe-trotting." The tall man guffawed. "I'm happy to see my fellow countrymen here. If it's not too much trouble, do you mind if I join you guys?"

"Not at all!" Hao Ren waved his hands.

"That's great!" The man nodded and unexpectedly uttered, "Are you searching for a place called Yorkford?"

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Chapter 40: The Demon Hunter

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Are you looking for a place called Yorkford?"

The stranger man's inadvertent question threw Hao Ren and Vivian off guard. With hundreds of years as a veteran vampire under her belt, Vivian managed to hide her surprise but Hao Ren had it written all over his face. "How did you know that?"

Hao Ren's muscles tensed up; his fists clenched tightly as if he was about to draw his sword out from its scabbard—of course he had no sword. He was ready to improvise by picking up a chair or something he could grab within his reach as a weapon. In reality, there were no threats in the slightest. He was only paranoid because he had drawn himself too deep into his own imagination of a James Bond scenario. Coming from a humble, peasant background and going on his first ever 'covert' mission, Hao Ren was nervous as well as paranoid. Anyone walking on two legs in a 200 meter radius was an imaginary threat.

The tall and slender man smiled after which, he pointed at Lily. "I overheard what the lady said earlier as she was asking around about Yorkford. Although she was speaking in Chinese, the waitresses and I could understand it. So, I was just curious. Why are you looking for that place?"

Hao Ren gave Lily a sideways stare but she was so obsessed with her meal, she did not even notice. For all intents and purposes, she could not be justifiably blamed for her conspicuous recon method. They knew that Yorkford did not exist on modern maps. They could only take an educated guess of the location and its distance from London based on the bits and pieces supplied by Raven 12345. Other than that, not much could have been done except asking around.

Lily had assumed that the MDT was simultaneously interpreting her words. She did not realize that the simultaneous interpreter did not work for her and she was only heard speaking in Chinese.

"We're here on holiday," Vivian took a break from her meal but had maintained her graceful manners. She chimed in trying to save Hao Ren from botching their cover. "Well actually, we aren't fond of the usual tourist places but we're more interested in little-known spots in the remote countryside for a little exploration. We came to read about a place called Yorkford a while back so, we thought it might be a good idea to explore the place a bit while we're here in England. But it seems that it is unknown even to the locals."

Hao Ren secretly gave Vivian a thumbs-up. He thought, "At least that inept blood-sucking creature is finally being useful. And clearly, she is a good liar too!"

Under the guise of the table, Vivian reciprocated a victory sign. She had learned the fine art of lying ever since the invention of Cuneiform script and had been good at it too.

The man looked at them but was not suspicious of anything. He continued, "Oh, I see. Obviously, that place has somehow become famous lately. However, you won't find that place—at least, not by the name of Yorkford."

"You mean, you do know the place?" Lily chimed in eagerly. Her ears stood erect as she jolted her head upwards. The sauce on the salad jutting out from her mouth almost splattered onto the man's face. "You're going too?"

"Yeah, I guess we can travel together." The man smiled. "A few hundred years ago, Yorkford was an estate where members of the nobility lived. Somehow, it was left deserted and it fell into ruin in the course of a few hundred years. Since then, no one has ever remembered or mentioned it. It was forgotten, save for entries in a few professional, geographic publications. So how you got to know about the name is beyond me. Nevertheless Brewshire, a small town which was built at the South, is the closest point to the ruins."

"F*ck me..." Hao Ren was appalled. "How stupid could the white-haired succubus get? It's the name of a hundred-year-old decaying estate!"

Vivian echoed, "Ya, damn right. The information is so outdated."

Hao Ren glanced at her, chiding, "Shut up, you Old English!"

Vivian lowered her head awkwardly but Lily overheard the chide. She looked up and asked curiously, "Old English? What Old English?" Lily had no clue; she was still in a somnambulistic state when Vivian slipped up.

"Freeze your teeth and give your tongue a sleigh ride!" Hao Ren pushed Lily's head back down and turned to face the man with a surprise look. "What a coincidence! I was worried about how we would ever get there until I met you. You're going there for business or leisure?"

