The Record of Unusual Creatures

Panda Novel

Hao Ren had no idea what happened in Raven 12345’s mansion after he left. Even if he knew, he would not blink an eye as the goddess’ neurotic behavior was common knowledge. None of her popes would care if she had bats in the belfry.

After leaving the divine realm, Hao Ren did not return home right away, instead, he strolled around town for a while. He went to the supermarket to get a bottle of water and the butcher shop to buy some meat. It was as if he wanted to show his face, letting the neighbors know that, he, the jobless youth, who disappeared for a couple of weeks every now and then, had not fallen for the tricks of some pyramid scheme.

When Hao Ren reached the front door, and before he could take the key out of his pocket, he heard heavy footsteps behind the door, which was then yanked open. Lily was standing at the doorway, looking excited. “Ahh, Mr. Landlord is back! Mr. Landlord is back! Mr. Landlord, you even brought meat back!”

Before Hao Ren knew what was happening, Lily had snatched the meat from his hands and run back in like a gust of wind. “Battie, Battie! Mr. Landlord is back! Let’s start eating. He also bought some meat, please make braised pork for me. I know it won’t be in time for this meal, but I’ll eat it later as a snack. Is it okay?”

Hao Ren went into the house, baffled. Y’zaks, who sat on the sofa reading his newspaper, looked up at Hao Ren and smiled. “She has been squatting at the door for a long time waiting for you to come back. But now it seems that she was actually waiting for the meal.”

Hao Ren’s mouth twitched. Perhaps it was the loyalty of a dog, and he could not ask for more, especially from a husky, he thought.

The kitchen door swung open as Vivian walked out wearing an apron with a large pot of steaming vegetable soup in her hands. She placed the pot on the dining table and smiled at Hao Ren. “How were things going while you were at the goddess’ place? I know you have eaten nothing, so I have prepared your portion.”

“It all went well. I will have a few days of rest.” Hao Ren said as he groped in his pocket. “Put down your things and say hi to this little guy. She was not home for a few days.”

When Hao Ren took out Noobie from his pocket, she had curled herself up and was having forty winks. Noobie did not usually sleep at this hour of the day, but perhaps the stay at Raven 12345’s place was too stressful, Noobie was out like a light on the way home. Thankfully because of that, Hao Ren could still go around town doing some shopping.

“Aww, it’s Noobie!” Lily had come up before Vivian did and poked Noobie’s face with her finger. “Not seeing her for the past few days, I actually missed her. She looked good—must have been a good time at the goddess’ place.”

“Since when this guy ever looks good?” Vivian rolled her eyes. “She has been like this since born… Aah, she is awake now.”

The light and noises had jolted Noobie out of her nap. Groggily, she opened her eyes and was stunned to see so many big faces around her. She made a “ghsss” sound and bounced up. She was on her guard.

Vivian frowned. “Is she brainless or what? She does not even recognize us.”

Noobie heard Vivian’s voice and paused, wrinkling her face as she tried to collect her thoughts before finally recognizing Vivian. She went up to Vivian and reached out. “Aha—”

Hao Ren’s buried his face in his hands. “All she knows is sleeping and eating other than ‘ghsss’ and ‘biubiubiu.’ She just ate at the goddess’ place.”

“She’s asking for water now.” Vivian rolled her eyes. She poured some water into a small dish and shove it in front of Noobie. When Noobie began to lower her head and drank from the bowl, Vivian suddenly got wise to something. “Wait a minute! Now, this little guy seems different than before.”

Hao Ren smiled. “Yup. Isn’t she more obedient? She did not do her 360°biubiubiu or grab your hair. I was shocked at first when I learned about this. God knows what Raven 12345 has done to her; the goddess seems to have tamed this brainless little guy.”

“Who cares what she has done? She is a goddess and definitely knows better than all of us.” Vivian could not have cared less. She took off her apron and went to sit down at the table. “Let’s eat. Doggie is starving. By the way, I have cooked rice and noodles for lunch today; which one do you prefer?”

Just as Hao Ren was about to say something, a soft scream was heard on the table. Noobie had scurried to hide behind the teapot as if something had frightened her. She held on to the teapot handle and peeked from behind, shivering. Who would have imagined that the little one with a fearful and troubled look on her face actually did a “biubiubiu” in Y’zaks’ face before this?

