"Existing loophole?" Hao Ren and Nangong Wuyue repeated in unison.
"That’s right. An existing loophole," the MDT confirmed. "The Plane of Dreams and Surface World have their fair share of pass through. The unusual creatures have come from The Plane the Dreams to Earth, and vice versa. Various information has indicated that The Wall of Reality has had bigger loopholes, and if my guess is right, some of them still exist today. According to information obtained from the local universe database, brief scans conducted on The Plane of Dreams for the past several hundred years had discovered traces of evidence that materials from Surface World had been brought into The Plane of Dreams. Though no one knows where the path is, a two-way hole certainly exist."
Sending Becky home by digging a fresh hole was clearly too risky. But if The Wall of Reality already had a loophole and yet Surface World didn’t collapse, that loophole was safe—at least it wasn’t in an immediate danger. The only problem is, where to find it.
The universe was a big place. If the connection of Peatopia aka Aerym to The Plane of Dreams in the past was anything to go by, it could be almost certain that The Plane of Dreams enveloped the entire universe, loopholes on The Wall of Reality could be anywhere in the universe. Perhaps there was hint to follow: the loopholes would only concentrate in high mass and high density region of the universe, that meant on various celestial bodies where information was abundant. Planets with intelligent lives would be the hotspot. Perhaps Earth had such an opening; even the door through which the unusual creatures migrated en masse to Earth might still be usable.
Hao Ren’s mind was running at high revolution. Probably the result of practice for the last six months, he could now put two and two together pretty quick. He had foreseen the key problems as he frowned. "Wait... that means the most feasible option could very well be the opening used by the unusual creatures in the past?"
"Yeah... that opening might exist. But to be honest, finding one would be next to impossible." The MDT pondered. "With such a large door, its existence might be non-physical, or have been transformed and blended in within the space of Surface World. If the unusual creatures hadn’t found it after so long, neither could we."
Hao Ren raised his eyebrow and said, "Could be The Day of Return a lead?"
"The Day of Return could mean finding the door, but it might be just a speculation." the MDT shook its body. "But don’t forget, the sirens came to the surface more than a hundred years ago. And after a hundred years, these other kinds hadn’t been able to find it and figure it out in what form the door would exist. So don’t give it too much hope. Meanwhile, how long do you think you could keep patronising Becky? Days or months? She would definitely ask again."
Hao Ren had been in a stew thinking about the matter. He waved his hands wearily as he said, "Let’s take a multi-pronged approach; on one hand, keep your eyes on anything about The Day of Return and search for information about The Plane of Dreams in the local database; on the other hand, I will read through the myths on Earth, and talk to inspectors of other planets to see if I can find something about the hole of The Wall of Reality."
Despite of that, Hao Ren knew that it mightn’t work. He mightn’t be able to find something out before Becky could be patronised no more. He looked at Nangong Wuyue. "Wuyue, you’ve got an important mission..."
The siren maiden’s mind went blank. "What?"
"Keep Becky busy." said Hao Ren, looking serious. "Drown her in depravity, and ectasy of the fun on Earth that she will forget what her name is, perhaps she will even forget about going home..."
There was a reluctant look on Nangong Wuyue’s face. "Really? Is it OK for people to do drug?"
Hao Ren jumped to his feet. "You guys must have too much imagination! Can’t you bring her to some TV programmes? If she gets bored with talent show, let her go to Walk of Fame; if she can’t make it to the Walk of Fame, then challenge Guiness; if she fails to get nominated, bring her to challenge Taekwondo school, as long as her attention is diverted. But bear in mind, don’t ever let her get pinged by talent scouts, judging by her temperament she might end up slaughtering the whole team of filming crew due to the excessive hidden rules in the entertainment industry..."
Nangong Wuyue nodded as she came round. "No problem. Recently she is obsessed with TV. I can do that, I will play along."
Hao Ren nodded back. Suddenly the door was yanked open and Vivian was poking her head inside. "Are you two done yet? Come and eat. I’m not going to reheat the things!"
Hao Ren quickly nodded and moved himself out of the kitchen into the living hall. Everyone was already at the dining table as Hao Ren and Nangong Wuyue walked in. Lil Pea was wielding a half-eaten chopstick, waving at him. He walked over and dragged the little mermaid into the pot and let her soak in it before he gazed at the food on the table, lamenting. "It’s been a long while. I miss this home-cooked meal... Lil Pea’s gnawing the table again?"
He saw a series of bite marks on the edge of the table. He gave the little mermaid a stare but she had no guilt whatsoever. She popped out of the pot and proudly showed off her rasp-like sharp teeth.
The little one was probably entering an explosive growth stage judging by her big appetite; she had just finished a few paper cards earlier and now she was again chewing half a piece of chopstick.
"My cooking may not be as good as Vivian’s but it’s still better than street food." Nangong Wuyue filled everyone’s bowl with rice before pointing to a rustic-looking barbecue slices dish. "Becky cooked it just for welcoming you guys. She was very secretive with the process, probably it’s her secret recipe."
