The Record of Unusual Creatures
chapter-1425

Chapter 1425: Out of Blows, Friendship Grows

Hao Ren was startled when he saw the girl who lunged out of the woods. He called out, “Lily?”

However, this girl, who looked identical to Lily, did not seem to hear Hao Ren. She ran a few hundred meters through the forest, kicking up snow before stopping 10 m away from him. She then looked at the wounded wolves lying on the ground and shouted in anger, “Where are you from? Why did you beat my men?”

Hao Ren was still stunned. Before he realized what had happened, the girl with wolf ears had faded into a white shadow, charging at him. Hao Ren instinctively raised his hand in front of him. He felt as if a speeding CRH high-speed train had hit him. Even though he had planted his feet firmly on the ground, the impact still sent him flying backward. Hao Ren flipped a dozen times in the air, crashed, and broke several pine trees before landing in snow.

Hao Ren felt pain and numbness in his arm. It was so painful that half of the bones in his body seemed dislodged. He quickly examined himself but was relieved to find that he was fine. The Steel Membrane Shield, which flashed on his arm, had absorbed half of the impact force. Otherwise, his situation would not have been that optimistic even if he had a body of steel.

And just as he thought he could breathe a sigh of relief, the ‘werewolf’ maiden was charging at him again. Her face was full of surprises. It was the first time that someone could take her blow and still be alive. But the husky did not think any further than that. She arched her body, lowered her head, and then charged at Hao Ren again.

“What the heck! Husky, are you mad?” Hao Ren was shocked. But the white shadow was already before him. He could only manage to block the attack with his hands while shouting, “It’s a misunderstanding! I’m just passing by! Don’t take it seriously! Can’t you calm down a bit?”

By now, Hao Ran figured out what was going on with the husky. This husky was not the husky he knew. It was the husky of the past.

The husky looked as if she had yet entered into human society. Had she just left the remote village where she was born? Was the husky the alpha in Siberia before? Did Lily not say that she first lived somewhere in the Northeast? How did she wander to Siberia?

All those questions were flashing in Hao Ren’s mind while he struggled to fend off the fierce attack of the husky. It was a fist fight, but clanks were reverberating in the air. Hao Ren’s Steel Membrane Shield was flashing non-stop. Shockwave from the battle blew away snow and pine needles within a dozen meters radius, exposing the black frozen soil beneath.

Hao Ren forced a smile. Before jumping into the maelstrom portal earlier, he thought that he had anticipated everything. Now, he realized that he had missed something that he should not have overlooked. Except for Y’zaks, Y’lisabet, Lil Pea, Lorissa, and the newly-born Noobie, everyone else was at least a hundred years old. They might not have lived through the entire Mythological Era as Vivian had, but at least when going back in time from the twentieth century for a few hundred years, there was a high possibility that he would bump into one of his tenants. For that reason, it was no surprise to see Lily of the past here.

As if fate had it, Hao Ren and the husky were destined to meet each other.

At this point in time, the husky already believed she was a werewolf. The longer the husky fought, the more energetic she got. The ‘glass shell’ on Hao Ren’s body had aroused her curiosity. She tried to break it with her fists, but the repulse from the shield began to hurt. Her fists were bleeding. But the husky cared not. A few minutes later, the werewolf girl suddenly made a surprise move by sending two quick punches at Hao Ren. Immediately, she twisted her body in an extreme angle, leveraging on the rebound force of her kick, she bounced back out away from Hao Ren.

“Awesome!” the werewolf maiden said when she landed steadily on the ground. She bumped her fists together in excitement and said, “Not bad! We are evenly matched! Tough guy. I like you!”

Hao Ren quickly danced to the husky’s tune. “Since we are admiring each other, why not we take a break and talk—”

Before Hao Ren could finish his sentence, the werewolf maiden lunged at him again. “Let us fight another round; it is not like I could meet my match every time.”

“Isn’t it proper to shake hands and sing Kumbaya now?”

“No, no, no. Let’s fight!”

