If Hao Ren did not experience it for himself, he would have never imagined that all those glorious starship captains, who travelled the stars started by reading from scratch. Most novels or movies never even touch this!
However, the MDT was right on one point. The study materials were really customized to suit his learning capabilities and understanding. Having his body strengthened also gave his mental abilities a boost. While the materials were still a bunch of mumbo-jumbo to him, after getting the basics down, he could begin to grasp the more technical stuff.
He did not need to know how the ship's core worked (well, the number of people who actually knew how Imperial technology worked were considered exotic). He just needed to know what commands to input, and what the inputs actually mean to better understand the nuances of commanding. Hee would need to give out commands in the future. This was essential knowledge a starship captain needed to have; knowledge he would need to survive in space.
Well...it wasn't like the ship did not come with an auto-repair system. Let the machines earn their due.
Hao Ren went ham on his studies. He clutched the MDT from morning until about 10.00pm. Accompanying him was Lil Pea, who lay by his side. The pot of water was pretty much a second home to the little mermaid and it was now a permanent fixture on the tea table. She would hop into the pot to swim for a while then, hop back out into Hao Ren's arms and lie down with her belly exposed. At times, she made some unintelligible noises but, she did seem at ease.
"I think...the problem with raising a mermaid is the need to change her clothes all too often," Hao Ren said as he gave up studying. The information was just too much for his brain to process at one go. He then set the MDT down. After that, he scooped Lil Pea up and put her back into the pot. His shirt got soaked when the little rascal hopped all over him. Even the sofa was wet. "Vivian, what are you doing?"
The vampire had been busy sewing in a corner since morning, and Hao Ren took a curious peek. He saw in her hands, a tiny shirt that was intricately sewn. "You aren't making a skirt for Lil Pea, are you?"
"What do you think?" Vivian said as she broke the thread, giving Hao Ren a sideways glare. "You can't be wrapping Lil Pea up with sealing tape all the time, right? Wuyue had me make some shirts for the little rascal before she left. What do you think of it?"
By Jupiter, this vampire seemed to have put all her talent points into household skills!
Hao Ren took the mini, light pink waistcoat from Vivian. The size was almost right, and the quality was almost artisan. Not only did she pick a cloth that would not shrink after being soaked in water, she even sewed two little fish patterns on the back of the coat in a frenzied effort. Her handiwork was almost too good that you would wonder how she even managed to learn all this. Lil Pea's eyes widened as Hao Ren put the waistcoat on her. She clumsily tried to cooperate with Hao Ren as he struggled to put the coat on her. After a while, he managed to get the coat on her properly. Having worn a shirt for the first time, she did not seem all that comfortable. She twisted around for a bit and slapped her tail against the table as she went. It did not take long however, for her to get used to it and she jabbered in glee. It was as though it meant something to wear a shirt, almost as if it was a game.
The little mermaid flopped about in her new garb for a few rounds on the table, and after that, she jumped back into the pot to take a nap. Vivian on the other hand, had a gleeful smile on her face, satisfied that the little one liked her handiwork. With her motivation at it's peak, she declared, "I'll make a couple of camisoles and brassieres for her later. And please, get rid of the sealing tape. She almost looks like a mummified fish wearing it."
As Hao Ren and Vivian were going on about the minutiae of raising a baby mermaid, the main door creaked opened. It appeared Lily was back much earlier than usual.
Vivian glanced at Lily curiously, "So early today? I haven't even prepared anything for lunch yet."
In everyone's eyes, Lily's return back home was always linked to meal time, and she had never returned so early before.
Lily did not respond to Vivian and her face was grim. After carefully peering outside, she latched the door shut. She then made haste towards Hao Ren and Vivian. "We have a problem."
Lily's serious demeanor took both of them by surprise. They never thought the derpy husky was even capable of such an expression. Hao Ren quickly pulled the MDT out of his pocket (how did that habit even come about?) and asked, "Did you just bite someone, and now the whole gang's upon us?"
