The Record of Unusual Creatures
chapter-279

Chapter 279: Vivian, Oh, Vivian

It took a lot of effort to bring Lil Pea along. After all, it was near impossible to smuggle a living mermaid through airport security. Hao Ren initially planned to leave her at home with a nanny like the last time. But having been left behind once, Lil Pea had smartened up. The moment she felt that the group was about to embark on another long journey, she glued herself to Hao Ren, refusing to let go. Hao Ren reluctantly agreed to bring her along after the little mermaid was so adamant about it. While the little one was joyous, it was nothing but headaches for the adults, and Hao Ren had no other choice but to stuff the little one into his Dimensional Pocket…

Normally, you would not want to put any living thing into the Dimensional Pocket. It was a dimension without light, sound or gravity and it would swiftly drive any living creature insane with its crushing emptiness. The user guide even had a disclaimer that went along the lines of, “Unless you are seeking revenge, please do not use the Dimensional Pocket to transport any living being. The administration is not responsible for any psychological trauma, which may arise from the experience.”

Well… there was one thing Hao Ren was particularly good at, and that was being creative. Before they left, he purchased an enormous aquarium and grabbed a miniature gravity field generator from the Petrachelys as well. He then got some decorative items for the aquarium, alongside an air pump (purely for Lil Pea’s bubbly amusement). Just before they left for Greece, he also tossed the MDT into the Dimensional Pocket. Hence, Lil Pea was rather well entertained while she was in the pocket. If she wanted lights, there were lights; if she wanted bubbles, there were plenty of bubbles; if she became really bored, she had her beloved lantern. That was how she passed her time on the approximately 10-hour flight…

Hao Ren went into the attached bathroom in his hotel suite and filled the jacuzzi halfway before letting Lil Pea out of the Dimensional Pocket. The little mermaid had been cooped up in the pocket for an entire day and she was very restless. The moment she was released, she leaped into the tub and swam in circles. Shortly after, she got up and sprayed Hao Ren’s face with water. This was basically her way of protesting.

The MDT floated to Hao Ren’s side too, looking exhausted as it dried itself in a spin. “Your girl will turn out to be a great person in the future. I was almost driven mad by her antics. She spun me about like a top for the whole day…”

“Oh, so you did bring the little one along…” Y’zaks peeked over to see what the commotion was all about and saw Lil Pea swimming around in the jacuzzi. A frown appeared on his face. “…We’re going out to do some work later… Are we really bringing her along?”

“What choice do I have?” Hao Ren shrugged. “Worse comes to worst, I’ll just stuff her in the pocket and let her out when no one’s around. God, The Plane of Dreams was so much more convenient. We could simply grab a pot and call it an alchemy alembic. Over here on Earth, the rumors alone could be the end of us.”

Lil Pea tilted her head as she listened to the adults, who were discussing their business. After realising that they were ignoring her, she pouted angrily and dove back into the tub, sucking in a load of water. Upon resurfacing, she spat a torrent of water at Hao Ren’s face again…

Becky and Nangong Wuyue had been out in the streets of Athens, shopping until it was about midnight. As they entered the hotel room, both of them were carrying bags stuffed with a whole bunch of items, from local food to crafts. It was rather obvious that Becky purchased the bulk of the items and the two seemed to have unlimited stamina when it came to shopping. They were still fresh enough to chatter about the things they saw during their sojourn. Hao Ren was a little worried that the two ladies would be waylaid by unscrupulous tour guides and be swindled in the process. These types of cheating syndicates were very common in popular tourist destinations and with Becky’s purchasing ability, she was definitely a prime target for these crooks.

Becky grabbed a bead necklace and put it on Wuyue’s as she said, “You already have someone paying the bill. What are you so concerned about? I heard it all, you’re working for a god. With such a divine backing, why don’t you just go all out? I’ve planned it all out. If I have time, I’ll go on a shopping spree and stuff all the stuff into your Dimensional Pocket. Once we get home, I’ll sell them off. This trip should earn me a few hundred MP5s…”

Because Hao Ren’s first gift to Becky was an MP5 from Earth, the mercenary lass took a keen liking to it and treated it almost like a currency, which only she could understand. God knows how she was going to use it to barter with someone.

