The Record of Unusual Creatures

It was already noon when Hao Ren got home. Everyone in the family was waiting to be fed. They all knew that the goddess was not a good cook. Only if you caught her when she was having her meal, or she had put in too much salt when cooking her noodles would Raven 12345 let you eat there. That was why the goddess kicked Hao Ren, Lily, and Vivian out of her mansion before lunch. It was apparently too late for Vivian to cook, so they took a detour and headed to the Nangongs’ restaurant on the other end of the street. It so happened that after closing for two months, business was slow. Just as the Nangong couple began to worry about what to do with the tons of unsold food they had prepared in the morning, Hao Ren and his two buddies arrived. The couple packed the leftovers and gave it all to them.

Lily headed home carrying a large box of food. Nothing brought her more happiness than having an amount of food that she could not possibly finish.

As Hao Ren stepped into his house, he saw Rollie lying on the sofa armrest listlessly. She kept changing the channels by pressing the TV remote rolled up in her tail. Meanwhile, Lil Pea was gamboling on Rollie’s back. Y’zaks and Y’lisabet were each holding a book in their hands, studying radio frequency technology. The Nangong Siblings were chewing melon seeds while wondering if they would be having any meal at noon. When Hao Ren came back with packed lunches in his hands, everyone’s spirit was lifted. It was as if they had seen their savior.

Nangong Sanba put down the melon seeds and went up to Hao Ren by teleportation. “Mr. Landlord, good to see you back. We are all starving. What are we having for lunch today? Hmm, this smell is a little familiar.”

“What do you think? It’s your mom’s cooking.” Hao Ren handed the food to Nangong Sanba and motioned Lily to put the large box of rice on the table. “We had a long meeting with the goddess earlier. There’s no time to cook so let’s just eat these. Rollie! Wash your hands before the meal!”

The cat girl, who had crept up under the table, was stunned. She got out from under the table with her head lowered, reluctantly stretching her hands out to Nangong Wuyue, who summoned a ball of water to wash Rollie’s hands. Cats could be lazy creatures—Rollie found it too troublesome to go to the washroom.

“I thought you were scolding me.” Nangong Sanba scratched his head.

“If this cat weren’t so stubborn about change, I would have given her a new name.” Hao Ren sighed. “I can’t take her out because of that damn name. I’ve been trying to get her an identity card, but I can’t seem to make an order.”

Even if she had an identity card, no one was going to believe that someone was named “Rollie.”

“It’s your fault for giving her that name in the first place,” Vivian said. She filled everyone’s bowl with rice while she rolled her eyes at Hao Ren. “Now she’s gotten used to the name.”

Hao Ren spread out his hands. “How would I have known that she’d become a humanoid? She never walked upright the last time.”

“Big Boss Cat, I’ve washed my hands!” The cat girl skipped up to him and flashed him her hands. Before Hao Ren could take a closer look, she climbed into her chair. Her eyes brightened when she saw the table full of food. “Whoa, there’s fish! Big Boss Cat, I want the fish!”

Among the dishes were slices of squid, which Lil Pea was not able to distinguish. But if it had been braised fish, it would have been a problem since Lil Pea was also a fish. At least, she thought so.

“You can take it yourself.” Hao Ren rolled his eyes at Rollie. “It’s just right in front of you. But for god’s sake, use the chopsticks, not your hands!”

The cat girl quickly pulled her hand back, feeling hard done by. She grabbed a pair of chopsticks and poked them into the fish dish while she mumbled, “Big Boss Cat, why are you shouting at me? Big Boss Cat, are you having another cat? Big Boss Cat, are you going to swap me for a Persian? Big Boss Cat, are you going to stop keeping a cat? Big Boss Cat—”

“Ahem, ahem, where did you learn all this nonsense?” Hao Ren was greatly annoyed. Rollie made a mess of the squid dish with her chopsticks. Hao Ren’s eye began to twitch. “Haven’t you learned how to use chopsticks? I thought you mastered the skill two months ago. It seems that you’ve forgotten it now.”

“Nobody’s taught her for two months. The skill degenerated. You should be thankful that she can still walk upright.” Vivian shook her head. “Just let her use her hands. The dish looks like a mess now, and I guess you’ve lost your appetite already.”

Hao Ren shook his head helplessly. He wondered how Rollie ate her meals for the past two months. But realizing that Vivian did not cook during that period, and they all survived on instant noodles, he thought better of asking more questions. “I’m going to the North Pole in two days.”

