Chapter 33

"Listen, I have to go to Europe on a mission." Hao Ren tried to imagine himself as a special agent in a black windbreaker and large sunglasses, his face so serious it didn't even look like his own. No matter what, the identity of a Temporal Administration employee could change a person's words and actions—he was now particularly mindful of his image, at least in front of these two abnormal beings at home.

Lily immediately lit up, her tail wagging vigorously as if it were invisible: "Going out to play? I'm free, I'm free!" Just as Raven 12345 had said, there was no need to worry about this fool refusing.

Vivian's focus was elsewhere: "Hmm, can I save on electricity and cover the rent? Sounds good, sounds good..."

Hao Ren felt this lazy vampire's focus was completely off the mark.

"By the way, can you also generate heat?" Lily tilted her head and glanced at Vivian, whose cold aura was swirling around her, the cool breeze even fresher than an air conditioner, "If you can save on heating costs in winter, it would definitely cover your rent."

Vivian thought for a moment, her face showing difficulty: "Vampires are naturally cold-blooded, so generating a bit of cold air is fine..."

"Cough, let's get back to the main topic," Hao Ren quickly steered the increasingly bizarre conversation back on track, "Lily, you're coming with me, right? What about Vivian, do you have anything to do? If not, let's go together, I'm not very familiar with Europe."

Hao Ren was being honest. Not only was he not familiar with Europe, but in fact, this guy had hardly ever traveled far in his life. Apart from knowing the southern suburbs, everything beyond the Third Ring Road was practically a different world to him. This was his first time planning to go abroad, and it was even a "organization-arranged" business trip, which was enough to make him a little excited!

I'm a civil servant too, even if it's in a foreign country—Hao Ren thought to himself.

"Me? I don't have anything to do," Vivian lowered her head awkwardly, "I just lost my job from a few days ago, so I'm free now, hehe, hehehe... Landlord, can I work as your guide to cover half a month's rent?"

Hao Ren pursed his lips: Can this tough girl still retain some dignity as a vampire? We don't need to consider the noble night, but at least maintain the level of a wealthy night! Now, she's so down and out that even Lily can't bear to look at her...

"Forget about the rent," Hao Ren sighed, "I signed a contract with Raven 12345, how could I kick you out? If you're willing, just help with the housework at home, and I'll be satisfied. As for finding a job... I suggest you stop tormenting the merchants around here who are already on the verge of bankruptcy. I heard that when you worked at McDonald's, the heavens made sure to kill off hundreds of food companies to keep you poor..."

Vivian quickly coughed: "Cough, cough... It's not my fault!"

At this moment, Lily was still immersed in the excitement of the upcoming trip, and she even transformed into her werewolf form, wagging her tail vigorously (perhaps this was the only way she could express her special feelings): "Landlord, landlord, when are we leaving? Should I start packing now? Where are we going? How long will we stay? Is there a time limit for the mission? When are we eating?"

Hao Ren waved his hands to calm the overly excited werewolf: "Don't rush, I haven't even booked the flight tickets yet. We'll wait for Raven to send the specific information. Hey, by the way, let me show you something interesting—this is high-tech! Standard equipment for Temporal Administration employees... Damn! Where did I put it?!"

Hao Ren searched through his pockets, and his forehead broke out in a sweat, even the cool breeze from Vivian's side no longer helped: He clearly remembered putting the super advanced data terminal in his pocket, but now he only found two threads!

"This is bad!" Hao Ren's first thought was the consequences if this ultra-modern device fell into the hands of ordinary people. It could create a protagonist for a "City Alien Superbrain" story, or a reinforced battalion of CAS experts, but most likely, it would result in Raven 12345 parachuting in to kill him: This was definitely a major work error!

However, just as Hao Ren was frantically searching and preparing to go out to look for it, he suddenly heard a faint humming sound. A small vortex-like portal appeared in the air, and the hexagonal "data terminal" wobbled out of the vortex, landing lightly in his hand. A holographic message appeared in the air: "User, please note: Do not leave this device on public transportation. Its navigation capabilities are limited—this is not what a data terminal is supposed to do! If you do this again, I'll report it to the higher-ups."

Hao Ren: "..." Now he understood what Raven 12345 meant by "not much smarter than you." This data terminal clearly had artificial intelligence! At the very least, he had never heard of any other computer that could curse at its owner...

Lily was immediately drawn to the new gadget, her tail wagging like a blur, her eyes shining as she approached: "Landlord, can I play with this?"

Hao Ren thought for a moment, remembering that the core guidelines for employees did not prohibit this, so he handed the data terminal over: "Be careful, even though Raven 12345 said it's durable, if it breaks, there's nowhere to get it fixed."

Lily excitedly took the data terminal and fiddled with it for a while, but it showed no reaction. Finally, it seemed to be annoyed by Lily and reluctantly displayed a message: "Insufficient permissions, stop trying, okay? I have principles."

The three of them: "..."

Vivian was relieved that she had controlled her curiosity and didn't embarrass herself like a bumpkin. She chuckled and walked to the kitchen: "Big dog, keep playing, I'll go make dinner."

Lily sheepishly returned the data terminal to Hao Ren and suddenly remembered something as she followed Vivian to the kitchen: "Hey, wait! I'll go with you!"

"Can you cook? Don't you just eat?"

"I'll go to the kitchen to enjoy the air conditioning, it's so hot in here."

"..."

While Vivian and Lily were busy in the kitchen, Hao Ren grabbed his newly issued data terminal and began to study it, mainly to understand what the Temporal Administration did. Over the next half hour, he became increasingly shocked.

At first, it was all normal work guidelines and some taboo matters, but the subsequent regulations and case references were hard to understand:

"Guidelines for the Observation and Guidance of Type III Civilizations"

"Registration Methods for New Six Types of World Ends"

"Guidelines for Strictly Regulating the Declaration Process of Local Wars"

"Precautions for Reviewers Intervening in Stellar Wars"

"Basic Knowledge of Extermination Orders and the Role of Reviewers in the Corresponding Processes"

At the end of the basic work guidelines, there were such mind-boggling additions.

"Ask a question," Hao Ren knew his data terminal could communicate, so he cautiously asked in his mind, "What do these high-energy things mean?"

"Literal meaning," a message appeared on the data terminal, "But these are matters for official reviewers, not related to you for now. Reviewers are the empire's representatives in local regions, equivalent to living saints or holy sons in religious systems. Is there a problem with handling these daily tasks?"

Hao Ren immediately said there was no problem and went to calm his fluttering heart.

By the afternoon, he had temporarily put those high-energy "employee guidelines" out of his mind. That was something for the future, and for now, he needed to focus on his "mission": Raven 12345 had already sent the details of the mission.

His destination was the UK, but not a famous place, rather a remote, small town that couldn't even be found on a map. His new tenant was waiting for him there.