Vivian blinked. “All I said was noodles, and she’s already scared out of her wits.”

Hao Ren suddenly made sense of something. He traced the Noobie’s line of sight. She was staring nervously at the cold noodles on the table as if someone was threatening to cook her alive in the pot.

Nangong Sanba, who was about to fill his bowl with rice, had noticed the situation. The ‘down-to-earth’ diet of the goddess immediately came to mind. “Could her obedience have something to do with noodles?”

Noobie screamed in fear when Nangong Sanba mentioned noodles. This time, she simply curled up in the shadow of the teapot and would not poke her head out again.

Everyone was like what the heck.

“I think I know what is going on.” Hao Ren smacked himself on the forehead. “She could only eat noodles at Raven 12345’s place, but she is carnivorous! Raven 12345 must have forced the noodles down Noobie’s throat and domesticated her.”

Vivian was doubtful. “It can’t be!”

Hao Ren chuckled. “Mind you, this is Raven 12345, who is not only a neurotic but also a noodle maniac. You can never know what she will do.”

Lily, who was happily sucking the noodles in her mouth, felt a little annoyed when she heard Hao Ren and the rest passing remark about noodles. She put down her bowl and looked up. “Could you guys please not incriminate the noodles? Did noodles cross you guys?”

They had almost forgotten that Lily was a noodle lover.

Sitting down at the dinner table and looking at ordinary but hearty meals, an emotion rose within Hao Ren.

After living on the edge for some time, the days at home became a thing that he craved. Even a bowl of rice, a dish, and a spoonful of soup were precious.

Perhaps the words Hao Ren heard after the battle with the gigantic brain began to ferment, a feeling rose in him.

The fog of mystery of the Plane of Dreams began to dissipate, but what transpired was not a clear sky of peace but the battlefield of order and chaos. A great turmoil that determined the destiny of the world was about to break out.

The turbulence was not far away. Hao Ren could even smell it while sitting at the table. It was the smoke from the battlefield, where the old world was burning—the little flame that Lil Pea summoned had set Nangong Sanba’s clothes on fire.

It was real smoke.

Nangong Sanba frantically bounced up from his chair while his sister, Nangong Wuyue, quickly called up an aqua ball and extinguished the fire. Vivian snatched up the baby fish and tried to talk sense into her. Meanwhile, Noobie was frightened anymore. She had come out from her hiding and now was waving her arms excitedly as the drama unfolded. Before long, Noobie began to do her “biubiubiu”—old habits died hard.

The rest of the people could not care less. Hao Ren, Y’zaks and his daughter took their bowls, went to a quiet corner of the house and continued their meals.

Halfway through, Lily came up to Hao Ren with a large bowl of noodles. The husky smiled like a Cheshire cat, and her face beaming with light.

“What’s up?” Hao Ren knew the maiden was up to something with just a glance.

Lily sucked the noodles into her mouth and then licked her lips. “Mr. Landlord, I have found that there is a limit to the strength of the werewolf.”

“Come on, you are not a werewolf. I have said this before a thousand chapters ago.”

“I mean I combat strength has hit the bottleneck.”

“So? You do not want to become a werewolf anymore? I told you what; this is dangerous. The last person who said this had become a vampire. If you do this, you will forever become a laughing stock in the eyes of Vivian.”

“Mr. Landlord, can you please let me finish?” Lily shot Hao Ren a glance. “I mean I’m lacking in fighting abilities, especially of long-range ones. I can still use bricks as my weapon while I’m in werewolf form. During the complete state of beastification, all my abilities gain improvement, but it also leaves me with only one long-range ability—the Doggoblast. The problem with that ability is that I can only fire so many rounds before I’m completely drained.”

Lily’s face was red as she felt embarrassed about it. Hao Ren immediately knew what was on her mind.

Lily was most proud of her Doggoblast. It was her most “advance” attack and her only long-range offense (forget about the brick). But the ability had an obvious shortcoming.

Its lack of endurance had, more than once, forced Lily out of the battlefield.

Her close-quarter combat ability was the strongest—so strong that it even shadowed that of Y’zaks. But as they ventured deeper into the Plane of Dreams with the emergence of even more sophisticated enemies, the lack of ability variety had become inadequate.

“Mr. Landlord, I know you can help.” Lily looked at Hao Ren with a smile. “Please think of a way to upgrade my firepower.”