“Oh, there are codfish in the Arctic!” Rollie grew excited.

“Just shut up and eat your meal!” Hao Ren shot Rollie a glance and turned to the others. “I need the demon hunters to help me do a sampling test. Vivian and I are also going to find some purebred Ancients, who were the original demon hunters in Holletta. Besides, we will organize a family visit for the demon hunters in Coldpath, let them have a look at their homeworld.”

“Family visit?” Nangong Sanba instantly became interested. “It’s finally happening? Is it too soon?”

“The time is ripe with the gateway of the Scarred Nebula in place,” Hao Ren said with a smile. “The small spatial rift in Siberia can only accommodate a few people at a time, and only selected ones can pass through it. But now, the Gate of the Universe in the Scarred Nebula can act as a more stable gateway. It will accommodate a group with less than 100 people and a massive amount of materials. I already planned this family visit when I first built the gateway. But many things happened after that and I had to put some of my plans on hold. Now I’m merely restarting the program.”

“Big Boss Cat, I want to go to the North Pole too!” Rollie said with her mouth full of “fish”. She was waving her hands in excitement. No one knew if she had heard what Hao Ren said subsequently, but the taste of codfish had already filled her mind.

“Don’t mess around.” Hao Ren patted Rollie on the head. “I’m going there for some serious business, it’s not for fun. Just stay home. Didn’t you promise that you’d stay home these two days?”

“Big Boss Cat, you really do have another cat outside.” Lily lowered her head.

No one cared about what the cat thought. Interested by the demon-hunter sampling test, Y’zaks asked, “What did you discuss with the goddess? Why are you suddenly thinking of going back to Holletta to conduct a sampling test on the demon hunters and the Ancients?”

In everyone’s mind, missions relating to demon hunters and Holletta were over. They thought that their next destination would be more distant and darker planets with deeper secrets.

“We discussed a lot of things. But the decision to go back and sample the demon hunters has something to do with Lily,” Hao Ren said as he looked at Lily, who was gnawing at the pork ribs in her bowl, on the opposite side of the table. “Strictly speaking, it’s because of her Doggoblast.”

Hao Ren then told everyone about their discussion with Raven 12345, the inconsistent energy of the Twin Blades of Apocalypse and the possible secrets behind it. The truth of the Twin Blades of Apocalypse may not surface for the time being, but the demon hunters’ talent for divine spells was something verifiable.

It was only natural for Nangong Sanba, the half-baked demon hunter, to appear most excited. Sanba wiped his mouth and said, “So, the demon hunters were initially a race capable of performing divine spells? They could do it without training, just by borrowing the ability directly from God?”

“That’s our speculation.” Hao Ren nodded, neither confirming nor denying. “A more conventional explanation would be the demon hunters were a ‘chosen race,’ favored by the goddess. They were born with the ability to communicate with her. Of course, we all know what a true god is all about. So, the demon hunters should have rightly been a ceremonial product, which the ancient mage emperors created to communicate with the goddess in an experiment. Anyway, we think that the demon hunters have the talent for divine power, judging from Lily’s ability.”

Nangong Sanba nodded. He was feeling excited and regretful at the same time. “It’s a shame that I’m not a purebred demon hunter. Even if I am, my ability isn’t that strong. Otherwise, I could be a sample.”

“Regardless, you are not suitable. Your dad is not suitable as well.” Vivian shook her head. “The test has a strict set of requirements. We must find the purest of demon hunters who have not been affected by any external factors. Or else, the test results will be useless.”

Nangong Wuyue crossed her arms involuntarily. “It gives me goosebumps. It sounds like some crazy scientists are carrying out human experiments, just like in the horror movies.”

Hao Ren thought about it for a moment before he laughed wryly. “Let’s eat! Let’s eat!”

Two days later, Hao Ren brought Lily, Vivian, and the Nangong Siblings to the headquarters of the demon hunters in the Arctic—Coldfrost Citadel.

Before Hao Ren went there, he had given White Flame a heads-up. They could now see Coldfrost Citadel light up from a distance. It was a sign of welcome and also an indication that everything was fine in the fortress.

Rollie, hidden beneath multiple layers of cotton coats, stretched her neck and looked around. “Big Boss Cat, when are we going to catch fish?” she asked aloud.

Hao Ren buried his head in his hands and sighed.

Hao Ren brought the dumb cat along because he could not stand her pestering, especially about him “having another cat outside.”