Chapter 1 She's Got Her Guard Up

Hearing Hao Ren's words, Lily immediately wagged her tail warily, "…Landlord, are you trying to trick me again?"

Looking at the husky girl's cautious expression, Hao Ren couldn't help but laugh wryly, "When have I ever tricked you?!"

"Because people trick me all the time," Lily retreated a little, "And last time you gave me a bottle and lied to me that it was jam. I bit it open and found out it was chili oil. You just tricked me into opening the bottle, and the time before that you made me bite open a bottle of mustard, and the time before that you made me bite open a beer bottle, and the time before that... you always use me as a bottle opener! Now you're asking about dentures, you must be planning to open another bottle!"

Hao Ren was immediately subjected to sharp, scrutinizing gazes from the other three. He glared at Vivian. "What are you looking at! You were the one who suggested using her for the chili oil, saying a big dog has good teeth and it's a waste to just have her guarding the door all day. She could be a bottle opener in the kitchen..."

Lily immediately bared her teeth and glared at Vivian. Hao Ren hurriedly stood between the two and explained, "Ahem, let's not mention old news. I'll go buy a can opener tomorrow, okay? Lily, I'm serious, can dogs get dentures? Actually..."

He told everyone about his encounter with the wolf pack and how he accidentally chipped a tooth. Lily covered her mouth and gasped, "Hiss... that sounds so painful! Landlord, you're so cruel."

"I got bit, okay?" Hao Ren glared. "Honestly, do you have the technology to give dogs dentures?"

"Even if I had the technology, I wouldn't have the materials," Lily spread her hands. "Have you ever seen a pet hospital that can give dogs porcelain teeth? Setting aside the technical difficulty, normal dogs wouldn't like the feeling of a foreign object in their mouths. No matter how exquisite porcelain teeth are, they're fake. For canines that frequently hunt with their claws and teeth, having that thing would actually affect their judgment."

Seeing Lily speak so eloquently, Hao Ren couldn't help but ask, "How do you know so much about this?"

"I lost a tooth once," Lily pulled open the corner of her mouth to reveal a row of neat, sharp, white little fangs like small knives. "I broke a tooth when I was fighting a tiger when I was little, but my teeth can grow back. Speaking of which, tigers are really delicious..."

Imagining this seemingly harmless and beautiful girl squatting in a clearing in the forest, tearing at a tiger's corpse with her claws and teeth, with blood everywhere, Hao Ren couldn't help but feel goosebumps on the back of his head. The past lives of these otherworldly beings were indeed not worth delving into.

It seemed that Lily couldn't help. Just when Hao Ren thought that those unlucky black wolves would probably have to drink porridge for the rest of their lives, Nangong Wuyue suddenly said, "If it's about healing injuries… perhaps I can try."

Everyone's gaze turned to her. Nangong Wuyue smiled faintly and said, "Sirens have the ability to heal wounds. Although it's not as powerful as a werewolf's self-healing, the key is that it can be used on others. Growing a few teeth shouldn't be a problem. It's just that I don't know if the creatures in the Dream Realm are the same as in the real world, so I'm not sure if my abilities will work."

Everyone unanimously decided: Who cares if it works or not, let's try it first! From now on, in addition to being a humidifier at home, Nangong Wuyue had another role: she was also a medicine cabinet…

With that settled, there was nothing else to explain, only to form a team and enter the Dream Realm. With the assistance of the data terminal, Hao Ren quickly adjusted the state of the several hibernation pods and registered the mental frequencies of everyone present in the device. With the final step of parameter input, the lids of the several "coffins" silently slid open, revealing the empty crystal liners inside. The crystal liners flickered with a faint glow, seemingly beckoning the users to lie down and test the width of the coffins.

Hao Ren was still a little hesitant, but Vivian had already begun to act with great interest: she brought a large pile of blankets and bedding to the hibernation pod, and deftly laid them inside, quickly creating a soft coffin-bed. After finishing, she looked at the data terminal a little embarrassedly, "Ah, I forgot to ask, is it okay to put these things in?"

"It's fine, all the functions of the hibernation pod are non-physical contact. It's good for the body to make it more comfortable. Speaking of which, your idea is quite open-minded. Most people wouldn't think of putting blankets in a hibernation pod."

