Chapter Summaries

Hao Ren asked Vivian why she had flown away and learned that she had mistaken a nearby presence for Demon Hunters, ancient enemies of Otherworldly Creatures. Vivian said she would leave with Lily if the hunters really came, while Hao Ren worried that doing so would bring trouble from Raven 12345.

• Hao Ren questioned Vivian about her sudden flight, and she explained that she had suspected enemies were nearby before realizing she might have been mistaken.
• Vivian identified the suspected enemies as Demon Hunters, who had fought Otherworldly Creatures for centuries and sometimes harmed innocents.
• Lily admitted she had never met other Otherworldly Creatures and had fought Vivian because she believed vampires and werewolves were supposed to be mortal enemies.
• Vivian said she had sensed a Demon Hunter nearby but found no trace, so she thought her instinct had been wrong.
• Vivian promised to leave with Lily if Demon Hunters appeared, while Hao Ren worried about what Raven 12345 would do if they left.

Hao Ren told Vivian and Lily about his new job with the Time-Space Administration Bureau, and Vivian hoped Raven 12345 could explain the supernatural world and help her learn about her kind. Vivian then cooked dinner while Lily settled in at Hao Ren’s home.

• Hao Ren reassured Vivian that she did not need to leave if a Demon Hunter appeared, then explained his meeting with Raven 12345 and showed her his contract.
• Vivian questioned the story but accepted that Hao Ren was serious, and she concluded Raven 12345 was not allied with the Demon Hunters.
• Vivian said she wanted to meet Raven 12345 and learn about the supernatural beings’ history and the whereabouts of her kind.
• Lily interrupted to ask about dinner, and Vivian offered to cook and clean while she looked for work.
• Vivian made dinner while Hao Ren relaxed and Lily watched television, though Hao Ren remembered the damaged television tower.

Hao Ren discovered that Vivian was an impoverished Bloodkin who could eat garlic and wore numerous charms meant to ward off evil. After dinner, the household settled into a quiet evening, but a strange, pristine breeze startled Hao Ren outside and left him facing a bizarre sight.

• Vivian served garlic-heavy dishes, and Hao Ren and Lily questioned whether she was really a vampire.
• Vivian explained that she had always been unlucky with money and showed off silver arm rings, a cross, a wooden charm, and a talisman that she believed could ward off evil.
• Lily finished her food and teased Vivian for wearing crosses and talismans as a vampire.
• After dinner, Lily watched television with Roll, while Vivian transformed into a bat and flew into the city to look for work.
• Hao Ren went outside to relax beneath the night sky, felt an unusually gentle breeze, and sat up suddenly, only for his folding chair to clamp shut around him.

Hao Ren experienced a vivid dream in which he was stranded on an unfamiliar grassland beneath two moons and surrounded by wolves. He woke back in his neighborhood, but a tuft of black wolf fur in his hand left him unsure whether the dream had been real.

• Hao Ren found himself on a vast grassland beneath two unfamiliar moons and decided to walk toward distant buildings.
• Hao Ren crossed the cold grassland and thought of Lily and Vivian as wolf howls drew closer.
• A pack of glowing-eyed wolves surrounded Hao Ren, and one lunged at him as he raised his hand to defend himself.
• Lily woke Hao Ren beside his overturned reclining chair and told him she had found him lying on the ground.
• Hao Ren realized he had been dreaming, then discovered a tuft of black wolf fur in his clenched hand and panicked.

After Hao Ren woke from a strange dream with real wolf fur in his hand, Vivian and Lily found no clear explanation and prepared a blood charm to protect him. Vivian’s glowing blood was absorbed by Hao Ren’s skin, leaving them shocked and uncertain about what he had become.

• Hao Ren found black wolf fur in his hand after dreaming of a grassland beneath two silver moons, then asked Lily to check for unfamiliar supernatural traces.
• Hao Ren described the dream to Vivian and Lily, who confirmed the fur came from a natural animal with an unfamiliar scent but could not explain how it had appeared.
• Lily suggested someone had planted the fur while Hao Ren slept, but her theory seemed unlikely because she had found no stranger’s scent.
• Vivian offered to use Bloodkin power to suppress any continuing illusion and smeared a glowing drop of her blood on Hao Ren’s hand.
• Vivian’s blood vanished into Hao Ren’s skin almost instantly, astonishing her.