"There’s nothing special about it. It’s just an ordinary smoked barbecue slices which mercenaries used to eat. It’s made using Earth’s ingredients." Becky scratched her head, feeling embarrassed. "I’d feel bad if I didn’t reciprocate your hospitality. Let’s take a bite and see how it tastes."
Hao Ren picked up a slice of the barbecue with chopstick and tasted it. "It’s lamb, with a bit of fish taste to it. Did you simmer it with fish broth?"
"It supposed to use fish broth but if I did that, you daughter would be terrified." said Becky as she pointed to Lil Pea. "She was scared the wit out of her when she saw the Cornish dish ‘Stargazy pie’ in TV. So I did not use fish broth."
"Then this is..." Hao Ren curiously took a gander at the meat slices in the plate as Becky revealed her secret recipe. "Before grilling, the lamb was simmered together with shallot and ginger for five minutes. Then Lil Pea was put in, as she swam and stirred the broth it prevented the bottom from burning. Lastly, as the lamb was taken out and drained, Lil Pea was fished out and showered..."
Hao Ren: "....."
Sensing the fishy atmosphere, Becky quickly explained. "I didn’t abuse your daughter. The Goddess has confirmed it: as Lil Pea is afraid of cold, taking a quick swim in hot water helps boost her immune ability. After that I was thinking the soup shouldn’t go to waste so I added some seasonings and it turned out the soup tasted almost like fish broth—but overly watered-down like it hadn’t been cooked thoroughly."
"You can’t be kidding. How could you have Lil Pea cooked? She’s not cookable!" As the first person on earth who had ever cooked and licked Lil Pea before, her words carried weight. "And the feeling is weird... for the first time in my life I feel like not eating meat."
Lily wasn’t alone. Everyone at the scene now looked at the ‘fish-flavoured barbecue’, feeling weird. The little mermaid was still waving with her fist like she was saying hello to Hao Ren. He couldn’t help but held her up in his hand, carefully examined her—his worldview was completely shattered this time since he last signed the goddamn employment agreement.
Anyway, it was just a little episode. Aside from Becky’s gross recipe, other dishes were pretty good. In fact, the barbecue wasn’t bad, just that its making was a bit raw, so it wasn’t the most popular dish on the table. Anyway, Hao Ren finally had had his long-missed home-cooked meal.
The days went by pretty calmly without a single incident.
But peaceful days were over on the third day as Vivian suddenly remembered something she almost forgot—her bats she had sent out before her last trip.
"Existing loophole?" Hao Ren and Nangong Wuyue repeated in unison.
"That’s right. An existing loophole," the MDT confirmed. "The Plane of Dreams and Surface World have their fair share of pass through. The unusual creatures have come from The Plane the Dreams to Earth, and vice versa. Various information has indicated that The Wall of Reality has had bigger loopholes, and if my guess is right, some of them still exist today. According to information obtained from the local universe database, brief scans conducted on The Plane of Dreams for the past several hundred years had discovered traces of evidence that materials from Surface World had been brought into The Plane of Dreams. Though no one knows where the path is, a two-way hole certainly exist."
Sending Becky home by digging a fresh hole was clearly too risky. But if The Wall of Reality already had a loophole and yet Surface World didn’t collapse, that loophole was safe—at least it wasn’t in an immediate danger. The only problem is, where to find it.
The universe was a big place. If the connection of Peatopia aka Aerym to The Plane of Dreams in the past was anything to go by, it could be almost certain that The Plane of Dreams enveloped the entire universe, loopholes on The Wall of Reality could be anywhere in the universe. Perhaps there was hint to follow: the loopholes would only concentrate in high mass and high density region of the universe, that meant on various celestial bodies where information was abundant. Planets with intelligent lives would be the hotspot. Perhaps Earth had such an opening; even the door through which the unusual creatures migrated en masse to Earth might still be usable.
Hao Ren’s mind was running at high revolution. Probably the result of practice for the last six months, he could now put two and two together pretty quick. He had foreseen the key problems as he frowned. "Wait... that means the most feasible option could very well be the opening used by the unusual creatures in the past?"
"Yeah... that opening might exist. But to be honest, finding one would be next to impossible." The MDT pondered. "With such a large door, its existence might be non-physical, or have been transformed and blended in within the space of Surface World. If the unusual creatures hadn’t found it after so long, neither could we."
Hao Ren raised his eyebrow and said, "Could be The Day of Return a lead?"
"The Day of Return could mean finding the door, but it might be just a speculation." the MDT shook its body. "But don’t forget, the sirens came to the surface more than a hundred years ago. And after a hundred years, these other kinds hadn’t been able to find it and figure it out in what form the door would exist. So don’t give it too much hope. Meanwhile, how long do you think you could keep patronising Becky? Days or months? She would definitely ask again."
