Chapter 544: Digging a Pit
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
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 advance noticed 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 a 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 at the direction that 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's head. "Don't be afraid. This is our place."
The cat girl immediately calmed down when she heard it, and she was amazed by the holding of the 'King Cat': She didn't know he had such a holding! Upon remembering that she was the number two at Hao Ren's place her instincts kicked in, she stuffed the leash in Hao Ren's hand. "You don't have to say anything else. Bring me for a walk! Now now!
Hilda gave the new face a surprised look. "This is..."
Hao Ren gave an embarassed look as he took the leash off the dumb cat. "This is my cat.... Things are just a bit 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, and he too surveyed the surroundings incessently since arriving. He glanced a the brightly dressed elven guards and the intricate statues and arches along the way. Even though Aerym was still in a difficult rebuilding period, the architecture was still majestic. "My god, are all this Mr Landlord's property?" Nangong Sanba could not help but mumble to himself.
"All these are the 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 his other hand pointing at Hao Ren. His face serious, "Seduce him."
Wuyue was stunned. "HAH?!"
"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 saw the siren had already transformed into her serpentine form, and was spinning her brother with her tail in circles. Nangong Sanba's was swung around in the air so quickly that his face was a blur. Only his voice could be heard. "I"m.... just.... giving... a ...suggestion..."
"Ah I forgot," Hilda had already gotten used to the antics of Hao Ren's crew and was not surprised. She gave the spinning half-baked demon hunter a curious glance. "I've never seen him before.. He is?"
"A WINDMILL!!!" Wuyue gritted her teeth.
The Aerymians gave much reverence to the hyperspace teleporter. They see it as an important facility that maintains contact with their 'lord'. So the device was placed deep within the palace grounds and the party had to go through level upon levels of guards 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 reach the surface and reached the top of the spire which could see a good half of the city.
Standing on a half-moon terrace, Hilda proudly pointed towards the coastal city that had grew in size. "The capital's basic infrastructure are already working normally. We have dismantled some of the available equipments from the floating islands, while they were old, they were still reliable. We are now building a main trunk road towards the nearest city. Another city is 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 the day that he would be inspecting a city's growth like a great leader should. So he could only put up a show, and nodded approvingly. "Hmm, very good, very good indeed..."
Rollie was following behind Hao Ren joining in the fun, and as soon she saw the city below was surrounded by trees and greenery, she immediately got excited. She tugged Hao Ren by his sleeve. "Lets go play! Lets go play!"
The reason Hao Ren brought Rollie here was to bring her to a place that she could have fun and shift her attention from leaving home and go out to the streets. The cat girl was so excited that her eyes sparkled. Hao Ren patted the dumb cat's 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, and 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 turned towards the dumb husky. "You plan to go down to 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 towards Hilda. "Say... how is Helcrown faring?"
"The Kingdom of Aerym have not interfered with their internal politics, but we have helped them construct a path linking to the mainland, and also adaptation to the local enviroment. We have recently formed our diplomatic corps and are discussing the matter of drawing the borders, trade and economic cooperation. We are happy that they are a very amiable neighbour. As awe can maintain this sort of relationship. I'm sure that everything will work out fine."
Y'zaks nodded. As the former ruler of Helcrown (in truth, the citizens of Helcrown still sees him as the de facto ruler), he was still concerned about the future of his people, and 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 were no reason to fight for it, it's just a matter of delegating what's whose....
Hilda too knoew that Hao Ren was here for serious business and 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 is tricky: This planet, I shall call it Holetta for now, there are two harmful plantlife hidden in the planet's crust south of the main continent. I need a few big equipments to excavate the plants and move them off planet. You don't have to worry about the transportation and placement process that comes later. You just need to arrange for the 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 two hundred meters in diameter, the smaller one is at least half the size. And they are buried about hundred meters underground. We need to beware of the lava flow during the excavation process."
".....Eh?"
Hao Ren sighed. "I know that's quite a hole to dig...."