The Record of Unusual Creatures
chapter-74

Chapter 74: Losing Control

Lily’s hands trembled but she did not realize it until the others pointed it out. Meanwhile, the ceramics in her hands had turned into powder. She seemed to have lost control.

“I…I don’t know what’s happening…” Lily waved her hands nervously. “I didn’t do it…”

So many questions were on his mind but when he saw how nervous Lily was, he calmed himself down. “Just stay calm. Don’t move— Vivian, you know what’s going on, dont’ you?”

Vivian noticed something—Lily’s eyes were unusually bright. “She seemed to have entered into a state of excitement… Did you eat something you were not supposed to? An analeptic perhaps?”

Lily was almost in tears. “No. Just a bun in the afternoon. I was so run down just now because of hunger…”

Hao Ren had to stop eating midway. Not only were Lily’s hands shaking, her body was quivering as if she had lost control of her muscles. Hao Ren stepped forward and held the werewolf maiden in his arms. “Let’s move over to the sofa.. just relax.”

As Hao Ren helped Lily over to the sofa, he noticed something once again—her muscles were stiff. He felt like he was holding a heavy, steel bar. Lily heard him but she shook her head. “I can’t relax. If I do I’ll lose control. Landlord, please stay away. I’m afraid I’ll inadvertently fling you away… Oops! See what I mean!”

With just the slightest movement of her arm, Hao Ren was flung away like he was hit by a speeding lorry. His body flew and crashed into Vivian, who was standing nearby. It brought them both to the floor. Lily was terrified seeing what had just happened. She wanted to give them a hand but she was trembling uncontrollably. She stood where she was and slowly leaned herself on the sofa. While she placed her hand on the sofa’s armrest to support herself, she accidentally punctured a large hole in it.

Hao Ren and Vivian got up from the floor awkwardly. Hao Ren’s bio-enhanced body saved himself from a two-week vacation in the hospital. The duo carefully approached the werewolf maiden. Lily huddled herself on one end of the sofa. ,She lay still, afraid that even the slightest exhale from her nostrils would blow the house away.

“A sudden loss of control and mild hysteria. She’s conscious though…” As the only one there who understood werewolves, Vivian offered her half-baked, medical expertise. She made sure Lily did not move a muscle before she went up-close to check on her eyes. “There is slight bleeding under the conjunctiva. Please open your mouth so that I can see your tongue… Are you sure you didn’t eat anything weird?”

Lily shook her head crying out, “No, I swear. I don’t know anything!”

The werewolf maiden became desperate. She had never been under the weather. In fact, she never even had bruises. She was a virgin in terms of sickness. Plus, her timid nature did not prepare her well. She was scared out of her wits. Hao Ren could only stand by. It was Vivian’s show now. “Do you know how to treat a werewolf?” Hao Ren asked.

“Not a clue.” Vivian shook her head in complete honesty.

“…But you checked her eyes and tongue like a pro.”

Vivian looked away. “I realized that I don’t know how to treat her after my attempt to diagnose!”

“Then, what should we do now?” Hao Ren spread out his hands. “Send her to the hospital?”

Vivian pointed her finger at Lily’s ears and tail. “In your opinion, what kind of hospital should we send her to? What kind of doctor will be able to treat her?”

Hao Ren pondered for a long while before he felt a real need to send Lily to a veterinarian.

“Yes, a veterinarian!” Hao Ren smacked his head. “How could I not think of it! Aren’t you a veterinarian yourself, Lily?”

The werewolf maiden slammed her hand on the sofa’s backrest and said, “Yes, but I’ve only treated dogs. I’m a werewolf, mind you! I can’t treat myself… Oops! I’m sorry, the sofa…”

Hao Ren took a quick glance at the broken backrest but, he had no time to be angry. He turned his hopeful eyes to the last person in the house. “Y’zaks, any idea?”

Y’zaks just shook his head. “There is no such creature as the ‘werewolf’ in the demonic abyss. And I’m not a doctor.”

Hao Ren told Lily what Y’zaks had said. She instantly became dejected. “What am I supposed to do now? Could this be an incurable disease? Battie, do you know what werewolves do when they’re sick? You’ve seen enough werewolves to be able to tell, right?”

