The Secret of the Non-Human Girl

Although the white-haired witch with a five-digit name didn't seem very reliable, she always kept her promises. Hao Ren finally received the operational funds allocated to him by the organization. Seeing the extra digits on his bank card, he felt tears welling up: This treatment was amazing. If Raven 12345 had just slapped him in the face with that string of zeros back then, he would have signed the contract faster than anything!

Hao Ren realized something: He had to learn to break free from his everyday, commoner mindset and view a monstrous organization like the Time-Space Administration Bureau from a higher perspective. Human currency was probably just a tool for this organization, and it was distributed infinitely—Hao Ren considered asking Raven 12345 to add a few more zeros to his bank card, but he felt too embarrassed to do so afterward...

Regardless, the operational funds were settled, and along with it, Vivian's living expenses for at least two years were covered: Ever since that useless Vampire moved in, Hao Ren had essentially been supporting her for free. He'd said it was like hiring a nanny and saving on electricity to offset the rent, but that was mostly a joke. Hao Ren, an ordinary person, couldn't possibly reach that level. He was just finding an excuse to make himself and Vivian feel at ease with the current situation of her freeloading. But now, that wasn't a problem anymore. The white-haired witch had allocated enough operational funds for the three of them to travel the world, and they were going to pick someone up in England...

On the way to the Capital International Airport, Vivian couldn't help but mutter, "Landlord, do you think the Time-Space Administration Bureau is still hiring? I can help them with refrigeration too!"

When they were on the plane, Vivian was still muttering about the same issue. Hao Ren couldn't help but retort, "Cut it out. Do you know it requires talent? I'm at least a reserve civil servant and a candidate Holy Son. Do you think it's that easy?—And the white-haired witch's house is warm in winter and cool in summer. As a dignified Goddess, I doubt she needs air conditioning..."

Vivian had been responsible for cooling the entire house for the past couple of days. Besides saving electricity, the three of them at home had already defaulted to treating her as an air conditioner.

The Vampire girl pouted, then peered curiously out the airplane window at the ground crew bustling about, muttering, "It's okay to leave 'Gun' at home, right?"

"It's fine. It's tough, don't forget its background," Hao Ren wasn't worried at all. Since the whole family was going out, they naturally couldn't bring the cat on the plane, and arranging international shipping for that beast was also unrealistic, so he left 'Gun' at home, entrusting it to a neighbor's care. However, Hao Ren was quite sure that the clever beast was more likely to sneak out of someone else's house the next day and fend for itself: It had a history. "Back in the day, with its less than ten pounds of body weight, it could dominate all the cat and dog dens on the entire street. Its wilderness survival skills are even better than mine. When I first got it two years ago, I used to worry every time I went out, but I stopped being afraid later: If you throw it out for a month, that guy will come back half a pound heavier..."

"Landlord, what do you think England will be like? I've never been there before," Lily asked curiously from across from Hao Ren, currently peeking out the window at the scenery with her head down, in a four-legged posture.

With the "operational funds" being ample this time, Hao Ren, in his newfound wealth, had directly purchased first-class tickets. Therefore, the space around the three of them was spacious, with partitions separating them from other passengers. Lily, being the restless type, had been fidgeting for a long time before the plane even took off. Of course, while being financially well-off was one reason for buying first-class tickets, the more important reason was the better private space. Hao Ren knew he was bringing two individuals with extremely special racial compositions. Although theoretically, these two experienced superwomen wouldn't falter, he was still cautious, like an ordinary citizen, and wanted to keep these two as far away from ordinary people as possible during the journey. This would also make it more convenient to discuss some "confidential topics."

"How would I know? I've never been there either," Hao Ren shrugged and turned to Vivian, "By the way, let me confirm again, you've really been to England, right? We'll be relying on you as our guide when we get there. You claim to speak English..."

"Of course, I value my reputation very much and wouldn't speak carelessly," Vivian puffed out her chest. "After all, I've traveled around the globe. I knew the Earth was round back when your human ancestors were still eating raw meat. Is there anywhere I haven't been? I even worked at the Vatican..."

