The Record of Unusual Creatures

Panda Novel

Vivian was missing.

Hao Ren quickly found Vivian’s mobile phone on the bedside table in the basement. As the first high-tech communication gadget Vivian had ever used, she treated it like a treasure. Even when Vivian transformed into a bat, she would not leave her phone at home even if she had to use magic to change the form of the phone for ease of carrying. Now, with Vivian missing and the phone still on the bedside table, something wrong must have happened to her.

Lily, Lorissa, and Nangong Sanba had searched around the house but to no avail. Even with the use of the werewolf’s (husky) tracking skills and the demon hunter’s tracking spells, they could not trace Vivian, who did not leave the slightest trace behind. It was as if she had disappeared into thin air from the basement.

“I’ve searched every inch of the house. There is no trace of Battie,” Lily said. She became anxious when she could not find Vivian. “It is chaotic out there. Some places and streets have changed so much that I could have been lost if not for my sharp sense of smell.”

“She disappeared into thin air?” Hao Ren’s heart sank. “This is a god-protected place. Ahh, the goddess! Raven 12345 might know what happened.”

Hao Ren quickly contacted Raven 12345, but there was no reply—not even the annoying automatic reply— from Raven 12345 in the spiritual connection.

Lily looked at Hao Ren anxiously and noticed the changes in his facial expression. “Mr. Landlord, what’s the matter?” she asked.

“The communication with the divine realm is disrupted like there is interference,” Hao Ren said. His brows knitted together. “This has never happened before.”

“There was no answer to the request for teleporting to the divine realm as well,” the MDT said. “I have detected that Earth has fallen into a strange state, and it is tough to contact the other information stations in the universe. We seem to be inside a barrier.”

“The whole earth has gone wrong?” Hao Ren asked with a frown.

When things got out of control, Lily’s skittishness was wholly laid bare. So the husky scuttled to behind Hao Ren nervously. “Mr. Landlord, what should we do? We can’t even contact the goddess.”

“Don’t worry. I did not expect Raven’s help most of the time. What is more important now is that we should remain calm,” Hao Ren said as he tried to comfort Lily. “I am worried about Vivian, but first we must figure out what happens to this planet. Let us split up, two in a team. Don’t miss any details, however the slightest. Come back before noon. If anyone of you has a problem coming back, don’t be panic. Stay where you are and make as much noise as possible. I will look for you in your assigned area. Things are out of control now. We can forget about the secrecy rules for now.”

While speaking, Hao Ren looked outside the window. He was thinking to himself that since it was chaotic everywhere, no one was going to notice even if there was a fairy coming from the wonderland. But are the people of this world okay?

Nangong Sanba and Y’zaks had earlier gone out to check out the situation and come back in a hurry, but they had observed something. The ordinary people wearing modern clothes were still on the street, but those people were in a strange state. Hao Ren would have to see it for himself the real situation.

Hao Ren was worried about Vivian. It was hard for him to remain calm, but he managed to. Hao Ren knew very well that without any leads, he had to figure out the situation outside to make any breakthrough. Perhaps the disappearance of Vivian had something to do with the changes outside.

Before leaving, Hao Ren instructed Rollie to take care of Lil Pea and keep an eye on Noobie lest she slipped out of the house.

Hao Ren and Lily were in the same team, mainly to check out the situation within Southern Suburbs while others would go to the city and other provinces. Nangong Sanba and Y’zaks had been to those places earlier, but they were in a hurry. Other than seeing the various incredible phenomena, they did not conduct an in-depth investigation.

Hao Ren also sent out a batch of probes from his dimensional pocket. These probes could travel farther than humans did, going all the way to the other side of Earth to see if the same thing was happening around the world.

Southern Suburbs, once a peaceful place, had undergone so many changes that it was no longer the place Hao Ren knew. He could still see some familiar neighborhoods when he first stepped out of the house. But as he kept going, things became so bizarre that it was almost illogical.

A triumphal arch stood at the entrance of the Southern Suburbs Elementary School with Qin foot soldiers and Mongolian carrying scimitars marching under it.