“Erm…” Vivian had an odd expression on her face. “When werewolves are sick they’ll normally have a feast.”

Everyone was speechless.

“Don’t talk like it doesn’t concern you!” Lily exploded in anger and her tail puffed up. “This is all your fault! Ever since you yanked that red moon out, I’ve been having a bad feeling. Today―”

“Wait a second!” Hao Ren chimed in all of a sudden. “Did you just say red moon? What red moon?”

“It happened the day we first met the giant, “Lily said as she compressed her lips. “Since Battie conjured up that strangely huge, red moon, I’ve been feeling awful for days. It’s all Battie’s fault.”

By then, Hao Ren had also recalled it in his memory; he could never forget the majestic scene where the demonic sea of fire and blood-red moon faced off in the sky. However, he did not give it much thought then. He only felt that being as low-key as she was, Vivian had pulled off something worthwhile during her confrontation with Y’zaks, the demon. As for the red moon… he had no idea what to make of it.

Lily however, reacted to the red moon.

“Does it really have something to do with the moon?” Hao Ren looked at Vivian, expecting her to retort. Instead, she nodded hesitantly. “I’m afraid it seems so… The blood moon has influence over many creatures. I used it once a long time ago and the blood moon almost caused the entire werewolf tribe to go crazy. That night, I had used restraint. Doggie should only be experiencing some discomfort at the most and there shouldn’t be any aftereffect. She seemed just fine the last couple of days. The effects should have been gone as soon as the blood moon disappeared.”

“Hey, we could got to Raven 12345 for answers!” Just when every body was at a loss of what to do, the idea of outside help crossed Hao Ren’s mind. “She’s the one who asked me to look after all of you. So it’s only natural that I should refer to her about what’s happening here. Vivian, I need your help. We’ll take Lily to Raven now…”

“No, not now. Not until daybreak.” Vivian stopped Hao Ren as she pointed her finger towards the window. “Four days to go before full moon. I’m afraid if we take her out under the moon, her condition would worsen. Or, she could go on a rampage because the moon still affects her.”

“So, the problem now is how do we make it through the night.” Hao Ren nodded as his eyes rested on Lily again. Her shivers had stopped but her hands were still shaking severely. A golden glow emanated from Lily’s muddy eyes. The glow made everyone nervous. “Lily, are you awake?”

The werewolf maiden nodded lightly. “I’m okay.”

Nonetheless, Hao Ren was still worried. So he asked, “One thousand nine hundred and ninety nine plus one hundred equals—?”

“Two thousand.”

“Not good… Her mind’s still blurry!”

Vivian smacked Hao Ren on the shoulder. “Bullshit! She gets it wrong all the time. That’s just how she is!”

Despite their best efforts, Vivian and Hao Ren arrived at nothing. At last, Y’zaks broke the silence and came up with an idea. “I think first of all, we need to stop her from moving. She’s lost control of herself. Her destructive movements could injure others. Maybe, we can tie her up with a rope or chain?”

“Save your trouble.” Hao Ren sighed. “She can snap a chain the size of a bowl with one hand. She has no special skills. Her only advantage is her incredible, brute strength.”

Y’zaks spread his arms. “Then, knock her out.”

“Not even a 10-ton rock could scratch her one bit.” Hao Ren looked at Y’zaks. “Maybe you could.”

Y’zaks waved his hands vehemently. “No, I’m not doing it. It’s a matter of principle.”

Hao Ren almost jumped on him. “Is that necessary? I mean you’re a demon. You have no moral obligation.”

“I’ll do it myself…” Lily glanced at them with a miserable look on her face as Hao Ren told her what Y’zaks had suggested. She wanted to do the ‘honors’ herself but when she raised her hand above her head, she hesitated. “Will I die if I hit myself?”

“If you can’t do it, I will.” Vivian gestured with her hands. “But I guess it’s going to take a while before you pass out…”

Before Vivian finished her sentence, she heard a thud—Lily had hit herself on the head and passed out.

Hao Ren stared at the werewolf maiden in astonishment. “Actually, I wanted to say… the MDT mentioned it has an idea on how to keep Lily’s condition under control.”

Vivian laughed out loud. “…Wow, haha. Let’s finish out dinner…”