The Record of Unusual Creatures

The couple standing before Hao Ren looked very young. The lady was dressed in a dark blue skirt of unknown material and her long hair was tied up high. Her eyes looked very similar to Nangong Wuyue's. Meanwhile, the man wore a black long coat, and under his coat was the trademark demon hunter belt. A silver dagger hung from his belt, but aside from that, there were no crossbows or any other weapons. His facial features bore about a 50-% resemblance to Nangong Sanba's. Due to a siren's unique "selective genetic transfer", the Nangong siblings each shared their parents' looks.     

As unusual creatures themselves, the couple had not aged during the past hundred years. They still looked youthful; just a little more mature compared to their offsprings. They were surprised to see a large group of people in front of them and they began to panic. As they heard Wuyue's voice however, they were immediately stunned.     

"Mom, Dad! It's us!" Wuyue pulled her brother as she ran ahead. "It's me, Wuyue! We've been looking for you!"     

"Wuyue? Sanba?!" The demon hunter could not believe his eyes as he looked at the two youngsters. His steps were shaky. He never thought that he would encounter anyone else there and dared not even think about seeing his own flesh and blood appear before his eyes. "You... How did you get here?"     

"We caught that vengeful spirit from back then, and Mr. Landlord managed to find this place from its memories." Sanba tried to compose himself as he explained, "All these people here are our friends. We managed to find this place with their help. Mom, Dad... have you been living here for the past hundred years?"     

The reunion was certainly touching, but Hao Ren felt awkward as an outsider. Seeing that the four family members were so excited to see each other, he feigned a light cough. "So... all of you can go ahead and catch up on old times. We'll go somewhere else in the meantime... Let's meet at the entrance of the mall."     

Nangong Sanba nodded appreciatively, but words failed him. Hao Ren smiled back as he motioned for him to carry on and dragged Lily away by the arm.     

"They've finally reunited. It sure was worth it, coming all the way here," Vivian said as she walked along the empty mall. Stretching her neck to look far ahead, she continued, "They'll probably need plenty of time to catch up. We've pretty much achieved our main objective at this point."     

The brutish Y'zaks had a rare expression on his face as well. He recalled his own adventure not too long ago and broke into a smile. "I can understand... I also experienced this a while back."     

Hao Ren ruffled his hair sheepishly. "Why do I feel embarrassed now..."     

Lily took a stab at Hao Ren. "No one's even praising you yet! Too soon, too soon!"     

Without noticing, the group had reached the second floor of the mall. It was empty, but the rows of shelves were fully stocked. The cashier counter and shelves were spotless. Lily simply grabbed one of the packets on the shelve, and after she confirmed that it was food, she immediately stuffed it into her mouth. Vivian immediately reminded her, "Hey, be careful! Don't just eat anything here! It's unknown—"     

Lily took another big chomp before she rolled her eyes at Vivian. "Are you stupid? Mr. and Mrs. Nangong have lived here for a hundred years. Of course this is edible!" As she spoke, she took something that looked like a prawn cracker and stuffed it into Hao Ren's mouth. "Mr. Landlord give it a try! It tastes like crispy rings!"     

Hao Ren was feeling conflicted as he was being fed by a dog. Why does Lily only show a spark of brilliance when it comes to things like this...     

"Not sure when this place was built... but all of the products here look pretty new." Y'zaks had his attention on something else. He tried to take Lily's snacks to check the date, but just as he lifted his hands, the werehusky started to growl in a threatening manner. She locked her eyes on Y'zaks' big arms and bared her fangs. The great demon could only shrug as he saw that. "What an obvious reaction. Fine, I'll get one myself."     

Vivian gave both Lily and Hao Ren an odd look. "Well, you really taught her well."     

At the same moment, a soft beep came not too far away as a wall opened to reveal a hidden hatch. A little, automated van then came out from it. The van was filled with plenty of different products, and it ignored the curious crowd inside the shop as approached the shelf. A floating, plate-like device started to rise up from the van and it started to restock the shelf. The two packets of snacks taken by Lily and Y'zaks were replaced.     

Seeing this, Vivian also grabbed a packet from the shelf. With a buzz from the van, the floating plate started to restock again with haste.     

"It's all automated," Vivian said as she looked at the packet in her hand. "But are there actually people coming here to 'buy' things?"     

Y'zaks smiled. "At least two people."     

Ten minutes later, the group met at the entrance of the mall. The Nangongs seemed to have recovered from the initial euphoria of their reunion. Granted, it would probably take a few days to fully fade away. Wuyue then introduced her new friends to her parents, but before she could put two full sentences in, Lily's rapid-fire interjection did it for her in mere moments. That was how she operated.     

"We heard how you came here." Nangong Wuyue's mother, Ayesha smiled as she took a deep bow before Hao Ren. "We are forever in your debt. While we aren't sure what the both of us can help you with, nevertheless, if you ever need anything, please let us know."     

Ayesha's husband nodded too. "I've heard that you're investigating this place. We've lived here for a hundred years, so we can probably be of some help."     

Y'zaks was glad to hear that. "That's great. Sanba's Dad, right? We..."     

The great demon never paid any attention to the proper ways of addressing someone. Nangong Sanba's father smiled as he shook his head. "That sounds weird... This lowly one is Nangong Wudi. I shall be in your care."     

An awkward silence descended upon the place as Hao Ren's frozen face took a good while to recover. This uncle is just too damn awe-inspiring!     

He then patted Nangong Sanba on the shoulder as he spoke with a hushed voice, "Is that his stage name or something?"     

Nangong Sanba's face stiffened. "That's his real name."     

"Is your family's naming sense only reserved for the boys?"     

Venom seeped through Nangong Sanba's clenched teeth. "Shut up."     

Nangong Wudi did not see anything wrong with his name. The awe-inspiring man was pretty much a demon hunter in name only, seemingly just as half-baked as his son. He smiled and motioned to the rest. "This is not the place to chat. I'll bring you to our temporary abode."     

Lily was surprised. "You have a house here?"     

Ayesha smiled warmly as she pointed at the vast city. "There are houses everywhere."     

Everyone immediately knew what was going on.     

Mr. and Mrs. Nangong's place was a distance from the shopping complex, about a few streets away. They casually led the group to the roadside as they hailed a levitating bus. Just like everything else in the city, it was unmanned.     

The bus drove effortlessly under its automated system as it followed an arrow up a slope towards the residential zone. All along the levitating bus' path was a glowing guidance tape, probably there to prevent collisions with other airborne vehicles. Hao Ren sat at the frontmost seat as he looked at the driver's seat: There was nothing but a bunch of flickering meters and a sterling driveshaft, which was being operated automatically. There was a seat behind the driver's panel. It seemed like the automobile was designed with a driver in mind, and the autopilot was just another mode.     

The screens inside the bus played some rather dull advertisements; a large group of children was surrounding an oddly-shaped amusement facility, jumping about. The subtitles beneath indicated that it was an advertisement for a newly-opened amusement park.     

The world within the screen was lively and vibrant, while the world outside the screen was quiet and dull.     

The sound of music and children's laughter from the advertisement filled the cabin, but that only served to unnerve them all.