Vivian kicked Hao Ren in the shin. "Stop it with the nonsense. It's not funny."
"It's this," Lily said as she rolled her eyes. The husky took a piece of paper out from her pouch. "This seems very familiar..."
It was a piece of hard paper, the size of a poker card. It had a yellow tint. A strange aroma emitted from the paper, and on it, a series of intricate patterns painted in red ink could be seen; Letta runes.
Hao Ren had pretty much developed an antipathy towards these runes. Nothing good happened any time those runes appeared. Vivian also joined in with a frown, "These are runic cards used by the demon hunters... Where did you find them?"
"Along the nearby streets. Some were shoved into the cracks and some stuck on lamp posts. All of them were placed in locations that aren't easy to spot. I found a whole lot of them," Lily said as she poured an entire stack of cards out of her pouch. "Am I really going to be dog stew this time?"
"Don't think too much." Hao Ren himself was shocked by the amount of runic cards Lily had collected but, he still managed to remain calm. "Let's make sure this is real and not a prank..."
"There's no way these are fakes," Vivian said as she flung one of the cards into the air and smothered it with Blood Mist. There was a continuous cackle of lightning as the mist reacted with the runic card. A moment later, both the mist and card dissipated into nothing. "This is some really carefully drawn runes. Only demon hunters or ascetic monks of the church would know how to draw such runes. Seems like we're being targeted for real."
"Didn't Raven 12345 say she settled the matter?" Hao Ren sighed deeply as he recalled his bitter experiences with the bunch of maniacal hunters. "Why did they pop up again?"
Vivian sighed softly as well. "...Well, we all know not to place all our hopes on her. We need to learn how to protect ourselves at the very least. We'll need to plan our moves when Nangong and the big bloke come back. Since the demon hunters have placed cards all over the streets, it looks like they're almost certain of our location... If a fight does break out, it won't be pretty...and I was just getting comfortable with my life here..."
While her words were resigned, Vivian still took things seriously. With a wave of her hand, a dozen little bats appeared as she signaled at Hao Ren. "Help me put on some sunscreen."
The vampire was about to go out to reconnoiter the area. While Hao Ren had his doubts about the little bats finding any trace of the demon hunters, it was better than doing nothing at all. Lily was busy ruffling through the runic cards, and she was rather puzzled by the symbols etched onto them. "What do these mean? I don't remember them looking like that before?"
There are many types of runic cards, and veteran demon hunters may even create their own. The strength of a Letta rune is in the various forms and powers it can take," said Vivian as she applied the sunscreen with Hao Ren's help. "Based on what I can see on the paper... I think they are meant to create a geomantic or spell field of sorts. Some of the runes read as 'The Earth's Boundaries', some, 'The Shapeless Shadow'. When combined, these effects would probably create a field that could scout, monitor, engage in battle, or seal something... All of these are anchored upon the creation of this field. Seems like the hunters have only just arrived, and you discovered their work before they got far."
Hao Ren thought, perhaps they stood a better chance this time around, given that air-brained Lily dismantled part of the field by chance. Lily was also elated after being useful. Her tail popped out in a sudden poof, and she started wagging. "Heh! I'm just that good aren't I?"
"Oh yes. It's your job to look for the rest of the Letta runes then," Vivian's retort came almost at a blinding speed. "Based on the field's deployment, I have a feeling that the demon hunters loath facing us head on again. Just keep ruining their field deployment. This will buy us some time. Also, I think it's time we take the fight to them. Let's try to rid the whole street of these runes."
Lily's tail stopped midair as her jaw dropped. "Huh?"
"What are you gawking at?" Vivian said as she pushed the window open. The bats around her spread out as they took off into the wind. She looked back at Lily and Hao Ren, her fangs bared. "This is a challenge! Being caught unaware once is enough. Now we know what they're up to. Let's make sure we take one back alive this time!"
As the vampire maiden spoke, cold wind gathered around her. Her lust for battle was almost palpable.