The Record of Unusual Creatures

Everyone on the platform looked at Hao Ren and Hao Ren at them. It was an embarrassing moment.

Hao Ren was thinking of what to say to his buddies, whom he had not seen for a long time. But when he saw what they were doing, he choked up. It was one thing to know that they were indulging themselves in mahjong, steamboat, and video games, but it was another to see them still doing it when he just got back from saving the world. Hao Ren felt a little depressed.

Could they not have shown more concern, and welcomed him?

The awkwardness lasted a few seconds before everyone on the platform came to their senses. Raven 12345 blew away the paper, which was stuck on her face, and said, “Hi, you’ve made it! Welcome back!”

“You’re cheating! You made an excuse to get rid of the chit!”

Lily blinked. She stuffed a slice of meat into her mouth with her chopsticks, chewing it while muttering, “Mr. Landlord, you’re finally back! What took you so long? It’s been a few months, you know. A few months!

“The meat slice tastes weird.”

Come on, you were eating the meat raw!

Hao Ren looked at them with his arms akimbo. His brows twitched. “Is this what I get after I come back from saving the world?”

Those guys playing cards, mahjong, and video games looked at each other before finally revealing genuine smiles across their faces.

Then they dropped everything in their hands and rushed up to him.

Surrounded by a bunch of noisy fellows, Hao Ren could hardly hear what each of them was saying. But he could feel from their faces the undisguised excitement and joy. Even Hessiana had approached him with a warm smile although Hao Ren knew that her real target was Vivian.

“Welcome back! I know you’d make it!” Y’zaks patted Hao Ren on the arm with such force that even his Steel Membrane Shield released sparks. Even the demon king, who had done many great things in his life, could not help but admire Hao Ren’s impressive feat of turning the tide of history by traveling 10,000 years back in time.

Hasse, the dead-faced guy, also patted Hao Ren on the shoulder. “Good job, man! I’m sorry I couldn’t walk with you till the end. But still, what you’ve done is incredible.”

The MDT went up to Hao Ren and headbutted him as it usually did. “I can’t believe that you made it, buddy! I thought of writing a will on our behalf at first.”

To reciprocate, Hao Ren grabbed the MDT and flung it away.

Hao Ren then looked around. He could vaguely feel that someone was missing from the scene, but he could not recall who it was. After a while, he finally came to his senses. “Where’s Lorrisa?”

The elf queen’s clone from Holletta, the Plane of Dreams; the first-generation demon hunter, who was Hao Ren’s guest and happened to witness the events on Earth; now, Hao Ren could not locate her.

“The goddess has sent her back,” Y’lisabet said. “Have you forgotten that she can only stay in the Surface World for a few days?”

Hao Ren froze for a while before he shook his head with a smile. “I really have. It’s already good enough that I can still remember her; it’s been a long journey.”

“I heard from Hesperides about your battle with Tiamat in Babylon and Seth in Egypt.” Nangong Wuyue approached him with excitement she swished her tail in the air—never mind that she had unwittingly rolled her brother up with her tail. “That must have been exciting!”

The skittish girl loved such stories. Perhaps she could prop her guts up that way.

“Lady Vivian, I’ve missed you so much!” Hessiana placed 90% of her attention on Vivian, throwing herself into Vivian’s arms. “At first, I was worried that this guy may not be able to bring you back. But he didn’t disappoint.”

Vivian forced a smile. She wanted to get out of that embarrassing and physical intimate moment. But after she recovered her memories of Rome, her attitude towards Hessiana had changed. So, Vivian let the impish kid be for the moment.

Hao Ren and Vivian found the enthusiasm of their friends, particularly Lily’s, too overpowering. Just like every husky, Lily was now completely hyperactive, jumping up and down and trying to lick Hao Ren’s face. She even tried to do the same to Vivian as a friendly gesture. She wagged her fluffy tail uncontrollably. Rollie, who stood too close behind her, was hit and sent flying out.

“Calm down, calm down!” Hao Ren pressed down on Lily’s head. “I’ve only been away for a few months.

“Damn, this dog is too overwhelmingly strong. Is she mad?”