Hao Ren could not deny the fact that he was pleasantly surprised. He was prepared to spend the entire of the following day scouting for anything about Yorkford. The appearance of this man who claimed to know about Yorkford had actually made things easier for him. Yet at the same time, he had his doubts. It was too much of a coincidence.

According to the man, Yorkford was an estate owned by some members of nobility during the medieval kingdom period. However, it had been deserted, forgotten, and had almost disappeared from the surface of the earth a long time ago. Even if there was a settlement built near the original ruins later on, there were no indications of any historical or cultural connections between the two. Considering all these things, gathering of information would have been extremely difficult and time-consuming. So, that leaves the question: Was the man being genuine?

Hao Ren's feeling had turned from a pleasant surprise to outright skepticism but he had concealed this switch rather well this time. Hao Ren appeared passionate and the man did not suspect a thing. "For business. My job requires me to travel frequently, especially to places of historical interest"

"You're a tomb raider?"

Hao Ren suddenly felt a sharp pain on his feet. Vivian had stamped his foot.

"About my job..." The man suddenly sounded reluctant before steering away from the topic of conversation. "Have you heard news about Yorkford?"

"What news?" Hao Ren quickly realized something. Irrespective of what news came out from the place, his mission was going to tank. He was supposed to meet an unusual creature in Yorkford. Drawing people's attention to it was an absolute no-no.

"There is a castle in Yorkford, abandoned and in ruin," The man said in a mystic tone of voice. "It's not a tourist attraction and it's supposed to stay that way. However, news of paranormal activities have broke out recently; there were claims of sightings of mysterious lights, fire burning at the top the ruins and knights in full battle armor lurking around in the evening. According to the locals, it could be the haunted spirits of the noblemen, noblewomen and knights who once lived there. The place has now become somewhat 'famous' because of that."

The man narrated the story in such vivid details. The story exuded a strong, spooky air between each punctuation, sending chills down everyone's spine. But thanks to the werewolf and the vampire, Hao Ren was kind of immune to it. At that moment, he had only one thing on his mind: Could the paranormal phenomena have something to do with his new tenant?

Hao Ren pondered. If the paranormal events were true as claimed, then his tenant could very well be a... What the f*ck? Could the white-haired succubus not send him some 'normal' tenants?

Then again, any human in his right mind would never stay in his house for obvious reasons.

"That's your job? Hao Ren gave the man a curious glance. He had a goddamn feeling that the paranormal story had something to do with the man's appearance before them.

The man smiled shyly. "It may sound absurd but actually, I'm a demon hunter..."

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Chapter 41: A High-Profile Demon Hunter?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The man smiled shyly. "It may sound absurd but actually, I'm a demon hunter..."

Demon hunter!

Hao Ren heard a sudden noise in his ears. He turned around and saw that Lily had stopped eating. Whereas, the vampire maiden was wiping away the sauce stain on her face before saying in a quivering voice, "What did you just say?"

"I knew it. Exactly the response I had expected." There was a sense of helplessness in the man. "Your reaction isn't a surprise to me. I had it worse when I told people about myself previously. I mean it when I say I'm a demon hunter. Have you ever watched the movie Van Helsing? What I do is more or less the same as depicted in the movie. Just that, we hunt demons in a totally different way."

The tall man sounded dead serious as he talked about himself. Hao Ren slid his butt backwards on his chair to try to keep a distance from the man. He had too many questions in his mind. "The man's a demon hunter? Is he real or just some charlatan?"

People would have laughed if off but not Hao Ren; he had deeper thoughts than them. He knew demon hunters existed.

At the same time, he did not take the man's word at face value as the man could have been joking. He figured no demon hunter in their right mind would advertise their presence like this dude did.

"So, you're not going to believe me, are you?" The man helplessly spread his hands out. "I can't blame you though. Look, being a Chinese, it would have been more convincing if I claimed to be a lay monk from Mount Wutai. But I'm not claiming to be anything more than I am. Also, the term 'demon hunter' may sound westernized but in reality, it's extra-cultural. We've been in existence since the emergence of the four great, ancient civilizations..."

