Chapter 1423: The Backtracking Journey

Hessiana was serious.

Hao Ren knew that the little bat was not joking just by looking into her eyes. But Hao Ren still could not help but ask, “Was Vivian that miserable back then?”

“Do you still doubt it?” Hessiana looked at Hao Ren, feeling a little impatient. “Vivian has been known for her poverty for the past 10,000 years. You won’t believe what I’m about to tell you. If you see Vivian in history, the absolute rule of gaining her trust is to buy her a meal. I kid you not!”

It reminded Hao Ren about a conversation he had with Vivian a long time ago. He once asked Vivian, if he saw the Countess of the Crimson Moon in history, how should he approach her. Vivian smiled and said, “Just buy me dinner.”

As fate would have it, a thing in a casual conversation had come true.

“If a meal could buy Battie’s friendship, why hasn’t she had any friends for the past 10,000 years?” Lily asked with a scornful look.

“Do you think it is easy to befriend Vivian?” Hessiana sighed. “You guys have never experienced the amount of bad luck Vivian could bring to those around her. Any ordinary person would go broke after three days of being with her. Those who were rich enough would survive for half a month. You have to be prepared to survive on vegetarian fried cake alone for the next three years if you treat her with one. Some of the ancient families built a relationship with her to make use of her fame and authority, but they all did so with the understanding that they would lose half of their wealth.”

Hesperides could testify to that. “Back then, Mount Olympus and Vivian had the closest relationship. Zeus often invited her to Mount Olympus to have a meal together. Each meal often cost half a year of tax revenue of a city-state. Every time Vivian paid a visit as a guest, we would suffer from various natural and man-made disasters. But compared to the convenience and benefit the power of the Countess of the Crimson Moon could bring, the sacrifices were worthwhile. Except during Vivian’s hibernating period, all other celestials would not dare to look for trouble with the Olympus family. After all, the Countess was notorious for her brutality when it came to protecting her rice bowl.”

“Holy moly.” Hao Ren exclaimed.

“Of course, bad luck would only befall those who want to rub shoulder with Vivian. If you were just a passerby, you would be safe. It was because of this reason, Vivian had never been close to anyone except those who befriended her at all cost. That was why I was surprised to see you getting so close with Vivian back then.”

Raven 12345 patted Hao Ren on his shoulder and said, “So do you understand now? I told you that the attribute of Vivian as a Malevolence is poverty. This poverty is more than you think. It is a disaster, the destructive power of which is no less than the ordinary Malevolence.”

The blood veins on Hao Ren’s forehead seemed to be ready to pop. “But it seems I am not affected though.”

“Because you are a demigod. You have the entire celestials behind you. What kind of debuff could work on you?” Raven 12345 said. Her eyebrows twitched. “Do you have still no confidence in the organization?”

“I got it, I got it. It does not help to keep harping on this topic. Let us be back to business, shall we?” Hao Ren quickly waved his hand.

Hessiana and Hesperides looked somber. “You are right. Compared with how to approach Vivian, it is more important for you to know how to survive in the Mythological Era.”

“You have no problem to survive in the human world with your ability. But you are going to space and time where it has been distorted by Vivian. Most of the nodes of space and time will be related to the Mythological Era or some other strong otherworldlings. It is almost impossible for a human to move freely in such an environment. After crossing the medieval timeline, you will have to face the situation in which the supernatural forces and dark terror reign.

“When going back in time. You will face the least challenge in the recent past. All you have to deal with are lone-wolf otherworldlings and hermit families. Their blood will run cold with the sheer mention of the demon hunters. You can disguise as a human sorcerer and contact them, but be careful not to be spotted by the demon hunters. The demon hunters at that time might be relatively less active than during the Middle Ages, but you could still encounter them in the remote villages and city ruins. If that happens, you will have to…”

“Closer to the Middle Ages, you will have to be highly alert. It was the last stage before the end of the Mythological Era. The demon hunters were wiping out the otherworldlings around the world. Conflicts happened in the open as well as in the dark. No matter what identity you use to disguise yourself, you could still be attacked. Your best bet would be to camouflage yourself as a demon hunter. I think the two demon hunters here could give you good advice.”