“You should be happy about it,” Vivian said sarcastically as she looked on. “Normal huskies would have forgotten who you are if you went away for three months. At least this husky can still remember you; she’s extraordinary.”

Lily heard what Vivian said and lunged at her. “Battie, don’t you ever think that I won’t bite you simply because you just got back.”

Vivian handily summoned a Lightning Ball and prepared to strike the dog with it while Lily bared her fangs and prepared to take on the high-voltage strike. Hao Ren quickly stood between the two and stopped them. “That’s enough. Can’t you two stop bickering for a minute and be nice to each other?”

Lily indignantly tucked her fangs and claws away. Her ears flickered suddenly, and her eyes brightened up as if the husky had found something else interesting. She circled Hao Ren and Vivian a couple of times, looking excited. “Wait a minute! There’s something going on between you two!”

True to her name as the most ancient vampire, Vivian rolled her eyes at Lily with her arms crossed and spoke with a straight face, “Is there a problem?”

“Whoa! You’re not even denying it!” Lily was stunned.

Hao Ren scratched his head. He was not as calm as Vivian, but he did not deny it either, albeit bashfully. “Yeah, we’re together now.”

Everyone appeared shocked. Lily looked at him curiously. “Have you two been sleeping together?”

Vivian summoned her Lightning Ball again. “I think I should teach the dog a lesson.”

The surprised reactions did not last long as if the news of Hao Ren and Vivian being together was something expected. Those who knew Vivian and Hao Ren particularly well were aware of it of course.

Bystanders saw more than he who played.

However, Hessiana’s reaction was particularly strange.

She was not angry or vehemently objecting. She did not even appear surprised. Hessiana was more confused.

“That means, nothing happened between you two previously?”

Yep. Little Bat had thought that Hao Ren was her stepfather the first time she met him, and she had vowed not to recognize that relationship. Hessiana thought that Hao Ren was a bloody liar and cheated his way into becoming her stepfather. Since the beginning, Little Bat was so convinced of her own biased impression of Hao Ren and stubborn paranoia that she refused to listen to reason.

It was Hessiana who believed that Hao Ren and Vivian were together since the very beginning and repeatedly stressed that she did not recognize their relationship.

The truth made Hessiana question her self-belief. It’s better not to bother her right now , Hao Ren thought.

Raven 12345 just looked on, silently watching how everyone was expressing their long-suppressed emotions and waiting for them to finish.

“It is a joy to see these young lives experiencing their joy and sorrow,” the goddess lamented. “As a goddess, I am happy that my children enjoy their lives.”

“Are you sure you’re not evading responsibility because you lost too many times just now? And strictly speaking, except for that cat standing there, everyone else here isn’t yours but the other goddess’ creation. How can you claim them to be your children?”

“Do I even have to struggle to think of a way to shirk my responsibilities considering how crafty I already am?” Raven 12345 turned to look in the direction of the voice.

The goddess was surprised to see a silver-haired goddess, who looked the same as herself, standing beside her. The silver-haired goddess stared at her with a smile. Raven 12345 had no clue when the other goddess appeared. “10086, when did you get here?”

Raven 10086 looked helplessly at her senior and sighed softly. “I’ve been here for 10 minutes. I sent you three requests to see you and even identified myself while I was crossing over. Are you sure you don’t want to go back for a repair?”

Raven 12345 glared at her. “No thanks! I’m fine. What’s more, I have never failed to fulfill my duty to our great empire. The emperor is watching.”

“Whatever. After all, there’s always a repair slot reserved for you. When your brain goes haywire, I’ll make sure that you’re soldered to the repair slot.” Raven 10086 shook her head, and her expression was solemn. “Actually, I’m here for something else—serious business.”

Raven 12345 could not help but turn serious. “What is it that made you come here personally?”

“First, there’s the small problem; your career advancement and performance appraisal are no good.”

“What the heck?”

“Why so surprised? You’ve never achieved both all this while.”

“10086, what you’re saying is hurting my feelings. But since you’re telling the truth, I won’t blame you. So, what else?”

“We’ve found the boss of the goddess of creation.”