Chapter 1 Our Paths Have Crossed Before?

"Have we met before?" Nangong Wuyue also looked curious when she heard Hao Ren's words. She looked at Hao Ren, then couldn't help but focus on Izhaks (to emphasize, Chinese name Wang Daquan), and suddenly smacked her head, "Oh, right! You're those two cheapskates!"

Hao Ren also smacked his head, following suit: "You're the singer!"

Then the two looked at each other, and Nangong Wuyue's previous politeness and restraint suddenly diminished by at least two-thirds. She chuckled and nodded to Hao Ren, "Well... Landlord, please don't mind what I said earlier..."

Hao Ren was used to living with those swindlers, so how could he mind the other party's blunt words? He just felt that everything was so coincidental. Could there really be some kind of destiny at play? The Nangong Wuyue in front of him was none other than the singing girl he and Izhaks had seen at the crossroads when they went shopping a few days ago! Hao Ren still remembered that she sang very well, and the lyrics were a mess...

It's just that the last time they met was during the day, and this time it was at night. In addition, Hao Ren has always had a hard time remembering the faces of strangers, so he didn't recognize her for quite a while. Izhaks was even more hopeless. The great demon has always been slow to recognize human faces. It took him several days to remember Vivian and Lily's appearance. Nangong Wuyue only glanced at Hao Ren and Izhaks that day. If it wasn't for the latter's height of more than two meters, which was really impressive, she probably wouldn't have remembered it until now.

"What a coincidence," Hao Ren said with a chuckle, beckoning Nangong Wuyue to sit down at the dining table quickly. "We haven't eaten yet, and there's a lot of leftovers from lunch. I'm still wondering how to get rid of them tonight... Come and eat together, consider it a welcome feast for you. This is our custom here. No matter the race or origin, once you sit at the table, you're family."

Vivian quickly brought the reheated food to the table and curiously asked how Hao Ren knew Nangong Wuyue. Hao Ren briefly explained the situation that day, and finally summarized with a sentence: "I suspect the raven is behind this again..."

Except for Nangong Wuyue, who wasn't familiar with Raven 12345 yet, everyone present deeply agreed with this.

Hao Ren still felt that Nangong Wuyue's appearance was quite sudden, but Raven 12345's usual style was like this, and he could only accept it. Moreover, he soon discovered that this girl who claimed to be a siren was very easy to get along with, even more so than Vivian and Lily, who came to his house the earliest. This was probably because the siren, as a race that didn't compete with the world, didn't have any resistance to other species in this world. Just think about the group of sirens who were taken away by humans more than a hundred years ago...

After dinner, Hao Ren and Vivian helped Nangong Wuyue settle her luggage. The new tenant's room was on the second floor, the first one near the stairs. Because the furniture was complete and Vivian often cleaned it, she could basically move in with her bags. The entire settlement process took only a few minutes. After everything was settled, Nangong Wuyue was dragged to the living room by Lily, and the husky girl began to curiously inquire about the situation of this new companion — which, in Vivian's view, was a very impolite behavior, but the husky's personality... everyone can experience it for themselves.

"Actually, I should have come to you two days ago," Nangong Wuyue didn't have any resistance to Lily's familiarity and excessive enthusiasm. She smiled and answered all the questions, and took the initiative to introduce her experience of coming here, "The landlord has already said that I sing on the street. In fact, I have always been traveling and singing, and for many years I have been wandering around the world without a fixed place to live. Until half a month ago, every time I had a dream at night, I would dream of a very beautiful sister who would tell me some things, and also asked me to come to this city to find a 'censor' named Hao Ren. At first, I thought I was dreaming because I read too many novels, but in the end, I dared to believe it, and then I thought that I really needed a place to stay, so I came here. I arrived last week, but I wandered around the city for a few days at first... Hehe, I only remembered to look for you today."

The way she spoke sounded completely like an ordinary singing girl was talking about her life experience. If he didn't already know the situation, Hao Ren would really find it difficult to associate this ordinary-looking girl with the legendary race of "siren."