Hao Ren had been in a stew thinking about the matter. He waved his hands wearily as he said, "Let’s take a multi-pronged approach; on one hand, keep your eyes on anything about The Day of Return and search for information about The Plane of Dreams in the local database; on the other hand, I will read through the myths on Earth, and talk to inspectors of other planets to see if I can find something about the hole of The Wall of Reality."
Despite of that, Hao Ren knew that it mightn’t work. He mightn’t be able to find something out before Becky could be patronised no more. He looked at Nangong Wuyue. "Wuyue, you’ve got an important mission..."
The siren maiden’s mind went blank. "What?"
"Keep Becky busy." said Hao Ren, looking serious. "Drown her in depravity, and ectasy of the fun on Earth that she will forget what her name is, perhaps she will even forget about going home..."
There was a reluctant look on Nangong Wuyue’s face. "Really? Is it OK for people to do drug?"
Hao Ren jumped to his feet. "You guys must have too much imagination! Can’t you bring her to some TV programmes? If she gets bored with talent show, let her go to Walk of Fame; if she can’t make it to the Walk of Fame, then challenge Guiness; if she fails to get nominated, bring her to challenge Taekwondo school, as long as her attention is diverted. But bear in mind, don’t ever let her get pinged by talent scouts, judging by her temperament she might end up slaughtering the whole team of filming crew due to the excessive hidden rules in the entertainment industry..."
Nangong Wuyue nodded as she came round. "No problem. Recently she is obsessed with TV. I can do that, I will play along."
Hao Ren nodded back. Suddenly the door was yanked open and Vivian was poking her head inside. "Are you two done yet? Come and eat. I’m not going to reheat the things!"
Hao Ren quickly nodded and moved himself out of the kitchen into the living hall. Everyone was already at the dining table as Hao Ren and Nangong Wuyue walked in. Lil Pea was wielding a half-eaten chopstick, waving at him. He walked over and dragged the little mermaid into the pot and let her soak in it before he gazed at the food on the table, lamenting. "It’s been a long while. I miss this home-cooked meal... Lil Pea’s gnawing the table again?"
He saw a series of bite marks on the edge of the table. He gave the little mermaid a stare but she had no guilt whatsoever. She popped out of the pot and proudly showed off her rasp-like sharp teeth.
The little one was probably entering an explosive growth stage judging by her big appetite; she had just finished a few paper cards earlier and now she was again chewing half a piece of chopstick.
"My cooking may not be as good as Vivian’s but it’s still better than street food." Nangong Wuyue filled everyone’s bowl with rice before pointing to a rustic-looking barbecue slices dish. "Becky cooked it just for welcoming you guys. She was very secretive with the process, probably it’s her secret recipe."
"There’s nothing special about it. It’s just an ordinary smoked barbecue slices which mercenaries used to eat. It’s made using Earth’s ingredients." Becky scratched her head, feeling embarrassed. "I’d feel bad if I didn’t reciprocate your hospitality. Let’s take a bite and see how it tastes."
Hao Ren picked up a slice of the barbecue with chopstick and tasted it. "It’s lamb, with a bit of fish taste to it. Did you simmer it with fish broth?"
"It supposed to use fish broth but if I did that, you daughter would be terrified." said Becky as she pointed to Lil Pea. "She was scared the wit out of her when she saw the Cornish dish ‘Stargazy pie’ in TV. So I did not use fish broth."
"Then this is..." Hao Ren curiously took a gander at the meat slices in the plate as Becky revealed her secret recipe. "Before grilling, the lamb was simmered together with shallot and ginger for five minutes. Then Lil Pea was put in, as she swam and stirred the broth it prevented the bottom from burning. Lastly, as the lamb was taken out and drained, Lil Pea was fished out and showered..."
Hao Ren: "....."
Sensing the fishy atmosphere, Becky quickly explained. "I didn’t abuse your daughter. The Goddess has confirmed it: as Lil Pea is afraid of cold, taking a quick swim in hot water helps boost her immune ability. After that I was thinking the soup shouldn’t go to waste so I added some seasonings and it turned out the soup tasted almost like fish broth—but overly watered-down like it hadn’t been cooked thoroughly."
"You can’t be kidding. How could you have Lil Pea cooked? She’s not cookable!" As the first person on earth who had ever cooked and licked Lil Pea before, her words carried weight. "And the feeling is weird... for the first time in my life I feel like not eating meat."
Lily wasn’t alone. Everyone at the scene now looked at the ‘fish-flavoured barbecue’, feeling weird. The little mermaid was still waving with her fist like she was saying hello to Hao Ren. He couldn’t help but held her up in his hand, carefully examined her—his worldview was completely shattered this time since he last signed the goddamn employment agreement.
Anyway, it was just a little episode. Aside from Becky’s gross recipe, other dishes were pretty good. In fact, the barbecue wasn’t bad, just that its making was a bit raw, so it wasn’t the most popular dish on the table. Anyway, Hao Ren finally had had his long-missed home-cooked meal.
The days went by pretty calmly without a single incident.
But peaceful days were over on the third day as Vivian suddenly remembered something she almost forgot—her bats she had sent out before her last trip.
