The Record of Unusual Creatures
chapter-89

Chapter 89: The Moon in Mid-Autumn

The bright moon and little stars were hanging in the cloudless sky. It was a good day to do something important like howling at the moon, for instance.

Under the moon light, four silhouettes were sneaking out of the back door of Hao Ren’s big house. They were like a thieves carrying a few bags and rushing straight into the wilderness.

“Why do I feel like we’re about to do something bad?” Vivian turned into a vampire and floated in the air leisurely, half a meter above the ground ahead of them. She was the most graceful and relaxed one among them. She looked back at the dim lights far behind her, slightly sighed and said, “The humans are such a wonderful race. They are so small and weak but they can manage a city and home so well… As someone from the Blood Clan, I feel like I can’t really leave a beautiful place like this.”

“So, I am right. You are poor and sentimental.” Lily strode along beside Hao Ren, lively and cheerful like a little rabbit. She did not forget to seize the opportunity to make fun of Vivian and said, “I, as a senior literary and artistic young woman, am not as sentimental as you.”

“Can you two please not quarrel at this critical moment?” Hao Ren was the only one who was a little nervous. As he kept a watchful eye on Lily, he explained to Vivian, “We must act quietly. Although this area is considered remote, places like this aren’t lacking in bold and bored old men as well as women. Uncle Zhao from the east side of the street has a hobby of catching rabbits with his dog at night. Sometimes he doesn’t go home until 12 o’clock at midnight. Let’s be careful not to bump into them. We’ll be fine when we get a little farther.”

The closer Lily got to the wild, the happier she was. She leapt forward as she walked. She circled around him happily and chattered loudly, “Ah ha, Landlord is this what you’re worrying about? Don’t worry, I’ve talked to Huang. It’s pretending to be sick and won’t be coming out to catch rabbits tonight. And I’ve greeted the other dogs on the street. None of them are going out tonight. If their owners want to go out, they’ll pretend to be sick right away. Anyway, nobody will go to the heath…”

Hao Ren stumbled. Vivian and him looked at Lily in surprise and thought: The innate skills of an animal could also be used in such a way? Lily had been busy on the street the past two days not to greet the neighbors, but to build a good relationship with the local dogs!

Four of them were not ordinary people. Hao Ren could now pat his chest and claim to be part super human. They walked swiftly and very soon they had moved away from the last gleam of light in the Southern Suburbs. They finally reached a rather open heath. As the last man-made light disappeared behind them and the starlight in addition to the moonlight dominated the sky, everyone was under the illusion that they were far from human civilization. However, the place was not as pristine as the prairie in The Plane of Dreams. Hao Ren was very impressed by the brilliant Milky Way and two bright moons there. He felt that there was no sky as pure and clean on Earth.

“Let’s settle down here?” Y’zaks carried two of the biggest packs of stuff and walked behind them. The honest and genuine, big demon volunteered to be the porter. He put the things on the ground and then, ran to a large stone nearby. He stood on it and looked around. “Well, it’s nice here; view of the road and flat terrain. Even if Lily loses control later, Vivian and I will have enough space to cast the spells.”

“Why are all of you waiting for me to lose control?” Lily blinked and sounded a little unhappy. “You guys have been talking about what to do if I get out of control since we left the house. Don’t you guys trust me?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, I don’t trust that psycho.” Hao Ren bent over to dig out the plastic sheeting in the big bag they prepared earlier. He spread the sheeting on the ground, shook his head and sighed. “Do you know, that woman is a mechanical idiot. There is only one main button on the Bioenhancement and Reconfiguration Chamber and she still pressed the wrong one. Can you believe it? There’s a big chance of things going wrong whenever she handles―”

Before Hao Ren could finish his sentence, a loud thunder suddenly struck from the clear sky. A blinding flash of lightning slashed across the cloudless sky from the southeast. Hao Ren was frightened and he stopped talking.

The rest of them were also startled. Nobody knew why there was thunder in such a nice weather until the MDT slowly said, “Be careful, she is a goddess after all. The fundamental law of the world revolves around her. Scolding her behind her back, you better watch out for lightning.”