"Traveling and singing..." Lily's eyes glowed with a strange light after hearing Nangong Wuyue's experience. This husky with a literary vibe in her bones immediately resonated with this kind of life, "It feels like me! I travel and write, but I feel that you are more powerful, after all, singing seems not so easy to earn enough living expenses. I tried it for a while back then, and I was complained about every day."

Hao Ren immediately thought of Lily's most proficient three-stage singing style "Awoo-Wang," and immediately dared not continue to ask about this question.

"It's actually okay," Nangong Wuyue smiled lightly, "Sirens have a talent in this area. My mother often taught me to sing when she was alive. It is said that she attracted my father in this way. And I also do other things, I can work when there is not enough living expenses."

"Where are you from?" Vivian saw that Nangong Wuyue was already chatting happily with Lily, so she didn't hide her curiosity, "I feel your accent is a bit strange."

"You can tell?" Nangong Wuyue laughed, "My hometown is indeed in China, but I ran outside for a few years recently."

"Because they come from the vast deep sea, sirens and their descendants who go ashore like to travel. It seems that this statement is true," Vivian looked at Nangong Wuyue with great interest, "Then are you planning to live here for a long time or continue to travel after a while?"

"I don't know," Nangong Wuyue shook her head, "Probably I will live until I want to continue traveling. I occasionally stay in one place for a few years. This time, I decided to take a temporary break because I was very tired from traveling — and then a beautiful sister entrusted me with a dream, so I came here."

At this time, Vivian winked at Hao Ren, and the two quietly walked to the side.

"Is this Nangong Wuyue okay?" Vivian asked in a low voice.

"No problem, she does have Raven's token, and the Data Terminal has also authenticated her identity. Although she came suddenly, she is indeed our new member."

"...To be honest, I feel like we're an illegal organization. We have to be so nervous for a long time when a new person comes," Vivian stuck out her tongue, "Landlord, aren't you working for the Goddess? Can't you apply to improve the working environment?"

"How to improve it?" Hao Ren sighed, "Raven 12345 has clearly required me not to interfere with the order of human society at will, otherwise it will be a crime of hindering civilization development. Look at how big a hat this is. Oh right, I just happened to ask you about it, what kind of race is the siren? Why do I look at this Nangong Wuyue... like an ordinary person? From the way she speaks to her behavior, she is very different from you, Lily, and Izhaks."

Vivian pondered for a moment: "Siren... to be honest, I don't know much about them either. This is a very strange race, even quite mysterious in the category of alien species. Sirens live in the deep sea and are quite ancient. It is said that they lived on the seabed even before humans appeared on this planet, but they have never expanded their territory, even though they have the ability to survive on land and have certain combat power. They have always stayed honestly in the deep sea. There are external rumors that they are guarding something from their ancestors on the seabed... but because this race is very closed, few people know the truth. In addition, the siren is a race that only has females. Their lifespan is as long as the sea, and they can increase the number of their people through mysterious rituals, so there is no need to worry about reproduction. That's all I know."

Hao Ren thought for a while: "What's the matter with being taken by humans?"

Vivian's expression froze: "Why are you paying attention to this... Okay, it's just the literal meaning. Sirens have a way to go ashore, and they have a way to change their life form so as to combine with humans. They will also be curious about human males. Under this premise, there have been many examples in history of sirens disguising themselves cleverly after going ashore and combining with humans to give birth to offspring. However, there is a problem with the offspring born from the combination of sirens and humans, that is, if they give birth to a girl, then it is 100% a siren, and if it is a boy, then it is 100% a human. In any case, there will be no mixed blood. I personally feel that this is like a 'female curse' covering the entire race."

"So Nangong Wuyue only mentioned that her mother is a siren," Hao Ren seemed to understand something, "Girls completely follow their mother, boys completely follow their father, tsk tsk, you aliens really have a lot of strange guys."

In any case, the siren Nangong Wuyue moved in just like that.