The Record of Unusual Creatures

Leaving a teleportation device back on Aerym was indeed a wise move. Hao Ren knew that he would need to commute between Earth and New Aerym from time to time, and using a teleportation device was much simpler than flying a spaceship. It was also easier to walk a cat that way.     

At least, he did not need to worry about the cat girl messing around with the bridge controls.     

As the flash of light faded, the scenery from the basement changed to that of a wide and bright round hall. All around the hall, there were plenty of elvish leaf carvings, while the floor was engraved with the intricate Aerymian emblem: seems like they had arrived to the basement of Hilda's Royal Palace.     

There were guards within the hall at every single moment, and before the teleporter was activated, they already had advanced notice that important guests were visiting. Hence, by the time Hao Ren and the rest got their bearings, a large group of elves were already coming their way. Among them were guards and ministers, as well as the leader of the group, who was a familiar face: the Queen of the Aerymians, Hilda.     

"I heard that you were coming but I could not prepare much due to time constraints." Hilda smiled with her usual grace. "So, there is another huge project?"     

Hao Ren smiled. "Let's wait till we get to a better place to talk about it. This time it's much more complicated."     

The queen's entourage started to chatter amongst themselves while Rollie—her eyes wide—curiously surveyed her surroundings. With the comprehension ability of a cat, she did not understand how she ended up in a place so different from home after crossing a veil of light. She turned back to look in the direction where she came from and saw the veil of light vanishing after the teleporter shut down. The cat girl was rather frightened. She took a peak at the elven guards as she cowered behind Hao Ren. "We can't go home... Meow..."     

"Don't run around. I'll bring you home when the time comes." Hao Ren patted Rollie on the head. "Don't be afraid. This is our place."     

The cat girl immediately calmed down when she heard that, and she was amazed by the Big Boss Cat's holding: she did not know he had such a holding! Upon remembering that she was the number two at Hao Ren's place, her instincts kicked in. She then stuffed the leash in Hao Ren's hand. "You don't have to say anything else. Bring me for a walk! Now, now!     

Hilda had a surprised look. "This is..."     

Hao Ren had an embarrassed expression as he took the leash off the dumb cat. "This is my cat... Things are just a little too complicated, I'll explain later... Behave yourself! You're a human now, you know? You don't need a leash when I walk you in the future!"     

Nangong Sanba nervously followed the entourage. He had also been surveying his surroundings incessantly since arriving. He glanced at the brightly dressed elven guards and the intricate statues as well as arches along the way. Even though Aerym was still in a tough period of rebuilding, their architecture was still majestic. "My god, is all of this Mr. Landlord's property?" Nangong Sanba could not help but mumble to himself.     

"All these are Aerym's property." Lily laughed. "But, the land they stand on is Mr Landlord's, the whole planet in fact."     

Nangong Sanba thought for a bit before pulling his sister's arm with one hand and pointing at Hao Ren with the other. His face was serious. "Seduce him."     

Wuyue was stunned. "What?!"     

"Seduce him." Nangong Sanba's face was serious. "For the glory of our family..."     

Hao Ren only heard a splash behind him before a white fog temporarily blinded him. By the time he regained his vision, he noticed that the siren had already transformed into her serpentine form. She was spinning her brother in circles with her tail. Nangong Sanba was swung around in the air so quickly that his face was a blur. Only his voice could be heard. "I was... just... giving... a... suggestion..."     

"Ah, I forgot." Hilda had already gotten used to the antics of Hao Ren's crew and she was not surprised. She gave the spinning, half-baked demon hunter a curious glance. "I have never seen him before... He is?"     

"A windmill!!!" Wuyue gritted her teeth.     

The Aerymians held much reverence for the hyperspace teleporter. They saw it as an important facility that allowed them to maintain contact with their "lord". So, the device was placed deep within the palace grounds and the party had to go through levels upon levels of guard posts before arriving at the surface. Hilda had intentions to show Hao Ren the city's development and chose to come out from the Royal Spire's exit. The group went into the elevator as soon as they reached the surface and they traveled to the top of the spire, where they could see a good half of the city.     

Standing on a half-moon terrace, Hilda proudly pointed at the coastal city, which had grew in size. "The capital's basic infrastructure are already working normally. We have dismantled some of the available equipment from the floating islands. While they are old, they are still reliable. We are now building a main road towards the nearest city. Another city will be on the northside of the shoreline. There are plenty of edible seaweed and mineral resources by the shallow waters. The days are getting better."     

Hao Ren was totally out of his element. He never thought he would see the day when he would inspect a city's growth like a great leader should. So, he could only put up a show by nodding approvingly. "Hmm, very good, very good indeed..."     

Rollie was following Hao Ren, joining in on the fun. As soon as she saw that the city below was surrounded by trees and greenery, she immediately got excited. She tugged Hao Ren by his sleeve. "Let's go play! Let's go play!"     

The reason Hao Ren brought Rollie along was to bring her to a place where she could have fun, and shift her attention from leaving home and going out to the streets. The cat girl was so excited that her eyes sparkled. Hao Ren patted the dumb cat on her head. "I'll go do my business. You can go out to play. Can you find your way back?"     

Rollie nodded excitedly. "Yes, yes! I definitely can!"     

Hao Ren thought for a bit and was still a bit worried. He pulled out a tiny locator beacon and placed it on the cat girl's collar. He then smiled at Hilda. "Send her down with some men. She'll be happy just running around."     

The guards then escorted the excitable dumb cat off the terrace and Lily, biting her nails threw Rollie a jealous glance. Hao Ren then turned to the dumb husky. "You plan to go down and run about as well?"     

Lily's tail immediately shrunk. "I'm a proper adult... I'm not as childish as that cat..."     

Hao Ren gave Lily the glare before turning to Hilda. "Say... how is Helcrown faring?"     

"The Kingdom of Aerym has not interfered with their internal politics, but we have helped them construct a path, linking them to the mainland. We have also helped them in adapting to the local enviroment. We have recently formed our diplomatic corps and are discussing matters of drawing borders, trade and economic cooperation. We are happy that they have been a very amiable neighbor. As long as we can maintain such a relationship, I am sure that everything will work out fine."     

Y'zaks nodded. As the former ruler of Helcrown (in truth, the citizens of Helcrown still saw him as the de facto ruler), he was still concerned about the future of his people. He knew that living and co-existing with a foreign kingdom on the same planet was a sensitive yet important matter. But he believed that the two kingdoms could co-exist peacefully. The reason was simple. They were only renting, the land was not theirs and there was no reason to fight for it. It was just a matter of delegating what was whose...     

Hilda also knew that Hao Ren was there for serious business and she did not bring the rest to inspect the city. After briefing him on the progress of the kingdom and Helcrown, she led them to the Royal Hall. Hao Ren motioned for the MDT to display the already prepared information. "The project this time around isn't big, but it's tricky: this planet, I shall call it Holletta for now, there are two harmful plantlife hidden in the planet's crust, south of the main continent. I need a few big equipment to excavate the plants and move them off the planet. You don't have to worry about the transportation and placement process that comes later. You just need to arrange for experts in digging holes."     

"Plantlife?" Hilda was surprised. "How big? And you actually need a fleet for this?"     

Hao Ren spread his hands open. "The bigger one is about 200 km in diameter, while the smaller one is at least half its size. And they are buried about 100 km underground. We need to watch out for the lava flow during the excavation process."     

"...Huh?"     

Hao Ren sighed. "I know, that's quite a hole to dig..."