“How are you going to sell them off? You don’t even have any contacts…” Wuyue asked.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. I met quite a lot of people when we were recording and I got hundreds of phone numbers. From my conversations with them, I feel like the’d like stuff like this. If I can’t sell those MP5s, I can try grabbing a load of stuff from Athens and post it up on Weibo for sale. I’m sure there’s a market for overseas souvenirs. While I don’t really understand how you people on Earth think, I do admire your entrepreneurship.”

All present were stunned by Becky’s economic acumen and ability to grasp details. Even more surprising was, in her short time on Earth, she could easily understand the needs and wants of the people she just met. Her observational skills were certainly well honed during her time as a mercenary.

Hearing how Becky lay out her business plan had Hao Ren thinking. He realised that a lot of times, the chance to strike it big stood right in front of people’s eyes, but not many had the ability or courage to grab hold of it. Just look at the difference between Becky and the rest of the tenants in Hao Ren’s home.

Vivian sighed deeply in a corner. “I really do envy you and your ability to earn money… I too tried my hand at international business a long time ago….”

The room fell into an awkward silence, even Hao Ren was shocked by the revelation. “You’re joking, right? You and international business?”

“I’ve been around for a long, long time now. When you humans started bartering goat skin for grains, I was already watching. What makes you think I haven’t tried my hands at this?” Vivian’s eyes looked forlorn as she turned towards Hao Ren. “A few thousand years back, I learned that international trade could earn you big money and I tried my hands at the trade of spices as well as emeralds between Egypt and Rome to try to turn my fortunes around… While the history books may not have recorded it, I’m quite certain that I was the first to do such business…”

Hao Ren’s interest was piqued by Vivian’s tall tale. “And then?”

“I almost lost everything after I left Rome.” Vivian sighed again. “I don’t even know what went wrong, I earned something then I proceeded to lose it. It didn’t take long for me to have no money left for my capital. I did get some of my juniors to go into a venture. Needless to say, they went bankrupt after a while. After that, I tried getting money from a few priests in Egypt who worshipped me. However, Octavian had Cleopatra killed and Egypt turned into a Roman province. Took me another 2,000 years of trying my hands at trade before I realised I wasn’t cut out for it. By then, no one dared to go into a venture with me.”

“…You never fail to surprise me when you talk about your past… How many more epics do you reckon you haven’t told us yet?” Hao Ren said.

Vivian pondered about it for a moment. “I’m sure there are quite a few. Just not sure when I’ll actually recall them. All in good time I guess. Perhaps I can tell you about the Trojan War, or maybe we can visit the Old Town. Who knows if we might find something that I dropped years ago.”

While Hao Ren and his crew were busy listening to Vivian’s stories in their hotel, the sky had turned dark. The most ancient of cities in human civilisation started its slumber as the night came about.

As the humans who lived in the light slept, the creatures of darkness woke.

Shadows that were too quick for human senses darted through the city, bringing news to the other part of town. There was a dark, uncomprehensible secret in Old Town District of Athens. The power of shadows had sliced the city in two; one was corporeal and another was beyond the senses of a normal human being. This was one of their main “lairs” in the world and Athens was made into an impenetrable fortress by its shadowy denizens through thousand of years. Even the most experienced of demon hunters would be hopelessly lost in its labyrinth of paths.

News was spreading like wildfire among the shadowy populace.

The oldest of vampires, the oddball amid the supernaturals and one of the most ancient of creatures—the Countess of the Crimson Moon had arrived in Athens and she was uncharacteristically active while in town.

As Hao Ren and the crew continued talking about Vivian kicking Acherus into the moat, there were many who were speculating if the countess would intervene in the Day of Return.