The Record of Unusual Creatures

“You know what? I had a dream again last night.”

Hao Ren swallowed a mouthful of buns before mumbling during breakfast.

Halfway through filling Y’lisbet’s bowl with rice, Vivian paused and looked at Hao Ren with concern. “What precognitive dreams did you have again?”

“Bah, it was a mess,” Hao Ren said. “Maybe I’ve been watching too many movies recently. I dreamed of a large group of Vikings battling the Ming Dynasty navy; Poseidon and Osiris; a bunch of gods fighting in the desert; a sea of guns and fire; and finally Bai Qi, the Qin general. He led 200,000-strong soldiers, crushed the gate of Troy and killed Octavian on his throne.”

Lily, who was burying her head in her bowl, was baffled upon hearing about Hao Ren’s dreams. She lifted her head from the rice bowl and asked, “That’s a mess, Mr. Landlord. Did you just dreamed of the complete history of the world?”

“That is why we call it a dream; there is no logic in dreams,” Hao Ren said, taking a sip of rice porridge, then wiping the rice and oil off his face. “When will the cat learn to use chopsticks properly?”

Sitting across the dining table, Nangong Wuyue said, “She has made much progress. At least she already knows how to use chopsticks. Unlike previously, she used to bury her face in the bowl and scoop up the food with her tongue. Speaking of dreaming, I have also dreamed last night.”

“What did you dream about?” Hao Ren asked, feeling curious.

“A bunch of ancient people fought among themselves. Perhaps I have had too many historical dramas,” Nangong Wuyue said as she gently swayed the tip of her tail. “The Persians fought with the Egyptians. I am not so sure though. They rode camels, carriages, wielded scimitars, bows, and arrows. It was especially lively. At last, a bunch of German soldiers carrying assault rifles emerged—this baffled me.”

“You two had almost a similar dream,” Vivian said with a smile. “It was all a mess of history.”

“Battie, do you not usually dream?” Lily said after swallowing a steamed bun.

“Ordinary Blood Clans do not dream, but I do not have this restriction. I dream occasionally. But last, I had a sound sleep until I woke up at six. I have not slept so well for a long time,” Vivian said and blinked.

“You have suffered from lack of sleep for a long time for sure,” Hao Ren said with his mouth twitched. “Are you feeling more alert now? Do you still have hallucinations?”

“I don’t hallucinate all the time,” Vivian said, feeling a little helpless. “But I have not heard any voices since waking up this morning.”

“Hearing voices? What voices?” Lily asked like a curious bunny.

“Sit back down! Don’t be a busybody,” Hao Ren said and shoved the husky back to her chair. “Vivian said that she always heard someone calling her name in the past two days. I suspect that she suffers from lack of sleep,” Hao Ren said.

“Aw— I thought it was a big deal,” Lily said. She was a little disappointed with the answer.

Everyone sat at the table, having their breakfast, chitchatting, and spending their morning in a leisure atmosphere. It was a daily scene in Hao Ren’s house, but to Lorrisa, it was a novel experience. Lorissa curiously looked at everyone at the table and almost zoned out, forgetting that she was supposed to eat her breakfast. At last, Nangong Sanba said, “Why don’t you eat?”

“Oh…oh, I was a little distracted,” Lorissa replied as Nangong Sanba’s question jolted her out of her thought. “I have never eaten with many people before, so I feel a bit odd.”

“I looked okay during dinner last night,” Nangong Sanba said.

“I was still a little confused at that time, and feeling everything was new to me,” Lorissa said.

“So how did you spend your time in the experimental base?” Lily asked and curiously looked at the elven queen clone. “What did you do other than the experiments?”

“Other than the experiment? I did nothing outside the experiment,” Lorissa said, shrugging. “The daily experiment was enough to drain my energy. The rest of the time was just eating and sleeping. The good thing was, those people did not limit my freedom in the experimental base, and they would try their best to accommodate my needs except leaving the base. I did not have any hobbies though.”

“Did you not inherit the memory and personality of the elven queen? Did the queen not have any hobbies?”

“Her biggest hobby was work; she was a workaholic,” Lorissa said. “That was what caused schizophrenia in me. I was tired after the experiment, but there was a voice in my head that continuously urged me to work overtime. I sincerely thought that life like that was meaningless, but another voice kept suggesting that work is exciting and meaningful.

