Chapter 157 Days Go On

No matter what was happening to the supernatural races on Earth, life had to go on.

The Nangong couple's small restaurant had already started operating normally. After the chaos of the first two days, the couple seemed to have accumulated some experience, and they gradually became more proficient in their work. The chaotic and error-prone situations like the first day slowly decreased, and they could cope even with fewer helpers. Now, Nangong Wuyue and his sister went to help every day as if they were going to work, while the others in the family would come over and take a look when they had time. In their leisure time, everyone found a way to pass the time.

Vivian used her own methods (mainly getting Hesperides to help) to contact some old friends from the past. As more and more information was gathered, everyone could basically confirm that the "innate hostility" phenomenon between the supernatural races was receding globally. Regardless of race, distance, or living environment, just like some kind of timed automatic program, after the supernatural races had been hostile to each other for tens of thousands of years, this "thinking plugin" that caused each race to be mortal enemies began to uninstall at the same time. Vivian confirmed the thoughts of most of the existing ancients. As she expected, the old guys who had survived from the mythical era were very smart and cautious. They had already begun to pay attention to the movements of various hidden families in the world to prevent uncontrollable situations from suddenly erupting. After Vivian, the most senior supernatural being, came forward to organize, the ancients agreed to stay in touch to jointly deal with the changes in the situation.

To be honest, the gradual disappearance of the instinct for hostility was even more nerve-wracking than the original "return prophecy," because the latter was just an ethereal statement from beginning to end, and it did not fundamentally change the biggest weakness of the supernatural races: division and infighting. But now, the situation was a real phenomenon in front of everyone, and it was developing rapidly in a completely uncontrollable manner, which inevitably brought a great sense of urgency.

Vivian had another phone call with Hesperides today. After she hung up, Hao Ren muttered beside her: "It's funny, we always thought that it would be great if the various races on Earth could end their fighting and the world would be peaceful, but now that this is really about to happen, everyone is nervous as if there's going to be a world war."

"Because there is no such thing as world peace," Vivian sighed with a wry smile. "I was thinking about ending the various races' fighting on Earth, but I didn't want to do it this way... When changes reach an uncontrollable level, the balance will be broken, and similar situations throughout history have only brought chaos."

Lili was holding a notebook next to her, checking information. When she heard the two people talking, she looked up and muttered: "Anyway, in this situation, if the supernatural races really band together to restart the mythical era, then there really will be a world war—the third world war will be between airplanes, cannons, and mage legions. Hey, it sounds pretty cool, doesn't it?"

Vivian glared at her: "Control your brain a little bit, okay? This isn't a pleasant topic."

Lili bared her teeth: "Is it my fault that I'm a writer with a quick mind?"

"I've already reported this situation," Hao Ren said, patting Lili's hair to calm her down. "Raven said she doesn't care about this... and told me to handle it."

"I guessed that's what she would say," Vivian said, without any surprise on her face. "After all, her responsibility is just to maintain the balance of the entire universe... Let's figure out the regional problems ourselves."

Yizaks put down his newspaper, a thoughtful look on his face: "I've been thinking about a question: What is the essence of innate hostility?"

"There is innate hostility between supernatural races, and there is a hunting instinct and a sense of natural enemies between demon hunters and supernatural races. These phenomena are essentially the same thing, and similar situations in nature on Earth are usually caused by pheromones," Lili raised her head and explained seriously. "But I don't think it's that simple between supernatural races... Many supernatural races come from different planets in the Dream Plane. Don't even mention pheromones; some don't even share the same five senses."

Hao Ren looked at Lili in surprise: "You know quite a lot?"

"Nonsense. I'm just too lazy to open my mouth when I don't need to use my brain," Lili rolled her eyes. "If we're being serious, I'm the most educated one here—I graduated from Peking University several times!"

Hao Ren was immediately shocked: "Holy crap, graduated several times? What were you doing?!"

"The world was in chaos back then, so I just found a place to settle down," Lili said with a pout. "Don't look at me like this. I had a lot of energy back then."

Hao Ren looked at Lili suspiciously, instinctively feeling that she was bragging, but he didn't dare to make a definitive conclusion: After all, no matter how unreliable this one was, she had lived from a hundred years ago to the present, and she was a figure who could thrive in that chaotic era. With her skills, if she really wanted to, she might really be able to recruit a large force from social celebrities to all kinds of people in that era...

What's more, Lili back then claimed to be a werewolf, which was completely different from her current state of opening the door to a new world after knowing she was a husky.

Thinking of this, Hao Ren didn't dare to continue thinking. He stiffly changed the subject: "Why do you think this innate hostility suddenly disappeared?"

"It may be related to our activities in the Dream Plane, but it may also be..." Yizaks frowned. "I don't know if I'm overthinking it, but I also suspect this is a countdown."

Everyone said in unison: "Countdown?"

"The supernatural races only suddenly developed innate hostility after coming to Earth. Didn't we all agree in our previous discussions that 'someone' had tampered with their bloodlines?" Yizaks nodded. "If it's artificial, then the current phenomenon may also be part of a 'plan.' This may be a countdown that lasts for ten thousand years, or it may be that some conditions have recently been met, triggering some kind of switch in the supernatural races' bloodlines... In any case, it doesn't seem like a natural phenomenon."

Vivian nodded slightly: "I'll notify a few old friends and have them monitor several large families while also investigating what suspicious actions the supernatural races and demon hunters have taken recently to see if some ancient ruins or something have been triggered. If not... then we can only explain it as a countdown."

Hao Ren oh-ed, looked up at the clock. It was 2:30 in the afternoon, but he felt a wave of sleepiness coming over him: "Yawn... you guys go ahead, I'm going back to catch up on some sleep. I'll try to get up before dinner..."

Vivian glanced at him: "What are you sleeping for at this hour?"

"I've been having a little insomnia lately; I barely slept last night," Hao Ren waved his hand and walked into the house. "I'll take advantage of the sleepiness and go to sleep now."

After Hao Ren went into the house, Lili muttered to herself as if she was talking to herself: "The landlord seems to have been having insomnia these past few days, right?"

"He's probably under a lot of pressure. After all, no matter what happens, he's the only one running ahead," Vivian glanced at the door. "It's a pity that the calming spells don't work on him... I'll go find some herbs later."

Hao Ren didn't know that there would be medicinal cuisine waiting for him in the evening. At this moment, he was already lying in bed trying to fall asleep. It might be because he was under a lot of pressure, or it might just be that he hadn't been feeling well lately. In short, he had been plagued by insomnia for three consecutive days.

Every night was a dreamless, light sleep. When he was halfway asleep, it was as if his brain was wrapped in a hazy and lingering fog, filled with fragmented information, and he was unable to extricate himself between being half-asleep and half-awake. But today, he finally had enough sleepiness, and Hao Ren felt that his insomnia might finally be coming to an end.

He lay in bed, slightly raised his eyelids, and glanced at the data terminal lying on the bedside table: "I'm going to sleep. Protect me well."

"Protect your ass."

It seemed that the terminal was in good condition—this was the last thought Hao Ren had before falling into a dream.

The next moment, he was awakened by a huge explosion and a burst of gunfire.

Hao Ren suddenly opened his eyes and found that he was not in his familiar bedroom, but in a strange, riddled old street. Collapsed buildings and walls damaged by explosions could be seen everywhere, and the road was full of potholes and debris, looking like a war zone.

Bursts of explosions and gunfire came from the distance.

The scene in front of him was astonishing, but Hao Ren didn't freeze. The training he had undergone for more than a year came into play. He immediately found cover nearby and hid, while also trying to discern whether the surrounding scene was reality or a dream.