Chapter 181 An Unexpected Situation

Before coming here, Hao Ren never expected that this matter would involve so many aspects, but now he found that everything seemed to be gathering in this place and popping up all at once: the ancient Ankatero family lost contact with the outside world, the Shadow of Chaos, sealed by Vivian and other ancient aliens, broke free from its restraints, a group of demon hunters went missing after meeting with the Ankatero family, and then there was the newly discovered Solar Wheel, the characteristics of which also made Hao Ren very concerned. This small town, silently unknown in the human world, had unknowingly become the center of some kind of vortex, and the water was getting muddier.

What exactly happened here a month ago?

"Have you investigated any clues?" Hao Ren asked Bai Huo. "You arrived earlier than us, so you should have made some progress."

Bai Huo shook his head slightly: "Not much progress. Now we can only confirm that Elder Amutula did enter the secret realm of the Ankatero family, but no one knows what happened after that. I've answered quite a few of your questions, so now can you tell me about the alien side?"

"Uh, I still want to emphasize: I'm not in the alien camp, I'm neutral," Hao Ren raised his hand to emphasize his position first, and then talked about what he knew. "Those Shadows of Chaos have caused big problems. Several families and shelters have been attacked, so many old monsters are rushing around asking for support. Compared to the Shadows of Chaos, not many people care about the Ankatero family. Those old monsters argued for a long time just to decide who to send to investigate this matter. When they heard that demon hunters were also active in this area, they were not very willing to risk it."

Bai Huo sneered when he heard this, "Heh—in the end, the most active ones are us demon hunters, while the Ankatero family's compatriots have become the indifferent party. This world is truly wonderful."

"I think what's even more wonderful is that a demon hunter master and an alien ancestor are sitting together discussing this kind of thing," Hao Ren's gaze flickered between Bai Huo and Vivian, clicking his tongue. "In that case, our next actions will inevitably involve meeting with the demon hunters... It would be fine if it were just us, but the problem is that the Huaite family is also sending people, and there are many demon hunters on your side who don't understand the situation, right?"

"Nine times out of ten, we'll fight when we meet," Bai Huo nodded frankly. "And I won't be able to hold back then."

Hao Ren thought for a while, and a crooked idea came to him: "How about this, let's try not to meet. If we really can't avoid it, then we'll just put on an act. I'll come out and lead the charge, and you and that Hassou will stay behind to cover the retreat. After we lure the others away, we'll just put on some light and shadow effects, and then we'll each go back and say that we went through a fierce battle or something."

Bai Huo stared at Hao Ren: "Would that work?"

"Life is like a play, it all depends on acting," Hao Ren spread his hands. "There are too many people on both sides this time. Vivian's seniority might not be enough to completely suppress the situation."

"Your idea is even more unreliable," Vivian rejected Hao Ren's suggestion without even thinking. "How big can that so-called 'Golden Manor' be? Two investigation teams have to avoid each other, and they have to move towards the same goal, and they have to occasionally pull out two people to perform a desperate fight. I wouldn't believe you two even if you dared to act. In my opinion, there's no need to arrange anything. Just do what you need to do when the time comes, and think about what to do when you meet. Those who are dispatched on this occasion are all old foxes who have lived for at least several thousand years, not those hotheads who are controlled by their killing instincts and shout and kill as soon as they meet. Old guys with some age will be a bit more calm. I'm confident that I can prevent them from fighting."

Hao Ren and Bai Huo said in unison: "What if they really fight?"

"Then let them fight," Vivian revealed a chilling smile. "I'd like to see how arrogant the younger generation has become these years."

Hao Ren nodded helplessly, and couldn't help but feel embarrassed when his eyes met Bai Huo's: Life is really a dramatic thing.

"I should go back. I've been out for too long, I'm afraid they'll worry," Bai Huo felt uncomfortable in this awkward atmosphere and quickly got up to say goodbye. "I'll tell Mentor Hassou about today's meeting, and let them decide on other matters."

Vivian nodded, "Mm. You can also reveal a little bit about my situation here to them. I believe the demon hunters of Hassou's generation will know what to do."

