Chapter 1 When Hao Ren Woke From a Series of Strange Dreams

It was still deep night when Hao Ren woke from a series of strange dreams.

He shook his head and climbed out of bed, finding the bright moon hanging high outside. Its clear light streamed through the thin gauze curtains and into the room, illuminating it exceptionally well. The familiar furniture cast shifting shadows in the moonlight, leaving oddly shaped patches on the floor.

Many of the furniture pieces bore Dou Dou's tiny teeth marks.

Hao Ren rubbed his head, trying to clear his mind. He had been plagued by a slew of bizarre dreams, and now those outlandish visions still flickered in his mind, leaving him feeling slightly dazed. He could only vaguely remember seeing the scenes of the Dream Plane again – or perhaps he had truly connected to the Dream Plane for a moment. He dreamed he had returned to Holletta, standing with Becky and Ofra atop the shattered Dragon Spine Mountains, watching the mad First Born struggle free from the earth's shackles, its boundless tentacles and tides of blood surging through the valleys. Later, he dreamed of Tanagrus, the surface of that golden star littered with the utterly dead remnants of the First Born's tentacles. Those ancient remains, resembling mountain ranges, seemed to come alive again, slowly undulating on the horizon. Finally, he even dreamed of Zorm – the planet plunging into the sun amidst raging flames, the First Born's colossal body bursting from beneath Zorm's crust, as if suddenly hatching from an eggshell, spreading open its cradle and transforming into a terrifying, giant flower blooming furiously in the cosmos, even the sunlight unable to kill it.

These strange dreams repeated many times until he was startled awake.

"Nightmare?" Hao Ren clicked his tongue, muttering to himself, "Remembering the past..."

But he quickly shook his head, feeling it was not as simple as a nightmare. Zorm had appeared at the end of the dreams. The First Borns of Holletta and Tanagrus could indeed be called the source of nightmares, for they were mad, among the most powerful enemies Hao Ren had faced. But Zorm was a gentle and friendly guardian, Hao Ren's friend in the Dream Plane. Every interaction he had with Zorm had left no memories that could lead to nightmares.

Therefore, those dreams probably had nothing to do with "thinking about things during the day," and did not even seem like images organized by his own brain. Hao Ren frowned, suspecting these dreams were related to the so-called "premonitory senses."

Hao Ren was not a prophet, but he still believed his dreams had some significance. Since becoming Raven 12345's assistant and earning the title of demigod, even without gaining earth-shattering abilities, he had undergone some changes in his soul, and these changes had kept nightmares away for a long time.

"Could it be this sword..." Hao Ren's heart stirred, and he suddenly retrieved the Godslayer Sword from his personal space. The dark blade glimmered with starlight in the night, yet the blue halo around the blade exuded a reassuring power. Hao Ren carefully sensed it, immediately ruling out the possibility that the Godslayer Sword had caused the nightmares. He felt only a sense of peace when he held the sword. The blessing left by Raven 12345 was extremely powerful, and the sword's negative effects had long been completely isolated. When he gripped the hilt, the lingering unease in his mind from the nightmares completely vanished.

As for the "whispers" that no longer had any effect, he didn't even need to pay attention.

A rustling sound of water suddenly came from the side. Hao Ren turned his head and saw a ripple in the pot on the table, followed by Dou Dou's little head popping up over the edge. The little mermaid rubbed her eyes, seemingly awakened by Hao Ren, "Daddy, aren't you sleeping?"

"Uh, it's nothing, just dreaming." Hao Ren put away the Godslayer Sword. The lingering effects of the nightmares had completely faded, and he couldn't think of any revelations from the dream for the moment, so he decided to put it aside. If the strange dreams reappeared, he would have the Data Terminal record them.

Dou Dou made an "oh" sound and leaped out of the pot, then aimed in Hao Ren's direction and activated her demon-hunting fish talent: short-range teleportation. Hao Ren felt a blur before his eyes, and the next second, a cold, wet fish tail slapped him in the face. He skillfully caught the little one, who curled up in his arms and gently patted his arm with her tail, "Daddy, look at the stars!"

Hao Ren was stunned, "What stars are there to see in this freezing weather?"

Dou Dou didn't care at all, just hugged Hao Ren's arm and continued to pat her tail, "Daddy, look at the stars!!"