The Southern Suburbs market had now turned into a small desert. The edge of the desert was sharp and jagged as if it was torn down from a map and then pieced together on this land. At the other end of the desert stood a majestic pyramid, which along with the surrounding space, occupied an extensive area far beyond the small market could accommodate. It was apparent that the drop-in structure had replaced a large number of buildings in the surroundings.

There was even a stately stone bridge that straddled in front. The stone bridge was so large and gorgeous that it would only exist in the fantasy game. Green vines hung from the bridge and moss grew as high as a dozen meters on the piers. Around the stone bridge was lush bushes and shrubs.

Everything was so messed up.

Finally, Hao Ren saw ordinary humans.

On a street that barely retained its original appearance, Hao Ren and Lily saw a few familiar faces. They were the neighbors living in Southern Suburbs.

A small grocery store facing the street had just opened its door for business. Zhao, who ran the store, laboriously pushed the old rolling door open. Sometimes the rolling door would be stuck halfway. Wu, the owner who ran a shop selling cooking oil and salt next door, helped out Zhao with the old door.

“Should have replaced the goddamn door,” Zhao said, shaking his head.

“You said that last year,” Wu retorted while rubbing his hands.

“I also said that two years ago. But what could I do? My wife said it was a waste of money. Rolling this thing up is hard work, but hey, even thief would find it too troublesome to break in.”

A few Spartans stood by the two store owners, wearing only a pair of leather pants. But strangely, the Spartans and the store owners seemed to not see each other.

Hao Ren and Lily quickly went up. They looked inquisitively at the Spartan warriors who stood, almost naked, in the cold wind. They then looked at Zhao and Wu, who seemed to be normal, trying to find some clues.

When Zhao saw Hao Ren, he said, “Hao Ren? Do you want anything? First, let me tidy up the storefront a bit. I am running a bit late today.”

The wrinkled face of the store owner still had the same smile. It seemed that nothing was wrong about him.

Zhao remained normal although a group of Spartan soldiers stood nearby, a sphinx was not far away, the jungle had swallowed half of his store at the rear, and a creature that looked like a wild boar was growling on the roof of his shop.

Lao Zhao seemed to turn a blind eye to all this.

“Uncle Zhao…” That was how Hao Ren used to address the elderly store owner as a sign of respect. Hao Ren was observing Zhao, but he did not show it on the face. He turned on his side and pointed at the Sphinx not far away. “What do you think of this sphinx?”

He suddenly felt everything around him stuck for a brief moment like a rusty gear, and then the store owner, Zhao, still with a familiar smile on his face, said to Hao Ren, “Hao Ren? Do you want anything? First, let me tidy up the storefront a bit. I am running a bit late today.”

Hao Ren again looked at the familiar old neighbor. He had observed that behind his bright smile, there was a stiffly and unfeeling scent as if a puppet. The old man that Hao Ren knew for over twenty years now appeared like a holographic image. Each strand of hair was as real as it got, but Hao Ren could sense an inorganic sense of incongruity.

Hao Ren took Lily and quickly left the place.

“Mr. Landlord, what is going on?” the husky maiden asked, feeling a little scared.

“What a shame to claim that you are a writer. Where is your imagination?” Hao Ren said without looking at Lily. “It is apparent that the real person has been replaced. Now I am afraid that except for us, some projected images have replaced these people.”

“What about the ancient people and buildings?” Lily asked as she looked around. A flying white horse was just flying past at low altitude, riding on it was a heroic Valkyrie. “And these guys from the mythology?”

“They are also a projection—with a material body,” Hao Ren said with a frown. “But I think they are more than mere projections. Have you discovered that there are more and more things like that in this messed-up space and time, while the real things are getting fewer and fewer? When we passed by a while ago, there were still a few pedestrians wearing modern clothes on the streets. But now, there are only a bunch of Ancients and monsters roaming around.”

Lily shrank her neck and stuck out her tongue. “It just so happens that Battie has also gone missing. Does all of this have something to do with her?”

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