At last, she seemed to remember the pain of struggling with the inherited personality. She buried her head in her hands and cried, “Don’t talk about those things anymore. Those inherited memories and personalities are troubling.”

“Ahh, the elven magic empress was a workaholic,” Lily said. “No wonder she could become a queen.”

Y’zaks smacked Y’zaks’s head and said, “Did you hear that? You have to study hard.”

At this moment, the little demon Y’lisabet began to see a stressful life ahead.

Hao Ren looked at Lorissa with great interest. He found that this elven queen was becoming more and more humanized after leaving Holleta. It seemed that her suppressed personality was waking up after leaving the experimental base.

It was probably a good thing.

Suddenly, knocks on the door interrupted the conversation at the dining table.

“Someone is at the door!” Lily said with her ears stood erect. She then sniffled. “Not one of us!”

Everyone immediate swung into action. Nangong Wuyue tucked her snake tail under her dress. Lily retracted her pointed ears and wolf hair and turned into a human. Y’lisabet put on a hat. Lil Pea turned and jumped into the soup pot and did not forget to put the lid on. Everything was done in just two seconds, and the bunch of otherworldlings had put on their camouflage.

Hao Ren grabbed Y’lisabet’s devil’s tail that was still dangling on the outside and stuffed it under her clothes. He then got to his feet. “Let me open the door.”

Hao Ren shouted while he went, “Who the hell come this early in the morning while we have breakfast?” When Hao Ren swung the door open, he froze.

Hessiana stood at the door with a big smile on her face. “I am coming for Vivian… Uhh, it is you!”

The little bat’s huge smile froze on her face. Seeing Hao Ren apparently was a real bummer. Meanwhile, Hao Ren scratched his head and said, “I am sorry to let you down. But I am the head of the family, am I wrong to open the door?”

“Err, there is nothing wrong about it,” the little bat replied. Surprisingly, Hessiana did not sound as offensive as she used to be. Her face did not look particularly pleasing, but at least her voice was more level than last time. “I came to deliver an urgent message to Vivian.”

“Are you alone?” Hao Ren asked as he took a peek on the outside.

“A few subordinates come with me, but I have them waiting for me somewhere else,” Hessiana said as she poked her head in. “Can you let me in? It is freaking cold outside.”

The sudden visit of the little bat threw Hao Ren off-guard, but there was o reason for him to deny her entry. So Hao Ren stepped aside and said, “Come in. We have our breakfast.”

Vivian heard the voices and stood up. “Who is it?” she asked.

Meanwhile, Hessiana was already rushing toward her with a big grin on her face.

Vivian’s first reaction was to summon a Lightning Ball. With the Lightning Ball in one hand and pointing at the little bat with another, Vivian shouted, “Stop at where you are! If you dare to come further, I will strike you with the Lightning Ball!”

Hessiana was used to getting served with the Lightning Ball since she was young, so her reaction was swift. Hessiana stopped at about three meters from the dining table and said, “Vivian! I am here to see you!”

“What do you want?” Vivian asked. The sudden appearance of Hessiana shocked her. Vivian turned to look at Lily. “After seeing Hessiana for so many times, have you not memorized her scent? Are you worthy of your nose?”

“I can’t help it. The rice on the table was simply too fragrant, I did not think of her at that time.”

“All right, you all can change back now. It was a freaking false alarm.” Hao Ren wiped the cold sweat off his forehead and came back at the dining table. Hao Ren was cursing the uninvited guest in his mind. “She said she has an urgent message to deliver to you. But the way I see it, it is just an excuse.”

“Oh, ya.” Hessiana nodded. She had no intention to hide her motive. Dragging a chair over from not far away to the dining table, Hessiana said, “Oh, nice breastfast. Vivian must be the cook! Do you mind if I join you guys? Oh, there is the soup.”

The little bat’s thick skin was resistant to Vivian’s glare. Hessiana took the lid off the soup pot. There it was—she was staring at the little mermaid, who stared back at her, in the pot.

“Fish soup?” Hessiana asked.

“Stop talking about other things. Tell me the purpose of your visit.” Vivian still glared at the little bat. “I know you well. You won’t come up with such a lame excuse just to come and see me. Tell me, what happened that made you come here in person?”

After saying hi to Lil Pea in the pot, Hessiana looked at Vivian, feeling a little embarrassed. “Nothing can evade your piercing eyes. No big deal, just that something strange suddenly popped up in my family’s territory. I thought you might be interested.”