Chapter 18

Hao Ren walked on the road back home, clutching a stack of low-quality printouts, feeling particularly moved.

And he was also a bit teary-eyed.

From today on, he would be an employee of a certain inter-world super-civilization, an Earthling who could directly converse with deities. Behind him was the Time-Space Administration, a massive entity that could make anyone shudder just by its name. In his hand was a divine contract, and his employee number could even be found in the attendance book of heaven— if he were thrown into a world where divine authority reigned supreme, he could proudly declare himself a candidate for the Holy Son, and after passing the internship test, he could become a permanent Holy Son...

Can you blame him for feeling moved and teary-eyed?

Why are the affairs of the gods so different from what he used to see in TV shows and novels!

But no matter what, Hao Ren had registered for a job at a place that was quite extraordinary. Regardless of how strange the Raven 12345 and the Time-Space Administration behind her, as well as the entire "Xiling Empire," were, they were more incredible than anything Hao Ren had ever seen before.

Hao Ren looked down at the contract in his hand, recalling the last words Raven 12345 said to him: "From today on, you are a probationary auditor. Taking care of the tenants in your house is your only task for now. Our Xiling pantheon doesn't manage its direct institutions through a church-like structure, so our organization rates employees based on attendance and performance. Don't mess around with those religious legends and church booklets from Earth; I've encountered such troublemakers in other worlds... Don't waste your time, just do your job well."

He sighed silently, confirming once again that he had boarded a pirate ship. Hao Ren folded the few sheets of paper and stuffed them into his pocket, preparing to lock them in a safe place to prevent "Roll" from tearing them up. To be honest, Hao Ren didn't fully believe his experience today, and he had many doubts about Raven 12345, especially when holding these few sheets of paper, which made him even more suspicious (come on, have you ever seen a divine contract printed out by a printer? And with typos!). But as mentioned before, Hao Ren was a person who could recognize the situation. No matter what kind of background Raven 12345 had, she was fundamentally different from Hao Ren, being a deity. Even if she made typos, liked to pick her nails, and eat pancakes with scallions, and spoke in a jumbled manner... that was not something an ordinary person could deal with.

So Hao Ren had to cooperate well to ensure his peaceful life.

Walking on the deserted road under the scorching sun, Hao Ren took out his phone to check the time, and looking at the empty road ahead and behind, he couldn't help but sigh: working for a god is too unreliable. Why don't they even provide transportation? In a theocratic society, he would at least be a prophet, but after receiving the divine call (i.e., signing the contract), he still had to take the bus home! And he had been waiting for a long time without getting on the bus!

He couldn't help but think of the myths and legends on Earth, trying to find out how the prophets and holy sons of history returned home after their enlightenment. Did they ride in a carriage with others or run back? But he couldn't come to a conclusion: which Bible would write about this!

Just as he was lost in thought, a ringtone suddenly sounded in his ears. Hao Ren grabbed his phone and saw an unfamiliar number—thankfully, it wasn't a spooky number like 00000012345.

"Hello, who is this?" Hao Ren answered the phone very politely—starting today, he was a person with status, and he had to pay attention to his words and actions, even though the goddess above him wasn't very reliable, he decided to make himself seem more reliable.

Lily's voice came from the receiver, a bit anxious: "Landlord! It's me! I'm Lily!"

"Lily... Lily?" Hao Ren almost blurted out "idiot werewolf" but managed to control himself in time, "What's wrong?"

"Oh, I just remembered that your phone number was on the rental ad. I searched for the address all day yesterday, and if I had called you directly, it would have been much better..."

Sweat dripped down Hao Ren's forehead: "...You called me in a hurry just to say this?"

Lily's voice immediately became agitated: "No, no! There's something wrong with Vivian. She suddenly flew out of the window in broad daylight! I tried to catch up with her, but I couldn't!"

Hao Ren really wanted to shout: This is the point, right? Why do you call in such a jumbled manner?

"Vivian flew out? As a bat?" Hao Ren didn't know why he was still paying attention to such strange things at this moment, as he was already a bit dazed: he had just promised a woman who claimed to be a deity that he would ensure the strange creatures in his house lived peacefully, and now, just a few minutes after leaving her, something happened at home!

"She turned into a bunch of bats," Lily corrected seriously, then hurriedly added, "When she flew away, she said this place isn't safe... I didn't know who to call, so I called you."

"Stay at home and don't go out randomly. I'll be back soon," Hao Ren said hurriedly, seeing a dilapidated bus approaching from a distance. He stopped the bus while giving instructions to Lily, then hung up the phone in a hurry and started to ponder: What's Vivian up to?

Although Hao Ren knew very little about supernatural beings, his limited knowledge came from unreliable TV shows, novels, and urban legends (which had already proven to be unreliable), he was at least certain that vampires were uncomfortable in sunlight, and Vivian had admitted this. Therefore, he was sure that the vampire flying out in broad daylight as a bunch of bats was not just to go for a walk—there must be an emergency! And what did Vivian mean by "this place isn't safe"? Was she referring to his home?

Hao Ren suddenly felt that the task given to him by Raven 12345... might be a trap.

By the time Hao Ren returned to the old district in the southern suburbs, it was already half an hour later. As soon as he got off the bus, he saw a few people in work uniforms walking towards him, and his heart tightened: so soon exposed? Who are these people? Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences? Setting traps to capture vampires? Installing surveillance equipment near his home? Special forces disguised as telecom workers?

But when they got closer, Hao Ren relaxed: they were just a maintenance team...

As the maintenance workers passed by, Hao Ren vaguely heard their conversation:

"...After so many years, I've never seen such a thing. How did that brick fly up there?"

"Who knows, it can't be thrown by a person, right? The TV tower is so high, who has such strength? But it's really strange, that brick almost broke three steel bars..."

"Exactly, today's work in the southern suburbs was interrupted because the TV signal was cut off. I thought something was wrong, but it turned out that half a brick was embedded in the signal tower. How do we write our work report?"

The maintenance workers walked away, and Hao Ren listened in shock, understanding two things:

First, he knew why the TV signal at home was cut off.

Second, he knew where one of the bricks Lily threw at Vivian last night had flown to...

What good does it do to know this!

Hao Ren ran to his front door, first cautiously checking to make sure there were no special forces or suspicious men in black lurking around, then he took out his keys to open the door. But before he could insert the key into the lock, the door opened by itself.

Vivian stood there, smiling: "Landlord, you're back?"

Hao Ren almost choked, finally catching his breath and staring blankly at the vampire girl who was supposed to have "flown away," his face fluctuating: "Vivian, you... didn't fly away?"

Vivian laughed dryly: "Well, there was a bit of a situation, but I'm back now."

Hao Ren: "..."

Is this how life will be from now on?!

Page break for AD

Page break for AD end