Hao Ren and Vivian looked at each other. They both felt that there was some truth in the man's words. Demon hunters were thought to be from the west. People did not know that they had been roaming the surface of the earth since time immemorial. In ancient China, they were known as Taoists; in other parts of the world, they were called sorcerers or priests. However, true demon hunters would never identify themselves as such. Yet, what this man said was very close to the truth—a truth that most would not acknowledge.

"Mr. Demon hunter?" Lily had finally turned her focus away from her plate. She had never seen a real demon hunter but had heard a lot of horrific stories about them so, she was nervous. "Demon hunters are real?"

At last, Lily wised-up. She was slick with her tongue.

"People in general regard demon hunters as an urban legend or character from horror stories." The man smiled slyly. "But they are as real as they get. And there are still many people who believe in the existence of paranormal entities hence, the practice of exorcism in some places. Rightly, my job is to drive out demons. That explains my presence here. I'm here to investigate the paranormal events in Yorkford."

"In that sense, your job is supposed to be confidential. I can't fathom, how could you be so conspicuous in your approach?" Vivian posed her question in a composed manner. She had suspected there was something behind this man's haste in revealing his identity.

It did not matter whether the man was genuine or not. The fact was, his high-profile presence had already defied all logic. People of such profession would have preferred to lay low. Announcing one's self in such a conspicuously was never the way normal demon hunters behaved. Had he become jobless just like her and had to advertise himself to get hired?

Hao Ren did share her thoughts in a way. When did demon hunters become so high-profile? Did all superheros not wear some kind of mask to keep things clandestine? Look at Hao Ren, he never went around announcing to the world that he was a glamorous agent from heaven. Of course, he had a protocol to follow, which he did not mention.

"There's nothing secretive about it," the man said in a matter-of-fact manner. "My job isn't something despicable. Even fortune tellers have their own websites. So why can't we demon hunters talk about our work openly?"

Hao Ren and Vivian looked at each other, trying to synchronize their reactions and stay under the radar. Within seconds, they locked their eyes in a shared understanding. They pretended to be a naive audience who had found the story interesting but unbelievable. Vivian, in her thoughtful smile and distant manner asked, "So, you're going to slay all those ghosts in the castle, aren't you?"

The man's zeal was somewhat dampened but he still smiled. "I need to assess the situation there before taking any action. I know you're not going to believe me. And I don't expect you to. But, we could travel together anyway. I could be your tour guide. Why don't we catch a train tomorrow morning? We'll be there by evening, before you know it."

Hao Ren was hesitant. He felt like he needed a day or two to recover from the jet lag. However before he could spell it out, Vivian had already taken the liberty of accepting the invitation on his behalf. "That's great. It's very nice of you to be our guide since we aren't familiar with the route. By the way, what's your name?"

"I'm Nangong. That's my last name." The man rose to his feet and said, "Errr... for some reason, I can't tell you my first name now. Anyway, do call me Nangong. I'll see you guys at 6.30 tomorrow morning in this restaurant. And then we shall depart. I'll only wait for 15 minutes tops—the train doesn't wait."

Just as Hao Ren was about to tell the man that he possibly could not make it that early, Vivian jumped the gun again, nodding. "Okay, Mr. Nangong. See you at 6.30 tomorrow morning. Oh yeah, please allow me to introduce myself; I'm Vivian, this is—"

Hao Ren stared blankly at Vivian, she was talking to the demon hunter as if it did not concern her one bit. After Nangong left them, Hao Ren managed to ask, "Aren't you afraid of the demon hunter?"

"No, he doesn't look like one." Vivian sat back down as Nangong walked out of the restaurant. She took a short breath and said, "Frankly, we need a guide. He's going to Yorkford, just like us. So, it would be way better if we follow him there, figure out his motive, and then make up some excuse to part with him rather than going on our own and bumping into him in Yorkford. It'd be kind of awkward. Of course, this would be the case if he were a demon hunter. However, if he's only a charlatan, things will be a lot easier since he won't be a threat. We'll just get him to lead us there and then we'll be done with him."

Vivian's analysis of the situation was very much on point and Hao Ren also could not deny the fact that she was more farsighted than he was. Nonetheless, he was not done with his questions yet. He asked, "Vivian, could you tell whether someone's a demon hunter or not? If Nangong's a real demon hunter, there has to be something distinct and recognizable. Apart from his 'look', could you tell by any other means?"

