Chapter 575: Towards the Sea!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
While Shaqira may have been naive and ignorant, she still had her basic instincts and logic. She did not feel that a group of strangers whom she had just met possessed the ability to solve the issue in her city. If this had been one of the bigger sanctuaries like those castles or fortified manors governed by the werewolves and vampires, perhaps there would have been some plausibility. A family like that was at least still worth the gamble. Hao Ren's old civilian house clearly did not look the part of a powerful family institution...
Hao Ren was rather depressed by the fact. He thought that he was someone accomplished, yet he still encountered those who doubted his capabilities. Could Shaqira not see the look and aura of a savior, the look of an apostle in him?
But then again, there was a demon king with a newspaper in hand teaching his daughter the Chinese alphabet just next to him. It then hit Hao Ren that looks and aura were clearly unreliable.
Shaqira was an outsider and Hao Ren obviously could not show her too much of an inspector's abilities. However, he still had a plethora of things that he could show her. Pointing at Y'zaks, Hao Ren boasted, "This is a great demon, and his combat strength can match an entire army. If you don't believe me, I'll take you somewhere to see him transform."
Y'zaks was in the midst of teaching Y'lisabet how to read some Chinese words when he heard that. Looking up with a grin,he said, "Trying to market me again, eh?"
Shaqira was taken aback by Hao Ren's boasting. Seeing how confident Hao Ren was, she almost believed him, but in the end, she still shook her head. "We'll be in the deep sea. I don't think demonic energies will work as well down there."
"How about this?" Hao Ren pointed at Vivian. "The world's most ancient vampire, the Countess of the Crimson Moon. Every otherworldling, and even demon hunter has to give her face. She walks on both sides of the divide and is a literal walking advertisement board..."
Vivian gave Hao Ren a very perplexed look. "Why does that sound weird to me?"
Hao Ren pointed at Vivian's garbs. "Take that apron off and you'll be fine."
Shaqira squinted as she tried to recall the name. "I've heard that name somewhere before... but I don't remember. Who is she?"
There was an awkward silence.
Lily immediately burst into a huge laughing fit as she poked Vivian on the back. "Hahaha, Battie, that title of yours finally has its useless moment, hahahaha..."
Hao Ren was also surprised. He thought that Vivian's title would have been the most influential among all unusual creatures, yet it was ineffective before the siren. To think that this siren had been on land for almost a century and not know the name. Her sisters back home had probably never even heard of the "most ancient of vampires". Shaqira did have some sort of self-awareness and she was rather embarrassed. "I'm sorry, it's just that sirens are just a tad slow regarding matters on land. And to be honest things have been advancing so fast on land. When I secretly snuck out to play as a child, humans were still using bow and arrows. The second time I came to shore they had already developed cannons. It's just impossible to keep track of things."
Lily then suddenly remembered something, "Say... why do we keep talking about combat strength? Are you guys planning to smash the gates down to get into the city? Shouldn't we be going incognito to gather information?"
Everyone descended into another awkward silence. It took a while before Wuyue looked resignedly at the ceiling. "So many of us here and the husky ends up being the bright one."
Shaqira blinked and pondered. She wanted to find out what was happening back home too. As a siren, it was simply normal for her to be worried about the sudden changes back home. She also had plans to go back to check things out, but her natural indecisiveness caused the plan to remain on the back burner. Now that she finally saw a group of weirdos who were so determined, she set her heart to it as well. "Alright, I'll take you there."
The crew rejoiced and Hao Ren let out a sigh of relief as one of the most pertinent issues had been solved. He quickly motioned for Vivian to cook up a storm for a minor celebration before he lifted the basin that Lil Pea was swimming in. "My dear daughter, time to say hello!"
Shaqira was busy answering questions so it took her a while to realize that there was a foot-long mermaid in the living room. Needless to say, she was surprised. "Why has this siren been starved to such an extent? Didn't you give her any food?"
Lil Pea waved her little arms. "Lil Pea ish not stahving! There is fud evariwear!"
That little rascal was quick on the uptake.
Hao Ren began to drip in cold sweat as he quickly explained to Shaqira, "She's not a siren. She's a mermaid. She was just about that size when she was born... but she'll grow bigger in time."
Shaqira gave Lil Pea a curious look before demurring. "This world sure is big. Seems like there's plenty that I don't know."
Nangong Wuyue shifted her gaze from Shaqira to the rest. She was rather anxious about the trip to the city of the sirens. "So... when do we depart?"
"In two days time. Let Shaqira rest up and heal first. The medi-chamber can only heal the outer wounds, it can't restore her mana." Hao Ren gestured for Wuyue to calm down. "That aside, find her something to wear. She can't be taking up so much space in the hall. The space both of you take can fit at least half a dozen people."
Shaqira quickly waved her hand. "It's okay, it's okay! I can turn into a mantis shrimp, that won't take up much space..."
Everyone almost spat the contents in their mouth. Hao Ren gawked at Wuyue. "So it's not just you. Are all sirens like this?"
"How would I know. I've never met another siren before. Besides, a mantis shrimp is definitely awesome; small in size, agile, has good defense, and some combat capabilities. Mr. Landlord just—"
Hao Ren adamantly shook his head. "No way. Get her some clothes. Sitting around a giant mantis shrimp while we have dinner is just weird."
Oddly, Wuyue was somehow insistent on that particular form. "But, we can still keep our faces on!"
Hao Ren cried, "Good god, that's even more horrifying! Just be the pretty ladies that you are!"
Seeing that Hao Ren was not going to give in, the two pretty sirens slithered back to their rooms to change.
As Big Beardy had temporarily gone home, the issue of Shaqira's room was easily resolved. She rested in the room on the second floor for a few days to recover her strength.
During that period, Vivian was worried that the Queen's Guard, who were pursuing Shaqira could be closing in on her, so she placed her bats all over town. Along with Wuyue, Lily and her Woofenstein Army (the bunch of stray dogs) placed runic cards in every nook and cranny of the town, forming an impenetrable surveillance network. But after three days, they did not detect anything and the water in the Southern Suburbs was restored to normal without any supernatural phenomenon. It seemed like Shaqira had given them the slip.
And so, the siren took a few peaceful days to rest up before she left with the rest to the seaside on a fine day.
This time around, Hao Ren brought Rollie along. He was afraid that the cat girl would simply run amok without supervision, and felt it was safer with her beside him.
The city of the sirens was located deep within the Pacific ocean. There were no records of it at all, not even unusual creatures had managed to find any trace of the city. Hao Ren's plan was to drive towards a deserted seaside first. They would then follow Shaqira's lead to an unknown island near the center of the ocean before they submerged deep into the "Hidden Barrer". The MDT had scanned the area beforehand and was certain that there was no one around to disrupt their work. The island in the middle of the ocean was not your normal natural island. It was a mark left by the sirens who had surfaced, acting as some sort of lighthouse.
Originally, Hao Ren had planned to just have MDT teleport everyone into the middle of the ocean, but this method was expressedly rejected by Shaqira. The island was shrouded by a special energy field, and only by following a predetermined navigation path could one find the island.
Lily was also looking forward to hitch a normal car ride for this trip and Hao Ren acceded to her suggestion.
While on the road, Lily wanted to find out more about the city, so she asked Shaqira, "Hey, tell us more about your city. I heard that it's invisible?"
Shaqira was still stunned that so many people could fit into the small Northstar. She only recovered once she heard Lily's voice. Her expression turned serious as she explained the situation regarding the mysterious underwater city.
"Our city is called Nasaton. It's not invisible, but it's within a dimensional gap."