Hassel and White Flame nodded to Hao Ren. It was for this reason that Raven 12345 brought them here.

Hesperides continued. “Beyond the Middle Ages, back to AD 1, it was the late period of the Mythological Era where the demon hunters and otherworldlings were having an all-out war. It was a relatively safe period because both sides had a clear territory of influence, assassinations and covert operations were not as terrifying as later times. When all conflicts are open, you will have less trouble. But you better not disguise as a wizard because at that time the human wizards were slaves to the otherworldlings. There was very little freedom to move around. A human wizard who wanders around attracts too much attention. You can use Blood Clan as a disguise because this race was widely scattered and unorganized at that time. Hessiana has a way to cloak you in this scent.

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“Going further backward in time, you will enter the real Mythological Era. Needless to say, the demon hunters were still a disorganized small army of little threat at the fringe of the world. The human was powerless. The otherworldlings ruled the world. You may continue to use the Blood Clan as a camouflage. But at that time, Vivian was mainly active in Greece to where you would be most likely teleported. So I suggest that you disguise as a mixed descendant or demigod hero of the Olympus family, and then give yourself a big name. But be careful not to attract too much attention to blow your cover. After all, you know—”

Without waiting for Hesperides to finished, Hao Ren interrupted her by waving his hand. “I got it, I got it. Zeus was messing around with men and women.”

Hesperides was embarrassed. But she still continued. “This camouflage comes with a caveat. You should not tell the descendent of which god you are. Because if Vivian happened to be a guest at the Olympus family, then you would have to deal with our family. Let the guys on the mountain fight among themselves, since they had been used to it.”

“Argh, it is really troublesome. Screw it as long as I can find Vivian back. What if I go to see you then?”

“It does matter,” Hesperides said. “I had not known you at the time.”

“You are right. And then?”

“And then you will enter the early barbaric era, of which advice I can give little,” Hesperides said with a frown. “It was the age of survival of the supernatural races, lawlessness, and the world awaiting development. I can only give you an advice: the survival of the fittest.”

That suggestion sounded good to Hao Ren.

“I have to remind you that no matter to where you have backtrack, as long as you are in the age of Mythology, you must know one thing,” Hesperides looked serious, “The Mythological Era was barbaric. However magnificent and beautiful it looked, barbarism was the essence. All rules were there to serve the gods. The social order was based on plunder and slavery—both within and outside the kingdoms. Race against race; no matter what your identity is, you would be an enemy to someone. So don’t try to use reason and logic to deal with those guys.”

“My gun is the reason and the logic. They may choose not to listen, but I can bomb them until they fall on their knees,” Hao Ren said with an indifferent smile.

“Congratulations! You have mastered the first rule of survival in the Mythological Era.”

“Next, let us tell you about the demon hunters,” Hassel stepped forward. “The vast majority of your journey back on time will inevitably have to deal with the demon hunters. Compared to the disorganized and chaotic otherworldlings, the highly organized and disciplined demon hunters would be the biggest challenge you would face. But it is not without loopholes. You just have to keep in mind that…”

When everything was ready, Hao Ren came before the maelstrom.

Black-red smoke was surging in the maelstrom. It was opaque with blood-red electric arcs dancing on the outside. It looked as if the bursting of blood veins. It was horrifying.

“Can’t I really bring along the MDT?” Hao Ren asked as he glanced back at Raven 12345.

“To keep the sandbox system stable, the fewer the bodies of consciousness, the better,” Raven 12345 said with a stern face. “As long as you follow my instructions, you are going to be all right. All the more so when you can still use the stuff in your Dimensional Pocket. Those things are enough to keep you out of trouble in the primitive world.”

Hao Ren took a deep breath and turned around. “Well, then I will go now.”

As soon as Hao Ren’s voice trailed off, he had stepped into the black-red maelstrom.

Hao Ren’s body swayed for a moment before it disappeared entirely into the dream-like clouds.

There was a long moment of silence on the platform. At last, Nangong Wuyue broke the silence. “Hey, what should we do now?”

All eyes were on Raven 12345, who thought for a while and said, “Shall we play a few rounds of mahjong?”