Chapter 233: Revisiting Space
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After spending half a day stroking his chin, Hao Ren finally figured it out. He believed he heard it right: Rollie, the cat with no integrity, had not been able to control its appetite. When it saw Lil Pea sunbathing on the table, it attacked her. It did not manage to bite off a single scale on her. On the other hand, Lil Pea had pulled off a big patch of fur off its body. When Hilda said she did not manage to stop them, she did not mean that she was unable to protect Lil Pea. She meant the cat.
"Your cat fought with your fish, and your fish beat the cat black and blue..." The corner of Becky's eye twitched as she looked at Hao Ren. "What kind of species is this half-foot, little thing?"
Hao Ren had no words for the situation. He put Lil Pea back in the basin and turned to examine Rollie's injury. It seemed like Lil Pea was only teaching the cat a little lesson. Aside from losing some fur, the stupid cat did not suffer a single broken bone. If Lil Pea could lift a table full of dishes, dealing with cats and dogs was just a piece of cake for her.
Rollie meowed in his arms. When it saw Lil Pea, it shivered in fear again. It did not matter how tame a fish was, at least Rollie would not dare have its eye on Lil Pea again... or worse, it would never eat fish again.
He put the stupid cat back on the couch. Then, he solemnly broke the news to Hilda. "We've found your home. Please get yourself ready today. I'll send you back home myself tomorrow."
Hilda froze, and was in disbelief. A moment later, she got to her feet. "Is-is it true?"
Again, Hao Ren affirmed it. Hilda took a deep breath, both of her hands were on her chest as if her heart would pop out if she had not done that. The home-sick elf queen started to become excited and nervous at the same time, just like the moment when she was first teleported to Earth—she walked around the house and mumbled to herself, "I wonder what the situation has become over there... I will first need Cardillon to give me a damage report... Did Vim manage to appease the people while I was away? Did the Isle of Stars get affected?"
Hao Ren sympathised with how Hilda was feeling, so he did not bother her. He allowed Hilda to calm down before putting his hand on her shoulder and let her back on the couch. "Just relax yourself. We'll depart early in the morning. The cross-world teleporting of the empire is blazing fast, it's estimated that you would be able to reach home in the same day. Meanwhile, you should think about what you should be doing when you're back home."
Hilda regained her compose as a queen very quickly. She nodded in appreciation before falling back in deep thoughts. Suddenly, Lily came up to him. "Landlord, landlord, did you really mean to bring me along in your spaceship?"
"Of course. Anyone can join," Hao Ren said with a smile. "Due to limited tickets during the last trip, only the big guy and Wuyue could tag along. But this time, we're going to ride in our own spacecraft. If you guys need to get anything ready, please hurry up. Get it done by today."
But that confused Vivian. "Ready... ready what? Do we really need to ready anything since we're going to fly in a spaceship? Do we need motion-sickness pills? Or, are we going to have difficulty eating meals onboard? Or, are we going to get sick from space radiation...?"
Hao Ren thought for a moment before he said, "I think we don't need all of that. I remember the spacecraft has some kind of ecological cycle and things for synthesising materials. Its environment is more or less identical to Earth. Radiation disease? Worry not. Oh, by the way, Lily, don't forget to bring your own fur brush. That thing isn't available onboard the spacescraft."
Meanwhile, Becky had been blinking and listening by the side half of the time, before she found the opportunity to chime in. "Can I tag along as well?"
Everyone turned to look at her. The mercenary's eyes were flashing with light. She was no less excited than Lily. As a traverser, she was indeed too high-profiled. Before Hao Ren could say anything, the MDT jumped out. "No! Absolutely not!"
Becky was disappointed. "Why?"
"Technically, it's complicated." The MDT felt it was hard explaining technology to a sword-wielding mercenary. "Because you're from The Plane of Dreams, the mapping relationship between that world and the Surface World has been a mess lately. We still can't determine how bad the situation is so, you shouldn't go. This is to avoid further agitation of the 'balance'. Please be patient while we investigate the reality barrier's source of the problem, and we'll be able to fix it then. Have faith in the organisation, have faith in us, and have faith in yourself, whom we are also having faith in, have faith... just have faith."
Although Becky had no idea what the mapping relationship between The Plane of Dreams and Surface World was all about, she realised it was something that could not be taken lightly. She had no choice but to sit back down on the sofa, dejected. "That means I'm going to be alone in this unfamiliar world? I don't even know how to use the stove. Wouldn't I starve to death when you guys are away for five days?"
Hao Ren realised this was indeed a problem. Becky was brought to the Surface World on the premise of disrupting the 'balance', so she had to stay on Earth for safety reasons. However, while she was here, she had not even learned to operate the TV and shower. How could he leave this otherworldly being alone in his house for days? Becky herself aside, Hao Ren could never leave in peace without worrying about his appliances! And the microwave incident was still clearly bothering him...
He was really disturbed by the thought of seeing his house appearing in the news once he came home, watching the news broadcaster pointing at his house being engulfed in flames while reminding the public to take extra care against fires during the winter, and to use electricity safely...
"Who would like to stay back and look after her?" Hao Ren smiled slyly as he looked around. Before his voice trailed off, Lily had already scurried to the back of the sofa, hiding. But, he had never expected for Lily to stay back. So, it was all up to the others. Everyone was glancing at each other, waiting. Just as Vivian was about to say something, Nangong Wuyue interrupted and said, "I'll stay."
The siren explained with a smile, "I've experienced riding in the spacecraft. Now, it's your turn."
Hence, it was determined. In the meantime, Y'zaks picked Lil Pea up and said, "Are we going to bring her along?"
Lil Pea rested her head on the edge of the basin, looking at Hao Ren. She then inflated her cheeks and spit water out at Hao Ren. He frantically dodged it and yelled. "No, I'm not going to bring her along. We aren't going for fun. I'm afraid I won't be able to look after her. While Nangong Wuyue stays back home, she can look after her."
Lil Pea started to spit out even more water in protest. Hao Ren had no choice but to shove her back into the basin while she was playing fountain. No matter what, he was not going to give in this time.
After having breakfast the next morning, Hao Ren assembled everyone in the living room as he was about to teleport to Kuiper Station. The MDT briefed him on the flight path—from Kuiper Station to the World's Gate. The Petrachelys Patrol Frigate was awakened from its hibernation state. Everything worked fine and it was now on standby mode. As Hao Ren had not finished studying Introduction to Spacecraft and other basic modules, the autopilot would fly the spacecraft. It needed the MDT to confirm the flight path in advance.
The MDT had also briefed him on another situation: As Hilda's home was located on the edge of the Macroworld, it was only registered 10,000 years ago during the emergency expansion of the Macroworld. However, only the world code was registered and a fully automatic expansion post was sent to construct a sovereign facility. There was no other agent residing there so, Hao Ren would only get a limited amount of support there.
It was a barren territory.
However, the MDT later told him, "Just make sure you remember the important points in the employee handbook; always be calm in facing any dangers, remember your identity and pride as a member of the empire, face all challenges with a warrior's mentality and trust your team members as well as your spacecraft. Then you shall be—"
Hao Ren interrupted. "Then I shall be safe from all dangers, right?"
"Nope. Then you shall be able to die with honour."
Before Hao Ren could say the F word, a flash of bright, white light illuminated the whole house and in a split of a second, everyone was gone.
A second later at Kuiper Station.
The teleporting port flashed up. Lulu, the space station's guide had been waiting for some time before Hao Ren arrived.
"Mr. Inspector, your spacecraft is ready." Lulu smiled as she bowed. "Long time no see."