Hao Ren was at a loss. Lily (the old version) was savage. But he had to keep fighting. He knew that the husky would not stop until she depleted all her strength and wore out her excitement.

In all fairness, Hao Ren could end this if he wanted. No one could defeat a gun with bare hand. He could use the black-hole bomb if it so required. But the opponent was Lily, Hao Ren was not going to hurt her even if it was just Lily in the mirrored history. But then again, even if he could bear to do that, he would have to first find a way to break away from her. When it came to close-quarters combat, the husky was one of the best in the business. Hoping to get away from her claws? No way.

Hao Ren could only rely on his physical strength and Steel Membrane Shield to hold off the husky in the dogfight. It was daunting, but there was a pattern in their every move. The reason was straightforward: Hao Ren knew the husky very well.

Hao Ren was not an expert in close-quarters combat, but often time, by the nature of his job, he needed to be proficient in a hand-to-hand fight. So Hao Ren never slacked in learning various combat techniques. He would train with his tenants when he was free.

Boxing was the most regular practice Hao Ren had with Lily.

Hao Ren chose the husky as a training partner because it was easy to fool her, and she was exceptionally energetic.

Hao Ren knew that his strength did not lie in hand-to-hand combat. But the long life of the inspector allowed him to take time to perfect his martial art to become a pro fighter one day. He did not expect to be able to surpass Lily in close-quarters combat skill within a short few years, but training together had benefitted him a lot. Hao Ren was making progress every day, and the most significant improvement was in his understanding of Lily’s combat style.

Simple and crude was the fighting style of the husky maiden. Her moves lacked refinement, but her brute strength was more than enough to compensate for her weakness. Those who lacked proper physical strength would not be able to keep up with her pace. Only those with a certain level of physical force could keep up with her pace.

It was not hard to anticipate the husky’s moves with prior knowledge of her combat style.

She began to wonder. She found that this man, who came out of nowhere, was not only as strong as she was, but also could anticipate her every move. This guy had even easily neutralized her killer moves, which she had just invented not long ago. This man seemed to have practiced his countermoves beforehand.

Meanwhile, the combat seemed to become more relaxed than before for Hao Ren. He had even begun to slowly get the upper hand now.

Lily of this time was not as strong as the husky that Hao Ren knew. She had the strength and speed but lacked the skills. The husky mostly depended on her instinct. The initial fist fight did throw Hao Ren off-guard for a while, but after learning her rhythm, Hao Ren found that dealing with the mad dog was a piece of cake.

Frustration and astonishment began to set in. At last, Lily twisted her body and raised her leg at the same time, trying to pull off another killer move. But Hao Ren shoved her back. With a skillful sidestep and forward motion, Hao Ren reached for Lily’s puffy tail and grabbed it firmly his hand.

It was Hao Ren’s killer move against the husky maiden.

Lily lunged out with an ‘Arf.’ She pointed at Hao Ren and stuttered. “You… you can’t use this trick!”

“Crap, I would not have grabbed your tail had you not attacked me!” Hao Ren said, glaring at Lily. “Do you still want to fight?”

“No more fight! No more fight! You are a pervert!” Lily threw her hands in the air. “Your body shell is harder than rock. It is no fun to fight with you!”

This reply was indeed the style of Lily. Hao Ren could only force a smile. “All right. Can we talk nicely now? I am only passing by, not thinking of hurting your wolf pack. It was a misunderstanding.”

“Who are you?” Lily asked, wide-eyed. “I have never seen such a powerful guy. Or more like, I have not seen a human for a long time. Where are you from?”

“My name is Hao Ren, I… Bah, you won’t know even if I tell you.”

“Yeah.” Lily nodded. “I have never been anywhere. Ahh, let us be sworn-brothers!”

“Ahem, what did you just say?” Hao Ren choked.

“Sworn brothers!” Lily said matter-of-factly. “You fight well! And you did not treat me like an alien when you saw my ears and tail. You are a kind person. Let us be sworn-brothers!”

Hao Ren was struck dumb once again.