"I'm just using this as a bed," Vivian happily lay down to test the feel, then jumped out and beckoned to Lily, "Big dog, come with me to get the spare blankets and cushions upstairs, I'll decorate them for you all."

The vampire girl was busy helping everyone decorate the hibernation pods. The metal boxes, which could have relied on their sense of technology to dilute the feeling of being a coffin, looked even more like coffins after being covered with cotton quilts. Vivian even brought a large pile of white candles down with a vampire's aesthetic, wanting to light a circle around the outside of the coffins. Fortunately, Hao Ren vehemently objected, finally dispelling the girl's excitement. However, just as everyone was about to lie down, Hao Ren suddenly realized a problem: "Speaking of which, how many days are we planning to stay in there? What about Doudou?"

Doudou, along with her mother (that is, the pot), had also been brought to the basement by everyone, and was now placed on Vivian's low table. The little guy was poking her head out from the edge of the pot, curiously watching a group of adults busying around. Hearing someone call her name, she happily slapped her tail, splashing a spray of water, and waved hard at Hao Ren.

"Bring her in too?" Nangong Wuyue thought for a moment.

Hao Ren looked at the data terminal: "Is that okay?"

"Theoretically, there's no problem, but you have to think about it. There might not be mermaids in the Dream Realm, and even if there are, they might not be common species. If you show up in front of the locals holding such a mysterious creature, you'll easily be surrounded by the aunties and busybodies association. Moreover, Doudou is so small. If she gets lost after going over there, she might get eaten by something. Dying in the Dream Realm is a real death."

Hao Ren looked at everyone with difficulty: "How about leaving someone behind to take care of the child?"

Everyone looked at each other. No one wanted to miss this opportunity to enter the Dream Realm, and they all had their own tasks to do with Hao Ren: Vivian was a rune expert, Nangong Wuyue was a field medic, and Izaak was an indispensable golden fighter in any situation. In that Dream Realm with unknown risks, they definitely couldn't be without such a combat force. As for Lily… she didn't seem to have any unique function, but this girl was a husky. Did you think she could stay at home obediently? In this situation, she was stickier than dog skin plaster!

Finally, the data terminal thought for a long time and finally came up with an idea: "Why don't we put her in the refrigerator first?"

Hao Ren glared at this pit-digging PDA: "Can't you be reliable for once?"

"This unit is saying let her hibernate!" the data terminal shouted. "Anyway, she has the habit of hibernating. Wouldn't it be over after throwing her in the refrigerator to sleep for a few days?"

Hao Ren was stunned, feeling that what the data terminal said made sense, but looking at the little guy's big, bright eyes staring straight at him, he still shook his head: "No, I feel bad, I can't bear it."

"You're finally a little bit aware of being a father," the data terminal hummed. "Then carry her in, anyway, you don't mind the trouble yourself. But you have to find something to put her in. That pot definitely won't work, it's too inconvenient. You have to find a container that's easy to carry and has a lid. It must have a lid to prevent the little guy from jumping out or being seen by people in places where she shouldn't be seen."

Hao Ren thought for a while, and ran to the kitchen to fetch the large kettle used for boiling water: "It should be fine to put her in here."

"But what if Doudou is scared after the lid is closed?" Nangong Wuyue looked at the large kettle. "It's dark and so small."

Hao Ren's gaze stayed on the data terminal for a full ten seconds before the latter finally couldn't bear it anymore and floated into the kettle dejectedly: "This unit will be a magic lantern for the little guy, okay?... You're really a house full of ancestors that can't be served! After serving the old ones, you have to serve the young ones!"

Nangong Wuyue filled the kettle with water and carefully put the little mermaid in. Doudou was a little afraid of the strange-looking iron pot at first, but after seeing the glowing iron disc (… ) floating inside, she became happy and began to frolic in the water, entertaining herself with the data terminal. Nangong Wuyue used mental contact to tell the little guy to try not to go out, and explained that the adults were going to take care of important matters, so Doudou nodded obediently: she was already very smart and could understand these things.

"By the way, I'll tell you some new news," after explaining things to Doudou, Nangong Wuyue glanced at Hao Ren, "Now Doudou thinks this kettle is her second aunt. You must hold on..."

Hao Ren: "... What am I holding on to! I don't even want my values anymore, okay? I can face anything that happens now!"

"Oh, Doudou asked me why daddy doesn't have a lid on his head."

Hao Ren: "..."