The Record of Unusual Creatures

As a foot-long baby fish, the maximum liquor Lil Pea could withstand was between one to two drops. The basement in Becky's house once stacked at least 10 tons of spirits, and even though the vats had been removed, there was a still a strong smell of wine. Lil Pea became woozy in no time. When she finally left the basement, she was still groggy for a long while. She conjured a pair of sacred flames and giggled, offering the flames to anyone she saw. In the end, Nangong Wuyue found herself out of options. She summoned an aqua sphere and put the little one inside of it.     

Seeing Lil Pea making flames with her hands, Becky found it incredible. "Mr. Landlord, looks like your daughter's learned many things, eh? Sanba taught her?"     

Hao Ren forced a smile and looked around Becky's living room. The last time he was there was more than a month ago. However, due to their busy schedule and a series of major incidents, it seemed as though time crawled. He felt at home when he finally saw the familiar Hollettan style surroundings and the mercenary girl. There were some changes in Becky's house; the most eye-catching one was the addition of a 42-inch LCD TV in the center of her living room, and a laptop on the writing desk next to the TV. When these two things sat among a pile of exotic furniture, the contrast was nothing short of artistic…     

Meanwhile, Becky had already informed Ophra about the arrival of "reinforcements" through a dedicated magic communication device. She then turned to greet them, "Everyone, please take a seat while we wait for Marshal Ophra to arrive. It's a big deal this time. Let's lay out our plans before we do anything."     

Everyone was seated and the maid brought refreshments to everyone. The maroon-haired maid had probably come to work at Becky's home recently. She was an unfamiliar face and seemed to be very curious about the strange guests who emerged out of the basement. From time to time, she quietly observed these people from the corner of her eyes as they chatted jovially with the "Legendary Mercenary". Hao Ren gave the maid a friendly smile. He then pointed to the TV and computer in the living room. "You have a very rich life here. Have you gotten used to using them?"     

"Yeah, now my life depends on them." Becky smiled. "Thank you for sending these things over. The life of a noble here's totally horrible… There are feasts and cocktail parties all the time, sometimes the King would summon me to discuss some really serious business that I can't understand. It's not as fun as going to the ruins and risking our lives in the past."     

"Who was the one bursting with excitement about being a noble back then?" Lily teased. "And, boasting for hours in banquets all the time, without needing to drink a single drop of water."     

Becky twisted the corner of her lips. "The excitement has worn off. Now I'd rather watch cartoons than go to those parties."     

Y'zaks was studying Becky's TV and computer curiously. He noticed that they were placed on modified traditional Hollettan furniture, but to accommodate cabling and parts, they were carefully modified so that cables could be routed from the underside of the furniture to a sparkling alchemy device nearby. Y'zaks was full of curiosity. "You didn't use the generator that we gave you? Why did you change the equipment?"     

"The generator was too noisy and it experienced a little problem. The dark elven technicians haven't been able to fix it even after fiddling with it for days. So, I got myself something more innovative," said Becky proudly. "This thing's linked to a magic circle behind the house. I asked the vice president of the Mage Association to make it, modify the magic formula of the lightning trap, and improve the energy cycle as well as the supply mechanism. That way, it could produce a stable current output. Then, using druse to produce the voltage regulator and transformer, coupled with an alchemical AC-DC converter... the power supply problem was solved."     

Hao Ren was dumbfounded. He did not understand how that magic worked, but he could somehow see that Becky had seemingly done an incredible thing!     

Just as he expected, Becky continued, "We also have many awesome alchemy technologies here. They're applied in things like long-distance communication, public lighting, ventilation ducts and the drainage pumps used in mines. However, their applications aren't that common. Nevertheless, some scholars call this energy conversion system that the vice president and I made a… Control on Energy Standards. The King's going to allocate funds to study this thing… Why are you people staring at me?"     

Lily sized up Becky, saying, "Finally someone's done what traverser should do. So apparently you're the protagonist?"     

Becky was confused.      