“So petty?” Hao Ren’s neck was covered in cold sweat but, he still stubbornly muttered, “Can’t even say anything behind her back?”

“She isn’t petty at all. She doesn’t mind even if you call her a psycho in front of her face. She just doesn’t care.” The MDT sounded a little cocky and continued, “But the world cares. ‘God’s Punishment’ is an automatic program and it’s ideal for supervising employees’ behaviors.”

“… Eh-hem, let’s get down to business,” said Hao Ren.

Lily had already emptied the bags and piled the snacks up on the ground. A few large sheets of plastic and blankets that Hao Ren bought, came in handy. Hao Ren spread them on the ground and they became a place where Lily rolled happily. Vivian then fixed a few disposable stands on the ground and put a cool lamp on it for lighting. Y’zaks sorted the snacks and drinks that had one-third of their portion consumed by Lily at home. There was still a lot left.

Lily jumped merrily into the pile of snacks. After the bursting sounds of tearing wrappers, she held several packs of snacks in both hands and started eating. Hao Ren looked at the scene in front of him and got a little confused. “Why does this look like we’re having a picnic…”

Vivian looked up at the gradually rising moon. She could not help but poke Lily in the arm and said, “Stop eating. Do it now.”

Lily’s mouth was stuffed with spicy strips and replied in a slurred voice, “Huh?”

“I mean shapeshifting, you idiot!” Vivian was so impatient that the pitch of her voice changed. “All of us skipped sleep for you. We are not here to just watch you eat the spicy bar! The prime time of the full moon will last just a few hours. You better do it now!”

Lily reacted after a few seconds and quickly swallowed the snack in her mouth. She held her breath for a moment and then exhaled. “Haaa”.

Shortly after, a pair of pointy, wolf ears appeared on Lily’s head, a tail appeared in the back of her body, and her hair turned into silvery, waist-length locks. Other than that, nothing else changed.

“And?” Hao Ren looked at Lily hopefully. “Aren’t you going to evolve?”

Lily was also looking curiously at her wagging tail. She also touched her ears to confirm its position and size. She looked puzzled and said, “Nothing else I guess. I don’t feel the urge to evolve into something else.”

“Maybe it’s not time yet.” Vivian found a reasonable excuse and explained, “I feel that the power of the moonlight hasn’t peaked yet. Lily will probably start to evolve right at the moment of the full moon.”

They had to wait. Y’zaks handed the drinks and snacks to them at once. He then conjured up a fiery red Demon Stone out of the air and placed it on the open ground nearby. He said, “Anything you guys want to heat up? I’ll do it.”

Hao Ren quickly waved his hand and said, “Take your stone a little farther. Be careful, don’t burn the blanket.”

They used rare Demon’s Fire just to keep warm and barbecue but Hao Ren loathed it. He was probably the only person in the world who would loathe the Demon’s Fire.

Four of them started to eat and drink under the brilliant moonlight. As time went on, the full moon soon rose above their heads. Hao Ren felt something amiss. “Why hasn’t anything happened yet?”

Vivian also frowned and said, “The power of the moonlight has indeed reached its peak. I can feel it… Why isn’t Doggie reacting?”

Lily was eating delightfully. She did not notice them talking about her. She was surrounded by a stack of snack bags and even smeared grease on her forehead. The silly girl completely indulged herself that night. However, Hao Ren was getting more and more worried. He was afraid that the five-digit goddess had pushed the wrong button when she ‘treated’ Lily. Therefore, a few minutes later, he picked up the MDT and said, “Please call Raven 12345.”

Raven 12345 answered half a minute later. “Hello? Hao Ren… What’s the matter?” Her voice sounded a little languid.

Hao Ren told her about the situation and asked anxiously, “Lily’s still the same. The moon is going to disappear soon. You see… Is there something wrong?”

Raven 12345 was unusually silent. This silence immediately made Hao Ren tense. Then he heard Raven 12345 speaking in a low tone.

“Have you ever heard of the phrase ‘The moon turns perfectly round the day after mid-autumn day’?”

This was the only moment in Hao Ren’s life that he could not resist the urge to punch someone in the face.