Vivian tried to use her blood and Blood Magic to ward off evil spirits for Hao Ren, but both failed because his body absorbed or resisted her magic. She suspected his agreement with Raven 12345 had changed him and lent him a Bagua Plate instead.

• Vivian smeared drops of her blood onto Hao Ren's hand, but each drop vanished without affecting him.
• Vivian and Lily bickered and wrestled after Vivian suggested using Lily's blood, then settled their quarrel with rock-paper-scissors.
• Vivian cast a Bloodkin spell on Hao Ren, but it had no effect, while the spell immediately put Lily to sleep.
• Vivian concluded that Hao Ren's agreement with Raven 12345 might have changed him and advised him to ask her about it.
• Vivian gave Hao Ren a Bagua Plate as an evil-warding charm and warned him to handle her treasured artifact carefully.

Hao Ren reflected on Raven 12345’s absence and learned from Vivian about the history of the others and their decline. He was left waiting for Raven 12345 to return with answers while continuing to live with Vivian and Lily.

• Hao Ren found Raven 12345’s house empty and received a note saying she was away in Centaurus for three to five days, or possibly years.
• Hao Ren recalled that Vivian’s Bagua Plate might not have stopped his nightmares, though the nightmares had ceased for three nights.
• Hao Ren learned from Vivian that others had existed alongside humans since ancient times and had once ruled over them as gods and monsters.
• Hao Ren learned that human civilization, the decline of the others, and the arrival of Demon Hunters had pushed the others to the margins.
• Hao Ren learned that Lily was a young Werewolf and that Vivian was an ancient Bloodkin whose memories were muddled and whose life had mostly been spent sleeping.

Hao Ren adjusted to life with Lily and Vivian, whose ordinary routines hid their long histories and strange talents. Just as Lily left to see a patient, the missing Goddess finally contacted Hao Ren.

• Hao Ren observed that Lily and Vivian's daily lives had barely disrupted his routine, though Vivian kept losing jobs soon after finding them.
• Lily prepared to go see a patient and revealed that she was a licensed veterinarian and had contributed to Shen Bao since the Republic of China era.
• Vivian boasted about her ancient exploits, and Lily teased her over having no money to show for them.
• Lily left the house, and Hao Ren noticed the Goddess's number on his ringing phone.

Hao Ren visited Raven 12345 to report a strange nightmare and the wolf fur he found afterward. Raven identified a possible connection to the Dream Plane, promised to alert Shadow City headquarters, and gave Hao Ren his first work benefit: a Personal Data Terminal.

• Hao Ren told Raven 12345 about his nightmare, in which an illusion had eroded reality.
• Hao Ren left Vivian with household instructions and traveled to Raven 12345’s mansion.
• Hao Ren showed Raven 12345 the black wolf fur he had found after waking from the nightmare.
• Raven 12345 examined the fur and suspected it had seeped out from the Dream Plane.
• Raven 12345 said she would report the matter to Shadow City headquarters and gave Hao Ren a Personal Data Terminal.

Hao Ren received a Data Terminal and learned about his duties as an examiner, the Xiling Empire, and the limits on his access to support and weapons. He then pressed Raven 12345 to explain the nightmare, and she agreed to share what she was allowed to reveal.

• Hao Ren activated the Data Terminal and saw that it contained his handbook and information about the Time-Space Administration Bureau and the wider universe.
• Raven 12345 identified the blue cross as the Xiling Military Emblem and told Hao Ren it marked places where he would find allies.
• Hao Ren explored the terminal's interface and learned that requesting support and armaments required permissions he did not yet have.
• Raven 12345 told Hao Ren he could not resign and assured him examiners were not usually sent into major battles.
• Hao Ren put the terminal away and asked Raven 12345 to explain the nightmare, and she agreed to tell him what she could.