Hao Ren couldn't resist a fish baby who was still in her mischievous phase. After letting the little one fuss for a while, he had to nod in agreement. Anyway, he was wide awake because of those chaotic dreams, so he might as well take this opportunity to get some fresh air. He changed his clothes and put Dou Dou inside his collar, supporting her from below with his hands to prevent her from slipping down, leaving the fish baby's head exposed. The outside temperature was still very low at this time of year, and a few degrees above zero would be enough to send Dou Dou into hibernation in a few minutes.

After completing this series of preparations, Hao Ren tiptoed out of the bedroom, opened the back door of the house, and came to the open space behind the house.

He found that he was not the only one who couldn't sleep in the middle of the night. Lily was also standing outside!

The husky girl was now in her "werewolf" form, her silver hair reflecting a dreamlike light under the moonlight. She was wearing thick winter pajamas covered in cute puppy patterns – a werewolf running out to see the stars in her pajamas under the moonlight; her image peaked at this moment.

The sound of Hao Ren opening the door immediately startled Lily, who was a bit dazed. Her sharp, sensitive ears twitched, and she immediately turned her head, "Oh, landlord?"

"Uh, you're outside too," Hao Ren said, holding Dou Dou as he walked next to Lily, "I couldn't sleep, and Dou Dou said she wanted to see the stars, so I brought her out for some fresh air."

Lily poked Dou Dou's little head with her finger and casually replied, "Landlord, did you have a dream too?"

"You too because of a dream?" Hao Ren's heart stirred, "A nightmare?"

"Not a nightmare," Lily scratched her head, "Maybe it's still related to the merged memories: dreaming about some things from my past life, what happened when I was the First Saint. But it's vague and doesn't mean anything."

Hao Ren felt relieved upon hearing this. It seemed Lily's situation was different from his. But then he became a little worried, "Didn't you say these merged memories have no effect on you?"

"They don't have much of an effect," Lily poked her lower lip with her finger, "Even when I dream, it's like watching someone else's video. But when I think about how powerful I was in my past life, and how I'm living like a dog in this life, I feel quite emotional and come out to contemplate life."

Hao Ren was amazed by this husky. It seemed regaining the memories of the First Saint had not had no effect on this idiot. Look, she even knows how to "contemplate life" now!

When Lily saw the look in Hao Ren's eyes, she knew this guy's head was definitely filled with some particularly annoying thoughts. She bared her teeth, "Landlord, your eyes are too obvious. You're definitely going to say how could I, so idiotic, be contemplating life, and then I'll have to explain the difference between idiotic and stupid, and then you still won't remember next time, so I'll have to keep explaining... Ah, it's so tiring."

Hao Ren, "…I haven't said anything yet."

Lily bared her teeth, huffed, and turned her head to continue looking up at the huge moon in the sky. Hao Ren then realized why this girl was so energetic tonight: it wasn't just because of the merged memories of her past life. There was probably a more important reason: it was a full moon today.

"Now that you know your background, even your past life, will you still be excited when you see the full moon?" Hao Ren asked curiously.

"There's no way around it, it's just a habit," Lily rolled her eyes, "I don't even know the principle behind it."

Hao Ren twitched the corner of his mouth, "Come to think of it, you're really unlucky… you were so capable in your past life, but you ended up like this in this life."

Lily waved her hand, "It's not just me who's unlucky, the entire Demon Hunter race is unlucky."

Hao Ren thought about it, and it was true. He had always thought the Demon Hunters were a powerful, violent, and invincible group, but after the Copolla incident, he was shocked to discover the extent of these guys' bad luck was simply staggering. A peaceful race was driven mad by a sword, and after six thousand years of development, they were plunged back to the pre-liberation era by a civil war. They had spent their entire lives exorcising demons, only to discover that their boss was a demon, their ancestor had been reborn as a dog, and even their old home had been plowed several times by an outsider leading a hundred thousand demons…

After reviewing this whole process, Hao Ren almost shed tears for those Demon Hunters: it was too damn tragic.

But compared to those ancient gods who were killed off in the confused and senseless hunting wars, the Demon Hunters were not the most tragic.

However, the humans who were enslaved by the ancient gods in ancient times seemed even more unlucky…

After thinking it over, Hao Ren summed it up in one sentence, "It's simply a contest of who's more miserable…"

Lily, "Woof?"

The two of them looked at the moon and a few stars in the whistling cold wind while discussing life. Dou Dou occasionally chimed in with random remarks. Before they knew it, it was the second half of the night. A fluttering sound suddenly came from the northeast, and a large, dark shadow swept across the night sky, solidifying behind Hao Ren and Lily, "What are you two doing running out here in the middle of the night?"

It was Vivian, returning from her "walk."