Vivian frowned as she stared into the distance. "It's kind of hard to tell. Demon hunters are like predators. They're sly and good at concealing themselves. And that was exactly how my clan was wiped out when a demon hunter infiltrated us by posing as one of our slaves. As a first-class Blood Clan member myself, I have the ability to differentiate a demon hunter's blood from others. But first, you need to get his blood, which I think isn't an easy task."

There was a pause. She felt that as difficult as it was, she also had her pride to think about. So she continued, albeit unsure. "Well, now that we're on it, I did feel something amiss about him. During the last battle between the Blood Clan and the demon hunters, I hurt my right hand. Since then, I sort of acquired some mystic ability. My hand would get hot whenever a demon hunter is present..."

"Oh, really? I think your hand's just dipping into the hot soup now."

"Ouch!"

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Chapter 42: He is on TV!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Whether Mr. Nangong was a real demon hunter, a very experienced swindler or a delusional crackpot (chances of him being that were not that high), neither Hao Ren nor Vivian could come to a conclusion after hours of discussion.

Vivian said she had an instinctual reaction to demon hunters, owing it to her hand injury. However, she concurred that her instincts may or may not have been right. As such, it could not be used as concrete evidence against him. As for Lily, he may as well just forget about it. She had never even met a demon hunter before. Lily was like a baby in Vivian's eyes and if they were assaulted by a demon hunter, she doubted Lily would be able to react in an effective manner at all.

According to Vivian's explanation, demon hunters were quite literally part human part monsters. They were able to unleash supernatural abilities during combat and even mutate depending on the situation. Not forgetting, their ability to blend into the crowd like normal humans without giving away any aura or scent, which could have exposed them. That ability was a trump card demon hunters had against the supernaturals.

How Nangong carried himself felt wrong to Vivian.It was unlike a demon hunter. The way he boasted about his job so openly differed a lot from the demon hunters who plagued her in the past. Nevertheless, she could not totally discount the fact that he was the real deal given that she had never met one in ages. Even the ones she had met comprised just a small group among a vast group of hunters. She did not know them particularly well and her memory was no different than a senile old woman. Not to mention her streak of bad luck... Hao Ren really hoped that her bad luck did not rub off on him for them to meet a real demon hunter on the first day of the mission.

This left Hao Ren pretty nervous.

The three of them were pretty listless in England, given their unfamiliarity with the place. While they had solved the issue regarding the language barrier, the journey itself had taken a toll of them and even Lily was too lazy to move about. So, they went back to the hotel after lunch. Lily was now slouched on the lounge sofa fiddling with the TV remote. She seemed to be enjoying herself despite not being able to understand a single word. Vivian on the other hand, was doing something surprisingly useful: She had taken out the cash stock Hao Ren had prepared for the trip. She was counting them over and over again.

Hao Ren looked at Vivian alarmingly and and sat as close to her as possible. He stared at Vivian's thin, pale hands without blinking. He was afraid that if he moved his attention away, the pile of cash would just disappear into thin air due to her bad luck. Hao Ren had realized the gravity of Vivian's bad luck with money and 'bad luck' was a serious understatement when describing the facts of the matter. It was almost like the will of the universe or an effect of the laws of nature. Allowing Vivian to touch money would trigger an adverse psychological reaction in him.

Vivian was eagerly counting the stack of cash. Then, she sighed. "Haihhh... It's really a rare moment to be able to be spendthrift... So, this is how counting money feels like... Following Mr. Landlord was the right choice... Uh... Can you stop being so fidgety, Mr. Landlord?"

"I told you that you can just call me Hao Ren when we're outside." Hao Ren gave Vivian a frozen smile. "Sides, I have my reasons for being nervous. By the Gods, if I looked away for one moment, you could somehow lose all of our spending money. Can you do something more productive? At first, I was wondering why you emptied my wallet. You're just gonna sit here and count money?"

"Could you possibly even understand the feeling of someone who's been broke for millennia?" Vivian took a long, deep sigh. "The last time I had the chance to count money like this was during the Republic era. I was carrying a gunny sack to buy rice and I actually stood by the doorway to count the silver notes... but... it doesn't feel as good as now. Paper then was as good as waste paper. They don't hold water to how this British pound feels. Humph! I'm done counting this stack. Let me count it again... Oh come on Hao Ren, just let me count it one more time, please!"