Meanwhile, Hao Ren lamented quietly. He had been going around worlds with his bunch of weirdoes, traveling to countless alien planets. By that standard of traversing, they were already at the apex of the definition, yet they had not done a single thing a traverser would have supposedly done—build alien infrastructure, conquer the world, hold alien exercises, even spread paper-and glass-making as well as metallurgy. Hao Ren had always thought that his was the true style of a traverser; little did he expect to see the real template of a traverser to actually be Becky herself. He could not help but recall the moment Becky arrived at his home; she said she would like to start an inter-world trade and build up her influence...     

"You're on the wrong boat." Hao Ren sighed as he patted Becky on the shoulder, lamenting, "You'd at least be a protagonist in any other team, and live to the end of the script."     

Becky still could not make head or tail of it.      

Bored, Nangong Wuyue went to fiddle with Becky's laptop. She was curious to know what website a person in the Otherworld would surf. After scrolling a few pages, she shouted, "What are you doing browsing Taobao in this world?"     

Becky plastered a smile on her face. "Just for fun… Can you bring over some food factories the next time you come?"     

"Let's not talk about that now. Shall we focus on the matter of the Cult of Origination?" Hao Ren smiled and motioned Becky to be more serious. "Haven't you heard anything on your side? Any progress?"     

Speaking of the Cult of Origination, Becky turned serious. She sat up straight and winked at the servants in the living room. The servants immediately closed the door and left. Only then did Becky say, "Let me start from the beginning. After you left, the whole continent started a campaign to hunt the Cult of Origination and other similar cults. Holletta was not the only one at it. The Northern Empire and the surrounding tribal countries were doing the same."     

"That's quite a scale." Vivian was a bit surprised. "Wasn't it supposed to be confined to Holletta?"     

"That's because two major events attracted the attention of all the people in the world. The first event was the two 'miracles' you did, i.e. lifting the Volcano of Dusk and the Giant Tree of Life into the sky. The Disciples of Glory took that opportunity to spread the news, saying that the power of the goddess had returned to the world and began to punish the heretics; they took this opportunity to launch a crusade against the Cult of Origination. The second event was the Royal City assassination incident. The post-narrative of this incident was that the goddess had intervened directly with her divine power to protect the Pope, thwarting the spell of the cult instantly. However, this incident still shocked the countries in this world. As you know, the Disciples of Glory is the only recognized Orthodox Church in this world. The Pope is deemed the pope of the whole world. His attempted assassination shocked the believers all over. Whether they like it or not, all countries in this world started to hunt the Cult of Origination," said Becky, revealing a smile. "The incident has transpired in a way that's a little beyond our expectation, but overall, it's in the right direction. The Cult of Origination has developed their influence outside the Kingdom of Holletta. They remain mainly active in Holletta because most of the relics of the goddess are in the kingdom, but they've also established a number of strongholds outside..."     

Speaking of this, Becky took out a large map from under the table and laid the map open. There were many small dots on the map. Becky pointed at the marks. "The Northern Empire has discovered that a spinoff of the Cult of Origination, the Holy Church of Origins, has spread to the Darzin Province. There are secret altars and activities of the Holy Church of Origin in the werewolf tribal nation, the dark elven enclaves, and Eventide, the city of the Blood Clan. To tell you the truth, even the Pope was shocked. Marshal Ophra has also lamented that the Cult of Origination is becoming scarier than ever, that they're like a thousand-year-old thorn (a plant native to Holletta); the part above the ground may not be very obvious, but underground is an endless web of roots. But fortunately, people all over the world are joining efforts; they're almost done digging up the roots."     

Lily looked at the map and said, "Becky, after not seeing you in such a long time, you suddenly look like an expert with the map."     

Becky scratched her hair and smirked. "With this prop in hand, it's easier to get close to her when she's here."     

Hao Ren had expected this. He could not help but sigh. "You're really persistent, eh? I think you two should just become lezzies."     

Becky blushed. "Marshal Ophra is an ancient species and she's highly drug-resistant. It's not easy to drug her…"     

Everyone was shocked beyond words.