Raven 12345 explained that the Dream Plane was an unstable information space that people could enter through dreams, and warned Hao Ren about its dangers. After Hao Ren asked how he could protect himself while dealing with supernatural beings, Raven 12345 remembered that she had forgotten his new-employee enhancement.

• Raven 12345 described the Dream Plane as a chaotic space overlapping reality and explained that people who died there could bring harmful things into the real world.
• Raven 12345 told Hao Ren that her influence had made him more likely to encounter unusual things, but promised to pull him out of danger when necessary.
• Hao Ren asked how the Xiling Pantheon and the Time-Space Administration Bureau viewed Demon Hunters and the Others, and Raven 12345 said she would deal with them if they found him.
• Hao Ren asked Raven 12345 for a way to protect himself, and she remembered that she had forgotten his new-employee onboarding enhancement.

Hao Ren underwent physical reinforcement in the Time-Space Administration Bureau’s Reinforcement Center after Raven 12345 shoved him into a coffin-shaped adjustment pod. The process lasted twelve seconds, and Hao Ren began checking whether it had changed him.

• Raven 12345 led Hao Ren through the mansion to a miniature Reinforcement Center and explained that it was used to adjust newly appointed inspectors.
• Hao Ren asked what reinforcement involved and grew alarmed when Raven brought up a coffin-shaped adjustment pod.
• Raven 12345 pushed Hao Ren into the pod, trapped him behind a barrier, and searched her Data Terminal for the manual.
• Raven 12345 found the switch and activated the pod, leaving Hao Ren to experience a brief stretch of darkness and disorientation.
• The pod finished after twelve seconds, and Raven 12345 pulled Hao Ren out as he began checking himself for changes.

Hao Ren learned that his new abilities had been enhanced but were sealed until he gained experience, and Raven 12345 explained the Bureau’s secrecy rules. She then assigned him a trip to Europe to pick up a new tenant.

• Hao Ren discovered he still felt ordinary, and Raven 12345 explained that his enhanced abilities were temporarily sealed by a mental conditioning program.
• Raven 12345 described Hao Ren’s physical enhancements and warned him to keep the Time-Space Administration Bureau secret from outsiders.
• Raven 12345 explained that the Bureau could reveal the Empire to civilizations only when circumstances and approval allowed it.
• Raven 12345 finished Hao Ren’s onboarding procedures and assigned him to travel to Europe to pick up a new tenant who had gotten the time zones wrong.

Hao Ren received a mission from Raven 12345 to meet an unusual client in Europe and was told to bring Vivian and Lily along. After returning home, he found them safe and invited them on the trip, leaving their response unknown.

• Raven 12345 assigned Hao Ren a European mission, promised to reimburse his expenses, and said the Data Terminal would help him find the disguised client.
• Raven 12345 told Hao Ren to bring Vivian and Lily, saying she had prepared their paperwork and that the trip could serve as team training.
• Hao Ren returned home and found the power was out because a transformer had burned out; Vivian explained that she and Lily had gone out together to check on the electricity bill.
• Lily panted with her tongue out from the heat, while Vivian transformed and used her blood mist and folding fans to cool the room.
• Hao Ren told Vivian and Lily about the mission and asked them to come with him to Europe.

Hao Ren prepared to travel to Europe on a Bureau mission with Lily and Vivian, and discovered more about his Data Terminal and the Bureau’s work. The mission details sent him to a remote town in the United Kingdom to meet his new tenant.

• Hao Ren invited Lily and Vivian to accompany him to Europe, and both agreed.
• Hao Ren misplaced his Data Terminal, which returned through a Space Gate and scolded him for leaving it on a vehicle.
• Lily tried to use the Data Terminal but lacked permission, then followed Vivian to the kitchen.
• Hao Ren read Bureau regulations covering civilization observation, apocalypses, wars, and extinction orders, and the Terminal explained that such work belonged to official investigators.
• Raven 12345 sent Hao Ren the mission details, directing him to a remote United Kingdom town where his new tenant was waiting.

Hao Ren, Vivian, and Lily flew to Britain to retrieve someone, using the Time-Space Administration Bureau’s activity funds to finance the trip. As the plane prepared for takeoff, Hao Ren discovered that Vivian was terrified because she had never flown before and could never afford a ticket.