Hao Ren adamantly decided to put the cash back into his wallet and into his pocket. He went, "My dear Ms. Vampire, if you really want to count money, we'll go to Zimbabwe someday so that you can count your heart out. As of now... please do something useful for once... Say, about that demon hunter stuff, why are you no longer nervous about it?"

"I've already been through so much for so long so, why should I keep worrying about small matters like this? "Vivian looked at Hao Ren's wallet forlornly as it bulged in his pocket. She then quickly shifted her gaze elsewhere as she went, "By the way, do you know how a real demon hunter looks like?"

Hao Ren perked up with interest in the topic, "How do they look like actually?"

"Based on what I've seen thus far, they prefer black garbs when they are out hunting. Earlier they had a hunter getup and later on, some tight-fitting, western style clothes... Those from the east wore something out of the kung fu flicks... They looked about as drab as one could be. Otherwise, they look and dress pretty much like normal people do. That aside, they are also usually rather shady and reserved, consciously hiding their identities to avoid detection. Don't even start about divulging their identities. Some will even kill innocents if they suspect that their identity has been compromised. Additionally, the hunters are very very good at blending in, at being 'normal'. They are somehow able to assimilate into the crowd, regardless of time and age. When people were burning witches, they joined in. When Napoleon was at his prime, they sang praises about him and so on... As you can see, they are masters at hiding their identities. How the people look like on the streets, that's how they'll look like with layers and layers of false impressions as well as identities. Hence, I really don't think that Mr. Nangong is of any real threat. No self-respecting demon hunter would boast about their trade, even in the harshest of times. It's almost a taboo in their creed."

Vivian nodded as she finish explaining. "So... I think we are just being overly nervous now... I'm nervous about the hunters and you are nervous about your first mission... I think we just got scared silly by a swindler of an exorcist...

Hao Ren nodded in agreement. "Hmm, that's true... but should we really just take it easy now?"

"Precautions are still a must." Vivian shook her head. "While the guy certainly doesn't look like a real demon hunter, I think he may have met a real one before since, he did know about their origins. The 'work' that he talked of seems legitimate as well. I'm guessing he could be the pawn of a real demon hunter. Those sly bastards will pull this trick at times. So, let's just be careful not to let that Mr. Nangong detect anything unusual. Otherwise, I don't think he poses much of a threat. We are here to look for someone not fight after all."

Hao Ren concurred and the whole discussion on Nangong ended there.

At this point, Lily had gone through all of the channels and could not understand what was on TV. Looking bored, she threw the remote control aside and clambered towards Hao Ren's back. "Hey, Mr. Landlord, can you talk Raven 12345 into giving each of us an MDT? You'll never know if you will meet a new person in the near future. If that person ends up being a foreigner, it would be very embarrassing if you don't understand him."

Hao Ren sniggered. The dumb werewolf had finally thought of something actually useful. Well, it was more for understanding the TV program she was watching however, it was a pretty convincing argument. While he was getting ready to explain about the team system, something on the TV caught his attention. "...The Yorkford Castle near Brewshire has been attracting a good number of supernatural enthusiasts as of late..."

Hao Ren quickly turned to look at the TV program and saw that an interview was going on. A blonde, blue-eyed Caucasian woman was standing by the broadcast van with a microphone. Behind her, was a rock littered plain with a complex of ruins near the far end. Beside her was a short, stocky old man in a white T-shirt. He obviously did not look like a TV crew member. The man sported a full face beard and was slightly bald. His shirt looked a little worn. He seemed like a local farmer in the midst of being interviewed.

"...Now, we are looking at Yorkford Castle. It very much fell into ruin so, we can't actually see the actual structure. As there are no roads leading up to the ruins, the broadcast van can only stop here. I will be going into the castle ruins in a moment to let those of you at home have a close up view of the building. The female interviewer explained the current scenario and gestured to a stocky, old man. "Mr. Angus here, was the first person who sighted supernatural happenings in the castle..."

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