Watching Bai Huo summon a ball of silver-white holy flame to prepare to teleport, Hao Ren suddenly remembered something: "Oh right, if possible, can you reveal how you plan to enter Ankatero's secret realm? If possible, can you also tell me when you're going to act, maybe we can stagger our schedules."

Bai Huo smiled slightly: "Sorry, a lot of information can be exchanged, but not such details. Our meeting tonight was purely accidental. After this, let's act on our own. Whoever can find the clues first will depend entirely on themselves."

The holy flame soared into the air, and Bai Huo instantly disappeared in a blaze of light. Hao Ren was stunned for two seconds, and sighed with a hint of regret: "Tsk, it would save a lot of trouble if we cooperated. Wouldn't everything be solved if two groups of people got together?"

"Everyone can understand the principle, but who else can do this besides us?" Vivian stood up and stretched. "When two groups of people are fighting, they all know that if they stop fighting, neither side will have to die, but I haven't seen any wars that stopped because the commander became a Buddha on the spot."

Hao Ren thought about it, and finally could only smile helplessly: "Let's just leave it at that. We've gained a lot of unexpected things tonight. Let's go back and tell Lily and Lao Wang."

The two left the abandoned house just like that. After that, nothing else happened along the way, and they quickly returned to the small hotel where the group was temporarily staying.

Lily and Izhaks and his daughter were all staying in the hotel. As soon as Hao Ren and Vivian walked to the second floor of the hotel, Lily heard the movement and ran out. The husky girl circled around Hao Ren happily several times: "Landlord, landlord, where have you two been wandering around so late! Did you just go out to recognize the road until now?"

Before Hao Ren could even say anything, Lily started chattering on her own: "That's why I said you should take me with you when you go out in a strange place instead of taking this bat. I'm so good at recognizing roads. Even if I get lost from Tianjin to Oxford, I can smell my way back to you. You didn't listen, see, now you're lost... Oh right, I also went out this afternoon. There's a Chinese restaurant here that's quite interesting! I didn't expect to see a Chinese restaurant in such a small place. I don't know where the boss learned some half-baked skills and came here to open a shop to fool the locals. Cola with xiaolongbao, can you believe it? I suspect they're even planning to launch cheese-filled ones! Anyway, it doesn't suit my taste. I couldn't eat any more after two baskets. Lao Wang is also quite boring. He just stayed here to take care of the kids today. Oh right, landlord, have you seen my phone charger?"

Hao Ren listened to Lily chattering for a long time with a muddled head, and didn't catch a single keyword. In the end, he only heard one question: "Are you talking about the phone charger?"

Lily nodded happily and vigorously: "Yes, yes, yes, where's my charger?"

"Didn't you say, 'What do you need a charger for when you go out with a bat'?" Hao Ren pointed to Vivian. "Go find her to charge it."

"Oh right, I forgot about that because the bat wasn't here just now," Lily slapped her head and handed her phone to Vivian. "Charge it!"

Vivian summoned a small bat covered in electricity with a reluctant expression. The little bat bit the charging port of Lily's phone, and the phone screen immediately lit up, showing that it was charging.

"I really had a brain cramp when I agreed to this kind of thing..." Vivian muttered with a mournful face. "My lightning strike is for fighting enemies..."

Obviously, only Lily could come up with such a bizarre idea.

"Just think of it as practice!" Lily put her hands on her hips happily. "By the way, landlord, you haven't said what you two went out to do."

Hao Ren raised his eyes and saw Izhaks also walking out of the next room, so he said, "Vivian and I went outside the town to investigate, and we also saw Bai Huo."

Lily didn't remember who Bai Huo was for a moment: "Bai Huo? Did you go out to pick Banlangen?" (Banlangen is a Chinese herbal medicine used to treat colds)

"It's Bai Huo!" Hao Ren knocked Lily on the head, making his fingers ache. "It's the demon hunter, not the pharmaceutical company!"

After explaining for a while in his room, Hao Ren told Lily and the others about his and Vivian's experiences tonight. Izhaks couldn't help but sigh at this dramatic encounter: "I didn't expect it to be them. It seems that this activity will inevitably be a bit chaotic."

Hao Ren sighed and turned to look at the dim night outside, as if talking to himself: "Chaotic, huh..."

His intuition told him that this matter was far more than just chaotic.