Hao Ren quickly coughed twice, "Ahem, there's no need to mention those days of freeloading at the church. I really don't know what your kin would think if they knew about your glorious past."

"Them? I haven't seen most of them in hundreds of years. Most are stubborn fools, and the few smart ones are even better at hiding than I am," Vivian shrugged. "Our clan is very loose. Even in our prime, we were scattered like sand, otherwise, how could we have become so marginalized? Sigh, let's not talk about the past. It makes my head ache with melancholy—How did my life turn out so muddled?"

Hao Ren chuckled, "You know yourself that your life is muddled. Alright, it's enough that you know English and can find your way around, saving us the trouble of finding a guide. We can't ask anyone else for help with our business. That Raven said she wouldn't even give us a map to test the capabilities of new employees..."

Vivian confidently patted her chest, "Don't worry, don't worry. Even Arthur Pendragon couldn't out-argue me back then—I lived there for over 130 years, and my English is like a native language."

Hao Ren listened, stunned. He felt something was off, but Vivian's statement contained so much information that it left no room for detailed analysis. So, in the end, he just nodded and didn't delve deeper into the matter.

After a while, seeing that Lily still hadn't calmed down, Hao Ren found a topic to attract the werewolf girl's attention: "There's a question I've always wanted to ask. How do you guys handle identity issues when living in the human world? Especially you, Lily, how did you manage it?"

This question had been bothering Hao Ren for days: Vivian, being ancient and experienced, was a different story. But how did that airhead Lily manage her identity issues in modern society? She claimed to have been roaming the world since the Republic of China era. When Shen Bao was still around, she was a famous literary youth in Shanghai. In the nearly a century that has passed, the forms of citizenship proof have changed countless times. Yet, Lily, such an airhead, has been smoothly thriving in the human world—and seemingly better than Vivian. This was truly curious.

Upon hearing this, Lily also sat up properly in her seat, and a pair of pointed ears on her head seemed to twitch: "It wasn't difficult at all. I personally witnessed your social order being established from scratch. Living in human society is something I know inside and out, with no difficulty whatsoever."

Speaking of which, Lily suddenly tilted her head up shrewdly. Her usually unreliable brain finally had a moment of brilliance: "Why specifically me? Do you think I'm very stupid?"

Hao Ren quickly shook his head. Vivian, beside him, turned her face away, looking as if she couldn't bear to watch. Lily, however, corrected him sternly: "I know you all think I'm not very smart. My senses are very keen, I just don't bother arguing with you. It's a matter of life attitude. Landlord, let me tell you, don't underestimate me just because I don't like to use my brain usually. I have great abilities behind me! I know many people, like... uh, most of them are dead now, so I won't mention them. Anyway, I'm very powerful!"

Hao Ren wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. His intuition told him that Lily was about to list a bunch of terrifying names, many of which would be forbidden topics. Fortunately, the werewolf girl stopped herself early. Being with these two superwomen at home was a daily source of such surprises. They spoke about historical figures as if they were discussing Old Zhao from the corner, completely disregarding how much their listeners' livers might be trembling.

At this moment, the plane's takeoff preparations were finally completed. A flight attendant began to remind passengers to remain seated and fasten their seatbelts. Lily, who had been restless for a long time, also obediently settled down and quickly fastened her seatbelt. Then, she and Hao Ren simultaneously discovered a jaw-dropping fact: Vivian seemed to be trembling...

Normally possessing a steady demeanor, or at least some vampire grace, her face began to change upon hearing the announcement of the imminent takeoff. She even seemed unsure how to use the seatbelt. After helping Vivian fasten her seatbelt, Hao Ren couldn't help but ask, "Are you afraid of flying? You have wings yourself!"

"I've never flown on this before..." Vivian said weakly.

Hao Ren was immediately surprised: This Vampire, who had even been present to witness the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza, this incredibly knowledgeable Vampire, had never flown on a plane?

Vivian looked as if she was about to cry, "I couldn't afford the plane ticket..."

Hao Ren: "..."