• Hao Ren received generous activity funds from the Time-Space Administration Bureau and used them to cover the household’s expenses and the trip to Britain.
• Hao Ren, Vivian, and Lily left Roll at home with a neighbor and boarded a first-class flight to Britain.
• Vivian assured Hao Ren that she knew Britain well, spoke English, and had once spent over a hundred and thirty years there.
• Hao Ren asked Lily how she managed her identity in human society, and Lily bragged about her skills and long history among humans.
• Vivian trembled as the plane prepared for takeoff, then admitted she had never flown because she could not afford a plane ticket.

Hao Ren, Vivian, and Lily flew to London for Hao Ren’s first assignment, trading stories about their past experiences with aircraft along the way. After arriving at Heathrow, they discovered Vivian’s knowledge of England was centuries out of date, leaving the trio without a clear plan to find their unknown client in a remote village.

• Vivian excitedly watched the clouds from the airplane window and recounted her past encounters with high-altitude flight and anti-aircraft artillery.
• Lily revealed that she had once stowed away on early airplanes, and she and Vivian temporarily bonded over ways to ride human transportation without paying.
• After an eleven-hour flight, Hao Ren, Vivian, and Lily arrived at Heathrow Airport in London.
• Vivian said the English scenery seemed unfamiliar and revealed that her last visit had been around 1190, during a war involving someone she remembered as Lionheart.
• Hao Ren realized that he and Vivian had no reliable directions for finding their unknown client in a remote village, while Vivian pointed out that she at least spoke the language.

Hao Ren, Vivian, and Lily struggled to reach their London hotel after arriving without useful language or travel preparations. They planned to rest and report to Raven 12345 before setting out for the remote mission location, while someone on the hotel’s sixth floor watched them arrive.

• Vivian tried to ask an elderly man for directions in outdated English, but Hao Ren stopped her and got the man to point them toward airport employees.
• Hao Ren asked an airport employee in Chinese for help and was directed to taxi drivers who knew some Chinese.
• Hao Ren and Vivian struggled to find a driver who could understand their address while Lily sleepwalked behind them, and they eventually found one after a long ordeal.
• The driver brought them to their reserved hotel in central London, where Vivian remarked on how much the city had changed.
• Hao Ren said they would rest, recover from jet lag, organize their information, and report to Raven 12345 before traveling to the remote destination.
• Someone on the hotel’s sixth floor opened a curtain, watched the three arrive, and closed it again.

Hao Ren and his companions settled into a hotel suite in England and tried to prepare for Raven 12345’s mission to find a place called Yuefu'erde. When Hao Ren contacted Raven 12345 for help, she admitted she had given him the wrong translation programs and promised to send a proper one while fighting a threat in outer space.

• Hao Ren checked into a two-bedroom hotel suite with Vivian and the exhausted Lily, who soon woke up energetic and called him Landlord.
• Hao Ren reviewed Raven 12345’s mission and planned to spend the next day finding the route to Yuefu'erde, which did not appear on the map.
• Vivian reminded Hao Ren to contact Raven 12345 and ask for more information about the mission.
• Hao Ren told Raven 12345 that they could not find Yuefu'erde and none of them spoke English, while Raven fought attackers in outer space.
• Raven 12345 realized she had installed the wrong translation programs and promised to send Hao Ren a normal one.

Hao Ren received Raven 12345’s universal translation program and tested its abilities with Vivian and Lily. He and Vivian then inspected the Data Terminal and discovered it contained a bizarre pregnancy and sedation compendium labeled as a weapon.

• Hao Ren activated the translation program and found that it translated Vivian’s Old English directly into his thoughts while imitating her accent.
• Lily tried to use the program, but the Data Terminal denied her authorization and explained that its music player was an approved function.
• Hao Ren invited Lily to test the translator, but it could not recognize her bark and only guessed that she had said “food.”
• Hao Ren and Vivian examined the Data Terminal for other problems and found a “Thirty-Seven Races Pregnancy and Sedation Compendium” categorized as a weapon.